Taking a sip of wine, Alexei first admired Baykov's bowing demeanor to himself for a while, and after receiving an affirmative answer, he said:

"So, I suggest you, my dear friend, that after arriving at the Tobolsk fortress, you can first appoint one of the two Bukhara merchants to go to the capital of the Chinese emperor with some of the gifts."

"Your Majesty, are you saying that you want me to appoint an expedition to set off in advance?" Baykov was a little disappointed, after all, it was not a good thing that this work could be seized by a Bukharan merchant.

"Hehe, not an expedition, but your lead team. If he can return on time, I suggest you make a judgment and correction on his route, that is, you need to open up one more viable trade route in case you need it......"

"Yes! Your Majesty! It dawned on Bajkov that the tsar's thirst for geographical knowledge was not a lie. As a businessman, Baykov also knew the risks of having only one trade route. If you can reach it in all directions, you will not be afraid of any unexpected dangers and changes.

"Not only that, but you need to keep a detailed record of all the Chinese cities, towns, and villages you pass through along the way, especially the situation of his army, including equipment, numbers, training, and mental outlook, the more detailed the better! It's just that you don't have to write all this information in your statement, you know? Just dictate it to me when you get back......"

Alexei said mysteriously, shaking the liquor in his hand, exuding a very pungent smell of alcohol.

"Yes. Everything is at your command, my majesty! Baykov's hands were shaking, but he was excited and nervous!

- What a scheming young czar! What he really wanted to say was this.

"Good! You're all set! You know, I trust you so much, my friend! Come, Count Baykov, and toast to our success! The Tsar finally raised his glass and drank it down with great grace.

……

"Father, are you drinking again?"

A slightly immature boy squeezed in through the crack in the door of the main hall, a little cowardly. But it's very pure.

Baykov wisely removed the glass from his lips. did not immediately turn back, but waited for Alexei to deal with it.

"Haha, my dear little angel, come on in. Let Father give you the best wishes! "Alexei is clearly in a very happy mood after making a steady deployment of a big thing. He beckoned in the direction behind Baykov with a wine glass.

"Yes. Father. The child's voice sounded again, and then there was a burst of cheerful footsteps, and so. In front of Bajkov appeared a little girl dressed in a miniature court dress.

"My dearest Evdokia baby, my daughter, my eldest daughter, may Our Lady bless you!" The young tsar bent down, kissed his daughter's forehead lovingly, then put one hand on the little girl's shoulder, pointed the other hand with the wine glass to the opposite Baykov, and said:

"Come, meet my friend, my most loyal Ivan? Petrin? Fyodor? His Excellency Count Baykov. Tell you, my good daughter, who has just become an earl to-day! Don't forget to congratulate him! At the same time, Alexei's face appeared with the usual naughty expression of a young father and daughter together.

"Hello, Mr. Earl, congratulations!" Evdokia was a little shy, but she nodded slightly, sent a brief word of congratulations, and stretched out her right hand with a trumpet white sand glove as she greeted.

"Thank you, Your Royal Highness Princess Yevdokia, it is a great pleasure to meet you! Your beauty and modesty will one day become the pride of all Russia! ”

Baykov hurriedly bent down, put his left hand behind his back along with the wine glass, stretched out his right hand to catch the little princess's white glove, gently raised it to his mouth, and kissed the hand. Compared with this meticulous set of court etiquette, Baykov's "beautiful words" are really flashy. Because, although this young princess can be described as "dignified", she will not be inferior to any royal princess in Europe at the same time, but she is definitely not "beautiful"!

Baykov did not know his self-righteous sycophancy, but a trace of displeasure rose in the hearts of both the young tsar and the young princess.

Evdokia? Alexeivna? Romanov, our little princess, is the second child of the current Tsar Alexei and the eldest daughter born to him and Empress Maria. Six years ago, in her brother Dmitry? Shortly after Alexeivich died at the age of one, she came into the world as a girl, much to the disappointment of her father, Alexei.

But with the birth of a younger sister and a younger brother in the future, her father Alexei gradually discovered, or rather "had to", discover one of the advantages of his eldest daughter, that is, normal intelligence and strong physique!

Yes, the second daughter Marfa is now three years old, because she is too young to see any intellectual problems, but like her sister, she is mediocre in appearance and has an eccentric temper, and there is no possibility of succession to the throne at all.

His second son, the only boy alive, Alexei cherished it and gave him his name "Alexei" to make a name to ensure that he lived a long and healthy life like his father. But this "little Alexei" is now just over a year old, and he has shown all kinds of "visions" - dull, stupid, frail, and has been recognized by many imperial doctors in Moscow as an unfortunate "congenital mentally handicapped child"!

Therefore, compared with normal intelligence, Yevdokia's five short figures, dark complexion, flat face, and other shortcomings in appearance are nothing! There was even a time when Tsar Alexei was seriously thinking about one thing -

Either replace your own ugly-looking and well-built empress, or simply let the first female tsar in the history of Russia appear! But as for the former, as a devout Orthodox Christian, the price must be too high! Patriarch Nikon would probably be the first to jump in disapproval......

His current queen, Maria? Miroslavskaya, as a representative of the "Miroslavsky" family, a large aristocratic family in Russia today, has penetrated into all aspects of Moscow's political arena. Although the marriage of that year was actually a continuation of politics, it has to be said that the young Alexei cherished this capable wife for a while. In other words, he was very grateful to his mentor, the famous scholar Morozov, for his [see chapter 307], even though this teacher of his own also married Maria's sister and became the "brother-in-law" of the young tsar! But Alexei knew that the purpose of the teacher was only to form a solid alliance with the Miroslavsky family in order to consolidate his rule, or rather, the rule of Alexei and Morozov "together"!

After all, I was too young at the time, wasn't I? All the government must rely on their teacher Morozov! Although it has been almost 30 years since Russia got rid of the "era of chaos" when he first ascended the throne, and his father was also exhausted, the new "Romanov dynasty" was still languishing and full of hidden dangers on the whole.

Externally, in the north, there was Sweden, a powerful enemy, which occupied a large area of land north of the Pskov-Novgorod line and on the Baltic coast, and firmly controlled the trade routes to Europe; To the west, there is the feud between Poland and the Kingdom of Lithuania, occupying a series of important towns led by Smolensk, threatening Moscow at all times; To the southwest, there is Ukraine, which is a vassal of Poland, and the Cossack cavalry that comes to the Ukrainian steppes is also a serious threat to Moscow; To the south, the Crimean Khanate, a Turkish vassal state that invaded Russia countless times over the centuries; Only in the southern steppes were the Don Cossacks, who were under the orders of Moscow, but remained independent of Tsarist Russia.

In terms of internal affairs, the government was lax, thieves were rampant, the treasury was empty, and the people were exhausted, although the state was restored during the reign of his father, Mikhail, but the overall situation did not fundamentally improve.

(Chapter to be continued)

"A limerick poem? Hidden Head

Reading literature and reading history is only a long breath

I was saying that there was an opportunity back then

The layout is a long-cherished wish

It's hard to come and go

Get up and spend a hundred years

Point out the suffering and diseases of the world

The edge of the town was razed to the sea

Wen'an Wuding happy teardrops (to be continued......)