Marquis Karl Novikov and others followed Asad Maimet to stay at Honglu Temple.
This is the place where the Great China Empire specially receives foreign guests.
Assad Maimaiti handed over the relevant procedures to the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette.
There was a relaxed look on his face, and he would only serve as a translator from now on. He would not be responsible for other things, but he could get a share of the credit.
Assad Maimaiti was very nervous along the way, fearing that something might happen to the Russian mission along the way.
Marquis Karl Novikov and others looked at the exquisite delicacies provided by the Great China Empire.
They have no appetite at all for these delicacies.
Before they boarded the train, they were just amazed at the wealth of the Great China Empire.
After they boarded the train, they realized that it would be difficult for Russia to win this war.
The Dahua Empire does not need to do anything else.
All you need to do is use the money spent on laying railroads for military expenses. Laying railroad rails and manufacturing weapons.
The Great China Empire is invincible, and the best outcome for Russia is to end the war with dignity.
Marquis Karl Novikov felt desperate when he thought about this.
If he could make the decision, he would tell the frontline troops to withdraw now.
But without the Tsar's order, Margrave Oleg Ivanov could not have withdrawn his troops.
It is now spring, and Marquis Oleg Ivanov will launch an attack at any time.
Even if Margrave Karl Novikov returns to the country now, he will not be able to prevent the outbreak of this war.
Count Andrei von Dillen saw the pale face of Marquis Karl Novikov.
He was a little lucky in his heart. Fortunately, Prime Minister Mazaran was not reckless and chose to let Russia test the strength of the Great China Empire.
Their preliminary analysis shows that the Great China Empire is a tiger that chooses people to devour.
If you are not strong enough, you must not provoke him.
Count Andrei von Dillen knew that Margrave Karl Novikov could not be allowed to decline.
There are some matters that still need to be handled by Marquis Karl Novikov.
He said in a gentle tone: "Karl, don't be depressed.
Things haven't reached an irreversible point yet.
A country that is rich may not be strong.
The Roman Empire was so rich, but they were destroyed by our ancestors.
There was a dynasty named Song in China, which was extremely wealthy.
But they were destroyed by the Mongolian barbarians.
Being rich or not has nothing to do with being powerful.
As long as Russia does not suffer a disastrous defeat in this war, there will still be room for maneuver.
If we really lose miserably, we will have to rely on Marquis Karl Novikov to maintain our final dignity."
After hearing this, Marquis Karl Novikov looked a little excited.
He has no control over how the frontline troops fight.
But in the Great China Empire, he must safeguard Russia's dignity and not bring shame on the Tsar's face.
Karl Novikov said: "Don't worry, I will definitely complete my mission."
After they discussed it, they went back to their rooms to rest.
They have been informed by the officials of Honglu Temple that Chu Sheng, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, will hold talks with them on behalf of the Great China Empire tomorrow.
Earl George Johnson has always been a transparent person in the team.
But he is constantly collecting information about the Dahua Empire.
He believed that the motherland would be able to use this information sooner or later.
It was about to get dark, and with the last light, he wanted to finish writing what he had learned today.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There was a knock on Earl George Johnson's door.
He saw that it was already evening and who would disturb him at this time.
What should the Russian mission do?
They were in the train car and had a very clear discussion.
They saw the power of the Dahua Empire and put aside many clauses that might cause misunderstandings with the Dahua Empire.
George Johnson opened the door and saw a somewhat unfamiliar face.
He has blond curly hair, a pair of blue eyes, and high nostrils.
Wearing the clothes that were popular in London a few years ago, he is leaning on a gentleman's stick.
Just by looking at his posture, one could tell that he was an English nobleman.
George Johnson asked in his native language: "Who is your Excellency?"
He heard an authentic London accent, which was his hometown dialect that he had not heard for a long time.
"Earl Johnson, I am Viscount Tom Wilson, the English Ambassador to China."
Earl George Johnson learned the identity of the other party, and he immediately welcomed Viscount Tom Wilson into the room.
Tom Wilson himself saw a somewhat dim room.
He came to the door and turned on the incandescent light switch.
The whole room suddenly became brighter.
Earl George Johnson was unprepared when a blinding light hit his eyes.
He exclaimed: "What's going on? It's already dark, how can the room be so bright?"
Viscount Tom Wilson was not surprised when he saw Earl George Johnson's reaction.
People who see electric lights for the first time almost always have this reaction.
He said with emotion: "Count Johnson, this is a technology called electric light.
It dispels darkness and makes a room as bright as day.”
