Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 425 Tsarist Russia: Trading territory for allies!
Looking at the report sent from Vienna, Napoleon III was somewhat tempted.

If France can play a greater role in this peace talk, it will surely enable France to gain greater voice in the Near East and even more benefits.

Now that the goal of breaking up the Holy Alliance has been achieved, France should start to consider its own interests more.

However, after thinking for a long time, Napoleon III finally spoke.

"Reply to Vienna."

"Tell Garcia that the Crimean War is not over yet."

"However, in terms of diplomacy, he can continue to have contact with Tsarist Russia..."

The current situation in Crimea does not mean that France does not want to cease fire and negotiate.

In fact, after the Allied Forces captured Sevastopol, Napoleon III wanted to quit while he was ahead.

They were not willing to weaken Tsarist Russia too much, so that Britain would become the only powerful country in the Near East.

However, the stance taken by the UK is quite tough!

British Prime Minister Palmerston publicly stated more than once that the war must continue.

Napoleon III did not want to offend his British allies, so he had to continue to raise the stakes.

However, this did not prevent him from instructing diplomats to contact Tsarist Russia and prepare for peace talks in advance.

Upon hearing this, the attendant immediately took his leave and went to convey Napoleon III's order.

Napoleon III continued to accompany his beloved Queen Eugenie and continued to enjoy the dinner.

……

Tsarist Russia, St. Petersburg!
When the news of the Russian army's victory in Crimea came, the whole of St. Petersburg fell into carnival.

Countless people spontaneously took to the streets to cheer for the victory of the empire.

"Long live the Tsar!"

"Long live the Empire!"

"Kill all the British fags!"

"..."

Standing by the window facing the street, Gorchakov looked at the jubilant crowd on the street outside, but he felt no joy in his heart.

Instead, it was a solemn scene!
As the best diplomat of Tsarist Russia at that time, and even the only diplomat in Europe who could compete with Bismarck, Gorchakov had a very keen political sense.

He knew that after this rare victory, His Majesty the Tsar should be in trouble now.

It would be best if the Russian counterattack this time was only a small victory.

His Majesty the Tsar can take advantage of this victory to quit while he is ahead and negotiate with the Allied Forces.

Discuss peace talks and end the war in Crimea.

If the Russian army fails in this counterattack, there is nothing to say, just ask for peace.

With the sudden death of Nicholas I as a foundation, even if the new tsar asked for peace with Britain and France and gave up some interests, there would not be any major chaos under the rule.

The final result was that Tsarist Russia would simply get more gains during the peace talks.

But this time, the counterattack launched by Tsarist Russia in Crimea was not a small victory, not a failure, but a big victory!

A complete and total victory!
The army even pushed the front line directly from Kerch back to the Yalta line.

This rare victory greatly boosted the confidence of Tsarist Russia in the Crimean War.

This meant that the biggest obstacle for Tsarist Russia to negotiate peace was not the attitude of Britain and France, but the overwhelming public opinion at home.

If they asked for peace even after winning the battle, then the angry Russians might even turn against us, lead their troops into St. Petersburg and seize the throne of the Tsar.

But not seeking peace is impossible.

The main reason why the Russian army was able to counterattack so smoothly this time was that they took advantage of the rear-loading weapons provided by the Tang Dynasty.

But the problem is that you have to buy the rear-loading weapons.

Transportation is inconvenient and the price is extremely high.

It is not easy for the Russian army to replenish its supplies after they have run out.

If the war continued to drag on, Tsarist Russia would inevitably be outlasted by Britain and France.

So, summing is the best option!

But the current situation of Tsarist Russia is that it should seek peace, but it cannot.

That is why Gorchakov felt that His Majesty the Tsar might be in trouble.

More importantly, after this counterattack, the former Tsar Nicholas I seemed to have died in vain...

This is very embarrassing!

Turning his gaze away from the window, Gorchakov picked up the glass in front of him and took a sip.

Feeling the strength of the vodka in his hand, Gorchakov slowly exhaled and felt his mind becoming much clearer.

At this moment, accompanied by the sound of leather shoes stepping on the wooden floor, a middle-aged man wearing thick fur came up to Gorchakov.

He sat down, picked up the glass and took a sip without saying a word.

Gorchakov glanced at the middle-aged man and asked.

"Well? Has His Majesty made any decision?"

The middle-aged man in front of him was named Cortes. He was a good friend of Gorchakov and a close confidant of the new Tsar Alexander II.

Cortes slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and then spoke.

"The latest news from Vienna, Austria, is that both Britain and France have rejected our diplomatic attempts at peace talks."

"His Majesty the Tsar has made the decision to send more troops to Crimea and continue fighting the British and French forces in Crimea."

