Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

Summers in St. Petersburg are warm, but not too hot; you just feel a slight increase in body temperature.

For those Russian nobles or landowners, this was the best season of the year, neither too hot nor too cold like Moscow, and every morning was the best start to the day.

For those serfs, summer was precisely the most tiring time of their lives. They were busy planting, watering, storing fodder for winter, and even serving their masters at banquets. They hardly had a single moment to themselves each day. They were only slightly better off than cattle and horses in later generations, since their sleep schedule was normal. Apart from that, all they could see in the fields were thin, hungry serfs, constantly sweating. Even the donkeys pulling the millstone lived better lives than them.

After all, overusing livestock can lead to illness and death, so it's necessary to supplement them with better feed every now and then. As a result, some serfs would steal the feed for horses and livestock, because even feed was better than black bread with sawdust or even wild grass. It was more nutritious, easier to swallow, and tasted pretty good.

"Sergei, this year's harvest must be good. At the very least, these serfs are working longer hours than in previous years."

"Summer always brings joy, so why can't summer last forever? That way we can have parties and dance every day."

A fine European-style carriage, pulled by two draft horses, moved slowly across the field. Sergei Petrovich Vorontsov, the youngest son of the Vorontsov family, merely offered a few perfunctory replies to the words of the scoundrel Ivan beside him before changing the subject to recent business developments:

"Starting this year, my tea business has obviously become more profitable than before. This month alone, I have earned more than 15,000 rubles."

Based on the silver content at the time, one ruble coin was approximately equal to 0.56 taels of silver.

"My God, 15,000 rubles! That's enough to buy so many serfs!!"

Ivan Dmitry Golitsyn's surprised voice startled the serfs along the way. Like disturbed livestock, they looked up blankly, but when they saw it was a nobleman's carriage, they immediately lowered their heads in fear. After all, nobles were blessed by God and had the power to execute them, which they dared not touch.

As a traditional Rurik nobleman and a staunch supporter of the Russian army, although his behavior differed from that of Sergei, who came from a civil service family, his desire for wealth permeated every pore of his being.

Upon hearing that it was 15,000 rubles, he instinctively said:

"I knew long ago that tea was profitable, but that damned old man was so stubborn. He clung to his land, insisting that bread and serfs were the real things. If I had chosen to sell some of the land and cash out from the bank, I could be earning that much money every month now."

Upon seeing Ivan, who dared to openly criticize even his own father for money, Sergei calmly stated:

"You only see the surface, but you don't see the hidden dangers behind it."

"Hidden danger? How can making money be a hidden danger? Sergei, you don't want to monopolize the tea market, do you? That's almost impossible. Those shrewd tea merchants and other nobles won't stand idly by."

Ivan's warning sounded so simplistic and made Sergei inwardly laugh, but outwardly he looked at him with a hint of disappointment:

"The market for tea is limited, and the quantity of tea is also limited. The reason I'm able to make money is because I have the help of some tea merchants. They rely on me to find safe sales channels for the tea they bring from the East, and I need their tea so that I can make money. But have you ever thought about it? The total amount of tea that flows into my hands each year is only so much. I can only make that much money until I die. Once the tea distribution channels are breached, I will never be able to make money again."

"Moreover, in this country belonging to the Tsar and the nobility, do you think serfs could afford expensive tea?"

"Impossible, even God wouldn't allow such blasphemy to happen."

Ivan's disdain was ingrained; he never considered serfs to be human beings.

"That's why I panicked. Do you know how big the tea market is every year? It's just over 1.5 million rubles. Can I earn that much money by myself? It's impossible, and it's not realistic."

"What I mean is, I hope your family, the great Golitzen family, can help us secure a stable tea trade route. With tea, we can sell it to more distant places, even to the European market. Only in this way can we all become wealthy."

Sergei's honest words pleased Ivan, who had always been very proud of himself. After all, the other party was essentially pleading with the Golitsyn family and with him, Ivan. This was a sign of respect, but also a sign of weakness.

Even though he longed for it, he suppressed his joy:

"To open up the tea trade route, we need the Tsar's approval. After all, our relationship with the Khitans isn't that good yet, trade isn't very stable, and the journey is just too long."

Sergei's expression remained unchanged; he simply stated:

"As long as we can secure a stable supply of tea, not only your family but also you yourself will benefit. As for the Khitans, I believe they also want to make more money, but they are reluctant to sell their precious tea to us. This is where His Majesty the Tsar's help comes in."

"To help his people obtain better tea and experience a better life."

In Russian, the East has always been referred to as the Khitan.

Sergei and Ivan both knew perfectly well who the subjects were, not the hardworking serfs outside who were like dung beetles. So after pretending to hesitate, he agreed to tell his duke father about it. As for whether it would have an impact on the Tsar, that would depend on his methods.

