Just as Shen Fu said, Zayadin conveyed Shen Fu's reasons to the representatives of the Tessie countries, which immediately caused a wave of chagrin and complaints.

But the representatives of most countries basically complained for a while, and then they stopped talking.

At most, he went back and instructed the media in his own country to try to exaggerate the cunning and threats of the Ming Dynasty.

But Lucia's representatives again felt the danger.

The chairman of the Lucian Imperial Council of Ministers, Yinwan Andreevich Wedemeyer, and the representative of the royal family, Prince Nicholas, felt that the actions of the Ming Dynasty threatened Lucia more than only the Ottomans.

The two said goodbye to the other delegates with deep apprehension.

Immediately after returning to the residence of the Lucia delegation, he went to Kutuzov, the representative of Lucia's troops.

Explain the received information to Kutuzov and let him analyze the current situation.

Kutuzov's mood has never changed much since the beginning of the peace talks.

Hearing that the Ming troops had officially entered Persia, he also found a reasonable but very perfunctory reason, and his face was already gloomy and he was about to squeeze out the water.

After Wedemeyer had finished speaking, Kutuzov came to his desk, on which were several maps spread out.

First open the full map of Lucia's Empire, then stretch out your hand and point to the eastern and southern regions of the map and say:

"There were three buffer states between Lucia and the Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Persia, the Khiva Khanate, and the Kazakh Khanate.

"Although these three countries are all potential vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, they are buffer states that the Ming Dynasty has set up on its own initiative to favor the Ming Dynasty.

"But objectively, they are also Lucia's buffer state to the Ming Dynasty.

"The existence of these three countries separates Lucia and Daming, so that there is no particularly long or sensitive border between the two sides.

"Daming's troops will not directly enter the Anxi Three Kingdoms, and Lucia does not need to set up heavy troops in these areas.

"Now that Persia has been accepted as a vassal state by the Ming Dynasty, the troops have directly entered the territory of the vassal state, and the previous situation has completely changed."

Prince Nikolai subconsciously asked:

"Will the Ming be able to attack our southern hinterland through the narrow passage along the Caspian coast?"

Hearing this, Kutuzov took out a map of the Caucasus.

Between the eastern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea, there is a narrow corridor in a northwest-southeast direction.

This corridor connects Tessie with the Great Food area.

Just passing through this corridor is equivalent to crossing the Caucasus Mountains, and you can go from Tessie to Dashi and from Dashi to Tessie.

The northwestern region of Persia, to which Baku belongs, later known as Azerbaijan, includes the southern half of this corridor.

It is a thousand kilometers from Tsaritsyn (Stalingrad), and after passing through the corridor there is the Great Plains, which is the southern granary of Lucia.

The Ming Army was directly stationed in this area, which made Lucia's sense of crisis skyrocket.

Even if you are not a professional military personnel, you can realize the danger, which is why Prince Nikolai asked this question.

Kutuzhov looked at the map and sighed and said:

"Of course the Ming can do this, but luckily, we Lucia are also in control of the northern section of the Caspian coastal corridor.

"In order to guard against the threat of the Ming Dynasty, we have long built three lines of defense and fortress cities in the three narrowest places in the corridor, Deerbet, Yinzberbash, and Petrovsk.

"In this era when defense is greater than offense, it is impossible for these fortresses to be forcibly breached by the Ming Dynasty.

"We just need to immediately increase our forces and strengthen our defenses and alerts.

The most dangerous situation, in fact, the Ming Dynasty "painted a gourd in the same way" and took the Kazakh Khanate as a vassal state. ”

Prince Nikolai seemed to have thought of something, and his expression suddenly became extremely ugly.

Wedemeyer had expected it, so nothing has changed now, just to hear Kutuzov's analysis.

Kutuzov looked at the reaction of the prince, also took out a map of the Kazakh region, and crossed the border between the two countries with his finger:

"The border between Lucia and the Kazakh Khanate is almost 3,000 kilometers long.

"The northernmost part of the territory of Kazakhstan, (this chapter is not finished!) )

Chapter 114 Ottoman's countdown, but it was Lucia who was uncomfortable

The shortest distance from the Arctic Ocean is only 1,200 kilometers, and here it is a large plain.

Moreover, Lucia's railway to the East was built almost along the Kazakh border.

"If the Ming Dynasty refers to Persia, it will directly accept Kazakhstan as a vassal state, and let the troops directly enter the northwest region of Kazakhstan.

"Attacking from the northwest of Kazakhstan to the north and cutting off the railway connecting Lucia to the East, the entire eastern part of the empire will become a huge "dumpling". ”

Wademeyer directly closed his eyes and shook his head vigorously:

"In the past hundred years, Daming has never taken the initiative to attack Lucia.

"So much so that we all let our guard down, and when the real threat resurfaces, it makes people feel cold."

No one asked why the railway should be built on the Kazakh border, or even the border of the Ming Dynasty.

