New Shun 1730

The Russians are worried about the fate of their family and want nothing more than to go back early to prepare.

But since as a special envoy, I always have to worry about Russia's interests, the meal in front of me is even more difficult to swallow.

Count Osterman is not afraid that Dashun will continue to negotiate with him, even if he continues to open his mouth.

But he was worried that after the meal was over, Dashun would directly issue an eviction order without even talking about it.

That would be a disaster for Russia.

As the conversation continues, I still have an idea of ​​how much to eat and how much to let.

If we don’t talk about it, that means starting a fight directly. It's hard to say how much you can eat.

The previous experience of fighting against the Junggar tribe was no longer meaningful. The Torguts on the Volga River are excellent light cavalry. The Russians have realized this in many years of war in Europe. The light cavalry of the Dzungars, who are also from the Oara tribe, are not bad either.

It's just that the previous lack of excellent artillery and infantry that could resist the line allowed the Russians to rely on fortress defense, allowing the Cossacks to build fortresses everywhere like stars in the sky without worrying about being sieged.

But now, Dashun's artillery is very good. This has been learned by the Russians in the previous Sino-Russian war. Coupled with their engineers, Dashun may not need many regular troops at all to take advantage of Russia's western front to fight Sweden and seize the vast land.

Before the Junggar tribe took refuge in Dashun, their request to Russia was to demolish several fortresses such as Omsk and Krasyanorsk, believing that they had been the pastures of the Mongols since ancient times.

Dashun also adopted the same attitude during the negotiations a few days ago. The bottom line is that it is bounded by Omsk and the Om River to the east, fully inheriting all the requirements of the Junggar tribe.

After Dashun defeated the Junggar tribe, Russia also tried to win over the upper echelons of the Junggar tribe.

But the effect was minimal.

It has something to do with religion, but more importantly, the people of the Quasi tribe are worried about their distant relatives, the Khalkha tribe and Monan Mongolia.

If they defect to Russia, they will serve as Russia's pawns. I'll die, and Russia will get the benefits, but Russia can't give them anything.

If they defect to Russia, Dashun will definitely wipe out the Quasi tribe, allowing the Khalkha tribe and Monan Mongolia to separate into several ethnic groups and migrate to the best alpine pastures in the Altai Mountains. The Khalkha tribe and Monan Mongolia must be happy with this.

The Junggar tribe knew that the Russians were trying to win over them to use them as spearmen.

The Altai Mountains are too far away from Petersburg, but closer to Xijing in Dashun. The most the Russians can do is support with some firearms, Dashun will drain their blood.

Of course, it is also difficult for Dashun to encourage the independence of the Torgut tribe and exempt them from Russian mandatory military service.

Because the Torgut tribe also knew that Dashun was using them as gunmen. The Volga River was too close to the heart of Russia. Dashun could only support some firearms at most, and the Russians would drain their blood.

However, the Torgut Ministry can "hold China's self-respect" and negotiate conditions with Russia, demanding that the control of the Torgut Ministry and the scale of military service be relaxed. This alone is enough for Russia to drink a pot.

As for Dashun, in addition to being divided into small groups, the Alignment Department does not have to perform military service, does not have to be drafted, and can contribute a few white camels every year at most. After it was demolished, everyone had their own selfish motives. Whoever wanted to defect to Tsarist Russia, how many people were watching and waiting to inherit their pasture and tribes.

What's even more terrible is that during the Selenga River negotiations a few years ago, there was a clause in the treaty that seemed inconspicuous at first but is now causing big trouble.

That is, the Junggar tribe is the internal affairs of Dashun, and Dashun belongs to counterinsurgency rather than conquest.

At first, Russia felt that this was Dashun's hope that Russia would not interfere with the quasi-ministerial affairs. In addition, he took advantage of the Polish Succession War and the Russo-Turkish War to press too hard, so he signed it.

Now this inconspicuous treaty has become a source of trouble.

During the negotiations a few days ago, Dashun came up with a treaty, saying that since the Quasi Department was Dashun's internal affairs, Dashun would naturally inherit the territorial dispute between the Quasi Department and Russia.

Count Ostermann is also a figure, but no matter how you look at it, you feel that the northwest demarcation issue in Dashun is a dead end and cannot be solved.

The key to this deadlock is the newly established Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dashun.

As soon as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established, the world outside Dashun also participated in the internal decision-making of Dashun, and the timing was quite accurate.

The last boundary treaty negotiation took place during the gap between the Russo-Turkish War and the War of Polish Succession.

This time he followed the same pattern, still at the most uncomfortable time for Russia.

Protect Petersburg? Or protect Omsk? This is a no-brainer.

The Great Northern War had not long passed, and the Swedish power was still there. Before the war, no one knew that Sweden was now just a paper tiger relying on the power of its fathers.

After finishing the meal in displeasure and deafness, the banquet dispersed and when the officials left the Forbidden City, Count Ostermann hesitated for a moment and stopped Qi Guogong who was about to get in the car and leave.