As they talked, the carriage noticeably sped up, gradually becoming distinct from the hunched figures. Like a camera movement in a movie, in just a moment, the scene shifted from the fields to Peterhof Palace, thirty kilometers away from St. Petersburg.

Peterhof Palace, located on the Gulf of Finland, was started in 1704 and completed in 1723. It was designed by Peter the Great himself, and the overall design style is basically French, with a strong Versailles style.

The entire Peterhof Palace is divided into the Upper Garden, the Lower Garden, and the Grand Palace. At the beginning of this year, Empress Anna, who currently rules Russia, ordered the removal of all the vegetable gardens and medicinal herb fields in the Upper Garden and replaced them with geometric flower beds and added fountains, which were named "Neptune".

A gilded sculpture and a pavilion were placed on the side to provide shade from the scorching sun, and a tree-lined avenue was formed by neatly trimmed linden trees.

It was just as if it had been completely renovated, but human fate is so strange. The newly renovated Peterhof Palace received the Empress for the first time, but then the Empress's health began to deteriorate. Recently, she has been keeping the news under strict control, only bringing some guards to Peterhof Palace for a vacation.

Anna Ivanotina Romanova, later known as Anna I, was the daughter of Tsar Ivan V and the uncle of the famous Peter the Great. Her life, from marriage to everything she experienced, was almost entirely manipulated by Peter the Great. Even her ascension to the throne was due to the death of Peter II. The de facto rulers at the time, the Council of Nobles, needed a good-manageable Tsar, so this princess, who was living abroad, became the perfect tool.

At the time, she even signed an agreement that stipulated that she would lose the right to declare war, the right to appoint and dismiss officials, and even the right to marry. That's right, according to the agreement, without the permission of those people, she would not even be able to marry herself.

But she signed without hesitation. Like the female rulers of Russia throughout history, she was even stronger than the men. She quickly regained power with the help of the Guards and another group of nobles, and completed her de facto dictatorship.

A brave woman, a true Tsar—this is how many outsiders describe her.

In her time, besides her supporters, the biggest beneficiaries were those who held high positions and spoke German in private.

The fates of Germany and Russia seem to have been intertwined from the very beginning.

"My dear Ernst, I may really be failing me. I've found that I can no longer ride a horse."

"God, this is terrible. I wish you could stay with me."

Empress Anna, who resembled a Westphalian ham and stood 1.9 meters tall, stroked her lover, Ernst Johann von Billon, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, with her hands, which were larger than most men's but still quite delicate. Her eyes revealed reluctance and deep affection.

As the most favored German, Ernst clearly understood the reason for his immense power. Therefore, even though he disliked the Empress's face, tears streamed down his face, and his voice trembled with sobs as he faced her.

"My Majesty, what will I do after you die? Why doesn't God take me with him? How terrible and torturous it will be without you."

Queen Anna understood the implication, and her breathing became rapid:

"My dear, you will be safe. How is Ivan? He was just born. If you treat him well and support him, he will be a grateful and good monarch."

"You mean your sister's newborn grandson? But he's so small, I'm afraid—"

Empress Anna met her lover's gaze. She understood his meaning perfectly: to relinquish power over the Royal Guard while she was still alive. However, as a monarch, even on the verge of death, even when facing her beloved, she was unwilling to relinquish her true power.

"His Majesty----"

"I love you!!"

Ernst tried to win the Empress's heart with a false love, but it didn't work. As a true monarch, she had a strong grasp on power, and balance was the key. One-sided support would only lead to Russia's irreversible decline.

Perhaps hoping the Empress would recover, or perhaps hoping to ease the awkwardness of the moment, Ernst brought up the matter of Siberia:

"At the beginning of this year, a group of Cossacks set off from Barnaul, which is under the jurisdiction of Tobolsk, to explore further east. Their goal was a mountain range near the Kazakh Khanate and the Junggar, where there were said to be minerals. However, there has been no response for so long. Either the Cossacks wanted to keep the wealth for themselves, or they are already dead. After all, there were only a few hundred of them."

"Cossacks are just dogs."

"If a dog dies, the owner might cry, but if there's a pack of dogs, then nothing will happen."

"It's just a pity about all that equipment and the rubles we gave them before."

Although Empress Anna's voice had weakened, the disdain in her tone remained resolute. Speaking of the Cossack colony under the Tsar, she stated:

"If they return, make them hand over some of their property and report on the local situation. If they don't return, then pretend this never happened. Hunting dogs will always get injured and die when they follow their masters. Let Prince Vasimi Mikhailovich Dolgorukov choose their offspring and brothers to inherit their positions after confirming the dogs' disappearance. After all, a dog's mission is to guard its master. It doesn't matter if one or two die. Russia has plenty of willing animals to charge into battle."

Queen Anna's words made Ernst's heart clench, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. But when he looked up and met her sickly eyes, he chose to hug her shoulders, press his chin against her face, and whisper his love and reluctance to part.