Saint petersburg.

Sergei, who took over the errand, found his accomplices and told them about the situation.

"Oh, this time, as long as we can convince the empire to sell the Alaska colony to the Hexingen consortium, we can get a sum of money, if we can help them pay less, we will take more, here is the advance deposit of 20,000, as long as we complete the task, we can get 100,000 rubles, and we can earn 10,000 more for every one million less."

Sergey said with a check for 20,000 rubles previously sent by the Heshingen consortium.

"Your Excellency, isn't this Heixinggen Consortium too picky? Such a big piece of land, they just want to pay so much? A minister said.

"What do you know about this? That hellish place in Alaska, you should know in your hearts, it's a place where birds don't, and it's worthless, and you really expect someone to take over! That is, the boss of this Heixingen consortium has a unique hobby, so he is willing to spend a lot of money to take over. Sergei said.

"Your Excellency, isn't the Empire contacting the Yankees to buy the Alaska colony? Americans should be able to pay a higher price! Someone asked.

Sergei said viciously: "Even if the Americans want to buy this land, they are not willing, and if we hadn't supported the Americans when the United States was independent, they wouldn't want to deal with us at all." ”

"So even if the Americans took over the Alaska colony because of the situation back then, what does this have to do with us? Won't the Americans pay us alone? ”

"Now, we persuade the empire to sell the Alaska colony to the Heshingen consortium, not only can the empire get rid of the burden of Alaska, but we can also receive an additional part of the payment, so why not do such a win-win thing?"

……

Hermitage.

Sergei and others are proposing to Tsar Alexander II about the sale of Alaska.

Alexander II looked at Sergei and the others curiously and said, "Count Sergei, the sale of Alaska, but only a few people know where the news of this Black Singen consortium came from. ”

"Your Majesty, in fact, this is normal, after all, we have discussed this matter with several royal families in Europe, and behind the Heixingen consortium is the Prussian Heixingen Prince Ernst, and it is not difficult to obtain this news in his capacity." Sergei replied unhurriedly.

Alexander II agreed with this reason, nodded and said: "Well, in this way, it is true. Then he said, "So what price are they going to offer?" ”

"Five million rubles."

"What? Five million rubles, I heard you right! This is absolutely impossible, it is really wishful thinking. Alexander II said incredulously.

Seeing this, Sergei hurriedly explained.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, in fact, what the Black Singen Consortium wants to buy is not the entire Alaska colony, but the part north of 56 degrees north latitude, and the land south of 56 degrees north latitude is still part of the empire."

At this point, Alexander II was immediately intrigued, knowing that Alaska is in the cold zone, and only the further south it is, the more suitable it is for human habitation.

Previously, Russia tried to migrate to Alaska in order to develop Alaska, but the bad weather made it basically impossible to live in the north, so most of these immigrants were based in the islands with a more oceanic climate and the relatively warm southern land.

And the Heixingen consortium actually gave up the warm south and chose the vast snowfields in the north instead, which made Alexander II puzzled.

"Why did they abandon the territory of Alaska south of 56 degrees? Instead choose the north with a harsh climate? Alexander II asked curiously.

"Your Majesty, this is because the Hexingen consortium has the same embarrassment as us, that is, there are two potential opponents on the North American continent who are too strong, an Englishman and an American." Sergey explained.

"The Heixingen Consortium just wants to find a region to engage in the fur business, so the Heixingen Consortium does not really need a relatively warm south, but chooses the barren and harsh climate of the north. This avoids the greed of the British. ”

Alexander II, who heard someone say for the first time that the British were greedy, was still very happy, after all, in the international community, it has always been the British, French and Austrian who say that the Russians are insatiable.

"You mean that this Heixingen consortium is using the empire as a shield!"

"Your Majesty, this seems to me to be a mutually beneficial thing, there is no one who takes advantage of whom, do you think about what is the purpose of our colonization of Alaska back then and the sale of Alaska now?" Sergei asked rhetorically.

"Of course, the purpose of colonizing Alaska was to develop and expand in North America, but now the sale of Alaska is a complete burden on this land, and there are British people eyeing it." Alexander II said.

"That's right, Your Majesty, if we really sell Alaska to the Americans, then in the future we will lose our foothold in the Americas forever, and by selling Alaska to the Heshingen Consortium, we will not only retain the relatively habitable area of Alaska, but also the future empire will have its energy restored, and we can use South Alaska as a base to continue to expand southward. As for the threat of the British, after we sell off parts of Alaska, we can move the population of Alaska to South Alaska, which is controlled by the Empire, south of the 56th parallel, and with a certain population, even if the British want to swallow the Empire's South Alaska with the power of the British in North America, they will have to break a mouthful of tiger teeth. ”

Alexander II agreed with this, and in fact the British were very strict in their restrictions on Russia, and since the Crimean War, Russia has been temporarily powerless against the British.

That's why the idea of selling Alaska, the bridgehead of the Americas, came about, in fact, with the virtues of the Russians, the harsh climate is nothing at all, and so many places in Siberia with harsh environments are not swallowed by Russia in one gulp.

"In short, Your Majesty, it doesn't hurt us to sell North Alaska to the Black Singen Consortium, even if the price is lower, after all, compared to losing the bridgehead in the Americas, it is nothing to make less money at the moment."

Sergei's statement was echoed by other profiteering ministers, which further shook Alexander II's mind.

After all, the wealth of North America is visible to the naked eye for the Russians, especially the rapid development of the United States in recent years, which shows the fertility of the American land.

If it had not experienced the defeat of the Crimea, even if it had lost money every year, Russia would not have given up the opportunity to expand into North America.

Now that someone is willing to buy the North Alaska region, it greatly reduces the pressure on the Russians in the Americas.

The Alaska region south of 56 degrees north latitude is located in the southeast corner of the Alaska colony, mainly archipelago and mountainous terrain, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometers, which is really easy for Russia to defend.

And it's closer to the heart of Canada and the United States, where northern North America is dotted with snowy tundra and forests. Thousands of miles of uninhabited people is a true portrayal of northern North America.

This place, which Ernst deliberately left for the Russians, is not only located at the southernmost point of the Alaskan colony, but also has the Alaskan Warm Current, the climate conditions are the best in Alaska, and at the same time this place has no important resources.

Compared to Juneau, the gold land of Alaska, and some of the nearby oil-producing areas were not in the southeast corner of Alaska, Ernst would have left the tail of the entire southeast of Alaska to the Russians for his future with Canada and the United States.