New Shun 1730

The cough finally stopped under the suppression of a cup of black tea.

Old Count Tolstoy thanked Liu Yu in a very aristocratic manner, and said a few words to the Duke of Qi opposite.

The translator leaned close to the Duke of Qi's ear and relayed the muttered words.

"The winter here is really cold. I caught a cold along the way and kept coughing. Thank you for your tea. Tea is a good drink and is very suitable for driving away the severe cold in Selenginsk."

This is still quite elegant. The Duke of Qi smiled secretly in his heart, thinking that this old man is good at trickery, but saying these words is a bit of a cover-up.

Your cough is obviously because Liu Shouchang's conditions touched your sore spot.

However, this old man is an opponent. He can think of a way to deal with it while coughing, so as not to be seen as losing his composure.

But you are old after all, and you are powerless to save the situation.

The Duke of Qi saw through it but didn't say it. He thought that if this is the case, then it seems that the initiative of the negotiation is in our hands.

It needs to be fueled.

So the Duke of Qi, who had not spoken much, also took the initiative to greet them.

"Since the Earl has caught a cold, why don't you take a few days off before talking. Come on, send some tea to the Russian delegation. If there are any medicines such as Chuanbei loquat paste, take some as well."

After the translation, the old Count Tolstoy expressed his gratitude, and then shook his head, thinking that it was no problem and they could continue the conversation.

The Duke of Qi nodded, thanked him in return, and continued to drink tea leisurely.

In a short moment of confrontation, he had already tested the attitude of the Russians: the Russians are now very anxious and eager to talk; Liu Yu's exorbitant price conditions have touched the soft spot of the Russians.

He glanced at Liu Yu quietly, and under the cover of the table, he saw Liu Yu's hand making a "no hurry" gesture.

The Duke of Qi understood, yawned, and continued to drink tea lazily with his eyes squinting.

The conditions on the table were there, and the old Count Tolstoy's hands were shaking a little, and he quietly hid under the table.

The old hands were covered with purple blood vessels, as if the mud flowing in them was melted from the frozen soil of Siberia in spring, swallowing up the last bit of hope for life.

Looking at the sky-high conditions submitted by Liu Yu, he was full of despair.

What made him panic was not the vertical line drawn from the Lena River to Lake Baikal; nor was it the latitude line drawn from the mouth of the Selenga River to the west.

These were all sky-high things, and the first draft was to overturn them, it didn't matter.

The first draft drew the line to the Lena River, which meant that Dashun's bottom line was at least a thousand miles away from the Lena River.

What really made him panic were the three inconspicuous conditions sandwiched in it.

First: Russia must not interfere in Poland's internal affairs, and must not support the hereditary succession of the Polish king. After the death of the Polish king, Poland should support the election of the king. Otherwise, Dashun will send troops to support the Polish throne should not be controlled by Russia.

Second: Russia should give up its claims to the mouth of the Don River and Crimea. If war with the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Tatars occurs again, Dashun will send troops to support it.

Third: The various tribes of the Oirat Mongols who migrated west to the Volga River should have the right to return to the snow-capped mountains for pilgrimage, and Russia should not obstruct them. The Oirat Mongols in the Volga River should not submit to Russia, and Russia should allow them to send envoys back to the Mongolian Plateau to participate in the formulation of the new Mongolian Code. The Mongolian Oirat tribe will no longer provide troops and tribute to Russia from now on.

The first draft is all nonsense, all conditions that can be discarded, and all chips in exchange for tangible benefits.

It is precisely because of this that these three points are terrible.

From these three points, old Count Tolstoy saw that this ancient Eastern empire was not as closed as he imagined. Nor was it as ignorant of the outside world as he imagined.

They have learned how to take advantage of the international situation, maneuver and form alliances.

Or, just awaken the memory of their ancestors two thousand years ago from their bones and blood.

This would be a geopolitical disaster for Russia, which has enemies on all sides.

Dashun certainly cannot reach Moscow.

Dashun certainly does not care about Poland and Crimea.

The count even doubted whether Dashun could speak Turkic and Polish.

But Dashun expressed its attitude: We are not completely ignorant of Western affairs.

Russia cannot face a three-front war. If we cannot get what we want this time, we will get it back when the Polish throne and Crimea go to war.

