A real diplomatic situation is as smoke-filled as a battlefield.
It can be said that the diplomatic field is an extension of the battlefield. In other words, he is the protagonist.
Especially in modern times, the battlefield has become a supporting role in serving diplomacy, while diplomacy has become the protagonist.
No wonder Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" includes diplomacy, and it is placed before war.
Liu Qingbei could not handle such a scene alone. Wang Tao rushed from Austria to Paris and attended the meeting with him as Liu Qingbei's deputy.
After all, Wang Tao has been in Europe for a long time. Whether it is the diplomats of various countries here or the basic situation of each country, Wang Tao is more familiar with it.
Liu Qingbei had to discuss many matters with Wang Tao before he could decide.
Although he came with Dong Shuheng's instructions, Dong Shuheng made it very clear at the beginning that if you are not sure about anything, you can ask Wang Tao, he is the European expert.
The representative of Prussia was Mr. Bismarck, the future "Iron-Blooded Chancellor".
Mr. Bismarck also had some intention of repairing the relationship with Tsarist Russia, because the power of Tsarist Russia was to the east of Prussia. In the future, Prussia would send troops to the west. It would be beneficial to Prussia to be able to repair with Tsarist Russia.
Besides, Prussia doesn’t want all its good people to fall victim to the French. If France and Tsarist Russia form an alliance, Prussia, which is caught in the middle, will have no choice but to live with its tail between its legs.
The representative of Russia was Gorchakov, who would become famous in the European diplomatic arena.
Gorchakov was full of confidence in this negotiation because several countries had reached secret agreements with Tsarist Russia before the meeting.
Although the coalition forces have a large number of people, they have actually been torn apart for a long time.
This kind of fragmented alliance is the easiest to deal with, because the opponent has flaws everywhere.
The most urgent thing to contain Tsarist Russia was Britain. Gorchakov had already made plans on how to deal with the arrogant British.
It can be said that this conference brought together all the European diplomatic geniuses, including many of the influential figures who will dominate Europe in the next few decades.
"I now formally propose the armistice conditions for our war on behalf of the British Empire."
Sure enough, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Clarendon, was the first to stand up. He was wearing a decent dress and a white shirt with a symmetrical collar, not even a single wrinkle.
He held a document in his hand and read it loudly.
The British are the first to speak out. As the current hegemon in the world, Britain is the first country in the world to complete the industrial revolution. They are firmly ranked first in the world in terms of military and economy.
So on such occasions, they have the confidence to be the first to stand up.
"In order to maintain stability in the Balkan Peninsula and the Black Sea region in the future and ensure that the lives of local residents are harmed again. Our British Empire believes that all countries should jointly ensure the "independence and integrity" of Turkey; Turkey promises to improve the conditions of the people within its borders regardless of race or belief.
"
"We agreed to hand back the occupied lands of the Crimean Peninsula to Russia. The mouth of the Danube and southern Bessarabia were ceded to Moldavia."
"Russia returns Kars in the Caucasus to Turkey and gives up its right to protect the Orthodox Church in Turkey; the suzerainty of Serbia, Wallachia and Moldavia remains with Turkey and is jointly guaranteed by all countries."
Because the reactions of various countries were too strong, the British ultimately did not support Austria's territorial claims to Wallachia and Moldavia.
Austria must withdraw from these two places after the contract is signed. They can be said to be the most unflattering one in this war.
Not only did they lose a powerful ally like Tsarist Russia, but they also gained no benefits at all.
Joseph I was so clever that he was too clever. His structure was still too small. He still had a long way to go before he could lead the Habsburg family to rebuild its original glory.
Lord Clarendon continued to read: "We believe that the Black Sea should be neutralized, warships of various countries are prohibited from passing through the two straits, and Russia is prohibited from establishing or maintaining arsenals on the coast of the Black Sea; freedom of navigation on the Danube River is prohibited. Russia is prohibited from having fleets and naval bases in the Black Sea.
Russia fortified the Aran Islands in the Baltic Sea. Russia ceded southern Bessarabia to Turkey and returned Kars, recognizing the rule of the three principalities of Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia under the suzerainty of the Sudan.
Collective protection.”
The latter paragraph is completely aimed at Tsarist Russia, and any one of them is enough to cause heavy losses to Tsarist Russia.
Gorchakov, who was sitting across from him, was so angry that he almost ran away. At least that was the case on the surface.
