The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 363 It's time to negotiate peace
Kutuzov was silent for a few seconds when faced with Tsar Alexander's question and then chose to evade the question:
“Before the war actually started, we could not have imagined how sophisticated the Ming army’s weapons would be.

"There are thousands of flying machines on our Russian battlefields alone, and probably a similar number on the Ottoman battlefields."

But Alexander could tell that the old general Kutuzov had some ideas, but did not seem to want to say them directly.

Alexander immediately said anxiously:
"At a time like this, old general, stop being so secretive. What are your thoughts and suggestions? Tell us as soon as possible so that we can discuss it together."

Kutuzov couldn't help shaking his head after hearing this, then waved his hand and asked his subordinates to go out first.

Alexander also reacted and realized that Kutuzov's ideas were not suitable to be said publicly, so he asked the officials who accompanied him to go out and rest.

The only ones left at the scene were Tsar Alexander himself, veteran General Kutuzov, young officer Bagration, and Foreign Minister Nestorrod.

When only four people were left, Kutuzov sighed and said:
"Your Majesty, everyone, I think we should make a decision again now.

“Should we try to contact the Ming people now and test their attitude towards us?

"Are they determined to wipe us out completely, or do they have other ways to end the war?

“Even if it means abandoning the two so-called allies, Shun State and Ottoman Empire.

"We now need to strive for it a little bit..."

Kutuzov's meaning was rather euphemistic. In layman's terms, it meant that we could prepare to seek peace.

If it was a week ago, when the war between Ming and Russia had just begun, even Alexander had already given up St. Petersburg.

Alexander would have been furious if someone had suggested anything like that.

But in the past week, Alexander had experienced and seen too many things, and now he no longer had the strength or confidence to be angry.

Alexander remained silent, looking up at the ceiling, but with his eyes closed, not looking at anything at all.

Foreign Minister Nesslerod thought for a few seconds and expressed his thoughts carefully:
“The Ming army destroyed our cities, villages, and farmlands, and dispersed our troops, citizens, and farmers. This way of warfare is completely different from our traditional concept of warfare.

“Their use of such a combat strategy means that they are likely ready to completely wipe us out.

"The key is to prepare for at least five years of preparation. Now that it has officially begun to be implemented, they should not negotiate peace with us at this time.

“Even if we can accept it, it will put us in very unfavorable conditions. We may not even be able to keep Moscow.”

Kutuzov smiled bitterly and reminded:
“What the minister said does make sense, but if we don’t negotiate peace now, by this time next year, we may really have nothing.

"We don't even have to wait for the Ming army to defeat us. Our own hungry people in the interior may tear us apart."

Both Nesirrod and Alexander understood immediately that the lower-class nobles and serfs would not sit idly by and wait to starve to death after losing their food for the winter.

Especially if the Ming Dynasty continues their scorched earth strategy next year, the collapsed serfs are likely to gather together and rebel.

Bagration frowned and said:
“We should find a way to make those displaced hungry people understand that it was the Ming attack that caused them to lose the farmland on which they depended for their livelihood.

"Then mobilize these hungry people who have lost everything and let them stop the Ming army's momentum of advancing..."

Kutuzov immediately reminded again:

“The reason why the hungry are hungry and the refugees are refugees is because they have no food and no home to live in.

"In order to make them work for us, we must first provide them with food, clothing, and weapons.

“But under the current circumstances, our regular military rations may not be guaranteed.

“On the contrary, after the Ming army occupied Russian land, they almost unconditionally liberated all serfs and distributed the nobles’ land directly to the serfs.

“The Russian court wanted the nobles to liberate the serfs and distribute the land to the serfs, but it was almost impossible to achieve.

“Because the vast majority of nobles will strongly oppose it and make it impossible to implement the reform.

“But for the Ming occupation forces, they were not prepared to compromise with the Russian court and nobles. Liberating serfs and dividing the land was just a matter of whether they were willing to do it.

“The key is that the foundation and core of the traditional system of the Ming Dynasty is to create as many small and medium-sized landlords as possible who own a small amount of land.

“So after they occupied the inland lands of Europe, they would naturally liberate the serfs.

"As long as the starving people in Russia survive this winter, they will be able to transform themselves from serfs into small free landowners.

"The Ming army had to repair the railway before they could continue their advance, probably to use the railway and trains to deliver winter supplies to the newly liberated serfs.

“More important might be the seeds and farm tools for next spring.

“When that time comes, from the perspective of the serfs liberated by the Ming army, the Ming army destroyed their former noble masters, which had nothing to do with them.

“They may even be grateful to the Ming army that liberated them.

"There is a high probability that they are willing to fully help the Ming army continue to attack our regular army in order to protect the land they have just acquired..."

