Chapter 52 Russian envoys come to the south

Wen Xiang returned to the General Administration's yamen and immediately asked Li Hongzhang to draft the official documents and stamp them. He asked Zhang Jing, the General Administration's name, Sheng Yu, to submit it to the Russian Embassy not far away. At this time, the ministers of various countries had not yet been moved.

When summoning a minister for state affairs, it was naturally not as quick and convenient as the people had traveled. It was not until almost noon that the Stingmei carriage that Marisk was riding came to the gate of the General Administration Office, entered the signing room, and waited for Wenxiang to arrive, bowed to each other and sat down. The Russian rank of the General Administration Office Office, Zhang Jing, and the student of the same department named Ruizheng, was a copy.

"Mr. Minister, His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty sent an order to ask me to ask the Minister to go to the yamen for your country. I am a member of your country to cross the Erguna, the boundary of the Gerbis River, which was agreed upon in the Treaty of Nebchu in the 28th year of Kangxi, and the boundary of the Gerbis River, on the west bank of the Amur River, to build camps and barracks?"

"This," the Russian envoy blinked his blue eyes, "This matter... I am about to submit a document from Petersburg to the Chinese Lord. His Majesty's Tsar hopes that His Majesty the Chinese Emperor will allow him to send a delegation headed by His Excellency Mushaviev, the Governor of East and West Siberia, to the capital of your country. It is precious. The issue of ownership of the pending areas left over from the Treaty of Nebchu signed in 1689 has been formally negotiated with your government."

Wen Xiang was stunned. I didn't get any news about this incident beforehand? Why is it so coincidental? He just wanted to question Tsarist Russia for the Amur River incident, so they were going to send people to Beijing to discuss the problems left over from the Treaty of Nibchu? Is this too coincidental?

I thought to myself that I took the official document handed over by the Russians, opened it in public, and handed it to Rui on the side to collect it. For a moment, I didn’t know what to say!

Mariinske is not lying. Russia is indeed planning to send people to Beijing to discuss the border dispute between the two countries, which starts from the seventh year of Xianfeng.

Although Russia's two tsars from Nicholas I to Alexander II were both planners and commanders of the invasion of China, due to different internal and external factors, Musaviev did not dare to make things too much, so he had to act as a mediator between the moderate Nisser Roger (the then Minister of the Foreign Affairs of Tsarist Russia) and the fierce Musaviev. However, every dispute was dominated by Musaviev.

Shortly after the end of the Crimean War, Britain and France provoked trouble on the southeast coast. The Russian ambassador to the United States heard rumors in the United States that "the British not only wanted to get more convenient benefits in trade in China, but also wanted to get Zhoushan Island." They also said that "France is taking joint action with Britain and is also counting on something along the Pacific coast."

At that time, the head of the Russian priest Baladi, a monk and high priest who had always been known for his "political achievements far higher than cultural achievements", reported to St. Petersburg in a more deceptive language, "Now, with the establishment of peace (this refers to the Paris contract), we are no longer restricted, and our actions should be clear. I no longer doubt that the merger of the left bank of the Amur River is just a stopgap measure, and this practice is neither appropriate nor slow."

Baladi is a Chinese master. He served as a member of the 11th Russian priest and the head of the 12th priest. He has lived in China for many years and speaks very fluent in Chinese. In the letter, he said, "China is like a stubborn old man. He likes others to obey him on the surface, so he will make all concessions silently. I think things can be solved smoothly without any silence, but force d’aller (French, action)."

Mushaviev was eager to try this, insisting that 'the more difficult the Chinese government is in, the more difficult it is to reason'. Therefore, 'there is no benefit to talk to the Chinese government. All problems should be solved by ourselves, because the Chinese government dare not and will not obstruct our actions.' He remembered the legacy of Nicholas I before his death: 'China should meet the reasonable requirements of our country. If it is not allowed, now we have a strong army and can force it to submit by force.'

But before Mushaviev took action, another person appeared. His name was Putiyatin. He was born into a noble family in St. Petersburg and had an earl assaulted the throne. He participated in Tsar's foreign wars many times, which attracted the attention of the Tsar. In 1842, he went on a mission to Iran, obtained the right to trade in the Caspian Sea, and established a route between the two countries. Putiyatin was very good at using diplomatic means to seek benefits for the motherland. After the Iranian affairs, he arrived at the *** again and forced the *** government to sign the Treaty of Shimoda in 1855. Russian ships were able to sail into three ports including Shimoda and recognized the Tsar's rights over the Kuril Islands.

