Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1236

On November 1659, 11, the river in the middle reaches of the Amur River was completely frozen, and the originally noisy river suddenly fell into silence.

"In the past, although many travelers described the strange China, none of them mentioned the relationship between the Russian Empire and this neighboring country, not even a word. Now, the vast southern China has been occupied The Gede people occupied it, and Kitaiqi (the name Russia gave to the Han people in the south at this time, derived from the Mongolian word Kitat, and some people think it came from the word Khitan) had been conquered, and the people on the east bank moved inward along the Amur River Invasion of the hinterland..." Fyodor Baykov wrote with a dim candle, sometimes contemplating, sometimes writing, and after working for half the night, he wrote with a long breath The last paragraph was written: "I am honored to be appointed by His Majesty as the special envoy with full authority to negotiate with the East Coast people. I am deeply pleased. I will fulfill my duties and strive to delineate the border and quell the disputes with the East Coast people as soon as possible. The most benevolent monarch, I present this letter to Your Majesty's Royal Highness, begging for a holy lesson. Fyodor Isakovich Baykov, the most loyal servant of God and His Majesty, in the middle of the night of November 1659, 11, in Arles Bajin Fortress."

It is worth mentioning that in this letter, Baykov called the Manchus Bogdren (meaning holy people), which was due to the strong request of Sharhuda in the Ningguta chapter of the Qing Dynasty. The reason why the Russians are willing to do this is naturally very intriguing, and it may mean that the two have some kind of tacit understanding and connection.After all, in the Amur River Basin, whether it is the Russians or the Manchus, it seems that they are relatively weak. If they don’t form a group and help each other, are they waiting to be defeated by the people on the east bank?Therefore, you can see that the Russians openly set up Alexei Fort, but the Manchu court did not respond. This is already very illustrative.

However, the biggest weakness of the Russians in the Far East is that they still have to accept Moscow’s instructions in principle. Considering the good relationship between Moscow and the people on the east coast and the speculation that the Tsar may ask them to back down, there is room for these people to maneuver. It is greatly reduced.In the final analysis, they cannot completely tear themselves apart from the people on the east bank, because this has affected the overall situation of Moscow and His Majesty the Tsar. ——So they are doomed to walk the tightrope carefully, not to mention how tired and aggrieved they are.

Baikov sighed, and picked up the two letters from Bogd Khan of the Qing Dynasty, with a regretful expression on his face.The Qing emperor’s letter was gentle and equal, completely comparing the Tsar and Bogd Khan (this is a huge “advancement”), and promised all conditions such as commerce, and sent envoys to Beijing. .As a result, due to Moscow's instructions, they are unable to join forces with Bogd Khan's people. You know, the conditions offered by Bogd Khan are very attractive, but what a pity, what a pity!

Baykov opened the first letter, which was Shunzhi's credential, and saw that it read——

"Emperor Shunzhi of China. There are two people who came from Ross. I have already learned that. I said to the Ross people: Since you came here for business, you can do business, and you can come back after you return. In this world, what is your purpose?" The monarch of a great country, I am also the emperor of a great country. May the road between the two countries be unimpeded, so that you can often communicate with each other. If you pay tribute to treasures, I will reward you with high-quality silk and satin. Now you are about to return. If you come again, or The Great Sovereign sends people to come, and they should bring the King's Credentials, and I will answer with the Credentials. If you come with the Credentials, I will order you to treat me as a guest. Because the journey is far away, and the language is difficult, I am inconvenient Sending envoys to visit Your Majesty, I would like to pay my respects to Your Majesty. Once my envoys have a way to go to Your Majesty, I will send envoys there. Due to our etiquette, I cannot personally visit other countries, and at present I cannot send Envoys and merchants go abroad..."

Then came the second letter of credence, with a big cross drawn on the title of the first sentence. Perhaps some half-hearted translator did not know the inside story of China, and translated the emperor of the Qing Dynasty into "Emperor Zhu, the son of Wanli Khan in China", but the other content was so-so. ——

"Last year, the merchants of the Great Monarch, Nikolai (Nikolai) and Yagobu (Yakov), came to see the sky; tonight, none of the subjects of the Great Monarch came to me. Once they Come here, I will be delighted, and I will give you a gift. Last year, I offered you a pair of antlers, and I gave you 32 pieces of silk and satin in return. You paid tribute to the treasures, and I will give you twice as much. Today, I ordered Ninggu Pagoda to send [-] jade cups to the Great Monarch. Once the envoys of your great monarch come to me, I will order people from my country to send them a one-day journey to Dahe (Songhua River). When you see the letter, you can send your envoys quickly. The bandit in yellow is a big The monarch and our common enemy may be able to attack together..."

It can be seen that Emperor Shunzhi's attitude towards the Russians was "unexpectedly" good, which can be seen from the narratives of the two Cossacks Nikolai and Yakov who returned—Baykov asked the two When entering the palace of Bogd Khan, it is not allowed to salute to the Khan's palace or any threshold, but it is excused that they cannot salute to the stone, but the Khan did not force them to do so; they were also worried about the Khan The two were asked to kiss his feet (Baykov instructed the two that it was okay to kiss Bogd Khan's hand, but never his feet), but this diplomatic etiquette did not happen.