Alexander felt as cold as if he had fallen into an ice cave when he heard the conversation between the three ministers around him:

"So, the Ming Kingdom is really our natural enemy? Are we really helpless against them?"

Kutuzov thought for a moment and said:

"Your Majesty's statement does make sense. A great empire like the Ming, which is made up of free peasants, may really be the natural enemy of all feudal serfdom countries.

"The most unsolvable situation is that even if the Ming Empire kills all the Russians, they can quickly fill the gap with their own population.

“Before the war begins, we want to fortify our defenses and clear the fields to avoid a head-on battle with the Ming army.

"As a result, the Ming Kingdom is now using the same method to deal with us. Even if we want to fight a decisive battle with the Ming army, the Ming Kingdom may not be willing to cooperate.

“But now is not the time to be completely desperate.

"We can now try to contact Ming while continuing to wait for news from all sides.

"We need to confirm more specific intelligence from the east and south."

Alexander opened his mouth, but in the end he could not say anything. He could only nod silently, accepting Kutuzov's suggestion.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield.

After Tian Yiming and Nelson occupied Constantinople and completely controlled the shipping routes of the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Aegean Sea, they immediately reported the specific situation on the front line to the emperor again.

Then apply to implement the prepared new round of landing plan.

More troops were drawn from around the Mediterranean and Arabian Sea, and under the escort of Nelson's Mediterranean Fleet, a landing operation was launched on the Black Sea coast.

Use this winter to build several forward bases around the Black Sea.

Stockpile supplies and facilities for the navy and air force in anticipation of a full-scale offensive against the Russian interior next year.

The Ming Dynasty's occupation of Constantinople was very sudden, and the subsequent new round of attacks was equally sudden and even more unexpected.

Before the war, the Russians in the Black Sea did not think that Constantinople, which controlled the Black Sea, would be easily lost, so they were not prepared at all when the war started.

When the news of the fall of Constantinople reached Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, the Ming Dynasty's navy and air force arrived immediately.

Military airfields in the Austrian radius and on Crete were no longer sufficient to support the war in Crimea.

The Ming Air Force could only build a temporary airport in Constantinople to allow aircraft from Crete and Austria to restock and resupply before departing. The supply and transfer efficiency of the temporary airport was not as good as that of the official airport, and it could only support 400 aircraft at most to participate in the battle.

However, the Mediterranean Fleet's aircraft carrier group can also provide more than 400 attack aircraft.

A total of 800 attack aircraft, cooperating with a large number of naval gunboats, made Crimea, which was almost unprepared, a lamb to be slaughtered.

Sevastopol's defense capabilities were not as good as St. Petersburg's. The Ming naval fleet approached the port directly, suppressed the defenders with artillery, and allowed the army to land by force.

The battle lasted only half a day, and the Ming Army basically controlled the city. What remained was a security battle and expansion of the occupied area.

Nelson in the Mediterranean and Tian Yiming in the Arabian Theater, unlike Napoleon in Eastern Europe and Liu Biao in India, both had a mentality of quickly grabbing the credit.

So after occupying Sevastopol, they immediately sent troops to occupy the entire Crimean Peninsula.

The Russian defenders were powerless to do anything about it. Wherever the Ming army went, the Russian army retreated. They had no ability to fight back and no way to resist.

The good coastline of the Black Sea quickly fell into the control of the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, the envoy arranged by Russian Tsar Alexander, Russian Foreign Minister Karl Nestorrod, finally crossed the front line and arrived in Minsk after many twists and turns.

Napoleon, the governor of the Eastern European Theater of the Ming Dynasty, brought along his staff and officers from the Ming Dynasty to meet with the envoy from the enemy country.

When Napoleon met foreigners now, he had already accepted and gotten used to the mentality of the Ming Dynasty's senior nobles and officials. He sat in a chair and watched the Russian Foreign Minister salute.

After the ceremony, Napoleon simply nodded in response and asked directly in Chinese:

"Russian Foreign Minister? Nesirrod? You don't seem to be Russian. What are you doing here today?"

Nesirrod also immediately saluted and replied in Chinese:

“Your Majesty, I am a German, and there are actually many Germans in Russia.

"I have come here this time to apologize to the Emperor of Ming on behalf of the Russian Tsar for missing the Emperor's birthday.

"The Russian people have now realized the power of Ming Dynasty, and Russia will never confront Ming Dynasty again.

"Russia wants to end this fighting and is willing to pay a sufficient price to do so.

"Your Majesty, please convey our attitude to His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty."

Napoleon was not too surprised that the Russians wanted to seek reconciliation so quickly.

In Napoleon's view, it would be strange if the Russians continued to be stubborn after seeing the capabilities of the Ming army.

After listening to this, Napoleon smiled and asked Nessrod:

"Are you scared now? Do you know how big the gap is between you and the Ming Dynasty? Are you actively seeking peace? What were you doing before?

