On June 15, 1878, after several months of long journey, Zeng Jize, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Qing Empire, finally arrived in St. Petersburg, the capital of Tsarist Russia. Although China and Russia share a territorial border, the Russian Trans-Siberian Railway has not yet been built at this time, and the farthest eastern railway can only reach Chelyabinsk, and it is really far away and unsafe to take the land route, so it can only pass through the Strait of Malacca, the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, all the way to the Baltic Sea, and Zuihou to St. Petersburg.

After Russia moved its capital here from Moscow in 1712, St. Petersburg remained the heart of Russia, and poets praised it with immortal poems:

I love you, the great city that Peter built,

I love your solemn and neat countenance,

How solemn the flow of the Neva is,

Marble is laid on its banks;

I love the pattern of your iron railing,

Your quiet and melancholy night:

……

Three days later, Zeng Jize held the first negotiations with the representative of the Russian side, the acting foreign minister of Tsarist Russia, Gilles. The two-hour talks broke up unhappily and, in the words of the Russian newspapers the next day, "the two sides have very different positions on all issues, and hardly a word of consensus can be reached." ”

Before Zeng Jize set out, Ding Yuntong gave him a face-to-face lecture and carefully discussed the domestic and foreign situations facing Russia.

First of all, Russia has just experienced the Russian-Turkish war, and has suffered heavy losses, with hundreds of thousands of casualties, and is in urgent need of economic recuperation.

Second, the "Berlin Treaty" that had just been signed made Russia extremely dissatisfied with Germany, and Tsar Alexander II openly said that "the "Berlin Treaty" was an anti-Russian chorus led by Bismarck, which would also draw Russia's diplomatic attention.

Thirdly, the Russian railway in the east had just been repaired to Chelyabinsk, and the transportation in Central Asia was not convenient, and it was difficult to quickly use armed liliang in large quantities.

Zuihou, Russia had previously conquered the Kazakh Yuz tribes and Kokand, and forced Bukhara and Khiva into vassal, but scattered nomadic forces were still harassing Russian rule, and the tsar needed to consolidate his own occupation.

Judging from several points on the whole, Ding Yuntong came to the conclusion that Russia will seek to conclude the negotiations as soon as possible, and as long as it gains a little, Russia will not adopt a hardline policy. Of course, Ding Yuntong is based on his understanding of history in his previous life, and he naturally has a good understanding of the situation.

Zeng Jize originally had his own judgment on the situation, but he didn't expect the little emperor's views to be more profound and clear than him, which really made him marvel "Being in the Nine Palaces, knowing everything about the world", and couldn't help but believe some rumors in the officialdom such as "The little emperor is a real dragon, and the British will be longitudinal" and so on.

Zuihou, Ding Yuntong laid out several bottom lines for him to negotiate:

1. Ili must be recovered

2. Strive for land, but as a last resort, concessions can be made in areas west of the Khorgos River and east of Lake Jaisan.

3. The Xinjiang issue should be resolved separately and no other regions should be involved.

4. The "military expenses" can be paid symbolically, but in the end it shall not exceed 500,000 taels.

5. No clause shall involve the tax sovereignty of the Xinjiang region.

Ding Yuntong knows very well that with the strength he currently has, it is really not enough to "give up an inch of land and not give a penny" to Russia, and if the above goals can be achieved, it will be considered good compared to the historical process.

By early July, the Russian side had basically understood China's hardline position, Zeng Jize held his own point at the negotiating table, and the Chinese army in Xinjiang was also preparing for war. This made the Russian side feel very headache and surprise. In Russia's past experience, threats and intimidation alone were enough to bring China to its knees, but now China's attitude is unusually tough. Russia will still have the confidence to achieve its goals if it is willing to go out and make a big move, but now that there are difficulties in domestic and foreign affairs, is it worth it?

The differences in positions within the Russian side paused the negotiations for nearly a month, and in August, when Zeng Jize and Giles met again, they had already felt the softening of the Russian side's position, proving what the little emperor said before he set off: "The Russians will eventually work hard to find a lower step"

After Zeng Jize made some concessions, the two sides spent about a month and a half repeatedly discussing the details, and on several occasions they almost quarreled, and Gilles threatened to break up the talks. But Zeng Jize had a prediction of the true thoughts of the Russian side and remained unmoved.

In the end, after two and a half months of offensive and defensive battles, the two sides signed the Sino-Russian Treaty of St. Petersburg on August 17. There are 7 main contents

1. China recovered the Ili Jiucheng area.

2. China recognizes the area west of the Khorgos River and east of Lake Zaisan as Russian territory.

3. China paid the Russian side 500,000 taels of silver to express its gratitude to the Russian garrison for "managing Ili".

4. Russian businessmen trade in various cities in Xinjiang "duty-free for one year", and quasi-Russian businessmen who go to Suzhou (i.e., Jiayuguan) to trade, and the goods transported by Russia to the place are also "tax-free for one year". Russian traders can bring goods into China by land, and they can go to Tianjin through Zhangjiakou and Tongzhou as usual, or they can be transported from Tianjin to other ports and inland markets for sale.

5. Russia had to set up two consuls in Suzhou and Turpan, and five consuls in Kobdo, Uriya Sutai, Hami, Urumqi, and Gucheng.