"My Lord Duke, can the boundary treaty negotiations between China and Russia be resumed? You said before that the boundary treaty negotiations were suspended due to the conquest of Japan. Now that Japan has paid tribute to your country, the boundary treaty negotiations should be restarted, right? "

The slightly drunk Duke of Qi glanced at Osterman, slowly and methodically took out a delicate tin cigarette case, and took out a cigarette produced in Songjiang. The boy next to the car struck a match, carefully watched Duke Qi's beard, and lit the cigarette.

The whale oil lamp with a glass cover in front of the carriage illuminated the area very brightly. The red flame of the cigarette did not leave a reflection on the glass window of the carriage, but the flickering cigarette butt was reflected in Osterman's pupils.

He stared at the slightly yellowed beard of the Duke of Qi, eager to know the answer.

However, the Duke of Qi took two puffs and said slowly: "I am only responsible for the negotiations, but it is not my business to talk or not. I still have to wait for your majesty's instructions."

"Just like a general is responsible for fighting, but he should not be responsible for deciding whether to fight or not."

Deliberately using "fight or not" as a metaphor, even if the translation and retelling cannot perfectly express the meaning to be emphasized in the stress, it still expresses the connotation of diplomatic blackmail.

"Don't be anxious, Count. If the court orders me to talk, I will not delay."

Hearing this, Osterman cursed in his heart, thinking, how can he not be anxious?

Even though the post station has been built to Omsk this year, it takes a long time to walk from Beijing to Omsk.

Now we are trapped both internally and externally, and time is running out. The imminent war with the Swedes is secondary. We are afraid that Russia will have changed by the time we return, and these favorites of Anna will surely die.

"My Lord Duke, I hope to resume negotiations as soon as possible. If the border issue can be resolved by negotiation, don't use force to resolve it. A war is a heavy burden for both sides. Especially in such a desolate and barren land, it is not worth the bloodshed of soldiers there, let alone the logistics consumption of millions of rubles."

"Russia is sincere in wanting to negotiate. I hope that My Lord Duke can convey my intention to His Majesty the Emperor."

The Duke of Qi nodded and said, "I will report it as soon as possible. I will notify you immediately once I have news. Of course, if it can be resolved through negotiation, the Celestial Empire does not want to go to war. But if negotiation cannot be resolved, going to war is the only option."

"Since the founding of this dynasty, we have conquered the east and the west. , has always been concerned about border issues. I might as well say it clearly. The experience of the previous dynasty tells us that we must not allow the north to have a powerful enemy. There must be enough buffer between these enemies. "

"Every country must accumulate experience based on its own or neighboring countries' history, just like your experience is that you must have an outlet to the sea no matter what."

"And the experience of history a hundred years ago for this dynasty is that a big disaster in the north will lead to the destruction of the country and the world."

"And the Rakshasa Kingdom... is more powerful than the Donglu back then. If there is not enough buffer, the Celestial Empire cannot be at ease no matter what."

After expressing a firm attitude in an informal occasion, the Duke of Qi thought that this negotiation was a sure thing.

The Rakshasa people couldn't sit still first and took the initiative to propose restarting the negotiations. In this kind of thing, whoever can't sit still first will lose in momentum.

Of course, Dashun can sit still, not only can it sit still, but it can sit very steadily.

Osterman knew that Dashun attached great importance to "learning from history", especially the history of the previous dynasty, which was the top priority.

At this moment, he hated the Jurchens who had caused chaos in the northeastern region a hundred years ago.

If they had not caused the chaos, the new dynasty would have learned from history, and the biggest lesson would be that the ocean was the biggest threat. For example, the Dutch occupied Taiwan, and the British and Dutch attacked Macau.

Unfortunately, the rebellious Jurchens caused the new dynasty to learn from history, which seemed to still be in the north.

Duke Qi made it clear that a huge buffer was needed, which also meant that Dashun's bottom line would not be much lower than the conditions given before.

Osterman carefully tasted the words of Duke Qi and felt that the hope of negotiation seemed not to be shattered, and it should still be possible to talk.

"Then I'll leave everything to you, Your Excellency the Duke."

Knowing that there was no way to talk about specific things at this time, and Duke Qi also said that he could only wait for the emperor's order, he could only let the carriage go and watched Duke Qi get on the carriage.

After getting on the carriage, Duke Qi said directly: "Don't go back to the mansion first, go to Duke Yi's mansion."

The voice was not loud, but Osterman heard it. He knew that Duke Yi was Liu Yu's father, and Liu Yu might be the first choice of the commander in the Sino-Russian war.

Just a simple order to his followers made Osterman's heart pressure increase sharply. Sighing, he could only pray to the Virgin Mary, Dashun's mouth should not be too wide during the negotiation.

…………

At Duke Yi's mansion, Liu Yu, who had returned from the palace, must have come to see his parents first.

There was news outside that Duke Qi was coming. Liu Yu thought that Duke Qi came to talk to him about the negotiations with Russia.

After meeting him, he didn't expect that the first sentence of Duke Qi after meeting had nothing to do with the court affairs.

"Shou Chang, tell me the truth. How much is the Ezo land worth?"