1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2448
If the representatives of the Manchu and Ming Dynasties are allowed to continue arguing like this, it may not be possible to reach a conclusion in three to five months. After all, the hatred between the two countries has lasted for generations, and it is not enough to say a few words on the scene. Take it easily.As the organizer of the multi-nation talks, Haihan naturally has to assume the responsibility of controlling the negotiation process, and cannot sit back and watch the representatives of the two countries divert the talks.

Tao Donglai stopped the dispute between the two in a timely manner: "Since the two of you are willing to reward your face and come to Jinzhou, you must both hope to win the interests of your country from the talks, but the quarrel cannot solve the problem. Let’s set out the conditions and see which parts can seek common ground while reserving differences. It’s all here, and resolving differences through negotiation is the purpose of our talks.”

Jin Shangxian observed the words and expressions, and immediately responded with admiration: "Then I don't know what Master Tao thinks about this?"

Tao Donglai said: "The goal of our country is to enable the countries present to achieve peaceful coexistence with each other. Judging from the regional situation in recent years, it is actually very simple to achieve this. As long as the Qing Dynasty is willing to stop the war in an all-round way, then all countries will There will be peace.”

Tao Donglai pointed directly at Man Qing, but this was something Shang Kexi expected. After all, among the four countries present, Haihan, Ming, and North Korea had all concluded alliances, and they could be regarded as partners in the same camp, while Man Qing was The common opponents of these three countries, if the Manchu and Qing dynasties do not stop fighting, this peace is indeed unlikely to be realized.

Shang Kexi looked at the representatives of the other two countries, and they all nodded slightly, thinking that Tao Donglai's words were reasonable.But he will not be swayed by the attitudes of the three countries, and he has not slackened at the moment: "Lord Tao, the reason why our country is willing to cease war and negotiate peace with your country is because our two countries originally had no enmity, let alone any There are conflicts of interest, and it will not benefit each other if our two countries continue to fight. But the situation in the other two countries is different, if the original disputes are not resolved first, how can we talk about reconciliation?"

Shang Kexi paused for a moment, and then said: "It is possible to cease the war, but North Korea and the Ming Dynasty must cede land and pay compensation to make up for our country's war losses over the years!"

"Ceding the land for compensation? You really think too much." Jin Shangxian now has the backing of Haihan, and he speaks with full confidence: "Master Shang, this is different from the past. Our country, North Korea, is no longer what you want. So soon Forgot what you suffered in the past two years? If your country refuses to accept it, try it again by crossing the Yalu River!"

Tao Donglai and the others laughed inwardly when they heard this, thinking that the old North Korean man was very good at taking advantage of the situation to stomp people, as if it was North Korea's own credit for repelling the Qing army back then.At that time, if Haihan hadn't sent troops to help in time, even if the Korean country had not been destroyed, it would have been completely reduced to a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty as it was in the original history.

The Manchu Qing did suffer heavy losses in that war. So far two years have passed, and the Manchu Qing has never carried out any large-scale military operations against North Korea. Instead, it has concentrated its forces on the side of Ming Dynasty.After all, there was already a Haihan army in North Korea, and it would be a great risk to attack North Korea. However, Ming never let the Haihan army help in the battle, so it was obviously much easier and more enjoyable to clean up.As long as the Manchu Qing did not get dizzy, they would definitely not send troops to attack North Korea right now.

Of course, Huang Taiji probably never imagined that his own restraint would become the rampant capital of the North Koreans, and he would even use it to humiliate his subordinates who took pictures of Jinzhou participating in the peace talks.

When Shang Kexi heard Jin Shangxian's words, he naturally wouldn't have a good face, and replied in a deep voice: "Master Jin has such a big tone, isn't he afraid of causing trouble for your country? As far as I know, your country owed you the war the year before last." More than half of the war debt owed has not been repaid, if there is another war, can your country really survive it?"

This statement also directly hit the sore spot of North Korea. As Kim Sang-heon was about to refute, Tao Donglai was already ahead of him and said, "You two don't need to argue. Don't forget what the real purpose of our meeting here today is. It's expensive!"

The negotiations had just begun, and Tao Donglai was already having some headaches. The Manchus and the Liangzi of the other two countries had formed too deep a relationship, and the hatred was not so easy to dissolve. As long as they met, they would continue to argue. The two countries of Ming and North Korea were brought in.With the presence of representatives from these two countries, the smell of gunpowder rose within a few words, and then the topic quickly deviated from the direction. If the conversation continued like this, the progress of the entire meeting would indeed be slowed down a lot.

