The game between countries is full of treachery, and for the sake of interests, they are united and horizontal.

Liu Jun sent an envoy to Moscow, hoping to coerce and lure Tsarist Russia away from Dzungaria and maintain a neutral attitude towards the upcoming war. But the secret report sent back from Moscow showed that this intervention in Dahan had failed.

The Great Han is indeed stronger than the current Tsarist Russian Romanov Dynasty, and the threat of the Great Han is also very powerful, but for the Russian White Bear, which is surrounded by enemies, there are more people threatening them, and the Great Han has to line up first to threaten them. Anyway, they don't have to worry about having more debts, and they don't have more lice. Compared with the Eastern Han Empire, which is still far away from them, they are more concerned about Sweden and Poland, which are raised by these bitches at their doorstep, if they form an alliance with Dzungaria and can help each other, they would rather offend the Han Dynasty.

"Tsar Mikhail did not want to offend the Han, but now Moscow is actually ruled by the great nobles of the country. In particular, the great nobleman Morozov, who had held power in Tsarist Russia since the death of Patriarch Filaret of Mikhail's father, who had been in power in Tsarist Russia a few years ago, had seized real power, and Mikhail did not fight against it at all and gave up the power in his hands. Now Morozov is the resolute head of the United Dzungars in Moscow, and his attitude dominates the attitude of the Muscovites. ”

Foreign Secretary Feng Yuanbiao personally entered the palace to report this regrettable result to Liu Jun.

Morozov also met in Moscow for secret talks with the envoys of Batur Huntaiji, and they have reached a further agreement on cooperation with the alliance. Tsarist Russia will officially transfer to Dzungaria, including Tomsk, Kutsnetsk, Yeniseisk, Krasnoyarsk and other military fortresses of the former Siberian Khanate, such as the Irtysh, Ob and Yenisei rivers east of the Ural Mountains, as well as in the regions further east. ”

Liu Jun was also secretly surprised in his heart, and Tsarist Russia and Dzungaria had often clashed before. Even for decades, Moxi Mongolia has been fighting with Russia for territory in the upper reaches of the Irtysh and Ob rivers, and the two sides have been at war with each other. In the early years, when Oirat was busy fighting with the Khalkha Mongols in Mobei, he was attacked on both sides and was bullied by Tsarist Russia very badly, and Tsarist Russia always wanted to coerce Dzungar to become a vassal state of Tsarist Russia.

It's just that feng shui turns around, and the Khalkha Mongols in Mobei have been trying their best to deal with the east and south over the years, so that the Mongols in Moxi Weirat can recuperate and develop, while Tsarist Russia has been in constant internal strife and frequent foreign invasions over the years.

Now Dzungaria intends to unify the Hezhong and Western Regions and expand to the east. Tsarist Russia, on the other hand, only wanted to resist the invasion of Sweden and Poland to the west, hoping to regain the cities that had been occupied in those years.

The two families, one to the east and the other to the west, are considered to have no serious conflict of interest, and just rely on each other back-to-back.

"This Tsarist Russia is also generous, they have worked hard to expand eastward for decades, and now they will abandon it, and all the territory that they have fought hard to build east of the Ural Mountains in the past few decades has been given to the Dzungars. Although the East is desolate and remote, it is so large, and every year the Tsarist Russia gets a lot of fur from Siberia, they will not give it to the Dzungars in vain, let's say, what do the Dzungars exchange for these? ”

In the final analysis, it is still an exchange of interests between countries, and Tsarist Russia will not be so kind to give its territory to Dzungaria.

"Rose. Batur Hontuji bought the castles and land with gold and horses, and they sent 10,000 men to fight for Russia. ”

"Tsarist Russia is going to war?"

When Liu Jun heard the news, he immediately came to his senses. If Russia fights with others at this time, then it will basically not be mixed into the war in the Western Regions.

"It is not clear whether the Russians are going to fight Sweden or Poland, but we estimate that they are most likely to fight Poland, most likely for the sake of Smolensk."

Smolensk is an ancient city in Tsarist Russia, with a history of more than 800 years, only 700 miles from Moscow, located on the border with Belarus, is an important trade and military town. It was repeatedly invaded by Poland and Lithuania, most recently occupied by the Poles thirty years ago.

