The sun never sets in America

Chapter 290 Han-Russia: Land Treaty and the Caucasus

In St. Petersburg at the end of July, although it is still summer, everyone feels like winter.

Just this morning, the British-Chinese coalition captured Kiev and captured most of Ukraine, completely blocking the Russian army's retreat channel.

Since then, the Balkan Peninsula, which was originally "certain of victory", has become a real isolated island, and it is very likely that more than 200,000 Russian troops will be lost.

This was a fatal blow to Russia, which had already lost more than 300,000 troops.

In the Winter Palace at this time, Nicholas had completely lost the courage he had when he launched the war a few months ago, and he also lost the "high-spirited" domineering spirit he had after conquering the Balkans.

Some are just middle-aged men who feel a deep "feeling of powerlessness" after being "out of their depth".

This feeling was like a knife piercing Nicholas's chest, making him unable to breathe.

In the original time and space, after the defeat of the war, Nikolai chose to commit suicide because he could not bear the pressure. Now Nikolai actually has a tendency to do so, but the pressure of reality prevents him from "getting out" of this predicament so easily. , can only choose to fight to the end.

"what!!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

"please calm!!"

"His Majesty……"

In the study room, Nicholas, who was reading the battle report just now, started to "howl" as if he was possessed.

The maids and attendants outside the door immediately ran in to "comfort" him.

Just like coaxing a child, in the end, it only stabilizes temporarily.

When Nikolai's eyes were "red" and he was breathing "heavy", he felt as if he had killed someone.

The attendants around him did not dare to speak. After all, for them, if something "wrong" happened to His Majesty the Tsar, they would not end well.

I can only wait quietly for him to "wake up".

In the end, Nicholas recovered on his own, and the first thing he did when he woke up was:

"How many troops are there in the country? Go quickly and call the ministers over!!"

Yes, for Nicholas, the army is his "lifeblood", and he needs to know the "property" situation. Only in this way can he avoid risks.

In the Caucasus battlefield, after a long period of "friction" battle.

The Russian and Austrian armies actually achieved some results. It was nothing more than how many mountain passes you took and how many "mountain fortresses" I lost.

But this means nothing to the total of 150,000 troops on both sides. It can even be said that the war has never really been fought.

The reason why the two sides did not fight was not only due to the poor mountainous terrain restrictions in the Caucasus, but also because of the battlefield situation.

The cost of fighting a large-scale war in mountainous areas is much higher than that in plain areas.

Moreover, it is difficult to use those cannons in normal times. Here, small-caliber artillery is the real king.

Even in some mountain cols with "weird" terrain, grenades are the king.

Often a grenade thrown from the top of a hill can be thrown into the middle of the road.

This kind of weird road only exists in Afghanistan, but here you can see it.

The Caucasus region, in the words of Caucasus Commander Situ Junting:

"A region composed of high mountains has a vast area, many ethnic groups, and strong folk customs. It is basically a gathering place for bandits on the mountain tops."

"To govern a place like this, you basically rely on two things, a machete and honey. If you tell them about benevolence and righteousness, they won't listen, and they may even think you are stupid. As for what some domestic newspapers say about the simple folk customs in mountainous areas, anyway, I am I have never seen such simple folk customs using native guns to rob military supplies!!"

(When I first arrived, a certain tribe snatched a passing military vehicle and killed several heavy soldiers. After a wave of killings, they stopped.)

"All in all, this ghost place is not easy to fight in. There are twists and turns everywhere. It is easy to get lost and it is troublesome to fight. The enemy only needs to drill into the top of the mountain and it will be difficult to find."

"If you want to gain a foothold here, you must have good dealings with the local tribes. After all, these locals are the real owners here."

This is a message written by Situ Junting to the cabinet.

The whole article uses a lot of vernacular. Originally, according to the practice of Han civil servants, almost no one wrote in this kind of vernacular, but who made Liu Peng recently "on a whim" to engage in vernacular style and advocate speaking vernacular?

It's just that this thing is a matter of benevolence and wisdom. After all, the current Han State is not the Chinese state of later generations, and there will be no idea that classical Chinese is inferior to vernacular, or even abolishing Chinese characters.