But without the participation of Ming and North Korea, the peace talks with the Manchus would not have much practical significance, because only when regional peace is achieved, can Haihan effectively reduce the various resources invested in the north for war preparations, and the elite Troops were mobilized to other areas to expand the territory of influence.So even though it was very troublesome, Tao Donglai still had to find a way to bring the current situation back to a normal rhythm.

The whole morning's negotiation was almost spent in constant disputes among the other three parties. Although Tao Donglai repeatedly tried to bring the topic back, the effect was not satisfactory. As a place to compete with others in eloquence.

And Daming and North Korea did not fight against the Manchu Qing with the same enemy. Since North Korea changed their family and took refuge in Haihan, the two countries have turned their faces.Although they were allies on the surface, when North Korea was invaded by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Daming did not send troops to rescue as before, and when Daming encountered the same trouble, North Korea did not even express a symbolic sympathy.The meeting in Jinzhou this time also did not give each other face at all, and all kinds of ridicule against each other continued.

"Jin Shangxian really wants to prove himself!" Back in the waiting room, Qian Tiandun said with emotion: "He is so motivated today, who would have thought that he represented the weakest country Woolen cloth?"

"He is not trying to prove himself, he is showing us North Korea's position and gaining our trust." Tao Donglai sees it more clearly: "Every word and deed of him is to show that North Korea has left no back road."

Wang Tom replied: "You mean, he deliberately wants to completely turn against the other two countries?"

Tao Donglai nodded and said, "Kim Sang-heon actually understands very clearly that North Korea is unable to protect itself and can only rely on us to provide asylum. But if a peace agreement is reached, then we will definitely not maintain such a large-scale garrison in the north. This is considered a potential risk to North Korea. But he also knows that the truce is the will of our country. It cannot be prevented, but can only be assisted. Therefore, before that, he must ensure that the relationship between North Korea and our country is stable enough. Otherwise, the Qing Dynasty will tear it up in the future. The armistice agreement, the first unlucky thing may be North Korea."

"But the three families are arguing too much, and we can't get off topic after talking for a few words. We have to find a way to control the situation." Qian Tiandun said: "At least we can't let them speak together, otherwise we won't be able to continue the discussion at all."

Tao Donglai nodded and said, "You're right. They can't continue to quarrel in the afternoon meeting, and the rules must be established first."

The representatives of these four countries all have their own thoughts, and naturally they will not eat lunch together, and they will all settle in their respective lounges.After a two-hour lunch break, the talks resumed.

At the beginning of the afternoon talks, Tao Donglai set a new rule, each mission spoke in turn, and during their speaking time, other missions should not take the initiative to interrupt, so as not to waste time here.Naturally, Jin Shangxian agreed immediately. Although Shang Kexi and Yang Sichang did not want to be manipulated by the Haihan people, the problem Tao Donglai mentioned did exist. They came all the way here for a meeting, not just for the sake of quarreling. .Everyone has tasks on them, and if they cannot complete them, it will be difficult to explain to their bosses after returning home.

Seeing that the other three parties agreed with his proposal, Tao Donglai made a speech on behalf of Haihan first, proposing a plan for reconciliation between the countries.

Haihan's plan is mainly divided into three parts, divided into three directions: Jinzhou, North Korea and Daming. The content is actually very simple, that is, the Manchu Qing and the three countries reached peace agreements respectively to stop all hostile military actions on the border.And these three countries already have an alliance, so there is no need to conclude a new agreement.However, Tao Donglai specifically emphasized that the premise of reaching an agreement is comprehensive peace. If the Qing Dynasty fails to reconcile with any country, then Haihan will not recognize the validity of the peace agreement.

"Let me emphasize once again that only the peace agreement signed by the four countries will be considered effective and implemented by our country." Tao Donglai repeated the key points before finishing his speech.

Shang Kexi secretly calculated Tao Donglai's conditions in his heart.For North Korea and Ming Dynasty, Haihan only asked to sign a formal peace agreement without any additional conditions, but for Jinzhou, he asked the Qing army to withdraw from the north of the Jinzhou Isthmus line of defense. Formalized troops must not be stationed as a buffer zone between the two countries.On this basis, the two countries can discuss the opening of commercial and trade exchanges and other content in the future, so as to normalize the relationship between the two countries as soon as possible.

