The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 840 The Two-Headed Eagle Can Only Fly West

"Alexander I underestimated me."

In Bukhara, the chief minister, holding a letter written in Alexander I's own handwriting, addressed his assembled officials.

After a group of officials from the Eastern Palace and Anxi took a look, they all complained.

"This Tsar tacitly approves of his subjects ascending to the throne after murdering their fathers, and he doesn't even punish those who kill their rulers. Now he's judging others by his own petty standards, thinking that His Highness the Crown Prince would put personal matters before public duty. It's clear that he's at most just a Galdan who killed his mother and brother."

"I think the Tsarist Rus' was not as good as the Dzungar Khanate. The Dzungar Khanate was able to compete with the Manchus for the sovereignty of the grasslands. It was so bad that the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors fought so hard that the number of Manchu people in Beijing was reduced, and it was only after that that the Khanate was barely pacified."

The threat posed by the Tsarist Rus' to our Great Yu was far less than the threat posed by the Dzungar Khanate to the Manchu Qing.

"Hahaha, no, no, no, it should be said that the Dzungar Khanate is inferior to the Tsarist Rus'." Yang Kaijia said with a chuckle and a shake of his head:
"At least the Manchus could destroy the Dzungar Khanate, but we really can't destroy a large agricultural country with a population of nearly 40 million and a vast territory."

“Actually, it could also be destroyed.” Dong Jinfeng had a different opinion. This Han general had always been eager to continue attacking the Tsarist Rus’ Empire.

"However, the price was too high, because the Dzungar Khanate was a nomadic country, while the Rus' Empire was a major agricultural country."

Nomadic peoples live in tribal communities and follow the strongest. If you break them up, you can conquer them by force.

An agrarian state like the Tsarist Rus' was much more stable, harder to defeat, harder to conquer, and even more difficult to rule.

When Ah Sen heard Dong Jinfeng say this, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. He was actually a little worried that Dong Jinfeng would object.

These groups with Han supremacist ideology are key to stabilizing the four provinces of Anxi, and Dong Jinfeng is a senior figure among them. If he were to strongly oppose them, it would be quite troublesome.

But now it seems that although Dong Jinfeng's thinking is somewhat radical, even extreme, he is still sensible.

"Just as General Dong said, we are one or two hundred years too late. After the shaping by Peter I and Catherine II, the Rus' people are no longer easy to conquer."

Moreover, our territory is large enough. Even in the Caucasus region, we could only relocate two or three hundred thousand people through forced assignment, let alone the East European Plain.

The elder statesman stood up and loudly proclaimed to his ministers, "Three days from now, I will personally travel to Astrakhan to reward the entire army and distribute the prizes. Then, I will meet with Tsar Alexander of Rus' in Astrakhan."

. . . .

September 7, 1804. The 29th year of the Guangzhong reign of the Great Yu Dynasty in China, which was the 9th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, the 4th day of the 8th lunar month.

With the help of Lord Whitworth, the English envoy, the Crown Prince of the Great Yu Dynasty, Mo Zhousen, met with Tsar Alexander I of the Rus' Empire in the town of Fedorovka, north of Astrakhan.

Prior to this meeting, the two armies had disengaged, with each monarch accompanied only by a guard of two thousand men.

The main force of the Luosha army was stationed fifty kilometers north of the town, while the main force of the Dayu army was assembled in Astrakhan, just over ten kilometers away.

Lord Whitworth had put a lot of thought into this arrangement, because if something happened to the Crown Prince of Da Yu, he wouldn't have enough heads to chop off, and his entire family wouldn't be enough to be exterminated.

But if it were Tsar Alexander I who had a problem, at worst he would lose his future. Lord Whitworth knew exactly what was more important.

Moreover, Lord Whitworth knew very well that Lord Sen was the kind of person who meant what he said and had complete control over his civil and military officials.

However, Alexander I had just ascended to the throne with the stigma of patricide, and there were many people who outwardly obeyed him but inwardly defied him or even ignored him completely. In addition, Alexander I's personality was not very stable.

Once both parties were seated, the conversation proceeded smoothly without any tension whatsoever. This was a benefit of having a powerful intermediary.

Da Yu did not want to strain relations with the English, because there were indeed many areas where they could be of use.

The Ross Empire dared not easily go against the agreement already made with the English, as that would come at the cost of the nation's fate.

"What a great monarch!" Alexander I exclaimed, looking at the dignified figure in his indigo dragon robe.

He waved his hand, signaling his younger brother, Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, to raise his wine cup and toast the Crown Prince of Da Yu.

If we're talking about handsomeness, Boss Sen isn't really that handsome. Not to mention compared to the Mo family's prodigies, even his younger brothers are more handsome than him.

