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Although Tsar Alexander II was young and vigorous, he was not a fool. No fool can become the emperor of such a powerful empire as Russia. However, he has a deep hatred for the Chinese Empire. If it were not for the Chinese Empire, Russia would not have fallen to the point it is now. He seems to have forgotten that this war was provoked by Russia at all. If it had not been for Russia's invasion of China, this war would not have broken out, and Russia would not have lost millions of square kilometers of land and millions of elite troops.

It took a long time for Tsar Alexander II to calm down his anger: "With our relationship with the Chinese Empire, they may wish we were defeated by the Ottoman Turkish Empire!" ”

Indeed, although now Russia and the Chinese Empire have ceased war and achieved peace. However, everyone knows that this is nothing more than a temporary truce between the two countries. The Chinese Empire's army did not continue its offensive against Russia because the logistical supply lines were too long. If they can overcome this difficulty, maybe the war will continue forever. In the future, there will inevitably be a war between the two countries. Therefore, it is very beneficial for the Chinese Empire to let the Ottoman Turkish Empire weaken Russia now.

"Your Majesty, there is indeed a possibility. However, we have no other way but to try. The Chinese are very greedy, especially their emperor. If we can pay to satisfy them, they will trade with us. Said the Foreign Minister, Count Niechel Rodie. Although China and Russia are enemies. But if Russia gains enough, its enemies will become friends.

"Benefits!" Tsar Alexander II frowned. He knows. This means that he is about to lose a lot of his fortune again. Last time, the payment of 120 million pounds of war reparations to the Chinese Empire cost the imperial family more than 900 tons of gold. To redeem those prisoners of war this time, he doesn't know how much gold he will lose again!

"Your Majesty, we have no choice. The war situation in the south is because of the winter. Stopped for a moment. But wait until spring arrives, if we are not ready. The Ottoman Empire will not give us another chance. We have to hurry. No matter how much benefit is paid now, it is also for the sake of Russia. If Russia is destroyed, we will really be finished! Zhukovsky persuaded. He knew that he would let the Tsar use the wealth of the royal family to trade with the Chinese Empire. This made it difficult for Alexander II to accept. But. There is no other way.

Tsar Alexander II's face was constantly changing, as if he was considering whether he should pay the money again.

"Duke Gorchakov, if we exchange back prisoners of war, will we be able to defeat the Ottoman Turkish Empire?" Alexander II asked. In the end, the prisoners of war were redeemed, but in the end they still lost the battle. That's more than worth the loss.

"Your Majesty, if we can negotiate with the Chinese Empire now. Redeem those prisoners of war. Wait until next summer and we will be able to launch a counterattack against the Ottoman Turkish Empire. I will let the army, in the spring, hold the line as much as possible to buy time for reinforcements to be prepared. If our negotiations with the Chinese Empire are successful, next year we will end this war with victory. Duke Gorchakov said.

Alexander II nodded, he still believed in Duke Gorchakov's judgment.

"Your Majesty, more importantly. These redeemed prisoners of war and the reconstituted army could be used not only on the Ottoman Turkish Empire, but also on the Chinese Empire. We and the Chinese Empire will definitely have a war in the future. After we redeem the prisoners of war, we can restore Russia's strength to the best of its ability, and also have the strength to resist in the face of the aggressive attack of the Chinese Empire! Duke Gorchakov continued.

Alexander II's eyes lit up. It really hurts him to use the wealth of the royal family to redeem those prisoners of war. However, this statement of Duke Gorchakov satisfied him. If these prisoners of war were armed and defeated the Ottoman Empire, they would be able to continue fighting against the Chinese Empire when Russia had regained its strength. This is tantamount to letting the Chinese Empire let the tiger return to the mountains!

"Alright, Count Niechel Rodie, get ready for the Chinese Empire to negotiate! Try to redeem the captured soldiers. In addition, those weapons and equipment captured by the Chinese Empire, since they can't use them, just sell them to us! Alexander II said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Count Neschel Rodie nodded, and Alexander II finally agreed, much to his relief.

"However, in the negotiations, we must be careful not to allow the Chinese Empire to blackmail us at will. We hope to be able to redeem those prisoners of war, but that doesn't mean we're willing to be wronged! Alexander II specifically advised.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will instruct Minister Putiyatin." Count Nieschel Rodie replied.

