After Master Chengche and his disciples were brought back to Beihai Town, Chen Qingsong met with them in the evening of the same day. After a conversation, Chen Qingsong was impressed by the old monk's conversation and knowledge, and agreed that the two of them would stay in Beihai Town for a while.
Afterwards, the civil administration was asked to arrange temporary accommodation for the master and apprentice.
Two days later, the Civil Affairs Bureau sent a clerk to accompany Master Chengche and his apprentice to visit the Beihai Town Central Hospital, and he was seen by Macarius.
When Father Ma saw the two Buddhist monks arriving, he thought they were specially invited by Beihai Town. He felt a little panicked. He thought that before the orthodox religion had been established locally, Buddhists came over to grab the territory. This guy thought about it.
After thinking about it again, I decided to upgrade the prayers I read to patients every time, and to flatter Zhao Xin at the same time.
"Lord, please save your people and bless your inheritance. Give the pious king Zhao Xinke victory over Yi Di..."
At the same time, thousands of miles away in St. Petersburg, because of a person and an unexpected letter, the Queen, who had no time to visit, turned her attention to the Far East.
From the Cossacks' invasion of the Heilongjiang Basin in the 17th century until the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk between China and Russia, the Russian Empire had always believed that the entire Heilongjiang Basin belonged to them. The main reason was that the income from the fur tax in kind was far greater than that of Lake Baikal.
The area is even larger.
In 1689, when Soetu, an imperial envoy, completed border negotiations with Tsarist Russia, the Russians believed that they had signed a humiliating peace agreement. The reason was that the Qing negotiator brought 30,000 troops to negotiate, and Tsarist Russia
Due to military pressure, we could only agree.
Well, according to Kangxi's edict at that time and Suo'etu's memorial, the land and sea troops sent by the Qing government to Nerchinsk together with the civilians, totaling ten thousand people.
However, no matter what, the Tsarist Russian government still believes that the "Treaty of Nerchinsk" is a treaty full of bullying and contempt, and they have never given up on Heilongjiang.
"Amur, Nerchinsk, those are the inherent territories of us Russians! Ivan, remember, one day you must take back the vast basin of the Amur River! Open a direct outlet to the Pacific Ocean for the empire and the queen.
.”
The words of his father, Jacobi, have always been in Ivan's mind. Now the opportunity has come! Ivan Jacobi seems to have seen that his name will resound throughout the Romanov dynasty, and at the same time, he will also add a crown to the queen's crown.
A dazzling gem, the Amur River!
Sitting on the armchair of the official residence, Ivan Jacobi seems to have seen his future. The ladies of Tsarskoye Selo will hold him in the center like a star holding the moon, kissing the back of his hand; the dream of the Jacobi family will
It is realized in his hands.
Last August, in view of the fact that the Qing emperor stopped the rhubarb trade in Kyakhta for the third time and banned smuggling, which caused huge economic losses to Tsarist Russia. Catherine II ordered Ivan Jacobi to negotiate with the Qing government.
In order to restore trade between the two sides.
However, Ivan Jacobi was only thinking about waiting for an opportunity to invade, and he did not care whether trade could be restored. At the end of August, a letter unexpectedly sent from Beijing to Irkutsk via Kyaktu made his eyes light up.
Coupled with the mutual confirmation of the information obtained from the Mongolian border residents, Ivan Jacobi felt that his opportunity had come!
Two days later in the morning, Count Mujin led Ivan Jacobi to meet with Queen Catherine II.
Different from the folk description, Catherine II is not tall, just medium and slightly short, with a slightly stout body, a ruddy complexion, and a pair of brown eyes with blue light. Because the queen always holds her head high.
, her breasts are plump and her hair is combed upward, so people always overlook her height.
"Thank you very much for the invitation, my Majesty!" In the reception room, Ivan Jacobi bowed respectfully to Catherine II.
Catherine II's eyes were clear and she smiled: "Dear Ivan, I heard that you have something to report to me about the Qing Dynasty. Has Kyakhta's trade resumed? I hope what you brought is not bad news.
"
Last year, in 1784, a group of Chinese merchants were trading in northern Xinjiang, but they were robbed by ethnic minorities on the Russian border and suffered huge losses. The robbers were later arrested and brought to justice. China and Russia jointly tried and decided to impose a penalty ten times the amount.
fines for goods. However, Russia later took the punishment privately without notifying China. Qianlong ordered the suspension of Kyakhta trade last year. This period was the most profitable period for Tsarist Russia, with annual trade profits reaching millions of rubles.
, resulting in huge economic losses.
"Dear Your Majesty, Bishop Joachim Shishkovsky, the head of our mission stationed in China, has sent back a very important letter."
