Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 296 Polar Bear's Eyes
After Chengche and his disciples were brought back to Beihai Town, Chen Qingsong met with them that evening.After some chatting, Chen Qingsong was impressed by the old monk's conversation and knowledge, and agreed to the two staying in Beihai Town for a period of time.After that, Minzheng arranged a temporary residence for the two masters and apprentices.

Two days later, Minzheng sent a clerk to accompany Chengche and his disciples to visit the Beihai Town Central Hospital, but Makarius saw it.

When Father Ma saw two Buddhist monks coming, he thought they were specially invited by Beihai Town, and he felt a little flustered, thinking that the business of Orthodoxy had not yet been established in the local area, and Buddhists actually came to grab the territory.This guy thought and thought, and decided to upgrade the prayers he read to the patient every time, and flatter Zhao Xin by the way.

"Lord, please save your people and bless your inheritance. Give the pious king Zhao Xinke victory over Yidi"

At the same moment, because of a person and an unexpected letter from St. Petersburg, thousands of miles away, the empress, who had no time to look east, turned her attention to the Far East again.

From the Cossack invasion of the Heilongjiang River Basin in the [-]th century until the signing of the Sino-Russian Nerchinsk Treaty, the Tsarist Russian Empire always believed that the entire Heilongjiang River Basin belonged to them. The area is even bigger.

In 1689, when Soetu, who was an imperial envoy, completed border negotiations with Tsarist Russia, the Russians thought they had signed a humiliating peace agreement.The reason is that the negotiating envoys of the Qing Dynasty brought [-] troops to negotiate, and Tsarist Russia could only agree due to military pressure.

Well, according to Kangxi’s edict at the time and Suo’etu’s memorial, the Qing government sent to Nerchinsk together with Ma and Ma, including all the minions, and there were 1 people.

However, no matter what, the Tsarist Russian government still believes that the "Nerchinsk Treaty" is a treaty full of bullying and contempt, and they have never given up on Heilongjiang.

"Amur, Nerchinsk, those are the inherent territories of our Russians! Ivan, you remember, one day, you must take back the vast watershed of the Amur River! Open a direct access to the Pacific Ocean for the empire and the empress .”

The words of his father Fryakby have always been remembered in Ivan's mind.Now is your chance!Ivan Jacobi seems to have seen that his name will be resounded throughout the Romanov dynasty, and at the same time, he will also adorn the queen's crown with a dazzling gemstone, the Amur River!
Sitting on the armchair in the mansion, Ivan Jacobi seemed to have seen his own future.The ladies in the Winter Palace will hold him in the center like stars holding the moon, and kiss the back of his hand; the dream of the Jacobi family will come true in his hands.

Last August, in view of the fact that the Qing emperor stopped the rhubarb trade in Kyakhta for the third time and banned smuggling, this caused huge economic losses to Tsarist Russia.Catherine II ordered Ivan Jacobi to negotiate with the Qing government with a view to resuming trade between the two sides.

However, Ivan Jacobi only wanted to wait for an opportunity to invade, and he didn't care whether the trade could resume or not.At the end of August, a letter accidentally sent from Beijing to Irkutsk via Kyakhta made his eyes light up. Coupled with the mutual confirmation of the news from Mongolian border residents, Ivan Jacobi felt that his The opportunity has come!

Two days later in the morning, Count Mu Jin led Ivan Jacobi to an audience with Empress Catherine II.

Contrary to folk descriptions, Catherine II is not tall, just medium-short, with a slightly fat body, rosy complexion, and a pair of brown eyes with blue light.Because the queen always holds her head high, her breasts are full, and her hair is combed upwards, people always ignore her height.

"Thank you very much for your call, my majesty!" In the reception room, Ivan Jacobi bowed respectfully to Catherine II.

Catherine II's eyes were clear, and she smiled and said: "Dear Ivan, I heard that you have reported to me about the Qing Dynasty. Has the trade in Kyakhta resumed? I hope you did not bring bad news. "

Last year—that is, in 1784, a group of Chinese businessmen were trading in northern Xinjiang, but they were robbed by ethnic minorities on the Russian border and suffered huge losses.The robber was later arrested and brought to justice. China and Russia jointly interrogated and decided to impose a fine ten times that of the goods.However, the Russian side later took it lightly without notifying China, and Qianlong ordered the suspension of the Kyakhtu trade last year.And this period was the time when Tsarist Russia made the most profits, with annual trade profits reaching millions of rubles, which caused huge economic losses.

"Your Majesty, Bishop Joachim Shishkowski, head of our mission in China, has sent back a very important letter."

