Chapter 205: The Ministers' Quarrel of Words (1)

On June 3, 1879, former U.S. President Grant traveled to Tianjin, and Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, was like a treasure, and he did his best to be a landlord.

Grant is like a spring breeze, and he hates to see each other late.

At the end of the day, Hongzhang used the spirit of wine to explain the annexation of the Ryukyus by the Japanese people, and implored Grant to mediate in the name of the former president of the United States of America.

Grant took the lead and went to mediate for more than a month, and sent a letter to Li Hongzhang: The Ryukyu matter mentioned by Guizhongtang has been negotiated with the Japanese state many times, and it is uncertain whether the two countries can shake hands and make peace.

Hongzhang received the letter and was worried.

Besides, the minister of the Great Qing Dynasty sent Yan Chonghou to St. Petersburg for two months. The Russians took pity on their fatigue and did their best to be the landlords.

The place where the Chong family stayed was comparable to the imperial palace; Eating and drinking Lazar are also luxurious. Chong was flattered, and within half a year, he met with the Russians thirty-one times, and Chong agreed to all the other discussions, except for the Ili city.

Yili is obtained, and he is full of ambition, and he will quickly prepare for the delivery of Yili.

The Empress Dowager Cixi took over the music, was furious, and said: "Respect this covenant, although you have Ili, the surrounding areas of Yicheng, west of the Khorgos River, east of the Zaisan River, and north and south of the Turks River, all belong to the Russians! If this agreement is signed, I will only have a lonely city! Quickly and sublimely, don't sign a contract!

Swift proclamation: Connect the noble telegram, which says that the charter is now decided. Chonghou is scheduled to get up on the 8th of August and go to the Black Sea to paint, and then return to Beijing from Nanyang to resume his life.

The summary of the eighteen paragraphs of the treaty in question is hereby given and reviewed in detail. The reimbursement section is not too much, trade is too much, and the demarcation is an enumeration of drawbacks, so it is urgent to plan and arrange and quickly remedy.

The noble envoy to Russia should pay attention to the return of Ili, and those who have a bearing on the overall situation of the country in terms of boundary affairs and business should carefully consider the trial and deal with it, and calculate everything in order.

And the telegram is sublime: if the letter is followed, the damage has been too much, it hinders the overall situation, and it is absolutely not feasible. The Minister should do the same, in particular, and seek to argue with him; It is incomprehensible to let them ask for it, and make rash decisions!

According to paragraph 7 of the discussion, after China took over Ili, the western part of the Khorgos River and the Tekes River south of the Ili Mountains were assigned to Russia.

As mentioned in the eighth paragraph, the boundary site of Tacheng is to be slightly changed, and it is the boundary agreed upon in the third year of Tongzhi; and a lot of lots were demarcated in the west and south; Since then, Ili has become isolated, and it is difficult to control and defend; In addition, in the land of Shannan, there are two important roads leading to the eight cities in the south, which are related to the overall situation of returning to Xinjiang, especially not shallow.

In the tenth paragraph, in addition to the consulates in Kashgar and Kulun in the Old Testament, seven consulates were added to Jiayuguan, Uriya Sutai, Kobdo, Hami, Turpan, Urumqi, and Gucheng, and they also wanted to set up consuls at their discretion.

In the fourteenth paragraph, there are Russian merchants transporting Russian goods, going to Zhangjiakou and Jiayuguan, going to Tianjin and Hankou, passing through Tongzhou, Xi'an, and Hanzhong, and transporting native goods back to China on the same road. We should try to redeem ourselves in order to maintain the overall situation.

Jin Shun and Xilun have been in the northwest for a long time, they are familiar with the border situation, and they are well aware of the situation in the western Xinjiang, and how to arrange the trade on the western road can cause less harm and more benefits, and there must be trade-offs.

As for Zhangjiakou and Hankou, which are under the jurisdiction of the South and Beiyang sub-jurisdictions, all trade affairs should also be coordinated with each other, and the terms of boundary affairs and commerce should be carefully reviewed by Jinshun and Xilun.

As stated separately by the Prime Minister's Yamen, the boundary affairs were particularly important, and he sent a demarcation map to Chonghou, saying that if China could still manage to arrange it, it should be properly handled; If it is not allowed, then it is particularly advisable for the border defense to prepare various words in a timely manner, and the matter is very important as soon as it is in and out of the matter.

