The Summer Palace, also known as Peter's Palace, is located in a forest on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, 29 km from St. Petersburg. Built in 1714, this purely baroque complex has a simple and solemn exterior and a richly decorated interior. Many of Russia's big balls, court ceremonies and other events were held here, and the coronation of Nicholas II was also held here.

Wang Chenhao and Xu Jingcheng followed the court ceremonial officer into the summer palace and waited in the upper garden.

Nicholas II had not yet arrived, and Wang Chenhao was not the only one who was summoned, but also the ministers and consuls of various countries, as well as some important Russian officials, all of whom were waiting in the garden square, talking together. Wang Chenhao and Xu Jingcheng also followed the crowd to find a shade tree to stay, watching the surrounding crowd and scenery.

Not far to the left, in front of the flower bed, a band is playing the unique Lai Fei symphony of the Russian Empire. In the distance on the right is the main representative of the summer palace, the Grand Palace, which is a two-story palace. At that time Peter the Great lived on the first floor, and his wife Catherine I (Peter the Great's second wife) lived on the second floor.

In front of the Grand Palace is a group of fountains called the Great Waterfall. There are more than 200 reliefs and figurines, dozens of fountains and two trapezoidal waterfalls, giving people a picturesque and dreamlike feeling.

In the center of a large semicircular pool of fountains stands a statue of Samson the Hercules and a lion fighting, which is known as the Fountain of Romsun. Near the fountain were a number of ladies and ladies, and some men who liked to talk to each other complimented them left and right in the hope of holding hands and succeeding. It's also the busiest place for the waiters.

Wang Chenhao didn't know how influential he was, and as soon as he and Xu Jingcheng came over, they immediately aroused almost everyone's ideas. Especially the ministers and consuls of various countries in Russia, Wang Chenhao has dealt with them a lot during this time, and for politicians, they have regarded Wang Chenhao as an old friend.

Wang Chenhao and Xu Jingcheng didn't say a word, and people came over one after another to say hello and talk, and some beckoned Wang Chenhao to come over, including Sa Daoyi, Weidila, Amado and others. However, these people have a tacit understanding, and they greeted Wang Chenhao in twos and threes, which shows the relationship between the countries behind them. For example, French and German consuls do not appear together.

Wang Chenhao talked with these acquaintances one by one for a minute, and then a few Russian officials came by his side. Look at their rank and rank. Xu Jingcheng whispered to Wang Chenhao that one was Army Minister Aleksayev and the other Navy Minister Prince Alexandrovich, and behind them were Cavalry Admiral Nikolayevich, Finance Minister Witte, and Foreign Minister Robertov.

Several Russians came to Wang Chenhao and Xu Jingcheng, looking the two up and down, they knew Xu Jingcheng, so they focused on Wang Chenhao, but looking at their expressions, it seemed that they were not good.

Among them, Robanov spoke fluent Chinese to greet Xu Jingcheng first, and then turned to Wang Chenhao: "This is Lord Wang, the special envoy sent by the Qing Empire, who has not been able to entertain you well recently due to his busy official duties, Wan Wanghaihan." ”

Wang Chenhao said with a smile: "The main reason for my trip around the world this time is to see the civilized society of Europe, and I am extremely impressed by the high level of civilization of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and other countries. Compared with other countries, with the level of civilization of your country, I feel fortunate that I have not killed or imprisoned my envoy, and I dare not have any other extravagant hopes. ”

Wang Chenhao had something to say in his words, deliberately exalting the advanced civilization of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and other countries in front of their envoys, so as to belittle Russia and retaliate for the neglect of him by the Russian side during this time.

Sa Daoyi and other ministers glanced at each other, and they all felt what Wang Chenhao meant, and they all waited quietly to see the excitement.

Lobanov smiled and said: "Your Excellency the envoy is really joking, the great Slavic people under the leadership of His Majesty the Tsar have created a rich, strong, and civilized Russian Empire, and as a part of European civilization, Russian civilization is dazzling and shining. ”

Boasting, it's shameless!

