I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 516 The secret of the fighting nation

"Yes, His Majesty, the great and invincible Emperor of Ming China, Besikov is willing to surrender to you forever and serve Ming China."

Although Besikov couldn't understand it, he still changed his words sincerely.

Zhu Yijiong nodded: "In order to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, you must also show your own value."

Besikov quickly knelt down and waited for the emperor to ask questions.

Zhu Yijiong asked: "Who is the current tsar of the Rakshasa Kingdom? What is his name and how old is he this year?"

Besikov replied: "Reporting to His Majesty the Emperor, the current Tsar of the Rakshasa Kingdom is Empress Catherine I. From the time I was exiled to the present, I should be over forty years old. However, Her Majesty the Empress' body has been in exile since Since then, things have not been very good, and the power in the country is mainly managed by Prime Minister Menshikov. Most of the time, the Queen is just a rubber stamp. It was also because I supported the Queen's pro-government that I was exiled by the Prime Minister and my family."

Zhu Yijiong was surprised at first: "Queen Catherine?"

I quickly realized that the timeline of this famous empress of Tsarist Russia should be in the middle and late Qianlong period, and she was also controlled by the prime minister, so it couldn't be her.

It is indeed impossible, Catherine II was born just last year, and Besikov's intelligence is obviously lagging behind.

Catherine I died of illness in the second year of his exile. He supported a female tsar who had no real power and was about to die of illness. He really deserved to be exiled. He couldn't even take a basic political stance.

However, the powerful prime minister did not reap the benefits. He supported the young Peter II to ascend the throne and tried to continue to be a powerful minister. He soon ushered in a counterattack by the conservative faction.

It is also funny to say that he should be a powerful official and a traitor, but in order to maintain his status as a powerful official, this guy took the initiative to adhere to the New Deal initiated by Peter the Great. The purpose was to maintain the legitimacy of the tsar's power and further realize centralization of power.

Then, this guy was exiled to Siberia, and at the end of last year, he finally lived up to expectations and died of illness in the cold Siberia.

Just two months after his death, Peter II also died of illness. Today's new tsar of Tsarist Russia, not to mention Besikov, who has been in Siberia for a long time, even many nobles in Tsarist Russia are completely unaware of it.

Because the conservative faction is still arguing with each other for their own interests, who should be welcomed as the new czar.

Zhu Yijiong didn't know this, and even if he knew it, he wouldn't worry much. The Ming Dynasty's army could already crush all countries.

Even if Catherine II comes, he will not be afraid.

Zhu Yijiong raised her hand: "Come here."

Besikov was so flattered that he did not dare to stand up directly, so he just crawled forward.

The two guards in front of the palace followed the order and opened the world map that the Privy Council had brought before, and they spread it out on the main hall.

Zhu Yijiong said: "On this map, mark all the boundaries of your Rakshasa Kingdom."

The interpreter was afraid that Besikov would not be able to understand the Chinese characters on the map, so he specially translated for him: "This is France. You used to be a Rakshasa noble, so you should know. This is Poland and Lithuania, right next to you. , as well as the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire... To the east, this is where you were captured, and it is also the northern territory of the Heilongjiang Dusi of the Ming Dynasty. The Udi River you cross is here."

After going back and forth for more than an hour, reading and translating with reference, Besikov finally managed to figure out most of the country boundaries on the map.

This map was customized by the Privy Council. It mainly referred to the "Records of Personal Experiences", as well as the "Complete Map of Kunyu" seized from the Tatar Palace in Beijing and the "Complete Map of Kunyu Ten Thousand Kingdoms" from the Ming Dynasty. It was made by checking and filling in the gaps in each other. Today, There are few in the world that can be considered accurate.

Besikov looked at the territory symbolizing the Ming Dynasty on the map, then pointed to a large area in the north and said: "This is the territory of the Rakshasa Kingdom. In the south, except for the Udi River in the east, there is Lake Baikal in the west. Originally, this place It is the territory of Buryat Mongolia, but it has been completely conquered by us in recent decades. Only some tribes still resist from time to time, and we have to send troops to kill a group of them to stop them."

Buryat Mongolia is actually Buriyat Mongolia, which is the forest people in the territory of the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Yijiong asked: "Are there no Mongols who resist you in the entire Siberia?"

Besikov said: "There are Khalkha Mongols south of Lake Baikal. They are resisting us just like the Buryat Mongols. It's just that these Khalkha Mongols are very smart and have already surrendered to the previous Khitan Tatars. and moved southward. It was almost all plateau, and it was difficult for the governor’s army to survive.”

"Further west there is the Junggar Khanate, which is the territory of the Tatar Mongolia (actually Erut Mongolia). They once surrendered to the tsar, but later rebelled again. To the west of Junggar is the Kazakh Khanate, and it is said that there are Greeks to the south. Small countries such as Wa, Bukhara and Safavid.”

Kazakhstan is Central Asia, Zhu Yijiong nodded, which means that the current Tsarist Russia has basically expanded to its limit, leaving only Mobei and China.

It seems that the Battle of Yaksa decades ago was not a tentative attack by Tsarist Russia, but that they could not find a place to continue plundering and expanding, and they could not go to Mobei, so they were lucky to invade Heilongjiang.

It is indeed a wolfish ambition! Zhu Yijiong continued to ask: "How many cities has the Rakshasa Kingdom built in the Far East, and how many troops are stationed in each city?"

Besikov was a little confused: "I...I don't know."

