The Pasha, (Turkish: pa06a) was a high-ranking official in the Ottoman administration, usually a governor, general, or high-ranking official. Pasha is an honorific, the equivalent of the English "lord".

On April 5, 1875, the commander of the Turkish Black Sea Fleet, Hobart Pasha, the Turkish Army Lieutenant General Mohammed 61 Ali 61 Pasha, and the well-known constitutional politician Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha in the Ottoman Empire, gathered in the conversation room of the Sultan's Palace in Istanbul. Abdul 61 Aziz, the current Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, asked these ministers, who still have a real understanding of the situation in Europe, about the future relationship with China.

Hobart Pasha had a common British face, and he said in a British Turkish: "If we can buy Chinese warships, I believe that we can destroy the Russian fleet in the Black Sea." ”

Muhammad61 Ali61 Pasha had a Germanic appearance, and his advice was similar to that of the naval commander, "The total number of artillery in our army is not enough, and if we want to confront Russia, we will probably need to buy about a thousand guns of various types." ”

Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha was not in a hurry to speak, he had been governor of several provinces and prime minister of the Ottoman Empire. In the Ottoman Empire, where internal struggles were fierce, it was advisable to listen to the Sultan before expressing his opinion. Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha himself became prime minister for several months in 1872 and was soon ousted. The sheer size of his opponents was certainly one of the fundamental reasons for his downfall, but the attitude of the Sultan himself is also an extremely important reason.

When it comes to China's naval equipment, the Ottoman Sultan Abdul 61 Aziz couldn't help but reach out and scratch his chin, and nothing in the world in recent months has been more beautiful than China's naval equipment. Defeating the Royal Navy of the British Empire was a universal ideal among European nations, and now a successful challenger has finally emerged. Of course, countries want to be able to import warships from China.

The Ottoman Empire had a military trade with China, and the reformed Ottoman Empire had an army of 406,000 people, and the 400,000 Chinese refurbished rifles imported at a super-conscientious price were highly regarded in the army. China also very considerately sold three reloading ammunition factories to the Ottoman Empire, so that the Ottoman Empire did not have to import large quantities of ammunition, saving a considerable amount of money.

Abdul 61 Aziz began to discuss the import of weapons from China with the army and navy Pasha. Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha quietly watched the two army Pasha and the Sultan discuss quite enthusiastically, and he couldn't help but feel a little funny in his heart. Naval Commander Hobart Pasha was an Englishman converted to Islam, and Vice Admiral Muhammad61 Ali 61 Pasha was a German convert to Islam. The Ottoman Empire had to pay attention to the position of the European powers, and that's it. It is too much to have Europeans in charge of important positions in the Ottoman Empire.

After the end of the Crimean War, in the Treaty of Paris in 1856, the Ottoman Empire recognized the Ottoman Empire as a European state, after the signing of a series of international treaties in Europe. Soon, the Ottoman Empire also received the title of "the sick man of Europe".

In the face of the advance of the European powers, the Ottoman Empire also began its own political awakening, for example, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha was one of the leaders of the "New Ottoman" movement, he insisted that the Ottoman Empire should be transformed from a traditional system into a constitutional monarchy, and that all the people of the Ottoman Empire had the same political power, and promoted national equality and unity. Even such a reformer felt very uncomfortable at the sight of the growing power of foreigners in the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Sultan Abdul 61 Aziz had already discussed the general content at this time, and he turned to Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha and said: "Midhat, I have appointed you as a special envoy to China to discuss with the Chinese emperor the issue of importing Chinese armaments. ”

Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha was stunned, he really didn't expect that he was actually entrusted with such a diplomatic mission, and before he had time to consider the meaning, the Ottoman Sultan Abdul 61 Aziz continued: "We want to maintain good relations with China, and it would be great if China could continue the war with Russia." ”

After all, it was the Ottoman Empire, which was recognized by Europe as a European country, and they also knew some basic world conflicts. The bitter conflict between China and Russia in the northern Pacific Ocean is nothing more than a battle on a distant ice field, although it is nothing more than a battle for Western European countries. For the Ottoman Empire, it was a big deal. The most dangerous enemy of the Ottoman Empire was Russia, and to date, the two sides have fought nine wars. The defeat of the Anglo-French forces in the Crimean War forced Russia to make huge concessions in the Balkans, but Russia will not stop there. If Russia could engage in a protracted war with China in the far North Pacific, it would be a great thing for the Ottoman Empire.

Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha could understand this, but what he could not understand was why the Sultan had entrusted him with such an important task. But the Sultan's order could not be disobeyed, and Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha bowed his head and seriously accepted the Sultan's order.

April 7, Moscow.

The Russian court was already aware of the defeat of the British, and with the present antagonistic relations between Russia and the British, the British Royal Navy had suffered a defeat, and the Russians were optimistic about its success. However, the relationship between the great powers was never so simple, and China, which defeated the British fleet, was also an enemy of Russia. Since the start of the Sino-British war, China's activities in the North Pacific have been temporarily suspended.

After the Sino-British battle, the British retreated. As far as the information obtained by Russia is concerned, China does not mean to take advantage of the victory to pursue the attack, but repeatedly emphasizes that China respects the British colonies, which is obviously a gesture of goodwill to the British. Britain is a big country and a naval power, and China's overtures to Britain show China's respect for strength. However, there is not the slightest hint of goodwill in China's attitude toward France, a weak naval country, and the Netherlands, a small country.

The Russians know this mentality best, and they dare to attack the Manchus, isn't it because the Manchus are a weak country. And when Russia attacked, it had to pick Britain to beat the Manchus. Now Russia is fully capable of imagining that the Chinese Navy, which had defeated the British armored fleet, would soon go north and continue its operations in the North Pacific.

While the Russian top brass frowned and pondered, the imperial brother Mikhail 61 Grand Duke Nikolanavich made a suggestion, "Let's sell that land to the Chinese." ”

Tsar Alexander II trembled, not only the Tsar, but also other princes and important ministers were taken aback by this suggestion. Grand Duke Mikhail 61 Nikolanavich said in a heavy tone: "China has actually gained control of that area, and in five years at most, they will be able to completely control Alaska and other places." I have heard that China's railways have been built to Kulen, and it is unlikely that the war between us and China will be fought in the North Pacific, but in Central Asia. That area ......"

The Grand Duke did not completely say goodbye, the broken land in the North Pacific had already turned into a war of attrition, the Russian Navy was powerless to confront China, and the Russian Army could not engage in a full-scale war with China in that area. Russia's core area is several thousand versts from the North Pacific, and China has a railway to Kulen, which is only a few hundred versts away from the Russians' land communication lines.

War Minister Miryugyo said with a gloomy face: "Even if that area is sold to Britain or the United States, it cannot be sold to China." ”

"The British can even give up the Dutch East Indies, how can they go to the troubled waters of Alaska. They know what we're trying to do, so they're not going to do it. As for the United States, they didn't buy Alaska before, and they won't do it now. "Alexander II's uncle Nikolai 61 Nikolayevich spoke in public.

At this time, no one in the upper echelons of Russia spoke. The core of China is in the East, why China is desperate to tear its face with the British, just look at the map. After taking French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies, China had the depth of the sea. If a foreign fleet wants to attack China from the sea, it can only wait for something big to go wrong inside China. It's just a possibility.

In reality, China, just like Russia's march into the East, is slowly and calmly devouring the areas under Russia's control. Russia was helpless and watched things deteriorate step by step. If this situation continues, it is completely predictable that Russia will completely lose the North Pacific.

"In another five years, maybe a new conflict will break out between China and the UK. Wouldn't we have had a chance then? War Minister Miryutin asked.

"What if Britain loses again? Or what if the Chinese are completely satisfied with their territory in the south and do not clash with the British? "The imperial brother Mikhail 61 Grand Duke Nikolanavich asked.

