Pidlov spent the most difficult half month of his life in the dark dungeon. During this half month, he obtained a lot of valuable information through some languages ​​he guarded, such as the freedom most of the Cossack soldiers who went to war with him, and went to serve under the traitor Shahni, such as the city under his feet, the pearl of the Tsar on the Ob River, the former Tomsk, and the new capital of the Manchus, which has now been renamed Pingbei City, meaning to conquer the north.

But he did not change at all. No one talked to him, and the food he delivered was the same. Whenever he looked out through the gap in the prison door, he would see a tartar. When he was discovered, he would always pull out half a scimitar and grin, as if he could cut off his head in the next moment.

When the prison door opened again, food was delivered as usual, four roasted charred potatoes, a large bowl of pastrami, and a plate of salt, and a pen and a piece of paper. The Tatars lit up the oil lamp and pointed viciously at the piece of paper.

Eating and confessing is what Pidlov has to do every day. At first he didn't write anything, and the food was delivered as usual. Later, he made up the tricks. The Tatar rushed in and punched and kicked them. Then he wrote some important truths. The dinner turned into hot potato beef and hot soup. Without words, Pidlov knew what he should do. He didn't hold on for too long. Because his captured companion knew a lot of his background, he wrote out the well-known ones, but he insisted on burying some secrets. But Pidlov, who had eaten hot for several days, was really hard to swallow when facing the cold potatoes and the beef that could not be bitten. Especially the beef, which should be smoked from cow dung, tasted strange and disgusting.

After all, Pidlov could not bear it and wrote down his last secret. He was the illegitimate son of Oleg, the patriarch of the Stroganov family, and his mother was the illegitimate daughter of the Romanov family of the Russian royal family. Because of these relationships, Pidlov spent the first twenty years in Moscow and had served in the Guards. Unlike the country bumpkins in the business group who came from the bottom of the country or struggled in Siberia all year round, Pidlov was born into the upper class of the Russian nobles, and what he saw was exactly what the empire needed.

After writing these secrets and handing them over to the Tatars guarding outside, Pidlov closed his eyes and rested. He believed that the secrets would not only be hot soup and roast beef. Pidlov's foresight was very accurate. He was soon asked to leave the cell, changed his clothes, and sent it to a warm room, and met Chang Adei.

Chang Adei made a very detailed self-introduction when he was having a meal at Pidlov. When he heard that he was from the Tatar royal family but was loyal to the empire for more than ten years, Pidlov paused for a moment, then continued to eat delicious food, listening to Chang Adei's detailed description.

"........... I worked in the capital of the empire for more than ten years and used as an envoy. Because my daily work is to deal with barbarians, there are few things I have never heard of in Siberia or the Kazakh grassland. When I came to the northwest of the empire and served as the minister to Xinjiang, I thought I would make achievements, but before I took action, Manchuria collapsed. I knew that it was also a great contribution to recruiting the barbarians nearby and operating the pioneering local area, but the real contribution was not in these little things, but something terrifying and enviable.

Obviously, within my work, such achievements can only be achieved in the Russian Empire. Unfortunately, I cannot find someone who really knows him, those who talk to me about Russia, and even know the full name of their Tsar. And you, Mr. Pidlov, a real nobleman, have seen Tsar's men from the upper class, you must know more clearly than a farmer and bandit, right?" Chang Adei asked.

Pidlov nodded. Of course he knew this, but he didn't know what Chang Adei wanted to do, so he asked: "Dignified sir, what contribution do you want to make?"

Chang Adei pointed to the map behind him and asked, "How about all Siberian land for the empire to seize the west of the Ob River?"

With a bang, the spoon in Pidlov's hand fell to the ground. He felt that the weak-looking guy in front of him was simply a lunatic.

The map in front of Pidlov was similar to the situation in Siberia he knew. Although the territory of the empire expanded to the north in many years, the four governors of Tobolsk, Tomsk, Yenisesk and Yakutsk established by the Russian Empire in Siberia only lost the Tomsk city under his feet. Of course, the situation was still not optimistic, because the empire occupied the upper reaches of the Ertise River, the Yenise River and the Lena River, and the war in Siberia has always been attacked along the rivers. It was early and late to fall the city where the governors were located in the lower reaches of these three rivers.

However, it was a long-term process. After all, neither the Tsar nor the imperial emperor would launch a huge war in such a wild place. However, Chang Adei wanted to make the Tsar hand over the land of the three Governors' districts by his own efforts, which was simply a dream.

"This is impossible. Even if I help you with all my strength, no, even if I am the Stroganov family, we can help you with all my strength, such as Yakutsk, we have no interests there, and we have no business relationship." Pidlov said immediately when he saw Chang Adei looking at him seriously.

Chang Adae smiled: "Your help is only a small part of it. I want an idea or some inspiration. When I was working in the Imperial House of Reichs, I found that what really threatened your rule in Siberia was not the frequent harassment of armed caravans or the organized attack of the Imperial army. But two points: First, by treating and recruiting the Cossacks, your core combat power was damaged. Second, promote the Yellow Sect, support the shamans, and alienate the barbarians from you.

In our empire, this way of gaining huge gains with small efforts is called a one-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-two-

"Then how do you make sure I know this method?" Pidlov asked.

