On May 2, 1875, the Ottoman envoy arrived in Nanking at about the same time as the Russian envoy. The former hopes that China and Russia will continue to wage war, deplete Russia's national strength, and wipe out Russia's army and population. The latter is on a diplomatic mission with Russia to make peace with China, at least in the North Pacific. So that Russia does not have to continue to lose troops and population in the North Pacific.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Xin has been in a very unstable mood these days, and Weser has gradually begun to delegate some decision-making powers to various ministries and commissions, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also had some authority of its own. After consulting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Li Xin proposed to the central government a plan to purchase land east of the Lena River. Unexpectedly, this plan was actually agreed to by Wei Ze.

In those years, countries were on the gold standard, and their currencies were pegged to gold. But paper money in various countries has occupied the main means, and it is impossible to really exchange gold back and forth. 100 tons of gold is not just a simple bit of gold.

The gold standard means that you can go to a designated bank to exchange money for gold, but everyone has to use the currency itself. So the currency itself will be issued more often. Gold is also known as "reserves" as collateral for currency issuance, and the purpose of reserves is to ensure that banks have sufficient solvency in the event of sudden large payments. This reserve can even account for as much as 10% of the amount of money issued. According to the calculation of 10%, after Russia gets the 100 tons of gold, it can issue a currency with a value equal to 1,000 tons of gold. Of course, whether Russia will use these 100 tons of gold as a reserve in the future will issue paper money indiscriminately and cause inflation is a matter for the Russians themselves.

Weeser is no longer prepared to continue to expand externally in the near future, and in such a naked and brutal world, the status of morality is actually not high. Because of this, it is not a bad thing to occupy a certain moral height. What kind of power you have is an individual's own business, and morality is often the evaluation of others. 100 tonnes of gold is not a small amount, but in the area east of the Lena River, there are more than that. And being willing to solve problems with guns can also add points to China's international image. In international jungle politics, there is no shortage of reckless men who rely on their strong bodies and go out with knives to cut randomly. But the one who picks up a knife and can slash better than anyone else, but is willing to use money to solve the problem first, that is a gentleman. Most of the time, people have more trust in gentlemen.

Britain is a typical example of this, and when it comes to the bad things they do, the British can be said to be overwhelmed. When it comes to the UK, everyone's evaluation is "gentlemanly demeanor".

Moreover, the area purchased by Weeser this time is not only east of the Lena River, but also the entire Baikal region. In the face of the strong opposition and pressure from the central government on this matter, Wei Ze could only tell everyone, "If the Russians are shameless, we will not take an inch less of the land they should take, and they will not want to take away a dime of this money." ”

Since the Russians are willing to come, they will not be embarrassed. China's 500 million people are something that European countries are now afraid of when they mention it. When Britain beat the Manchus, Europeans can proudly say that no amount of population can withstand European weapons. Now that China has shown that it can beat Britain, the 500 million people have become a flood of terror.

During the discussion, the imperial brother Mikhail 61 Grand Duke Nikolanavich obediently closed his mouth. But when others mention China's 500 million people, there is not a single one who does not feel fear from the bottom of their hearts. The population of Europe as a whole and the United States combined is not that large. Since China is willing to pay for land, it will be 100 tons of gold as soon as it is sold. If Russia refuses to do so, China could turn the 100 tons of gold into military expenses for China to launch an attack on Russia. What could Russia hold at that time? Lena River? The Yenisei River?

Moreover, China's entry into North America is by no means likely to be stimulated by Russia, but by Britain and the United States. Russia got 100 tons of gold, and China reaped the panic and hostility of Britain and the United States, and it seemed that this deal could be done. When the foreign secretary came up with the Monroe Declaration of the United States as the basis for judging the reaction of the Americans, the Tsar also felt that the phrase "America is the America of the Americans" contained the great concern of the Americans that other powers would land in the Americas.

The two sides negotiated quickly, and since there were not many Russians east of the Lena River, the agreement was signed first. Signed together is the basic intention to demarcate the border, the basic scope of future demarcation between China and Russia, and the nonsense that the demarcation issue will not be resolved by force.

On May 22, the draft was completed. On June 17, the Chinese ambassador to Russia initialed an agreement with Russia in Moscow. On June 19, China announced the news to the world. It was also announced that a gold carrier escorted by the Chinese Navy set sail for Russia to pay a land purchase fee for 100 tons of gold. This news shook Europe and the United States as soon as it arrived.

The United States was extremely unhappy, they did not expect China to land in the Americas, or in North America. Britain is not happy and panicked, China and Canada have become neighbors, and the mere thought of it is terrifying to the UK.

