"There is a truce, a truce." Li Ming lay on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

Don't look at China is now killing all sides, it looks majestic, who knows that China at this time is walking on thin ice and trembling. The distance and the rudimentary roads made it extremely difficult to get supplies. Since the beginning of the Battle of Omsk, it can be said that the armies of the front line have won victory after victory almost at the limit, which is why there is a long gap between each campaign and the start of a new one. Think about the Chinese volunteers who marched all the way in the Korean War in the future, weren't they driven back from the 37th parallel by the United States to the 38th parallel because of the interruption of supplies? The reason why Li Ming was worried was that he was worried that the Russians would fight back, and once a certain army on the front line could not withstand the Russian counteroffensive and was defeated, this was not just a relationship between one and the other, which would affect the post-war political pattern.

Liang Huadian's corps is located on the railway line, and he is actually a material transfer station here, so there is no need to worry. The Yuan Shoushan Corps is very close to the Liang Huadian Corps, and the supply is convenient and they help each other, so you don't have to worry. Although the distance of Nie Shicheng's corps is farther, after he defeated the main corps of the Russian army in the middle line of Pavlovl, there was no strong enemy along the way, so the consumption was not large, and the horse team kept transporting day and night, Nie Shicheng's corps may not be able to attack, but there is still no problem with defense. The most worrying thing is Liu Sheng's retired corps, not to mention the remoteness, the long distance makes land transportation very difficult.

Air supply has become the largest way to replenish the materials of Liu Shengxiu's corps, but the air force's daily supplies of less than 300 tons not only have to supply the combat needs of the main force of Liu's corps of nearly 50,000 people, but also supply the needs of nearly 100,000 various armed forces of the vassal states, and when the weather is bad, it is impossible to carry out air replenishment, which makes the materials in Liu Shengti's hands become stretched. However, even this weakly equipped Liu Corps was the most outstanding unit among the corps, with the farthest attack distance, the largest number of enemies, and the widest area of land grabbing. They marched southwest from Ili, captured Bishkek, fought against Hengrus, and stationed in Tashkent, then turned to the northwest and marched to conquer Aktobinsk, and sent a partial division to occupy the Caspian estuary city of Atyrau on the Ural River, completing the strategic posture of a complete offensive against the Russian Ural region, and at the same time putting Liu's corps at the farthest end of the supply line.

At this time, the Russian army went through a series of defeats and the elite troops were dragged on the Eastern Front by Germany, and when the few elite troops were wiped out by China, Russia not only did not have the strength to counterattack, but also had no idea of counterattacking, which gave Liu Shengxiu an opportunity to take advantage of. The supply of Liu's corps, which had just occupied Aktobinsk, had bottomed out, but Liu Shengxiu, who knew that he could not hold it, suggested to the General Staff Headquarters that he should continue the offensive by taking advantage of Russia's new defeat: "The battle is smooth, and the rabbit dares to fight the wolf." If we do not take the opportunity to attack to the west and north, once the Russian army counterattacks in the future, our army will not even have a strategic buffer space. ”

The General Staff Headquarters finally agreed with his idea. Also because China's weapons are different from Russia's, experienced soldiers on the battlefield can hear the model of the weapon from the voice, so Liu Shengxiu collected all the weapons and ammunition originally allocated to the vassal ****, as for the vassal ****, there are a large number of captured Russian weapons that are enough to meet their needs to cooperate with the offensive and maintain local law and order. Then Liu Shengxiu personally led the main forces of the headquarters to occupy Uralsk, and the Japanese army occupied Orenburg. Maybe Russia heard the clues, maybe Russia was scared, and after the war, Russia did not launch a counteroffensive, giving Liu Shengxiu enough time to replenish. So much so that when Russia launched another attack, Liu's corps had the strength to resist.

Otherwise, once Liu's corps is defeated, it will not only be the complete loss of the western salient he occupies. The southernmost place of Liu's corps only reached Tashkent, and there were still a large number of Russian garrisons in Samarkand, Dushanbe, Ashgabat and other places south of Tashkent that bordered the British forces. They were frightened by China's successive victories in the north, they feared that their counteroffensive would attract retaliatory Chinese, and the Chinese's prestige (or infamy) for slaughtering rebels on the battlefield forced them to consider their situation, so they were now just waiting and watching. But as soon as they learned that Liu's corps had defeated the Russians and started a counteroffensive, they would inevitably launch an offensive as well, and then the entire southwestern direction from Aktobinsk to Almaty would be lost. Because these places do not even have the main force of the vassal ****, it is impossible to rely on the armed forces of local law and order to resist the Russian attack.

