Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

The following morning, Red Square in Moscow.

The cobblestones of Red Square were wider than Xiaoya had imagined. She stood at the edge of the square and looked down at the worn old stones under her feet for a while. Their surfaces had a matte finish from years of footsteps, and the seams were inlaid with a fine layer of dust, like a hard shell formed by years of accumulated dust being repeatedly compacted by rainwater.

"The photos I saw in books always made the square seem narrow and long, with the buildings on both sides appearing to be touching when the camera zoomed out. But standing here, the two sides are actually quite wide apart." She turned her head, her gaze sweeping from the east to the west, "It's much wider than what you see in the picture books."

The Moscow winter wasn't quite over yet; the wind was blowing in from the north side of the square, making the edges of her scarf flutter and fall back down. Instead of pulling the scarf tighter, she wanted to use that layer of cold air to confirm that she had truly arrived in this place.

The red brick building on the east side is a darker color than in the photo, as if it has aged over many years of wind and sun. The windows on the front of the building are neatly arranged, with roughly the same spacing between each window frame. The west wall is light yellow and taller than the east building, with a row of dark decorative lines on the top. At the southernmost end of the square stands a white, pointed tower, its spire significantly taller than the surrounding buildings, its top surface having a matte sheen in the sunlight.

Xiaoya walked along the edge of the square for a while, then stopped near the center, turned around and looked around: "The book says that the word 'Red Square' in Russian also means 'beautiful,' not just referring to the color. Standing here, it's definitely true. The buildings aren't beautiful on their own; they only create a sense of unity when they're put together."

The nine domes are all different colors: blue with gold stars, green with spiral patterns, and red and white. Xiaoya stood in the center of the square and looked at the row of domes for a while: "The shapes of those nine domes are not exactly the same either. Some are onion-shaped, some are hemispherical, and the angles of the crosses at the top are also different. When I saw photos before, I thought they were replicas, but standing here, I noticed that they are all unique. The largest blue dome has gold stars distributed in a spiral pattern on its surface, not evenly spread out."

Lin Yanzhou, standing beside her, added, "That church was built during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Legend has it that it was built to commemorate the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, taking six years to complete. After seeing the finished product, Ivan the Terrible ordered the architect's eyes to be blinded to prevent him from building the same thing again." Xiaoya turned her gaze back to him and asked, "Is that legend true?"

"There is no conclusive historical record to confirm this," Lin Yanzhou said. "But the legend itself has been circulating for over four hundred years, and it may be closer to the meaning that the building was given when it was built than the architect's name itself."

Xiaoya didn't speak. She turned back and looked at the blue dome for a while longer: "So, when it was built, did you consider how people would feel when they stood in the square looking at it?"

"It should have been considered. Back then, building the church wasn't just about building a church, it was also about building a location—where at least three domes could be seen from any angle in the square, and when standing in the very center, all five could be seen at the same time, with the tallest one always in sight from any position."

Lin Yanzhou followed beside her and noticed a group of people walking towards the east entrance of the square. There weren't many of them, and their pace was even. The person at the front wore a dark gray overcoat, followed by two people in casual clothes, their strides matching his.

The middle-aged man in the gray jacket was the first to notice the group. He didn't stop walking, but he slightly adjusted his direction, shortening the distance between Lin Yanzhou and Xiaoya.

The young woman slowed her pace slightly, switching the white plastic bag from one hand to the other, and turned her head to look at her phone screen, which remained dark.

The young man wearing glasses looked up, put his phone in his coat pocket, and didn't take his hand out.

The group approached. When the distance was reduced to about twenty paces, the person in the middle consciously slowed down and stopped about three paces away from Lin Yanzhou. The two people behind him also stopped.

The man glanced at the dome of St. Basil's Cathedral in the distance, as if waiting for a natural moment: "First time in Moscow?"

"first."

He nodded slightly: "Winter in Moscow is longer than in your capital city, and the snow on Red Square melts later than in other parts of the city. Because the buildings around the square are tall, when the wind comes from the north, it forms a ring-shaped airflow over the square, making the temperature about two degrees lower than the surrounding area."

