Daming Yinghua

Chapter 427 The Russian Envoy (Part )

In the tenth month of winter on the lunar calendar, the Chifeng in later generations and the Chahar grasslands in this world were covered with snow.

Mangui replaced Zheng Haizhu and his party with purebred Mongolian horses. Although the horses were short, they were cold-resistant and hardy and well adapted to traveling in winter. At noon on the third day, Zheng Haizhu and He Zhuo arrived on the east bank of the Xibe River.

Looking out from the horse, the felt tents on the other side of the river stretch for two or three miles, and the white gas of burning firewood rises. People and horses chase and play in groups on the snowfield from time to time. There are also herdsmen gathering sporadically on the river, as if they are breaking the ice to fish.

The accompanying herdsman guide told Zheng Haizhu that this river, also called Shibei River by the Mongols, meanders for three hundred miles, merges into the Laohamulun River, and finally flows into the Liaohe River.

Zheng Haizhu then said to He Zhuo: "Your aunt has chosen a good place. It is more than two hundred miles away from the northernmost military fort in Daning Town. It is not far away. The light cavalry arrived in one night. And it is in your aunt's Orduozhi Downstairs, next to Karaqin."

He Zhuo looked at the scene in front of him that showed no sign of the bleak winter, and felt a little hesitant in his heart.

In the past two years, she has kept in touch with her aunt, Lin Dan Khan's great blessing Jin Sutai.

The aunt and nephew jointly expressed their desire to work for gold and avenge Ye He's tribe, and they have never faded away.

The prerequisite for having the right to speak in your husband's family is to use your own ability to expand the family business.

Therefore, Sutai, who is gentle on the outside but shrewd on the inside, is not at all content with pleasure like other concubines of Lin Dan Khan. Instead, she devotes her efforts to managing her own Orduo, selecting strong warriors from them, and dedicating them to Lin Dan Khan as his wife. Members of the Guard not only received Lin Dan Khan's double favor, but also received more pasture.

This time, Chahar, as the host, welcomed the envoys of the Ming Dynasty and the Rakshasa Kingdom to discuss the opening of mutual markets. Su Tai gave a few words of advice, and Lin Danhan left the matter to his capable concubine. Lead.

After Russia's Duke Alexei and his party arrived in Chahar, Sutai placed them in camp five miles north of the town on the Xibe River, and ordered his deacons to guard the riverside, waiting for the Ming Dynasty envoy coming from the south.

Today, when the deacons saw the Ming Dynasty's red flag on the edge of their teeth, they immediately crossed the river to greet them.

Zheng Haizhu looked through the telescope and did not see the groups of fur carts or the Cossack cavalry that should be different from the Mongolians in clothing and equipment. At this time, he learned the whole story from the deacon. He couldn't help but secretly praise that Su Taifujin was very good at dealing with big countries. With his talent for politics and diplomacy, he knew how to act as the middle party and separate the two countries first to find out more about Ming, who was close to him.

When they entered the king's tent, Su Tai held hands with He Zhuo, who had reunited after a long absence, and cried for a while. After calming down, he asked Zheng Haizhu directly about the terms of the Ming Dynasty's negotiations with Tsarist Russia.

Before Zheng Haizhu left the capital, he went to Zhu Changluo to discuss this issue. The first assistant, Ye Xianggao, and the Minister of Household Affairs, Bi Ziyan, also listened.

In addition to paying taxes according to tax rates, several more important red lines are: Russian caravans and soldiers are not allowed to enter the restricted areas designated by Ming Dynasty or Lin Danhan, let alone try to enter the Ming Dynasty southward; Russian caravans are not allowed to accommodate criminals from Ming Dynasty and deserters.

After Zheng Haizhu explained these points to Su Tai that both the emperor and the cabinet ministers agreed on, Su Tai also looked solemn and said: "Mrs. Zheng, in fact, we in Chahar are more worried about these Rakshasa people than you are in the Ming Dynasty. After all, if the town of mutual trade is placed in our Chahar, although our Chahar department can get a share of tax money, we can also easily sell horses and wool in exchange for tea cloth from your Ming country and furs from your Rakshasa country. , but if the Rakshasa people, after getting familiar with the terrain, lead their troops to directly invade our tribe..."

"Fu Jin, I've thought about this. First, the Rakshasa Kingdom is still very poor. It needs to sell goods from the east to other countries in Europe to accumulate wealth and support its people and soldiers. Therefore, our Ming Dynasty and your Chahar, it is best to In addition, other Mongolian tribes who are willing to submit to Lin Dan Khan must show their alliance in front of the Rakshasa people. They will not dare to touch you. Otherwise, they will offend our Ming Dynasty and lose precious opportunities for mutual trade. Secondly, The message brought by our Ming Dynasty missionaries is that the nobles of the Rakshasa Kingdom are looking for an outlet to the sea. Mongolia does not have an outlet to the sea, so there is no need to worry too much at the moment. "

"What is the outlet to the sea?" Su Taifujin asked.

