From the day the "Cossack Emirate" created by Zhao Xin came into being three years ago, Catherine II hated Zhao Xin. Therefore, when she prayed to the statue of the Virgin every morning and evening, she would always curse.
The war lasted for nearly four years. Nearly 100,000 Tsarist Russian officers and soldiers were killed and half of the country was lost. More than 20,000 captured officers and soldiers were serving hard labor in desolate Siberia.
The source of goods for the fur trade was gone, and the trade of tea and rhubarb between the East and the West was interrupted, so they had to rely on smuggling. The domestic finances were tight, the ruble banknotes were devalued, and the serfs in the Ural Mountains were rushing to escape. The situation in the Tsarist Empire today is terrible.
However, as the supreme empress who rules the Tsarist Empire, the sixty-year-old woman does not yell at her ministers every day or jump around like a shrew and curse in the street. Instead, she bites her teeth and swallows it, trying to calm the turbulent situation.
As an opponent she had never met before, in order to study her enemy, Catherine II asked the palace painter to draw a bust of Zhao Xin according to Suvorov's description and put it in her study. It was fine. He would read it carefully when he met, and would even take out Suvorov's memories of the only meeting between himself and Zhao Xin and read it over and over again, trying to explore the opponent's character and inner world.
The reason why she spent so much time studying her opponent in the East was that, in addition to the fact that the opponent was a sworn enemy, there was also the incident that happened in Paris two years ago that shocked the whole of Europe. Louis XVI's sister, son and daughter He was kidnapped from the Temple Tower Prison and his whereabouts are still unknown. Coincidentally, the Beihai Town delegation was in Paris at that time.
Zhao Xin thought he had done it without anyone noticing. Even though all his luggage was checked by the French on the return trip, nothing was found. But the Russian side believes that the Chinese did this!
When all impossibilities are eliminated, whatever remains, no matter how unreasonable, is the truth.
But why did Zhao Xin send people all the way to Europe to rescue Louis XVI and his family? There seems to be no other explanation other than to interfere in European affairs. This speculation made European countries nervous for a long time, especially Catherine II. Because she knew very well that the fastest way from Beihai Town to Europe was by land.
At the beginning, Zhao Xin told the envoy from Tsarist Russia that he would fight to Kazan.
So while she was busy carving up Poland with Prussia and Austria, she transferred most of her domestic troops to the front line of the Ural Mountains. At the same time, she sent envoys to try to find out Beihai Town's intentions through negotiation after negotiation.
Last year, the Imperial Military Commission of Tsarist Russia submitted a detailed report to Catherine II regarding the two wars that took place in Beihai Town. Not to mention whether the data about the Beihai Navy in the report were collected or imagined, the final conclusion is that unless more than 500,000 troops are invested at once, it will be difficult to defeat Beihai Town.
Five hundred thousand, that’s the entire country’s effort. Today, the total number of troops in Tsarist Russia is this number. After reading the report, Catherine II felt heartbroken. This battle could not be fought.
Now in 1794, the 33rd year of Catherine II's reign, the queen knew that she would have no hope of regaining Siberia. As for a successor, her good-for-nothing son definitely can't be counted on.
In three years, the internal and external sufferings from military and political affairs greatly changed her appearance. Although she still exudes vitality in public, the dentures in her mouth make outsiders mistakenly think that her teeth are still intact; she still maintains the nobility and elegance of a king in her movements, holding her head high in front of the public, and chatting with friends, ministers and servants. Nod with a kind smile. But her increasingly bloated body, completely white hair, and blue eyes that were no longer bright and clear all told those around her that the Queen was old.
Some people say that it was Potemkin's sudden death that deeply affected the Queen; however, those who are familiar with the inside story all know that the Queen will become like this. In addition to Zhao Xin who is far away in the east, there are also those who were supported by him. "Cossack Emirate", especially the fake "Pugachev's son".