"Oh? A letter can make the governor of the imperial province rush back to St. Petersburg? Then I have to take a look." Catherine II's gaze became a little sharp.

So Ivan Jacobi took out the letter sent by Joachim Shishkowski to the Metropolitan, and it was delivered to the Queen by the Earl of Mother Gold.

The content of the letter is not long. The first part is about Joachim Shishkowski talking about his life in Beijing, and the second half is about recalling the old days with the Metropolitan. (See Chapter 210 of [-])
"Ivan, I really don't see the importance of this letter. Although he mentioned the war between us and the Poles more than 100 years ago at the end of the letter." Ekaterina II General Shi threw the letter on the table, looked at Ivan Jacobi and said, "Can you explain it to me?"

Ivan Jacobi said respectfully: "Your Majesty, our spies in the Qing Kingdom have sent back news that the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty fought two battles with a group of rebels entrenched in the Far East last year, and suffered heavy losses. Their garrison troops in the Far East have already depleted."

"Oh?" Catherine II's eyes lit up, and she looked at Earl Jin.

Earl Jin bowed and said, "There is indeed such a rumor, but it has not been confirmed. My Majesty."

Catherine II nodded, signaling Ivan Jacobi to continue.He only heard the other party say again: "This letter was sent from the capital of the Qing Dynasty in September last year. The reason why the bishop mentioned the war more than 100 years ago in the letter is to imply that the emperor of the Qing Dynasty suffered a big defeat. The territory in the Far East is lost; and the Sweden mentioned in the letter, my lord, refers to the opportunity of the empire!"

Catherine II showed a smile at the corner of her mouth. She thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Then Ivan, you came to me because you want me to restart that plan?"

Ivan Jacobi said: "Your Majesty, I have written to the Privy Council, requesting them to send reinforcements and deliver a batch of weapons and equipment. But I have not received a reply."

Ekaterina got up and walked to the window, looking at the heavy snow flying outside the window, and after a long time, she rushed to the door and called, "Olov."

As soon as the words finished, a middle-aged officer pushed the door open and came in, bowing and saying, "Please give me instructions, Your Majesty."

"Notify everyone on the Military Council, and that Miller, that we are going to discuss the plan he made at the beginning."

Olof was a little confused, and immediately asked: "Miller? Is that Miller from the Royal Academy of Sciences?"

"it's him."

"What about the time?"

"Three days later!"

It is said that Catherine II, who relied on the coup to take power, never lacked a group of militants around her.Although the Russo-Turkish war is imminent, she is not afraid to launch another foreign war.

In 1763, in the second year of Catherine II's accession to the throne, the ambitious empress embarked on an armed attack on the Qing; the cause of the attack was the interruption of the Kyakhta trade.

At that time, a group of Cossack bandits fled into the outer northeast, and entered the Karen area of ​​Mongolia to burn, kill, loot, and conduct private trade.Qianlong was furious and closed the Qiaktu trade.This is the first time the market has been closed since Qianlong ascended the throne. It lasted for seven years and eventually led to huge losses in the fur and tea businesses of Russian merchants and nobles. It also caused a large number of merchants living in Siberia to go bankrupt, causing extreme Big panic.

Catherine II decided to invade the Far East at that time. She changed the original border military system and authorized the Special Forces Office under the Military Council to handle China's border affairs with full authority.In the same year, she ordered Herald Miller, a foreign academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences and a sixth-class civil servant, to draft a "Guiding Opinions on Combatting Against China."

After more than two years of careful preparations for the war, the Russians built a large number of material storage points on the thousands of miles of post roads leading to Nerchinsk. Russian spies discovered that the Qing Dynasty had no intention of using force against Russia. The Privy Council asked the Empress to peacefully resolve the Sino-Russian border defense. In view of preparing for the fifth war against Turkey, Catherine II had no time to look eastward, and considering the huge income of Kyakta, she suspended military operations on China and avoided The risk of fighting on two fronts at the same time.After the resumption of the customs seven years later, the trade volume between the Qing Dynasty and Russia showed a sharp increase, with an average annual transaction volume of 230 million rubles, an increase of 70% compared to before the closure.

The time came three days later.

In a large conference room in the Winter Palace, more than a dozen people including Catherine II, members of the Privy Council and the Military Council, and Governor of Irkutsk Ivan Jacobi gathered.The historian Miller from Germany is talking about the original plan.

"Your Majesty, gentlemen, the empire has been bullied by the Qing people for a long time, and it is unbearable. If we want to launch a war to avenge our hatred, we must attack resolutely and decisively. I personally have no doubt that the empire will be able to survive the war." Get the expected victory!"