"It's just that... Fujin knows about the vast ocean, right?"

"Well, I know that. When I was a child, the gentleman my family invited taught me the Classic of Mountains and Seas of your Ming Dynasty."

"Yes, the real world is similar to what is described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It's just that in this country overseas, the people living there are not gods and monsters, but living people like us. The entrance to the sea can even park large cargo ships. Countries with docks and outlets to the sea have smoother trade routes and more money, such as our Ming Dynasty. However, some small countries do not have strong navies, so it is better not to have access to the sea. Otherwise, they will definitely become those who do not. The big countries at the mouth of the sea want to eat the fat.”

"Fat meat...out to the sea..." Su Taifujin murmured, showing a thoughtful expression.

Zheng Haizhu continued to induce her: "The missionaries in the West said that the emperor of the Rakshasa Kingdom was ready to go west to rob the sea ports of several small countries. But going east, they would not have the military power to rob our Ming Dynasty. Lushun, Yantai...the small country with an outlet to the east is North Korea, right? They also regard us as their suzerain country, and we will not sit back and watch the Rakshasa Kingdom attack them."

"Mrs. Zheng, the Ministry of Construction also has the outlet to the sea you mentioned." Su Tai said.

Zheng Haizhu was startled.

A hint of cunning flashed across the corner of Su Tai's lips: "Have you forgotten, madam, that the original Dongning capital of your Ming Dynasty was directly connected to the sea, and it is now occupied by Nurhaci. You said, if I tell the Rakshasa envoy, from outside Going all the way east from Khalkha, there is an outlet to the sea. Will they soon be able to face the old chief's Eight Banners Army of the Great Jin Kingdom? " Zheng Haizhu glanced at He Zhuo, whose eyes were also bright, and Wan Er said: "You will know after you try it."

He added: "Moreover, Fujin might as well tell them that the so-called 'Great Jin Kingdom' actually has no gold and even lacks food. The Rakshasa envoys can bring some food first and knock on their doors. Fujin said this, Rakshasa people must believe it.”

The next day, Duke Alexei and his party were allowed to come to the royal tent in the small town of Sibe River.

The Russian nobles were not surprised when the Mongols and Ming Dynasty negotiated with women.

In Russia, female grand duchess are not only not rare, but there are quite a few who are more ruthless than men, and some even kill their husbands or brothers to come to power.

After Prince Alexei saluted the ladies, he asked the Mongolian translator to introduce the members of the mission.

Accompanying them, in addition to several secretaries and civil servants from the Moscow tsarist regime, were no less than twenty caravans, bringing a large amount of furs, antlers, and dry bread as hard as stone.

There are many kinds of animal skins in Siberia, but Zheng Haizhu pays more attention to the dry bread.

Unlike the fluffy Russian loba that became famous later in life, this bread looks like it can be stored for a long time.

The process of visiting the goods before the formal meeting was relatively relaxed. Zheng Haizhu asked Duke Alexey, who had a somewhat Mongolian appearance, with great interest: "If I exchange a brick of black tea for your big bag of dried tea, Bread, okay?”

Duke Alexey has been taken care of by the Mongolians in the past few days. After eating meat, he drinks black tea with milk. He has a surprising understanding of this oriental product that is more mellow and relieves greasiness than green tea.

He concealed his arrogance as a nobleman and replied with a smile: "Madam, I can give you two big bags of bread."

Zheng Haizhu gave the Russian a thumbs up politely, and he had a rough idea.

It seems that there is no shortage of wheat in the Tsarist Russian regime in Moscow at this time. I wonder if it has something to do with the friendly Ukrainians.

After all, Ukraine has been known as the “Bread Basket of Europe” since ancient times.

No wonder, decades later, the Qing dynasty, which adopted seclusion as its national policy, found the only open Sino-Russian port in the north, "Chakhta", where Russian goods included bread.

In this case, Daning Military Town can have another channel for food imports.

Thinking of the army, Zheng Haizhu raised his eyes again and looked at the Russian knights who were blocked by the Mongolian guards.

Some of them did carry slender matchlocks, but they were dressed in uniform uniforms and looked like the Grand Duke's own bodyguards.

"Mr. Duke, where are the Cossack servants who led you to Mongolia?" Zheng Haizhu asked.

"Oh, hehe, I gave them a holiday and they went hunting by the river."

The Mongolian translator had to translate Russian into Mongolian, and then He Zhuo translated into Chinese, so Su Tai Dafu Jinhui understood it before Zheng Haizhu.

General Su Tai's face sank: "This is our Chahar land. How can your servants or soldiers break in!"

Out of a sober assessment of his own international status, Duke Alexey had to endure the anger of being offended by a man's dignity and apologized to the woman who asked: "Dear Madam, please forgive those barbaric Cossacks, yes, even We Muscovites also call them barbarians. They just go to the east of this beautiful river to run horses and shoot a few rabbits..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw a Mongolian guard running over in a hurry.

The sergeant following behind was wearing Ming army cotton armor.