It doesn't matter whether Dashun really allies with France and the Ottoman Empire.

As a diplomat and head of the secret police in Peter's era, old Tolstoy knew that geopolitics determined that the three countries could become natural allies and common enemies without any covenant.

This attitude was used as a bargaining chip by Dashun and placed in front of Russia, forcing Russia to make a choice.

What happened on the banks of the Heilongjiang River has proved that at least in the direction of Lake Baikal, if Dashun is willing, it can organize a field force of 10,000 people.

A field army of 10,000 people is nothing in Moscow, Ukraine, the Baltic Sea, or even the Black Sea.

But in Siberia, where the force can be deployed almost to the limit, it will be a disaster for Russia.

Russia does not have the financial resources to organize a regular field army of 5,000 people in the East.

The Cossacks do not have the support of regular corps and artillery, and are simply incapable of fighting a field battle with the army of a normal country. The Cossacks are good at expanding borders and encroaching, and are also natural hussars, but because of discipline problems, they are not qualified field armies.

Dashun has proven that those fortresses that can suppress tribes of more than 10,000 people when stationed with 500 people are not reliable in front of Dashun's field troops.

Regular Dutch-style bastions are effective, but Russia cannot afford to build them on the border.

Peter's reforms lowered the average height of Russians by four centimeters in just a few decades. Under the Songun system, even growing a beard and taking hot baths were taxed. A high-end bastion requires enough silver for Russia to build another battleship. Throw the capital ships that can gain control of the Baltic Sea and Black Sea to the Siberian border to serve as fortresses?

A high-end bastion cannot be repaired, but a low-end bastion can block nomads, but it cannot stop Dashun who has cannons and can do civil engineering work.

Dashun's infantry tactics are not high, and overall they are still at the Thirty Years War level of mixed hot and cold tactics. But the artillery is not bad. There were plenty of them, and there was enough money and manpower to transport them to the Mongolian plateau.

Those officials involved in demarcation at least knew trigonometric functions and latitude and longitude. Artillerymen who understand trigonometric functions will not fall far behind.

Judging from the news feedback from the front line, Dashun's heavy infantry is not bad either, although in this era of removing armor and pursuing queue mobility, this is backward, wrong, and goes against the times.

But it is very effective for small-scale offensive and defensive battles of inferior bastions.

The old earl and the important ministers in the court had basically the same analysis of the frontline battle situation: a hot and cold mixed legion infantry at the level of the Thirty Years War, powerful hand-to-hand elite heavy infantry, a large number of artillery of poor quality, and excellent fortifications. Ability and strange flying reconnaissance skills, logistics and financial capabilities that make Russia the envy of Russia.

Delaying this for a long time will be detrimental to Russia. Peace needs to be negotiated quickly.

Before the old count came, Russia's bottom line was Heilongjiang, and it could make concessions on the Shilka River issue if appropriate.

But now, these conditions, which seemed to be purely blackmail, made the bottom line he set before coming completely meaningless.

White sails travel through the sea, and the broken world is connected together. Diplomacy is no longer a matter between two countries.

Dashun understood when Russia would be vulnerable. Things that cannot be taken back now will be taken back naturally when you are vulnerable.

Big deal, let’s not talk about it, Darth Vidania. When you go to war with Türkiye and stab Lake Baikal in the back, what can you do to me?

If you are brave, you can take a gamble.

Betting on Dashun actually has no intention of continuing the fight, it is just diplomatic blackmail.

The old earl was also a gambler. He won the bet when he was young. But when he was old, he lost the bet to support Elizabeth to ascend the throne. After all, he was still timid.

He put on his glasses, and he could clearly see ten lines at a time, but he read the conditions carefully with an old-fashioned feeling, and thought about countermeasures quickly in his mind.

Half an hour later, the old count finally spoke.

"Your country's conditions are unreasonable. Isn't it possible to distinguish who belongs to the land of the two countries by debating the truth? Your country's conditions are completely unreasonable."

When Liu Yu heard this, he thought to himself that when you were young, you were also a diplomat in Western European countries who talked and laughed. You can talk about truth and Grotius's set of international laws, but I can't do it with you. I haven't learned many proper nouns.

"I won't argue today."

"Arguing, that is what historians will do in the future. All we have to do is sign a treaty. The merits and demerits of right and wrong will be left to future generations."

