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Chapter 808 It’s rude to come and not return.

"Tomsk... should be nearby. It seems that the Russians have already reached the Ob River Basin. There are wolves in front and tigers behind. Time is running out!"

Hong Tao did not let down the Tumed guide's kindness. He rewarded him with a fine steel sword on the spot and asked him to serve as an interpreter during the formal talks.

After the guide left the Palace of Tranquil Longevity with profuse thanks, his face, which had been full of a kind smile, immediately turned gloomy. He walked to the wall, opened the curtain, and stared at the large map for a long time.

Finally, he stuck a silver needle in the north of the Altai Mountains, and then used it as a reference to draw a winding line starting from the Altai Mountains and going all the way to the top of the map.

It is not clear how the Ob River flows, nor is it clear where Tomsk is located. According to the description of the Tumed guide, only the general direction of the river and the approximate scope of the city can be marked.

However, this is enough to arouse high vigilance. The Altai Mountains are the northernmost end of the Western Regions, and the Ob River originates in the Altai Mountains. This means that the eastward expansion of the Russian Empire has reached the top of the Western Regions and is almost bordering Mongolia in the northern desert.

In comparison, they had not even dealt with the Jurchens in Liaodong, and had the Mongols south of the desert blocking them in the north, so they were clearly at a disadvantage if they wanted to get their hands on the Siberian region.

Hong Tao wants to occupy Siberia? Yes, in his eyes, Siberia's influence on the future of Ming Dynasty is far greater than that of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Although these two regions are sparsely populated, have a harsh climate, and are useless in that they have nothing to offer, their significance is different from a strategic perspective.

First of all, it was an economic account. If Siberia was allowed to be occupied by Tsarist Russia, the Ming Dynasty would have to retain and strengthen the long northern defense line. Facing a great empire that was equally keen on land, the military expenditure alone would be quite high every year.

On the other hand, in the southwest, it is impossible for a great empire to emerge there in a short period of time. Even if there is chaos, it is limited and not fatal. As long as there is enough naval power and its channels of communication with the outside world are cut off, it will be a dead end. You can draw a circle and play house, but there is no way to develop it!

The navy is the branch of the military that the Ming Empire is going to vigorously develop in the future. Whether there is a southwest region or not, the establishment must be expanded. It is a side job and there is no waste at all.

As for the various natural resources in Siberia that were discovered in later generations... let's not consider them for now. They are too far away and too difficult to mine.

Then there is the geopolitical account. If the Ming Empire wants to develop westward, it will inevitably conflict with Tsarist Russia, which is extremely difficult to avoid. In other words, the Ming Empire and Tsarist Russia will sooner or later become mortal enemies, so they can't let their mortal enemies squat on their heads and go south whenever they want.

As for the southwest direction, it doesn't matter. Even if the local chieftains and tribal leaders kneel down and beg, Hong Tao will not send troops to occupy it completely. It's all tropical rainforest ravines. After occupying it, it's useless except for feeding mosquitoes.

The Ming Navy only needed to occupy a few coastal ports and control the Bay of Bengal. And whether these ports could be occupied did not require the opinions of the locals. Whether you agreed to occupy them or not, we still had to occupy them. The only difference was whether we would be hit by more shells or not.

On the fifth day after the Russian envoys arrived in Beijing, Hong Tao summoned the head of the envoy, Ivan Petrin, to the Yangxin Palace. In terms of appearance, he was a typical Eastern Slav, tall and fair-skinned, with thick body hair and beard, but his hair was not very good, and his hairline was almost receding to the top of his head.

After following the eunuch in, he was stunned for a moment when he saw the long conference table. He probably didn't expect that in such a majestic and magnificent palace, there would be such a large table with ordinary workmanship. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't match the surrounding environment. When he saw the emperor on the throne, he was stunned again, and even stretched his neck forward, as if to see it more clearly. Obviously, this chubby face and slightly confused eyes did not seem to match the identity of the emperor of a great empire.

"Your Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Empire, Ivan Petlin, the envoy of the Tsar of the Russian Empire, expresses his highest respects to you!" But no matter how surprised he was, Petlin still knelt on one knee, raised his hands above his head, and saluted respectfully.

"Give him a long sword and a glass of wine!" Looking at this very strange salute posture, Hong Tao grinned and ordered Wang Chengen to add some props to the representatives of the Tsarist Russian delegation.

"Well, that's it! Go and get me the wine glass. Mr. Petlin, you are a Cossack, right?" With the help of the interpreter, Petlin held his long sword horizontally, placed the wine glass on the sword and saluted again, and then Hong Tao told him his origins.

"Your Majesty, my hometown is the steppes beside the Don River. I am a free Cossack."

When Petlin took the long sword and the wine glass, he realized what the Ming emperor was going to ask, but when he was asked about his identity, he still looked incredulous. The Cossacks were not a nation, but a collective name for a group of herdsmen who did not want to be oppressed by the nobles, a bit like the refugees among the Han people.

The Russian Empire and the Ming Empire were thousands of miles apart and had never had direct contact. Only a small amount of goods were allowed to circulate through the Tatars as intermediaries. But now their identities have been exposed because of a courtesy. Are the Cossacks so famous?

"Since you are a Cossack, you are not the Tsar's official envoy, but just a mercenary, right?" Originally, Hong Tao had not figured out how to get rid of this delegation from the Russian Empire, but now it is easy. This is called knowing yourself and the enemy, so you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.

"…I, I did receive an order from the Tsar!"

If it was surprising to have the Cossack's identity revealed, Petlin felt a chill down his spine now. The Ming Emperor was right. He was not an official envoy of the Tsar. He was just hired and ordered to explore the East.

As for the purpose, you can easily figure it out with your big toe. There must be no good intention. But how did the Ming emperor know all this? It is impossible that he was betrayed by the Tatars. They were just guides and knew nothing about the inside story.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to dwell on this issue. Since you are here, just take a good look around, and then bring my personal letter to the Tsar. Although the Ming Empire is far away from the Russian Empire, I stand on the side of the Russian Empire and fully support the war between the Russian Empire and Sweden, Poland and other countries.

Those are the inherent territories of the Russian Empire throughout history, and we must take them back no matter what the cost. To show our appreciation, I will send several craftsmen who are proficient in shipbuilding to return to the Russian Empire with you to help the Tsar build ships and cast cannons. "

There was no need to explain. Since the other party was just a mercenary, Hong Tao did not plan to talk more, nor did he want to listen to his nonsense. If you can send someone to find out my true situation, then I can also send someone to your house to check.

And it's not in vain, you are going there with the big killer, and it's what you need urgently. With ships and cannons, Tsarist Russia can continue to fight with Poland and Sweden, so don't look to the east anymore. It's too desolate, there's nothing good about it, the west is so rich, go grab it!

(End of this chapter)