Every illiterate Russian peasant knew that, in addition to St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia had a real capital, Constantinople, and that one day the Tsar would insert a cross on the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

From the Grand Duke of Moscow, Ivan III, married Sophia, the niece of Constantine XI, the last emperor of Eastern Rome? From that day onwards, Princess Palaiorog inherited the Byzantine double-headed eagle emblem. So it was from that time that the Grand Duke of Moscow called himself "Caesar", that is, the Tsar, and the Russian Orthodox Church since Peter the Great also used the Julian calendar used by the Roman Empire, and the Tsar claimed that Moscow was the third Rome after Rome and Constantinople, but there would be no fourth Rome, so Moscow was also the last Rome.

However, for Russia, Constantinople was the capital of the last Rome, and it was also the dream of the Russians for hundreds of years!

For this dream, from Peter I to the present, no tsar has ever given up, and in the following centuries, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire fought a series of wars for the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Crimea, the Black Sea, etc., of which there were as many as nine important ones. For many, the Russians see the warm sea, the southern outlet to the sea, but in fact what? It has nothing to do with access to the sea, just for the "Roman dream!" "Dreaming of retaking Justantinople, occupied by pagans,

The Ninth Russo-Turkish War in July 1853 was probably the closest Russia came to dreaming, and although it was called the Russo-Turkish War, Russia's main opponents were Britain and France, and the declining Ottoman Turkish Empire could no longer prevent Russia from moving further south to seize the Turkish Straits, the last key to the Black Sea. Russia looks like it is on the verge of achieving its century-old dream of navigating the Mediterranean Sea freely.

That year, in order to prevent the Russian Empire from entering the Mediterranean, Britain and France, which had been enemies for centuries, finally united to wage war against Russia. The backwardness of the Russian Empire was undoubtedly revealed, and it was defeated by the Anglo-French forces, and in order to save Russia, Tsar Nicholas I committed suicide in shame in the face of defeat.

Russia did not fall silent after the end of the war, and despite all the difficulties, they still pushed for Russian reforms. In order to raise military funds for rearmament, Russia had to be "forced" to sell Alaska and Eastern Siberia cheaply, although the latter had long been occupied by the Chinese.

Stoop to conquer!

For Russia, they did not wait twenty years, and only five years later, after China declared war on Britain and the main British forces were pinned, they immediately rushed across the Caucasus, across the Caspian Sea, through Persia, and launched an attack on India in order to seize this coveted colony.

For Russia, India is undoubtedly a training ground, and just as the Russian army was testing the effectiveness of military reform in India, in order to contain Russia's power, Turkey declared war on Russia at the instigation of Britain.

For Russia, this was even a moment they had been waiting for for a long time - almost as soon as the declaration of war in Turkey, the 200,000 Russian troops and 100,000 Romanian regiments who had been waiting for each other crossed the Danube and launched a fierce attack on Turkey. Because the fortress threatened the flanks of the Russian march and the Danube bridges, the Russian army had to attack the fortress, and it took hundreds of thousands of Russian troops two months to capture the fortress.

The door to Turkey is opened!

"The cross will be planted again on the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople! The double-headed eagle will finally rise again in Constantinople! ”

On the occasion of the Julian New Year, as the Russian army approached the city of Constantinople, almost all newspapers throughout Russia repeated this phrase. For the first time, Russians found out that they were so close to their dreams!

Dream!

Constantinople was the dream of the Russians for centuries and the pinnacle of Russian glory, which every Russian could no longer doubt, and even the opposition to the serf reforms carried out in the rear was eased by the victory at the front.

A military victory can make up for everything!

For the Russians, who are Orthodox Christians, they know that they will taste victory in the end!

Again, despite the bitter cold and snow in the streets, Nevsky Street was full of cheering Russians, all of them drunk, vodka bottles in their hands and words of victory in their mouths.

Once again, a victory from the front sent St. Petersburg into a revelry, and for the people of St. Petersburg, it seemed that every victory, no matter how small, would give them a reason to celebrate, because in their opinion, even the smallest victory would further establish the fact that the Russian army was about to retake Constantinople.

As the ambassador to Russia, Zeng Jize has witnessed such a scene countless times, and he no longer feels strange about it, and even when the Russian soldiers were in Constantinople, a group of cheering Russian aristocrats and members of high society actually broke into the embassy, pulled him out of the office, and then shouted slogans such as "Long live friendship", threw him into the sky one after another, and then caught him again.

