Asking for a monthly pass, begging for a monthly pass

............................

In early May 1849 AD, Petersburg, the overlord of the European continent and the capital of the Russian Empire, ushered in the best time of the year.

This city is located in the west of the Plinev Lowlands, at the confluence of the Neva River and the Gulf of Finland - the Neva River Delta. Founded in the time of Peter the Great, it was the base camp for the Russian Empire's westward expansion into Europe and towards the ocean. It is also the capital of Beijing.

The solemn to dull atmosphere at your feet is different. Petersburg is a vibrant and prosperous coastal city.

The broad streets are full of magnificent tall buildings and beautiful sculptures. All the houses are so beautiful, and all the pedestrians are well-dressed and polite. It really seems like a city in a fairy tale.

Next to the "Kissing Bridge" near the city limits of Petersburg, there are several dusty carriages parked, with four wheels and two horses. The paint on the black bodies has peeled off a lot, and there are still stains on the transparent glass windows.

There was less mud and water, and the coachman was in the front row, with his neck curled up and his sleeves rolled up, as if he was dozing off. In the carriage of the first carriage, there was a man in white clothes crying, and beside him was a man with a frown and a troubled expression on his face.

Russian naval general.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... I have failed the Emperor's favor. I am incompetent. I'd better go with you..."

The person who was crying loudly turned out to be Bai Siwen, the Qing Dynasty's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Imperial Envoy, and Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia, England, France and other countries.

When I left Beijing, I was worried that the Qing Dynasty was still the master of China, and Emperor Daoguang was still a holy king. Although the situation was not very good, no one thought that the city of Beijing would really be taken away by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This bad news came when Bai Siwen and his party arrived.

Moscow

At that time, it was delivered by a fast horse - Beijing fell, Emperor Daoguang was martyred (actually he was not dead yet), the emperor's sixth son, Prince Gong, ascended the throne in Shengjing, the Qing Dynasty had retreated outside the customs, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had occupied the Central Plains.

Tu, confronting Zhu Ming in the south.

The news was like a bolt from the blue, which made Bai Siwen dizzy. So he changed into mourning clothes and cried all the way to Petersburg.

"Mr. Bai... Petersburg has arrived. As long as His Majesty the Great Nicholas I agrees to send troops, he will definitely be able to help the Qing Dynasty restore its rule."

The person who comforted Bai Siwen was the Russian Rear Admiral Putya Ting who accompanied him all the way from Beijing to Petersburg. He sincerely hoped to help the Manchu Dynasty restore its rule.

"Emperor Nicholas is really willing to send troops to help the Qing Dynasty restore its power? Then the Russian Empire is really the reborn parent of our Qing Dynasty..." Bai Siwen cried and thanked Putiyating.

However, Major General Putiyating frowned. The news from the west shocked him very much. Queen Luo Xiangmei of the Ming Dynasty and Liu Peng, the right prime minister, became guests of the British and French governments.

First, he was a guest at Windsor Castle and signed the "Ming-British Treaty" with the British government. The British Empire recognized the Ming Kingdom government as the only legitimate government of China, and did not make inappropriate demands for extraterritoriality, unilateral most-favored-nation treatment, agreement tariffs, etc. This shows that

.The British Empire has recognized the Ming Kingdom as a second- or third-rate power in the world!

Afterwards, Luo Xiangmei and Liu Peng returned to France and were treated as honored guests by Charles Napoleon, who had just been elected as the French president. The two parties signed the "Ming-France Covenant" at the Tureui Palace. Yes, it was a covenant! The French Republic and the Ming Kingdom actually formed an alliance.

What made Putiyating even more numb was that the French president who was allied with the Ming Dynasty was named Napoleon. He was the nephew of the Emperor Napoleon who led 600,000 troops to Russia to kill people and set fires...

If this trend continues, once the Ming Dynasty and Russia go to war, Britain and France will do everything possible to provide support to the Ming Dynasty, even if they do not directly join the war on the side of the Ming Dynasty!

However, abandoning the Manchu Qing Dynasty and establishing good relations with the Ming Dynasty does not seem to be in the interests of Russia and other countries. Now Zhu Ming has not yet unified China, but has already shown the potential to dominate the East Asian continent. If Zhu Ming is allowed to continue to grow, he will seize the Manchurian Empire.

