"Your Majesty, the ambassadors of the Kingdom of England, France and the Prussian Kingdom, have made a request to mediate this crisis.↗,w±ww.2○3wx.c︾om, and their attitude is relatively tough. If we do not agree, they may put more pressure on us!" Russian Foreign Minister Earl Nesserrodii reported to Tsar Alexander II. Such a major event is not something that he, a foreign minister, can make decisions.

Tsar Alexander II's face was a little gloomy. Unexpectedly, at this time, the British and French would actually drag them down. They are Russian allies. Shouldn't they occupy the Russian side?

"What can they do if we don't agree?" Tsar Alexander II was a little angry.

"If we refuse, then Britain and France will most likely stop supporting us. In particular, we have just asked Britain and France that we hope they can provide us with a batch of weapons and equipment. Until now, they have not given us a reply." said Count Nesserrodi.

"Damn it! Don't those guys know that we are allies? If we lose the war, what good will it do to them?" The Russian commander-in-chief Duke Gorchakov was furious. After all, what Britain and France did was too despicable and shameless. For their own interests, they actually forced their allies. You must know that if Russia was defeated, Britain and France would definitely not be able to get it. After losing Russia's restraint, the huge army of the Chinese Empire could almost submerge the entire Europe.

"Your Majesty, I think that if we do not accept mediation between Britain and France, they will not betray the covenant. After all, the Chinese Empire is their biggest enemy. However, this will greatly deteriorate our relationship with Britain and France, which will be very unfavorable for our next battle." Government adviser Zhukovsky said. After all, Russia is too weak. If you want to continue to fight with the Chinese Empire, you must get support from Britain and France. Russia provides soldiers, and Britain and France provide weapons, equipment and funds. Only by continuing to cooperate in this way can you compete with the Chinese Empire.

Tsar Alexander II nodded. He was not a fool. After calming down, he could quickly understand. However, Britain and France, together with the Kingdom of Prussia, made it difficult for him to accept. However, he also knew that now is not the time to have a quarrel with Britain and France. Otherwise, Russia would not be the opponent of the Chinese Empire at all with its own strength. Originally, Russia's advantage lies in its huge population and huge army. However, in front of the Chinese Empire, this advantage was completely gone!

"So, what should we do now?" asked Alexander II.

"Your Majesty, I suggest giving Britain and France a face and accepting their mediation. We can also hold peace talks with the Chinese Empire!" Zhukovsky continued. He was the teacher of Tsar Alexander II, and his opinions were often acceptable to Alexander II.

"Is it possible that we really want to bow our heads to the Chinese Empire? I will never agree!" Tsar Alexander II said gritting his teeth.

"No, His Majesty the Tsar! Accepting mediation does not mean that we have to bow to the Chinese Empire. We can continue to stick to our bottom line. In this way, we not only give face to Britain and France, maintain the relationship between the two countries, but also defend the dignity of Russia!" Zhukovsky continued. This is a way of best of both worlds for Russia.

Alexander II nodded. If he could not bow to the Chinese Empire, he would be acceptable.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this method is good. Our army mobilization also requires a lot of time. It is just right for us to use this negotiation to delay time." The Russian Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Duke Gorchakov, also said.

Russia's industrial strength is backward and its mobilization system is also backward. Although Russia has a huge population, it is not so easy to turn these populations into an army. If the Russian army's strength needs to be expanded from 1.5 million to 3 million, it would be absolutely impossible to do so without half a year. Because it is impossible for Russia to directly send farmers who have just put down their hoes and can't even fire guns to the battlefield. They need to go through basic combat literacy training. Otherwise, they will be letting them die.

"Well, then do it like this!" Alexander II nodded.

Russia accepted mediation from Britain, France and the U.S., but Russia's military mobilization did not stop. Although this did not have much effect on alleviating the tension, it also gave everyone a glimmer of hope.

Under the leadership of Britain, France and the Chinese Empire, Wei Yuan, the Foreign Minister of the Chinese Empire, negotiated with the Russian Minister to China Puti Yating in the city of China. However, the negotiations almost came to a deadlock from the beginning.

The Chinese Empire strongly demanded that Russia apologize to the Chinese Empire for the attack on the embassy and compensate the Chinese Empire for the losses, ensuring that similar incidents will not happen again in the future. At the same time, severely punish those who attacked the Chinese Empire's embassy in Russia and the relevant responsible persons.

