Sophia, what were they talking about? Could you understand me? "
Tsar Alexei I was confused and didn't understand what Count Lev Naryshkin and Alexander Stroganov were talking about? So I turned around and asked a "plus-size girl" wearing gorgeous palace clothes next to him.
This girl is not pretty, but she is very "big". She is big everywhere, big in stature, big in head, big in facial features, a little fat, with fat on her face, and she looks very fierce.
This fierce girl's name is Sophia Alexeyevna, the third daughter of Tsar Alexei I and his first wife Maria Miloslavskaya, who was also Alexey I Favorite child. Because in the opinion of Alexei I, Princess Sofia is very smart, smarter than her brothers and sisters (this view is of course wrong, Peter I is the smartest, but Peter is only four months old now, and is nothing like a stupid baby Different, they can’t call each other daddy), they can speak many languages, they are very interested in politics, and they can also write poetry.
So the tsar often took her with him, and sometimes took her with him to receive courtiers and foreign envoys. Sofia had a good memory. If the tsar did not understand what the ministers and envoys said, he could just ask her.
But this time, the clever Princess Sophia was a little confused.
"Father, they speak Rakshasa language..." Princess Sofia frowned, looking very fierce, "It seems that Alexander Stroganov did something that humiliated the country and accepted two Chinese The governor's surrender... But how can accepting the enemy's surrender turn into a loss of power and humiliation of the country? Aren't it the ones who have lost their power and humiliated the country? "
"Yes! Why did the party that accepted the surrender lose its power and humiliate the country?" Tsar Alexei I also nodded. "You two, tell me clearly. What happened?"
"Your Majesty," Alexander Stroganov whispered, "I, the Governor of Irkutsk, Urasov, and I were defeated in Nerchinsk and lost the castle... Of course, the main responsibility is It’s Urasov’s.”
"Are many people dead?" Alexey I quickly asked.
He doesn't care about losing the castle, because the city of Nerchinsk was lost more than once. Anyway, the Chinese have no intention of occupying it for a long time. At worst, they can turn around and grab another side... But if too many people die, it will be troublesome!
It's not that he cares about Rakshasa's life anymore, it's that Rakshasa country doesn't have many people in Siberia and can't afford too many casualties.
"Not many people died...hundreds of people died..."
"Nothing less!" said the Tsar angrily. "What about surrender? Who surrendered?"
"Of course they surrendered! Because... because we were surrounded by Obai and Yue Le in Nerchinsk City, and failed to break through, we had no choice but to accept their surrender and hand over Nerchinsk Castle and most of the weapons. ..."
"Wait, you said it wrong!" Princess Sofia shouted again, "You surrendered to the Chinese!"
"No, no, no," Alexander Stroganov shook his head quickly, almost crying, "They really surrendered..."
"Nonsense! You traitor..." Princess Sofia shouted angrily, "You handed over the castle and weapons, how could they surrender? How can the surrendered party in the world hand over weapons and castles to the surrendering party? ?”
"This, this..." Alexander Stroganov stammered, not knowing how to explain, so he could only glance at Count Lev Naryshkin.
The Count sighed, took out the initialed text of the Treaty of Nerchinsk, and handed it to the Tsar with both hands. The tsar glanced at his daughter, and Sofia very rudely snatched the text of the "Treaty of Nerchinsk" from the count's hand, and then opened it and read it.
Sofia read it quickly. After reading it, her face, which was full of flesh, had changed into an expression that even her double chin was about to fall off.
The Tsar looked at his daughter: "What's wrong? Sophia...what stupid thing did they do?"
Sofia said: "Father, they ceded a large area of land south and east of Lake Baikal to the Siberian Republic...and they, they also accepted the Siberian Republic without permission and became vassals of our Rakshasa Empire, and they also agreed Let you be the chief patriarch and first citizen of the Siberian Republic!"
Alexei I's eyes widened, "What happened? Why, how could there be a Siberian Republic? How did I become the chief senator and first citizen of the Siberian Republic... That is not from the Roman Empire Title? Is that Obai a Roman? "
The Tsar's mind had already imagined "Julius Obey" who was wearing an ancient Roman toga, making an impassioned speech in the Senate...
Stroganov said: "No, he is not a Roman, he is a Manchu, a barbarian from Eastern Siberia and Heilongjiang and Anton in Northeast China."
The Tsar said coldly: "They have established a republic and a senate, how can they be barbarians?"
Yes, they are so "advanced", how can they be barbarians? Now England is a republic, the Netherlands is a republic, Venice is a republic... Are these countries barbaric?
Princess Sofia added: "They also defeated you! If I remember correctly, Nerchinsk City is a bastion, right? Didn't the report from the Yakutsk Governor's Palace say that Nerchinsk City can hold on for at least six months? Really? How many months have you collected it?"
Stroganov whispered: "We only stayed for a few days..."
The Tsar cursed a few times: "Trash!"
Count Lev Naryshkin said: "Your Majesty the Tsar, the Manchus have made rapid progress after being conquered by the Ming Empire, and they are indeed no longer barbarians.
As far as I know, many Manchu nobles who grew up after the Ming and Qing wars received a good education and even studied in universities in the Ming Empire. That’s why they understand the republic and what the chief senator and first citizen are? "
The Tsar frowned: "Then why do they want me to be the first citizen and chief senator? Although it is just a name, there must be some reason for them to do this, right?"
"Your Majesty," Stroganov took over the question, "The contradiction between the Manchus and the Ming Dynasty did not disappear because of the end of the Ming and Qing wars... Obai and Yue Le were the leaders of the Manchus and were persecuted by the Ming Emperor. They were not allowed to launch a rebellion, but they were unable to gain a foothold in Heilongjiang and Anton, so they had to flee to Lake Baikal and Nerchinsk to seek asylum from the Rakshasa Empire. The Yakutsk Governor-General's Palace refused to accept them, which triggered the conflict. .”
Princess Sofia asked Stroganov: "Why don't you accept them? Aren't we always at war with the Ming Empire?"
"Your Royal Highness, the key area for us and the Ming Dynasty is Central Asia, not Eastern Siberia..." The sinner Stroganov tried hard to explain, "And in Eastern Siberia, the initiative obviously lies with China, which has a large population and strong financial resources. If we take in these Manchus, it is likely to trigger a violent and protracted war. The purpose of Obai and Yue Le coming to surrender is probably to bring the war to the Rakshasa Kingdom, so I... "
"Do you think that if you don't do anything, the Ming Emperor will treat you as if you don't exist?" Sofia said loudly: "How stupid!"
The Tsar nodded, seeming to agree with what Princess Sophia said, "The princess is right, since conflicts are inevitable, we should not push Oboi and Yue Le out!"
Lev Naryshkin interjected: "Your Majesty, now we must seriously prepare for war with the Chinese... Our power in Siberia is limited, and perhaps the Republic of Siberia is an object that can be exploited."
The Tsar nodded and seemed to agree with Lev Naryshkin, but did not express his opinion immediately. Because in an all-out war with the Chinese, we still have to be more cautious!