After all, the youngest cousin of the Chen family wasn't exactly a beauty of unparalleled grace, while most of the younger brothers of the big boss Sen were stunning beauties selected through a rigorous process.

But the aura of the eldest brother, Sen, is far beyond what the other younger brothers can match. He has broad shoulders, a long arm, a wasp waist, a standard square face, sword-like eyebrows, and piercing eyes.

Paired with the Ming Dynasty-style dragon robe worn by the Crown Prince, which already enhances the wearer's appearance, it is indeed quite eye-catching. Even in a crowd, you can recognize the main character at a glance.

"Thank you for your praise, Caesar, but I am not yet a king. There is only one king in the Eastern world, and that is my father, the great Emperor of the East."

Despite saying that, Asen still drank the toast offered by Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, and then nodded to his younger brother, the tenth prince, Prince Liao, Mo Zhouqian, to raise his cup and toast Tsar Alexander I.

Alexander also drank a cup of Xifeng wine from Shaanxi before replying, "Your Highness, you don't need to call me Caesar. I prefer that we address each other as brothers. You are the elder brother, and I am the younger brother."

These words sounded almost obsequious to the people of Da Yu. Wang Guoyuan, the Left Vice-Minister of Zuo Chunfang, who was standing behind the big boss Sen, stared wide-eyed, looking completely bewildered.

Before coming, he was worried that during this meeting, something like the King of Zhao playing the drum for the King of Qin might happen, so he spent several nights racking his brains and making various contingency plans.

I listed dozens of ways to respond and retaliate, but now it seems like they were all for naught.

Yes, there is a bit of flattery involved, but definitely not much. The main reason is that the people in the Da Yu region, at least those in Boss Sen's team, haven't fully grasped the hierarchy of the Western aristocratic system.

If we were to categorize Western nobility titles in a way that would be easily understood by later generations, we could divide monarchs into four levels: senior official, deputy official, provincial, and municipal.

In the Western world, there was actually only one true emperor, equivalent to a high-ranking official: the Roman emperor.

Besides, the Holy Roman Emperor of the Germans and the Third Roman Caesar of the Rus' were actually illusions and would not be truly accepted by everyone.

For example, they would often use the title of emperor to bestow a large number of princes upon them.

Just like how Suvorov received the title of prince of the Roman Empire after crossing the Alps, even Suvorov himself didn't take the title of prince seriously because it was just a title.

While England, France, and Spain were kings, their status was close to that of emperors, roughly equivalent to vice-governors.

Of course, Spain's current strength no longer justifies this vice-national level. As for the others, whether kings, grand dukes, or electors, they are basically only high-ranking officials or even county-level nobles.

Outside of the West, there were only four truly high-ranking official titles: Emperor of China, King of Kings of Persia (deceased), Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate (illusory), and Khan of the Steppes (deceased).

After the title of Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate was transferred from the last Abbasid Caliph to the Ottoman Sultan Selim the Cold in 1517, the title of Caliph, like the title of Holy Roman Emperor of the Germans, was essentially illusory, questioned everywhere, and had little practical significance.

As for the title of Indian emperor, it was rebuilt after taking away some of the legal authority of the Khan of the steppe empire, and at most it can only be considered a vice-state level.

In fact, if Mogongze's younger brother, Mogongbo, hadn't left, he would have known that Tsar Alexander I wasn't being overly obsequious.

Because in European aristocratic circles, Mo Zirong's title of Prince of Belgium was able to be maintained, which was comparable to that of a king. In reality, it was not because he was a prince of the Holy Roman Empire, but because he was the King of Lu of the Seres Empire.

Similarly, Mo Gongze was called the Prince of Belgium because he was the heir apparent of the Prince of Lu of China.

Therefore, it was quite normal for Tsar Alexander I to regard Tsarevich Morson, the Crown Prince of Seres, as a noble of the same rank as himself, in the eyes of European nobles.

It's just that Tsar Alexander I could have used the illusory title of Third Roman Caesar to intimidate people, but he wasn't foolish enough to do that; he simply lowered his own status a little.

This was a wonderful misunderstanding for the negotiations, and with the help of this wonderful misunderstanding, the atmosphere began to move in a positive direction.

While some basic matters were carefully discussed and finalized by their subordinates, the two monarchs went to another side, to a small house near the Volga River, and began to discuss some truly important matters.

“My brother, about two hundred and fifty years ago, Ivan IV brought Astrakhan under the control of the Rus’ Empire.”

For the past two hundred and fifty years, this has been one of the empire's most important fortresses. Losing Astrakhan is like losing a hand for the Rus' Empire.

Tsar Alexander I spoke slowly, his eyes still revealing his desire for the great leader to seriously consider the Astrakhan issue.