Because the Xianbei region is too bitterly cold, Lucia's valuable land in the Xianbei region is near the border line with Daming and Kazakhstan.

Prince Nikolai recognized the reality and asked Kutuzhov with a sad face:

"General, what should we do now? In order to keep the eastern lands of the empire? ”

Kutuzov said with a straight face:

"There is no good way but to increase troops to the Kazakh border and be ready to take the initiative.

"If the Ming Dynasty makes Kazakhstan a vassal state and allows troops to enter Kazakhstan again, we must also enter it at the same time.

"Fortify the territory of Kazakhstan and protect our Eastern Railway, otherwise it is tantamount to abandoning the East."

Wademeyer's subconscious rhetorical question:

"That could mean a new war!"

Kutuzov said in a particularly serious tone:

"Even if it is a war, it must be done, and Kazakhstan must not be allowed to become a Ming vassal state, unless the northern part of Kazakhstan is ceded to us."

Wedemeyer directly retorted:

"That's impossible, we unilaterally provoke a war, and the Tessie countries may sit idly by, as they did now with the Ottomans."

Kutuzov stood up and said loudly:

"Then let His Majesty the Emperor give up the east of the Urals.

"I can basically expect that the Ming Dynasty gave us a permanent peace condition, which was to give up the east of the Urals.

"It is a huge mistake to challenge the Ming Dynasty for the sake of the so-called national self-esteem."

Wedemeyer was speechless because he understood that what Kutuzov said was right.

Prince Nicholas next to him was also full of sadness, because he was the natural leader of the Great Lucian nationalist group.

Eventually, Kutuzov and Vedmeyer wrote separate reports and sent them to Emperor Lucia Paul, who was in the rear.

Paul took the report of the two and looked at the several maps around him, and he was also extremely anxious.

Paul could not make an immediate decision and could only follow Kutuzov's suggestion to increase troops to the Persian and Kazakh borders.

Send the troops that were previously withdrawn to the border again, and at the same time draw more troops from the country to the border.

As for whether you want to actually do it in the end, let's wait until the time comes.

During the withdrawal of the troops of the Taixi countries, there were also Ming personnel to follow and supervise, and the reassembly of troops would of course be discovered immediately.

The number of Lucia border troops increased again, and of course they could not escape the reconnaissance of the Ming side.

The relevant news was quickly sent to the Ming court and the negotiation team.

The main members of the Shen Fu and negotiation team gathered again for a meeting.

As a plenipotentiary representative, Zhu Jingyuan, of course, will also come to attend.

Shen Fu explained all aspects of the situation, and Zhu Jingyuan asked directly about the situation:

"What should we usually do when an adversary sends us more troops on our border, or if we violate an agreement? Want to protest? ”

Shen Fu shook his head directly and said:

"According to the tradition left by Emperor Shizu, we usually ignore it verbally, but we have to be-for-tat in action, and we will increase the number of troops when the other side increases, and we will increase more."

Zhu Jingyuan was speechless for a while:

"Then what are you talking about, we will also increase our troops."

Dai Quheng, a representative of the Minister of Military Aircraft who accompanied him, opened his mouth to explain:

(This chapter is not finished!) )

Chapter 114 Ottoman's countdown, but it was Lucia who was uncomfortable

"Your Highness, Lucia has increased troops on the Kazakh border, not on the Daming border, and now Kazakhstan is not our vassal state."

Zhu Jingyuan reacted:

"Yes, we can't increase our troops in the void, so the question we need to discuss now is actually whether to turn Kazakhstan into a vassal state.

"If we turn Kazakhstan into a vassal state, Lucia's reaction may be even more violent.

"With the character of the Lucian people, it is possible to invade Kazakhstan again."

Shen Fu nodded lightly and said:

"Yes, this is what we need to determine in front of us and Jingshi."

Zhu Jingyuan held his cheeks and thought for a while:

"Maozi is different from Osman, if we go toe-to-toe in one step, the other side may be angry and recklessly open fire.

"Therefore, we have to cut five cities today and ten cities tomorrow, and gradually exert pressure, and we cannot directly set up a Kazakh vassal state.

"We can send military advisers to Kazakhstan, we can lease weapons and equipment from Kazakhstan and let Kazakhstan increase its own troops.

"Let the Kazakhs resist Maozi's threat, and then we will set up the Khiva vassal state ourselves, and let the troops pass through the Khiva vassal to the Urals."

The Khiva Khanate was located in the southern part of the Kazakh Khanate, bordering Lucia on a very short but crucial border with the lower reaches of the Ural River.

Zhu Jingyuan's plan is to copy Lucia's back road through the Khiva Khanate behind Kazakhstan.

Dai Quheng felt his eyes light up when he heard it:

"His Highness's plan is feasible, and the Military Aircraft Department has made a similar plan before, allowing Kazakhstan to cover our direct attack on the Ural River."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded lightly and said:

"Since there is a similar plan, let's prepare, but the time should be slightly longer, and the time for the establishment of the Khiva domain will be delayed a little.