The bullying mentioned by Miller is actually the fact that the Manchus regarded themselves as the celestial kingdom, and they never pretended to be polite to the Tsarist Russians.

(Don’t be surprised, this was the case in the early and mid-Qing Dynasty. It was connected to the Khakhtu trade three times to punish Tsarist Russia, and at the same time used military means to deal with the Junggar tribe supported by Tsarist Russia.)
General Springer, who was in his 50s, got up and said: "The so-called "Nerchinsk Treaty" is unequal! The national border between the two countries was demarcated because of the force of the Qing people. At that time, we were heavily surrounded. We can only be forced to make concessions, which is really a humiliation for the empire! We must take back Nerchinsk and the Amur River Basin!"

Catherine II nodded and said, "How has the Cossack Musketeers been doing these years?"

General Springer said: "Your Majesty, our Musketeers in Transbaikal have recruited [-] well-trained fighters! At present, the horses have sufficient food and grass, and we only need to replenish weapons and ammunition to set off immediately!"

Count Mujin said: "Twenty-five thousand? No, General, I think ten thousand Cossacks are enough!"

Ivan Jacques stood up and said: "Your Majesty, gentlemen, I suggest that starting from this spring, the sixteen preparations in the plan should be launched immediately. Send personnel into the lower reaches of the Amur River and the Ussuri River to deal with the rebellion that repelled the Qing army. Bandit armed forces are recruiting."

The [-]-point preparation plan mentioned in his mouth includes a large number of immigrants to the border areas; the establishment of military grain transportation channels and a series of large granaries; the establishment of a mechanism for local grain collection, and the nearby settlement of ships, salt, military uniforms, and forage needed for combat. Wait.At the same time, it is necessary to win over the Mongolian princes, print and distribute Mongolian leaflets, instigate various tribes to rebel, submit to Russia, and organize the Inner Mongolia and Tungus people into military organizations.

A duke of the Privy Council frowned and said, "Then what is our main attack direction? Is it Mongolia or the Amur River?"

"Slap!" Ivan Jacobi slapped the table excitedly, and then he realized that Catherine II was present, so he bowed and apologized, and said excitedly, "Amur! It must be Amur!"

Earl Mujin said: "I suggest to focus on Nerchinsk and Selenga as the main direction of attack, and launch an offensive in the spring at the same time, taking the occupation of the northern bank of the Amur River as our main goal in the first step."

Having said that, Earl Mu Jin had someone spread out a map of the outer northeast on the table, pointing to it and saying: "We need to gather ten regular regiments, two Cossack regiments, and a large number of armed Tunguskas in Nerchinsk. People. This army will be divided into two groups, one will go straight down the Amur River by boat, and wipe out all the Chinese villages along the way.

Afterwards, we will send troopships to the mouth of the Amur River, and head north by sea to Udibao or Okhotsk. The main force will return to Yaksa City, and at the same time build forts, cultivate the land, and spend the winter there.

The other road will cross the Argun River and go down to the Hailar River, where we will bombard the newly built Chinese city with cannons, and then we will start from the city and occupy all the land up to the Xing'an Mountains and the Amur River.

In this way, we can also attract local frontier tribes to become Russian citizens, and then return to the Ergun River for the winter. "

Everyone thought about it and nodded in agreement.

At this time, the German Miller said again: "What Earl Mujin said was just a tentative attack. Next, we will build a castle and garrison troops in Aihui, and build a large colonial site along the river. (from the mouth of the Ergun River to the Zeya River) to choose suitable locations and build a number of fortresses and villages. This establishes that we must insist on not giving in when we conclude a peace treaty with the Qing Dynasty in the future, and we must make Amur The river becomes the border between the two countries."

Ekaterina II looked at everyone present with a smile, and asked, "With the first and second steps, is there a third step?"

Ivan Jacobi bowed and said: "As long as we can get the estuary of the Amur River, then we can open up the supply line to Kamchatka. Our spies in the Qing Dynasty have secretly investigated the waterways of the Songhua River. Going up the Songhua River by boat OK, reach wherever you can, and level everything there!"

Looking at a group of enthusiastic warmongers in front of him, the Duke of the Military Council frowned and said, "What if the Qing Dynasty counterattacks?"

Ivan Jacques' eyes were red like a hungry wolf, and he said resolutely: "Impossible, as long as we can contact the rebels, the rule of the Qing Dynasty here will cease to exist!"

At this time, Zhao Xin, who was thousands of miles away, never expected that because of the appearance of Beihai Town, the time for Tsarist Russia to attack the Northeast was brought forward!

(End of this chapter)