The British were really bullying people. If Gorchakov was not a senior diplomat, he would definitely get up and leave the meeting.
But in today's situation, Gorchakov really couldn't be willful.
The basic qualities of a diplomat made him insist on sitting there. He was waiting, because before this negotiation, Tsarist Russia had already negotiated with France, Prussia and the Baath Army.
The main reason why Tsarist Russia had to cease the war was that Tsarist Russia was on the verge of domestic collapse. If it continued to fight, it would collapse from within.
No, it should be said that many places are already collapsing. The serf uprisings in various places are a symbol of collapse.
This serf uprising was not only more violent in scale but also in organization than previous uprisings.
In the grain-producing areas of Ukraine, due to the raids by the coalition forces, the local uprisings became more serious than before, and they even indirectly cooperated with the coalition forces.
This frightened Alexander I. He seemed to feel that countless people were uniting to shake the mountain of Tsarist Russia.
The high military expenditures have made taxes in various parts of Tsarist Russia astonishingly high. I don’t know how many people in Tsarist Russia will die of cold and starvation this winter.
Gorchakov knew exactly how much losses Tsarist Russia suffered in this war. This figure has been kept as a high-level secret in Tsarist Russia.
The army's losses are said to have reached more than 522,000 people, accounting for almost half of the Russian Army. This does not include the hundreds of thousands lost in the battles between the Eastern and Renaissance Army.
Half of Tsarist Russia's combat power was directly eliminated in this war.
What's more, the current domestic uprising is still consuming Tsarist Russia's army. These veterans are the pillars of Tsarist Russia. If they continue to be consumed, Tsarist Russia's army will inevitably become weaker and weaker.
In the end, how many troops will Tsarist Russia have left? How many families will be broken up because of this war?
For this war, Tsarist Russia spent approximately 800 million rubles, which was the total fiscal revenue of Tsarist Russia for several years.
Today's Tsarist Russia's finances are no longer as simple as a deficit, they are simply a red sea. The ruble has begun to depreciate significantly.
The Tsarist Russian government and Prussia all used gold to purchase weapons.
Therefore, the war must stop. Tsarist Russia can no longer continue fighting.
"Your Excellency, I have to say that the conditions you proposed are too harsh. We don't want the war to continue, so why are we so harsh on Russia alone?"
"We can withdraw from the place we currently occupy, but the Black Sea port is Russia's only ice-free port, and we must retain it." Gorchakov retorted.
His statement is not accurate. Russia also has ice-free ports in the north, but Tsarist Russia's ice-free ports in the north have some problems.
Although the port is protected from freezing due to ocean currents, the weather is cold! In winter, cold winds of dozens of degrees below zero blow through, and the sailors can't stand on the deck, let alone climb to the top of the mast.
Fortunately, the British did not demand compensation. Otherwise, the negotiations would have been impossible to proceed.
"No, no, no, the Russian fleet in the Black Sea is a source of turmoil. Only by completely disarming the sea in the Black Sea can this danger be eliminated. I believe no one wants a war to break out again in the same place." Lord Clarendon continued.
His meaning is very simple. As long as Russia continues to retain its fleet in the Black Sea, war will definitely happen again. Then let the two countries along the Black Sea disarm.
Of course, the real purpose of the British was to prevent Tsarist Russia's navy from growing larger in the Black Sea, thereby threatening British interests in the Mediterranean.
"Your Excellency, after all, the northern coast of the Black Sea is an important grain-producing area for Russia. They also need to consider the issue of defense against possible pirates. I wonder if they can be allowed to retain a certain number of fleets in the Black Sea, for example, they can limit the total tonnage.
Next." At this time, the negotiation was about to reach a deadlock. Liu Qingbei took out the "lines" he had prepared long ago and stood up and said.
"Yes, we can negotiate a tonnage of ships that can be received. This is a good way. It can not only reduce the risk of war, but also be acceptable to all parties." said the French Foreign Minister as the host of the negotiations.
Later, Prussian diplomatic representative Bismarck also stood up to express support.
Gorchakov was confident that this matter had been discussed in private before.
This plan originally came from Dong Shuheng. It was to limit the naval armaments of various countries. This was pioneered by the Washington Conference in later generations and was directly borrowed by Dong Shuheng.
Lord Clarendon suddenly had a bad premonition. He seemed to be being tricked, and everyone was tricking him.