In fact, in the history of the Romanov dynasty, it was not uncommon for big liars to act like real people. The turbulent history of the Russian Empire was often intertwined with fake "tsars", and the people were very happy to accept these fake princes because they were oppressed.
For example, in 1605, an adult man claimed to be Dimitri, the son of "Ivan the Terrible". In fact, Dimitri died before he reached adulthood, but he still successfully completed the rebellion. He even occupied the throne of Tsar for a year.
After Peter the Great died in 1725, as the successor to the Romanov dynasty was always wavering, impostors who falsely claimed to be Peter II or Ivan VI emerged one after another in Tsarist Russia. There were also some such scammers in the first ten years of Catherine II's reign, but they were all arrested before they had any major impact.
Don’t be afraid of counterfeit goods. What you are most afraid of are counterfeit goods backed by powerful external forces.
In the eyes of the old lady, the Krutogorov who was pushed to power by Zhao Xin was far more dangerous than Pugachev back then. That's right! Although the fake Grand Fair would try his best to disguise his face when he appeared in public, he was still recognized by his fellow villagers and the information was sold to the spy for fifty gold rubles.
You must know that Pugachev more than 20 years ago was just an illiterate gangster who was greedy for pleasure, but the Cossack Emirate had a clear program and laws. Wherever they went, they liberated serfs and distributed land to them. They also publicly executed Cossacks who participated in burning, killing and looting to stabilize the people of the occupied areas.
To do all this, there must be an iron-fisted ruler who is well versed in politics, otherwise the Cossacks who are used to being free and loose will not become so disciplined. Catherine II did not believe that a once illiterate Cossack had such great charm. There must be someone behind the scenes. Combining the letters sent back by the missionaries stationed in Beijing, she was convinced that the only one who could make the Cossacks obey their orders was the cold-blooded pagan, the oriental man whom the Cossacks called the "Ataman with the Most Honor", Zhao Xin.
If Zhao Xin knew that Catherine II "praised" him so much, he would definitely blow a kiss to express his "deep gratitude."
On August 27, 1795, at 6 o'clock in the morning, the Queen got up from the bed wrapped in a silk nightgown. When she moved, the three puppies who were sleeping on the pink satin lounge chairs next to the bed also woke up. The old lady likes these three dogs very much and never relies on others in their food and daily life. So she shuffled slowly to the door leading to the garden, opened it and let the puppies out to run.
After several maids help her change her clothes, the old lady will drink four or five cups of clear coffee and then start dealing with official or private letters. Now her eyesight is so dazzled that she has to wear glasses when reading, and sometimes even needs a magnifying glass.
At nine o'clock, the Queen put down the pen in her hand as usual, and then shook a small bell on the table. The long morning began, and the civil servants, military generals and government officials who had been waiting for a long time began to meet one by one.
When meeting with two scientists from the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Queen took off her glasses, rubbed her eyebrows and said, "Gentlemen, how is your research on the communication methods and machines used by the Chinese?"
"I was about to report to you, my lord. Well, I'm sorry, but we still have no clue. Unless, unless I can see it with my own eyes."
Since Catherine II came to the throne, she has been plagued by problems such as blocked government orders, poor communication with the bottom, and the inability to get timely feedback. This is also the biggest headache for every powerful monarch.
However, according to the reports of spies sent by the Russian army to conduct reconnaissance in Siberia, Beihai Town's decree can be quickly conveyed to every region. The most obvious example is that in recent years, the proclamations signed by Zhao Xin have appeared on the same day in more than a dozen towns including Irkutsk, Yeniseisk, and Tulum. If it is deliberately arranged, it is not impossible, but it requires a lot of preparation in advance. It's okay once or twice, but it's incredible if it happens dozens or hundreds of times.
The hard work paid off. After a two-year investigation and the loss of several spies, the Queen finally learned that Beihai Town has an extremely mysterious and special communication method. It is an instrument through which people can communicate with each other even if they are thousands of years apart. In this way, the instructions can also arrive on the same day, word for word.
terrible! If the Easterners have it, the Empire must also have it!