Earl George Johnson walked to the light cord and pulled the light switch repeatedly, causing the lights in the room to flicker.
He lamented: “With electric lights, it is easier to work at night.
Darkness will not be a factor that hinders social development."
Viscount Tom Wilson nodded and said: "That's true. The Dahua Empire Night Market is very lively because of the electric lights.
The factories in the Dahua Empire do not rest at night because they have electric lights so they can operate the machines normally.
I read in the newspaper that having searchlights on the battlefield would be more beneficial for the army to fight at night."
Earl George Johnson asked curiously: "Viscount Wilson, you have lived in the Great China Empire for many years and you should know the Great China Empire very well.
Tell me about the Great China Empire."
"Okay, Earl Johnson.
Let me briefly talk about the unique features of the Great China Empire.
Many situations in the Great China Empire still need Earl Wilson to live here for a period of time before he can understand them more clearly."
Viscount Tom Wilson summarized the language and began to introduce the situation of the Great China Empire.
“The most amazing thing about the Dahua Empire is its steam engine technology.
Without the steam engine, the Great China Empire would not be much different from Europe.
It was the steam engine that brought about earth-shaking changes.
A steam engine only requires coal and water to provide sufficient power.
It can drive factories running tens of thousands of people.
The Yang family's textile factory in Tianjin of the Dahua Empire employs more than 60,000 workers.
This factory produces more cloth in a month than our country produced in a year before I left London.
The quality of the cloth produced by the factory is very high, much better than the homespun cloth produced by small workshops, and the price is very cheap. Even if it is shipped to London, it is 10% cheaper than the homespun cloth.
If you buy it in Dahua Empire, it will be at least half the price.
Because the steam engine was put into use, the Dahua Empire produced a large number of industrial products, and the entire country was extremely wealthy.
The culmination of steam engines is the train.
Steam engines pulled carriages on railroad tracks and could transport huge quantities of materials.
In this way, the materials and people of the Great China Empire flowed everywhere, creating countless wealth.
The Dahua Empire dug gold and silver mines everywhere, but there was not enough for private transactions.
The Dahua Empire was based on the gold standard, but the commonly used transaction currency was silver coins. In order to meet private transactions, a large number of banknotes were also issued.
Now the people of the Great China Empire have gradually accepted the value of banknotes.
The army of the Dahua Empire is also very powerful, especially their gun technology.
They used a technology called a breech-loading gun, which fired bullets extremely fast.
They also found gunpowder that far surpassed black powder and was unimaginably powerful.
The Dahua Empire is so powerful that technological iterations have not stopped.
The emergence of electromagnetism is truly amazing.
Electric lights are just simple electricity applications, as well as electric fans, refrigerators and other electrical appliances.
Wire telegraphy can transmit information thousands of miles away.
There are a lot of outrageous technologies being rumored today, but I don’t know much about them.”
Earl George Johnson listened carefully to Viscount Tom Wilson's story. He had a vague impression of the Great China Empire.
The Tsar's envoys, Margrave Karl Novikov and Count André von Dillen of France, were not idle either.
They learned about the situation of the Dahua Empire through their own methods.
They did not have the details introduced by Viscount Tom Wilson, the ambassador to China, but they could still have a general understanding of the Great China Empire and avoid making common sense mistakes.
The Honglu Temple was very lively the next day. Chu Sheng, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Great China Empire, brought officials from the Rites Division of the Ministry of Rites to meet with the Russian mission.
Chu Sheng and Karl Novikov started negotiations to discuss some exchange frameworks between the two countries.
The main issues are the tariffs that need to be paid for trade between the two countries, prisoner exchange and other issues.
…………………………
Emperor Su He presided over the imperial meeting in Qianqing Palace.
Zhang Zhiji, a doctor in charge of the Ministry of Rites, had the honor to attend the imperial meeting. He listened carefully to how the big bosses handled state affairs.
Ribanji's status in the Ministry of Rites gradually increased.
As the name suggests, Lifansi is the yamen that handles affairs in the state.
Whether it is the Great China Empire and vassal states such as Zhao and Min, or countries such as England and France.
All matters are handled by the management department.
It is already the second largest yamen after the Department of Science and Education and the Ministry of Rites, and is directly managed by the right minister of the Ministry of Rites.
It is not a small, transparent yamen like the Religious Office with low power and low status.
Emperor Su He looked at Chu Sheng, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, and asked: "Chu Aiqing just finished talking with the Russian Tsar's special envoy.
For what reason did the special envoy of the Russian Tsar come to our country, and what was the content of your talks?"
