.Plushenko smiled, but only he knew the indescribable secret in his heart.

The brutal Crimean War, after both sides lost a total of one million troops, the smoke of gunpowder gradually began to dissipate. However, for Russia, the protracted "Crimean nightmare" seems to have been shrouded in it and cannot move on, so that Russia, which often likes to call itself "European law enforcement officer", could not breathe and could not stand up.

In this summer, leaving the Winter Palace on the banks of the Neva River and hiding into the suburbs of St. Petersburg, it is located in the dense forests on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. The luxurious and magnificent summer palace (Peter Palace) is known as the "Versailles in Russia". Whether it is a large palace with two wings, a gilded dome, an extremely luxurious interior and exterior decoration, or the Chinese hall that is now sitting completely using real Chinese lacquered screens and furniture, and is decorated with oriental interest, Alexander II not only does not feel the slightest refreshment, but is even more depressed and irritable.

In front of him was the armistice clause of the coalition forces led by France and Britain at the upcoming Paris Peace Conference, and several telegrams from his dispatched troops in China that were trapped in the battlefield of China.

"The Black Sea is neutralized, warships from various countries are prohibited from passing through the two straits. Russia is forbidden to establish or retain an arsenal along the Black Sea coast. Free navigation on the Danube." Russia will lose its power to have fleets in the Black Sea, and its long-term and unremitting efforts to expand the Black Sea will eventually be wasted.

"In order to maintain the stability of the Balkans and curb power, the Crimean Peninsula is set up as a military buffer zone, jointly garrisoned by the coalition forces and managed in subdistricts." At the same time, it is necessary to "cede the Danube estuary and southern Bisarabia to Moldavia, return the Caucasus Karls to Turkey, and give up the protection of the Orthodox Church in Turkey. The sovereignty of Serbia, Wallachia and Moldavia still belong to Turkey, and the great powers jointly guarantee..."

The Crimean War, which has been unbearable in the past four years, not only brought him casualties to nearly 700,000 elite Tsar soldiers, now he is not only facing the frustration of gaining nothing and the shame of losing his territory, but also the embarrassment and embarrassment of Russia's international status that has been caused by this.

More seriously, this miscalculated the situation and wrongly raised its own war, which could not steal a chicken and eroded a handful of rice, almost drained the entire domestic economy. This brought about not only the surging serf riots, but also some bureaucrats and nobles who once advocated so strongly and even actively participated in this war in various ways began to doubt His Majesty the Tsar they were loyal to. The one who possessed the "courage of a man's scholar and the vanity of a woman" claimed that he was the liberator of Europe, Bawang, "Are he a great and powerful Russian fighter or a complete traitor"?

But what if you don’t accept the reality of all this?

For the sake of war, Alexander II made all the efforts he deserved, and also made full use of the "selfless assistance" to the Qing Dynasty, which drove the development of many industries such as railways and machine manufacturing. Unfortunately, he met a poor neighbor, and soon he could not get a little cash out of stock, and he made a fortune. In order to alleviate the crisis, he had begun to consider whether the Qing Dynasty should give it all, so he would give it a few more, such as "mortgage" some treasures, calligraphy and paintings, some silk, fur, tea, even if it could only be tens of thousands of pigs, cows, sheep, etc.

Unfortunately, it was not the case. It was not that the Qing Dynasty refused to do it, but that the war situation did not give him so many opportunities. After the defensive battle in Sevastopol Port lasted for eleven months, the Russian army finally lost heavy losses of more than 100,000 soldiers and fled in a panic, in June of the previous year, a fierce battle in Cassus broke out again.

His Tsarist Russian army surrounded Cass, and he wanted to wipe out tens of thousands of Turkish troops in the city, to wipe out the bad luck that shrouded the Tsar Russian army, and to give himself a little pitiful face-to-face letter to leave a way out. Who knew that the siege was first hit by September, and then a full ten-month stalemate. What he didn't expect was that the Frenchman who had already stopped his troops joined the battle group at this critical moment.

"My Majesty, the war can no longer last..." This is the most trusted commander, Mikhail, Mi226, of Alexander II; Prince Gorchakov, who sent him a report after he escaped from Kass, and at this moment he remembered again, "We are not opponents of the French army in terms of morale and weapons. Especially the newly formed guards army, the attack power is unprecedented. According to British officers who we once captured in the defense battle of Sevastopol Port, the French guards army is an excellent army equipped by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The gunpowder, guns and cannons it has been rare since ancient times and is unimaginable. A guard army of less than 10,000 people can easily tear and eat our army group of tens of thousands..."

If the soldiers on the front line had not been beaten to death and lost their souls, if they had not lost his 100,000 troops in this unlucky place of Cas, there would have been no way Alexander II would have accepted the mediation of the Ottoman Empire and began arduous negotiations with the coalition forces?

Entering the substantive negotiation stage, although the other party spoke out loud and the conditions were scary, the matters in the Near East seemed to be put aside for the time being. It also seemed that we should calm down and carefully examine the chaos in the country, and find a good way to improve our economic strength as soon as possible. Otherwise, if we want to find an opportunity to make this noise, wouldn't that be the matter of the Year of the Monkey and Horse Month?

But at this time, the wall was really falling, and everyone pushed it, and the drums were broken and thousands of people beat it. The problem of the Far East came to the door again. The troops stationed in China's dispatched troops in Weihai, Shandong were not only wiped out, but they did not escape even if they were only one person or a ship. Alexander II was shocked and confused. Didn't Mihail say that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could be invincible when armed with one hand, let alone their own army.

Both sides suffered a cruel blow at the same time. A good empire is full of holes. How to make up for it? Alas, no one can listen to the noises made by those who are shouting like crows below. It seems that the "Paris Contract" cannot be signed. There is no way. It is better to lose a Crimea than to lose the Eastern Palace.

So, how to face China's difficult situation? Prayatin and others seem to want to take advantage of the peace talks between the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to step up the replenishment of the army in China and ensure that the ideal plan to block the Yellow River can be realized. Is this possible?
Chapter completed!