"Delay until the negotiations with Lucia begin, until we are more prepared."

Dai Quheng immediately nodded in agreement.

In this way, the direction of action was basically determined, and everyone discussed more details.

Finally, the minutes of the meeting and the final rough plan were sent to the Military Aircraft Department of the Beijing Division, so that they could further refine and implement them.

In the next few days, the Kazakh Khanate, prompted by the Ming Dynasty, immediately increased its troops to the border, and at the same time began to recruit more troops in the country.

The trains of the Ming into the territory of Kazakhstan became busier and began to transport a large number of military equipment and military staff officers into it.

The Ming Dynasty did not send troops directly, and the Lucians, who were already hesitant, were even more unlikely to make a decision directly.

The Lucians could only continue the Kazakh confrontation on the Kazakh border.

For most of the next half month, it was the Osman who nominally waited for the deadline, but in fact it was the Lucia who suffered the most.

The rest of the Tessie countries also feel that they are living under the clouds of war, and they don't know when the war will break out again.

It wasn't until April 2, the 34th year of Taiping in the Ming Dynasty, that there was finally relieved news.

The Ottoman Sultan accepted the Ming Dynasty's demands, gave up all lands south of the Anatolian Plateau, and signed a permanent armistice with the Ming Dynasty.

The talks, which had been stalled for a month, were finally able to continue.

On the morning of April 3, representatives of Daming and Taixi countries gathered again in the Wenhua Hall of the Imperial Palace of Haijiao.

Compared with the last meeting, there was one more Persian Suleiman prince among the representatives of the Ming side, that is, the original Suleiman prince.

The king of Persia became a prince, and the prince became a prince.

The honorary title was lowered, but Suleiman did not resist it, but was very happy.

It turns out that the so-called kings and princes are all wild roads, and when no one cares, they call themselves the so-called kings and princes.

is not comparable to the son of the Duke of the Kingdom canonized by the Ming Dynasty.

Although Suleiman was not the main representative, he could only sit behind the representative of the Ming court, and he was not particularly conspicuous at the scene.

But Suleiman is now very excited that he is finally a member of the Ming camp.

Even if he couldn't do anything but sit here, Suleiman felt a special honor.

(This chapter is not finished!) )

Chapter 114 Ottoman's countdown, but it was Lucia who was uncomfortable

After the new round of talks officially began, the Ottoman Grand Vizir Zayaden was the first to speak, announcing the Sultan's official response and accepting the conditions of the Ming Dynasty.

Everyone has already received the news, and now they are all patiently listening, and then waiting for the response from the Ming side.

Shen Fu looked up and looked up, Zhu Jingyuan pondered the language and said:

"Since the Ottoman state can accept my Ming's request, then my Ming is willing to conclude a peace treaty with the Ottomans.

"And to provide Osman with assistance to the best of his ability from the date of the conclusion of the treaty.

"But now there's another problem.

"Has the Ottoman side considered waiting for all the negotiations of other countries to be over, and signing a contract with the Ming as a member of the anti-Ming alliance?

"Or just now sign a peace agreement with Daming alone.

"What this king needs to remind is that this king thinks that other countries may not be able to come up with conditions that make the Ming willing to sign an indefinite peace treaty."

When Zhu Jingyuan asked this question, the Ottoman delegates did not react, but the representatives of the Tessie countries were stunned.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two contracting methods?

If the alliance as a whole signs a contract with the Ming Dynasty, then the Ming Dynasty will tear up the peace treaty, which is a collective breach of the contract for all members of the original anti-Ming alliance.

If the contract is signed separately, if the Ming Dynasty may tear up the peace treaty with the Ottomans alone.

But the premise is Zhu Jingyuan's last sentence.

Now the Ottomans had an indefinite peace treaty that other countries might not be able to get.

If the Ottomans had pursued a collective indefinite peace with the anti-Ming alliance, subsequent negotiations would have become very difficult.

If the Ottomans had not pursued a collective indefinite peace, the individual indefinite promises now received would have diminished in quality, and the price now paid would have become even less worthwhile.

Zhu Jingyuan's question has actually hinted at Osmans in private.

Grand Vizir Jaden had also thought it through.

The Ottomans had lost faith in the Ctessi and could not resist the temptation to work together against Lucia and Austria.

So now Zayadine gave a direct answer without much pause:

"The Ottomans are willing to sign a separate contract with the Ming Dynasty, sign a peace treaty as soon as possible, and end all conflicts as soon as possible."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded with great satisfaction:

"Okay, then let the relevant personnel formally draw up the peace treaty document, and at the same time, the Ottoman state will withdraw from the anti-Ming alliance."

Chapter 114 Ottoman's countdown, but it was Lucia who was uncomfortable