The arrival of Li Xiao made Yili City joyful.

Everyone was so energetic that the wheat outside the city was harvested in just ten days.

Just as the officers and soldiers of the Reclamation Division were celebrating the harvest happily, another head of state came to Ili.

Empress Catherine came to Ili in a pilgrim mood.

Starting from Moscow, even if we took an airship, it was a bumpy ride.

There is no way, with such a long voyage, it is impossible for an airship to fly from Moscow to Ili in one go.

What's more, the climate here is unpredictable. If it encounters a sandstorm, it will be extremely dangerous for the airship.

Fortunately, today's airships are no longer the bulky airships powered by steam engines.

The weight of the diesel airship's pod is greatly reduced, which allows the airship to fly at a higher altitude.

If it encounters a sandstorm, the airship needs to climb to an altitude of eight or nine thousand meters.

At this height, everyone has to wear an oxygen mask on their face. At the same time, they also have to wear goggles on their eyes!

Ekaterina, who has always loved beauty, had two big marks around her eyes. No matter how much powder she applied, she couldn't hide them.

What made Ekaterina even more miserable was that she suffered from acrophobia.

As soon as she boarded the airship, Ekaterina became panicked and short of breath, and did not dare to approach the porthole at all.

Several times, Ekaterina vomited one after another because she was too nervous. In the end, his captain of the guard had to knock her out.

Because these attachés were very afraid that Her Majesty the Queen would die on the airship.

During several stops, Ekaterina was carried off the airship on a stretcher. But after a day's rest, she had to step onto the airship again.

It must be said that the woman who controls Russia is a ruthless person.

Before boarding the airship, she simply had herself knocked unconscious. Her eyes were covered with a black cloth, and she was tied to a magazine and carried onto the airship.

In this way, when she wakes up, she doesn't know where she is.

Objectively speaking, the riding comfort of the Ming Dynasty airship has made great progress. When riding on the airship, you no longer have to endure the huge mechanical noise and vibration.

If Ekaterina took an old-fashioned airship this time, it is estimated that when the airship arrived in Ili, it would be time to hold a memorial service.

Yekaterina's Foreign Minister, Peter Novovich, repeatedly explained to Li Xiao that not coming to Yili in advance was not disrespectful to the Ming Marshal, but that the journey was too far.

Li Xiao understood this. After all, Moscow is thousands of kilometers away from Yili. In this era, thousands of kilometers can be regarded as the distance between the ends of the world.

Even in developed European countries, there are not many railway miles. The main way to travel from one place to another is still by carriage or horseback.

The emergence of airships can be regarded as opening a new era for human travel.

Zheng Sen has already sent a telegram, proposing that the Ming Dynasty establish an airline to use airships to carry passengers. He said that this is a very profitable business, but the airships need the latest diesel airships, otherwise the riding experience will be very bad.

Li Xiao left this matter to Zhang Huangyan. It belonged to civil affairs and not military affairs. Li Xiao had no interest or energy to take care of these matters.

Stewie was ordered to go to the airship landing site to greet the legendary Queen. When Catherine stepped off the airship, her face was so pale. There were big marks around her eyes, her golden hair was a little messy, and her eyes were dull.

Somewhat sluggish.

In short, Her Majesty the Queen has been tortured to the point of losing her temper.

"This is His Excellency the Chief of General Staff of the Ming Dynasty. His position is almost the same as that of Kutuzov." Brauchitsch, who got off the airship earlier, hurriedly introduced it to the embarrassed Queen.

"Hello, Chief of the General Staff!" After hearing that it was Kutuzov from the Ming Dynasty, Ekaterina did not dare to neglect and hurried forward to salute.

"Your Majesty the Queen, on behalf of the Marshal of the Ming Dynasty, I am here to greet you. Please get on the carriage!"

In his heart, Stewie was somewhat curious about Her Majesty the Russian Empress.

After all, the belief that men are superior to women has been engraved in the bones of Ming people.

The emperor of a country was actually a woman, which made Stewie very curious. With strong curiosity in his heart, he came to the airship landing site, but he saw an old woman with a pale face and a bloated body.

Although Ekaterina is only forty-one years old this year, her years of pampering have made her body fat.

After all, she is a Russian woman, she is old... you know.

The girdle is no longer of much use. If you use a thin girdle like that of ladies, Her Majesty the Queen's internal organs will be damaged.

After all, she was only forty-one years old, and Ekaterina felt that she could still survive until the day when the Russian Empire was revived.

"Thank you, Your Excellency, Chief of Staff." Under the guidance of Stewie, Yekaterina got into the luxury carriage specially transported by train.

Li Xiao met with Ekaterina at the headquarters of the Reclamation Division!

There is no better house than this hall in Yili City. This made Li Xiao a little discouraged. The meeting place should be in Xi'an.

