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Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 582: Selling Prisoners of War

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    For China, Tsar Nicholas II undoubtedly hated it extremely.  Russia used to be one of the most important powers in the world. Although Russia's economy was in bad shape, its military strength was extremely powerful, and no country in the world dared to provoke it.  However, China defeated Russia, causing Russia not only heavy losses, but also shattered the myth that Russia would not be defeated.  The civil strife in Russia occurred entirely because of Russia's defeat in the war.  Therefore, Tsar Nicholas II hated China so much that he thought about revenge all the time.  They want him to put down his dignity now and go to China for help. How can they bear this tone?

    "Your Majesty, state affairs are of paramount importance! Russia, which has suffered a disastrous defeat, can no longer allow the rebellion to continue to run rampant. We must solve the rebellion as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the rebellion continues, the harm to Russia will be greater than the loss to Russia in the war.  China is even more serious!" Prime Minister Sergei Vitte advised.  He knew what Tsar Nicholas II was thinking.  However, now is the time to put national interests first.  Russia was defeated by China and lost most of its territory, but these territories were either grasslands, mountains and ice fields, and were not of much value.  But it was different in southern Russia, where rebellion was raging.  Both Ukraine and the Don River region are Russia's main grain-producing areas. Once Russia cannot take back these areas, a serious famine will definitely break out in Russia in the coming year.

    Czar Nicholas II nodded. To be able to become the emperor of Russia, he was certainly not a fool.  Naturally, one can distinguish the important from the important.  but.  The only thing that worried him was.  China will take this opportunity to speak loudly.  During the initial negotiations, the Chinese offered a high price of one hundred pounds for American prisoners of war. If all the prisoners of war were to be redeemed, it would cost a full one hundred million pounds!  The war compensation of 200 million pounds to China cost him a full price of 1,465 tons of gold, which reduced the wealth accumulated by the Russian royal family over the years by nearly half.  If China extorts another 100 million pounds, he will have to pay more than 700 tons of gold.

    "I have no objection to ransoming prisoners of war. However, the Chinese will definitely use this to extort a large ransom from us. What about this ransom?" Czar Nicholas II asked.

    Prime Minister Sergei Vitte, who also serves as Russia's finance minister, was silent.  Russia's treasury is already empty and heavily in debt. How can there be money to collect the ransom?  He was only further interested in the Tsar's wealth.  After all, the entire Russia belongs to the Tsar. Now that he is encountering such troubles, the Tsar should find a way to solve these problems.

    One look at Sergey Witte¡¯s look, and Nicholas II knew what he was thinking.  Although a little dissatisfied.  But he also knew that there was no way around it.  after all.  The country is his.  If he doesn't want the country to be overthrown, he must take out the money.

    "Okay! The royal family will bear the ransom. However, when negotiating with the Chinese, the price must be kept as low as possible!" said Tsar Nicholas II.  Although, he also knew that this was somewhat impossible. The Chinese were stingier than Grandet, and they would definitely not let go of this opportunity to give Russia a severe blow.

    "Yes, Your Majesty, I will instruct Cassini!" Russian Foreign Minister Izvorsky said.  Cassini is the Russian ambassador to China. After the end of the Sino-Russian war, the two sides restored diplomatic relations and raised the diplomatic relations from ministerial level to ambassadorial level. This also means that Russia and Western powers have recognized China's status as a great power.  .

    To celebrate New Year's Day, government departments and factories had a three-day holiday. After receiving the instructions from Foreign Minister Izvolsky, the Russian Ambassador to China, Cassini, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.  It was not until January 4 that I met Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang.

    "Hello, Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs!" After seeing Wu Tingfang, Cassini took the initiative to salute.  Now, all ambassadors to China are respectful in front of Wu Tingfang, and will never look as arrogant as before.  During the war, China used their strength to win the respect of all countries.

    "Your Excellency, Ambassador, please sit down! I wonder if you have anything to do with Your Excellency, Your Excellency, this time?" Wu Tingfang asked with a smile.  Feeling this gesture from Cassini made him very happy.  Sure enough, in this era, big fists are the last word!  China defeated these countries all at once during the war, and now they are all honest.

    "Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, our country has received news that our prisoners of war have been treated unfairly in your country. They are forced to perform heavy manual labor, which has caused great harm to our prisoners of war. Therefore, on behalf of the Russian government, I officially,  Protest to the Chinese government!" Cassini said sternly.