To this day, it is still occupied by the Poles.

Russia's relations with Sweden are also not good, but the grievances are not so deep. Therefore, after Mikhail succeeded to the throne, an agreement was reached with Sweden through negotiations.

Sweden occupied seven cities in northern Russia, led by Novgorod, and through long-term negotiations, the two countries finally reached an agreement, and Sweden returned five cities including Novgorod and Pskov to Russia. But in exchange, Russia was forced to cede to Sweden five cities around the Gulf of Finland, including Yam and Ivan, effectively cutting off Russia's access to the Baltic Sea. Forced by the situation, Russia had no choice but to sign this treaty and lost its access to the Baltic Sea.

This agreement with Sweden caused huge losses to Tsarist Russia, but at least appeased Sweden, the northern lion, and temporarily satisfied their appetite.

However, the relationship between Tsarist Russia and Poland was much more complicated, and there was no way to negotiate an agreement between them.

The Polish king never even recognized Mikhail as the tsar, he twice sent troops to send a fake heir to Tsarist Russia to succeed him as tsar, and later Mikhail became tsar, and he also wanted his prince to come to Russia as tsar.

A few years ago, the Polish king sent a large army to attack Moscow, trying to snatch the Tsar's throne for his son, and the Polish army was defeated. The two countries turned to negotiations, and finally signed a fourteen-year contract in which Russia ceded large swathes of territory to Poland, but Poland recognized Mikhail as the Russian tsar.

A few years ago, King Sigmund III of Poland died, and the whole country mourned. The Russians thought that the time had come, so they immediately raised their troops in a big way, and the army marched to the western front, and at first it was very loud and vigorous, conquering several cities, all the way to the city of Smolensk.

The Polish prince Vladirav received this defeat report as soon as he succeeded to the throne, the former prince of Poland who had never been able to be the tsar, the current king, immediately gathered the army, galloped to the aid of Smolensk, Poland and the Russian army fought in Smolensk, and finally the Russian army was under the city, and the attack was not conquered for a long time, with heavy casualties, and finally the soldiers ran out of food.

Ten years have passed since that war, nearly thirty years have passed since the Romanov dynasty was established, the turmoil has basically ended, the country has become stable, and relations with Sweden have remained peaceful.

For such a strategic city as Smolensk, they have always wanted to recover it.

Now the Poles are making trouble with the Ukrainian Cossacks, and the Cossacks are constantly rebelling against the Poles, which makes the Russian white bears see an opportunity, just like when the old Polish king died, as soon as the old Polish king died, the Russians immediately took advantage of the mourning to send troops.

At this time, the Russians sold a large area of territory in the east to Dzungaria, formed an alliance with them, and borrowed troops from them, and their intention to do it was already obvious.

After all, Liu Jun is also a person who knows some of Russia's future history, and knows that these Russians have always been fierce, even if they are often invaded and robbed by Sweden, Poland, Turkey, and even the Tatar cavalry of the Crimean Khanate, they have never admitted it. The more you fight, the more fierce you get, don't give them the slightest chance, they will pounce immediately at the first opportunity.

Historically, the rise of the Russians seems to have started from this time, they first drew half of Ukraine over, and then occupied the three Central Asian countries one after another, and finally crippled Poland, and then united Poland to destroy Sweden, and finally recaptured Poland's sea outlet in Peter's time, Peter was officially called emperor, and Tsarist Russia has since become a monarchical empire recognized by European countries.

With these cognitions, Liu Jun knew very well that Tsarist Russia was definitely going to start its alliance with Dzungaria and borrowing troops at this time.

Russia and Poland are going to war, the Ukrainian Cossacks will also be involved, and even the Dzungars will send some reinforcements to Tsarist Russia. As a result, there is a feeling that there is no intention to plant flowers and flowers, and there is no intention to plant willows and willows.

Liu Jun smiled and walked to the big sand table in front of him.

On the sand table, the western region of the Han Empire. Several large mountain ranges divide this vast area into several relatively independent areas.