“My brother, nine hundred years ago during the Tang Dynasty, China received the titles of Heavenly Khan of the Steppes and King of Kings of Persia. Are we going to use these titles to demand the assets of the former Golden Horde?”

This statement is actually somewhat unreasonable, because the Golden Horde had already perished, but the Rus' Empire's control over Astrakhan had not been interrupted.

Alexander I's expression darkened, but the old man quickly added, "History moves forward, and so does the nation."

My brother, the reason why the Rus' Empire was able to expand eastward for more than two hundred years was because the dominant power in the eastern world, the Khitan Empire you speak of, was in decline.

We are declining, while you Rus' people are rising, which is why you have been able to conquer such a vast territory to the east, even though most of it is cold, icy plains and wastelands, it is enough to tempt any monarch.

But now, the ruler of the Eastern world has survived its decline and returned, and its size is beyond what the Rus' people can contend with.

After all, it is an empire in the world that has never lost its legitimacy, just like if your Roman Empire could continue to this day.

So, my brother, I hope you and your empire can recognize this reality.

Therefore, I can assure you that the Eastern Empire will not expand westward any further, and if all goes well, Astrakhan will be the end.

Of course, I can also accept your suggestion to establish a buffer state with a weak military but a vast territory and a wealthy population, which would be good for both of us.

My brother, the future of the Rus' Empire lies in the West, not in the East!

These words carried a hint of admonition, but they were the absolute truth. Alexander I was very intelligent, and he certainly understood them.

Therefore, although he felt embarrassed, he didn't react much. He just smiled bitterly and muttered to himself, "The West, although the West doesn't have Rome, it has a large pack of hungry wolves."

"Interesting," said the elder brother, stroking his chin and looking at Alexander I with amusement.

Alexander I felt somewhat uncomfortable under the gaze and could only awkwardly retort, "What's wrong, my brother? Am I not telling the truth?"

After considering it for a moment, Da Laosen decided not to expose Alexander I's somewhat clumsy performance of feigned suffering. "My brother, you are right, but you are being a bit too pessimistic. There are many difficulties in heading west, but there are also many opportunities."

Alexander had been waiting for this very question from Boss Sen, and he immediately pressed on, "My brother, are you implying that the Khitan Empire will support the Tsarist Rus' Empire in expanding its territory westward?"

Da Laosen nodded, then shook his head, and said, "The fact that Da Yu can guarantee that it will not continue westward is already the greatest support for the Ross Empire. Otherwise, the Ross Empire would not be able to sustain the defense of two directions for a long time."

Alexander I shook his head. “That’s not enough, my brother. You must know that ruling the Poles is a very difficult thing.”

Because their national consciousness has been awakened, it is unlikely that the situation where they can control the entire land simply by appeasing the Polish nobles, as was the case in the past, will continue to occur.

If we Rus' people did not have overwhelming power to crush them, and could not carry out massacres against the Poles whenever we wanted, replacing a large portion of the population with knives and the wombs of young girls, the Rus' Empire could not have ruled Poland.

The most important thing now is that the Rus' Empire does not have this capability. We can defeat the Poles and control Poland superficially, but we cannot completely annex the Poles as a whole.

If the road to the west is blocked and the east is also blocked, the Rus' people will live in despair forever.

These desperate people will not be content with this life; they will surely become the biggest trouble for the Khitan Empire.

It's either in my hands, or in my son's or grandson's hands.

These words weren't pleasant to hear, but Boss Sen wasn't angry either, because they were the truth.

It is already difficult for the Great Yu to continue expanding westward. If it does not want another Dzungar Khanate to appear on its borders in the coming decades, it must get the Rus' people bogged down in the Polish quagmire.

As for whether the Rus' people will actually annex Poland and rise from the ashes to become China's biggest problem decades or centuries from now, nobody knows, and nobody can foresee what will happen decades or centuries from now.

At this moment, however, the elder brother Sen made up his mind. Originally, he was not very willing to support Mo Gongze, but now it seemed that he should support him properly and also provide good nourishment for his tenth brother Mo Zhouzhan's Liaodong territory.

Because he currently needs to offer some benefits to the Tsarist Rus' Empire so that it can be able to plunge headlong into the quagmire of Poland.

Therefore, in the future, China will need these two Xia states to continue to drag the Tsarist Russian Empire into the quagmire.

Of course, while thinking of a solution in his mind, he outwardly wore an expression as if he had made some major decision.

"As long as the Rus' Empire is willing to move westward, and our two countries can maintain friendly relations for generations to come, I am willing to provide support to the Rus' Empire in all aspects, from military to financial, within reasonable limits!"

(End of this chapter)