As far as Haihan is concerned, Tao Donglai’s conditions are much more subtle than Chen Yixin’s when he opened his mouth. If he also insists on letting the Manchus cede the entire Liaodong Peninsula, it is gratifying and there is no way to go any further. talked about.If you just give up a buffer zone of [-] miles wide, you will just retreat to the Fuzhouwei-Erlong Mountain line in the north, such a small distance, you can even make up your mind and agree to it without reporting it.Moreover, Tao Dong said that the trade between the two countries can be opened in the future, which is considered a very sincere condition in Shang Kexi's view. If the trade with Haihan can be realized, the significance to the Manchu Qing may be even more important than the armistice itself .

However, Haihan insisted that the four countries sign a peace agreement together, which made Manchu Qing's original plan to exclude Ming and North Korea from the agreement in vain.Shang Kexi was not in a hurry to make a statement, and planned to listen to the opinions of the other two countries before making a judgment.

After Tao Dong finished speaking, he signaled Yang Sichang to continue speaking.Yang Sichang put down the teacup in his hand unhurriedly, got up and began to state the terms of the peace talks with Ming Dynasty.

Yang Sichang said that there was no war between the Ming Dynasty and North Korea and Haihan, so the key lies with the Manchu Qing.The Ming Dynasty demanded that the Manchu Qing should return the Liaodong capital area directly controlled by the imperial court, including Guangningwei, Gaizhouwei, Fuzhouwei, etc., but he wisely did not mention Jinzhouwei, which is currently actually controlled by Haihan. .

After returning these areas to Ming, Ming can consider officially recognizing the Qing, and sign a peace agreement with the Qing to establish diplomatic relations based on state-to-state relations.As for the wealth and population that were robbed by the Manchus over the years, Yang Sichang probably knew that it was impossible to get them back, and he didn't waste his time begging for them.
From a moral point of view, the conditions raised by Yang Sichang are not too much. It can even be said that Daming suffered a big loss and gave up the Nuergan capital area under the actual control of the Manchu Qing, which is equivalent to admitting the Manchu Qing in the Northeast in disguise dominance.However, the land he asked for from the Qing Dynasty was larger than the land that Chen Yixin had deliberately offered at a sky-high price, and even included Shenyang City, which had been designated as the capital by the Qing Dynasty. Obviously, this was unlikely to be realized.

Tao Donglai shook his head slightly when he heard this, thinking that even Daming could not take advantage of the slightest advantage on the battlefield, how could it be possible to get back these areas occupied by the opponent by force through negotiations.But Shang Kexi didn't have much expression, as if he didn't listen to Yang Sichang's words at all.

In Shang Kexi's view, Yang Sichang's conditions were wishful thinking.These areas are all things that the Manchu Qing has swallowed and digested most of them. How could they be handed over to Daming, let alone the capital of the Qing Dynasty? Such unrealistic conditions can only be stated based on the comparison of strengths.

After Yang Sichang finished speaking, it was Shang Kexi's turn.The conditions he offered on behalf of the Manchu Qing were also very clear. First of all, North Korea had to cede Uiju on the east bank of the Yalu River to the Manchu Qing, and compensate 200 million taels of silver as compensation for the soldiers who were killed and injured in North Korea by the Manchu Qing. He heard Kim Sang-heon Rolling his eyes again and again, if there were no rules and restrictions, he would have opened his mouth and scolded Shang Kexi for wishful thinking.

As for Daming, Shang Kexi’s request can be said to be tit-for-tat with Yang Sichang. He asked Daming to cede Ningyuanwei and Shanhaiwei to the west of Guangningwei to the Manchu Qing, and open the border to allow trade. In addition, he also demanded another 200 million taels of compensation Silver was given to the Qing Dynasty as war compensation.

As for Haihan, Shang Kexi asked Haihan not to loot the people and ships of the Manchus in the Liaodong Peninsula. It seems that the Manchus have suffered enough from Haihan's raids and harassment wars in the past few years, and they are already too much trouble. I want to get rid of this trouble once and for all through this peace talk.But Shang Kexi did not ask Haihan for war reparations or other places. After thinking about it, it would be useless to ask for such a request.

(End of this chapter)