Supervise and handle military affairs, and the power of affairs should be unified, especially when the overall situation should be coordinated, and the interests of the affairs should be reviewed and discussed together, and the secret should be carried out quickly. The original folds were copied for reading. This is known by the secret edicts of the six hundred miles.

Chonghou received the order, and called back in fear: the contract has been signed, and it is difficult to recover.

The Empress Dowager Cixi took over the music, was furious, and issued another edict: Chonghou and the Russian business office to hand over the matter of Ili, rashly decided to draw a charge, and when the edict was ordered to plan a secret performance.

Today, according to the resumption of Chen border affairs, the state of affairs, business and the country that hinder the people and the disease of the country are thoughtful and thoughtful, Xun is an old opinion.

Te Chonghou has now decided to draw a mortgage, and the opportunity has been missed, so he can only urgently remedy it and try to save it. In order to comply with yesterday's edict, how to handle business and boundary affairs from beginning to end, or how to arrange all border affairs without the risk of elbows and armpits, detailed planning, and proper deliberation.

Zuo Zongtang, the minister of Qincha and the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, received the decree and immediately went up: there are three things that are undesirable to respect this covenant:

1. Ili is the territory of our country, and the Russian army has taken advantage of the situation to invade, ravage our border people, and plunder our property. Now that I have demanded the land back, the Russian side has even demanded compensation for my military expenses, and such a bandit act is intolerable to international justice.

2. In the name of demarcating the border between the two countries, the Russian side has plundered land; Our side did not fire a single bullet, and it is very unreasonable to openly cut off land and people.

3. The so-called trade of the Russian side is aimed at profit, and its government has set up a wide range of consuls to go deep into our hinterland to explore the truth and the truth.

I have not heard of the legacy, but I have decided to donate the important land, and whatever I want, such as throwing a dog to the bone, the bone is still devoured. Since they have obeyed their covenants, the injustice of the Russians has made it difficult to hope that they will keep their covenants and last. Since the current trouble, what is the worry of the other day! Today's plan, when the first salute and then the soldier, the fold is discussed again, and the euphemism is used; The second decisive battle is a battle formation, tenacity and victory.

The Ili general Jin Shun took Zongtang's horse as the head, and also said: The terms discussed between Chonghou and Russia will not be allowed. That is, to abolish the covenant and reinstate the capable people to discuss it; If the discussion fails, the whole army will ask for it!

Shen Baozhen, the governor of Liangjiang, also played: It is absolutely unfeasible to respect the covenant, if this covenant is signed, the gains outweigh the losses, and the so-called winners actually have nothing to gain, and the consequences are unknown.

Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, received the order, and he immediately went up and sparse: it is a covenant made by Chonghou, although there are troubles in the future, if it is not allowed, the troubles will be more serious. The right to act cheaply, and to act on behalf of the country. If you allow it first and then turn it, its song is mine. Suddenly turn the tables, and the provocation will start from me.

The border between China and Russia is about 10,000 miles, and once the military provocation is launched, it is impossible to prevent it, and it is feared that its demands will not be obtained only according to the current proposal. Britain, Germany, France, Japan and other countries will wait for the opportunity to move.

After Hongzhang played, the more he thought about it, the more panicked he became, and sent a letter to Prime Minister Yamen: The Russian emperor missed the reconciliation between the two countries for many years, so he agreed to return Ili; If I discuss the change, I will not allow it. Looking at the Chongzhi Covenant again, those who suffered a little were only in the open space between the two mountains south of Ili. If you break with it rashly because of this, it is deeply worrying. I implore my king's ministers to preside over the plan, and not to be confused by the rumors.

Huang Tifang, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, received the order and immediately impeached Chonghou for misleading the country, and he could set an example if he did not punish his crimes.

The Department of Economic Affairs and Economic Affairs also opposed the worship of the covenant, and said: The Russians are insatiable, and this covenant is not allowed, and it can be said that it is extremely wrong and stupid. If this is the case, the empty name of the word Ili will be gained, and the reality of 20,000 miles of Western Xinjiang will be lost. Therefore, the cardinal did not dare to speak out about the changer, for fear that once the contract was changed, it might provoke a provocation.