"Because you are a Russian nobleman, you know the strategy of this country and the will of the Tsar, and you also know the weaknesses of this empire. Of course, maybe you are a mediocre person, maybe you don't want to tell me, it doesn't matter, because I will get more news from the empire and the Tsar, and you will find the secret of this country sooner or later, and then find the way to make a big difference by yourself." Chang Aday said with a smile.

Pidlov picked up the spoon: "But you still choose to treat me and still want me to give me advice, why?"

"It's very simple. This city belongs to the empire. Then the empire will have the most direct relationship with your family, which may be war or trade. Now that Manchuria has been destroyed, if the land west of the Ob River belongs to the empire, then this side will not be the core of expansion. I think there is a greater chance of trade, so there are many common languages ​​between us. The most important reason is that the city we are in is frozen in the next six months, with no entertainment projects and no things to do. I am worried that I will reach out to those Kalmyk women." Chang Adei said helplessly.

"You really want to trade with us?" Pidlov asked in surprise.

Chang Adae smiled: "Of course, in fact, our emperor sent a mission to Moscow last year to negotiate trade. If this matter is done, a trade route across the Kazakh grassland will be formed. Of course, you will not be happy to see these. After all, you will not be able to share much on this route. If it is not done, you will most likely be in a low-intensity war as before. And as the minister in charge of civil affairs and trade in the northwest of the empire, I have the right to decide who to trade with and what to buy and sell.

So, Mr. Pidlov, your current identity is important, and I believe the whole family is looking forward to you making the right choice.”

"Are you all saying true? A noble lord?" Pidlov could not control his excitement. If he could really reach a trade agreement for his family and the empire, even if it was just a secret smuggling trade route, it would be extremely important to him. After all, Russia not only needs Siberian fur, but also silk, porcelain and tea from China.

Chang Adei said: "Of course, I can at least guarantee that as long as the ice and snow melt, you will not seek to seize this land that once belonged to Manchuria, and you can engage in secret trade. Of course, you can reach this agreement, or I can send an envoy to where you are. Do you know the difference?"

"Of course, I know that if you can get me involved, then there is nothing that I, Pidlov, cannot give." Pidlov said in surprise.

Chang Adei shrugged slightly and motioned Pidlov to continue speaking, while Pidlov knew what he should do. He put down the tableware, walked to the map, carefully observed the lower left corner of the map, and asked: "Sir, is the information marked on this map conclusive? For example, why is this piece light red, instead of white with our Russian land?"

Chang Ade briefly explained that the land of the empire was marked with red, while the vassal states were marked with light red, while Russia used white, and a series of Central Asian countries and forces that did not surrender were marked with green.

"Has the Shiva Khanate surrendered to the Great Emperor?" Pidlov pointed to a small country south of the Aral Hainan.

Chang Adai nodded affirmatively. The two Turkic Khanates of Shiva and Bukhat are the main forces in the river. The Bukhat Khanate has been fully controlled by Li Jundu, and the Shiva Khanate was soon attacked and unable to fight. In the past period of time, the Shiva Khanate asked Iran for help, but was also defeated. In order to protect itself, it was just last year's incident. It is not surprising that Pidlov didn't know about it.

"Is this country very important?" Chang Aday asked. After all, his north is not bordered by the Russian Empire, and is separated from the Kazakhstan power.

Pidlov said: "It's not important at all, but if the information marked on the map is accurate, starting from the empire, the caravans can already reach the coast of the Caspian Sea without any obstacles, so as to contact the Crimean Khanate across the sea through the Caspian Sea, right?"

Chang Adei nodded slightly. In his memory, the merchants were ready to establish trade with the powerful Ottoman Empire in West Asia.

Pidlov said: "If this is the case, there is a way. The Crimean Khanate, which lies north of the Black Sea, is a powerful force. They are the protectors of the Ottoman Empire, called the Ottoman Whip or the Sultan Whip."

Chang Adei thought about it and couldn't understand what the use of such a small country was, but Pidlov said: "Sir, this is the country that His Majesty the Tsar fear the most. They are the Tianfang scholars and our natural mortal enemy. A hundred years ago, they burned our capital, Moscow. It was because of their existence that we could not settle in the grassland. Do you know that every spring comes, His Majesty the Tsar will dispatch 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers to defend the border line border with them. Because of them, we call all nomadic peoples the Tatars.

In spring and summer every year, these Tatars would ride war horses to gallop across the southern Russian prairie, plundering Ukrainians, Russians and Romanians as slaves, and sell slaves to the Ottoman region. It is precisely because of this bloody slave trade that these Tatars became the most powerful force in Eastern Europe. In the past century, at least millions of Slavs have been bought and sold by them."

Hearing this, Chang Adei gradually realized that the relationship between the Crimean Khanate and the Russian Empire was very similar to the relationship between Manchuria and Zhu Ming in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chang Adai even knew that the Ottomans and Russia were irreconcilable. If the empire supported the Ottomans and the Crimean Khanate, it would cause huge harm to Russia and use these chips to exchange for some benefits. Even if it could not get most of Siberia, it could still occupy a favorable situation.

However, Chang Aday also felt that the fact that he wanted to do was too grand, but it opened up a new idea for the further expansion of the empire in the mainland, that is, expansion does not need to be eaten and removed step by step, and through international cooperation, it is also a good choice to make the enemy concessions.
Chapter completed!