His diplomatic activities inspired the Russian emperor. Since it could be resolved at the negotiating table, why bother to mobilize troops to fight? So, when the British and French armies were advancing on the coast of Guangdong, Putiyatin, who served as the Russian naval officer in London, immediately sent a letter to the government and requested that the demarcation of Heilongjiang be resolved immediately. Otherwise, Russia would not be able to protect the interests of Britain and France when they divide China in the future.

So, in November of the seventh year of Xianfeng, the Russian Emperor recruited him back to St. Petersburg, preparing to appoint him as the plenipotentiary of China to China, and to take advantage of China's war with Britain and France, and had no time to look north to seize the benefits Russia needed.

But before Putiyatin could set off, the British and French forces were defeated in Anshan Lake first. This result was greatly beyond the Russians' expectations. The Russian emperor was shocked and did not dare to seek benefits from the Heilongjiang River Basin through negotiations, but he was reluctant to let it go. So he changed his order to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gers to go to China as the negotiator. He took a look at China's reality and then talked about it.

It turned out that within Tsarist Russia, the two methods of seizing Heilongjiang by force and obtaining through negotiations, each had its own supporters. The former was headed by Musaviev and Prince Constantine, and the latter was headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nisser Roger, Gers and Putiyatin. After the latter faction gained the upper hand, Musaviev wrote a letter to complain to the Tsar before the mission set out, "No one has ever considered the possibility of rejection of the mission and how should the Chinese be dealt with in the future?" Later, in his letter to Prince Constantine, he also said, "To be honest, I cannot agree with the view that I think that the mission will be beneficial to Beijing until now... I think, first, if China is willing to retreat

Let, then in the text, it can only be written as 'solving the problems left over from history'; second, if China does not agree with the dividing line proposed by our country and still believes that the Amur River belongs to my country, then we must force them to recognize our rights by force. If the public proposal is rejected by China and we have no expression, it means that we have given up the right to have Amur. Because of this, I am prepared for military operations. In fact, it might be better if we had to force them to accept our conditions by force - since Britain and France had the right to force China to accept its conditions by force, why did we not have such rights?"

Alexander II ignored it and set out directly from Pagles. After arriving in Beijing, China agreed to Russia's request to survey the border and establish a consulate, but refused all the others.

When the news came, the happiest thing was Mushaviev, who was preparing for war in Heilongjiang. He was working hard for the Amur career. If Gers took away the credit on the eve of his about to succeed, his efforts would be ruined. China's rejection changed all this. So, on the other hand, he reported to the Russian emperor, and on the other hand, he further transported troops and immigrated to the Heilongjiang area, and prepared to solve the problem by force. But a letter from Army Minister Sukhozanet made his passionate thoughts blew halfway.

This letter conveyed the government's resolution to him in the form of a private letter; "I cannot agree with your long-cherished wish to further obtain the left bank of the Amur River. In my opinion, your concerns about the incompetence of the Qing rulers should not affect our country's relationship with this region. We should not focus on the Qing court, but on this region - no matter who manages the region in the future, we must be recognized by our country, although this recognition is informal, as long as we can calmly and not cause political possession of Amur."

Mushaviev was naturally very dissatisfied, but at the end of the letter, Sukhozanet wrote, "...I can reveal to you in a very confidential manner, please rest assured that His Majesty the Emperor will not change his determination to control the entire left bank of the Amur River in any case." At this point, the overall blueprint for Russia's invasion and expansion of China has been basically determined.

Not long after, Mushaviev made a physical reason, and he knew that in a short period of time, Russia would not take action against China, so he simply went to Europe for recuperation.

Until the tenth year of Xianfeng, the Amur River incident was once again put on the agenda by the Russian emperor. In order to worry about arousing a fierce reaction from China, the Russians circled a huge circle - on the grounds of rediscussing the areas to be determined between the two sides' borders in the Treaty of Nibchu, they sent people to Beijing to see the Chinese's reaction first, and then determine the second step of action. The main envoy of the mission sent this time was Mushaviev.