“But I can’t answer you directly here. This matter can only be decided by His Majesty.

"You stay here for a few days and wait for news from His Majesty."

Including Russia, the top leaders of European countries, whether they are vassal states of the Ming Dynasty or not, now know that the Ming Dynasty can transmit messages directly across half the world at lightning speed.

So when the Russian diplomats heard Napoleon ask him to wait, they were no longer as surprised as Talleyrand, who was sent by Napoleon to negotiate.

Nesirrod obediently bowed and agreed, then cautiously took his leave, anxiously waiting for the response from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Napoleon, together with the officials, generals and staff officers present, began to carefully compile a report on the meeting.

The Russians' intentions themselves are very simple and can be explained in just a few words.

But a senior official like Napoleon, especially one in charge of a region or affairs, cannot just be a mouthpiece for the emperor.

The current situation on the European battlefield, an overview of the operational plan against Russia and its current progress, and what to do next.

Make a good analysis of the reasons why Russia is seeking peace and put forward suggestions for how to deal with this request for peace.

These were put together with the report and sent to Shuntian Prefecture through the Western Factory's intelligence channel.

When the Ming Emperor Zhu Jianxuan saw the report, he was a little surprised. He did not expect the Russians' attitude to change so quickly.

Because Zhu Jianxuan, as a time traveler, has seen truly modern military equipment, he does not think highly of the Ming Dynasty's current military technology.

Zhu Jianxuan only knew that the Ming Dynasty was much more advanced than other countries, but he did not realize that for the Ming Dynasty's enemies, the Ming Dynasty's military technology had already reached the level of alien black technology.

However, Zhu Jianxuan had been a decision maker for so many years, and after reading the entire content of the report, he understood what was going on and calmed down completely.

Zhu Jianxuan considered the current situation for a moment and directly proposed an arrangement similar to that of the Ottoman Sultan.

Russia's current monarch, Alexander, could be granted the title of Xianbei Duke, and like the Byzantine Duke of the Ottoman Sultan, he was a landless noble.

Other major Russian nobles, if they were willing to surrender with Alexander, would be demoted two levels and become landless nobles.

Princes and dukes become marquises, grand dukes become earls, marquises become viscounts, and so on.

Now the Ming Dynasty has the ability to swallow up Russia directly. The key is to distribute the land to the monarchs of vassal states to establish branch vassal states. Then it will be impossible to give the Russians any good conditions.

If the Russians had surrendered after receiving the ultimatum before the war started, they could still have retained a piece of fiefdom.

If they had joined the Ming Dynasty directly and voluntarily five years ago, before the court meeting on Zhu Jianxuan's 40th birthday, they would have been able to retain most of the European territory.

If the Russians surrendered after the Ming Dynasty had occupied most of Russia's territory, they would only be able to escape death.

In addition, he encouraged and reminded Napoleon that there was no problem with their current battle plan. The subsequent actions should not be rushed, and they should be implemented step by step according to the existing plan.

Zhu Jianxuan's response was delivered to the European Theater Command in Minsk the next afternoon.

After reading it, Napoleon asked his staff to make a brief analysis and preparation, and then summoned the Russian diplomat Nestorrod again on the third day.

Napoleon didn't waste any words and directly relayed Zhu Jianxuan's response.

Although Nesirrod had prepared himself mentally, he still found it difficult to accept the reality after hearing the response, and immediately began to mutter in great distress:
"Is that... just the case? His Majesty the Tsar can only become a landless nobleman at the duke level, but Russia still controls a very vast territory..."

Napoleon waved his hand and interrupted him from continuing to complain:
"This is the will of our Lord. You can only accept it or reject it. Don't complain here or think about bargaining.

"The so-called Russia controls vast territories, but that is only because the Ming army has not yet officially started its attack. Those territories only belong to you temporarily and nominally.

"But there is no point in saying this. This matter is not something you can decide. Go back and report to your monarch."

Nesirrod quickly gathered his spirits:
"I understand. I will report back immediately."

Napoleon waved his hand to send them away and reminded them:

"You better hurry up. His Majesty's meaning is very clear. The sooner you surrender, the better the conditions you will get.

“The conditions we are giving you now are only the current conditions, which will only last until the end of this negotiation and will definitely not last until next spring.

"When the Ming Dynasty pushes its front line past Moscow next autumn, if you still want to surrender, you will have nothing left."

Nestorrod was stunned for a moment, but he did not doubt that Ming Dynasty had the ability to attack Moscow tomorrow autumn. This speed was not too fast but too steady.

According to the analysis of Kutuzov and other Russian officials, the Ming Dynasty was really using a knife to slowly skin and drain the tendons of the Russian beast.

(End of this chapter)