Now Liu's corps has once again proved the strength of the Chinese army with victory, and Russia has finally bowed its head and conceded defeat in the face of defeat in foreign wars and domestic rebellion. However, this does not mean that the front-line troops can be put on the south mountain, and the transportation of supplies to the front still has to be carried out. But finally the dust has settled, and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

In order to create a better external environment for China after the war, some compromises were also necessary. The day after Russia sent a telegram requesting peace talks, the Chinese Government issued a statement: The war between China and Russia has come to stop, and the Chinese army will cease all military operations if it is not attacked. At the same time, for humanitarian reasons, the Chinese army will lift the siege of Yekaterinburg and provide as much help as possible to the inhabitants of the city. The publication of this voice has attracted international praise.

In fact, from the 21st, Liang Huadian's corps began to withdraw its troops to Tyumen, dismantling the entire barracks and transporting all the ammunition, but leaving several large warehouses, filled with winter clothes and a large amount of food that had been exploited at the beginning, and a large amount of wood on the ruins of the demolished barracks could be used as fuel, with these materials and supplies transported from the rear, it was enough for the officials of Yekaterinburg to survive the winter. However, the unattended warehouses led to fierce clashes between the government and the people in Yekaterinburg, and a large number of remaining supplies were burned, and the Russians were not good for Yekaterinburg's rescue efforts to suppress the rebellion, and by the following spring the number of people in Yekaterinburg was as high as nearly 30,000 due to hunger and cold. But that's none of China's business.

Yuan Shoushan's corps also began to withdraw troops from the 21st, but Chelyabinsk, where only part of the army was stationed, received a small amount of grain left by China in an orderly manner, and collected all the materials that could survive the winter, and finally survived the winter safely.

Nie Shicheng's corps was the simplest, and after sending a telegram to stop the attack on the night of the 20th, Ufa was at peace. On the morning of the 21st, the dispersed army marched towards Magnitogorsk, and winter came, and the Chinese also needed a warm place to spend the winter.

But this was not the case on the Eastern Front, first of all, Uralsk was almost flattened by the Chinese Air Force, and Duan Qirui could only command the garrison vassal states to rebuild houses to survive the winter. However, for the sake of future negotiations, Liu Shengxiu's corps, which had advanced forward, remained in Volzhasky, east of the Volga River. In response to the protests from Russia, the Chinese side explained that Liu's advance was too far away and it would be difficult to withdraw to Uralsk before the heavy snowfall, so they would withdraw in the following spring.

China's reputation in foreign politics has always been good, and it is necessary to keep its word, which is also in line with the image of a benevolent and righteous power as the Chinese. Therefore, after receiving assurances from the Chinese government again, countries also acquiesced. Unbeknownst to everyone, China is organizing all forces to send supplies and equipment to Liu's corps and build a large number of river-crossing boats, and nearly 100,000 Russian prisoners are being used as laborers to build roads and bridges, because Liu's corps will be the most direct deterrent force of the Chinese government in the subsequent political negotiations.

However, Russia's first reaction to China's withdrawal was to recall all the troops facing China on the front line to quell the rebellion, in addition to leaving 30,000 troops in Volgograd. So much so that there were no Russian troops in front of the Chinese army, which stunned the Chinese generals for the first time in history. For the first time, China's generals also discovered that there were also bad things about the image of a benevolent and righteous power.

However, the Chinese side did not take advantage of the situation to attack, but offered to sell a batch of firearms to Russia in order to help Russia maintain domestic stability, and the price was only 30% of the market price, but the condition was that it would only accept payment in gold and the money would be shipped.

Nicholas II was annoyed that the Chinese actually bought the guns captured from the Russians to Russia ?! But in order to put down the rebellion as soon as possible, he accepted this condition and reluctantly loaded the gold from the warehouse to China by rail.

