The British ambassador finally received Vézé's promise that if Britain had any specific needs, they could inform China. China would seriously discuss this with the British.
After sending off the British ambassador, Vézé informed the Politburo of this matter. In the past few years, the Politburo had gradually understood some of the world's situation, but in everyone's opinion, the foreigners all looked the same. They were not very clear about their internal disputes, and in fact, they were not very interested.
Vézé explained a little, "Britain and Russia are playing a game of power! That is to say, the conflict and struggle between the two countries is not war and peace, but a long-term relationship of struggle and cooperation. When dealing with Manchu Qing, Britain and Russia cooperated. As soon as the interests of the two countries are involved, they immediately fight. "
"Then how should China deal with the possible cooperation between Britain and Russia against China?" The Politburo was more interested in this question.
Vézé calmly replied, "To forge iron, we need to be strong. China has a population of 500 million, and the rest of the industrial countries in the world add up to less than 500 million. Build us into the world's most powerful country, and even if the industrial countries of the world unite, we will still make them die without a burial ground. Moreover, they will not really join forces. Can you imagine Germany and France joining forces in good faith? "
The last example of this sentence was too appropriate, and there was a burst of understanding laughter in the Politburo.
Of course, Germany and France could not really be at peace, and Bismarck was very clear about this. The British claimed that they had no other desire for Europe, and only hoped that the situation in Europe could maintain balance. This also meant that the British hoped that the other countries would restrain each other, so that Britain could exert great influence in a favorable position. Since Britain's attitude was like this, Bismarck was not worried about Britain and France colluding for the time being. If France wanted to defeat Germany, the only real strong countries that could be relied on were Russia and Austria-Hungary. The Prime Minister immediately began diplomatic activities, hoping to form an alliance with Russia and Austria-Hungary. Once the three countries formed an alliance, France would lose all opportunities to defeat Germany, and could only bite their fingers and lick their wounds.
February 9, 1872 was the Spring Festival. According to tradition, Korea would send a diplomatic mission to congratulate the emperor of China. This year, the envoy from Goryeo wanted to discuss another issue. Since the Chinese Army had already cleared out the remnants of the Xiang Army in Goryeo, when would they prepare to withdraw from Goryeo?
If China didn't have financial problems now, the mainstream attitude of the Liberation Army would probably be to simply annex Korea. However, the current situation wasn't so optimistic, so the idea of completely controlling Gao Li became the mainstream. It was meaningless to ask Gao Li to cut a piece of land at this time.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed a condition to Korea. China is willing to lease Juwen Island for 30 years to build a naval base for China. Juwen Island was known as the Gibraltar of the East in Europe. In fact, Vézé himself did not know about this matter. This was the intelligence gathered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Europe. The North Sea Fleet set its home port in Vladivostok, but Vladivostok had a freezing period every year. When winter came, the North Sea Fleet returned to Lushun Port. When they returned in 1871, they also investigated Juwen Island.
Juwen Island was made up of the west, east, and ancient islands. It was also known as the Three Mountain Islands or Three Islands. The three islands formed a natural harbor in the middle that could anchor large warships, and it never froze all year round. Juwen Island was located between the Goryeo Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago. Not only was it the sea route between Korea and Japan, but it was also the main route for Russia to go south. It had an important strategic value. With China's current strength, Vézé didn't believe that they could really monopolize Russia's land in a short period of time.
Vézé originally wanted to get some territory benefits from Goryeo. After learning this information, he was sure that Juwen Island was this benefit.
Of course, the envoy from Goryeo didn't dare to make the decision himself. After confirming China's conditions, he returned to Goryeo. At the beginning of March, the envoy from Goryeo arrived in Nanjing again. They said that as long as China withdrew from Goryeo, they were willing to lease Juwen Island to China.
This matter was easy to say. China also had to spend money to station troops in Goryeo, so the troops in Goryeo quickly withdrew back to China. In April 1872, China's national flag was raised on Juwen Island. The North Sea Fleet finally obtained the port that they dreamed of.
With this good start, China and Goryeo discussed and signed the China and Goryeo Security Treaty, which was later known as the Treaty of Seoul. The treaty stipulated that China had the obligation to protect Goryeo from foreign invasion. At the same time, Goryeo had the obligation to provide all-round support when China protected Goryeo. This included allowing China to build railways, set up enterprises, and mine in Goryeo. China supported Goryeo in building a new army with new weapons and equipment. During wartime, this army had to obey the command of China and Goryeo's joint military command.