For the current Russian aristocracy, China is undoubtedly Russia's most trusted friend, although as an ambassador, Zeng Jize knows very well that China has tried again and again to get something in return from Russia.

"Russia's national policy is to expand its territory in all directions!"

Facing the visiting Zeng Jize, Gorchakov, the foreign minister of the Russian Empire, looked at him without any disguise and said.

"In this war, we seem to have gained a lot, but we have lost even more!"

Staring at the Chinese ambassador in front of him, Gorchakov's tone was unceremonious.

"Before the outbreak of the war, you bought East Siberia at the bottom price!"

That's where we've occupied...... Zeng Jize thought silently in his heart, but with a smile on his face.

"Yes, but it is undeniable that this solves all potential problems between the Chinese Empire and the Russian Empire!"

"And what about Central Siberia?"

Zeng Jize's answer made Gorchakov's tone look a little unhappy.

"Central Siberia, Western Siberia, in St. Petersburg, many people say, look, China is Russia's best friend, but in us, while the Russians are chanting" Long live friendship ", you induce Russia to give up your territory and sell Siberia to you, the whole of Siberia! ”

All of Siberia!

This was lost by Russia after the outbreak of the war, and although it is not opposed to the sale of Siberia, anyone will be unhappy to see that Russia has lost so much territory on the map.

"Your Excellency, we all know that Russia did sell Siberia, but you got more, and it is certain that after the end of the war, Persia will no longer be an independent state, they will inevitably become a province of Russia, and as for northern India, of course, what does Siberia have compared to the richness of India? We are well aware that the sale of Siberia by Russia will undoubtedly benefit the future of our two countries, and the vast and inhospitable Siberia will contribute to mutual trust between our two countries,"

Mutual trust!

This is the fundamental reason why the two countries were able to reach a consensus in Siberia, which is too vast and too desolate, and it is precisely for this reason that the two countries agreed that Siberia could be used as a "buffer zone" between China and Russia, and that after China bought Siberia at a cost of 350 million Chinese dollars, as a way of mutual trust, no troops could be stationed anywhere except for the border line with no more than one division, and the Chinese government promised that the Chinese government would not build a railway west of Lake Baikal for 50 years.

In other words, in order to ensure mutual trust between the two countries, Siberia will continue to be "desolate", but as a member of the negotiating group, Zeng Jize knows very well that the so-called "Chinese government will not build a railway west of Lake Baikal for 50 years" is not binding at all, because the treaty defines the "government", not a private railway company. Just after the signing of this treaty, a private railway company was established in Nanking, of course, only a few people know that the majority shareholder of that railway company was none other than His Majesty himself, and that railway company was now exploring the railway route to the Urals. One thing is certain, in a few years, without "government involvement", the construction of railways west of Lake Baikal will be carried out, and a dozen years later, a steady stream of migrants will pour into Siberia, into the steppes east of the Urals, where prosperous cities will be built.

As for the former treaty, it's just a piece of waste paper!

In this largest territorial transaction in history, Russia did not get too rich in return, 250 million of the 350 million Chinese dollars were not deposited in Russian banks, but deposited in the Imperial Bank as Russian military purchase money for the purchase of military supplies in China -- the military supplies needed for the military operations of the 360,000 Russian troops in India came from China, and even the rifles and artillery they used were all made in China.

Russia, so to speak, got nothing! Of course, this is not the case. At least for Zeng, he would never let the Russians think they got nothing.

"And, too, Turkey!"

Staring at Gorchakov, the foreign minister, Zeng Jize said seriously.

"Now that your army is in Constantinople, and although the Turks are still resisting, one thing is certain, it will be conquered by the Russian Empire sooner or later, and we all know that Turkey's demise is only a matter of time, and when Constantinople opens its doors to you, the whole of Turkey will also open its doors to Russia......"

All of Turkey!

As a diplomat, Gorchakov immediately noticed a different meaning in Zeng Jize's words, and now that France has been involved in this war, can it be said that China's attitude towards France will change radically?

"If I'm not mistaken, we have already signed a treaty with the French on the question of Turkey, and Mesopotamia, and many other areas, are shared by our three countries......"

When talking about sharing, Gorchakov glanced at Zeng Jize deliberately, in that negotiation, China was undoubtedly the losing side, in the Middle East, they received almost nothing in return, except for the desolate desert of the Persian Gulf coast of the Arabian Peninsula, where except for a few primitive indigenous cities, is nothing more than a desert. As for the Indian side, it is also a setback on all fronts! The French even prevented China's partition of India under the pretext that China had taken control of "Anglo-Indian Burma".