The reaction of other European countries was not so violent, and China's expansion was the first to face Britain and Russia, and the sky fell and there was a tall one. And this time China specifically emphasized that the Chinese Navy will send a fleet to escort the golden ships. A ship with 100 tons of gold is enough in itself to write into a fairy tale. Not to mention the fact that the escort warships are the same ones that once defeated the British Navy. With great wealth and great force, nothing could be more exciting and exciting.

The Ottoman envoy Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha had read the news in a Chinese newspaper, and his visit to China had opened his eyes. He had already seen magnificent cities, powerful industries in Europe. When he arrived in China, the envoy saw cities no less than those in Europe. The city streets of Europe are very old, so they are generally narrow and crooked. The three major Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Nanjing do not have these burdens, and the wide six-, eight-, and ten-lane streets, as well as the well-arranged architectural complexes, dazzle the Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha.

Compared to the opulent palaces of the Ottoman Empire, adorned with silk, furs, ornaments, antiques and works of art, China's central seat is simply too much. The spacious and bright layout of the office building, with its simple terrazzo floors and light snow-white walls, does not have the oppressive feeling of a Turkish royal palace that seems to be pregnant with all kinds of intrigues.

The diplomatic results of the trip were also good, and China agreed to sell Turkey 800 refurbished cannons and 1,000 Gatling guns at a price of conscience. Moreover, China has also signed a letter of intent with Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha to help Turkey build a railway. When European countries build railways, they will put forward a requirement that all mineral deposits found within a few kilometers on both sides of the railway be owned by the railway construction company. There are a number of other strings attached. Asking a European company to build a railroad is to lure the wolf into the house.

China does not ask for any strings attached, and it does not even think that Turkey needs to pay any real money. Li Xin, the former minister of commerce and the current foreign minister, bluntly told the special envoy Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha that "to buy arms and build railways, the Ottoman Empire only needs to pay for chrome ore." We do not seek to acquire mining rights in your country, we only want ore. ”

Having seen too much sycophancy and bullying, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha wanted to believe that the young Chinese man on the other side was telling the truth, but he didn't dare to believe that the young Chinese ambassador was telling the truth. That's the extent of pie in the sky.

There is no need to be afraid of signing the letter of intent, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha and China have many agreements on armaments, factories, railways, grain and other products. At the end of the day, as long as the Ottoman Empire had enough chromite to sell to China, China could sell almost everything the Ottoman Empire needed.

No need to pay! This is mentioned in all letters of intent. Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha is extremely satisfied with this, and all the great powers of the world do is "ask for money!" Ask for money! Ask for money! "These letters of intent don't even have to be actually executed, just by taking them out, they can bargain with the European countries, so that they can be much more honest when doing business with the Ottoman Empire. Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha thinks so.

Of course, the conflict between China and Russia was not something that the Ottoman Empire could control, and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Xin frankly told Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha on this issue, "All actions of China are based on China's national interests, and the starting point for war or peace with Russia is also based on this." ”

Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha understood this statement perfectly, and he was envious that the young foreign minister was able to speak with such clarity on the issue. In the Ottoman Empire, which was full of "oriental style", any interest was centered on the personal interests of those in power and those in power. It's not necessarily true that you don't think about the overall interests of the Ottoman Empire at all, but the overall interests of the Ottoman Empire are probably the third in the eyes of those guys. The first place is naturally the interests of the power holders, and the second place is the interests of the factions to which the power people belong. Only after these two items have been satisfied, it will be the turn of the pure Ottoman Empire as a whole. When the interests of the Ottoman Empire conflicted with the first two, most of the time the side that made concessions was the interests of the Ottoman Empire as a whole.

Just as Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha was preparing to leave China and return to Ottoman with a large number of letters of intent, news of the signing of a land purchase and a peace treaty between China and Russia was published in the newspapers. Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha's first impression after reading it was, "The Russians have money to fight again!" ”

100 tons of gold was enough to wage a war on a massive scale, and when the Russians were ready to start a war, the Ottoman Empire was probably the first choice. He was about to go to the Chinese foreign minister in a hurry to confirm the matter, but Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha stopped again. After talking about it, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha could already imagine the young Chinese foreign minister saying in a calm tone: "Any action of China is based on China's national interests, and the starting point of war or peace with Russia is also based on this." ”

It can be seen that the young Chinese foreign minister has a lot of diplomatic power, but the young Chinese foreign minister cannot have power beyond his position because he is the foreign minister. With such clear criteria, what's the point of going to the Chinese foreign minister? Can he be expected to change China's definition of national interests on his own?