This inconspicuous Soviet freighter sailed into Shanghai Port on the morning of the 17th after four days of "clattering" at sea at a speed of ten knots. As soon as it disembarked, it was picked up by a Dongchang car. That evening
, Molotov arrived in Nanjing secretly by car.
The talks with the Soviet Union were conducted by Nanming, and Japan was excluded. On the one hand, the punishments involved were all nominal Ming territory. On the other hand, Japan had long been ready to make moves in Northeast Asia, and the Soviet Union had always maintained a high degree of wariness against Japan.
Both sides are in a state of extreme distrust.
When the Ming Dynasty invited the Soviet Union to send people for talks, it did not directly say "I want to divide the land, you come quickly." Nanming did not mention the land division at first, but only said that "the two sides will communicate about the upcoming major changes in the geopolitics of East Asia."
, in an attempt to reach an understanding.”
But Stalin, who had a sensitive sense of smell, immediately smelled it.
... Regarding the situation in East Asia, Nan Ming must know what the Soviet Union fears most. Nan Ming must know what the Soviet Union hopes for most. And what the Soviet Union will do under these two emotions, Nan Ming must also know. So this time Nan Ming
Taking the initiative to "communicate" between the two sides, he probably either asked himself to jointly attack Beiqing, or to appease himself.
…If it’s the former, then of course it’s best, and that’s exactly what Stalin expected. In this way, the Soviet Union’s attacks on the northern and western parts of the Qing Dynasty would have full legitimacy, receive the least pressure from the international community, and be the most vulnerable to attack.
Admit it. If it is the latter, then it is probably because Nanming felt that it had the ability to independently destroy the Beiqing and control the entire Beiqing territory, or it had already entered into a similar "partition agreement" with Japan.
So, although it is inconvenient for the Soviet Union to directly send troops to plunder land, Nanming will inevitably come up with a number of good things to appease itself. These "benefits" may be certain economic rights and interests, priority rights to exploit resources in the northwest, and Central Asia to engage in some disputes that the two sides do not agree with.
Fortified zones, smuggling and repatriation agreements for Soviet citizens, etc... Of course, some land may still be cut off.
No matter how great the benefits are, there are definitely only benefits and no downsides. Therefore, Stalin hurriedly "recalled the country" to Molotov in Beijing, but left a secret order in Vladivostok, ordering him to immediately take a boat secretly to Nanming
.
…
Sure enough, in Nanjing, He Ziguang first had a "friendly communication" with Molotov, telling him that the Ming Dynasty was about to join forces with Japan to attack Beiqing, and the country "Qing Dynasty" was about to disappear from the map. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty and Japan
, will become the two new neighbors of the Soviet Union in East Asia. We should bear with each other in the future.
Immediately afterwards, He Ziguang took the initiative to propose that the two sides could demarcate some "undefended zones" on the future border as a military buffer zone. In addition, both the Ming Dynasty and Japan were willing to sign a "Smuggling and Repatriation Agreement" with the Soviet Union. All Soviet citizens who smuggled themselves into the Ming Dynasty would be
Anyone in Japan or Japan will be sent back.
The experienced Molotov immediately heard that the Ming Dynasty was eager to feed the Soviet Union so that when the Ming Dynasty let go of unification in the north, the Soviet Union remained silent. Lian Nanming always attached great importance to the country of "freedom of movement and freedom of entry and exit".
Now they are also willing to repatriate the stowaways. Yes, the issue of stowaways is indeed one of the most worrying issues for the Soviet Union. Nanming went straight to the point without even going through some bargaining.
Moreover, Molotov also saw that this was by no means the bottom line of Nanming, and it was even far from the bottom line.
Along the way on the ship, he and Comrade Stalin exchanged frequent secret phone calls. Comrade Stalin asked him to get real benefits from Nanming, namely land, despite threats. If Nanming did not agree, he would tell Nanming that the Soviet Union would not
It is ruled out that troops will be sent to "protect" those living in Beiqing.