September 25, Portsmouth, England

After Britain's "unremitting efforts" to mediate, China and Russia finally sat down in Portsmouth to discuss post-war matters. Russian Plenipotentiary Sergei? When Witte arrived in Portsmouth, China's plenipotentiary envoy and foreign minister, Tang Shaoyi, was still on his way aboard the destroyer Wenxiang, the fastest destroyer, so the preliminary negotiations were carried out by the Chinese minister to the United Kingdom, Wang Daxie (Xiè).

"China and Russia have redrawn their borders along the current Line of Actual Control (LAC) of their armed forces. At the same time, Russia must immediately remove more than 7 million troops and civilians from Edom. Just before the two sides sat down on their stools and covered the heat, Wang Daxie threw out China's conditions.

Russia could not have agreed to this condition under any circumstances, but Witte was well aware that this was only China's offer. Witte looked at Wang Daxie calmly, and only after a long time did he say: "Russia has agreed to return the land occupied from China during the Qing Dynasty to China, as a new border between the two countries. After speaking, Werther quietly looked at Wang Daxie, and he also knew very well that China would not agree to his conditions, which was just a counteroffer he made to the Chinese, and he was waiting for the Chinese to counteroffer again. Diplomacy, in fact, is the same as doing business, both pay attention to the baht.

It's just that Werther didn't expect that Wang Daxie didn't even pay back the price, just watched him quietly. As diplomats, they have seen all kinds of diplomatic occasions in which they slap the table and scold their mothers, hide knives in their smiles, and stab knives in the back, but they have never seen such a strange scene in which the representatives of the two countries look at each other coldly.

"Hahahaha-" Wang Daxie suddenly laughed, pointed to Wang Yang, the military attache stationed in Britain who was sitting beside him, and said, "If Mr. Witte is not willing to talk to me, you can talk to him." After speaking, Wang Daxie stood up and walked out.

Werther was a little relieved, but his offer was a little too low. People in China have begun to emigrate to Siberia, and you are a defeated country that wants to drive people back again. But the reason for his low price was simply to fight for as many Russian interests as possible.

"Mr. Minister, please stay." Ogener, a British delegate to the conference and an adviser to the Far East, stood up to stop Wang Daxie: "Russia's conditions are indeed excessive, but they are all negotiable." I have been in China for many years and have a good personal relationship with your emperor, and I know that China is a country of etiquette. Mr. Minister walked away like this, but it is not in line with the gentleman's style that the state of Chinese etiquette says——"

Ogner said that his personal relationship with the emperor was to rely on imperial power to suppress Wang Daxie, he said that China is a country of etiquette and wanted to condemn Wang Daxie morally, and finally said in a joking tone that he wanted to show that this was just his personal attitude and had nothing to do with the country. Witt is indeed too much, and such conditions dare to be thrown, which is no longer a matter of low price. Russia has been beaten like this by China, and he still dares to say this to China, if he is replaced by Ogner, he will not even look at Werther and leave immediately. But Ogna couldn't watch Wang Daxie walk out of the conference room, otherwise no one would know how long the meeting would drag on. Although Britain closed the Suez Canal to the Chinese Navy, China's Black Sea formation was still heading towards the Red Sea in the Indian Ocean, so the task given by the British Parliament to Ogener was to let China and Russia reach a draft agreement as soon as possible, and could not give the Chinese Black Sea formation any reason to pass through the Suez Canal.

It's just that Wang Daxie and Ben ignore Ogener, he only read from Ogener's face, the British who once flaunted their might in front of the Chinese, now also need to lose their smiles. So Wang Daxie just glanced at Werther and said to Ogner: "The style of a gentleman is first and foremost, to be a man of honor. It is a fair and upright move for the official to leave the person who has no sincerity in this regard, which is in line with the teachings of the sages. ”

Just say it, don't bow at every turn, okay? As a Westerner who is familiar with Oriental etiquette, Ogna knows that once the East talks about the ancestors and salutes in parallel, others also need to bow together, which is not exempt even from the Chinese emperor. So Ogna was also very unwilling to follow Wang Daxie's example, and bowed in the east with his fists clenched. The representatives of Britain, the world's largest empire, all bowed, and the delegates of France, Germany, the United States, and other countries also stood up, clenched their fists, and bowed to the east. Although I don't know what it means, I have to say that the smooth clothes and wide sleeves of the Han family, combined with Wang Daxie's soothing movements, dare not say that they are graceful and luxurious, or at least act elegantly, which makes the representatives of various countries who call themselves civilized countries a little ashamed.