On the contrary, the Han Dynasty at this time was the country that most safeguarded Han culture. It can be seen from the official official documents and memorials, which were mainly written in classical Chinese. After all, if they used vernacular, the civil servants really could not afford to lose this person.

(The vernacular at this time was mostly used in newspapers in the Han Dynasty, and even in literary works, formal and literate works were generally written in classical Chinese)

Of course, this does not include military attachés. After all, for military attaches, it is better to speak in vernacular rather than "literary" classical Chinese.

After all, everyone is here to fight, not to take the imperial examination.

Armenia, a region under the Ottoman Caucasus, or in other words, all of it. After all, after losing Georgia and even Azerbaijan, there was actually not much left for the Ottomans in the entire Caucasus.

At this time, a scene often appears on the streets of Armenia, with Armenian women wearing summer clothes and their Han "boyfriends".

When this combination of Asian women and men walks on the street, except for some Armenian "young people" who will feel angry, others will smile kindly.

After all, for those Armenians who have lived in "barrenness" all their lives, these Han people who came from afar are really rich. Not only do they have a lot of "Joaquin", but they also have some that they have never seen or eaten before. Used merchandise.

After all, Armenia is an inland region, or in a mountainous area like the Caucasus. The roads are not very smooth to begin with. Products such as bicycles that have become popular in the world island are not even that many. After all, there are a lot of "taxes" within the Ottoman Empire.

And "luxury goods" such as watches, which were only slowly becoming popular in Han Dynasty, were even more out of reach.

To the Armenians, the Han people, or Han soldiers, are like a "turtle" who has seen the world, and a young woman who has not been out of the village for decades. This young woman is naturally attracted to the "heroic figure" who passes by her door every day. "Sassy" interested the young man who was talented in poetry and calligraphy.

Of course, for those Turks, it is also a good thing. After all, there is a "sacrifice" of Armenian beauties.

This group of Han soldiers will not "harm" their own people, right?

On a hilltop dozens of kilometers away, artillery battles were going on day after day.

Boom boom! !

Several 55mm artillery shells hit the hilltop opposite, and the Russian army on the opposite side also began to fight back.

In the end, after several rounds of shelling, no one suffered any casualties. When fighting in this kind of terrain, unless it is a big fight, small fights are basically hide and seek.

See who catches whom! !

For the Han army, the Caucasus was not the main strategic direction. In addition, it was too close to the British and it was basically impossible to have too much contact. So in essence, it was still "dawdling around."

He sent a telegram to the military department:

"When it comes to Caucasus, you can just hold it off, no need to work hard!!"

Since it's procrastination, it's just a waste of time.

This method of saving time and ammunition was warmly welcomed by the Han army.

The Han army currently stationed in the Caucasus, after supplementing some Japanese soldiers, still has about 14,000 troops.

These 14,000 people basically maintain "zero casualties" and consume thousands of artillery shells every day.

The reason for maintaining consumption is, firstly, that it is more expensive to transport it back to the country, and secondly, because the Ottomans pay the bill.

(Ottoman borrowed more than 400 million yuan from Han with the next five years of tariffs as collateral)

The Ottoman Empire, despite being like Dacheng, is still very wealthy, and its annual fiscal revenue is among the top five in the world.

When the artillery battle was over, the artillerymen who had completed their "work" stretched themselves and then began to withdraw the artillery. This was the most tiring job besides erecting artillery.

After the artillery was put away, several brown-haired teenagers wearing linen clothes ran over and reached out for candy.

Looking at these "Chechen" teenagers, the artillery captain "twitched" his mouth, and finally took out a few "Blue Cat" toffees and gave them to the little guys who had tipped them off.

(There are many ethnic groups in the Caucasus, mostly mixed)

The boy who took the toffee shouted a lame "thank you" happily, and finally ran away, just like when they came.

After the artillery was pulled down the mountain by mules, they walked around an unknown mountain road for several miles and returned to their base, an Armenian village.

The reason why we don't go to Chechnya is because the Chechen people are dishonest and always want their "benefits".

Last time, a few Chechen "bearded men" stopped them and hoped that they would sell cannon.

Finally, with "scolding" and "threats", this "farce" ended.

However, the impression that Chechens are unreliable has been deeply rooted in people's hearts, so much so that many troops now hold back when they hear that today's guides are Chechens. After all, these guys are too wild.

