Chapter 306: Shao Quanzhong's Unexpected Imperial Conferment
Chapter 306: Shao Quanzhong's Unexpected Imperial Conferment
"Bang bang bang bang!"
Five consecutive shots, each one hit the bull's eye.
Princess Maomei easily put the empty revolver back into Shao Quanzhong's waist and raised her chin proudly towards Ping'er.
"How about it? I have a specialty too. I am a natural sharpshooter, otherwise how could there be a target on my island in the middle of the lake? Even the masters of the Guards' Shooting Battalion cannot beat me, so my rank of second lieutenant is genuine."
Song Laosan has met his match now. Although Mao Mei Maria doesn't know how to do American Iai and shoots with both hands raised horizontally, she is really good at using the gun.
Shao Quanzhong was very satisfied. "In the future, I will teach you how to draw your gun and shoot quickly. You can replace Liu Niang as my personal bodyguard. I will then give you the rank of lieutenant colonel and let you command my guard platoon. You can speak so many foreign languages. It should be no problem for you to be my secretary in the future and be responsible for dealing with foreigners."
"Thank you, Marshal, for your cultivation!"
Mao Mei saluted and left happily. Well, not bad, not bad, my future husband is quite to my taste.
Ping'er is very depressed. This girl wants to take my secretary position. It seems that I can't beat her. No, the next backup plan must be implemented immediately.
Apple returned to her guest room, picked up a quill, began to ponder, and changed her career to become a screenwriter and director.
Princess Maomei returned to the guest room, her excitement calmed down, and she suddenly began to worry.
She rolled her eyes and asked the maid to help her change into a dress. The tomboy immediately turned into a good girl.
Mao Mei, who was used to wearing military uniforms, held up the hem of her skirt with both hands as she came to her father's study.
"Good night, Daddy."
Alexander II was still working with a frown on his face. He was a very wise ruler.
Lucia was poor, and the betrothal gift from Shao Quanzhong solved a big problem. At least it could be used to reward the officers with military pay, and stabilize the army, right?
When I looked up, I felt very strange. When did my daughter become so well-behaved, wearing a dress on her own initiative and even knowing how to greet her dad?
"You are going to be picked up by your husband, and you can't bear to leave your father?"
"Daddy, I just can't bear to leave you. I heard from Shao's concubine Ping'er that Shao gave Daddy 7 million rubles as a betrothal gift to marry me, but you only gave me a fake territory as a dowry. Is this true?"
Seeing her father's embarrassed expression, the princess refused to accept it immediately. "Shao has six wives in his harem, two of whom are high-ranking legitimate wives. If I marry him, my dowry won't be as good as theirs, and I'll be bullied. Woo woo woo, daddy, you treat your precious daughter like this..."
The handsome Tsar immediately panicked, "Don't cry, Maria, Daddy won't let you suffer any injustice."
Turning back, he shouted, "Come, call Gorchakov to see me urgently."
I can't take care of my precious daughter, so I have to rely on my loyal ministers to save me.
…………
The next day, Alexandra Palace, semicircular hall.
Tsar Alexander II met with his son-in-law Shao Quanzhong and awarded him the Order of St. Andrew.
Then, the conferring ceremony was held.
Before the ceremony, Gorchakov secretly found Shao Quanzhong and said, "Shao, in view of your loyalty to the Romanov family and the generous betrothal gift, His Majesty has decided to increase your reward. But you must swear in the name of Shao's ancestors that you will not betray the Romanov family."
The two of them whispered for a long time, and Shao Quanzhong smiled and agreed to Gorchakov's conditions. The ceremony of conferring the title officially began, and Shao Quanzhong knelt on one knee in front of his father-in-law. Alexander II placed his sword on Shao Quanzhong's shoulder, "I confer the title of Grand Duke of Crimea on you, and concurrently the Dukedom of Almaty. You are allowed to establish the Grand Duchy of Crimea and protect Russia."
Shao Quanzhong was already prepared. He raised his right hand and swore, "I pledge my loyalty to the Romanov family on the honor of my ancestors. I promise that the Crimean territory will always belong to the Romanov family."
The ceremony was over, and the nobles who were watching applauded together. Princess Maomei, who was wearing an elegant dress, raised her chin and looked at Ping'er provocatively.
What do you think? Daddy gave me the Crimean Peninsula as a dowry. Who dares to look down on me?
The Russians understood Orientals better than the British did. They knew that swearing on a Bible would not work for Orientals, so they asked Shao Quanzhong to swear in public in the name of his ancestors and be loyal to the Romanov family.
Along with the imperial decree conferring the title on Shao Quanzhong, the Tsar issued a special edict.
The imperial edict clearly stated that the Crimean Peninsula would be granted to Shao Quanzhong as a dowry of a princess, but like Jersey Island, it was a private territory. Shao Quanzhong was not allowed to take the territory away from the control of the Romanov family, otherwise the title would automatically become invalid. In fact, Shao Quanzhong only had the power to collect taxes in the territory.
In addition, Shao Quanzhong had to assume the responsibility of building the territory. Within ten years, he had to invest at least 20 million rubles to restore the Crimean Peninsula's economy, which had been devastated by the Crimean War and the looting of the South China Sea Navy and the Greek Navy.
At the same time, he was also responsible for building a railway from Sevastopol to Meaux. The railway could only be built by Shao Quanzhong alone, and no British or American shares were allowed.
Now, the wealth that the South China Sea Fleet had previously plundered on the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye and the Black Sea coast of Russia was reinvested in the Crimean Peninsula.
Shao Quanzhong himself had to pay nearly 15 million rubles in the next ten years, and after deducting taxes, he would still have to take out nearly 12 million rubles.
There was another condition. Shao Quanzhong, in accordance with the treaty signed with Spain, allocated a fleet worth 10 million taels of silver, reorganized it into the Black Sea Squadron of the Nanyang Navy, stationed it in Sevastopol, flew the Russian flag, was responsible for maintaining the security of the Black Sea, and was obliged to prevent "other countries" from invading and infiltrating Russia from the direction of the Black Sea.
Although no names were mentioned, the whole world knows who the “other countries” are.
Now, there is no possibility of another Crimean War. The establishment of the Russian vassal state by Shao Quanzhong can indeed play a role in protecting Russia.
The land was still under the rule of the Tsar and could not be taken away. The tax revenue could not be offset by Shao Quanzhong's investment for decades. Moreover, after the prosperity of the Crimean Peninsula, it would surely boost the prosperity of Russia's overall economy.
This is equivalent to using the meager tax revenue from the Crimean Peninsula to support the defense of the southern part of the empire, which can reduce a large amount of military expenditure on the Western Front.
If the Shao family were to fail in the future, the Tsar would just need to issue an imperial edict to take back the territory.
No matter how you look at it, Russia will not suffer any loss. This is the wisdom of the great diplomat Gorchakov.
The only thing the Russians failed to calculate was that Shao Quanzhong had repeatedly sworn allegiance to the Romanov family, not Russia.
All the Lucia nobles present felt that this was clearly the same thing.
"Thank you, father-in-law, for your generous gift. Ping'er, bring the chicken fat yellow national gift."
Shao Quanzhong held the highest level of state gift in his hands and presented it to his father-in-law.
"Thank you, father-in-law, for your kindness. I will ensure that the Paulmanov family will have no worries forever. In the future, when father-in-law's descendants present this state gift, they will surely receive the most dignified reception and security guarantees in China."
(End of this chapter)