Chu Sheng knew that His Majesty the Emperor was very concerned about the arrival of the Russian Czar's envoy.
All the officials and people were staring at the Ministry of Rites, especially him.
Among them, the Metropolitan Governor's Office was behind this, adding fuel to the flames.
The Dahua Empire has been preparing for war for more than a year, and the interests of many people have been tied to this war.
They did not want Russia to enter into peace talks with the Empire.
It would be fine if it was a normal peace negotiation, but if there is a treaty that would undermine the country's rights and humiliate it, it would be fine.
Even Chu Sheng felt that he could not get out of the gate of Honglu Temple.
He stood up and reported: "Your Majesty, the Russian envoy mainly discussed issues such as tariffs, prisoner exchange, and mutual ambassadors between the two countries.
The two countries are about to go to war. Most people can smell the smoke, and small-scale conflicts have already occurred on the front lines.
Other issues are minor and I have precedents to follow.
Only on the issue of prisoner exchange, I have been undecided. Please make it clear, Your Majesty."
Emperor Su He was still quite concerned about this issue.
The Royal Army of Dahua is very powerful, but it cannot carry out a large-scale war without being captured by the enemy.
The soldiers on the front line are all heroes. If they can be rescued, they should be rescued as much as possible. The rescued prisoners can also become veterans of many battles.
Emperor Su He said: "I deeply agree with what Confucius said.
'How to repay kindness with evil?'
The Great China Empire is a country of etiquette, but etiquette is used on allies, not on enemies.
When treating others, you must treat others with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Regarding the issue of prisoners, we only need to remember one thing: treat them equally.
If the enemy kills prisoners, we also kill prisoners.
The enemy treated the prisoners well, and we also treated the prisoners well.
The matter of capturing prisoners must be flexibly adjusted according to changes in the battlefield."
The words of the Emperor of the Great China Empire were imperial edicts, and Su He did not want the soldiers on the front line to be tied up because of his own words.
For a civilized army, the Royal Army of Dahua will naturally show the style of a royal master.
For an army of beasts, the Royal Army of Dahua will never hold back.
Chu Sheng bowed and saluted, indicating that he already knew the bottom line of the negotiation.
The cabinet ministers and the six ministers also reported on some imperial affairs.
Governor Feng Sanqiu began to report on various military affairs of the Great China Empire.
There are no longer military conflicts in most areas of the Great China Empire, and everything is just about the army and navy competing for military expenditures.
There were only two places where war broke out in the Dahua Empire.
One is the Governor-General of East India, which sent a small force to lead some militiamen to continuously encroach on the Indian region.
Their opponents are too weak and don't even have firearms.
Unless they encounter Western colonists, an army of dozens of people can defeat an army of thousands of Indian princes.
Almost all the eyes of the Great China Empire are focused on the western border of the empire.
The war between the Empire and Russia has become increasingly smelly.
No one in the Qianqing Palace thought that the war would end suddenly.
There is no room for two big countries in Central Asia.
Regardless of the fact that the Great China Empire continues to increase sales of industrial products.
Just the mineral resources discovered by the prospecting team in Kazakhstan made the empire reluctant to give this area to others.
The empire captured the Kazakh region, which is really not far from Moscow, the capital of Russia.
How can I allow others to sleep soundly on my couch?
Russia does not have this saying, but it will not sit back and watch the power of the Chinese Empire continue to expand into the Russian hinterland.
Even if England and France were not behind it, the Chinese Empire and Russia would sooner or later have a war that would determine the fate of both countries.
Governor Feng Sanqiu reported on the preparations of the Northwest Governor's Mansion.
He asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, Wu Jie, commander-in-chief of the Northwest Theater Command, has judged that the main target of Russia's attack is Tumufu-Balkhash Lake defense line or Tangnu Ulianghai.
Wu Jie is concentrating his forces in these two areas to prepare for the Russian attack."
After hearing the situation on the front line, Emperor Su He said: "Our army does not need to defend passively. If we are ready and the frontline generals are confident, we can take the initiative to attack.
You hit yours, I'll hit mine.
Tell this to the frontline generals.
Soldiers who, deception also.
Frontline generals can be constrained by fixed thinking.
It doesn’t matter who fired the first shot, but winning the war is important.”
Emperor Su He believed that many people in the court had ideological baggage.
They always want to make a name for themselves and cannot find any reason to attack the enemy, so they just want the enemy to fire the first shot.
This kind of thinking is completely unnecessary. As long as the war is won, the reasons for launching the war can always be made up.