In addition, when the Cossack officer Nicholas introduced to Bogd Khan that the tsar’s family originated from the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus and Grand Duke Rurik, and described the prestige enjoyed by his ancestors in European countries, Bogd Khan It was also affirmed.At the same time, Bogd Khan stated that he would write back to the tsar to establish a strong friendship between the two countries. Nicholas and Nicholas also expressed in good faith that they would definitely bring back the letter of credence, and once His Majesty the tsar replied, the letter of credence would greet him Bogd Khan's health and the name and title that are fully in line with Bogd Khan's dignity, the host and guest enjoyed themselves for a while, and it seems that the previous suspicions have been resolved.

"It's a pity. If we can reach an agreement with Bogd Khan to jointly attack the people on the east bank, then they can avenge the people on the east bank who attacked Fort Alexei before. But what am I doing now? Prince Vasily Shirkov, the military and political chief of Borsk, relayed the instructions of Tsar Alexei, asking me to maintain relations with the east bank as much as possible while forming a good relationship with the Qing Dynasty, and to delineate the border as soon as possible to avoid conflicts.” Speaking of this, Baikov was also a little resentful, and he only heard him say: "But the conflict has already happened. Two hundred officers and soldiers were buried at the hands of the people on the east coast, and the gold-producing Fort Alexei was also taken away by them. Is this supposed to have never happened?"

Baikov took a sip of tea, temporarily suppressed the anger and grievance in his heart, and turned to contemplating his mission.In fact, as the special envoy sent by His Majesty the Tsar to the Far East, he accepted the dual leadership of Moscow and Tobolsk. Now the goal of forming a good relationship with the Qing Dynasty seems to have been achieved, and there is no problem with trade, and Bogd Khan also gave a lot of silk and porcelain. , tea, and cash worth 10 rubles ([-] taels of silver), the conditions are extremely favorable.It is conceivable that once they cooperate with Bogd Khan's generals and dispatch [-] or [-] well-equipped soldiers, they will definitely be able to completely defeat the people on the east bank and occupy the rich land they ruled.

But now this plan seems to be aborted. The damned Duke Shirkov sent the latest instructions from the Tsar from Tobolsk, asking us to avoid conflicts with the people on the east bank as much as possible, and to completely demarcate the border. This is particularly ironic today after the outbreak of the Battle of Alexei Fort.However, the will of His Majesty the Tsar must be carried out, and no one can defy it. Therefore, no matter how unwilling the diplomatic envoy Baykov was, he had to negotiate with the people on the east coast at this time.

In fact, this boundary negotiation has been going on for several days. At this time, the representatives of the East Coast people lived in Albazin Fort. Their attitude was very tough, and they clearly stated that they would punish those who ordered to come to the East Bank control area to collect food. Khabarov, compensation for previous losses of 71 rubles. At the same time, with Albazin Fort as the boundary, the west side is the Russian-controlled area, and the east side is the East Bank-controlled area. Only after the Russians agree to all the above conditions and sign an agreement, will they consider returning the property left by the Russians in Fort Alexei and releasing a total of [-] prisoners.

Stepanov, the commander of Albazin Fortress, and Priest Konstantin, after learning about the battle in Fort Alexei, implicitly suggested that Baykov’s diplomatic envoy agree to the conditions of the people on the east coast—of course, the specific terms can be Bargaining - because they have no choice, they can't afford the consequences, and neither can Yakutsk Warlord Franzbekov if the military conflict with the East Coast expands and affects the East Coast's diplomatic relations with Russia As a result, Duke Shirkov, the military and political chief of Tobolsk, can't bear the anger of His Majesty the Tsar!

Baykov couldn't resist the pressure from all sides, so although he was extremely unwilling, he had already made up his mind: to resume negotiations with the people on the east bank tomorrow morning, and to establish a new border between the two sides as soon as possible. Form a text (the previous discussion circles were mostly oral agreements, which were more arbitrary), and end the affairs here early.Next, it's time to do business and collect taxes. Neither side can hinder the other. Let's go about our own affairs. It's a pity for Bogd Khan. Once it is determined that we can't join hands with them to attack the people on the east coast, I will be disappointed. The Great Emperor of China may order to cut off trade, which is a lot of money, what a pity, what a pity!

On November 1659, 11, in the heavy snow, Baikov, on behalf of the Tsar and Duke Vasily Shirkov, the military and political governor of Tobolsk, renegotiated the agreement with the negotiators of the people on the east bank. Boundary (with Albazin as the boundary), and stated that each restrains the tribes, and shall not start a war without authorization within ten years-the above agreement (the Russian side is called the "Albazin Treaty", and the East is called the "Yaksa Treaty") in duplicate , without witnesses, both parties should keep it properly after contract renewal.

After the signing of the treaty, the people on the east bank stated that they would release the prisoners of war as soon as possible and return the captured Russian property (including matchlock guns, furs, horses, gold placer, grain, etc.), while Baykov expressed that he would send the compensation of [-] rubles to the Russians as soon as possible. To Humabao.As for the matter of punishing Khabarov and others, the two sides tacitly did not mention it again, and the matter has come to an end.The people on the east bank let the greedy Cossacks understand their determination and fighting power, while the Russians learned through a painful price where they can go and where they can't go. Only they themselves know the feeling.

After the Battle of Alexei Fort ended, seeing that the Russians not only did not retaliate wildly, but instead apologized and compensated [-] rubles in cash (paid by the Yakutsk treasury), the indigenous people living in the vast area nearby They were shocked immediately. Many Buryat Mongols, Daurs and other indigenous tribes who had long been dissatisfied with the cruel exploitation of the Russians sought opportunities to move to the areas controlled by the East Coast people—because they heard that the taxes there were lower. And it is also more orderly, unlike the vendettas and mergers here, life is obviously more stable and more attractive.

(End of this chapter)