He pointed towards the church. "That church was built between 1555 and 1561, designed by the architects Balma and Postnik. It's said that Ivan the Terrible ordered their eyes gouged out after seeing the finished product, but that's just a legend. Historically, Postnik participated in other projects after the church was completed, so that story is at least incomplete."

Lin Yanzhou followed his gaze and glanced at the outline of the church: "Legends sometimes explain people's attitudes toward architecture better than facts. The reason why the legend of the architect having his eyes gouged out has been passed down is related to the church's appearance itself: its style was subversive at the time, with a structure that was symmetrical yet asymmetrical, which exceeded the conventional understanding of construction techniques at the time."

The man glanced at him and said, "You know quite a bit about Russian architectural history."

"I really like this place, so I've read some information about it before. What I see here is quite different from what's written in the books."

The man's gaze lingered on the direction of the church for a moment: "The nine domes originally represented the nine major attacks on the Kazan Khanate, but the final layout was modified many times. The current form does not represent the original order of the different stages of the war, but rather a rearranged arrangement that is closer to the symbolic meaning."

The gold stars on the blue dome were added in the mid-16th century. The original gilding technique was replaced during a 17th-century restoration, and the current gold patterns actually use a 19th-century formula.

As he finished speaking, a flock of pigeons on the north side of the square was slowly moving, scattering and gathering again beside the monument's base, forming a constantly shifting gray outline on the stone pavement.

The man waited until the flock of pigeons had regrouped before continuing, "Red Square was originally just an open area outside the Kremlin walls, mainly used for timber trading and markets in the 15th century. It gradually took on its current form in the 17th century."

He turned to the east and pointed, "The red brick building of the National History Museum was built at the end of the 19th century. The architect Sherwood's design drew on elements of 16th-century Russian architecture, but the overall structural framework incorporated the mainstream European building technology at the time. So its exterior looks old, but the interior structure actually uses the latest European construction techniques at the time."

Xiaoya stood a few steps away. She didn't approach, but when she heard the words "Sherwood" and "late 19th century," her gaze shifted from Lin Yanzhou to the red brick building.

The man noticed Xiaoya's gaze, but did not deliberately turn to her. He simply slowed down his speech: "St. Basil's Church on the south side of the square was almost demolished during the Soviet era because its style did not conform to the functionalist architectural concept of the time."

Those who advocated for its demolition argued that its complex structure was a product of the old era and did not meet the new society's requirements for simple and functional architecture, but architect Baranovsky saved it by resigning.

He wrote a letter at the time, proposing that the preservation of the old buildings was to allow future generations to understand the construction methods of their predecessors, not merely to preserve religious symbols.

Lin Yanzhou didn't immediately respond after hearing this. He could sense that the man was conveying a message through the church: not to demonstrate his knowledge, but to complete a communication. When he spoke, his tone remained unchanged: "What Baranovsky did illustrates the meaning of architecture more than the church itself. Sometimes, preserving something takes more courage than building it."

After hearing this, the man said approvingly, "You're right. Preservation often tests one more than construction." He paused for a moment, then asked, "How long are you staying in Moscow this time?"

"I won't be staying for more than a few days; I'll mainly be looking around."

After listening, the man didn't press further: "If you're interested in Russian architectural history, there's a small exhibition hall on the first floor of that red brick building on the south side. It displays architectural models and old photographs. It's usually not crowded, so you can look around quietly."

After he finished speaking, he tilted his head slightly, as if giving a brief farewell, and then continued walking in the direction he had come from. The two people beside him readjusted their pace, and the group crossed the square diagonally, turned at the exit on the other side of the square, and disappeared into the shadows of the buildings.

The middle-aged man in the gray jacket had been standing about fifteen paces away. After the group disappeared, he lowered his shoulders slightly and loosened his hands from the edges of his pockets. He glanced at Lin Yanzhou, offered no further comment, and then turned back.

Xiaoya stood beside the monument, sunlight filtering through the clouds and falling on the scarf on her shoulders: "The person who just mentioned the building's age and restoration details seemed to have done their homework."

"He must work in this field."

Xiaoya didn't press further, instead lowering her head to adjust her scarf: "Have you read quite a few books on Russian architectural history before?"

"When I was working on construction sites before, I once took on a renovation project for an old building and went through some materials."