I definitely don’t know. Not to mention Besikov, an exiled nobleman, even the nobles in the capital of Tsarist Russia may not know how many castles have been built in Siberia, and how many indigenous territories have been conquered.

Most of these territories are covered with cold permafrost, and no one really cares. The reason why they conquered Siberia was really just for the furs in the hands of the indigenous tribes.

Zhu Yijiong frowned: "Then... which cities are more important in the Far East, are they managed by divisions, or are they all under one noble lord or governor?"

Besikov also knew how to watch people's words and quickly replied: "There is no unified governor here in the Far East. Each castle built has its own governor (actually the governor's palace). Moreover, these castles are not important. What is really important is There are three large rivers in the eastern part of the Ural Mountains: the Ob River, the Yenisey River, and the Lena River.”

"Our castles are all built on these three major rivers and their tributaries. With the castle as the center, we can further control and conquer the indigenous tribes. Lake Baikal can also be connected to the Yenisei and Lena rivers. , so we built a castle here and conquered the disobedient Buryat Mongols."

Zhu Yijiong was a little confused at first, but after looking at the world map, he finally came to his senses. It turned out that this was the secret of Tsarist Russia's ability to quickly annex such a vast territory. It can be said that these three rivers are the lifeblood of Tsarist Russia's control of the vast Siberia. As long as you master them, you can directly go to any area in Siberia by boat.

Zhu Yijiong smiled and said: "It seems that I was wrong. If we want to completely conquer Siberia, we must not only have cavalry, but also a powerful navy."

After that, he then asked: "Where are the Ural Mountains?"

Besikov pointed to the area of ​​the Kazakh Khanate and said: "The Ural Mountains are probably here, to the north of the Kazakh Khanate. To the west of the Ural Mountains are the core territories of the nobles, with more people and wealth. And Across the mountains and to the east are the exile areas. Every year, a large number of serfs escape here. Most of these serfs will become Cossacks. They conquer and hunt the local indigenous tribes, obtain their furs, and then trade with the nobles in exchange for materials and money."

Zhu Yijiong said: "Have you changed it before?"

Besikov was a little embarrassed: "Yes, Your Majesty. But I have no choice but to survive."

"Ah."

Zhu Yijiong almost understood that the entire Far East was basically a colony of Tsarist Russia, not even a colony. Because the ruling model is too low-level, with almost complete autonomy, the nobles only want fur and don't pay attention to anything else. If it weren't for the fact that the population here is too small, and it's also too cold, with almost all frozen soil, it would probably have been a long time ago to separate and establish itself, or even establish a country directly.

However, this is good, because it also means that it is difficult for Tsarist Russia to invest and support a large number of expeditionary forces in the Far East, so Ming Dynasty does not need to invest too many troops in Siberia.

This military intelligence included the need for naval forces to control the three major rivers in order to completely conquer Siberia. Without the emperor specifically asking, it would be impossible for the cabinet to know, because their perspectives and perspectives were different. At most, they would just ask about the direction of the city and the number of garrison troops.

Zhu Yijiong immediately summoned the rotating secretary: "Order the Privy Council and the Cabinet to immediately prepare an edict to mobilize... No, it is to retrain and create a Heilongjiang Navy. This navy will be stationed in Heilongjiang from now on and will be mobilized by the Heilongjiang Dusi. No soldiers are needed. Too many, two thousand people are enough. Recruitment is all voluntary. But try to be from the north and able to adapt to the severe cold climate of Heilongjiang. The salary is also double, and the family land tax is tax-free for 20 years. As long as you join the army, you can be directly rewarded with land. , the children can also come to Nanjing Imperial College to study and become officials. Even if they are killed in battle, the children can still be kind to an official."

The decree to establish the Heilongjiang Navy was issued like this. The two thousand navy had a small force, but combined with the navy's mobility, there was also the Ming army's powerful armaments.

Heilongjiang City can quickly radiate the entire Heilongjiang City area through the water veins of the Heilongjiang and Songhua River basins.

In other words, it is copying the work of Tsarist Russia, relying only on water veins to control the vast Heilongjiang. In the future, military stations will also be built along the river, and the rest will be restricted, and the rule will be slowly Chineseized through continuous immigration.

When the Heilongjiang capital becomes more and more stable, the navy can be used to attack first through the Lena River and capture the city of Yakutsk. Then they moved south from the Lena River to attack Lake Baikal, and captured Nerchinsk, Irkutsk and other cities on the shores of Lake Baikal.

There will be no Lake Baikal in the future, only the Daming Beihai Lake where Su Wu shepherds sheep.

After providing so much core information, under Besikov's expectant and anxious gaze, Zhu Yijiong finally said: "You have demonstrated your worth, and I can pardon your death penalty."

Besikov burst into tears when he heard the translator's words: "Thank you, His Majesty the Great Emperor!"

Zhu Yijiong nodded: "With the establishment of the Heilongjiang Navy, you will serve as the army's guide and Rakshasa interpreter, under the joint jurisdiction of the Heilongjiang Dusi and the Heilongjiang Navy. I will give you a decree. As long as you can conquer Siberia for the Ming Dynasty and make meritorious service, Even if you want to be promoted to a higher position, that's fine."

Besikov automatically ignored the previous words. When he heard the encouraging title behind him, he was so happy that he was almost speechless.

Being able to serve as an official or even become a noble in such a prosperous and powerful Khitan Empire meant that he would sacrifice his life for the Khitan Emperor, and he would not hesitate (provided that he had a wife and son who could inherit the title).

‘O merciful and almighty Lord! Thank you for your gift. ’

Besikov prayed heartily.

(End of this chapter)