A continuous Tianshan mountain range divides the Western Regions into north and south. At the northern foot of the Tien Shan Mountains, centered on the Dzungar Basin, which was the center of the Dzungar Khanate, they now control the Ili River Valley and the Seven River Valleys, and the vast Kazakh steppe across Lake Balgash has been included in their pockets, and even has reached the coast of the Caspian Sea and the Volga River to the west.

The southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, the west to the Green Mountains, the south to Kunlun, the Tarim Basin and the Green Ridge area, is the territory of the Yarkand Khanate, originally their territory also included Turpan and Hami, but now it has been occupied by the Dzungars, and even the Tarim Basin is being invaded by the Dzungars.

Further south, south of the Kunlun Mountains and north of the Himalayas, this area is the Tibetan Plateau, which is now controlled by Gushi Khan of the Heshute tribe of the Dzungar Khanate. Kang District is Qinghai and is actually controlled by the Han Dynasty.

To the north of Qinghai is Gansu Province, the Hexi Corridor under the Qilian Mountains.

In the north of the Tianshan Mountains, there is also an Altai Mountain Range, which is the traditional dividing line between Moxi and Mobei.

The Altai Mountains were called Jinshan in ancient times, and the east of Jinshan is Mobei, and the west is Moxi. Not far to the northwest of the Jinshan Mountains is the Tangnu Mountain, which is also the northern boundary of the Khalkha Mongols in the past.

Beyond the Tangnu Mountain, it is the upper reaches of the Yenisei River, and further west, it is the Ob River and the Orqisi River, which originate from the Jinshan.

Although the Han Dynasty had already included Siberia in the territory of the Han Dynasty, in fact, the imperial court only controlled the Beihai, and the two major rivers near the Beihai, the Lena River and the Angara River Basin, were still only in contention.

These places west of the Beihai Sea and north of the Tangnu Mountains have always been under the de facto control of Tsarist Russia, and now these places are also under the control of Dzungaria.

Wusi-Tibet and Shute Division, Tianshan, Kazakh steppe Junggar Division, Caspian Volga Turghut Division.

From the Ural Mountains in the north to the Caspian Sea in the south, the Dzungar Khanate has been connected, completely blocking the land route from the Han Dynasty to the west, and even the southern land passage through India.

This is a cancer that must be removed.

"It seems that we can't make any real deal with Poland, Persia, Turkey, Sweden." Liu Jun threw down the wooden stick in his hand, even if he wanted to support the Yarkand weapon, it would not work.

The road was completely blocked by Dzungaria.

If the Han wants to get in touch with Yarkand, he must first take Hami and Turpan before he can contact Yarkand.

Speaking of which, the Han had to conquer Hami and Turpan first, and establish an advance base here, but the Hexi Corridor was already narrow, but fortunately, the Han controlled Qinghai, and although the Hexi Corridor was narrow, it was safe and secure. But if you cut Hami Turpan like this, it will be a little too deep, and the flanks will be unstable.

Especially in the north of the Tianshan Mountains, there is Junggar, and Wusizang and Heshuote, if the two armies are sandwiched, this is very unfavorable.

"It seems that we can't count on Yarkand for the time being, nor can we count on Poland and Ottomans, and we have to solve this battle ourselves. We have to adjust the plan, transfer the Northern Mongolian princes, and divide a cavalry army out of the Altai Mountains to threaten to contain Dzungaria. The garrisons of Xikang and Qinghai were then transferred, and the troops and horses in Wusi and Tibet were transferred at an appropriate time to contain the troops and horses in the Tibetan area and Shuote. In this way, the elite army of the imperial court continued to go out of Jiayu Pass, and with lightning speed, first captured Hami and Turpan, and then attacked the Junggar Basin, smashed the old nest of its capital, and succeeded in one blow, first withdrew to Turpan to rest, and prepared for the second round of attack. ”

Foreign Secretary Feng Yuanbiao just looked at it and didn't speak, he was just a diplomat, as for the strategy of using troops, he was not good at it, and it was not his turn to come to the class to get an axe. The imperial court has its own high-ranking generals in the Privy Council.