Of course, Vézé knew that Goryeo would not really let their army obey China's command. However, in this era of wild beasts, especially in the era of the Meiji Restoration in Japan, Goryeo had a relatively modern army, and there were many variables in the future. In fact, Vézé did not believe that Goryeo would honestly use such an army for defense. The chances of them taking the initiative to start a war with Japan were not small.
After the agreement was signed, this matter was left there. The border between China and Goryeo began to be clarified again. In fact, the border between the two sides had already been measured. China only used this to prohibit Goryeo from entering the northeast of China.
China was still gentle towards Goryeo, but it did not have such an attitude towards Russia in the north. The plan for new immigrants of 20 million households was carried out smoothly. There was a huge amount of land between Changchun and Shenyang that could be developed. At this time, a part of it had been developed, and it was enough to accommodate the immigrants.
In 1871, the vanguard of the Liberation Army finally arrived at a place 200 miles away from Qiqihar. After a winter of training, the troops began to advance towards Qiqihar in May.
At this time, more than a dozen fortresses were erected outside the city of Qiqihar. At first glance, they looked like European fortresses. In the past two years, the Liberation Army had not fought their way over, but the people of Russia had not been idle. They desperately repaired the city defense system, hoping to use it to block the Liberation Army under the city of Qiqihar. For the Chinese army, Qiqihar was a city in the extreme north, but for the people of Russia, Qiqihar was undoubtedly a warm city in the south. The frost-free period could last for half a year. For the people of Russia, this was a real warmth.
Of course, those Russia merchants who had been further south would talk about the south of China where winter only lasted for two or three months, and during these two or three months, the south of China might not see much snow. But for the ordinary people of Russia, it was just a dream. Their ancestors had lived in ice and snow for generations. For them, summer was the shortest season in the long winter that was worth savoring the most. To be able to live in Qiqihar was already a very wonderful thing.
In less than two years, fifty to sixty thousand people of Russia had gathered in Qiqihar. They also personally took action, using all their strength to drive the Chinese people in Qiqihar, as well as the natives they had captured from the surrounding areas. A total of one hundred thousand people had built a fairly complete defense system.
"As long as we can hold on until October, when it begins to snow, the people of China coming from the south will be in a dilemma in the heavy snow. In the end, they can only choose to retreat. The longer we are stationed in Qiqihar, the harder it will be to break through here. In the end, with Qiqihar as the center, we can establish a new frontier of Russia! "The defense commander was doing his utmost to encourage here.
The officers below also loudly agreed. This kind of agreement came from the bottom of their hearts. Since last year, the Chinese Navy had sunk Russian ships everywhere along the coast. They had also sent troops ashore to attack Russia's strongholds. On this land, the people of Russia had the word "kill" towards the natives. Therefore, the people of Russia weren't surprised when the Chinese troops killed all the people in Russia's strongholds.
There were only so many resources available on the ice sheet. The death of one person meant that the living could share the food, clothing, and shelter that the person originally needed to consume. Although the Russian government claimed in Europe that the natives of Russia in the Far East had been massacred by the Chinese in an attempt to gain sympathy and support from European public opinion. But the people of Russia in the Far East, on the contrary, didn't want to complain. It wasn't just in the Far East. Russia had fought from the west of the Volga River to the Pacific Ocean in the Far East. Facing the natives who were weak, the people of Russia didn't have the slightest mercy. When they might be in a position of weakness, they knew that of course they would complain, but complaining was downright "useless."
This was the first time the Chinese troops had fought a large-scale war with the European army. The troops were also very cautious. The vanguard troops didn't attack immediately. Instead, they waited for the arrival of the follow-up troops on May 15th. The two armies of 30,000 troops approached Qiqihar from two directions.
The people of Russia were more familiar with Qiqihar. On May 16th, they sent troops to the rear of the Chinese troops to harass the logistics line of China. This troop was a cavalry troop. If they could win, they would fight. If they couldn't, they would run. They were as cunning as loaches.
With such an arrangement, the Liberation Army greatly dispelled their contempt for the people of Russia. Up until now, China didn't have much experience in fighting against foreign troops. The battles were still at the scale of battle. The two sides lined up and had a short period of bloody battle. There had never been a battle at the level of a campaign. As for a civil war, the difficulty of marching troops was greater than fighting.
At the beginning of the war with the people of Russia, China also used its naval superiority to carry out a stronghold annihilation battle. Now that they had really carried out a battle on the scale of 100,000 people, the people of Russia made the troops of the Liberation Army feel that the former exercise had become a reality.
"When will the follow-up troops arrive?" the frontline commander asked.
"The telegram said that it will take another five days," the communications staff officer replied.
"Have you told them that the people of Russia sent cavalry to our rear?" the commander continued to ask.
"They have, and it has been confirmed," the communications staff officer replied with certainty.
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