After Tsar Alexander II nodded, Count Niechel Rody hurriedly contacted the Russian minister to China, Putiyatin, and asked Putiyatin to negotiate with the Chinese Empire and reach an agreement on the Russian ransom of those prisoners of war. In addition, Count Neschel Rody also specially explained that in the process of negotiation, it is necessary to keep the price as low as possible, so as not to suffer greater losses for Russia.

After receiving the telegram, the Russian minister to China, Putiyatin, shook his head and smiled bitterly. With his understanding of the Chinese Empire, he knew that the Chinese Empire would definitely not let go of this opportunity to blackmail Russia. This was sent to the door by the Russians themselves, and the butcher's knife of the Chinese Empire must have been raised high, waiting to slaughter a piece of fat from the Russians.

On December 26, 1847, just after Christmas, Minister Putiyatin went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Empire to formally propose to the Chinese Empire the ransom of the prisoners of war. Christmas is a Western holiday, and in Guangzhou, there is no festive atmosphere at all, and only the envoys and businessmen of Guangzhou will celebrate it.

Upon arrival at the Imperial Foreign Office, Minister Putiyatin was taken to the office of Foreign Secretary Lin Zihao by the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Regarding the visit of Minister Putiyatin, Lin Zihao did not know the purpose of the other party. However, there does not seem to be much to do with the Chinese Empire and Russia.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, good morning. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet me! Minister Putiyatin smiled all over his face. He knew that soon Lin Zihao would be appointed as the prime minister of the empire, and that would be the first person among the civil officials of the empire. Therefore, the envoys of various countries in China hope to have a good relationship with Lin Zihao when he is still the foreign minister. After all, as the Chinese Empire grew stronger, countries also paid more and more attention to their relationship with the Chinese Empire.

"Hello, Your Excellency! You may be seated. Lin Zihao stood up and shook hands with Putiyating.

After the secretary asked someone to bring coffee, Lin Zihao and Putiyating also stopped greeting.

"Your Excellency, what are you here this time?" Lin Zihao asked straight to the point.

"Your Excellency, it is so. The war between our two countries is over. Once again, peace has been achieved between our two countries, and that is something to be happy about. However, in China, we still have hundreds of thousands of captured soldiers and their families, and they all hope that they can return to China and be reunited with their families as soon as possible. Therefore, I hope that your country, Your Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, will do your best to release those captured soldiers so that they can return home. Minister Putiyatin said with a sincere face.

"The problem with prisoners of war?" Lin Zihao frowned. He didn't expect that Minister Putiyatin had come for this matter. Originally, they all thought that Russia had forgotten about the issue of prisoners of war.

In the war between the Chinese Empire and Russia, more than 800,000 Russian soldiers were captured. After these prisoners of war were captured, they were sent to the hinterland of China. Now, they are braving the bitter cold to play their part on the various infrastructure construction sites of the Empire. These Russians, more hardy, were far better suited to work in the winter than the subjects of the empire and the natives captured in East and Southeast Asia. The progress of the Empire's railways and highways was rapid, thanks to the Russian prisoners of war.

Originally, the empire was prepared to take the opportunity to make a lot of money from the Russians on the basis of the war reparations if they wanted to redeem these prisoners of war in the last negotiations. The more than 900 tons of gold that were brought back from Russia last time blinded the eyes of the ministers and generals! They didn't expect that Russia, which seemed to be poor, would be so rich. Therefore, the emperor and the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have already sharpened their knives and are ready to slaughter the Russians again. But the Russians did not mention this matter, which made the emperor Long Yufei and his ministers very disappointed. But fortunately, these Russians did a very good job on the construction site, and they made up for it.

Now, the Russians have offered to return those prisoners of war. Lin Zihao didn't have to think about it to know that it must have been in the war with the Ottoman Turkish Empire that the Russians suffered a big loss again. That's why I had to find a way to get back those prisoners of war from the Chinese Empire. Then, this undoubtedly gave the Chinese Empire an opportunity to blackmail Russia fiercely.

"Your Excellency, why didn't you raise the question of prisoners of war last time?" Lin Zihao asked.

"Your Excellency, because of the invasion of Russia by the Ottoman Empire, our main focus is on dealing with the invasion of the Ottoman Empire. So, we ignored the issue! (To be continued......)