The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 433: Xianfeng: Look, I will use the barbarians to control the barbarians and pit the Taiping! (Request subscription, request votes)
Zuo Zongtang followed an old man who was as tall as an iron tower, a guard who walked before the emperor, and walked around in the picturesque Old Summer Palace. His steps never stopped, and his mind was not idle either. While walking, he secretly complained about Luo Yaoguo, and at the same time, he was thinking about the political conference that had just ended.

He was lucky enough to participate in this political conference. Emperor Xianfeng used this as an excuse to keep him in Beijing for several months. At the beginning, Zuo Zongtang did not take this political conference seriously - look at Tianjing, where people were sitting and holding the National People's Congress, which turned into a "Conference for the Conferred Gods", oh no, it was simply a "Conference for the Crazy Gods"! From this point of view, the political conference held on the knees in Beijing must have turned into a conference with "slaves gathering and flattery flying everywhere"? But who could have thought that in the end, this political conference actually blossomed!
Woren took the lead, leading about 300 councillors, ministers, and officials to jointly submit a petition "Please revive Confucianism to resist the Guangdong bandits." This petition was a big deal, not only opening the curtain for the Qing Dynasty's constitutional monarchy reform, but also announcing to the world that Confucianism, which had been dormant for more than 200 years, was going to undergo major reforms!
Zuo Zongtang himself also signed his name on this "political proposal". As soon as he finished reading this proposal, his heart skipped a beat, realizing that this was a big deal! If the Confucian reform was successful, Confucianism might be able to compete with the God Worshipping Society of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

At the same time, the Council of Ministers, which kneels all day long to discuss politics, may one day be able to straighten their backs thanks to this great Confucian reform, and go from kneeling to standing, and then to sitting comfortably, or even... possibly rise to the top in one step and sit in the top chair!
As soon as Zuo Zongtang thought about this, he had an idea in his mind, and secretly vowed to get himself a position as a famous governor of Zhejiang.

"Master Zuo, we have arrived at Haiyan Hall. Please wait a moment while I go and inform them first."

The voice of Zeng Jialin, the old man who led the way and the imperial attendant, suddenly rang in Zuo Zongtang's ears. Zuo Zongtang hurriedly stopped, raised his neck, and looked carefully. Sure enough, they were in front of Emperor Xianfeng's Western-style building again.

……

Inside Haiyan Building.

Emperor Xianfeng, who had just declared war on the Russian Empire, was now meeting with two military advisers from the Russian Empire! Isn't this "learning from the barbarians to defeat the barbarians"?

These two military advisers came to Beijing in the name of Orthodox Lamas. Why? Because the Qing Dynasty and Russia did not have embassies with each other, and there were no Russian diplomats stationed in Beijing, which was not in accordance with the ancestral system. But the Orthodox Lamas were stationed in the St. Nicholas Lama Temple in Beijing, which was approved by Emperor Kangxi, the Holy Ancestor, and there was nothing wrong with it.

The two newcomers, one of them was named Su, Sukhoi, originally a cavalry major in the Russian Imperial Army, in his forties, tall, with long legs, a well-proportioned figure, a neatly trimmed French beard, and looked smart and capable.

The other one's surname was Mi, and his name was Mikoyan. He was an infantry captain in the Russian Imperial Army. He was about the same age as Sukhoi, not tall, with short legs, a smooth-shaved white face, and a constant smile on his face.

These two were not like Tupolev, who was half-baked in military affairs. They were serious professional officers of the Russian Imperial Army, specially sent by Nicholas I to help the Qing Dynasty suppress the revolution - on the premise that the Qing Dynasty had to join hands with the Russian Empire on the Eastern Front and together set traps for Britain and France.

Lama Tupolev had already swiftly led the newly arrived Lama Su and Lama Mil to kowtow to Emperor Xianfeng. Emperor Xianfeng was also quite generous and did not let the three foreign lamas kneel down as "Buddhas looking down on the earth". He waved his hand and gave them seats! At this moment, he was smiling like a flower, telling them a super plan of "using barbarians to control barbarians and tricking the Taipings at the same time".

"Tulama, Su Lama, Milama, I have read the letter of your Emperor Nicholas carefully, and I generally support the things he mentioned. To be honest, I am angry when I see England and France, those two guys who are always plotting evil. They have caused a lot of trouble for my Qing Dynasty over the years! They are also flirting with the long-haired people in the south, obviously playing a trick of betting on both sides, which is too unkind! Look at you Russians, whether in Europe or Asia, you have always been a staunch "counter-revolutionary"! I like friends like this, let's dig a hole for England and France together, no problem!"

Emperor Xianfeng was talking with spit flying all over the place, when suddenly his tone sank: "But... you have to follow some rules, the Treaty of Nerchinsk is not just for fun! The Heilongjiang River Basin and Sakhalin Island are all the territories of the Qing Dynasty. How can you occupy them without any warning? These two places are very close to the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty, you must leave!"