Wang Chenhao snorted coldly and said, "Your country's civilization is really incomprehensible!" You are putting on a show in front of the people at home, but your [***] team is occupying our country's territory, burning, killing and looting our people! ”

Robertov smiled: "We want to help your country enter a civilized society as soon as possible, although you may not agree with the way you deal with it." But I'm sure you'll see how hard we're at it in the near future. ”

Wang Chenhao said coldly: "Don't want this kind of civilization in your country!" I also ask your country to withdraw its troops from our country, even if we want to ask for help, we will find help from powerful civilizations like Britain, Germany, and the United States, and we will not work on your country. ”

Robertov always has a smile on his face, and he can explain Wang Chenhao's accountability if he can, and shirk it if it is not easy to explain.

"I will convey the request of Your Excellency the Special Envoy to the Imperial Political Axe, and I believe that the Imperial Political Axe will handle this matter peacefully and amicably with your political axe!"

Wang Chenhao was so angry with him that if he changed to an unpopular occasion, he would probably beat him up immediately. Snorted coldly: "Under the banner of peace negotiations, your country is secretly mobilizing a large number of troops to the Far East, what is your sincerity in negotiations?" ”

Lobanov was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect that the matter of the army's transfer had already been known to Wang Chenhao, and the other party also saw their plan to repair the plank road and secretly Chen Cang.

"Is there such a thing?" Lobanov turned his head to look at War Minister Alekseev and exchanged a look before saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't know!" ”

Wang Chenhao smiled bitterly angrily, the damn old guy actually pretended to be garlic with Lao Tzu.

Ksayev laughed at this time and said, "I don't know where Lord Wang heard the news, but I can confirm now that there is no such thing as transferring troops to the Far East. With the strength and combat power of the Imperial Far Eastern Army, it is enough to deal with the influx of armies of some countries, so why increase the number of troops? ”

Although Wang Chenhao understood that the Qing army's combat effectiveness was low and it was at the bottom in front of the armies of the great powers, it was uncomfortable to be told that he could not enter the stream.

"In the face of foreign invasion, I, the sons and daughters of China, will defend our homeland to the death. In the First Sino-Japanese War, our army performed poorly, but after being ashamed and courageous, our newly built Beiyang Army got rid of the bad habits of the old army, took the strongest German army as the training standard, and was equipped with the world's most advanced weapons. ”

Ksaiev said disdainfully: "I heard that Lord Wang, you have only trained into a new army, and my Far East elite army has more than 60,000, and the strength is more than five times that of yours, can you stop it?" ”

Wang Chenhao sneered: "Speaking of which, thanks to your country for sending troops to occupy my Heilongjiang Province, the national crisis is at the head, all the people are soldiers, and my Beiyang Army has expanded from one town to eight towns." I also ask the general to remind the division of troops that have entered our country that the way of sending off guests of our Beiyang Army is a bit special, and I want them to be careful. ”

Ksayev also sneered and said, "What about the new army of the Eight Towns? It's only 100,000 people. There are 1.5 million standing troops in my Russian Empire, and nearly 10 million can be conscripted in one mobilization order, and your new army is not enough to dry your teeth! ”

Wang Chenhao immediately sarcastically said: "There is a way that the soldiers and horses move grain and grass first, the center of gravity of your country is in the Baltic Sea, thousands of miles away from the Far East, and the Siberian Railway used to project troops has not yet been built, and it will take more than a year for your [***] team to be transferred to the Far East on foot. What if your millions of troops are in the Far East? You have just experienced the huge attrition of the Russian-Turkish war, and it will take more than ten years for the military resources to recover, and coupled with the impact of the international banking crisis on you, it is still a question whether the finances can keep up. Millions of troops went to fight in the Far East, and on the way they either froze to death or starved to death. I really don't know how you became the Minister of War, I don't understand this bit of military common sense, it's really an eye-opener for us. ”

"You!" Ksaiev was counted down by Wang Chenhao, his face was bruised, and he pointed at Wang Chenhao but couldn't speak. It's not that he doesn't know these military common sense, it's just that he didn't expect Wang Chenhao to see this aspect so thoroughly.