"Oh? A letter can make the governor of the imperial province rush back to St. Petersburg? Then I have to take a look." Catherine II's eyes became a little sharp.
So Ivan Jacobi took out the letter sent by Joachim Shishkovsky to the metropolitan, and handed it to the empress by Count Mujin.
The content of the letter is not long. In the first part, Joachim Shishkovsky talks about his life in Beijing, and in the second half, he recalls the old days with the Metropolitan. (See Chapter 213)
"Ivan, I really don't see what's important about this letter. Although he mentioned the war between us and the Poles more than a hundred years ago at the end of the letter." Yekaterin said
Na II threw the letter on the table, looked at Ivan Jacobi and said, "Can you explain it to me?"
Ivan Jacobi said respectfully: "Your Majesty, our spies in the Qing Dynasty sent back the news that the Qing Emperor fought two battles with a group of rebels entrenched in the Far East last year, and suffered heavy losses. Their garrison troops in the Far East have been
Run out."
"Oh?" Catherine II's eyes lit up, and she looked at Earl Gold.
Earl Mu Jin bowed and said: "There is indeed this rumor, but it has not been confirmed yet. My Majesty."
Catherine II nodded and signaled Ivan Jacobi to continue. The other party then said: "This letter was sent from the capital of the Qing Dynasty in September last year. The reason why the bishop mentioned it in the letter is more than a hundred years ago."
The previous war was actually implying that the Qing emperor suffered a huge defeat and lost territory in the Far East; and the Sweden mentioned in the letter, my Majesty, refers to the opportunity for the empire!"
A smile appeared on the corner of Catherine II's mouth. She thought for a while and nodded: "So Ivan, you came to me to hope that I would restart that plan?"
Ivan Jacobi said: "Your Majesty, I once wrote to the Privy Council, asking them to send reinforcements and transport a batch of weapons and equipment. However, I did not receive a reply."
Ekaterina got up and walked to the window, looking at the heavy snow outside the window. After a long time, she called out to the door: "Olov."
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged officer opened the door and came in, bowed and said: "Please give me your orders, my majesty."
"Inform everyone on the military committee, as well as Miller, that we are going to discuss the plan he made."
Orlov was a little confused and immediately asked: "Miller? Is it the Miller from the Royal Academy of Sciences?"
"it's him."
"Where's the time?"
"Three days later!"
It is said that Catherine II, who came to power through a coup, never lacked a group of militants around her. Although the Russian-Turkish war was imminent, she was not afraid of launching another foreign war.
In 1763, the second year after Catherine II ascended the throne, this ambitious queen began to launch a military attack on the Qing Dynasty; and the cause of the attack was the interruption of Kyakhta trade.
At that time, a group of Cossack bandits fled into the outer northeast and entered the Karon area of Mongolia to burn, kill, and loot, and conduct private trade. Qianlong was furious and closed the Kyakhta trade. This was the first time Qianlong had closed the market since he ascended the throne.
, which lasted for seven years, eventually led to huge losses in the fur and tea businesses of Russian merchants and nobles, and also caused a large number of merchants living in Siberia to go bankrupt, causing great panic.
Catherine II decided to invade the Far East at that time. She changed the original border military system and authorized the Special Military Office under the Military Commission to handle China's border affairs. In the same year, she also ordered foreign academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences to
Sixth-class civil servant Harald Miller drafted a "Guiding Opinions on War Against China."
After more than two years of careful preparation for the war, the Russians built a large number of material reserve points along the thousands of miles of post roads leading to Nerchinsk. Russian spies discovered that the Qing Dynasty had no intention of using force against Russia, so
The Privy Council asked the Queen to peacefully resolve the Sino-Russian border defense. In view of preparing for the fifth war against Turkey, Catherine II had no time to go east. Also considering Kyactu's huge income, she suspended military operations against China and avoided
The risk of fighting on two fronts at the same time. After the resumption of the seclusion seven years later, the trade volume between the Qing Dynasty and Russia showed a sharp increase. The average annual transaction volume was 2.3 million rubles, an increase of 70% compared with before the seclusion.
The time came three days later.
In a large conference room in the Winter Palace, Catherine II, members of the Privy Council and Military Council, Ivan Jacobi, the Governor of Irkutsk, and more than a dozen people gathered together. The man from Germany
Historian Miller is describing the original plan.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen, the empire has been bullied by the Qing people for a long time and it is no longer bearable. If we want to launch a war to avenge our hatred, we must attack resolutely and decisively. I personally have no doubt that the empire will be able to win in the war.
Get the expected victory!”
