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Xinhua reduced the war reparations by 10 million taels of silver at one time, which was already a big concession. After all, Xinhua also spent a lot of military spending in this war. The wealth that Xinhua had collected from the occupied territories was also not much. If it weren't for the wealth that Xinhua had accumulated over the years, it would probably not have been able to support this protracted war. Long Yufei, the king of Xinhua, accepted it if he wanted to see it, and it was inseparable from the financial pressure. The so-called cannon sounds 10,000 taels of gold, and the war is money from a certain point of view!

Saishana shook his head, for the Manchus, there was not much difference between forty million and fifty million at all. Even if Xinhua reduced the war reparations to 40 million taels of silver, the Manchu government still couldn't get it.

"Lord Lin, 40 million taels of silver, we can't afford it. Last year, the Qing Dynasty's fiscal revenue was only more than 50 million taels of silver. After the loss of territory south of the Yangtze River, the Qing Dynasty's fiscal revenues would decline further. Even if all the financial revenue is lost to Xinhuaguo, it is far from enough! Sezanne said with a wry smile.

"Lord Sai, we Mingren don't say secret words. Although the Manchu government's financial revenue was not much, wasn't that wealth in the hands of the princes and nobles? Not to mention 40 million taels of silver, even if it is 400 million taels of silver, you can easily take it out! Forty million taels of silver, this is already our bottom line! Lin Zihao said without giving an inch. Being able to make a concession of 10 million taels of silver is already the sincerity of Xinhuaguo. If you want to make a little more concessions, that's impossible.

The differences between the two sides became apparent, and the negotiations reached an impasse. Time. The atmosphere of the negotiations became somewhat solemn.

"Lord Lin, I have an idea, I don't know if it can be done." Liang Baochang, governor of Guangdong Province of Xinhuaguo, said suddenly.

"Lord Liang, what do you have to say, let's hear it." Lin Zihao said.

"Lord Lin, since the Manchu government can't come up with so much war reparations, we can use other things to offset the war reparations. For example, land or people. Liang Baochang said.

Lin Zihao's eyes lit up. This is a very good way, because Xinhua is relatively lacking in both land and population. If the Manchus could trade population and land for that, that would be a good idea. Of course. The precondition was that the Manchu government could accept it.

"No, we can't accept this request." Mu Zhang'a hurriedly refused. Fools know that population is the most important guarantee, and there is not enough of it. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was really finished. As for the land. The Manchus have already lost so much land, and if they lose some more territory, then the two of them may not be able to return to Beijing.

Lin Zihao frowned, and began to think about how to squeeze the maximum benefits from the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which is also the fundamental purpose of this negotiation: "Lord Sai, Lord Mu, we are willing to use 10 million taels of silver to buy the five provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Plateau and Xinjiang. These five provinces. All are barren land and sparsely populated places. The price of 10 million taels of silver is already very fair. ”

"No, it's absolutely not going to work!" Cezanne's head shook like a rattle. Although the five provinces mentioned by Lin Zihao are all border areas, they have never been valued by the Manchus. However, these provinces are vast, and when combined, they are at least about 3 million square kilometers. In this way, it only sells for three taels of silver per square kilometer, which is simply too cheap.

"Lord Sai, these provinces are all unimportant regions, and it is useless for the imperial court to hold them in their hands, so it is better to sell them to Xinhua Kingdom. Of course, they have to raise the price a little more. Mu Zhang'a whispered. He thinks it's a good deal. Anyway, the Manchus couldn't come up with war reparations, and since Xinhua wanted these barren provinces, it was better to sell them to them.

"Lord Lin, Shaanxi is a land in Guanzhong, and it is impossible to sell it to Xinhuaguo. However, the two provinces of Plateau and Qinghai can be sold to Xinhuaguo. The price given by Xinhuaguo is too low, and we will pay 20 million taels of silver for the two provinces. In addition, even if we reach an agreement on this aspect, we will have to leave it to His Majesty to make the final decision. Sezanne said. After all, the sale of territory to Xinhua is a big deal, and even if he and Mu Zhang'a are the ministers in charge of this negotiation, they have no authority to make such a decision.

"The two provinces of Plateau and Qinghai, except for the snow-capped mountains are grasslands, and the people are fierce, and it is not of much use for us to buy them in Xinhuaguo. Plus, the price is too high. Lin Zihao shook his head. Although in his eyes, these two provinces are completely worth the price, he still wants to keep the price down as much as possible.

"Lord Lin, this is already very cheap." Sezanne said.

