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"What? Did the Ottoman Turkish Empire declare war on us? What are they trying to do? Take advantage of the fire? Tsar Alexander II stood up from his position, as if he could not believe that this was true. Russia has just lost hundreds of thousands of troops in the West Siberian Plain, and now it is facing the invasion of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

The ministers below were also silent. These old foxes had long expected that as Russia's old enemy, the Ottoman Turkish Empire would never let go of such a great opportunity. However, they did not expect that the Ottoman Turkish Empire would attack so quickly.

"Your Majesty, we are now in the Balkans and the Caucasus, and there are not many troops at all. This time, the Ottoman Turks attacked in full preparation and completely caught us off guard. We need to send more troops to the front line right now. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army Volkonsky said. Obviously, the troops now deployed at the front line alone could not withstand the Ottoman Turkish Empire's attack, and reinforcements had to be sent as much as possible.

"Reinforcements? Do we still have reinforcements? Tsar Alexander II frowned. In the eight Russo-Turkish wars before Tongguò, Russia had successfully weakened the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and if there was no war between Russia and the Chinese Empire, Russia's strength would be firmly above the Ottoman Turkish Empire. But now, Russia has lost a full 1.3 million troops at the hands of the Chinese Empire, which has directly reduced Russia's military strength. In a way, it was no match for the Ottoman Empire.

"Your Majesty, we're in another area. There are also hundreds of thousands of troops, which can also be drawn to the Balkans and the Caucasus. However, these troops are all new recruits, and it is estimated that they will not play a big role. The key also lies in the army of the Western Siberian Plain. If we can reach a peace agreement with the Chinese Empire sooner rather than later, there will be no need to deploy too many troops in the Western Siberian Plain. All of these units could be moved to the Balkans and the Caucasus to fight back against the Ottoman Turkish Empire. If it weren't for the containment of the Chinese Empire. We are fully capable of defeating the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Duke Volkonsky said confidently. Although, Russia has planted a big heel in the hands of the Chinese Empire, but. With the Russian background, as long as it recovers, there is still no big problem in defeating the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

Tsar Alexander II frowned. Right now. The problem before him is already obvious. Faced with a sudden attack by the Ottoman Turkish Empire, Russia appeared to be caught off guard. The Ottoman Turkish Empire was well prepared, and this time it was even more menacing. If it wanted to defeat the Ottoman Empire, Russia would have to put all its strength into it. The hundreds of thousands of troops deployed in the Western Siberian Plain were very important in the counterattack against the Ottoman Turkish Empire. With the addition of these hundreds of thousands of troops, even if Russia was at a disadvantage in the early stage, it would soon be able to recover its disadvantage. But. This meant that Russia had to compromise with the Chinese Empire, and that it had to agree to the humiliating conditions put forward by the Chinese Empire. This made Alexander II unable to make up his mind. After all. The cession of millions of square kilometers of land and the payment of huge war reparations are a complete disgrace for Russia.

"Your Majesty, we can't hesitate any longer, if we wait until the Ottoman Turkish army completely defeats our troops deployed at the front, it will be too late. It's even more difficult for us to get them out of our land. We have to be prepared. "The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Duke Gorchakov, also made a statement.

"Siberia, the region of Siberia, seems to be a vast area, but in fact, it is just a barren plateau or mountain. Even the Western Siberian Plain, which spends most of its time in cold winters, is not really of much use. However, the Balkan Peninsula, and the entire Black Sea coast, is the most important grain-producing region for Russia, which would be a fatal blow to Russia if it fell. Adviser to the Government Zhukovsky also said. He laid out the advantages and disadvantages of Siberia and the southern plains, and he believed that Tsar Alexander II had to make a choice. Moreover, the plains of the south are the foundation of Russia.