So she summoned scholars from the Royal Academy of Sciences and asked them to conduct research. However, two years later, the scholars had no clue other than guessing that the instrument might be related to electricity.
In fact, it is not easy for these scientists to deduce the "use of electricity". You must know that electricity throughout the eighteenth century was still in its infancy, and the main research direction was electric charge. The most famous example is the story of Franklin seeking death in a thunderstorm.
The most advanced communication system in Europe at this time was the "Chapu Telegraph System" invented by the French. It was actually a signal transmission system visible to the naked eye, transmitting coded visual signals through signal towers 5 to 15 kilometers apart. Sounds amazing, right? To put it bluntly, it is a beacon tower that does not need to be lit, but the amount of information transmitted is much greater than that of a beacon tower. The historical Chapu system was later introduced into the navy and was used by the British until the late nineteenth century.
At 12:30 noon, the last person the Queen saw was Alexander Suvorov who had just returned from Poland. Since Potemkin's death, Suvorov, who had fought against the Northern Navy, became her most trusted general.
When Suvorov walked into the room, he immediately saw the portrait of Zhao Xin placed on the easel on the right side of the queen. He was arrogant, cold, and, in the words of the old lady, a bit handsome and cute. He quickly adjusted his gaze, bowed three times to the statue of Our Lady of Kazan hanging on the wall, then knelt down in front of the empress, leaned down and tried to kiss her hand.
"For God's sake, don't you feel ashamed?" Catherine II was always dumbfounded by the other party's pilgrimage-like behavior.
Suvorov calmly returned to sit across the table and said sincerely: "Little mother, please allow me to go to the Eastern Front."
"Do you really want to go back to Siberia?"
"No one knows them better than me." Suvorov's eyes were firm.
According to the intelligence recently received by the Russian Military Commission and the information sent back by the missionary mission in the Qing Empire, most of the forces of the Northern Navy are currently concentrated in Central Asia and the eastern part of the Qing Empire. A unification will affect the entire Qing Empire. The war is about to break out. Currently, the total strength of the Northern Navy in Siberia is only more than 7,000, and they are scattered everywhere.
In the view of Catherine II, this was an opportunity. She planned to mobilize forces to deal with the Cossack Emirate in Western Siberia and push the front back to the Ob River line to gain more bargaining chips at the negotiation table.
Since three months ago, the Military Commission has secretly mobilized the "Ekaterina Group Army" and the "Ukrainian Group Army" to assemble in Tobolsk. Currently, there are 55,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and 217 artillery gathered there. The huge force inside.
"Okay, you've begged me several times. If you don't agree, I'll be too unkind." After thinking for a while, the queen finally spoke.
"Thank you! Little mother." Suvorov was overjoyed and stood up excitedly, trying to go around the table and kiss the other person's hand.
"Don't come here!" The Queen's wrinkled face showed an expression of pretended boredom, and then she took a blank piece of paper and wrote down the order.
After seeing off Suvorov, Catherine II left the office, returned to the dressing room, and changed into a gray silk dress reserved for lunch. There were a dozen people having lunch with her today, all of whom were her personal friends, nobles, senior officials, and some of her favorite ambassadors to Russia.
For some reason, she had no enthusiasm for today's food and no appetite at all. She put down her utensils after taking two sips of soup. She refused to eat, and no one here dared to continue eating, so lunch ended early. After the Queen left, the guests all ran to the rooms of the courtiers who lived in the palace and continued to enjoy their lunch.
Afternoon is reading time, and the old lady doesn't have the habit of taking a nap. She either reads by herself or asks the courtier to read a few passages to her while she is working as a heroine. When she is tired, she goes for a walk in the garden and has some afternoon tea when she comes back.