This time when we came to China, the Russians made an abacus to discuss the issues left by Nebchu with China to achieve the purpose of exploring China's attitude. There is a reason here, probably this is it.

When the Nebchu Treaty was signed, there were three parts of the text, namely the Russian version, the Manchu version, and the Latin version. This is because when signing the contract, the other party's language is different. Only Latin is recognized by both parties and signed and preserved as official texts, while the Russian and Manchu versions are handed over to each other as exchange texts.

The eastern boundary between the two countries was defined in the Treaty, and stipulated that the two countries were bounded by the Ergun River, the Gerbizi River and the Gerbizi River source to the east to the outer Xing'an Mountains. Only the Udi River area was not delineated because the outer Xing'an Mountains were north and south in the eastern part, and this time the plan set by Mushaviev and others was to start from now on.

The explanations of this undefined area in the three texts signed at that time are quite different, and are quoted as follows; the Latin text records are: "Only the boundary between the Xing'an Mountains and the Wudi River and how the land is divided is still unresolved. This matter must be settled after the envoys of the two countries return to their own countries and find out in detail, and send special envoys or use documents to determine it;

The Manchu text records: south of the Wudi River, all the rivers and streams in the middle north of the Xing'an Mountains will be temporarily stored. After each return to the country to find out, an envoy or a document will be sent before making an agreement;

The Russian text records are: All rivers and all lands between the Wudi River and the mountains near the Amur River belonging to Russia, and all lands between them, and the imperial envoys and plenipotent ministers who have not obtained the will of the Tsar to divide such lands, should be temporarily stored. After the envoys of the two countries return to their country, the emperors of the two countries will either send envoys or write documents before making an agreement.

Three texts and three statements. According to international relations practice, the Latin text that was reviewed and signed by representatives of both parties is undoubtedly a standard text with legal effect. Therefore, the ownership of this piece of land that has not yet been resolved has become a heart disease between the two countries.

Although Wen Xiang felt that the Russians came strangely, he did not think much and continued to ask, "Even if the treaty between our two countries is not yet agreed, I just see your people sailing on the Amur River and setting up defenses on the shore. Isn't it a violation of the previous agreement agreed between the two countries that year?"

"I don't know about this. I have to ask my country about it and then give an official reply to the Lord of China." Mariinske said without missing a trace.

Wen Xiang sighed secretly, and the other party gave up like this, so there was no need to continue talking.

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After sending the Russian minister's gift out of the yamen, Wen Xiang picked up the translated official document. Before he could take a look, the door of the signing room opened, Ronglu's voice came in, "Sir?"

"What's up?"

"The Holy Driving is here!"

"Ah?" Wen Xiang was shocked, threw away the official document in his hand, grabbed the big hat on the table, and rushed out with Ronglu. Sure enough, the emperor and a petite and beautiful man stood under the porch, whispering, carefully distinguishing, and recognizing the girl Jingyu who was on duty in front of the emperor. "Slave, please respectfully invite the emperor to the holy of the emperor!"

"Get up, get up." The emperor said with a smile, "I originally wanted to walk a few steps outside and go back. I happened to see a carriage of a foreign minister leaving. Is it a Russian minister?"

"Yes. I just summoned the Russian ambassador to China." Wen Xiang explained a few words in a hurry, and suddenly felt aroused in his heart and bowed to him. "Your Majesty, I am stupid. I always feel that there is something inconsistent with it, but I can't tell you. Is the Russians really here for the undetermined payments in the Treaty of Nebchu signed by the Holy Ancestor and Russia?"

"Where is the official documents posted by the Russians? Take them to me."

"twitter."

He ordered people to get the text that had just been translated and had not been copied yet. The emperor took it and looked carefully for a while, "Who is the representative of the Russian Emperor this time?"

"The man's name is Mulifey, and he is the governor of East and West Siberia."

The emperor smiled for no reason, "So it was him?"

"Your Majesty, do you know this person?"

"This matter," the emperor smiled mysteriously, and said no more, and handed the official document to Ronglu, "I won't mention it today. I'll explain it to you tomorrow."

Wen Xiang had a lot of questions, but the emperor did not say anything and could not ask too much, so he had to take the General Administration to kneel down and send the emperor out.
Chapter completed!