"Alright! First, a part of the army was dispatched to stabilize the war in the south. As far as we can negotiate with the Chinese, we can make concessions again. They want the land of the Western Siberian plain, then give it to them. However, with a war reparations of 200 million pounds, that is out of the question. I'll give them £100 million at most! Alexander II said through gritted teeth. 100 million pounds, almost 800 tons of gold. This is also a lot of money for the wealthy Russian royal family.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Foreign Minister Duke Gorchakov finally breathed a sigh of relief. Tsar Alexander II relented, which undoubtedly made the negotiations better. Although the Chinese Empire is very strong, it is understandable. If Russia had won the war, it would have been stronger than the Chinese Empire.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you will remember that this defeat is a great shame for us and for all of Russia. Not only did we lose more than a million troops, but we also lost a large amount of territory, and we had to pay a large amount of war reparations to the Chinese Empire, and even had to apologize to the Chinese Empire, which was unacceptable to the heroic Russian nation. This time, we have to bow to the Chinese Empire, but, I hope, in the near future, we will be able to launch a counterattack against the Chinese Empire and let them return the shame imposed on us a thousand times over! Alexander II said in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The ministers said one after another. In the same way, they are the most powerful group of people in Russia, and it is a deep shame for them to be forced to such a situation in Russia. Of course, they also want revenge. However, if you want to take revenge, you must first get through the difficulties in front of you. Otherwise, Russia will fall apart, and it will be impossible to take revenge.

The invasion of Russia by the Ottoman Turks forced Russia to compromise with the Chinese Empire in exchange for peace with the Chinese Empire. In this way, Russia was able to move a large number of troops to the south to fight the Ottoman Empire.

Hong Kong, the meeting place for negotiations between the Chinese Empire and Russia. Wei Yuan, the vice minister of foreign affairs representing the empire, quietly looked at the Russian plenipotentiary, the former minister to China, Putiyatin. After learning that the Ottoman Turkish Empire had declared war on Russia, he knew that the Russians could not hold it anymore and bowed to the Chinese Empire, which would not be too far away.

"Your Excellency, what are you thinking? Our negotiations are not going on for a short time. His Majesty the Emperor was very dissatisfied with the fact that the negotiations had not progressed for a long time. If we do not make any further progress in our negotiations, then, unfortunately, our negotiations may fall apart. Wei Yuan pressed again.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, is this an oppression against Russia?" Putiatin said indignantly.

"No, Your Excellency, this is just a kind reminder. You should also know that if it drags on now, it will be even more unfavorable to Russia. Therefore, there is no need for Russia to continue to waste time for the sake of a small profit. Wei Yuan continued.

Putiatin's face was ugly, and he knew that Wei Yuan was referring to the invasion of Russia by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. This has indeed made Russia's current situation even worse. The Chinese Empire has always maintained a large number of troops in the West Siberian Plain, which directly forced Russia to leave a large army in the West Siberian Plain, which made Russia weak in dealing with the invasion of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. If this continues for a long time, Russia will only remain at a disadvantage on the battlefield and then pay a greater price.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, we can make concessions. First, we can accept and apologize to the Chinese Empire. Second, the territory east of the Ergiz River can be ceded to the Chinese Empire. But now that we have made such big concessions, should the Chinese Empire also show its sincerity in negotiating? Minister Putiyatin said.

Wei Yuan nodded, the Russians were able to make concessions in the first two, which is indeed commendable. Negotiating, like bargaining in business. After the price is offered, only if both sides make concessions, will a compromise be gradually achieved and an agreement will be reached. If both sides insist on not making concessions, there is no possibility of reaching an agreement in the end.

"Now that the Russians have shown their sincerity, the empire cannot afford to be petty. In this way, the war reparations that Russia needs to pay can be reduced from 200 million pounds to 170 million pounds! Wei Yuan reduced the war reparations by 30 million pounds at one time.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, the war reparations of 170 million pounds are too much for us to promise!" Minister Putiyatin shook his head. Tsar Nicholas I only agreed to pay 100 million pounds, which is still too far from the conditions put forward by the Chinese.

The two began to bargain over the issue of war reparations.

Eventually, war reparations fell to £120 million. The Chinese Empire refused to budge any further.

Minister Putiyatin had no choice but to report back to the country. With the war in the south and the Ottoman Turkish Empire constantly losing, Russia did not want to continue to entangle on this issue and chose to compromise. (To be continued......)