Chapter 1466: Total War: Russia's Struggle

In the Kremlin, while His Majesty the Tsar of the Russian Empire was still considering how to handle the hot potato that was the Siberian Republic, Yazykov, a palace attendant deeply trusted by the Tsar, strode quickly into the audience hall, bowed to the worried-looking Alexei I, and then loudly announced: "Esteemed Your Majesty the Tsar, Chief Minister Duke Miloslavsky and Governor-General of Orenburg Marquis Golovin request an audience."

"What? The Governor-General of Orenburg has come to Moscow?" Tsar Alexei I's face creased, and his heart was seized with dread: surely it could not be that some enemy had first occupied Orenburg and then surrendered to Russia again?

Orenburg was no Nerchinsk! Orenburg lay at the foot of the Ural Mountains, geographically already European soil! If it had been occupied by some Tartar republic, Russia's troubles would be enormous!

The Tsar loudly commanded: "Let them enter!"

"As you command, my Tsar." Yazykov, of common birth but extremely capable in affairs and outstanding in learning, bowed and turned to leave.

The Tsar drew a breath, then said to Stroganov, who was dressed in the robes of an ascetic monk: "Alexander, go back and await your punishment!"

Then he said to Lev Naryshkin: "You go too, and tell your brother Ivan to come to the Kremlin at once!"

Lev Naryshkin's elder brother, Duke Ivan Naryshkin, was a senior minister of the Tsar, chiefly responsible for foreign affairs. Not long before, he had visited Western Europe as the Tsar's envoy and had been received by Louis XIV at Versailles. He had also brought back many new-model guns and explosive shells produced in France and Holland.

Not long after Alexander Stroganov and Lev Naryshkin had left, the palace attendant Yazykov led in Duke Miloslavsky, built like a bear, and Marquis Golovin, tall and slender with a refined, scholarly air, walking quickly into the audience hall.

Seeing that Marquis Golovin's dress and appearance were fairly normal, and that he did not seem to have come to beg forgiveness, Tsar Alexei I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Esteemed Your Majesty the Tsar," Marquis Golovin bowed to the Tsar, then loudly reported, "Because the situation in Central Asia has undergone a drastic change, I had no choice but to travel day and night back to Moscow in order to report to you in person.

Moreover, envoys of the Kazakhs and the Khwarezmians have come to Moscow together with me. By the great grace of God, the Kazakhs and the Khwarezmians have made up their minds to become part of the Russian Empire."

"What? More people want to join us?" The Tsar of the Russian Empire blurted out, interrupting Marquis Golovin, who was in the middle of "delivering good news," his voice trembling slightly. "My Marquis, tell me the truth: have the Kazakhs and Khwarezmians been driven by the Dzungars to the point where they can barely survive?"

As soon as the Tsar's question came out, Duke Miloslavsky and Marquis Golovin were both taken aback — how had His Majesty become so wise? Could it be that God, knowing Russia faced unprecedented challenges, had bestowed upon His Majesty the qualities of wisdom and sagacity?

It seemed that in the future one must be careful when embezzling... one must embezzle a little less!

"Your Majesty, you are truly brilliant!" Marquis Golovin replied with a bitter smile. "The Kingdom of Dzungar has undergone a revolution over the past year or so. Now that country has become extremely dangerous!"

"A revolution?" The Tsar's eyes nearly popped out of his head. A revolution had actually happened in Dzungar in Central Asia. Was that sort of thing not supposed to happen only in advanced Western Europe?

"How did they have a revolution?" the Tsar asked. "And how did they carry it out?"

Golovin said: "After the death of King Sengge, the throne of Dzungar remained vacant for a long time. But now a result has been reached: Galdan, from the Chu River, has been elected King of Dzungar!"

"Elected?" The Tsar frowned. "Was the election conducted with swords?"