But something sad happened during my walk today. Since the gardens of Tsarskoye Selo are open to all well-dressed people, when Catherine II and the noble lady were tired from walking and resting on a bench, a passing man glanced at the two elderly women. Not recognizing that one of them was the Queen, she whistled and walked away. The female officer was very angry about this, but Catherine II said calmly: "This kind of thing would never have happened twenty years ago, but now that we are all old, we can only blame ourselves."
The female officer was a little stunned. This was the first time she heard such words from the other party, so she quickly said: "Little mother, you are not old."
The old lady shook her head after hearing this and looked at the sunset in the distance with an expressionless face. For some reason, the female officer felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Because today is Thursday, there will be a small party at the Hermitage Palace in Tsarskoe Selo that evening as usual. This is not a dance, just a gathering of close friends to listen to music, watch a play, or play whist.
The old lady was in high spirits, and a guy dressed as a clown made her laugh. However, she left before nine o'clock, telling everyone that she had laughed too much and needed to go back to rest.
The next day, August 28, Catherine II got up on time at 6 a.m. and drank two cups of clear coffee. At 9 o'clock, she told the waiter Tiurnin that she wanted to be alone for a while, and then went to the dressing room. According to normal habits, she would come out after staying in that room for 10 minutes at most, but today she didn't come out after half an hour.
The head attendant Zotov felt something was wrong, so he went over and knocked on the door, and then entered the dressing room. There's no one inside! After being stunned for a while, he finally thought of going to the bathroom next door to take a look. However, when he knocked on the door and tried to push it open, he found that the door was stuck from the inside. He could only push it open a crack and couldn't see anything. Less than.
Zotov called a maid, and they worked together to push the door open, but they were immediately frightened. The 65-year-old empress fell to the ground unconscious, her body pressed against the door, her face turned purple, her eyes closed, and there was a squeaky sound in her throat.
"Go and call someone quickly! Let Qiurnin go find Dr. Rosen!" Zotov said to the maid, then gently held up the old lady's head, and then heard her moan lowly.
Not long after, two personal attendants and maids came. They were sweating profusely after lifting and tugging, and finally moved Catherine II to the bedroom. Originally, Zotov wanted to lift the queen to the bed, but the old lady was so dead that he could only put a mattress on the floor and move her up.
Not long after, the court doctor from England arrived. He listened to Zotov's hurried narration and examined him. However, the situation was not optimistic. The old lady's head first hit the bathroom table, and then hit the ground.
By the way, if a person who had been trained as a "country doctor" in Beihai Town was present, it would be easy to infer from the other person's wet rales and inability to speak that Catherine II had a stroke. Bezoar. By the way, it’s not available yet.
Then have a bowl of phlegm-clearing soup, use ginger-made Nanxing and washed pinellia for two and a half qian each, bran-fried tangerine root for two qian, peeled poria for 2 qian, orange and red for 1 and a half qian, calamus and ginseng for 1 qian each, bamboo root for 1 qian. Seven points, half a penny of licorice, and then use five slices of ginger as a medicine guide. Fry each other repeatedly over civil and military fire. Boil two bowls of water into one bowl and drink it down. OK!
The question is, what is the current situation of European medicine? A barber who can't bleed is not a good doctor!
Rumyantsev was played to death. Can Catherine II escape? What Washington experienced before his death a few years later was ten thousand times worse.
So the blood vessels in the old lady's arm were opened, and then the British doctor took out a medicine called "Spanish Fly" from the medicine box and gave her a dose. Don't be surprised by the name of the medicine, because there really is Spanish fly in the formula.
YUE~~~
Historically, the European telegraph system has gone through four stages of development from the late eighteenth century to the nineteenth century, namely the "optical signal telegraph system" invented by Frenchman Chap during the French Revolution, and the "optical signal telegraph system" invented by Russian Pavel Silin in 1828. The "six-pin telegraph system", the "five-pin and five-wire system" invented by the British Cook and Wheatstone in 1837, and the single-wire system invented by the Americans Morse and Ware - later known as the "Morse Code" system".
(End of chapter)
