Chapter 264 Don't Say I Didn't Warn You

Chapter 264 Don't Say I Didn't Warn You

Chapter 264 Don't Say I Didn't Warn You
"The talks were held in a frank atmosphere and both sides expressed their views candidly."

What this means is that everyone has their own opinions and there is no way they can reach an agreement.

This is what normal negotiations look like. No qualified diplomat would show his cards at the beginning. They all ask for a high price and pay it back on the spot. It is normal for such important negotiations to last for several months.

Of course, the negotiations take a long time, mainly because often halfway through the talks, one or both parties have to go back and ask for instructions from their leaders.

Now that both parties in the negotiations have fully authorized imperial envoys, so that much time is not needed.

Gorchakov sighed softly.

In fact, it was impossible for him to ask Wu Ziyi to withdraw from Asia without any hesitation. He also knew that the other party would not agree to his proposal, so it was not a big deal.

He was lamenting that the other side now had mature diplomats and was not as easy to fool as in previous years. It seemed that the opportunity to make a big profit by fooling people was gone.

"Even if we are willing to retreat, you can't occupy it. We have managed the territory for hundreds of years. If you go there, you will immediately fall into the quagmire of security war. Although there are many people in your country, how many are willing to go to cold Siberia? This is unrealistic. Now I have a realistic suggestion. Let's draw the border according to the current ceasefire line. This should be my sincere suggestion."

Wu Ziyi immediately retorted, "In fact, the ceasefire was implemented unilaterally by us out of our love for peace. Our allies Britain and Turkey have not really come to the fore yet, and if necessary, they will not hesitate to join the war. Therefore, although we only occupied the Syr Darya River Basin of the former Kazakh Khanate, we demand all the territories of the former Kazakh Khanate. At the same time, for the eastern border, we demand a re-demarcation according to the terms of the Treaty of Nerchinsk."

"No, no, no, your request is unacceptable. If we lose such a vast territory, your majesty's prestige will be greatly damaged, which will cause the Russian government to step down, so we might as well try again. My suggestion is that this Central Asian conflict between the two sides should not involve the Far East. In Central Asia, you can let the Kazakh Khanate restore its country in the Syr Darya River Basin you occupy and remain neutral as a buffer zone, with neither side stationing troops. If you want to withdraw from the Seven Rivers Basin, you still have to abide by the previous treaty."

"We have already occupied the Seven Rivers Region, and we will never let them go back. This time we are revising the previous treaty during the negotiations, which is also in line with international practice."

……

The two sides exchanged sharp words, constantly testing each other's bottom line. Shao Quanzhong was accompanied by an interpreter, who interpreted simultaneously. The Huai Army had prepared for this negotiation for a long time, and had already found an interpreter from Shanghai who knew Russian, French, English, and Latin.

Shao Quanzhong leaned back in his chair, quite satisfied with Wu Ziyi's performance.

This guy was not doing his job properly before joining the Huai Army. He was originally a low-level civil servant in the education department of Taizhou, but he never went to work and was a gambler who always hung out with foreigners.

The problem is that he has a good brain and always wins. The God of Gamblers is a profession that requires precise grasp of the opponent's psychological state, and the job change to Diplomat is very suitable.

Soon it was noon, and the Huai Army prepared a simple working meal. They specially asked the captive chef Lucia to make beef stew with potatoes, borscht and black bread. Wu Ziyi also drank some red wine with Gorchakov.

The two who had just argued were laughing and talking about the plot of Hugo's "Les Miserables" in French, like old friends. When the conversation started in the afternoon, Wu Ziyi's face changed immediately, pointing at Fat Tiger beside him, "This Torghut general has 10,000 elite cavalry under his command. If you continue to disagree with our proposal, our Turkish allies will send troops to the Caucasus to cooperate, and he will have no problem leading his troops back to the Volga River where his ancestors lived. By then, it will not just be a problem for the Kazakh Khanate."

Gorchakov paused, unable to respond. If we go back to the past, Lucia was still a slave of the Mongols...

Colonel Chernyaev stood up and said, "Don't think we don't dare to fight. We have fewer soldiers in Central Asia now, but that doesn't mean we have fewer soldiers in Russia. We only lost five divisions in the Central Asian conflict, but we still have 42 army divisions, including 28 reinforced divisions, 30 independent shooting battalions, and 48 main battalions deployed in Siberia, the Caucasus, and Orenburg. If you make us angry, we will fight you with all our might regardless of the cost. Can you bear it?"

Wu Ziyi seemed a little discouraged. In terms of modernized troops, the Qing Dynasty only had 80,000 Huai Army troops, which were stronger than Russia. If the two countries started a total war, especially within the territory of Russia, the Qing Dynasty really had too few troops.

Colonel Chernyaev finished speaking and sat down triumphantly. Are you impressed? What about Napoleon? Didn't he fail in Russia? You, the Qing Dynasty, with only 80,000 people, want to overpower us?
Huh? The other party seemed anxious, and Shao Quanzhong, who had been sitting there calmly, stood up.

Wait, what is that in his hand?
Shao Quanzhong was seen holding a leather shoe in his hand and knocking it twice on the table.

"I'm so scared! My Great Qing has a population of 40 million. Our Huai Army has more than one million well-trained reserve troops in Jiangsu, Anhui, Shaanxi, Henan, and Gansu. They can all be deployed to the battlefield at any time!
Our arsenal in Hailing can produce 10,000 breech-loading rifles a month, which can be used to equip any number of troops, and we can also provide as many artillery pieces as our British allies need.

I have fought in the Western Expedition for more than two years, and I don't mind fighting for two more years.

I only spent 30 million taels of silver out of the 40 million taels of silver for the Western Expedition, and just now in the Treaty of Kokand, the Turks gave me another 11 million taels of silver.

Khiva had just become our vassal state, with the grain of the three Central Asian countries as our backing. We had people, guns, grain and money. We swore an oath of allegiance from Khiva, and fought our way through the Volga River basin to Mocheng.

Back then, the backward Crimean Khanate could reach Mocheng, so why can't our Huai Army go further and reach St. Petersburg? Don't be shameless, I don't have the patience to waste time with you.

Now, what is that Gore? You only have two choices for our terms: "Yes" or "No". If you don't agree, I won't bother with you. Get out of here right away. We'll continue the fight tomorrow!"

Governor Kaufman shook his head. When did the Qing Dynasty produce such a brutal warlord?
In such a noble occasion, they actually took off their shoes and knocked on the table to threaten with force. How barbaric! Our elegant nation like Lucia would never do such a rude thing.

Wu Ziyi straightened his back all of a sudden. The commander was really awesome. Look at his feet. He was clearly wearing two big leather boots. Where did the leather shoes in his hand come from? Uh, they were from the feet of the guards behind him. The commander didn't take off his own shoes.

"You have so many troops in Russia, can you possibly transfer them all to fight us? Do you have the money to pay the troops? We spent 30 million on the Western Expedition, and we want you to pay us back. I know you are so poor, if I don't ask you for money, then you have to cede land!
Once we reach Meaux, will you be able to hold your ground in Poland and Finland? Will there be no rebellion? Will Prussia, Sweden, and Austria not take advantage of the opportunity to attack? Not to mention our Turkish and British allies, who will definitely join the war. Even Greece and Cuba have already fallen. By then, Russia will be divided up by the world.

I advise you to learn from your mistakes. If you agree to our conditions today, we will still be friendly neighbors. If you don’t agree, you will be in danger of extinction. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! ”

(End of this chapter)