1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 428 Muravyov

Like Nicholas I's favorite Menshikov, Muravyov was born in St. Petersburg to one of Tsarist Russia's top aristocratic families.

His father served as a high-ranking official in Novgorod Province, imperial minister, privy councilor and other important positions.

According to the Qing Dynasty, Muravyov was an authentic Jingye with a yellow flag on his forehead.

In his early years, Muravyov's resume was mainly concentrated in the military field, except that he served as a court boy for Princess Pavlovna at the age of 14. He joined the army at the age of 18, participated in the Second Russo-Turkish War at the age of 19, and participated in the Second Russo-Turkish War at the age of 24.

He left the army at the age of 10 and came home to inherit his inheritance.

After five years of boring life of a prodigal son and a life of travel and adventure, the 29-year-old Muravyov returned to the army and became a major general of the Russian army three years later.

However, Muravyov did not last long as a general and began to serve as governor of Irkutsk and Siberia.

It was during this period that Muravyov began continuous military adventures in the Heilongjiang River Basin in Northeast China in order to spy on the Qing Dynasty's reality in the outer Northeast.

Only the outbreak of the Crimean War disrupted Muravyov's plans.

Not only did the coalition's navy compete with the Russian navy in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea regions, but a naval battle also broke out between the two sides in the Pacific region.

"To be honest, Governor Muravyov, I admire your courage and courage to come to Xiangshan to find me at this time." Liang Yao said leisurely.

Although the Governor-General of Siberia is not a very popular position in Russia, he is still a Governor-General.

There is no Siberian Railway these days, and the Russian troops stationed in the Far East have three ways to obtain supplies.

If Muravyov was a clumsy talker, it would be impossible for him to secure the position of governor of Siberia.

Muravyov knew that he was weak, so after the war broke out, he either led his fleet to hide in the port of Petropavlovsk, or played hide-and-seek with the coalition forces in the Pacific to stall for time.

Muravyov's eloquence is very good. In fact, the eloquence of the governors of Tsarist Russia's border areas is not bad. They are all very good, eloquent debaters and even diplomats.

"I am a Russian nobleman. Even if I fall into the hands of the British, my life will not be in danger. Not only will they not abuse me, let alone kill me, but they will let me eat and drink well to show that they are a gentleman."

demeanor.

After the war is over, I, the Governor of Siberia Muravyov, who has defended the Far East for more than a year with more than a thousand remaining soldiers, will return home with honor as a hero of Russia. The Russian people will give me a statue, and the Tsar will award me a medal.

Ever since Liang Yao came to Japan, Muravyov began to pay close attention to this neighbor who, like himself, hung out in the Pacific region.

Alaska is still in the hands of Tsarist Russia. Russia sounds far away from California, but in fact it is just that California is far away from the core area of ​​Russia.

After Britain and France entered the war, the Russian army lost control of the sea.

Liang Yao had a conflict with the British in the Colombian Crown Territory. The British specially sent Yi Lu as the governor of the Colombian Crown Territory. The two sides once clashed in the offshore area of ​​California.

Although Liang Yao hated these greedy Russian aristocrats from the bottom of his heart, he had to admit that Muravyov was a courageous man.

That is to work with the British Navy to destroy the Russian port of Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula, inflicting heavy damage to the Russian military forces in the Far East to support the coalition forces in the Near East battlefield.

The Russian Empire was vast and its capital was located in St. Petersburg in the far west. Before the popularization of telegraph, the communication efficiency between the border areas and the capital was extremely low.

The border areas of the Far East are not only the bitter cold places of the Russian Empire, but also the farthest areas from the core areas of Russia.

Therefore, in addition to having certain administrative capabilities and military experience, the Tsarist Russian governor in the border areas also needed to have a certain level of diplomacy.

Of course, Muravyov felt that Xiangshan came to him personally, and Liang Yao was not very surprised.

"Xiangshan is very close to Hong Kong Island. Aren't you afraid that I will give you as a gift to the British?"

After the Second Opium War, seizing millions of square kilometers of land in the northeast outside the Qing Dynasty through the Treaty of Aihun was not Muraviev's greatest contribution to Tsarist Russia.

However, the coalition forces did not intend to let go of Tsarist Russia's military power in the Far East.

The third item is to transport supplies from St. Petersburg to the Far East by sea. This is the main transportation route for Russian military supplies in the Far East.

The first is to requisition food on the spot. However, the Far East is vast, sparsely populated and economically backward. It cannot even be self-sufficient, let alone supply thousands of Russian troops. Therefore, requisitioning food on the spot cannot solve the problem.

Speaking of the island of Borneo, a trace of jealousy flashed in Muraviov's eyes. This tropical island has the ice-free port that the Russian Empire dreamed of.

"Tell me, why did you come to Xiangshan to find me this time?"

If you can make good use of the contradiction between Liang Yao and the British, you may be able to achieve your own goals.

"Haha, based on what I know about you, you won't do this. I heard that you just occupied the island of Borneo, and the British also provoked you in the California offshore area. I think your interests may not be the same as those of Britain and France.

Consistent.”

If Muravyov was not courageous enough, he would not have dared to boldly launch military provocations against the Qing Dynasty in the Far East, far away from the core area of ​​the Russian Empire, and repeatedly invaded the south when the Russian central government's attitude towards the Qing was wavering.

Petropavlovsk, with a latitude of 53°, is not an ice-free port. As long as the port is ice-blocked by the arrival of General Winter, everything will be fine.

Although Tsarist Russia's military power in the Pacific region is very weak, the navy only has four or five old sailing warships that are barely capable of combat, and the marine force has only more than a thousand people, which poses no threat to the coalition forces.

Since Muravyov blocked Liang Yao on the street, it was inevitable for Liang Yao and Muravyov to have a cup of tea and talk.

Muravyov thought he had a certain understanding of Liang Yao.

And your reputation will probably be ruined in the aristocratic circles of Europe from now on. I heard that you are a businessman, and a qualified businessman knows how to calculate gains and losses, let alone an outstanding businessman like you."

Muravyov's greatest contribution to Tsarist Russia was to expose the nature of the Qing Dynasty as a paper tiger, so that Tsarist Russia, which had just been defeated in Crimea and suffered a great loss in national power, still dared to invade the Qing Dynasty unscrupulously and repeatedly asked the Qing Dynasty to cede territory and seek peace.

But soon, Muravyov adjusted his condition and continued.

It is not difficult to guess Muravyov's intention, but since it was Muravyov who came to the door on his own initiative, it would be more appropriate for Muravyov to reveal his intention.

This is what Muravyov is thinking now.

Tromoran led his ship to Borneo for another purpose besides requesting medical assistance from Liang Yao and negotiating a new batch of arms orders.

Northern Oregon is only a few hundred kilometers away from the southernmost tip of Alaska.

The second one is to transport it to the Far East via land. However, the road from Eastern Europe to the Far East is not easy to walk, and the distance is long. This poor transportation capacity cannot meet the needs of the Russian army in the Far East.

Liang Yao signaled Carnegie to pour tea for Muravyov.

Not only were supplies from Eastern Europe unable to reach the Far East, even Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula was surrounded and blockaded by the coalition navy for more than a year.

It is difficult for large ships in the port to leave the port to purchase supplies.

Although Muravyov struggled to hold Petropavlovsk, the Russian army in the Far East was already exhausted.

Muravyov needs supplies, a lot of supplies, and for these supplies, in the entire Pacific Rim, only Liang Yao has the ability to provide him with military supplies.

(End of chapter)