Of course, this does not mean that China has not been rewarded, as it has also been reaped in Australia, New Zealand and Cape Town.

Do they want to change the treaty?

When this consciousness surfaced in his heart, Gorchakov stared at Zeng Jize and did not continue, but waited for the other party's answer.

"Egypt, the French got Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, which is also an extremely rich region, and it can even be said that the province of Egypt is one of the richest provinces in the whole of Turkey, and in the Middle East, the French sphere of influence should be appropriately reduced, which is undoubtedly in the interests of Russia......"

Zeng Jize's words made Gorchakov immediately understand - the Chinese are ready to betray France! They want to kick France out of the Middle East, but why? When he looked at Zeng Jize with a puzzled face, he only heard him continue.

"We believe that the eastern part of the Sinai Peninsula is sufficient to compensate Russia for the loss of Siberia compared to the inhospitable Siberia, and likewise, in line with the return that Russia deserves for its contribution to this war!"

If it was not clear before the purpose of the Chinese, but now, it has been understood that one of the most fundamental reasons why China wants Russia to occupy the area east of the Sinai Peninsula is Siberia - China is worried that after the end of the war, Siberia will become a new contradiction between China and Russia, and they hope that through the compensation obtained in Turkey, Russia can really give up Siberia.

"Zeng, my friend ......"

Staring at Zeng Jize, Gorchakov said in an extremely serious tone.

"You have to understand that now France is also our ally, and they have joined ......"

Yes, they are already on the boat, which means that there is no way back for France.

"France, they got Mexico, and as for the rest, Your Excellency, who cares?"

France got too much!

For both China and Russia, this is a consensus that has long been formed between the two countries, and before the Russians were involved in the war, Chinese and Russian diplomats always tried in every possible way to pull France into the chariot of both countries, so as to lay the foundation for victory, and even made concessions on many issues.

But now, when the French got involved in the war and declared war on Britain, in this situation that the overall situation has been decided, Russia is naturally unwilling to keep some promises in the past, although it is a treaty between allies, but it has always been the case between countries, there has never been any so-called friendship between countries, even the so-called "friendship solidified in blood" is just a joke in the face of interests, just like the friendship between Britain and France on the battlefield in the Crimea, it is simply vulnerable in the face of substantive interests.

Now, even if France has jumped on this chariot, or the thief ship, then in the face of huge practical interests, they will never take the initiative to jump out, and it is precisely because of this that Zeng Jize will seize this point and try to lobby the Russians, so as to unite the forces of China and Russia and seize some interests that originally belonged to France.

As for whether the French are happy or not, this is simply not something to consider!

If the French come out to contact the Russians at the expense of the Chinese, perhaps for Gorchakov, a career diplomat, he will consider it, and he needs to carefully consider whether the French will contact the Chinese under special circumstances at the expense of Russia's interests.

But now, when the Chinese took the initiative to raise this, Gorchakov did not need to think about this at all, because among the three countries, China received the least benefits, after all, Australia is desolate, and that was before the Triple Alliance, China had already sent troops to Australia.

And after the Triple Alliance, in the negotiations between the three countries, China got too limited, and even as a diplomat, Gorchakov felt that China may have won a military victory, but it suffered a crushing defeat diplomatically, because they did not get even the slightest benefit from India!

And the reason why China made so many concessions is understandable, because for China at that time, what they longed for was that the French would become their allies and thus help them win this war, after all, China simply could not afford to lose, no country could afford to lose this war, and the defeat of the Crimean War was at the cost of the Tsar's suicide. This is obviously not something that China can afford, which is why China will make concessions at all costs, thus attracting France to this chariot.

But now, with Ireland completely occupied by the Chinese, China's offensive posture against Britain has not been reversed by time, but has forced Britain to defend at home, but even so, the British do not have the slightest confidence, in this case, France took the initiative to enter the war, simply to obtain the benefits they obtained at the negotiating table.

But now the problem is that the Chinese are not happy!

Even if the Chinese are not happy, everything will be easy to do, after thinking everything through, Gorchakov's face showed a smile, and then looked at Zeng Jize and said.

"Although Russia is grateful for China's generosity, we always need to take into account the attitude of the French! Even we don't care about them at all! ”

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