In the Caucasus, there is no shortage of ethnic groups that can fight, but there are not many ethnic groups like the Chechens who ride horses and carry swords and "play" everywhere. This group of people is, at best, a mountain people, but at worst, they are actually a group of mountain bandits.

The Han army's approach to these "dishonest" bandits has always been "tough".

After all, these guys' limited brains can only hear this.

…………

At night, the weather in the Caucasus gradually turns cooler, no longer as warm as during the day, but giving people a cold feeling.

Just like the mountains here, "lonely" and "barren".

Under the bonfire, the Armenian girl wore a flowered hat and danced a skirt dance, which provoked "praise" from the Han soldiers.

Captain Wu of the artillery team is a middle-aged man of thirty-five years old. At this age, he is still a captain, and the battalion commander is the head.

Captain Wu leaned under the big tree and looked at the young men and women opposite, with a smile on his lips, as if he was missing his youth.

For this small mountain village, they were not very adaptable at first. After all, the recruitment was mainly on the west coast. There are many big cities here. It is difficult for these urbanites to accept a life without running water and using dry toilets.

Fortunately, everyone is "life-threatening" and doesn't care about these little details.

However, the poverty in the Caucasus still shocks these "urban young people". For them, it doesn't matter that there is no running water or flush toilets. After all, this is a mountainous area.

However, even supplies are lacking, and cigarettes are even regarded as "hard currency" in the local area.

Although it is an exaggeration, this is the Caucasus. This is a mountainous area with inconvenient transportation, not a plain. It is no exaggeration to say that a bag of tea here sells for several times.

Here, the young people of the Han Army truly felt another world. There were no telegraphs, no theaters, no parks, no cartoons, and no high-rise buildings.

Even rubber shoes are considered a treasure. This kind of place gives Han Chinese young people an "unreal" feeling.

After all, in their impression, this is how people are born.

Why is there anyone? ?

When the Han soldiers took the comics sent from China "across the ocean" and read them with great pleasure, these Caucasian people could only look at them with "curiosity" while using their rough hands to ask for a few in exchange for them. Grain toffee.

(Some large local households like Chinese products and will exchange grain for them)

Even where the Han army went, there was a burst of "economic prosperity". Although it was short-lived, it also allowed the local people to feel the benefits of the "occupying army".

In order to satisfy the "appetite" of these Han soldiers, the Logistics Department sent more than hundreds of thousands of comic books, thousands of tons of toffee, and even some military supplies including bicycles, tobacco and alcohol.

Naturally, they cannot consume all these things themselves. In the Black Sea, in Ukraine, and even in the Caucasus, Han products flow to the black market, bringing a little "shock" from the Americas to the locals.

Captain Wu's mind "flashed" with some interesting things that happened recently, and finally entered the room with a "Caucasian specialty" in his arms.

.............................................

A manor on the outskirts of Paris, this secluded manor has been used as the location for "negotiations" for the fourth time, and it even has an exclusive feel.

"Your Excellency, we cannot accept the consequences of losing Crimea and even Ukraine, which would make the Russian Empire lose the entire Eastern Europe."

"I think this is not what the British Empire wants to see??"

As the negotiator sent by Nikolai, Rashkin looked at the British Foreign Secretary Hawke opposite and continued to elaborate on the importance of Crimea to Russia.

And this time, because of the recent occupation of Kiev by the British-Chinese coalition forces, the British have become more and more interested in supporting a Ukrainian Grand Duchy to compete with Russia.

As for the so-called Grand Duke of Ukraine, there is no one yet. If it weren't for the fact that the war is still going on, there will always be a few declining nobles in Europe who hope to be the "dagger" of the British.

Nikolai was so angry that he wanted to "go violent" with the Grand Duchy of Ukraine.

But in the end, they still sat down at the negotiating table. After all, Russia, which had lost more than 300,000 troops, could no longer support it even if it still had the so-called "millions of soldiers".

After all, everyone knows that the remaining people are "filling in the numbers".

The British Foreign Secretary Hawke, who was opposite, naturally understood Russia's weaknesses, so he replied unceremoniously:

"Sir, you know there is no such thing as a free lunch!!"