6. The Russians can build shops and warehouses in the cities and Zhangjiakou. In addition to the first road from Kyakhta to Tianjin, two new routes were added to the land trade route: Nebuchu-Zhangjiakou-Tianjin and Kobdo-Zhangjiakou-Tianjin. Russian merchants are also allowed to sell goods after paying taxes on various places along the trade route, such as Tongzhou. At the same time, a transit checkpoint for Russian businessmen to trade in Xinjiang will be added.

7. Residents of Ili who wish to move to Russia and become Russian citizens shall be at their own convenience, and Chinese officials shall not be obstructed.

After the two sides signed, the treaty officially entered into force. At the celebratory reception afterwards, Russian Acting Foreign Minister Gilles toasted Zeng Jize: "I now believe that China also has talents. ”

The Western media were also greatly surprised, and lamented that "Russia has actually spit out the land it has swallowed." This is the first time in history"

In the imperial palace in Beijing, Ding Yuntong looked at the telegram and took a long breath.

Although a few days ago, he had already given instructions to Zeng Jize for instructions, but when he got the news of the final signing, his heart was really relieved. After all, the ceded territory has in fact been ruled by Russia for many years, and it is really unrealistic to take it back.

The importance of the Sino-Russian Treaty of St. Petersburg will gradually become apparent in the next decade or so. This treaty temporarily balanced China and Russia and temporarily stabilized the western part of China. This will allow the central government to devote its main energies, military investments, railway construction, and so on, to the east. The embarrassing situation of being attacked on two fronts was avoided. Until Russia was determined to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, China's back was safe.

After solving his worries, Ding Yuntong refocused his attention on the army, and the newly reorganized list of commanders of seven divisions and one brigade of the training army had already been drawn up and was about to be issued. These units were disrupted and reorganized, and for every general and soldier, they were faced with a new combination. The list of generals of the Guards will be secretly issued by the General Staff as a secret.

As for the Navy, it is now going to be operational.

Ding Yuntong originally purchased four Dingyuan-class ironclad ships and eight Zhiyuan-class fast cruisers to form the Qing fleet, and configured the rapid maneuvering of the cruisers with the firepower of the ironclad ships, which could torture Japan with great comfort.

But now it seems that this jihua is unrealistic, Dingyuan is more than 1.4 million taels, Zhiyuan is 850,000 taels, rough calculation, just buy warships and supporting ships, and hire some teachers, it will cost fifteen million. Not counting the expansion of military ports, batteries, ammunition reserves, personnel training, logistical support, repair and maintenance, etc. If it is hard to prop up, it is not enough to completely hollow out Huaxia Bank.

And before that, it is necessary to buy a few second-hand warships and build domestic warships to cope with the Sino-French war, which the finances simply cannot afford.

Thinking about it, we can only halve the number of the Qing fleet, as long as the timing is right, there is still a chance of victory against Japan, but it will not be as sure as the original Jihua.

As for Weishenme, he wanted to buy second-hand warships to deal with France, instead of directly relying on the Qing fleet to fight a decisive battle with France.

At this point, Ding Yuntong has a comprehensive consideration.

First of all, it is too late in time, not to mention anything else, it will take four years to build Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, and it will be too late at all, even if it is built, in view of the principle of neutrality, Britain and Germany will not deliver. Historically, since 1881, the French have been working in Vietnam.

Secondly, the early departure of the Qing fleet will make Japan vigilant and become forbearing, which will be detrimental to its overall strategy. It is better to use a second-hand Canadian fleet to deal with France, and at the same time paralyze Japan, Zuihou and let the Qing fleet give Japan a big surprise.

With this in mind, Ding Yuntong immediately sent a telegram to Li Fengbao, Xu Jianyin, and others in Germany, and Li Fengbao went to inspect the German Volkeng shipyard and expressed his intention to build ironclad ships.

Xu Jianyin, on the other hand, was responsible for hiring German mine experts and technicians to come to China to guide the production and use of mines. The early mines were basically anchor mines, first created by the Russians, but the development of Germany was very fast. In the Franco-Prussian War, although the French warships outnumbered Prussia by ten times, they did not dare to penetrate deep into Prussia in the Baltic Sea, precisely because Prussia placed a large number of mines along its coast.

He also sent an edict to the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau, asking Wei Han, a naval expert, to leave for England immediately, bypassing Hurd, and directly contacting the Armstrong shipyard. According to historical experience, the Armstrong shipyard was desperate to obtain an order from China, and as long as the Chinese side hinted that if it was not satisfied, it would give the order to Germany, which I believe would give some stimulation to the British, which would be very beneficial to the subsequent construction of the Zhiyuan-class cruisers.

At the same time, he sent a telegram to Guo Songtao and contacted the British government, expressing his willingness to buy British second-hand warships.

Ding Yuntong thought that during this period, the navy was changing with each passing day, and the speed of renewal was extremely fast, and it often fell behind as soon as it hit the water. Therefore, this kind of thing must be undesirable for the British government, selling warships that have been used for several years, and then using the money earned to build new ships, which is equivalent to spending other people's money to upgrade itself, how can it be so haode. For China, combat effectiveness can be quickly formed. More importantly, it was possible to ensure the acquisition of active warships before the Sino-French war. It can be said that everyone takes what they need, and I believe it will not be too difficult.

"As long as our navy and army are formed, why wait for you to attack France, I will directly strike first." Thinking like this, Ding Yuntong couldn't help but be full of pride.