After staying in Beijing for half a month, as the Czar's special envoy, Boris basically returned without success.
Not only that, the Ming emperor also threatened Tsarist Russia to withdraw from the competition for the Kipchak grassland, otherwise it would cut off the trade that lasted for several years.
Originally, he went back empty-handed, but who knew that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty directly gave him a gift:
One hundred pieces of Suzhou silk.
Plus one hundred taels of gold.
This is almost his entire fortune.
So he poured the beans into the bamboo tube and spit out all the details of Tsarist Russia.
At this time, Tsarist Russia was suffering from internal and external troubles.
As the tenth tsar of Russia, the second tsar of the Romanov dynasty was during the reign of Alexei I.
Although Tsarist Russia took over the Ukrainian region at this time and bruised the Polish-Lithuanian Federation, it was still injured but still posed a threat.
At the same time, Sweden in the north is eyeing the Baltic Sea and suppressing the entire Eastern Europe.
In the south, under the instigation of the Ottoman Empire, its vassal Crimean Khanate has been interfering in the situation in Eastern Europe.
At this time, Russia was just showing its strength.
Although Poland was captured, the entire economy of Tsarist Russia was in a mess and was on the verge of collapse.
Salt and copper riots made the declining economy worse.
The nobility's service and petitioning was also a product of the economic collapse.
The expansion of land is nothing, the population on the land is the most important, and land that is cultivated by people is valuable land.
Due to the serious population flight during this period, the serving nobles demanded that the population be forcibly bound to the land, that is, giving them unlimited hunting rights as serfs.
To this end, in the 1730s and 1950s, service nobles carried out many armed petitions.
The most exaggerated event occurred in 1648, when 30,000 service nobles and their servants came to Moscow near Moscow to petition the tsar for unlimited pursuit rights.
In other words, the nobles asked the Tsar to give them the power to seize free people as slaves at will, so that their manor lands could be cultivated and make up for their losses.
In 1649, the tsarist government convened a meeting of the gentry. At this meeting, the tsarist government completely bowed to the serving nobles, approved their requests, gave them unlimited pursuit rights, and passed an all-Russian code intended to protect the nobles.
Benefit.
This is the Encyclopedia of Laws.
It granted the feudal lord the complete power to dispose of the peasants on his land, such as judicial power, property, and marriage. Even if the feudal lord went bankrupt, the serfs had to help pay off the debts.
From then on, Tsarist Russia was completely reduced to a serfdom country, with 90% of the people in the country becoming serfs, and the remaining nobles, priests, and free people only accounted for 10% of the population.
Of course, the reason why the czars were in power at this time was because they were the largest nobles.
The most vivid example is the Western Zhou Dynasty, where the tsar was the one with the most land.
However, Boris only thinks, what’s the use of having more land?
The tsar monopolized taxation, and the great nobles made their fortunes through the salt and fur trade.
No matter how much food the ordinary nobles have, they can only starve to death and have to endure tax exploitation.
Ordinary nobles lived worse than ordinary merchants of the Hanseatic League.
Silk, Boris wore it for the first time.
Smooth, light and delicate.
It's simply indescribable.
"Boris, when can we arrive in Moscow?"
Just when he was intoxicated, a sudden cry brought him back to his senses.
"Oh!" Boris turned his head. He was a man in his thirties, wearing a tight-fitting blue cloth straight-fitting long coat and a square turban on his head, a typical Ming Dynasty appearance.
His face is ordinary, but his eyes are very sharp. At first glance, he can tell that he has a deep scheming mind and many strategies.
"If you continue walking forward, you will reach Tyumen. If you walk for another half month, you will reach Moscow."
Boris said enthusiastically.
He couldn't help but be enthusiastic.
This person was an envoy sent by the Ming Emperor. He had a mission. He had accepted a lot of bribes, so he naturally had to do his best.
Su Heng nodded and said no more. Instead, he rode his horse silently and looked forward.
He did not fully trust the Rakshasa in front of him.
Since money can buy him, he will naturally betray them because of money.
He didn't have a good impression of these Rakshasa ghosts.
If the emperor had not insisted on sending him, as a member of the Imperial Guard Qianhu, he would have absolutely refused.