The entire territory of the Qing Dynasty and the backyard of the Russian Empire were not on fire, but a volcanic eruption.

Today's Russia is really standing at a crossroads between a dilemma and a dilemma. I hope the Almighty God can give His Majesty the Tsar enough wisdom to solve this problem. Major General Putyating thought so.

…

May 23, 1849.

Russian Poland, Royal Palace in Warsaw.

The Russian Tsar Nicholas I stayed alone in his study, his mood was very gloomy and heavy.

The situation is very bad, very bad. The European revolution that started in February 1848 has not yet been calmed down. Moreover, the revolutionary storm is blowing eastward from Western Europe step by step, and has already reached Austrian Poland and Austrian Hungary.

In particular, the rising arrogance of the Hungarian revolution made Nicholas I, the dictator of the Russian Empire, feel restless. At the Battle of Nadisaro on April 19, the Hungarian Self-Defense Army crushed the famous Austrian general Wen

The main force of the Austrian army commanded by Marshal Prince Dischgrätz captured Pest, the capital of Hungary, more than a month later. The Hungarian revolution seemed to be about to win!

According to the contagious nature of European revolutionary trends, the victory of the Hungarian Revolution will definitely inspire revolutionary enthusiasm in neighboring countries. Considering that there are many Poles in the Hungarian Self-Defense Forces, if the Hungarian Revolution is not stifled, Poland will be the next to cause trouble, and

After Poland, the revolutionary storm is likely to spread to Russia! Just like the Decembrist uprising more than 20 years ago!

Nicholas I was not a foolish emperor like Emperor Daoguang who didn't even know how much an egg cost. Having been a tsar for more than 20 years, his Majesty the tsar certainly knew that the most powerful Russian Empire in the world, which he ruled, had

Beneath its glamorous exterior lies a clay-footed giant in deep social and economic crisis.

In fact, His Majesty the Tsar agrees with the views of the Decembrists - Raevsky, Odoevsky, Ryleyev, Chuhelbekai and others on Russian serfdom and Russian constitutional reform.

My opinion is absolutely correct!

A civilized European country in the 19th century had no constitution, no parliament, and what’s even more exaggerated is that there were tens of millions of serfs in the country! This is simply a huge joke, even for an ancient, backward, barbaric, and ignorant East like China.

Countries are now imitating European countries in formulating constitutions and setting up parliaments to protect the freedom, property and equal rights of their subjects.

Even China, a big country in the East, can follow the example of Western Europe in carrying out constitutional reforms! As a European country, it has been learning to imitate the Russian Empire in Western Europe since Peter the Great. How can you shamelessly say that serfdom is in line with Russia’s national conditions and that tsarist dictatorship is

Is it necessary to ensure Russia’s stability and unity?

However, knowing that the Russian Majesty wants to carry out reforms and being able to implement them immediately are completely different things. China's current constitutional movement is not a reform at all, but the result of a revolution. The Tatar dynasty that ruled China for 200 years collapsed, and the old system

Of course, it could be buried with it. But how could the Romanov dynasty abandon the aristocratic serf owners who supported it overnight, and how could it abandon the serfdom that had long been the foundation of Russia's economy?

Unless there is also a revolution that overthrows the Romanov dynasty!

So the views of the Decembrists were absolutely correct, including the one about trying to overthrow the Romanov dynasty!

However, Nicholas I had to stand on a position that he himself believed to be wrong, do everything possible to maintain his dynasty and empire, and rack his brains to find a safe and reliable route forward for Russia.

This was the purpose of his coming to Poland, to meet with Joseph Franz, who had just become the Caesar of the Austrian Empire, to discuss sending troops to help Austria suppress the Hungarian revolution, and to prevent the great storm of European revolution from blowing into Russia from the west. At the same time,

, but also with the Ming Kingdom who came from France

Prime Minister Liu Peng met with Marquis Liu Peng in order to reach a peace treaty that could stabilize Russia's eastern border... If a peace treaty cannot be reached with the Ming Dynasty, the Eastern issue will probably consume countless energy, manpower and financial resources of the empire in the next few decades.
Chapter completed!