The bullying Miller mentioned was actually the fact that the Manchus regarded themselves as the supreme dynasty of heaven and never treated the Tsarist Russians with pretense.
(Don’t be surprised, this was how the Manchu Qing Dynasty was like in the early and middle periods. They punished Tsarist Russia through Kyakhta trade three times, and at the same time used military means to deal with the Junggar tribe supported by Tsarist Russia.)
General Springer, who was in his fifties, stood up and said: "The so-called "Treaty of Nerchinsk" is unequal! The national boundaries between the two countries were drawn because of the force of the Qing people. At that time, we were heavily surrounded.
, we can only be forced to give in. This is really a humiliation for the empire! We must take back Nerchinsk and the Amur River Basin!"
Catherine II nodded and said: "How has the Cossack Musketeers been doing over the years?"
General Springer said: "Your Majesty, our Transbaikal Musket Corps has recruited 25,000 well-trained warriors! At present, the horses have enough food and grass, and they only need to replenish weapons and ammunition before setting off immediately!"
Count Mu Jin said: "Twenty-five thousand? No, General, I think ten thousand Cossacks are enough!"
Ivan Jacques stood up and said: "Your Majesty, gentlemen, I suggest that starting from this spring, the sixteen preparation plans in the plan should be immediately launched. Send personnel into the lower reaches of the Amur River and Ussuri River to fight against the rebels who have defeated the Qing army.
Bandit armed forces are recruiting."
The sixteen preparation plans he mentioned include large-scale immigration to border areas; establishing military grain transportation channels and a series of large granaries; establishing a local food collection mechanism to provide nearby ships, salt, military uniforms, and fodder needed for combat
etc. At the same time, they must win over the Mongolian princes, print and distribute leaflets in Mongolian, instigate tribes to rebel and submit to Russia, and organize the Inner Mongolian and Tungus people into military organizations.
A Duke in the Privy Council frowned and said: "Then what is our main direction of attack? Is it Mongolia or the Amur River?"
"Pa!" Ivan Jacobi slapped the table excitedly. Then he remembered that Catherine II was present, so he bowed to apologize and said with excitement: "Amul! It must be Amul!"
Earl Mujin said: "I suggest that we use Nerchinsk and Selenge as the main attack directions, and launch an offensive in the spring. Taking the occupation of the north bank of the Amur River as our main goal in the first step."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! At this point, Earl Gold asked someone to spread out a map of the outer northeast on the table, pointed at it and said: "We need to gather ten people in Nerchinsk.
A regular regiment, two Cossack regiments and a large number of armed Tunguskas. This force will be divided into two groups, and will go all the way down the Amur River by boat, mopping up all the Chinese villages along the way, and at the same time using siege artillery to destroy the city of Aihun, and then go straight to
The Songhua River Estuary and all villages along the way must also be destroyed.
After that, we will send troop transports to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River and sail northward by sea to Utiburg or Okhotsk. The main force will return to Yaksa City, while building fortresses, cultivating the land, and spending the winter there.
The other route will cross the Ergun River and go south, advance to the Hailar River, and use artillery to bombard the newly built Chinese city. Then we will set out from the city to occupy all the land up to the Xing'an Mountains and the Amur River.
In this way, we can also attract local border tribes to become Russian citizens, and then return to the Ergun River to spend the winter."
Everyone thought for a while and nodded in agreement.
At this time, the German Miller said again: "What Count Mujin said was just a tentative attack. Next, we will build a castle and station troops in Aihui, and build large-scale colonial settlements along the river. In the future, we should build a large-scale settlement in the entire north of the Amur River.
We chose suitable locations on the banks of the Ergun River (from the mouth of the Ergun River and even all the way to the Zeya River) and built a number of forts and villages. This established our unyielding stance when concluding a peace treaty with the Qing Dynasty in the future, and we must make the Amur
The river became the border between the two countries.”
Catherine II looked at everyone present with a smile and asked: "With the first and second steps, is there a third step?"
Ivan Jacobi bowed and said: "As long as we can get the mouth of the Amur River, we can open up the supply line to Kamchatka. Our spies in the Qing Dynasty once secretly inspected the waterway of the Songhua River. We took a boat up the Songhua River.
OK, go wherever you can and level everything there!"
Looking at the group of enthusiastic warmongers in front of him, the Duke of the Military Commission frowned and said: "What if the Qing Kingdom counterattacks?"
Ivan Jacques' eyes were as red as a hungry wolf, and he said resolutely: "It's impossible. As long as we can contact the rebels, the Qing's rule here will cease to exist!"
Zhao Xin, who was thousands of miles away at this time, never expected that the emergence of Beihai Town would actually advance the time for Tsarist Russia to attack the Northeast!