After the ceremony, Wang Daxie saw that the representatives of various countries also gave gifts to the East, so he thanked everyone according to etiquette. It was only at this moment that he understood the true meaning of the emperor's cultural expansion.

Enough is enough! Ogna was full of anger, and without saying a word, it took about ten minutes to just perform a courtesy, and if he did a few more salutes, everyone would simply practice etiquette and not talk about any judgment. Therefore, in order to avoid the recurrence of such a phenomenon, Ogener said directly: "There is an old Chinese saying that is straight to the point, and I will not be polite to Mr. Minister. It is true that Russia's conditions are unacceptable, but as the victorious power, should your country reflect the heart and sincerity of a great power? At the very least, I think that your country should first withdraw Liu's corps from the ground, remove the threat to Volgograd, and recall the Black Sea formations. ”

"Oh, sir, do you mean that China is not sincere? Our country did not ask for an inch of land outside the ceasefire line, did you think that our army could not take Ufa? Is it only sincerity to wait for our army to occupy Moscow and then withdraw from Moscow? China has not demanded a penny of reparations from Russia, so does Mr. China think that China should be sincere in proposing a reparations of one billion pounds sterling from Russia? As soon as Wang Daxie's words came out, it was a billion pounds, which shook the representatives of various countries to the bottom of the table. But Wang Daxie suddenly changed his face and smiled: "It's okay, my country can directly let Liu's corps withdraw to Uralsk, or recall the Black Sea formation, then let Russia take 100 million pounds of war reparations first, as long as the money arrives, my country will withdraw its troops immediately." ”

Delegates from all countries must admit that Wang Daxie is right when he says that China's failure to demand land outside the ceasefire line and to demand compensation is already very sincere. So Ogna sighed and said to Werther: "Your Excellency, I think the delegates of various countries also need to see Russia's sincerity. ”

Witt still stood up with a calm face: "Lake Belga is the boundary." ”

"Hmph, Russia is really sincere, but in my opinion, we can't get along." Wang Daxie said with a look of contempt: "Mr. Navit will talk to Wang Yang, maybe you will have a common topic." After speaking, Wang Daxie walked out.

Without waiting for Ogner to speak, Wang Yang said first: "Lord Wang, you are the negotiator appointed by the imperial court, and I am not." ”

"It's okay, I'll give it to you."

"Really?" Wang Yang's eyes showed a glimmer of essence.

"Really."

"Then I'm going to talk about it?"

"Talk." Wang Daxie didn't leave after speaking, and looked at Wang Yang with interest What would he talk about.

I saw Wang Yang's wicked smile at Werther, and then he picked up the phone on the table, and dialed the Chinese Legation in the UK: "Concierge, I'm Wang Yang...... Yes, pick up the correspondent for me...... Correspondent, I'm Wang Yang. He has just been authorized by Ambassador Wang to negotiate with Russia...... What's the use of me lying to you about such a big thing...... Don't bother to say, send me a report to the court, and send it back to the court according to my words...... Listen clearly, the telegram reads as follows: Now that the negotiations have broken down, I will insist on the ceasefire line as a new state border for possible negotiations later. So it was recommended that the army immediately take Volgograd and advance rapidly to the west, and the Black Sea formations accelerated...... Ouch-"

Wang Yang, who was halfway through the call, was snatched away by Wang Daxie, who was hurrying over, only to hear Wang Daxie roaring into the phone: "I am Wang Daxie, if you dare to send a word back to China, Lao Tzu will bury you alive immediately." After saying that, he smashed the microphone onto the stand of the phone, and smashed the phone. Wang Daxie couldn't care about this, he pointed at Wang Yang's nose and scolded: "This official asked you to negotiate, what call did you make?" ”

Wang Yang was not convinced: "I'm not a civil official, and I don't know any negotiation skills and strategies. I am a military attache who is a soldier, and Lao Tzu believes that if you don't obey, you will be beaten until you obey. Talk to them and fight all the way until they accept the ceasefire line as a new border. ”

"Shut your beak." Wang Daxie was furious, and then said to Witt with a gloomy face: "Talk to me with some sincerity, otherwise talk to him." ”

Werther looked at Ogna and the delegates in the hope that they would say something for themselves. But the representatives of various countries are silent at the moment, and if they do not interfere, China can really hit Moscow. China is already very sincere in not demanding land and reparations outside the ceasefire line, as for Russia, it is too far behind. Since all countries were unwilling to speak for Werther, Werther could only say: "China is willing to give up Eastern Siberia and the lands taken from the Qing Dynasty, and take Omsk and Lake Balkhash as new national borders." ”

"Cut, rare-" Wang Yang's eyes rolled, and the voice came out of his teeth, but he was silenced by Wang Daxie's glare.