War Minister Miryutin could not refute this view. Since the beginning of the Sino-Russian military conflict, Russia has been crying out in Europe for several years about the brutal invasion of the Chinese. There was no reaction from the whole of Europe, and the most important output in the Pacific was beaver skins, which plummeted after decades of frantic plundering by the Russians. Russia's Russian-American companies in the North Pacific have long been unable to make ends meet, and the war has been unprofitable. That land had become a huge burden for Russia.

"The sale of this land to the British has no effect on the Chinese. But if this land is sold to the Chinese, Britain will be very worried. Alaska is next to Canada, and with the posture shown by the Chinese, the British will not be reassured. The imperial brother Mikhail 61 Grand Duke Nikolanavich continued to elaborate on his thoughts.

In the end, the matter could not be discussed, and the sale of land would have a huge impact on the image of Russia. But going to the land through war is fatal to Russia's image.

Relations between China and Russia have long reached a freezing point, and Russia just did not expel the Chinese ambassador. But in the next few days, Russia hosted a court ball. The Russian side invited the Chinese ambassador.

At the ball, the Russian Foreign Minister and the Chinese ambassador held talks on the restoration of the Nebuchu Treaty. In fact, everyone knows in their hearts that this matter will not be so easy. When the Nebuchu Treaty was signed, there was no railway, but now that the Chinese side has built the railway to Kulen and Qiqihar, as soon as this negotiation begins, the Chinese will definitely open their mouths.

The Chinese ambassador did open his mouth widely, and he asked the secretary to take out a map from his handbag and draw a line on the Lena River, "East of the Lena River, we will buy them all." Make an offer. ”

Such a bold attitude frightened the Russian foreign minister, and his first reaction was whether the imperial brother Mikhail 61 Grand Duke Nikolanavich had secretly reached some kind of agreement with China, otherwise why did the Chinese make such a request at this time. This has the meaning of internal and external collusion.

The Russian foreign minister brought the proposal of the Chinese ambassador to the Russian leadership, and not surprisingly, the emperor's younger brother, Grand Duke Mikhail 61 Nikolanavich, was attacked by many people. This was the case with the royal family, and the Russian Tsar Alexander II was not necessarily completely at ease with his brother. Seeing that his younger brother was attacked by a lot, the Tsar was actually quite satisfied.

However, since the tsar did not intend to take this opportunity to get rid of his younger brother, he helped his younger brother Mikhail 61 Grand Duke Nikolanavich a little when he was in great distress. The tsar said: "Let China pay 10,000 belkowitz gold to buy this land." ”

Belkowitz is a Russian unit of weight, 1 belkowitz = 10 poods = 163.8 kilograms, and 10,000 belkowitz is 1,638 tons of gold.

Not long ago, France compensated Russia with 5 billion francs, which is equivalent to 200 million pounds, or 721.8 million taels of Chinese silver. That's 1,473 tons of gold. The rotten land east of the Lena River is not worth 1,638 tons of gold, which can be regarded as the relief of the siege of the emperor's brother Mikhail 61 Nikolanavich.

The Russian foreign minister also knew what his own tsar meant, and he also informed the Chinese ambassador of this reply. Unexpectedly, the Chinese ambassador pondered for a while, and replied slowly: "This amount is definitely not good." We will give 100 tons of gold at most, not at all. ”

The Russian Foreign Minister's eyes widened, he never imagined that the Chinese ambassador would give such an answer. The foreign minister is trying to mock the Chinese ambassador that the Chinese currency is not the gold standard at all, and China recently announced its intention to abolish the silver standard. That kind of paper yuan has no value at all. Without waiting for him to speak, the Chinese ambassador continued to reply slowly: "We will give Xian goods gold without discounting." Finally, the two sides drew a new border. In the future, we will resolve the border issue diplomatically. ”

"Really give Xian gold?" The Russian ambassador stammered slightly.

"Yes, give Xian gold." The Chinese ambassador replied calmly.

When the Russian Foreign Minister brought this unexpected reply back to the Russian court, the entire Russian upper echelons were dumbfounded.