"Your Majesty, the negotiations with the Polish and Swedish envoys have not yet yielded results, but there is good news. The Ottomans wanted to work with us, and they wanted to buy our goods, including our new merchant ships and artillery muskets. They intend to exchange African slaves with us. ”

"Oh?" Liu Jun was a little surprised.

However, it soon became clear that in this era, there was no Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean Sea was not connected to the Red Sea. And from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, it is controlled by Mushilin.

The Catholic and Christian countries of Europe were completely blocked, and in the early years of the Oriental trade, these Green Christians sat on the ground to collect profits and exploited them. It was precisely because of this blockade and exploitation of trade that there was a later nautical adventure. The Europeans discovered the East Indies, the West Indies, the New World of America, and the route to the East, bypassing Africa, and finally bypassing the blockade of the Green Cultists.

The Ottomans and the Persian Safavid dynasties were both Green Religion states, controlling the traditional Persian Gulf and Red Sea regions, and even if the Europeans bypassed them, they still had a natural advantage.

The discovery of the New World in Portugal and Spain greatly increased the need for manpower during the global colonization. As a result, the slave trade rose rapidly, and the Ottoman Empire also played a role in this trade, and when the Portuguese and Spain colonized the west coast of Africa, the Ottomans also immediately launched their own slave hunting and slave trade on the east coast of Africa.

Britain, the Netherlands, and France are now vying to join the lucrative slave trade, but their main trade routes are Europe, the west coast of Africa, and the Americas, which surround the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ottomans' slavery on the east coast of Africa was congenitally deficient compared with Portugal, Spain, Britain, and the Netherlands, but if the slave traders were to the East, instead of going around the African continent to the Americas, the Ottomans' slave trade on the east coast of Africa would immediately become an advantage again.

"How much was an African slave in the Ottoman Empire?"

"Their offer is one hundred and two to three hundred Han silver dollars."

Liu Jun shook his head, "African black slaves are indeed more suitable for working in the South Seas and Indochina Peninsula, and they are also relatively strong and capable. But the price is still a little expensive, a few days ago it was reported that England had already started fighting, and the king and parliament were gathering their own troops and horses to fight each other, and the fight was very fierce, and both sides were now short of money, and even less munitions. They all sent people to contact us and wanted to buy ordnance from me, do you know what they pay for the goods? Irish slaves, the king's side admits to giving us 20,000 Irish slaves in a year, and the parliament claims to give us 30,000 Irish slaves in a year, do you know what the slave price they give? ”

"The cost of each Irish slave is only five pounds, and the transaction price after being transported to the port of Malacca is not more than ten pounds.

Five pounds sterling is worth three taels of silver, which is about six silver dollars. The cost of an Irish slave was only 30 Chinese dollars, and the transaction price in Hong Kong was only 60 yuan, which was much cheaper than the Ottoman African black slaves.

Only half or even a fifth of them.

One was a white slave and the other was a black slave, and it is difficult to say which was better or worse, but at least the Irish slaves had a complete advantage in price.

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

"Since they are willing to sell cheaply, then of course we will buy it." Liu Jun said with a smile. Fifty thousand Irish slaves were bought, one sixty, and the total was only three million silver dollars, which was cheap.

"With the King of England or with the Parliament of England?" Feng Yuanbiao asked.

"No one refuses, we are just doing business, whether he is a slave of the king or a slave of the parliament. No, we are not buying and selling slaves, the Han Empire is benevolent and humane, and will never allow slaves to be bought and sold, we are Irish workers who hire their intermediaries. ”

"It's up to you to talk to them about this matter in person, and then Nanyang Company and Jiangnan Manufacturing Company will send someone to talk with you. We accept as many workers as they can bring in, whether it's Irish or African, as long as the price is right, we want it, and the labor agency fee is not a lot for them. Wherever they want to buy our ordnance, we will sell it, but at this price, you can discuss it carefully and give the appropriate figure. If it is something that no one else has, you might as well increase the price, this exclusive technology is also very valuable, and the price is high, which is also a matter of course. ”

Feng Yuanbiao nodded again and again, with such a good opportunity to slaughter these Xiyi a few times, how could he miss it or be soft. (To be continued.) )