Chapter 539: Unauthorized Border Provocation
The war in the Far East has reached the current state, and the Russians have admitted that they can no longer fight, and if they fight again, they will only suffer greater losses. The Far East was too close to North Manchuria, too far from the European mainland of Russia, and they could not project too many troops into the Far East. If you send reinforcements again, not only will the number be the size of Milyutin, but you will have to wait until the beginning of summer until the beginning of the year, but by that time, Goxinga will be able to hit the Ural Mountains.
The British were not prepared to let the war continue, their purpose was to contain and consume North Manchuria, not to allow Goxinga to expand its territory. Now that the fighting has stopped, there is something to talk about, and if we wait until the foot of the Ural Mountains of Goxinga Chen's soldiers, the Russians will be passive to the extreme. Moreover, now that Goxing Adu is about to ascend to heaven, if his territory is expanded by three or five times, he may not know what it will develop, so the opinion of the British is also to negotiate peace.
It's easy to say, but the truce is not so easy. Guo Xing'a is a bit neurotic, and now that the Manchurian army has an absolute advantage, it is not easy to get Guo Xing'a to agree to peace. The British envoy to Manchuria, Ali Guo, tried to make contact with Pi Runmin and others, and expressed Britain's willingness to mediate between Manchuria and Russia, but the reaction of the government in North Manchuria was very flat, and it was not interested in negotiating peace at all.
The British Empire had just fought with its own little friends, and it helped the Russians a lot openly and secretly, and the North Manchurian government saw it all, so Pi Runmin and others didn't believe the British at all. The British brought in the French and the Americans, but they also had little weight. The French have a lot of trouble in Europe, and they are a little absent-minded about the affairs of the Far East, and they don't want to provoke Goxinga again because of the Russians, so they basically just make a statement, and they don't contribute to the work at all. The United States is very attentive, but it is a pity that their own family has been making trouble for seven or eight years, and at present, the national strength is weak and pitiful, and the government of North Manchukuo looks down on them at all. Zou Degui was even more honest and unceremoniously asked the American consul to find a cool squat, and they didn't need to be involved in the affairs of North Manchuria. The Americans, who have been ruined by the pit of North Manchuria, can only find a small corner to cry aggrievedly.
The British and Russians studied for a long time and found a country that had great influence on North Manchuria, and if this country came forward, North Manchuria would definitely accept it, and they found the boss of Goxinga, the Qing court. Northern Manchu is part of China, and the Qing Emperor is the boss of Guoxinga, although the actual relationship between the two sides is a bit average, but the Qing court must give face to North Manchuria. The direction is right, but how to get the Qing court into the water has become a difficult matter, and it was the Qing Dynasty that the Russians bullied at the beginning. Although Guoxing'a is actually building a territory for himself, but nominally for the Qing court, let the Qing court speak for the Russians, the difficulty is not ordinary, fortunately the Russians also armed an Agu Bai out.
The Russian minister Bayusek and the British minister Wittoma sang very tacitly with red and white faces, fooling the Qing court. Ba Yuse Ke Manchu spoke loudly and openly admitted that Agu Bai was supported by the Russians, and the purpose was to retaliate against the military action taken against Russia by Northern Manchuria, which was under the jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, Aguba's march into the northwest is only the first step, and if the Qing court cannot give Russia a satisfactory answer, Russia will declare war on the Qing Dynasty and directly send troops to the northwest to participate in the war.
It has to be said that Bayusek's threat was very successful, because as soon as his bold words were released, more than 30 ministers of the imperial court wrote to impeach Guoxing'a for unbridled border provocation, demanding that the imperial court severely punish Guoxing'a and withdraw troops from the outer northeast. They also knew that Guo Xing'a was recovering their homeland, and they knew that the imperial court might not be able to control Guo Xing'a, but they were already frightened crazy, and they could only ignore it. Agubai and Bai Yanhu are really terrible, the ministers don't dare to let them enter the Han land, even if they give the Outer Northeast to Lao Maozi, as long as they can get Agubai and the gang back to Xinjiang. The tomb of the imperial aunt of the Mongolian prince of Alxa has been dug up, and if they are allowed to enter the Han land, something may happen.
Yi Xin and Su Shun felt that Ba Yu Seke was just lying and intimidating, and they might not dare to really send troops to attack the Qing Dynasty. Russia has let Guo Xing'a beat him like that bear in the Far East, they really have soldiers, and they have to go to Guo Xing'a to fight hard, where is there time to come to the Qing Dynasty. But for the fact that Russia can control Aguba, the two still feel the need to talk to Bayusek, in case the Russians can really get these murderous uncles back! For so many years, the Qing Dynasty has been fighting on multiple fronts, and if the pressure can be reduced, it will be a point.
After the Prime Minister's National Affairs Yamen talked with Ba Yuseke, it was the same as not talking, or even not talking. Bayusek is no longer a lion's mouth, it is completely whimsical. Not only did he demand that the Manchurian army completely retreat south of the Heilongjiang River, but he also demanded that the Qing Dynasty pay sky-high reparations and cede the Vladivostok region east of the Ussuri River to Russia. Not to mention that Guo Xing'a would not listen to such orders from the imperial court at all, and Yixin and Su Shun would never do such a heartless thing, and now it is the Russians who are beaten every day in the Far East. Moreover, Bayusek could not command Agubai at all, and could only promise not to provide arms to Agubai and the Hui army. Yi Xin and Su Shun just drink fake wine every day, and they can't agree to such nonsense, so naturally there is no need to continue chatting.
When the Russians finished performing, Wittoma jumped out, and the British began to habitually pretend to be good again. The price offered by Wittoma was much fairer, as long as the Qing Dynasty took the lead in allowing North Manchuria to negotiate peace with Russia, in exchange, Britain and Russia would completely cease arms aid to Aguba and the Hui army, and at the same time sever all diplomatic relations with Aguba.
Zuo Zongtang is dying on the front line in Gansu with a group of hot-blooded children, and the scattered officers and troops in various places are also trying their best to contain the Hui army, but in the face of the Hui army with strong reinforcements from outside, they are also frequently anxious. In this case, the imperial court was naturally quite fond of the conditions proposed by the British, but whether the rebels in North Manchu would give face became a difficult problem for Yixin and Su Shun. And there is more than this problem, Zuo Zongtang is very difficult in Gansu, even if the British and Russians keep their promises, how to block the Hui army is still a problem.
With the attitude of trying it out, the imperial court summoned Zheng Qifeng, the minister of commerce of North Manchuria. Zheng Qifeng is not only the Minister of Commerce of North Manchuria, but also the Minister of the Economic Zone, and because the Economic Zone is adjacent to Tianjin, he has always been responsible for the negotiation of the imperial court. Now that the imperial court wants to talk to Northern Manchuria, the first step is naturally to find him first.
In the face of the meaning revealed by the imperial court, Zheng Qifeng's reply was very tough. There is no need to care about the threats of Russia and Britain, let Lord Zuo resist it, the general will be able to triumph in another half a year, and then the Manchurian army will enter the customs to help the imperial court go to the northwest to fight.