But there was no way, his arms couldn't twist his thighs, so he had no choice but to surrender.
Fortunately, the emperor told him that as long as he established an embassy, a caravan, and an intelligence network, it would take at most three to five years to allow him to return to Beijing and gain a higher official rank.
"It seems that the Rakshasa people are like a Tatar-like capital!"
He looked ahead. Even though Qiu Meng City was not far ahead, everything he saw was grassland, with a large number of cattle and sheep roaming around, and the green grass covered the hooves of horses.
There is no doubt that this is a good nomadic pasture.
Without farmland, what country is there?
After running all the way, in autumn, Su Heng estimated that it would be close to the Ghost Festival before their group arrived in Moscow, the capital of the Rakshasa Kingdom.
The narrow streets, tall churches, dirty floors, and feces everywhere made Su Heng feel like he was about to lose his nose.
Boris was quite apologetic about this.
"Moscow became the capital less than two hundred years ago, but you are laughing at it."
"However, later we will go to the Kremlin outside the city to meet directly with His Majesty the Tsar——"
Soon, Su Heng arrived outside the city and saw the unique Tsarist Russian style that merged the Eastern Roman Empire and the Golden Horde.
Rugged yet delicate, grand yet elegant.
The Kremlin, just like emperors and kings around the world at this time, is a city that belongs to the monarch alone.
A large number of palace maids, eunuchs, and nobles served the tsar. They lived here day and night and worked tirelessly for power.
The vast gardens, the solemn army, the numb eunuchs, and the ladies who occasionally exposed half of their breasts.
Boris introduced: "Don't underestimate them, their husbands are in high positions, and they themselves may be the tsar's mistress."
"One word or action can influence government affairs and gain a lot of benefits."
"Well? You mean, they have their own husbands?" Su Heng's face was numb, but he couldn't bear it anymore.
Good guy, if he directly seduces a married woman, does the Tsar still have any morals at all?
"This is normal." Boris explained: "If you are an unmarried virgin, you should try your best to avoid coming to the court, otherwise rumors will spread and affect the family's reputation."
"Of course, it is also possible that his worth will double and he will be pursued by some nobles."
"kindness?"
These words made Su Heng completely confused.
He felt that he couldn't understand it at all.
Boris chuckled and said: "In the entire European court, becoming the mistress of the monarch is not only a partner in bed, but also an important assistant in government affairs."
“Every move has a huge impact.”
"So those nobles were keen to send their wives to His Majesty the Tsar's bed to gain power."
"And whom does His Majesty the Tsar appoint or dismiss?"
Su Heng was greatly shocked. It was too dissolute and unruly.
Boris shook his head and had no words.
In his opinion, the rules of the Ming Dynasty were even stricter than the entire Catholic Church and were too unhuman.
"My envoy, if you are favored by a noble lady, you do not need to take into account their husbands. This is a normal interaction."
"Many ladies are even competing to see who has more servants!"
"An oriental face like yours is rare in the whole of Russia. It is easy to get the desire of some noble ladies."
"Forget it..." Su Heng hurriedly shook his head.
Soon, he was received by Tsar Alexei I.
The tsar, who has ruled Russia for nearly two decades, has an oval face, a thick beard covering his chin, and round shoulders that highlight his fatness.
All the nobles listed are, without exception, wearing robes and beards, which is a symbol of Russia.
Later, when Peter the Great reformed, the first thing he did was to cut off his own beards and those of the nobles.
Of course, in Su Heng's view, although such a beard highlighted his majesty, it had no aesthetic value. It just made the tsar look more like a martial artist.
After the polite reception, Su Heng left the main hall.
"Your Majesty, your envoy has returned from Khitan——"
"How's it going, Boris?" Before Alexei I spoke, the auxiliary minister Morozov asked loudly:
"Did the Khitan Emperor agree to our request?"
"No, my Lord Minister." Boris bent down tremblingly, maintaining due respect for the Tsar's teacher and now the host of the meeting of the gentry.
Although Alexei I established secret yamen, grain yamen, mercenary cavalry yamen and other government departments, and established the tax department and statistics office, the actual power is still controlled by a joint meeting attended by lords and nobles, service nobles, senior monks and senior government officials.
, that is, controlled by the Jin Gentry Council.