      Wu Tingfang's face suddenly darkened: "Your Excellency Ambassador, these prisoners of war were voluntarily given up by your country. During the armistice negotiations, your country was unwilling to redeem these prisoners of war, and of course our country will not raise them in vain.  It¡¯s all about them, if they want to survive, they have to work!¡±

    "Ahem!" After being accused by Wu Tingfang, Cassini blushed. However, he did not forget his duties, so he said: "Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in order to prevent our compatriots from continuing to suffer. Therefore, His Majesty the Tsar instructed  I will negotiate with your country and redeem these prisoners of war!"

    "Redemption?" Wu Tingfang was a little surprised. You must know that if all the millions of Russian prisoners of war were redeemed, it would be not a small amount!  Was that miser Tsar Nicholas II crazy?  Or, what happened to Russia?

    ¡°So, how much money does your country plan to spend to redeem these prisoners of war?¡± Wu Tingfang asked.

    "Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, you know that the current situation in our country is relatively bad. Therefore, we cannot afford much money. We are willing to pay 10 million pounds to redeem one million prisoners of war!" Cassini said.

    "Impossible! We will not accept such a price!" Wu Tingfang refused directly.  Just kidding, in the last negotiation, he offered a price of 100 pounds for each prisoner of war, totaling 100 million pounds.  The Russians actually wanted to redeem these prisoners of war at one-tenth of the price. This was simply wishful thinking.

    "So, Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, how much ransom does your country want us to pay?" Cassini asked.

    "This is it!" Wu Tingfang was about to offer one hundred pounds each, but suddenly realized that Russia must be so eager to redeem these prisoners of war that there must be some ulterior secret.  So, he said: "Your Excellency, Ambassador, this is a big matter, and I cannot make the decision. I have to ask His Majesty the Emperor for instructions!"

    Hearing what Wu Tingfang said, a trace of disappointment flashed in Cassini's eyes, but he had no choice but to agree to discuss this issue tomorrow.

    After seeing off Cassini, Wu Tingfang immediately went to the palace to report the matter to Wang Yuze.

    "Your Majesty, the Russians suddenly want to ransom these prisoners of war. Is there something wrong with them?" Wu Tingfang asked.

    Wang Yuze also began to think deeply, but then he figured out the key to the problem.  Two days ago, General Wei Zhiyong, director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, had informed him that the rebels led by the Russian Democratic Labor Party had defeated the Russian army and captured Kiev.  Rebellion had spread throughout southern Russia.  The Russian army should be unable to deal with the current rebellion, so it remembered these prisoners of war who were still in the hands of China.  Although these prisoners of war were defeated by the Chinese Army, all of them were veterans.  Moreover, once they recover from the brutal war, they will become an elite army. It should not be a problem to defeat the ragtag rebels.

    "Haha! Mr. Wu, we are going to make a fortune!" Wang Yuze laughed.

    "Your Majesty? Do you know the specific reason?" Wu Tingfang asked in confusion.

    "Two days ago, we have received intelligence. The Russians suffered a defeat in the south, and the rebels achieved a huge victory. The Russians probably have no choice, so they want to redeem these prisoners of war in order to stabilize their position.  , and destroy those rebels!" Wang Yuze said with great certainty.

    "If that's the case, then we really shouldn't agree to them easily." Wu Tingfang said after thinking about it.

    "You can delay them appropriately. In addition, the price will be doubled. Two hundred pounds per prisoner of war. If the Russians don't agree, forget it. Anyway, after the spring, we need to carry out large-scale construction in Siberia. These prisoners of war are all  It can come in handy!" Wang Yuze said with a smile.  He had always kept an eye on the Tsar's treasure house.  Although more than a thousand tons of gold were taken away from the Tsar in the last war, Tsar Nicholas II obviously still had a lot in stock.  This is exactly when China needs money, and this money comes at just the right time.

    "Yes, Your Majesty, I know how to deal with the Russians!" Wu Tingfang also said with a smile.  Although this approach is a little shameless, but for the sake of the national interest, what can be done if it is a little shameless?  If one million prisoners of war were sold at a price of two hundred pounds each, that would be another two hundred million pounds in revenue!  This is equivalent to the war reparations paid by Russia to China!  With this money, many construction projects in the country can start.

    The next day, Cassini, the Russian ambassador to China, went to see Wu Tingfang again, but was told that Wu Tingfang was on a business trip.  Wu Tingfang was not seen for two days, and urgent telegrams were sent frequently from Russia, which made Cassini very anxious!  (To be continued. Mobile phone users please go to the??.  )
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