Su Lama and Mi Lama were like listening to a foreign language. Chinese was too difficult for them and they had no idea how to understand it. Fortunately, Tu Lama spoke Chinese very well. When Xianfeng heard what he said, he was embarrassed and felt very embarrassed.

Withdrawing from Heilongjiang is easy to discuss, but right now Britain and France are planning to attack the Petropavlov Fortress on the Kamchatka Peninsula like crazy. This fortress is the lifeline of the Russian Empire and must not be lost!
Without this fortress, the Russian Empire would become a "bear without a port" on the Pacific coast. At that time, the Heilongjiang River Basin, Sakhalin Island, and even the Alaskan colony far away in the New World would be like a candle in the wind, swaying unsteadily, and might disappear at any time.

So, seeing the British and French armies approaching, Governor Muravyov must have sent all his troops to the fortress, and he would have no time to think about invading Heilongjiang.

But Sakhalin Island is a problem. The Russian Empire has taken root there for many years, and it sneaked in during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Now Nicholas I is asked to spit out the meat he has eaten... This is not the style of the Russian bear. It is more painful than cutting off its bear paw!

However, Tulama was also an old fox and a veteran imperialist colonizer with more tricks than a honeycomb. He did not directly retort to Emperor Xianfeng's conditions. Instead, he said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the Russian Empire's army really cannot withdraw from the Heilongjiang River Basin and Sakhalin Island at this time!" "Can't?" Emperor Xianfeng's pockmarked face instantly turned black, like the bottom of a pot.

Tu Lama still had a smile on his face: "Your Majesty, think about it, if the Russian army withdraws from the Heilongjiang River Basin and Sakhalin Island... then where will you personally lead the army to recover in such a majestic manner? If you take back these two pieces of land, it will be a huge victory! The national prestige will rise in an instant, and you can also fool the rebellious Guangdong bandits in the south, and the British and French will also look up to you! Your Majesty, don't you think this makes sense?"

It seems to make sense!

Emperor Xianfeng narrowed his triangular eyes, and a smug expression suddenly appeared on his face, as if he had "won the Northern Expedition". Tupolev continued, "And the Russian army will not withdraw from the Heilongjiang River Basin and Sakhalin Island on the surface, so your elite Qing troops can be responsible for these two battlefields, and let Britain and France bring in the long-haired soldiers to gnaw at the Petropavlov Fortress, which is an impregnable fortress. Now Governor Muravyov has already known the British and French plans. When the time comes, if you send more troops to a certain place, you will definitely cause Britain, France and the long-haired soldiers to suffer heavy losses! Your Majesty, this is killing three birds with one stone!"

"Great! Killing three birds with one stone!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, be well and safe!"

"I'm in peace!"

In Haiyan Hall, the three foreign lamas had already slipped away through the back door, and now it was Zuo Zongtang's turn to kowtow to Emperor Xianfeng and pay his respects.

After paying his respects, Emperor Xianfeng did not give Zuo Zongtang a seat, but asked him to kneel down to answer. Emperor Xianfeng asked: "Zuo Zongtang, do you know about the internal strife that occurred when the Guangdong bandits rebelled and opened the National People's Congress?"

"I have heard about this." Zuo Zongtang said with a big smile on his face, "The many fake kings who rebelled against Guangdong have lost trust in each other and are on the verge of a fight. It is unknown when they will start fighting. Now is the time for the court to sit back and watch the fight. As long as they start fighting, the rebellion of Guangdong will be over."

Xianfeng nodded and said, "I think so too, so I plan to take advantage of this opportunity to drive out the Russian invaders from the north. It just so happens that the envoys from Britain and France have arrived in Tianjin these days and are urging us to do so. However, once my new Eight Banners Army marches north, you will have to take on more responsibilities in the south."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. With me here in Zhejiang, nothing will go wrong." Zuo Zongtang quickly assured Emperor Xianfeng.

Xianfeng nodded gently and said, "That's great. I feel relieved to have you in Zhejiang. Recently, I received a report from Ye Mingchen, saying that the situation in Guangdong is unstable and asked me to send troops to support it. So I want to transfer the garrison flag soldiers in Hangzhou to support Guangzhou. I also want Jierhang'a to take them to Guangzhou to serve as generals. You have to cooperate with Jierhang'a to get this done. Is it okay?"

Zuo Zongtang was stunned and thought to himself, "This is great! Once the garrisoned bannermen in Hangzhou leave, the eight prefectures in Zhejiang will be under the control of him, the governor with the troops!"

Thinking of this, Zuo Zongtang kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely help Jierhang'a to complete the relocation of the banner soldiers!"

A murderous look flashed across Xianfeng's face, but then he smiled and nodded: "Okay! Okay! Okay!"

(End of this chapter)