Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 951 Khitan
After staying in Beijing for half a month, as the special envoy of the tsar, Boris basically returned without success.

Not only that, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty also threatened Tsarist Russia to withdraw from the scramble for the Qincha grassland, otherwise the trade that lasted for several years would be cut off.

Originally, he went back empty-handed, but who knew that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty gave him a gift directly:
One hundred bolts of Suzhou silk.

Plus 100 taels of gold.

This is almost all of his property.

So he poured beans out of the bamboo tube, and spit out all the details of Tsarist Russia in one go.

At this time, Tsarist Russia was suffering from internal and external troubles.

As the tenth tsar of Russia, the second tsar of the Romanov dynasty was during the reign of Alexei I.

Although Tsarist Russia took over the Ukrainian region at this time and bruised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it still posed a threat without dying.

At the same time, Sweden in the north is watching covetously, dominating the Baltic Sea, suppressing the entire Eastern European region.

In the south, at the instigation of the Ottoman Empire, its vassal the Crimean Khanate has been jumping around and interfering in the situation in Eastern Europe.

At this time, Russia is just showing its edge.

Although Poland was captured, the economy of the entire Tsarist Russia was in disarray and was on the verge of collapse.

The salt and copper riots made the falling economy worse.

The nobles' service petitions are also a product of economic collapse.

The expansion of the land is nothing, the population on the land is the most important thing, and the land cultivated by people is the valuable land.

Due to the severe population flight during this period, the serving nobles demanded that the population be forcibly bound to the land, that is, to give them serfs unlimited hunting rights.

For this purpose, in the 17s-30s of the 50th century, the serving nobles carried out many armed petitions.

The most exaggerated one occurred in 1648, when [-] serving nobles and their servants came near Moscow to petition the Tsar for unlimited hunting rights.

In other words, the nobles asked the tsar to give them the right to capture free people as slaves at will, so as to make up for their losses by allowing their own manor land to be cultivated.

In 1649, the tsarist government held a meeting of the gentry. At this meeting, the tsarist government completely bowed its head to the serving nobles, passed their demands, gave them unlimited hunting rights, and passed an all-Russian code of law intended to protect the nobles. Benefit.

This is the Encyclopedia of Laws.

It granted the feudal lord the power to completely dispose of the peasants on his land, such as judicial power, property, marriage, and even the feudal lord went bankrupt, and the serfs had to help pay off their debts.

Since then, Tsarist Russia has been completely reduced to a serfdom country, and [-]% of the people in the country have been reduced to serfs, and the remaining nobles, priests, and free people only account for [-]% of the population.

Of course, the tsars at this time were able to gain power because they were the biggest nobles.

The most vivid one is the Western Zhou Dynasty, where the Tsar had the most land.

However, Boris just thought, what's the use of having more land?

The tsar monopolized taxation, and the great nobles made their fortunes through the sale of salt and furs.

No matter how much food the ordinary aristocrats had, they could not die of starvation, and they still had to suffer tax exploitation.

Ordinary nobles did not live as well as ordinary merchants in the Hanseatic League.

Silk, Boris was wearing for the first time.

Silky, light and finesse.

It is simply indescribable.

"Boris, when will you be in Moscow?"

Just when he was intoxicated, a sudden cry brought him back to his senses.

"Oh!" Boris turned his head. He was in his thirties, wearing a tight-fitting blue cloth straight-length gown and a square scarf on his head. He looked like a typical bright man.

He has an ordinary face, but his eyes are very sharp. One look shows that he is deeply scheming and has many schemes.

"Going forward is Tyumen, and after another half a month, we will arrive in Moscow."

Boris said enthusiastically.

He couldn't help being enthusiastic.

This person is an envoy sent by the Ming Emperor with a mission on his shoulders. He has received a lot of bribes, so naturally he has to do things with all his heart.

Su Heng nodded, did not speak any more, but rode his horse silently, looking forward.

He did not fully trust the Rakshasa man in front of him.

Since money can buy him, it will naturally betray them because of money.

He didn't have a good impression of these Rakshasa ghosts.

If the emperor hadn't insisted on sending him there, as a thousand households of Jin Yiwei, he would absolutely refuse to do so.

But there was no way, his arms couldn't twist his thighs, so he could only be forced to give in.