Let Her Majesty, the famous Russian Empress, experience the power of the Ming Empire.

Seeing Empress Catherine, Li Xiao was as disappointed as Shi Dewei. He thought that this empress, who was as legendary as Wu Zetian, would be an exotic beauty.

But I didn't expect that Empress Catherine, if she changed out of this luxurious dress, would be no different from an ordinary Russian aunt.

In terms of image, it is more than one level behind those Russian girls who make a living in brothels in the capital.

"Your Majesty the Queen, this is the Grand Marshal of the Ming Dynasty. The supreme ruler of the Ming Empire!" Brauchitsch had met Li Xiu, and this was the first time he met Li Xiao.

Today, Li Xiao was dressed very casually, wearing a camouflage uniform that was not old and new, with a dragon-shaped badge embroidered on his shoulder.

Wearing a camouflage hat on his head, he looks a bit lazy.

Yekaterina did not expect that His Excellency the Grand Marshal of the Ming Dynasty would be dressed like this.

Is this the man who unified the entire Ming Dynasty with force, and now makes the whole world tremble?

The Li Xiao in front of her was not tall, at least not much taller than her, Ekaterina.

The body shape is neither fat nor thin, and there is no big belly that is common among Russian aristocratic men.

There were not many guards standing beside him, but they all stood upright. The ceremonial soldiers held a gun salute and stood there like a wooden man without squinting.

Ekaterina noticed that none of the soldiers here were wearing swords.

Everyone had pistols in their waists, and the rifles in the hands of Ming soldiers were different from the rifles in the hands of Russian soldiers.

This kind of rifle is obviously shorter than the rifles used by the Russians. The bayonet on it is very short, and on some books it is just a dagger.

But it looks very sharp, emitting a shimmering cold light in the sun.

What struck her most strangely was that there was something curved under the rifle.

Her intuition told her that this kind of firearm was more advanced than the rifles used by the Russians.

Because he disliked Mao Dashun's poor command, Li Xiao set the meeting place under a grape trellis.

The grapevines covering the shelf blocked the sun, and there were four chairs and a coffee table on the ground.

On the coffee table were yellow-flesh watermelon, cheese, raisins and cantaloupe, which are specialties from the Western Regions.

On the Ming side were Li Xiao and Shi Dewei, and on the Russian side were Ekaterina and Brauchitsch.

Obviously, Brauchitsch's role is to translate. And Stewie's role is similar to the fruit plate on the table.

"Her Majesty the Queen has come a long way, so you can take a lot of walks in Daming. Take a look at the great rivers and mountains of Daming!

This Yili is on the border of the Ming Dynasty, so it is a bit remote." Li Xiao seemed very relaxed, after all, he faced Ekaterina as a victor.

"Thank you, Generalissimo, for your love. It's hard to come to Ming Dynasty. Naturally, I want to appreciate the scenery of Ming Dynasty." Although Yekaterina has gained some weight, she still has the demeanor of someone who has been in power for a long time. She answered Li Xiao's question

Everything from expression to posture is very decent.

"Although Russia has been dismembered, the Ming Dynasty will ensure that the Principality of Moscow will not be invaded. You can understand that this is the Ming Empire's guarantee for Russia.

If any country attacks the Principality of Muscovy in the future, Ming Dynasty will definitely not stand idly by." Since Ekaterina was very sensible, Li Xiao gave her a reassurance.

As soon as they met Li Xiao told her that the Ming Dynasty would protect the Principality of Muscovy with force.

Neither the powerful Prussia nor the evil-minded Poland would dare to attack Russia again after being warned by the Ming Dynasty.

"Thank you, Your Majesty the Generalissimo, for your peace and for saving the people of Moscow from the ravages of war.

In order to thank Your Excellency the Generalissimo for your generosity, this time I brought the crown of the Emperor of the Russian Empire to give to Your Excellency the Generalissimo."

After Ekaterina finished speaking, she winked at Brauchitsch.

Brauchitsch picked up a large box from the side and put it on the coffee table, and slowly opened the box with his hands!

The moment Brauchitsch opened the box, Li Xiao was dazzled by the reflected light.

This is a white gold frame with red velvet in the middle. The white gold frame is covered with diamonds.

In the middle is a heart-shaped high crown inlaid with diamonds. On top of the high crown is a ruby ​​as big as a baby's fist.

Above the ruby ​​is an Orthodox cross composed of five polished diamonds.

Under the sunlight, the entire crown shone brightly, especially the ruby ​​​​on it, like a rising red sun.

After being a commander for so many years, he has seen a lot of treasures in the palace. Li Xiao still took a breath when he saw this tsarist crown.

This thing is the best among the best in terms of workmanship, materials, and creativity.

It is priceless and cannot be described as precious.

Seeing Li Xiao's eyes, Catherine felt sad. This crown represents the tsarist power.
To be continued...