"Liu Shengxiu's corps can retreat east of the Ural River, and our country can abandon the place where it advances, and use the Ural River and the current ceasefire line as the new national border, which is the minimum requirement of our country." Wang Daxie finally took a step back.

"Let's, let's calm each other down first." That's what Witte said. It's just that no one expected that Russia would be the first to propose a suspension of negotiations.

When the news reached Beijing, the Chinese General Staff Headquarters ordered three divisions of the reserve stationed at the city of Broken Leaves (now Tokmak City, which had been renamed back since the occupation) and a Lanfang division stationed in Uzyrsk to march south to Dushanbe, and then march west to Ashgabat, with an express order to be killed in case of resistance. At the same time, the Haitian and two destroyers stationed in Bandazia were incorporated into the Black Sea Fleet, and it was ordered that the Black Sea Fleet must completely annihilate all Russian forces in the Black Sea, and that not a single plank could be seen.

European countries have expressed their dissatisfaction with China's behavior, arguing that the Chinese cannot extend their hands to Europe, but China has interpreted it as using force to make the Russians accept reality. Although Britain still refuses to allow the Chinese navy to pass through the Suez Canal, the differences between China and Russia seem to be too great to find a place for compromise. Wang Daxie fought for every inch of territory on the territorial issue, but Witte did not say a word, which made all those involved in the negotiations feel a headache. The key point is that Russia is now unable to resist China's attack, and it is impossible for any other country to start a war with China, so we have to watch the adjournment continue, and I don't know when we can resume a new round of negotiations.

Finally, on October 2, Tang Shaoyi, who had arrived from the Far East, arrived in Portsmouth to take over the negotiating power. Tang Shaoyi did not take a break, and after spending the morning meeting with the representatives of various countries, the two countries sat down at the negotiating table again in the afternoon.

"Our country abandons Uralsk and Orenburg and takes the Ural River as the boundary to the northern ceasefire line as a new state border." Before he sat down, Tang Shaoyi threw out China's new conditions. Without waiting for Witte to speak to the representatives of various countries, Tang Shaoyi continued: "You should know very well that five days later, October 7 is the Double Ninth Festival in China, and on this day, our emperor will ascend Mount Tai to perform the ceremony of worshipping the heavens, which is a Chinese tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years and is the most important ceremony in Chinese history. Of course, this is not the key, the key is that this day our emperor will announce the rewards of all civil and military generals. If it is not possible to sign on this day...... Please remember that if you sign an agreement rather than agree to it, then the rewards of our country's civil and military generals at the ceremony will be affected. For example, my Xiangshan Hou may become Xiangshan Bo. The commanders of our frontline already have a grudge against Russia for not being able to participate in the ceremony, and if Russia's reasons affect their rewards, we are not responsible for what they will do. ”

"With Omsk as the boundary, our country will abandon the former Chinese vassal states of Kazakhstan, Burut, Kokand, Bukhara, Badakshan, Qianzhut and Ladakh." Werther finally became nervous, and he understood what Tang Shaoyi meant. If the agreement cannot be signed on the 7th, it is tantamount to offending the entire Chinese official class, which means that even if the Chinese emperor does not want to fight, he will be forced to agree by all the officials.

This is a very clear reason for the delegates of the participating countries, and this is an issue that involves the interests of all Chinese officials. But for the conditions put forward by Werther, Tang Shaoyi didn't even look in vain, and turned around and left the conference room directly.

That night, O'Gener paid a visit to Tang Shaoyi. In the Chinese Legation in Britain, Tang Shaoyi secretly showed Ogener a map, which was a map of the world, and drew a red line on the location of Russia, and two words were written next to the red line -- the bottom line.

Ogner carefully read the word bottom line and nodded: "This is indeed written by His Majesty the Emperor of your country." (To be continued.) )