Chapter 116 Heading to the Caspian Sea, Drunken Fleet?
Just after this farewell party, Keith left Russia the next day, and Charles officially became the British Ambassador to Russia.
On the third day after Charles took office, he finally took over everything Keith had left behind, mainly intelligence.
What surprised him was that a person who was crucial to his trip was not in Russia at this time.
This person is Deputy Minister of General Affairs Bestudev. If the agreement to protect Hanover is signed with the United Kingdom, the relationship between Russia and Prussia will become sensitive, but this sensitivity is not at all for Bestudev, who has been committed to attacking Prussia.
care.
Although Charles and Bestudev have never met, they seem to have regarded the Deputy Minister of General Affairs as a target of wooing.
It can be said that whether he can complete the secret mission of this trip is closely related to Bestudev's attitude.
As for the Minister of General Affairs Vorontsov, Vorontsov is famous for being concerned only with internal affairs.
Now that there is a lot of commotion over the laying of red bricks everywhere in Russia, I wonder how the Minister of General Affairs will end up.
Charles thought further. Perhaps, after this incident, Bestudev would replace Vorontsov as Minister of General Affairs. In this way, Prussia would be a greater threat, but it would be more beneficial to Britain.
Impatient, Charles wanted to know where the Undersecretary of General Affairs was, and he wanted to see him immediately.
At this time, Bestudev was indeed not in Moscow.
It can even be said that he is far away from Moscow.
This is unbelievable for a Deputy Secretary of State who is mainly responsible for foreign affairs.
Accompanying Bestudev was Army Lieutenant General Aprakhin.
Carrying the important mission assigned by His Majesty, Bestudev understood from the relaxed conditions His Majesty gave him that this matter was extremely important.
Bestudev thought about what His Majesty said before leaving:
“The Volga River is the longest river in Europe and the longest inland river with the widest drainage basin in the world. This river flows into the Caspian Sea from north to south.”
“This river is crucial not only because of the vitality it brings, but also because it can connect the Baltic Sea through the Volga River-Baltic Sea, the White Sea through the North Dvina River, and the Azov Sea through the Volga River-Don River.
Black Sea..."
Thinking about His Majesty's words, Bestudev couldn't help but feel excited. Your Majesty's situation is really big.
His trip was to open up the Volga-Don River, and the appearance of the Deputy Minister of General Affairs was to show that he attached great importance to it. Russia has always wanted to go west to the Baltic Sea and south to the Black Sea, but no one had ever thought that the Black Sea could be connected like this.
Although they all have to pass through the Sea of Azov, Bestutev feels that this alternative route is worth trying.
Moreover, this can be said to be His Majesty's first feat since he came to the throne. In the eyes of Bestudev, who is accustomed to formulating foreign policies, His Majesty's previous newspaper sales and school running can only be regarded as major achievements in domestic affairs and people's livelihood.
Because only the Volga-Don Canal can be dug, conflicts may occur on the way to the Caspian Sea. When conflicts arise, how will His Majesty deal with them?
Will there be a war?
Probably, yes.
Regardless of whether it will happen or not, Bestudev is willing to go here and dig the soil for the first time for His Majesty's order.
In order to experience the Don and Volga rivers more truly, Bestudev walked along the Don River waterway. Only when he could go no further did Bestudev go ashore accompanied by an army lieutenant general and escorting soldiers.
Bestudev was in a state of despair along the way.
He passed through wide rivers, as well as shoals and waste rivers. As he gradually reached the plains, the waste rivers began to increase until they were completely blocked.
When he came to the shore, Bestudev glanced around and could still vaguely see the traces of manual excavation. Bestudev couldn't help but think about what Peter the Great would have done if he still had enough material and manpower to dredge the Don River and the Volga River.
It should be open to navigation now.
But the fact is that since the death of Peter the Great, neither Catherine I nor Peter II, Empress Anna, or even Empress Elizabeth have ever had any involvement here.
Until Your Majesty.
Bestudev glanced at the soldiers he had recruited, there were two thousand of them. Your Majesty gave him half a year to a year, but at the same time he gave him huge power. In order to live up to His Majesty's trust, Bestudev did not hesitate to do so.
Use power sparingly.
Glancing at Apraxin, the army lieutenant general was looking at him with a troubled expression.
If it weren't for His Majesty's order, he would not have come to such a place. As a practical man in the military who wanted to make achievements, Apraksin had been quite trusted during the period of Queen Elizabeth Yin, and his status had always been relatively prominent.
Not only because of him, but also because of his origin.
Aprakshin's ancestor was Fedor Matveyevich Aprakshin, and he participated in the Youth Army organized by Peter the Great since he was a child.
Later, he participated in the Second Azov Expedition, led the construction of the Taganrog military port, and served as the director of the Naval Academy. During the battle with Sweden, he successfully commanded the troops defending Petersburg, and also commanded the Baltic Sea Campaign and the Landing Campaign.
During the expedition to Persia, he was appointed commander of the Caspian Sea Fleet, and later transferred to commander of the Baltic Fleet. He was a member of the Supreme Privy Council and was the first to be awarded the title of Marshal of the Navy.
This is the highest rank in the Russian Navy promulgated by Peter the Great.
It was precisely because of the relationship between Aprakhin's ancestors and the Caspian Fleet that Bestudev asked His Majesty to let Aprakhin accompany him when leaving Moscow.
After all, as far as he knew, the current Caspian Fleet was no longer the Caspian Fleet when it was first established.
Before 1722, although northern Russia had a long Arctic Ocean coastline, it was impossible to break the ice, so Russia, which could not use the long northern route, was essentially a landlocked country.
It was not until September 10, 1721, that Russia gained access to the Baltic Sea after winning the Great Northern War with Sweden.
A year later, Peter the Great ordered the establishment of the Caspian Fleet.
Russia, which had just become a coastal country, still lacked sufficient navigation experience. The early navy mostly practiced in the inland lake of the Caspian Sea. Later, Peter the Great recruited 22,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry and 70,000 Cossacks, Tatars, and Karls.
Mek soldiers.
The infantry and artillery were transported to the mouth of the Surak River through the Caspian Sea Fleet, while the cavalry entered Persia via land and began the war with Persia.
This is the debut of the Caspian Fleet.
This military operation enabled Russia to gain control of the Caspian Sea coast between Derbent and Resht, but the Ottoman Empire refused to recognize Russia's possession of the Caspian Sea area. Later, the two countries signed the Treaty of Constantinople in 1724 after consultations.
.
Türkiye and Russia agreed to divide northern and northwestern Persia equally.
From then on, Russia seized the land on the west and south coast of the Caspian Sea from Persia, and the Russian fleet galloping in the Caspian Sea naturally became the overlord of this region.
However, more than twenty years have passed since then, and the Caspian Fleet has not fought a single battle. As far as Bestudev knows, it has become corrupt and desolate.
It's not so much a Caspian fleet as it is a fleet of vodka drunkards.