In the blink of an eye, it was January 1861. Of course, according to the Qing Dynasty, it was still the 10th year of Xianfeng, but the weather had already become cold. During this period, the emissary from Rehe moved all the imperial physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine to Rehe, using the reason that Emperor Xianfeng fell ill. He also took away the taxes and silver from the provinces. Other than leaving 100,000 silver for Li Qing's daily office use, the entire capital's official treasury was emptied.
On the 13th of January, 1861, the entire capital was covered in silver.
The snow-sealed capital did not become deserted because of this. Instead, it was bustling with activity.
With the crackling of firecrackers, the Prime Minister's Office for Foreign Affairs, which was located in Dongtangzi Alley, was officially established. The Prime Minister, Minister Li Qing, Ministers Gui Liang, Wen Xiang, Bao Yun, and other envoys from various countries gathered together.
"Congratulations to Your Highness, the Gong Prince. The official establishment of the Prime Minister's Office means that you will be the first person to witness the integration of the Qing Kingdom into the world's civilized country!”Hua Ruohan said with a smile.
Li Qing laughed after hearing this." I think if Minister changed the civilized country to a civilized country, I would be even happier!"”
Just as everyone was laughing and complimenting each other, a rude voice that was out of place was heard.
"Your Highness, the Prime Minister's Office has already been established. I don't think the Prince has any reason to refuse to sign the new treaty signed by the Russian Empire!”Ignatiev sneered.
Li Qing smiled and said," I've been busy recently, and the treaty payment issued by your country is too complicated. We need to study it carefully."”
Ignatiev said angrily," Your Highness, it has been three years since 1858. Your country has been evading this. Are you trying to break the contract?" I might as well tell you that the great Tsar Alexander II has no patience to waste time with you. If you don't take effective action, your country and our country have a land border that is ten thousand miles long. Our Russia can give you an irresistible blow anywhere in your country.”
Ignatiev had just finished speaking, and before Li Qing could speak, the Eagle Country's envoy at the side said in a tit-for-tat manner,""Minister Ignatiev is so arrogant. In front of so many envoys of our countries, he actually blatantly violated the international contract law and is preparing to threaten us with force?”
Since the failure of the negotiations between the three countries, Erkin had strongly advocated for the failure of China after returning to China. Russia had an unshirkable responsibility. As the world's strongest country, we should not retreat. We should give this despicable villain a heavier lesson than the Crimean War.
After the parliament's resolution, Eagle Country would definitely teach Russia a lesson that would be engraved in their bones. However, due to the defeat, the anti-war sentiment in the country was high. Therefore, the two countries unanimously decided to support the Qing Kingdom in the Far East to compete with Russia, just like how Turkey paid in the Crimean War.
Ignatiev did not expect the envoys of Eagle and Hair Country to protect the Qing Kingdom so much. He could only leave with hatred. However, Li Qing knew that the other party would not give up easily.
Because the Russian Empire had developed from a small Moscow Duchy to its current state in 300 years, one could imagine how greedy Russia was for land.
All the previous tsars had used the double-headed eagle as the symbol of Russia. In their eyes, there was not only Europe but also a large area of land in the Far East. They were like hungry wolves that never knew how to be satisfied.
As early as the middle of the 17th century, Tsarist Russia extended its invading claws from Siberia into the Amur River basin. However, the Qing army and people had fought bravely against Russia for decades, so Russia had no choice but to withdraw.
However, after that, the tsars never gave up. After the Second Opium War, Tsar Alexander II saw that the Qing government was not only doing its best to suppress the Taiping Rebellion, but also busy dealing with the invaders from the sea. The Qing government repeatedly transferred cavalry from the northeast region.
Therefore, Nicholas I and Alexander II took advantage of the emptiness of the northeast border and celebrated happily. In 1850, Nicholas I sent the navy to land at the mouth of the Amur River and establish an invasion stronghold.
From 1854 to 1857, Russia ignored the many protests of the Qing government and openly sent troops and immigrants to illegally occupy our territory north of the Amur River and on both sides of the Amur River. They were bent on fixing the territory they occupied in the form of a treaty.
In 1856, the Second Onion War broke out. Alexander II of Russia saw an opportunity and sent Ignatiev to China as an envoy in 1857.
The Qing government refused Putyadin to enter Beijing according to the usual practice, so he transferred to Hong Kong. On the one hand, Russia colluded with the Eagle and Hair invaders to plan for them and do all kinds of bad things. On the other hand, he pretended to be the initiator of the negotiations in the Qing court in an attempt to get a high middleman fee.
In April 1858, the allied forces arrived outside Dagu Pass and captured Dagu Fort on May 20. Alexander II of Russia took advantage of the crisis of the Qing Dynasty and ordered the Governor of Eastern Siberia, Muravyov, to "seize the opportunity to end the negotiations with the Qing Dynasty". In other words, he was taking advantage of the situation and taking advantage of your illness to kill you.
Therefore, on May 22, Muravyov led his army to Aihui by gunboat to blackmail and threaten the general of the Heilong River. Under the threat of the Russian invaders, the two countries signed the unequal Aihui treaty.
The 600,000-square-kilometer territory of the Qing Kingdom north of the Amur River was transferred to Russia. However, the 64 villages in Jiangdong were still " permanently inhabited " by the people of the Qing Dynasty and were under the jurisdiction of the Qing officials. The territory east of the Wusuli River was classified as "condominium" by the Qing Dynasty.
Not long after Muravyov forced Kaoshan to sign the Aihui treaty, Ignatiev, the Russian minister, took advantage of the opportunity when the coalition forces captured Dagu to encourage the coalition forces to continue attacking Tianjin while colluding with the US minister to act as a mediator. On June 13, 1858, he signed the China-Russia Tianjin treaty with the Qing government through despicable means of deception, blackmail, and threats. In the treaty, Russia used the method of fishing in troubled waters to specify that "the border had not been established before. The two countries would send trusted officials to investigate impartially. This kind of general clause became an excuse for Russia to continue annexing the territory of the Qing Kingdom.
Unfortunately, the Aihui treaty was only a one-sided treaty signed between the Russian government and the general of the Heilong River, and it had no legal effect. In order to make the contract effective, Alexander II urged Ignatiev to go to the capital of the Qing Kingdom several times to re-sign the contract.
Unfortunately, the Qing government rejected him several times.
It was not until the autumn hunt of Mulan in Xianfeng that Li Qing defeated the coalition army at Baliqiao and signed the contract that the coalition army retreated to Tianjin. At this time, Ignatiev claimed to be a " benefactor " and used the excuse of " mediation merit " to make a large number of territorial demands to the Qing government as compensation.
Unfortunately, Russia's plan to take advantage of the situation was destined to not satisfy them, because he met the hot-blooded Li Qing, not the Qing Emperor who was always wronged.
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