In the end, after some argument and bargaining, the two sides reached an agreement to sell the two provinces of Gaoyuan and Qinghai to Xinhua for 10 million taels of silver. As for the other provinces, Seshana said that he would have to ask Beijing for instructions before he could give a reply. After all, it is ridiculous to use land to offset war reparations. Sezanne was afraid that he would anger Beijing because of this, and in that case, his career would come to an end.

Subsequently, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding, which clarified the terms agreed upon by the two sides in this negotiation. As long as the rulers of both sides agree, a formal treaty can be signed.

The conditions agreed between the two sides were: first, that the Manchu government recognize the rule of the New China Empire over the three provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu, which were located south of the Yangtze River. Second, the Manchu government compensated Xinhua for war losses and military expenses, totaling 40 million taels of silver. The 40,000,000 taels of silver could be paid in cash and for the price of the land. Among them, the two provinces of Plateau and Qinghai were valued at 10 million taels of silver. Third, after the signing of the formal treaty, the state of war between Xinhua and the Manchu Qing ended and the two countries returned to friendly neighbors and would no longer use force in the future.

An agreement was finally reached, which was a relief to both sides. Ultimately, however, the formal treaty could not be signed until the rulers of both sides agreed. Representatives of the two sides sent copies of the treaty back for deliberation, striving to reach an agreement as soon as possible and then sign the treaty.

Manila was close to Guangzhou, and the Xinhua Navy sent a copy of the treaty to Manila within three days by speedboat.

Long Yufei, the king of Xinhua, convened a group of cabinet and military officials to review the treaty, and he was quite satisfied with the treaty. In addition to occupying the area south of the Yangtze River, he also gained an additional Sichuan, which made Long Yufei very happy. After all, Sichuan is a province with a large population, and the reputation of the land of abundance is even more well-known at home and abroad, and the geographical location of Sichuan is very important. As for the war reparations, the war reparations of 40 million taels of silver, although not much, can also alleviate the current financial pressure of Xinhuaguo. If the Manchus could not come up with such a large amount of war reparations and exchange land for it, the Xinhua side would be able to accept it. After all, as a traverser, Long Yufei is more able to understand the importance of these lands. It may seem like a barren land, but in fact it is rich in resources. Coupled with the importance of location, it would be great if you could buy it at a low price. Long Yufei even instructed Lin Zihao that if the Manchus agreed, he could buy a little more land. However, in the end, this idea was not realized, and the rulers of the Manchu government were not fools.

The treaty sent back to Beijing by the Manchu delegation, even if it took the fastest speed, was only sent to Beijing half a month later.

After Emperor Xianfeng read the content of the treaty, he scolded Saishan'a and Mu Zhang'a for losing their power and humiliating the country, and even clamored to behead the two of them. It's just that no one pays attention to Emperor Xianfeng's opinion. The regent who is really in power, Aisin Jueluo. Mianyu and Minister of Military Aircraft Wen Cheng, although they felt that the conditions of Xinhua were very harsh, they were not unacceptable. After all, now the Manchus were completely at a disadvantage, and if the conditions of the Xinhua State were rejected, then war would most likely break out. This was very unfavorable for the Manchus.

The regent Aisin Jueluo. After discussion, Mianyu and Wen Cheng, the Minister of Military Aircraft, instructed Saishana and Mu Zhang'a that they could agree to the treaty of Xinhua, but the treaty had to be revised to a certain extent. In terms of land, the south of the Yangtze River and Sichuan can be given to Xinhua. After all, except for Sichuan, the rest of the lands were under the control of the Xinhua Army, and even if the Manchus wanted to take it back, they were powerless. Therefore, I can only pinch my nose and admit it. However, in terms of war reparations, they wanted to reduce the war reparations to 30 million taels of silver, and did not agree to use land to offset the war reparations. The funds for the indemnity, they will find a way, whether it is drawn from the treasury or the inner treasury, or from the princes and nobles, 30 million taels of silver can always be gathered.

After receiving instructions from Beijing, Saishan-a and Mu Zhang'a held talks with Lin Zihao, the foreign minister of Xinhua, and Liang Baochang, the governor of Guangdong Province. After some verbal and instructive discussions, the two sides reached an agreement. The Xinhua side agreed to the Manchu Qing's request to reduce the war indemnity to 30 million taels of silver. However, the Xinhua side proposed that these war reparations must be paid within three months after the signing of the treaty, otherwise, Xinhua would be insincere to the Manchu government, and then the war would break out again! (To be continued......)