Chapter 1866 What on earth is he going to do?

Xiao Peng snapped his fingers and said, "You're absolutely right. Why did Repin choose to paint Sophia over others? My guess is that if he had painted other royals ugly, he would have lost his head, but he would have been fine with Sophia."

Hua Chong suddenly realized: "Oh, she launched a coup to seize power, so she has a bad reputation!"

Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "There are countless political figures involved in Russian history, but she has the worst reputation. In fact, in my opinion, Sofia did quite well during her years in office: during her reign, she stopped the wars with Poland and the Qing Dynasty, and instead set her sights on the more strategically located Kremlin. This shows that she and Peter the Great both valued the ocean. Moreover, during her reign, the national strength of Tsarist Russia did develop, and her policy that led to this development was to relax the serfdom policy, which hit the interests of the aristocracy. So it's understandable why she has such a bad reputation, right? Peter the Great was able to overthrow her because he had the support of a large number of aristocrats."

Hua Chong nodded: "I understand, I have offended too many people."

Xiao Peng said, "In the West, an emperor's reputation depends on his relationship with the church and the nobility, while in the East, it depends on his relationship with Confucianism. Take Catherine II, for example. Isn't she amazing? The only female tsar in Russian history to be crowned 'The Great,' her historical status is second only to Peter the Great, yet even so, there are still countless slanders against her. You have to learn to look at it dialectically. Even emperors considered good in history were often not good from a modern perspective; and many of those considered bad in history were actually wise rulers from a modern perspective."

Kasin on the side couldn't help but say, "Boss, your Master Jin Yong has such a wild imagination, doesn't he? How could he come up with the plot of having Wei Xiaobao sneak through a tunnel to meet Sophia secretly?"

Xiao Peng couldn't help laughing after hearing this, and after struggling to hold back his laughter, he said, "Actually, Mr. Jin Yong actually had a good reason for writing this plot."

"Ah?" Everyone was stunned.

Xiao Peng said, "Zhao Yi, a famous historian from the mid-Qing Dynasty, wrote a book called 'Yanpu Miscellaneous Notes.' There's a passage in it that says, 'During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Kangxi once sent a guard named Tuo Shuo to Russia to discuss border issues. Tuo Shuo was a handsome man, favored by the queen, and was not allowed to return until three years later. The eighteen articles they established were all signed on the pillow, and are still adhered to today.' What does this mean? It means that Emperor Kangxi sent a guard named Tuo Shuo to Russia. He was a handsome man, and immediately caught the eye of Sofia. He accompanied Sofia for three years and signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk. The terms of the treaty were the result of discussions between the two on the pillow. Yu Zhengxie, a scholar born during the Qianlong period, also recorded a similar story in his 'Guisi Leigao'. I think Master Jin Yong found inspiration from this."

Hua Chong cursed: "Is this even possible?"

Kaxin patted Hua Chong on the shoulder and said, "That's why you need to read more."

Hua Chong looked at Ka Xin: "When you say this, I feel like you are scolding me!"

Ka Xin said, "Have you ever heard of 'A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of absence'? I read more books than you do now."

Hua Chong scratched his head and said, "You spend every day with the boss and still have time to read? Shouldn't you be looking at beautiful women?"

Just as Xiao Peng was about to speak, he heard Yang Zhibin's voice: "Beauty? Where are the beauties?"

"Hurry up, or it'll be gone!" Xiao Peng called out, "Let's eat our own food, and forget about the food below. Anyway, if the statue is of Catherine I, it came from the Summer Palace, and if it's of Catherine II, it came from the Winter Palace. It's enough to keep the Russians happy for a while."

Yang Zhibin took the skewers Xiao Peng handed him and said, "Boss, Hu Guohui just called me..."

Xiao Peng waved his hand directly: "Eat!"

Hua Chong also said: "That's right, even eating can't stop your mouth!"

Yang Zhibin blinked, shut up and started eating barbecue. Like the others, he sat on the side of the ship, eating, drinking and watching the Russians work there.

What did Hu Guohui want to ask? Of course, how did Xiao Peng manage to search for salvaged items in the sand? Xiao Peng's words just now shocked countless people.

What Xiao Peng said was consistent with scientific theory, yet it completely surpassed the current technological level. Although many people kept shouting, "This is impossible!", scientists were no mere trolls: virtually all scientific discoveries were born from the word "impossible." Even airplanes, armored ships, and other things that are now commonplace were declared "impossible" before they were even invented.

No one can explain what is happening to Xiao Peng now.

Did he have real technology? That's unscientific... oh no, it's too scientific! So, was he and the Russians collaborating on this fake? But they witnessed the entire salvage process. How the hell could they have faked it? They buried it years in advance? And once it was salvaged, anyone with a discerning eye could tell it was real!

They were all watching this salvage operation, hoping that it was just a coincidence. If Xiao Peng really had this technology, then the deterrent power of mastering this technology would be no less than that of nuclear weapons!

If this technology were truly available for military use... wouldn't that mean we own the ocean? If this technology were properly utilized, wouldn't all submarines and seabed minerals be under our control?

"I heard that Russia discovered a huge underwater oil field in the Arctic. According to our intelligence personnel, that oil field was discovered by Xiao."

"William said that Guo Xiao mentioned the oil field to him that day."

"Damn it! No matter what, we have to find out! Is there a new technological innovation in Daxia?! Let us, the people of Daxia, put all our efforts into investigating this matter now!"

"I don't think you should be so anxious. A major event just happened in Daxia, and everyone is on edge. We should focus on Xiao Peng instead of stepping on landmines. We need to figure out whether this is a fluke or if he can really do it."

"According to Red Star TV's report, they'll be working for two consecutive months!"

"Two months? Wasn't the truck already salvaged? Isn't that a full-length statue of Catherine I that used to be in the Summer Palace? I bet the Russians are going to be so happy!"

"Xiao Peng said this is just the beginning! These are not his targets. His target is the four trucks that transported the gold and silver from the St. Petersburg Bank vault."

"Four truckloads of gold and silver?"

"Yes. He said that the things salvaged so far are just small gifts for Russia."

"Has he found the gold?"

"That's what he said, but strangely, his own ship didn't participate in the salvage operation. Instead, it went to Kaliningrad, Russia, and didn't participate in any related work. He even sent the few people he brought to the Russian ship back. Now he only has two bodyguards with him."

"Huh? What is he doing?"