Kowloon wins

Chapter 943 "Sino-Russian Ili Treaty" ([-])
Time passed by minute by minute, and soon, a quarter of an hour passed, but Grand Duke Petrovich still did not speak, but seeing that his face was changing from cloudy to cloudy, and he was sweating profusely from head to toe, there was a feeling that if he came from the water, The ones that were fished out of the house were ordinary, as embarrassing as you want to say, but Hong Qing was unmoved at all, not caring how fierce the struggle in her heart was, the old god was sipping tea on the ground , just like a normal person.

Worry?Not at all, the person who needs to be worried right now is Lao Maozi, Hong Qing is very determined in her heart, and doesn't care about the breakdown of the negotiation at all. Originally, I didn’t intend to play any tricks of negotiation with the old man—don’t say that Russia’s military strength in Siberia is extremely empty at the moment, but that the country has just experienced a bloody coup, and the situation is very chaotic. The timing, sending troops at this time, can take Ufa Fort within ten days, and completely cut the Russian Empire into two pieces. After that, there is no need to use troops against the European part of Russia, just hold Ufa Fort, and then send a few divisions. It is completely feasible strategically to have the whole of Siberia in the bag, but there are too many constraints in the court, even if Hongqing is reluctant, she can only sit back and watch this good opportunity slip away from her hand. For this reason, It's not easy to beat the old man, but it may not be too aggrieved.

"His Royal Highness, I have a question that I would like to ask His Royal Highness to give me some advice. Well, if your two countries have reached a friendly consensus, do you think the officers and soldiers in custody in our country can be returned to us?"

The matter is of great importance. Even though Grand Duke Petrovich is Catherine I's plenipotentiary envoy, he did not dare to make a decision lightly. After a long time of contemplation, he asked a question cautiously.

"Your Majesty, please understand that a friendly consensus is a friendly consensus, and nothing can be said until your country compensates our country for its losses."

Hong Qing smiled indifferently, and did not directly state the fate of those prisoners of war, but returned a diplomatic rhetoric vaguely.

"His Royal Highness, what I mean next is if we have compensated you for your losses, what should we do?"

Grand Duke Petrovich is best at diplomatic rhetoric. Hearing Hong Qing's words, there was obviously an ambush in him, and his heart sank involuntarily.

"Your Excellency, Grand Duke, do you care about those captured officers and soldiers? This is a good thing. This king should be fulfilled. That's good. If you have compensated for the losses of our country, this king will allow you to redeem those prisoners of war. Please pay attention, yes The redemption, the specific price, has to be calculated separately, just follow the European practice."

Hong Qing is such a shrewd individual, how could he not understand Grand Duke Petrovich's narrow-mindedness, he just wanted to redeem this group of prisoners of war as soon as possible, so as to form an immediate combat force, so as to restrain the Qing Dynasty's neglect of the Siberia region, Therefore, Hong Qing had already made preparations, so how could it be possible for Grand Duke Petrovich to succeed so easily.

"Oh, God, Your Royal Highness, how could you do this? Those prisoners of war were deceived by Grand Duke Gagarin, and they were implicated innocently. Your country has always paid attention to forgiveness. Shouldn't these innocent people be released unconditionally?" People? You know this involves nearly [-] families, and how many wives, children, and parents are looking forward to the return of these innocent prisoners of war, isn't this worthy of your kindness?"

Grand Duke Petrovich's original intention was to pretend to agree to the exchange of land for peace, using this as an excuse to trick more than [-] captured soldiers into returning, and then immediately arm the entire army in order to compete with the Qing army, but he did not expect Hong Qing actually played such a redemption trick, and immediately became anxious. After listening to the interpreter's report, she immediately put on a sad face and played the sad card cleverly.

"Innocent? That's the view of His Majesty the Grand Duke. In the eyes of this king, they are all robbers who broke into my home. Since they dare to invade my Qing Dynasty, they should be punished accordingly. If this king remembers correctly, your country When we are at war with Sweden and other countries, is the price for redeeming officers based on the title of the nobility? That being the case, let’s follow the usual practice. This one is non-negotiable. Please don’t get entangled in this matter, Your Excellency the Grand Duke. If not, today's meeting will come to an end here."

Grand Duke Petrovich's acting skills were pretty good, but it's a pity that he used the wrong target. Hong Qing didn't follow his tricks at all, and refuted all Grand Duke Petrovich's words with a face full of indifference.

"His Royal Highness, you should know that territorial integrity is a symbol of a country's sovereignty. Although I am the plenipotentiary representative of Her Majesty the Queen, I have no right to deal with territorial matters. As for the compensation issue you raised, I Fang still thinks it is too much, if His Royal Highness agrees to reduce the amount by half and allow my country to pay in 30 years, we can promise to give corresponding compensation."