However, Russia seized the fact that the embassy of the Chinese Empire hidden heavy weapons, claiming that this was a conspiracy of the Chinese Empire, and that it was the embassy of the Chinese Empire's massacre of Russian civilians by the Chinese Empire, and demanded that the Chinese Empire make compensation to Russia. In addition, Russia demanded that the Chinese Empire hand over the executioner who massacred Russian civilians to Russia for disposal, otherwise, Russia would seek justice at all costs.

It can be said that the demands of both sides were against each other. This undoubtedly caused great difficulty to this negotiation. It also caused great headaches for Britain, France and the U.S. countries. In their opinion, whether it was the Chinese Empire or Russia, there was no sincerity for peace talks. With the pressure of the three countries, it was almost impossible to get them to reach an agreement.

It is understandable that the Chinese Empire is a bit tougher. After all, the Chinese Empire is far stronger than Russia, and the hard truth is that it is a big fist. In this regard, the Chinese Empire undoubtedly has a better advantage. At the same time, this incident is still the Chinese Empire.

However, Russia has no reason to be tough. Could it be that Russia really thinks that it can drag both Britain and France into the water, so it can be unscrupulous?

Russia's attitude made Britain and France very dissatisfied. Britain and France directly stopped supporting Russia, not only did not provide support for weapons and equipment to Russia, but also stopped lending to Russia, which directly caused huge trouble to Russia's mobilization.

Tsar Alexander II roared angrily in the Winter Palace, calling Britain and France despicable villains. They actually took such actions in order to demand Russia’s surrender. You must know that Russia is an ally of Britain and France!

Alexander II was originally a stubborn person. The more Britain and France forced him, the more he refused to bow his head. This made the relationship between Russia and Britain and France begin to deteriorate. However, Alexander II believed that once the war broke out, Britain and France would never sit idly by and watch Russia be destroyed. After all, Russia was destroyed, and there was no benefit to Britain and France.

The negotiations between the Chinese Empire and Russia were in a deadlock. The Chinese Empire obviously did not want to see the negotiations continue to be deadlocked. After all, the front-line troops were ready for war. If the war was not started for a long time, it would have an impact on the morale of the troops.

"Your Majesty, the Russians obviously want to delay and create time for the mobilization of their troops. We cannot let them continue like this!" Foreign Minister Wei Yuan said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, why don't we go to war directly against Russia! The 1st Army and the 2nd Army on the front have sent telegrams several times to ask when the war will start." General Sun Hao, the Chief of Staff, also said.

Long Yufei nodded. If the war started now, it would undoubtedly be a breakup. It doesn't matter to Britain and France, both sides were enemies. However, the Prussian Kingdom was different. They are one of the most important allies of the empire now. Even if the relationship between the two sides may change with the end of the war, at least, both sides are still allies at this stage.

"It seems that we need to add another fire. Director Luo, let's leave this matter to the Military Intelligence Bureau!" Long Yufei said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" General Luo Hongtao, the commander of the Military Intelligence Bureau, nodded. The Military Intelligence Bureau is undoubtedly more experienced in doing such a thing.

Just as China and Russia were negotiating, another incident broke out. This incident directly broke down the negotiations between China and Russia and led to the outbreak of war.

On July 22, 1854, the Chinese Empire's consulate in Moscow was surrounded by Russians who were protesting as usual. However, Russian police formed a wall of humans to protect the embassy from the impact of protesters.

At 11 a.m., a Russian threw a homemade bomb directly at the consulate. The bomb exploded inside the consulate, seriously injured a staff member and a guard.

Although the Russian police immediately caught the Russian who threw the bomb, they found out that the man was simply a Russian patriot.

After the Chinese embassy in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, was hit, the embassy in Moscow was attacked by bombs, which directly added fuel to the already very critical relationship between the two countries.

Wei Yuan, the Foreign Minister of the Chinese Empire, directly announced the breakdown of the negotiations between China and Russia. Even though Britain, France and the U.S. made efforts, they could not work.

On the morning of July 23, 1854, the imperial emperor Long Yufeifa made a radio speech. Given that the Russians attacked the embassy in Russia again and again, this was a provocation to the empire. The empire decided to formally declare war on Russia and use war to defend the interests of the empire! (To be continued, please search for astronomy, novels are better and faster!
Chapter completed!