At this time, except for the foreign ministers of Austria and Turkey, other countries participating in the negotiations seemed to support the plan proposed by Liu Qingbei.
Control of the meeting seemed to be in Liu Qingbei's hands.
In this case, Lord Clarendon had to compromise. There was no need for the British to offend all countries over this matter.
Since it has to be limited to a certain tonnage, then this tonnage number needs to be carefully discussed, as long as it can reach the scale of controlling the Tsarist Russian Navy so that they cannot threaten Britain's control of the Mediterranean.
"Since there is a limit on tonnage, I think the total tonnage of the Russian fleet here cannot exceed 20,000 tons." Lord Clarendon said.
If this number were today's battleships, it would only be a few ships.
Such a small number of warships cannot form combat effectiveness at all. But it is more than enough to prevent pirates.
For example, the tonnage of the Warrior currently built by the British has reached more than 9,000 tons. So according to this rule, only two such warships can be equipped.
This war also allowed Tsarist Russia to see that the era of sailing battleships was over, and they began to turn their attention to steam-powered battleships.
The rapid development of artillery has made wooden warships unbearable. Ironclad ships are the future development trend.
Tsarist Russia knew that Britain and France were building their own ironclads. Tsarist Russia, which had been learning from Britain and France, naturally had to have its own ironclads.
The current plan of the wooden warships built by Britain and France to be covered with iron armor requires large-tonnage wooden warships. Otherwise, they will be overwhelmed. Therefore, Tsarist Russia believes that they should also build large-tonnage warships, so in terms of tonnage, Gore
Chakov must fight.
The focus now is how much tonnage Tsarist Russia should retain in the Black Sea Fleet.
Since it is a number, it is easy to discuss.
There followed another wave of bargaining. The final number was set at 40,000 tons. However, the number of Turkish warships in the Black Sea was set at 50,000 tons.
The British were very angry at the Chinese people's defection, so in the subsequent negotiations.
The British proposed that the armistice issue between Russia and the Baath Army on the eastern battlefield should also be discussed in peace talks.
This means that the territory of Tsarist Russia occupied by your Renaissance Army can be regarded as a common spoil of war for everyone, or it can be returned like us.
Either take it out and share it with everyone. Of course Liu Qingbei doesn't want to.
Gorchakov didn't mind. Although the two sides had a secret agreement, there was no need for Tsarist Russia to prevent Britain from giving the Baath Army eye drops on this matter.
"Your Excellency, the war between our country and Tsarist Russia is much earlier than the Crimean War. It is actually just a border and territorial dispute between our two countries and has no necessary connection with this war. It involves the relationship between the two countries.
Unless there is a mediator accepted by both of us in the dispute, we have no right to interfere." Liu Qingbei immediately stood up and retorted.
Nonsense, the war in the east is fought by us, and the battle location is also the border between the two countries, so naturally we will not let you interfere.
"Yes, Your Excellency, we will sign a ceasefire agreement with the Ba'ath Army on our own, and we will not recognize the land occupied by the Ba'ath Army. But this is not a topic that needs to be discussed at this peace conference." Although Gorchakov is not very
Yes, but he still has to stand up and express his position. This is one of the conditions of exchange between the two parties.
"Your Excellency, I think that since it is a peace negotiation, we must pay attention to efficiency. Those things in the far east will not affect the security of Europe. I think there is no need for your Excellency to dwell on it any longer."
Bismarck also stood up for Liu Qingbei at the right time. They were here to make soy sauce. It is very cost-effective to earn some favors during negotiations.
"Your Excellency, let's talk about the Baltic Sea. We can discuss the fortification issue of the Aran Islands." Gorchakov continued to bargain.
He knew that there was no sufficient reason for the British to intervene in Eastern issues because there were no British interests or military presence there.
Negotiations went on for half a month in this wrangling process.
Finally, the conclusion was reached, and Gorchakov had to sign the contract with a frustrated expression.
The plan was based on the one proposed by the British, with some changes. For example, Tsarist Russia could retain a 40,000-ton fleet in the Black Sea. It could have a shipyard, but the arsenal still had to be moved.
The pot of rice prepared by the British turned into a pot of uncooked rice under the agitation of various allies with ulterior motives.
So much so that Lord Clarendon retired soon after returning home.
The Crimean War, which lasted for two years, finally ended and a new era began.
Who will the British Empire, with its hands freed, regard as its next opponent?