Seeing that the sad card had no effect, Grand Duke Petrovich didn't insist on continuing to act, but rolled his eyes and changed the term.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry, but this point is not negotiable. You must fully compensate our losses, and the time limit shall not exceed three years. In addition, the time for you to redeem the prisoners of war must also be within three months. After a period of time, the price must be calculated separately. This is my final answer. Whether you agree or not, it will not be easier. From now on, you still have a stick of incense time to think about it. , burn incense and time."

Twenty-seven million taels of silver may seem like a lot, but in fact, Hong Qing really never paid attention to it. What he wants is not such silver taels, but land. As long as the Russians sign the agreement, no matter what It doesn't matter to Hong Qing whether the old Maozi will carry it out, the big deal is to find a suitable time to send troops to sweep it up. With the current fighting strength of the Qing army, there is no need to worry about the Russians at all. It was precisely because of this consideration that Hong Qing was too lazy to care whether Grand Duke Petrovich was in a good or bad mood, so she waved her hand and gave the order in an unquestionable tone.

"twitter!"

With Hong Qing's order, Ding Song and the others who were waiting by the side did not dare to neglect. After Qi Qi complied, he quickly brought the incense burner and other things, and lit a stick of incense.

"This..., oh..."

Grand Duke Petrovich thought that during the private discussion, he could rely on his own experience and ability to fool Hongqing, but he never expected that Hongqing would be such a hard-to-talk person, and his mood was extremely bad. After a little more effort, seeing that Hong Qing's eyes had turned to the large sand table on the ground, the corners of Grand Duke Petrovich's mouth twitched a few times, but in the end, he didn't dare to say anything more, so he just let out a long sigh. He frowned and thought about it, trying to find a solution that got the best of both worlds.

"time up!"

Amidst the green smoke, the incense burnt flickeringly. Not long after, it finally burned to the end. When the last puff of green smoke rose, Ding Song, who was in charge of timing, reported in a deep voice.

"Your Excellency Grand Duke Petrovich, I have limited time, so let me tell you about your decision."

As soon as Ding Song finished speaking, Hong Qing's gaze immediately turned to Grand Duke Petrovich, who had a cloudy expression, and said the ultimatum indifferently.

"His Royal Highness, the area from Lake Baikal to the Erguna River covers a total of 32 square kilometers. The area is huge, and the value is far more than 700 million taels of silver. For this, I insist on calculating it separately. Furthermore, those Most of the land has been sold to private individuals now, and it will take a huge sum of money to take it back, so I think this matter should be discussed in the long run, and I ask His Royal Highness to consider this matter carefully."

Grand Duke Petrovich could not bear the responsibility of going to war with the Qing Dynasty at all, but he was unwilling to give up the land he had acquired, even though those territories were actually originally owned by the Qing Dynasty.

"Your Excellency, please note that this king doesn't care who owns those lands now, or how much those lands are worth in your eyes. In the eyes of this king, those lands are actually not worth 700 million taels of silver. Agreeing that your country use those lands to compensate for the compensation has already considered your financial difficulties. If Your Excellency the Grand Duke does not appreciate it, then there is no need to talk about it. The king of the left and right will send troops to Ufa Fort tomorrow. It won't be a big deal, whether it's war or peace, please ask Your Excellency to make up your own mind."

Grand Duke Petrovich wanted to complicate the matter, so as to buy time and see if it could be delayed. Unfortunately, Hong Qing saw through his intentions at a glance, so how could he leave any room for change? , unceremoniously rejected the proposal of Grand Duke Petrovich with ulterior motives.

"His Royal Highness, this matter is too important, and it has exceeded the scope of my decision. Can you allow some time for me to report this matter to Her Majesty the Empress of our country, and wait for Her Majesty to make a decision. Is it possible to report to His Royal Highness?"

Grand Duke Petrovich failed to make one plan, so he immediately made another plan. The left and right are the center, and that is to delay and delay.

"Sorry, there is no discussion on this matter. Since you can't meet our request, the king will go to Ufa Fort tomorrow to get the compensation back. His Excellency can leave."

Hong Qing was a soft-hearted master, no matter how Grand Duke Petrovich tried to set him up, he always had the same opinion, which would drive him out again unceremoniously.

"Oh, God, Your Royal Highness, you won, and the issue of compensation will be settled according to your wishes, but you should give it to the next time to discuss with your colleagues, Your Highness, what do you think?"

Seeing that the matter was in a hurry, Grand Duke Petrovich no longer dared to mess around. He could only helplessly raise his hand, and agreed to Hong Qing's "blackmail" in frustration.

"That's fine. The negotiation will resume tomorrow. You and I must reach a framework consensus within two days. If not, you will pay for the consequences."

After spending so much effort, Hong Qing was finally accepted by the cunning and greedy old man. Hong Qing was in a good mood, and she didn't make things difficult for Grand Duke Petrovich any more. However, she didn't intend to tell him any more Let's go on talking, wave your hand, and you've already issued an order to chase away guests...

(End of this chapter)