African Nationhood

On January 1909, 1, a Russian merchant ship slowly docked at the Port of Mapu (today’s Port of Maputo, Mozambique). When the merchant ship docked, a group of men wearing uniforms disembarked from the ship.

These men are tall and burly. These people are the Tsar's Imperial Guard. They are naturally important figures in protecting the royal family.

Then two Chinese people slowly walked down from the merchant ship. One of these two Chinese people was Lu Wan, who had just come from Tsarist Russia.

Behind them is a middle-aged woman wearing black gauze with a tall nose and a quiet face, and in the woman's arms is a fair and handsome boy.

This woman in black veil is Empress Alexandra of Tsarist Russia, and the boy in her arms is the crown prince of Tsarist Russia - Alexei Nikolayevich Romanov.

Since Nicholas II came to the throne, he has welcomed daughters one after another, but no sons.

Queen Alexandra, who was unable to give birth to a son, was as panicked as the Tsar. Finally, in 1904, they gave birth to a boy named Alexei.

After learning that the queen gave birth to a prince, the tsar, the empress and the tsar's princesses were all overjoyed.

It was a pity that the crown prince was diagnosed with hemophilia just after he was born, because the little life's umbilical cord was cut and the bleeding continued.

This bad news alarmed the Tsar and the royal family. They strictly blocked the news and prohibited anyone from revealing the prince's illness.

But as the crown prince grew older, his condition became more serious, and the tsar had to seek help from Nanhua.

Nanhua sent Lu Wan to lead a team to Russia to treat the condition of the Russian crown prince.

As the Crown Prince grew older, his active nature often broke out and he was often injured.

Fortunately, doctors from Nanhua injected him with healthy serum regularly, so the crown prince's injuries were able to recover smoothly.

The tsar and his wife were very happy, and they only hoped that Alexei could grow up safely, become an adult like Prince Leopold, get married and have children to ensure the inheritance of the tsarist royal family.

Unfortunately, Prince Leopold could not resist the arrangement of accommodation last year. He died peacefully in his sleep due to cerebral hemorrhage.

The Tsarina and his wife were terrified after hearing the news, fearing that their son would follow in the footsteps of his uncle.

Therefore, after consulting the attending doctor Lu Wan's advice, they decided to bring their youngest son to Nanhua regularly for recuperation.

Nanhua's medical conditions have been recognized around the world, and even the most difficult-to-treat chronic diseases such as pneumonia and diphtheria can be treated.

In addition, the temperature here in Nanhua is mild, much warmer than that in Tsarist Russia, which is conducive to the Crown Prince's recuperation and growth.

Coupled with the fact that Nanhua's medical conditions helped Prince Leopold prolong his life for more than 20 years, such outstanding medical achievements are enough to make people trust him.

If she came to Nanhua to recuperate every year, she would need to find a better excuse to avoid being questioned by her subjects, so the queen announced that she would go back to Hesse and the Grand Duchy of the Rhine to visit relatives. In fact, mother and son secretly came to Nanhua.

……

When Queen Alexandra and the Crown Prince arrived, it was normal for the Imperial Guard to accompany them.

When Queen Alexandra disembarked from the ship, she saw Kelly dressed up waiting at the port. Lu Wan acted as an introducer to the Czarina and Kelly, and the two met in a friendly manner.

Alexey looked at everything around him curiously in his mother's arms, and secretly looked at Kelly and the staff around her.

After a brief exchange of greetings, the two parties boarded the Crown Car and headed to the train station.

After arriving at the train station, Queen Alexandra followed Kelly onto the special train.

The reason why they didn't drive back to Hanking was because Queen Alexandra and her party were followed by many servants and women.

It would be very inconvenient to travel by car, but the train has increased its speed to 60 kilometers per hour since the diesel locomotive was replaced, which is not much slower than the car, and the train is more convenient and comfortable.

Kelly chatted casually with Queen Alexandra on the train. The two ladies had a common language because they were both white. It's just that Queen Alexandra doesn't agree with the marriage system in Nanhua, but she has a request from Nanhua now, so it's not convenient to say more.

When they arrived at Hanking Railway Station, many military police were on guard at the train station, allowing the Tsarina Empress and the Crown Prince to arrive safely at the sanatorium on the outskirts of Hanking.

After Queen Alexandra and the Crown Prince settled down, Kelly returned to the Chairman's Palace in Hanking.

After Shi Jintang met with Kelly, he casually asked about the situation of the Queen and the Crown Prince, and told Kelly and Ye Rong to get closer to the Queen and the Crown Prince to cultivate their relationship.

Kelly and Ye Rong didn't have much doubt. Although Tsarist Russia was second-rate in Europe, it had a vast territory and a large population, so it was natural to have good relations with them.

Shi Jintang knew very well that now was not the critical moment.

If you exert influence on this weak prince now, you can make a fuss about this last crown prince later in the war.

……

Queen Alexandra was born in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and the Rhine. She was a princess of the duchy. When she was a child, she and her family were infected with diphtheria, and her mother and sister died from it.

She and her brother and sister were lucky enough to survive and were taken to England to be raised by Queen Victoria.

Because of her quiet personality, Queen Victoria loved her very much.

Later, when she was 12 years old, she met Nicholas, who was still the crown prince at the time, at her sister's wedding. At that moment, the two recognized each other.

……

When she was 17 years old, Queen Victoria wanted to marry this quiet and beautiful granddaughter to her grandson so that she could become Queen of England in the future. Unfortunately, the princess chose Crown Prince Nicholas.

(I have to say that reincarnation is a technical job, and this woman is the queen of a country no matter which side she chooses.

It's a pity that she was so unlucky that she chose the most dangerous one and died unexpectedly. )
After a long trial, the two finally came together. After the engagement, Tsar Alexander III became seriously ill. Before the two were consummated, the Tsar burped.

Therefore, everyone in Tsarist Russia, including her future mother-in-law, disliked the empress. She experienced many rumors when she arrived in Russia, but her quiet personality did not want to pay attention to these rumors, which led to increasing dissatisfaction with her throughout Russia.

And she herself couldn't bear the rumors, and she became increasingly depressed.

In addition, the son she gave birth to after all the hardships was still a hemophiliac, which made her even more exhausted.

Arriving in Nanhua, away from the turmoil in Tsarist Russia, actually made her feel much better.

Kelly and Ye Rong took turns coming to interact and play with the queen, so that she would not feel coldly treated.

Every time Ye Rong came over, she would bring the youngest Shi Jing and Shi Yang to play with Alexei, and the little prince felt more and more that it was better here.

My son's lively nature was brought out here. He frankly liked the climate here and was happy to live here.

……

Through the introduction of Kelly and Ye Rong, Queen Alexandra’s understanding of Nanhua gradually deepened.

When her son's condition was stable, Queen Alexandra would also take her son to visit Hanking and Handu.

It was not until May, when the temperature in Russia rose, that she returned to Tsarist Russia with her son.

Back in Russia, the queen and the crown prince were in a happy mood, which surprised the tsar and lamented that Nanhua seemed to be quite magical.

These two members of the royal family took the trouble to share what they saw and heard in South China with their families, which also greatly changed the impression of the Tsar's princess and the Tsar himself on South China. (End of chapter)