Fortunately, the emperor told him that as long as an embassy, ​​a caravan, and an intelligence network were established, it would take him three to five years at most, and he would be able to return to Beijing and increase his official rank.

"Looks like the Raksha people are the capital of a Tartar-like country again!"

He looked ahead, even though Tyumen City was in front of him not long ago, but all he could see was the grassland, where a large number of cattle and sheep came and went, and the grass covered the hooves of the horses.

Needless to say, this is a good nomadic pasture.

What kind of country is there without farmland?
Running all the way, in autumn, Su Heng reckoned that they would arrive at the capital of Rakshasa——Moscow when the Ghost Festival was approaching.

The narrow streets, the towering churches, the dirty ground, and the feces everywhere made Su Heng feel like he was about to lose his nose.

For this, Boris was quite apologetic.

"Moscow has been a country for less than 200 years, but it makes you laugh."

"However, later we will go to the Kremlin outside the city and have a direct audience with His Majesty the Tsar—"

Soon, Su Heng came outside the city, and saw the unique Tsarist style formed by the fusion of Eastern Rome and the Golden Horde.

There is no lack of delicacy in roughness, and elegance in grandeur.

Like the emperors and kings around the world at this time, the Kremlin is a city that belongs exclusively to the monarch.

A large number of court ladies, eunuchs, and nobles served the tsar, and they lived here day and night, working tirelessly for power.

Vast gardens, serious troops, numb eunuchs, and noble ladies who show half of their breasts from time to time.

Boris introduced: "Don't underestimate them. Their husbands are high-ranking and powerful, and they themselves may be the mistresses of the Tsar."

"Every word and deed can influence the government and reap a lot of benefits."

"En? You mean, they have their own husbands?" Su Heng's numb face couldn't help it anymore.

Good guy, seduce married women directly, does this tsar have any morals at all?

"This is normal." Boris explained: "If you are an unmarried virgin, you should try your best to avoid coming to the court, otherwise it will be bad for spreading rumors and affecting the family's reputation."

"Of course, it is also possible that the value will double and be pursued by some nobles."

"kindness?"

These words made Su Heng completely dumbfounded.

He felt like he didn't understand at all.

Boris chuckled and said: "In the entire European court, becoming the mistress of the monarch is not only a bed partner, but also an important assistant in the government."

"Every action has a huge impact."

"That's why those nobles are keen to send their wives to the bed of His Majesty the Tsar to gain power."

"And it's not useful for His Majesty the Tsar to appoint or dismiss anyone?"

Su Heng was greatly shocked, he was too lewd and unruly.

Boris shook his head, but said nothing.

In his opinion, the rules of the Ming Dynasty were even stricter than the entire Catholic Church, and they were too unkind.

"My envoy, if you are favored by a certain lady, you don't need to take their husbands into consideration. This is a normal interaction."

"Even many noble ladies are still competing who has more ministers under their skirts!"

"Your oriental face is also rare in the whole of Russia, and it is easy to get the desire of some ladies."

"Forget it..." Su Heng hurriedly shook his head.

Soon, he was received by Tsar Alexei I.

The tsar, who has ruled Tsarist Russia for nearly 20 years, has an oval face, a thick beard covering his chin, and round shoulders highlighting his fatness.

Without exception, the nobles on the list all wear robes and beards, which is a symbol of Russia.

Later, when Peter the Great reformed, the first thing he did was to cut off the beards of himself and the nobles.

Of course, in Su Heng's view, although such a beard looks majestic, it has no sense of beauty, and it just makes the czar look more like a warrior.

After the polite reception, Su Heng left the main hall.

"Your Majesty, your envoy has returned from Khitan—"

"How is it, Boris?" Before Alexei I could speak, Morozov, the auxiliary minister beside him, asked loudly:

"Has the Khitan Emperor agreed to our request?"

"No, Your Excellency the Minister." Boris bent down tremblingly, maintaining due respect for the teacher of the tsar and now the host of the meeting of nobles and gentry.

Although Alexei I established government departments such as the Secret Yamen, the Grain Yamen, and the Mercenary Cavalry Yamen, and established the Tax Department Statistics Bureau, the actual power is still a joint meeting attended by lords, nobles, senior monks, and senior government officials. , That is, the meeting of the gentry and the gentry.

