Chapter 265 Secret Agreement
Chapter 265 Secret Agreement
The climate in Tashkent was cool and pleasant in spring, but Gorchakov was sweating. He took out a white handkerchief from his suit pocket to wipe his sweat and sat there in silence.
Wu Ziyi's words just now hit Lucia's weakness - no money.
It’s useless to have a lot of soldiers if you don’t have money. If you don’t give them travel expenses, will those soldiers be willing to fight?
The Crimean War had already exhausted Russia's wealth, and Your Majesty had urgently promoted the abolition of slavery. Russia was now economically bankrupt and could not afford a large-scale war.
Shao Quanzhong's threats of force are real and fake, and it is unknown how much of them are genuine.
Once entering the mode of national defense war, Lucia is very resilient, and the people will actively support Your Majesty in the war even without money.
It is unlikely that the Huai Army will destroy Russia, but if the war continues, Russia will definitely lose and will only sign a more humiliating treaty.
The most important thing for Lucia now is to survive the chaotic period of abolition.
The enemy had easily defeated Lucia's Central Asian troops and did not know the real ability of Governor Kaufman. Kaufman had been playing dumb in the prisoner-of-war camp, which was why he was released so easily.
When your majesty's wise decision to abolish slavery has a significant effect, tax revenue has increased, and the economy has recovered, then we will adopt the advice of Kaufman, a far-sighted strategist, and conduct special research on new explosives used by the Huai Army and new weapons such as steam armored vehicles and barbed wire that can be learned by seeing them. When necessary, we can use spies to steal technology...
By selecting and training new soldiers, learning the tactics of the Huai Army, and gathering strength for a few years, Russia will become a true military power, not just relying on human wave tactics.
All this will take time, and there is no point in fighting the Qing Dynasty which has the upper hand now.
Alas, for the future of the empire, my personal reputation can be sacrificed...
Gorchakov stood up slowly, his face heavy. "Today's negotiations are over. Please allow me to go back and sort it out, think about it in detail, and propose our final bottom line, which should be able to meet your territorial demands."
At the end of the first day of negotiations, Colonel Chernyaev had a secret talk with the Foreign Minister and the Governor-General, then returned to the delegation's own residence, sighing.
He was a pure soldier and could not understand the foresight of Gorchakov and Kaufman in their decision to compromise. He just thought it was too cowardly.
"Why does the Colonel sigh?"
The person who asked the question was Andrei Orelov, one of the members of the delegation's guard.
Chernyaev sighed, "Our Foreign Minister and Governor-General are ready to surrender to the Qing people and cede a large amount of imperial land to the Qing Dynasty. This is a shame for us, the imperial soldiers. Forget it, this is not something a small colonel like me can stop."
Andre bowed and retreated back to the guards' dormitory.
When Andre saw his fellow brothers, his face immediately changed. "Brothers, the Foreign Minister is a traitor who betrayed Russia. He wants to sell a large amount of territory to the Qing Dynasty. He may sign a humiliating treaty tomorrow. We must stop him!"
Gorchakov brought more than 40 guards, most of whom were loyal to him, and only four people in Andrei's dormitory were members of a secret society.
The name of this society is "Land and Freedom Society", most people probably haven't heard of it, and its future name is "Lucian People's Party". Well, it's not very well-known, anyway, it's a Russian populist organization.
"But we are of low status, what can we do?"
Andre's face became distorted. "There is a saying in the Qing Dynasty: It is better to die in glory than to live in disgrace..."
…………
The next morning, Gorchakov trudged toward Kaufman's former temporary governor's residence, where the talks were taking place.
Gorchakov's eyes were red and his face was tired. In the briefcase of the secretary behind him were several drafts of the treaty, which were the final bottom line that he had considered all night.
The Governor's Mansion was not far away, and Shao Quanzhong came out with his subordinates, smiling widely.