Looking at the cunning British Foreign Secretary, Rashkin "cursed secretly" in his heart, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "We can promise not to expand in Central Asia and maintain the status quo."

Hearing this, a proud smile appeared on the corner of Hawke's mouth, which made Rashkin's eyes brighten. Finally, he said: "Your Excellency, I think it is best not to touch Central Asia. As for Ukraine, this place, after all, The British Empire was bought with blood and cannot be taken away with just a word."

Rashkin asked: "What do you need??"

"Supervision is required."

"In order to ensure that Russia will not provoke war in the Black Sea, Crimea can belong to Russia, but the governance must belong to the Ottomans."

After hearing this, Rashkin already understood what the British meant, which was to let them continue fighting with the Ottomans and be controlled by the British forever.

Regarding such a situation, even though I was unwilling to do so, I finally made a compromise.

When the British returned to London with "victory", Rashkin "can't wait" to negotiate with the Han people.

However, the appetite of the Han people really shocked Lashikin.

Look at what they want, Alaska, Eastern Siberia including Kamchatka.

If the British are sinister, the Han people are butchers.

"Mr. Minister, your demands are too high. No country will accept such conditions, which will make Russia lose the entire East."

Listening to Rashikin's "irritation", Song Pingshan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Han Dynasty, took out a document and threw it away as if he had not heard it.

"This is??"

After reading the document marked in French, Rashkin was "confused". After all, he had never seen such a treaty.

Song Pingshan, who was on the opposite side, spoke in fluent French: "Mr. Shiragin, the Russian economy is very bad now. This treaty is already the best condition for Russia. I think you should know that Europe The bank’s interest rate, right??”

Rashkin nodded. He understood what the other party meant, but it was difficult for him to "convince" himself or the Tsar so quickly.

In the end, he could only use "thinking" as an excuse to send a telegram to the Winter Palace.

A few hours later, Nicholas in the Winter Palace looked at the message in his hand with confusion in his eyes. He knew that there was no better treaty than this.

"I thought" for a long time, and finally said: "I hope these Han people didn't deceive us, otherwise..."

The last few words were inaudible.

Two days later, two treaties were released at the same time, one was the Russian-Turkish Armistice Treaty.

The treaty stipulates that Russia gives up its right to protect the Slavs in the Ottoman territory, transfers the management of Crimea to the Ottomans, and pays 10 million rubles as war reparations.

(Ottoman has always asked for it, otherwise there would be no way to explain to the country)

The second was the Han-Russia land purchase treaty, in which Russia sold land including Alaska and Eastern Siberia to Han, totaling 4.83 million square kilometers.

Han State offered 30 million Chinese yuan.

It seems extremely cheap, but that is how it is in this era. In the eyes of people of this era, Eastern Siberia and Alaska are barbaric lands. Although the Russians feel distressed, what they really feel distressed is not those territories, but the dignity of the Russian Empire, or rather It is the dignity of the "Tsar".

In addition, there is an economic assistance treaty that is not recorded in it. Han State provided economic assistance worth 200 million yuan to Russia.

Part of it was exchanged for pounds, and most of it was supplies from the Han Dynasty.

Nikola needs these supplies to appease the people in the country who are about to collapse.

This economic assistance from Han was stuck in time, just when Russia needed it most.

In the end, Nicholas had no choice but to accept this treasonous treaty, which was "shameful" to him.

For the Han State, after acquiring these 4.83 million territories, the total territory including Lanfang is 8.48 million square kilometers. In the world, it is second only to the British Empire, the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia. , the United States was even left behind.

The thirteenth year of Longwu was undoubtedly a pioneering year, as later historians of the Han Dynasty said:

"When the loan of 30 million yuan plus 200 million yuan came, it caused an uproar in the country. After all, for many people, Alaska and Eastern Siberia are just barren lands. After spending so much money, they only got a wasteland. , is undoubtedly not cost-effective.”

“But from a historical perspective, we are the party that really benefits. Although this benefit can only be seen dozens or hundreds of years later, but just to fully control the Pacific Ocean, the money spent is worth it, very worth it! !”

History professor Wu Wenxiong published in Xijing Daily.

He is Captain Wu’s grandson! !

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(End of this chapter)