Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1820 Europa Universalis ([-])

Amsterdam on the night of September 1680, 9.

In the newly renovated East Bank Commercial Hall, there was a lively atmosphere. Members of the diplomatic and trade missions from the Russian Empire were having dinner with Gao Wengang, the East Bank Plenipotentiary Envoy to Europe.Before the dinner started, the two sides had just talked about Ignady Mirovanov, who had led the team twice to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the East Coasters.

Speaking of which, this gentleman is also relatively unlucky.The year before last, he was sent to the Netherlands by order of Tsar Fyodor, but the Dutch merchant ship he was on board was attacked by a privateer authorized by the King of Sweden in the Baltic Sea, and unfortunately died in the sea.After the news was sent back to Moscow, the nobles were in an uproar, and some even clamored to declare war on the Kingdom of Sweden. However, Russia had already been deeply involved in the conflict on the Ukrainian steppe at that time, and was unable to look around, so the matter was abandoned.

After Mirovanov and his deputy Shilev were buried in the Baltic Sea, Tsar Fyodor was not discouraged and sent a second wave of Kobyakov missions this year.They set off from Arkhangelsk near the White Sea, boarded a large-tonnage Dutch grain ship, and finally arrived at the northern port of Hollen, and then arrived in Amsterdam by land.

After arriving here, Gao Wengang was a little relieved that Kobyakov asked his deputy to take someone to visit the Dutch client and lesbian relationship, while he himself came to the business house and embassy of the people on the east coast to visit the East Coast. Gao Wengang, Special Envoy of Taiwan to Europe, presented a large sum of gifts.

The knowledgeable and interesting Russians made Gao Wengang very happy, so he held a banquet in the embassy for more than a dozen of them. This meeting has come to the end of the banquet. The two sides also put down their ivory chopsticks and chatted about something that everyone is very interested things like business.

"The Russian Empire has been doing something extraordinary commercially in the past two years. I've heard friends mention that Arkhangelsk and St. The main port. When I was in Amsterdam, I often heard people discussing how Russian rye is, and for a long time, the rye from your country and Poland has been evenly distributed in the market, which is very amazing." Gao Wengang shook gently The Italian imported wine in the glass said with a smile on the corner of his mouth: "There is no doubt that the means of His Majesty Tsar Fyodor to be able to export a large amount of food without causing major turmoil in the country are really impressive. "

It is said that the frail and sickly Tsar Fyodor faced violent turmoil in the domestic situation as soon as he came to the throne. Many people thought that the Tsar, who might die at any time, was an insignificant figure, but was handed over by the veteran nobles headed by the Miroslavsky family. It's just a plaything.But the fact is that many people have lost their eyes. After passing through the critical period of the first two years of stabilizing the throne, he began to gradually alienate the Miroslavski family and get close to the university student, who was recommended to him by his sister Princess Sofia. Duke Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsin, a nobleman in several languages, and under his guidance, carried out drastic reforms to the backward system of the Russian Empire.

To be fair, the rulers of the Tsarist Russian Empire in the past half century, no matter they are strong or thin, intelligent or mediocre, have never changed their determination to reform the backward political, military and economic systems in the country and make Russia gradually stronger , and basically put into action.

On this point, the previous tsars of Tsarist Russia are really not black, and they are indeed much stronger than those feudal emperors who closed their doors and did not think about making progress.Just like Fyodor III, who was so weak and sick that he could die at any time, he was also determined to reform. For example, under his influence, many ministers took off their robes with a strong grassland heritage, and they should wear European-style clothing. His queen She was the first queen who was allowed to wear European-style clothing in the court. Many Russian nobles also persuaded her to cut off her iconic beard. The first, to be precise, Peter's reform measures have been gradually popularized by previous tsars, but Peter continued to strengthen all these, and his attitude was more radical, and he would never compromise with the old-fashioned nobles, thus accelerating the process of Westernization of Russia That's all.