This is also the predecessor of the Russian Duma.
Just like the Estates-General in France and the British Parliament.
The term democracy is now synonymous with limiting royal power and belongs to elite democracy.
The Senate, which was similar to the cabinet, was set up after the Ottoman Empire a few decades later during the time of Peter the Great.
"The Khitan Emperor was not satisfied with the equal division. Because of the Spanish merchants, they knew about the situation in the empire, so they said:
Including Kazakhstan, the Kipchak grassland such as the Bukhara Khanate, will be its sphere of influence."
"The rest of the territory will belong to Russia."
"That means the scope remains unchanged now?"
At this time, Alexei I narrowed his eyes and said directly: "It seems that the Khitan's national power is very powerful!"
"Count Boris, is the Khitan really as powerful as the rumors say?"
Facing the Tsar's direct gaze, Boris had to grit his teeth and said:
"I dare not hide it, Your Majesty."
"This trip to Khitan, from its westernmost province of Anxi to its capital, took more than two months and more than two thousand versts (one verst is about one kilometer)."
"Beijing, the capital of Khitan, is home to about one million citizens..."
"And there are three or four big cities like this in Khitan."
"Big cities with a population of 100,000 like Moscow are everywhere in Khitan, more than fifty..."
At this time, the nobles were all talking, some believed it and others thought it was a lie.
You know, even in Paris, the most prosperous city today, there are only a few hundred thousand people.
At this time, the population of Russia was only around 10 million. How could there be so many people in Khitan?
The nobles' scrutinizing eyes kept wandering over Su Heng and Boris.
"Your Majesty, the Khitan Kingdom conducts population statistics across the country every few years. Last year's figures showed that its total population exceeded 190 million."
"It won't be long before the number exceeds 200 million. The entire population of Europe combined will not be as large as the people of Khitan."
These words aroused another burst of noise among the nobles, and they gasped and exclaimed.
"Quiet -" Chief Minister Morozov said to Alexei I:
"Your Majesty, according to the news from the Hanseatic League, Khitan is indeed a country with a large population. It is normal for its population to exceed 100 million..."
"Well!" Alexei I sighed with emotion: "I have never imagined that a country has such a large population? How to govern it?"
As he spoke, he actually asked Boris: "How many serfs does the Khitan Emperor own?"
"With such a large population, there must be at least tens of millions of serfs, right?"
It’s no wonder that at this time, Eastern Europe, Western European countries, and the Ottoman Empire.
Or the Golden Horde, the Kazakh Khanate, or the Mobei Mongolia and Mobei Mongolia that came into contact still followed the traditional serfdom system.
Even the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which occupied Lake Baikal, was no exception.
Naturally, in the Russian imagination, the same was true for the Ming Dynasty.
Boris said awkwardly: "Your Majesty, Khitan is mostly made up of free people."
"However, Khitan is just like Marco Polo's description, flowing with the Kingdom of Gold."
"Its fiscal revenue has reached a terrifying 100 million rubles, and its standing troops have reached 5 million..."
Hearing such exaggerated figures, the nobles were shocked again, which simply subverted their imagination.
But after thinking about it carefully, I think it makes perfect sense.
With 200 million people, it is normal to raise an army of 5 million.
At the same time, if each person pays half a ruble, the tax can reach 100 million.
At this time, Russia's state treasury revenue was only two million rubles, less than a fraction of that.
The Tsar fell into deep thought, and Morozov said: "Now Russia can't care about the Qinchak grassland, but it can't give up. If there is a chance, let the Cossack cavalry go to help!"
"The Khitans must not be allowed to easily gain access to the Kipchak grassland and swallow up the Golden Horde's biggest piece of meat."
"This envoy sent by Khitan will carry the will of trade between the two countries and also bring the appointment of establishing an embassy."
Boris said solemnly.
"In other words, the Khitans are really coming?"
Alexey I sighed with emotion: "There are so many countries in Europe, but I am the first one in Russia to establish the Khitan embassy. This is an honor."
"But what I am most concerned about is the income from trade."
At this time, in order to fill the financial black hole caused by the military conquest of Ukraine, the Tsar felt that he was in a state of ecstasy, just like Russia in later generations for more than three hundred years.