The ministers of the surrounding countries all tried not to laugh out loud, but the few important members of Tsarist Russia around Ksayev felt embarrassed and embarrassed.

At this time, Prince Alexandrovich, the Minister of the Russian Navy, who had been watching coldly, opened his mouth to relieve Ksayev of the siege and said: "What is the use of your lord being here for a while? Putting aside the difference in strength on land, your country's Beiyang Naval Division has been blocked in the harbor by our Far East Fleet and dare not come out, and your country has no sea supremacy, and that long coastline can be slaughtered by our navy. ”

Wang Chenhao said without changing his face: "That's only temporary. Although the strength of your Far East Fleet surpasses that of our Beiyang Naval Division, if you dare to divide your forces to attack the cities along our coastline, you will definitely be annihilated by our navy. Relying on the favorable terrain of the fortresses Lushun and Weihaiwei, our Beiyang Naval Division combines sea and land to rival your navy and defend your homeland. ”

Rovich sneered: "My Far East Navy only needs to contain your Beiyang Naval Division, and when the Marines make a detour and land to capture Lushun and Weihaiwei, then the Beiyang Naval Division will be a turtle in an urn and will be wiped out." At that time, will you still dare to say that you will defend your homeland? ”

Wang Chenhao retorted: "Lushun and Weihaiwei are the strongest fortresses in Yadong, and they have strong fortress firepower, how can they easily take them?" Our country only needs to hold on for a few months, and then I will lead my private mercenary fleet back to China to participate in the war, and the two echoes the Beiyang Naval Division, and the naval battle will be over! ”

Rovich snorted coldly and said, "How can you defeat my Far Eastern Fleet with just the few broken ships you bought?" ”

Wang Chenhao smiled: "I don't expect to defeat your Far East Fleet, but it's enough to protect myself!" ”

Seeing that Wang Chenhao always had something to refute him, Luo Wei couldn't help but say angrily: "You hire a few broken ships to influence the situation of the war, our imperial navy has so many warships in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, can you stop it?" ”

Wang Chenhao snorted and laughed at him: "Can your Black Sea Fleet come out?" Your Baltic Fleet is very powerful, but if you want to go to the Far East to participate in the war, you probably have to circle the earth, right? It will take a year and a half to sail alone, and I am afraid that your country's finances will not be able to support this expenditure, but unlike us, our country has a large land and abundant financial resources, and it will not be a problem to fight for a year or two, and we can afford to spend it. Moreover, by the time your Baltic Fleet arrives in the Far East, our new battleships will be in service. As far as I know, your country does not yet have a warship that can counter the battleships of our Dengyun-class class. ”

"You!" Rovich, like Ksayev, was speechless by Wang Chenhao.

The two ministers of the Russian Admiralty and the War Department were deflated by Wang Chenhao one after another, which made the other ministers and officials on the Russian side feel very embarrassed, especially the ministers and consuls of various countries, and they really lost face.

On the second floor of the large palace at the end of the garden, Tsar Nicholas II was displeased when he learned that the two ministers of the navy and army had lost face in front of Wang Chenhao. In fact, it was not an accident that several important Russian ministers appeared at the same time, but that Nikolai was deliberately sent to test and make things difficult for Wang Chenhao, in order to kill Wang Chenhao's prestige in front of the ministers and consuls of various countries, as well as to attack the majesty of the Qing Empire.

Now the plan did not succeed, but instead fell into a joke for the dignitaries of various countries, and Nicholas II was so angry that he threw the cup.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Note 1 of the previous chapter: The division of administrative divisions of most provinces in the Qing Dynasty was different from that of modern times, when Heilongjiang Province and Jilin Province were bounded by the entire Songhua River, Jiangbei belonged to Heilongjiang, and Jiangnan belonged to Jilin, which will not be explained later. 】