Since he was no longer prepared to reason, Liu Yu's tone became sharp.

"If the logic is valid, Kostantiniya should still be called Constantinople at this time. If you reason with me now, then Perm, Ryazan, Siberia, and Kazan, which were annexed by you, will go to the same country. Who can reason?"

"Besides, I have already finished explaining the truth to your Count Savoy. If you can gather an army of 10,000 people to go to Heilongjiang, then naturally I will not sit here and talk to you today. Since you can't, then What's the use of all this?"

"This is our request. I hope to see your response as soon as possible to prove your sincerity. Winter is coming soon, the bastion lacks vegetables, and the siege will last for a long time. Scurvy will also kill those Cossacks. It is unrealistic to send troops here from Europe. I hope you will consider it carefully. "

"If Peter can fight a protracted war with Sweden for the sea, the Chinese prince is also willing to fight a protracted war for Su Shen's hometown. Our country is vast and rich in resources, at least we don't need to melt all the temple bells to cast cannons."

"Flintlock muskets and field artillery, these can all be solved with silver and gold. It just so happens that we are not short of money, and the French, British, and Dutch are not short of ships that can reach Southeast Asia."

"I need to see your response within three days."

Abandoning the negotiation demands that the other party could not accept, Liu Yu acted like he liked to talk but held the initiative. Even though he was the one who most wanted to end the negotiations quickly, he had to act aggressively. .

The old earl was helpless after being deceived by Liu Yu into being a "rich man".

This is not a time to covet wealth, but a time to fear wealth.

If you have money, you can really do whatever you want.

Three days later.

The old Count Tolstoy proposed Russia's conditions: Heilongjiang would be the border.

Liu Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately offered such conditions, which meant that the other party could make more concessions. And he has already reached the emperor's bottom line.

Therefore, he did not accept it, but continued to deny the condition in a compelling tone.

Six days later.

Russia relented again.

Heilongjiang is bounded fifty miles north of Heilongjiang. As the source of Heilongjiang, the Ergun River falls under the same conditions.

Liu Yu still refused to let go, but in order to show his sincerity, the vertical line originally drawn along the Lena River was crossed eastwards along the latitude line.

Twenty days later, news came again from the Eastern Front.

Russia's last fortress in the upper reaches of Heilongjiang failed to relieve the siege.

The 800 reinforcements that arrived from Yakutsk, and the 1,000 Korean musketeers, 500 soldiers, some navy elites, some Beijing elites, and local tribute tribes who besieged the city there engaged in the largest battle since its inception. Field battle.

The Russian army suffered 400 losses, and the defenders failed to break through and surrendered. The casualties on Dashun's side were roughly the same.

This proved the judgment of the old count and others: without the advantage of field artillery, Dashun's thick phalanx of hot and cold mixed formations could at least remain undefeated against the Cossacks.

In the plains of Eastern Europe, in a battle with a scale of 50,000, the Dashun Army had low mobility, was bulky, was too thick, was easily bombarded, and was easily disconnected and exposed weaknesses, which would lead to a major defeat.

However, in this kind of small battle involving more than a thousand people, the disadvantage is not great and can be made up for by the number of people and artillery.

A fortress on the Shilka River was still besieged by the Dashun army. There was no attack on the city. This time, a large number of local tribes chose to side with Dashun, who seemed to be winning. The harsh winter is coming soon. Within three months of this weather, the besieged fortress will lose most of its combat effectiveness due to scurvy.

When the news came, the Russians took another step back.

Perhaps inspired by Liu Yu's direct demarcation of latitude lines, the Russians retreated to Liu Yu's original idea. It is bounded fifty miles north of the Heilongjiang River Estuary, and connects to the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River to the west along this latitude line.

In return and sincerity, Liu Yu crossed out the Crimea issue with a pen, saying that he had just heard about the Crimean Tatars' plundering of white slaves from Russians.

In view of the fact that Dashun had outlawed slaves and untouchables at the legal level, they were extremely shocked by this news, so they decided not to support the Crimean Tatars. He also said that he would send envoys to Crimea to educate the Tatars and reason with them. It is bad behavior to capture people as slaves.

By the way, some Lama from the capital city were sent to visit the Turgut tribe "on the way" to express their condolences.