Bairkov hunched slightly, patiently listening to the lengthy statements of the young man in front of him could only be regarded as a review of the historical knowledge he already had.

"But the double-headed eagle is not static, my friend, do you know? The double-headed eagle of Ivan III's time was completely realistic and unadorned. It was not until 1562 that Ivan IV added a shield to the chest of the double-headed eagle, and in the center was the image of "St. Georgy the Knight Slaying the Dragon" [in Russian, the classic biblical story "St. George the Knight Slaying the Dragon[1]"]. At the same time, the symbol of the cross was added to the crown of the head of the double-headed eagle. Tsar Alexei gestured to himself at the coat of arms on the wall.

Naturally, Baykov knew this, but he had to pretend to be enlightened, even though the speaker kept his back to him, staring persistently at the bronze medal on the wall.

"Fedor, son of Ivan IV. Naturally, Ivanovich will not be idle, my friend. During his reign, the status of Orthodoxy in our country flourished. So, in 1589, he added the cross motif of the Holy Sepulchre of Golgotha[2] between the two heads of the double-headed eagle. In the same year, Russia finally established the clerical status of the Orthodox Patriarch of All Russia, and established a system of church autonomy in our country. This is a big deal, and it has finally been reflected in our national coat of arms, and the Rurik dynasty has finally made the right decision before the heir! ”

"The Romanov dynasty is the Destiny of Heaven." Baykov added a non-salty addition behind his back to prove that he was still listening carefully.

"Hmm. With my father, the wise and great Mikhail. Fedorovich. The Romanovs were elected Tsar by the Council of Lords, and the great Russia finally became strong. It's enough to really look out at the vast expanse of land to the west and east at the same time! In 1625, my father, the king, wisely combined the crown and the cross of the Holy Sepulchre, so that for the first time, the three crowns appeared on the coat of arms. ”

"The first king is really wise! The three crowns represent exactly Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberia in the possession of our great Russia[3]! At this time, the clever Baykov knew that it was time for him to second.

"Not bad! That's what my clever friend intended! Without expansion, there will be no future for the Rus' nation! ”

Finally, attracted by the wisdom of his clever "friend" and his own heart, Alexei turned his gaze away from the coat of arms on the wall, and then turned to stare at Baykov, and continued with a blazing gaze:

"Last year. Ukraine has finally merged with the great Russia! So. I replaced the docile Byzantine eagle with its wings folded for a Roman eagle with wings spread and hung the new coat of arms on the Sbasky Tower! This soaring double-headed eagle will witness my reign from the highest place in all of Russia, and it will surely crisscross Eurasia and be unmatched! "To the extreme. The young tsar was almost shouting.

"God favors my emperor!" Baykov was also majestic and should drink up.

"Not bad. God will not fail Moscow. Moscow will not disappoint God either, my friend. But, that's just the beginning. Under my rule, the coat of arms of the double-headed eagle of Russia will continue to be perfected! Do you know, my friend ......" Alexei even leaned forward slightly, as if to whisper to his "friend", even though he stood up straight, he was still a whole head shorter than Baykov!

Poor Baykov had no choice but to bend down even more obediently, and obediently put his head to the Tsar's mouth, looking deferential. I only heard the young man really whisper:

"Wait and see, in the near future, I will add the royal scepter and the golden ball to the talons of the eagle that is now empty! It was a symbol of the supreme power and royal power of an absolutist monarch! Am I worthy of this change, you say? ”

"Your Majesty, you are absolutely worthy!" Baykov nodded frequently, with a look of convincing.

"Hahahaha-"

Alexei got his wish, almost looking up to the sky and howling. But after a while, he suddenly stopped his laughter, changed his face to a sad face like a trick, and said sadly:

"Although...... Although I am the absolute monarch of all Russia, I do not now enjoy the supreme power that should belong to me! As you can see, the cross on the head of the double-headed eagle is so heavy and massive that it obscures the light of the crown......"

"Your Majesty......"

What is Baykov's natural way Alexei talking about - he is not complaining that the clergy is too strong, and the royal power is too constrained!

"I know you know, my friend. Therefore, after the conquest of Siberia, our double-headed eagle cannot rashly continue to move eastward, and for the time being, it cannot challenge the old empire with a history of thousands of years, because the West is the top priority now, and it happens that when God is testing us, he is very merciful to let the Easterners have no time to look west for the time being! One look at Alexei's expression, you know that he is really thanking God!

"In Europe now, the protracted war has just ended, and only Our Lady knows when the war will be renewed! Europe is our foundation, but Siberia has provided us with great wealth. Without Siberia, we can't trade with China, and without Chinese satin and rhubarb, we can't earn gold from the countries of Europe, how can we strengthen my army? Alexey said hesitantly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, you are incomparably wise!"

As a son of an aristocracy, Baykov, like his "fellow officialdom" in the East, needed to affirm the "correct greatness" of the Russian monarch.

"But while we were exploring and conquering Eastern Siberia, we inevitably clashed with the Chinese. God forbid, so far, it seems that most of the time it has gone well, at least the expeditions have encountered only sporadic villages and herdsmen, and have not yet come into contact with the regular army of the Emperor Bogda. ”

Alexei's words are also absolutely heartfelt. With his current deployment of troops in the Far East and Siberia, it is simply impossible to launch two national wars on both the eastern and western fronts at the same time! In this regard, he was always grateful for God's grace.

"God forbid!" Baykov spoke for the Tsar! Only with God's favor can we have such good luck!

"My friend, but I'm not sure that the Chinese Emperor in Khan Bali really doesn't know anything about it. Perhaps, they were just holding back for the time being, after all, he had only recently conquered the whole of northern China...... "The Tsar's concern and understanding of China was greater than Baykov's prediction."

"Yes—"

"Baykov, listen to me patiently."

The Tsar unexpectedly interrupted the nobleman's response, apparently to give his point in full.

"Yes!"

Baykov had no choice but to listen to him, which saved him the trouble of searching his stomach and trying his best to flatter.

(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 tears of joy

[1] St. George slaying the dragon - The story of St. George killing the dragon has been changed, and the more complete version is that one day, St. George went to Libya [Catalonia, Spain], and a dragon in the local swamp [a crocodile] built a nest next to a water spring, which was the only source of water in the city of Silene, and the citizens sacrificed two sheep to the dragon every day in order to get water. Eventually, when the sheep had eaten up, they had to be replaced by living people, and lots were drawn every day to determine who should be chosen to be sacrificed. One day, the king's daughter was drawn, and the king had no choice but to grief. When the maiden approached and was about to be devoured by the dragon, St. George arrived, raised his spear against the dragon, protected himself from harm with a cross, bound it with a belt, and led him to the city to kill him in public, and rescued the princess. The townspeople were moved by his righteous deeds and renounced paganism and converted to God.

[2] The Holy Sepulchre of Golgotha, also known as the "Church of the Resurrection", is the site of the tomb of Jesus, a Christian holy site, one of the Christian churches in Jerusalem. Located on Mount Golgotha in the Old City of East Jerusalem, Israel. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the place where Jesus Christ was killed, buried, and resurrected. Legend has it that before Jesus was killed, he carried a heavy cross along the "path of the crucifixion" and walked to the execution ground step by step.

[3] Kazan was located in the middle reaches of the Volga River, and Astrakhan was located in the Volga Delta, both of which were incorporated into Russia under Ivan IV and were considered the basis for the expansion of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, along with Siberia. (To be continued......)