My British Empire

  Chapter 365 Ivan the Thunder Emperor

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  The capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow—Moscow.

  In July, when it was raining lightly in London, it was sunny in Moscow.

  The sun hangs high in the sky, swaying and emitting light, but pedestrians on the road can only feel a touch of warmth.

  Although Moscow is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, it is a very small city, or rather a relatively large castle.

  There are only more than 3,000 permanent residents in Moscow, and the rest are either nobles or soldiers. Not to mention London, it is more than a little better than Paris, Florence, Milan, and even Edinburgh.

  The whole city is made of huge stones, high walls, houses, streets, churches, and even palaces, which look so rough and unconventional.

  If the architecture of London is a carefully crafted handicraft, then Moscow is a building block built with stones at random, so atmospheric and rough.

   Let the group of Italian artists see, I don't know how to sigh.

   Compared with Western Europe and England, Moscow is a wild place.

   It's no wonder that the whole of Europe looks down on the Principality of Moscow, and they don't even know it.

Richard Chandler was sitting in a carriage, driving on the streets of Moscow, and there were very few passers-by. After seeing this carriage with the royal family flag, they all knelt down and did not dare to lift their heads. .

  Richard leaned back against the carriage and didn't even look at it. He had already turned a blind eye to such a scene.

  Since he came to Moscow, he felt that compared with England, Moscow is simply a hell.

  Here, only the nobles have freedom. Those civilians, businessmen, workers, and serfs are all prostrate at the feet of the nobles. They may be killed by the nobles at any time, and the nobles get only a small amount of fines.

   Kneeling, kneeling on the ground, for the English, this is the etiquette that belongs to God.

  But in the Principality of Moscow, this has become a basic etiquette.

  In Chandler's view, the entire Principality of Moscow is exactly the same as those Mongols. They are a group of barbaric and greedy thugs who only know how to plunder and invade, but do not know restraint.

  The entire Principality of Moscow is a country of the aristocratic class led by the Tsar. Except for the nobles, the rest are slaves.

  If he didn't have a mission, he would have gone back a long time ago, without the slightest nostalgia for this place.

  Thinking of this, Chandler unconsciously heard the current Grand Duke Ivan IV of the Principality of Moscow.

  Ivan IV, full name is Ivan Vasilyevich (ИванIV Васильевич) was born in 1530 and inherited the Grand Duke in 1547.

  Because the Grand Duke was born with lightning and thunder, he was also called Ivan the Terrible (ИванГрозный).

   Also known as Ivan the Great, Ivan the Terrible.

  He is the son of Grand Duke Vasily III of Moscow and his second wife Yelena Glinskaya, and he is also the first monarch in Russian history to be called the Tsar.

  Because his father had him at the age of fifty, Ivan IV ascended the throne at the age of three, and his mother was temporarily regent, competing for power with the great nobles.

At that time, various groups fought fiercely for power, strife and murder, which had a profound impact on the formation of Ivan IV's character and activities, so he developed a strong-willed and ruthless character since he was a child. The repression was severe.

  The tsar not only liked to slaughter towns and cities during the war, but more importantly, he massacred the nobles.

  He hated the nobles fighting for power, especially the big nobles. During the seven years from 1565 to 1572, he slaughtered more than 4,000 big nobles, killing the Russian nobles with fear.

  This kind of cruelty is integrated into his character, and sometimes he becomes irritable and kills everything, even his heir, Prince Ivan, was accidentally killed by him.

  Two years ago, the brutal emperor conquered Kazan and bloodbathed the Mongolian Khanate, leaving only nine ancient lords.

  Since then, the offensive and defensive changes between Moscow and the Golden Horde can also be called the beginning of the decline of the Golden Horde.

  Facing this cruel and powerful monarch, Chandler was terrified every time he met him, for fear that he would be implicated by innocent people and killed by mistake.

  He saw more than once that His Majesty the Tsar lost his temper, and swung his knife to chop it down. Whether it was a guard, maid, or minister, it would be bad luck for you to be killed.

  Compared with this His Majesty the Tsar, His Majesty Edward is really a wise king, an amiable and respectable king.

  The body of the carriage swayed from time to time, waking him up from his thoughts, and he could not help but smile wryly on his face.

  Stayed in Moscow for more than a month and was interviewed more than a dozen times. He was either asked about the situation in England or Spain. He never mentioned the matter of trade.

   What can he do about this, he doesn't have the guts to anger the brutal Tsar Majesty, who knows if he will be hacked to death.

   Soon, the carriage stopped, and Chandler knew that the palace had arrived.

  He took a deep breath, calmed down his nervous mood, and prayed to the Almighty God, hoping that he would bless him and bestow good luck.

   With the support of the groom, Chandler stepped down, followed the guards waiting at the door, and walked step by step to the meeting palace.

  The entire palace, in Chandler's view, is really unpretentious, there is no other adjective except big.

   But when you get to the palace, you will definitely be surprised.

  Luxurious Persian carpets are laid on the floor, a huge crystal lamp hangs in the center of the room, and various gold ornaments are placed in large quantities. Under the illumination of candles, they are golden and shining extremely.

  Even the body of Ivan IV is woven with gold thread, and the jewels on the crown are as numerous as stars, and the number is too numerous to count.

  The first time he saw such a picture, Chandler knew that he had dug a gold mine.

   "Your Majesty, the special envoy of the King of England, Mr. Richard Chandler has been brought!"

  The young guard was wearing a thick coat, with a straight face, and reported in a thick voice.

   "Mr. Chandler, please sit down!" His Majesty the Tsar nodded to the guards, and then said.

  The young tsar has a pair of thick eyebrows, an inverted trapezoidal face, triangular eyes, and a mean look.

  Seeing His Majesty the Tsar smiled at himself, Chandler said that this abnormal scene made him shudder and his heartbeat doubled.

   "Your Majesty~" With a trill, Chandler quickly saluted and greeted him.

   "Mr. Chandler, you have also been in Moscow for a month, how do you feel about Moscow?"

   "Great, Moscow is great, Your Majesty, if I am appointed by the King of England, I want to live here for a long time!"

  Chandler suppressed the trembling of his body, pretending to speak affectionately, the suppression was very painful!

   "That's great, that's exactly what I mean!" Ivan IV replied happily, with a lot of interest on his face.

   Seeing this, Chandler wanted to smash his mouth into pieces.

  (end of this chapter)