And these reforms of the Russian Empire, accumulated over decades, cannot be underestimated. They have already had a huge impact on all aspects of society, including politics, economy, and military affairs, and most of them are positive.For example, Fyodor III's reforms in the past few years have greatly increased Russia's agricultural production and rye exports, and it has already occupied a relatively important position in the Western European grain wholesale market.

Similar to this is the export of ship gear. Taking advantage of the temporary falling out between Sweden and the United Provinces, Russian goods seized the market and gained huge trade income.And these incomes are basically used by the Russians to introduce advanced Western technology, hire more Western military officers and technical craftsmen, and purchase more advanced weapons or equipment, which in turn strengthens the Russian Empire. The country has entered the track of a virtuous circle.

As one of the few countries that trades with Russia, the East Coast Republic of China has naturally gained certain benefits during Russia's trade boom, especially mechanical products such as various hardware products, labor tools, knives, gears, and cutter heads. The demand is huge, and the export volume is increasing year by year, which reflects Russia's strong domestic productivity from the side.

Gao Wengang, who is the special envoy to Europe, is naturally very familiar with these trade data.In addition, he served as an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire for a long time before he took office, so he naturally knew a lot about Russia, a neighboring country of the Ottomans, so he had a deeper understanding of the things behind these reforms and trade data than ordinary people. The future of the Crimean Khanate was a little worried.

The Crimean Khanate has actually done a very good job. Although it is a grassland regime, it has a unique understanding of its own positioning and national defense and security in history.United with the Grand Duke of Lithuania to fight the Golden Horde, United with Moscow to fight against Poland, and allied with weakened Poland to fight against Russia, etc. All kinds of vertical and horizontal combinations are flying. .But the only thing they messed up was that they failed to contain the rise of Russia, which caused a series of passivity today, so that it gradually reached the point where it could not fight without relying on the Ottomans, and its independence was increasingly lost.

And it is precisely because of the rising of Russia and the gradually opening of the huge trade market that the people on the east coast have started to cooperate with this country to a certain extent for many years in order to maintain their influence, so that they can influence Russia's policy at critical moments towards.Today, with the stable operation of the Arkhangelsk gun repair plant and the Little Star Shipyard, the trade volume of Moscow, St. Nicholas, and Arkhangelsk trading stations is increasing day by day, and the people on the east coast are becoming more and more important to the tsar. The more important it is, so much so that the tsar has given orders to officials in the Far East not to start wars lightly, which proves the existence of the influence of the people on the east bank from the side.After all, for Tsarist Russia, possible military setbacks in the war in the Far East are one thing, and the negative impact on the economy and technology introduction also makes them feel distressed—for example, it is now the time when Russian timber is being exported to the Netherlands , if the East Bank government directly bans the export of high-quality circular saws, blades and other tools to the Russian Empire, then their production efficiency may be reduced a lot, which will affect the Tsar's pocketbook, which will undoubtedly make them feel very sad .

Maintain a certain minimum level of technical exchanges with Russia, obtain "admission tickets" for trade in Russia, and at the same time maintain a certain degree of influence on the government of this country by exporting labor tools or weapons and ammunition that they cannot refuse to Russia. It is the East Bank government's strategy toward Russia, and it seems to be relatively successful now.At least so far, as long as the people on the east coast do not conflict with the basic national policy of the Russian Empire, it is relatively safe to guide Russia's policy under clever timing, such as influencing them to go west instead of south or east Expansion (now it seems that if the Dutch make more efforts, this great empire may really go westward with all its strength).

"Your country's traditional commodities such as grain, ship gear, timber, leather, tallow, honey, paraffin, whale oil, etc., appear in piles in major markets such as Amsterdam, London, and Paris, and are discussed and traded by everyone. These trade practices Undoubtedly, your country’s financial situation has been greatly improved. As old friends of the Russian Empire, we are also very pleased with this and sincerely hope that this situation can continue.” Gao Wengang said to Kobyakov There were some words of blessing, which undoubtedly made the Russian guests very happy. It is a great honor to be valued by the advanced, powerful and civilized East Coast people.