This is also the predecessor of the Russian Duma.

Like the three-level conference in France, the British Parliament.

The term democracy is now synonymous with limiting royal power and belongs to elite democracy.

The Senate, which is similar to the cabinet, was also established decades later during the period of Peter the Great, following the example of the Ottoman Empire.

"The Emperor Khitan was not satisfied with the equal share, because of those Spanish merchants, they knew the situation of the empire, so they said:
Including Kazakhstan, Bukhara Khanate and other Kipchak grasslands will be its sphere of influence. "

"The rest of the territory will belong to Russia."

"That is to say, the scope remains the same now?"

At this time, Alexei I squinted his eyes and said directly: "It seems that the national power of Khitan is very strong!"

"Earl Boris, is Khitan really as powerful as rumored?"

Facing the Tsar's direct gaze, Boris had to grit his teeth and said in detail:

"I dare not hide it, Your Majesty."

"This trip to Khitan, from the westernmost province of Anxi to the capital, took more than two months, more than two thousand versts (one verst is about one kilometer)."

"Beijing, the capital of the Khitan Kingdom, is home to about a million citizens..."

"As for such big cities, there are three or four in Khitan."

"A big city like Moscow with a population of 10 can be found everywhere in Khitan, with more than [-] cities..."

At this time, the nobles talked a lot, some believed it and some thought it was a lie.

You know, even in the most prosperous Paris today, there are only 10,000+ people.

At this time, the population of Russia is only about ten million. How could there be so many people in Khitan?
The scrutinizing eyes of the nobles kept wandering around Su Heng and Boris.

"Honorable Majesty, the Khitan Kingdom will go to the whole country to conduct population statistics every few years. Last year, the total population exceeded 9000 million."

"It won't be long before it will exceed [-] million. The combined population of the whole of Europe is not as large as that of Khitan."

These words aroused another burst of noise from the nobles, and there were endless gasps of exclamation.

"Quiet—" Chief Minister Morozov said to Alexei I:

"Your Majesty, according to the news from the Hanseatic League, Khitan is indeed a country with a large population, and it is normal for it to exceed [-] million..."

"En!" Alexei I said with emotion: "I have never imagined that a country has such a large population? How should it be governed?"

As he said that, he actually asked Boris: "How many serfs does the Khitan Emperor own?"

"With such a large population, there must be at least tens of millions of serfs, right?"

This is not surprising, at this time the Eastern European, Western European countries, the Ottoman Empire.

Or the Golden Horde, or the Kazakh Khanate, or the Mobei Mongolia and Moxi Mongolia that are in contact, still follow the traditional serfdom.

Even the Qing Dynasty, which is entrenched in Lake Baikal, is no exception.

Naturally, the same is true of the Ming Dynasty in the Russian imagination.

Boris said embarrassingly, "Your Majesty, most of the Khitan people are free people."

"However, Khitan is just like Marco Polo's description, it is a kingdom of gold."

"Its fiscal revenue has reached a terrifying 500 million rubles, and its standing troops have reached [-] million..."

Hearing such an exaggerated number, the nobles were once again shocked, which completely overturned their imagination.

But when I think about it carefully, I feel very reasonable.

With 500 million people, it is normal to pull up [-] million troops.

At the same time, half a ruble of tax per person can reach [-] million.

At this time, Russia's treasury revenue was only 200 million rubles, which was less than a fraction of it.

The Tsar fell into deep thought, and Morozov said: "Russia doesn't care about inspecting the steppe now, but it can't give up. If there is a chance, let the Cossack cavalry help!"

"We must not allow the Khitan to easily obtain the Qincha grassland and devour the largest piece of meat in the Golden Horde."

"This envoy sent by Khitan, he will bear the will of the two countries to develop trade, and he also brought the appointment of establishing an embassy."

Boris said in a deep voice.

"In other words, the Khitan people are really coming?"

Alexei I said with emotion: "It is an honor for so many countries in Europe to use me as the first embassy in Khitan established in Russia."

"But what I'm most concerned about is the income from trade."

At this time, in order to fill the financial black hole of the military conquest of Ukraine, the Tsar felt that he was dying, just like Russia in the later generations for more than 300 years.

(End of this chapter)