After that, Cortes looked at Gorchakov deeply and continued.

"So, His Majesty the Tsar needs you to go to East Asia."

"On behalf of the Tsar, seeking an alliance with the ancient kingdom of the East."

"Only with the support of the Tang Kingdom can we continue to fight in Crimea."

Tsarist Russia’s current industrial capacity is really too poor.

After obtaining the arms purchased from the Tang Dynasty, Tsarist Russia did try to imitate them.

But, I just can’t do it.

As a result, the Russian Empire gave up the idea of ​​imitating breech-loading weapons. However, if they could not imitate them themselves, the price would be too expensive to buy.

Therefore, the clever guys in the Tsarist Russian leadership came up with a bold idea.

By trying to win over the Tang Dynasty to form an alliance with Tsarist Russia, they could get arms at a lower price, or even get them for free...

Are we all allies? Why not give me some for free?
However, this kind of thing is absolutely impossible for ordinary diplomats to accomplish.

Therefore, the heavy burden fell on the shoulders of Gorchakov, the best diplomat of Tsarist Russia.

Hearing this, Gorchakov couldn't help but twitch his mouth, but he still spoke.

"Okay, I can go!"

"But it's hard to say whether the deal can be concluded."

"We don't have anything that the Tang people urgently need. Instead, we unilaterally need Tang's military support."

"Under this premise, forming an alliance..."

Gorchakov was not optimistic about this so-called alliance.

Hearing this, Cortes leaned forward, put his face close to Gorchakov, and said.

"His Majesty the Tsar said that as long as the Tang Dynasty is willing to form an alliance with the Empire."

"Then the Empire can make certain concessions on the territorial issues in the Far East Siberia direction."

When Gorchakov heard this, he had only one thought in his mind.

Exchange land for allies?

Isn't this a loss of sovereignty and humiliation of the country? !

But when I think about it carefully, I feel like there is nothing wrong with it.

The land in Far East Siberia is truly a rotten place in this era.

There is no way to even develop it!
The biggest output each year is some fur, nothing more.

Siberia is far less important than Crimea.

It seems possible to exchange interests in Crimea for concessions in Siberia.

Thinking of this, Gorchakov nodded vigorously.

"I'll do my best!"

……

Capital.

Ministry of Justice Prison!
As winter approached, life in prison became increasingly difficult.

It was snowing heavily outside and it was freezing cold.

The prison was also very cold, with the chill mixed with dampness penetrating into people's bones.

Xingzhen sat in the corner of the cell, trembling slightly.

The expression on one face was visibly pale.

Beside her, her child was too hungry to cry loudly and could only sob softly.

In the cell next door, Borjigit was imprisoned.

Borjigit, who had enjoyed a lifetime of luxury, was imprisoned for the first time. After long-term torture, she was almost going crazy.

She sat there with her hair disheveled, and would pounce on and bite anyone who approached her.

Even the jailers had to be careful when bringing her food.

I’m afraid of being bitten by this crazy woman!
There was a clanging sound of iron chains rubbing against each other, and the prison door was opened from the outside.

There were barks from the police dog tied at the prison entrance.

A ray of sunlight shone through the open door and into the prison dungeon, as if to pierce through the darkness and bring a ray of light to this dark world.

Xingzhen narrowed her eyes and looked over there.

Soon, a group of soldiers walked in from the gate.

The team of soldiers walked to the outside of the cell where Xingzhen and others were, glanced at them coldly, and then said.

"Xingzhen, right?"

"Your time has come!"

"Come with us!"

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and ordered people to come.

Amid the rattling sound of iron chains, the door of the cell was opened from the outside.

Xingzhen wanted to resist, but how could she be a match for these strong soldiers?
After a few moments, the whole person was escorted out of the cell.

In another cell, Borjigit saw this scene and made a hoarse sound in his throat as if he had discovered something interesting.

A sinister and neurotic smile appeared on his face, covered by messy hair.

"Ho ho..."

But soon, Borjigit was also taken out of prison.

On the way, she wanted to go crazy and attack the escorting Tang army soldiers, but was kicked several times and finally calmed down.

Xingzhen let out a desperate cry, but was still dragged out.

In the cell, her son saw his mother being dragged away, and he used up his last bit of strength to burst into tears.

But this doesn't change anything!
Xingzhen was dragged out of the prison and forced into a prison van.

A soldier came up to ask.

"Monitor, what should we do with that child?"

"No instructions from above!"

The squad leader heard this, stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Bring people here!"

Upon hearing this, several soldiers entered the cell, carried out the crying child, and handed him over to their squad leader.

(End of this chapter)