Suddenly, three guardsmen who were walking in the back row rushed to the front, shoving and pushing away the foreign minister’s personal guards. Then a voice in Russian was heard, “Gorchakov, on behalf of the Russian people, I will execute you, the traitor!”
Gorchakov turned around and heard a gunshot. Then he felt a burning sensation on his left cheek and a chill on his ear. When he turned around, he saw Andrei holding a revolver with smoke coming out of the muzzle, laughing wildly.
Hu Liuniang on the opposite side quickly stood in front of Shao Quanzhong, and immediately a few gunshots were heard. Shao Quanzhong's well-trained guards took action. Andre did not have a chance to fire a second shot, and he and his three comrades fell in a pool of blood.
Gorchakov subconsciously raised his hand to touch his face, and his hands were covered in blood.
A large number of guardsmen on guard rushed over and surrounded the Lucia delegation.
While the two imperial envoys were negotiating, an assassination attempt occurred. Both Shao Quanzhong and Gorchakov felt very embarrassed.
It turns out that the villain dies because he talks too much.
If Andrei had not loudly announced Gorchakov's crime and shot him directly, Gorchakov would not have had the chance to turn his head and take a look, and he might have died on the spot.
Now, his left cheek was injured and his left ear was holed, leaving him with "one ear".
Although there was blood all over the place, there was no danger to his life.
Gorchakov was urgently bandaged and sent back to recover. Governor Kaufman urgently conducted a thorough investigation of the Lucia Guard to see if there were any remaining assassins.
Finally, the reason for the assassination was found out. Colonel Chernyaev was too talkative and leaked state secrets, which led to the assassination.
Colonel Chernyev was suspended from his post, imprisoned, and returned to Russia to prepare for a court-martial.
The negotiations were suspended that day and did not continue the next day. Gorchakov, with gauze wrapped around his ears, and Governor Kaufman paid a private visit to Shao Quanzhong.
Not knowing the other party's intentions, Shao Quanzhong asked Wu Ziyi to act as an interpreter and personally met the two guests.
"My Lord Count, rest assured, a mere assassination by a bandit cannot stop us from signing the treaty. However, this assassination has given me a reminder that if we cede too much territory in the treaty, the people of Lucia will strongly oppose it and urge the government not to recognize the treaty."
Shao Quanzhong smiled and was gentle in private, not at all rude as when he slammed his shoes on the table during negotiations, "Are you trying to use the assassination incident as an excuse to shirk your responsibility, Mr. Foreign Minister?"
Gorchakov waved his hand. "We are determined to pursue peace. But this shot has awakened me. We can try another way so that the Russian people will not have so much resistance. At the same time, the Qing Dynasty will benefit and His Majesty the Tsar will save face."
"Your Excellency has such a good idea?"
"We are friendly neighbors, and we can solve the problem in a peaceful way. Besides, the Huai Army is so elite, are you really willing to be a pawn of Britain forever?"
Shao Quanzhong said in a serious tone, "Our friendship with Britain is sincere. Your Excellency, please do not stir up trouble."
"But our friendship can also be sincere. Frankly speaking, because of your rise, we in Lucia have decided to abandon the Eastern strategy and shift our strategic focus to Europe. Our two great nations can stand back to back and become each other's rear, fighting against the oppression of evil forces together."
Shao Quanzhong pondered Gorchakov's words with amusement, tapping the table lightly with his hand.
It was impossible to be open-hearted and supportive of each other. The Qing Dynasty and Russia could only temporarily and secretly unite under the pressure of a stronger force.
However, if the other party's conditions satisfy her, it would not be a problem for Qinglu to become a temporary sex buddy for mutual warmth.
"I have a suggestion. Let's form a secret alliance with Qinglu. You will get more land than what you proposed, but as an ally, we need funds to get through the difficult times."
Gorchakov took out a few sheets of paper from his pocket and handed them to Wu Ziyi carefully. "This is my package plan. Please correct me."
(End of this chapter)