You know, now Russia is very keen on all kinds of goods from the east coast, from colorful printed cloths to dyed leather goods, from durable hardware products to industrial knives, from perfumes and medicines to clocks and musical instruments, Russian nobles, citizens and workers The crowd's pursuit of goods on the East Bank is very high, and this is also the basis for the three major commercial stations opened on the East Bank to obtain a lot of profits.

In fact, if the East Coast Republic was not too far away, many Russian enlightened people would even prefer to travel or study on the East Coast instead of going to Amsterdam.Tsar Fyodor will not send people to France to ask for mercenary officers and soldiers (to teach the Russian shooting army), but to cooperate with the East Bank military department.

As a veteran diplomat who has been to Beijing, Tabriz, Istanbul, Stockholm, Krakow and other cities, Koby Yakov is well-informed and has a better understanding of the strength of the people on the east coast.For many years, he has always felt that it is really a very lucky thing to draw a peaceful border with the East Coast Republic of China in the Far East, and it is also of great benefit to Russia.After all, Russia no longer relies on exporting fur to make profits. The importance of the Far East is decreasing, and commercial trade with the East Coast is becoming more and more important. Therefore, it is very necessary to maintain friendship with the East Coast, otherwise those who are engaged in foreign trade I am afraid that the great nobles will not be happy.

"Thanks to the development of the international situation, our country's products have gained huge overseas demand, which is undoubtedly a good thing. But our country also has a huge demand for imports, especially the military expenditures are very high every year. Special Envoy Gao as the Plenipotentiary Envoy , it should be clear that His Majesty the Tsar must approve the import of a large amount of weapons and military materials produced in your country every year (because the trade between the east bank and Russia is a one-way export, which means that Russia has a large outflow of precious metals, so special approval from the Tsar is required), which costs a lot Big. Moreover, the enemies of our country are also big, Poland, Crimea, Ottomans, Persia and even Sweden have very bad relations with us, so we have to maintain a large-scale army, which naturally costs a lot ’” explained Kobyakov.

"But with the end of the war in Europe, Austria will refocus its attention on Hungary and compete with the Ottoman Empire. This will undoubtedly help to reduce the military pressure on your country. The [-] soldiers stationed on the left bank of the Dnieper River, really Is it necessary? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to abolish it? Is the Ukrainian prairie that has been turned into a piece of white land really more attractive than Poland, which is densely populated and has a feud with your country?” Gao Wen just followed Kobyakov’s words: “And Fighting the Ottomans and the Crimeans is not beneficial to your country, and from the standpoint of our government, we don’t quite understand your country’s actions..."

Gao Wengang's words sounded a bit heavy.The East Bank "doesn't understand" that Russia has stationed heavy troops in Ukraine, and is entangled with the Ottomans and Tatars. In other words, they "do not support" or "oppose" the Russians in doing so.And if the Russians still have nothing to say after the people on the east coast give reminders or suggestions, what might the people on the east coast do?Kobyakov has to consider these things, and the big figures like Duke Miroslavsky and Duke Golitsin of Moscow also have to consider them, and even His Majesty Fyodor III has to think about them carefully.Can they bear the risk of a complete freeze of trade between East and Russia again? After all, foreign trade was limited in the past, and the surplus was not much, and it was okay to live behind closed doors.But now that they have tasted the sweetness of the huge increase in export trade, do the Russians have the courage to go back to the past again?

this is a problem!Chronic poison wrapped in honey has never been so easy to swallow!

After the dinner was over and Gao Wengang said goodbye, Kobyakov, who returned to the hotel, was still thinking about this issue, and wondered whether Russia was too dependent on the machinery, equipment, weapons and military resources on the east coast, which might make Russia Lose some independence.Maybe it's time to get in touch with the Dutch and the English and see if you can find a replacement?

(End of this chapter)