"No, it was not," Marquis Golovin said. "Although the situation within the Kingdom of Dzungar was at one point extremely tense, at the final moment all parties chose compromise. Representatives from fourteen chiliarchies, two great cities, and dozens of monasteries convened a kurultai at Stone Fort City. They not only elected a new king, but also enacted a fundamental law limiting the monarch's power, establishing the principle of governing the country through the kurultai!

For the Kingdom of Dzungar, this was undoubtedly a revolutionary transformation. Although the process was relatively smooth, the change was enormous. The present Kingdom of Dzungar seems to have become a country like Holland, Sweden, or Poland. Moreover, this country is extremely aggressive and poses a major threat to the Kazakhs and Khwarezmians.

Central Asia is now like a powder keg about to be ignited!"

"But such a transformation of the Kingdom of Dzungar should not be a good thing, should it?" the Tsar muttered under his breath.

At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded again outside the audience hall. Another of the Tsar's brothers-in-law, Foreign Minister Duke Ivan Naryshkin, came striding in. He had heard early that morning that Marquis Golovin had arrived in Moscow and knew something major had happened, so he had set out from his villa outside Moscow toward the Kremlin, and had happened to meet his younger brother Lev at the palace gate.

Knowing that the Tsar had summoned him urgently, he had come straight to the audience hall.

Duke Ivan Naryshkin was a rather handsome middle-aged nobleman — the Naryshkin family were all good-looking, tall but not fat, with regular features, very fair skin, and naturally curly dark brown hair. They were far more pleasant to look at than the stocky Miloslavsky family. Moreover, this family had a good temperament and did not fly into rages at the slightest provocation.

Watching the handsome Duke Ivan Naryshkin bow to him, the Tsar's mood improved considerably. He asked with a smile: "Ivan, did you not tell me that the absolute monarchy of France and the Lord Protector's dictatorship in England were the best systems?"

"Of course!" Duke Ivan Naryshkin answered with great certainty. "Holland's defeat by France, the long-term chaos of the Polish Republic, and the civil war in Germany all demonstrate that a strong royal power is the foundation of national stability.

When speaking before a Tsar, who would dare say that autocratic monarchy was bad? The Naryshkin family certainly did not have that kind of nerve.

The Tsar nodded. "I think so too!"

He then looked coldly at Marquis Golovin, who shivered under his gaze. The Marquis understood the Tsar's meaning at once — within Russia, there had always been many great nobles who wanted to learn from the Polish Republic!

Marquis Golovin quickly spoke along the lines of the Tsar's thoughts: "Your Majesty is wise. In fact, the new King of Dzungar, Galdan, is also unwilling to be controlled by the great nobles. That is why he has allied with the Khoshut Kingdom and the Dai Kingdom, preparing to launch a great war in order to establish his authority.

During this period, the Kingdom of Dzungar, the Khoshut Kingdom, and the Dai Kingdom are making full preparations for war. A large-scale war is expected to break out next spring!"

Alexei I frowned deeply. Central Asia was not Eastern Siberia, and still less the Nerchinsk region, which was beyond Russia's reach. Because the trade route with Persia had been opened up, Russia's operations in Central Asia were highly profitable.

If Kazakhstan and Khwarezm were both destroyed by the Kingdom of Dzungar, then Russia's trade route with Persia through the Caspian Sea would be completely cut off.

In that case, Russia would have no way to profit from the increasingly flourishing trade between East and West. For Russia, with its strained finances, the income obtained from trade with Persia was still very considerable.

Moreover, Persia was an ally Russia absolutely needed to win over against the Ottoman Empire — the Crimean Khanate, supported by the Ottoman Empire, posed a major threat to Russia's Ukrainian region!

"We cannot stand by and watch the Kazakhs and Khwarezmians be destroyed by the ferocious Dzungars!" Alexei I was silent for a while, then turned back to Duke Naryshkin. "Ivan, I think I can agree to Louis XIV's request for an alliance. Russia will stand together with France!"

(End of Chapter)