The Kazakhs, Tajiks, Mongolians and other Soviet ethnic minority compatriots in the territory. Because the Soviet Union is a multi-ethnic country, these ethnic groups should be members of the Soviet family. They are dispersed abroad due to various historical reasons. So now
, the Soviet Union has the obligation to protect them.
Of course, the atmosphere of the negotiations between the two parties was still very harmonious, and it had not yet reached this stage. He Ziguang had not categorically refused, and Molotov did not make such a naked threat.
Traditionally, the thing that Russia is most interested in China is the land itself. Unlike Britain and France, it is more interested in commercial interests. Russia borders China, and the land is the most beneficial to it. The Ming Dynasty also knew this. Originally, the Ming Dynasty was
Willing to throw the entire Huijiang to the Soviet Union, as long as the Soviet Union can be unified in the Ming Dynasty
He was honest throughout the whole process. But the bottom line must not be thrown out at once. Otherwise, it would continue to ask for Outer Mongolia, Gansu, and Qinghai if it did not follow the Soviet Union's temper. Moreover, Daming did not know what the Soviet Union's expectations were.
How much, it is best to use as little benefit as possible to satisfy it to the maximum extent.
…
In this time and space, "Xinjiang" is the name of the Northern Qing Dynasty, the name given by Qianlong. However, there has never been a unified name in the Southern Ming Dynasty, and they all use "Huijiang", "Western Regions", and even the Northern Ming Dynasty.
The name of the period is "Yilibali". The more commonly used name is "Huijiang".
Hui Xinjiang is bounded by the Tianshan Mountains and is divided into Southern Xinjiang and Northern Xinjiang. The part north of the Tianshan Mountains is Northern Xinjiang. Northern Xinjiang is relatively rich, mostly forests and grasslands, with fertile water and grass, and rich products. The main ethnic group is Kazakh.
and the Han people. The part south of the Tianshan Mountains is Southern Xinjiang, which is relatively barren, mainly consisting of the Great Desert and the Gobi Desert. The main ethnic group is the Uygur.
He Ziguang squeezed the land out of his teeth bit by bit, just like squeezing out toothpaste. He started from the southern Xinjiang. As for the northern Xinjiang, he would not give it if he could. It would be good for the people to keep it. Such a good place, the Han people
There are so many people, and there are no railways, so it is not practical to move in the short term. It would be really tragic if we really fell under the Soviet terror.
The reason why southern Xinjiang is barren is mainly because the Taklimakan Desert occupies most of the area. The Taklimakan Desert is one of the largest deserts in the world. The middle desert is connected to the Gobi, and the Gobi is connected to the desert.
No man's land. Also
It is the A-K-Su region in the northwest of the desert, the Kashgar region in the west, the Tu-Lu-Fan region in the east, the Kazakhstan-Mi region, and there are quite a few oasis areas. The first two areas and the Central Asia of the Soviet Union
Franchise country - Kyrgyzstan, bordering Tajikistan.
During the negotiations, the A-K-Su area and the Kashgar area were quickly taken away by Molotov one after another.
Molotov wanted to go to the Aksu and Kashgar areas, and turned his attention to Northern Xinjiang. But at this time, He Ziguang made it clear that he refused. The reason was simple: Northern Xinjiang was too good and there were too many Han people.
I can't give it to you. If you want the Taklimakan Desert, you can take it as a gift. There is nothing else.
Molotov laughed and seemed to be in a better mood. He said that he would go back and report to Comrade Stalin.
…
The first day of negotiations was over, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty held a dinner. Molotov was obviously in a good mood at the banquet. According to Russian drinking habits, he frequently found topics to toast to. After finding a topic, everyone had to stand up and drink.
All... for Her Majesty the Queen
Cheers to health, toast to the health of Comrade Stalin, toast to the friendship between the two peoples, toast to the Soviet Red Army, toast to the Ming Dynasty Army, toast to the Soviet Red Navy, toast to the Ming Dynasty Navy... In short, here are all the toast topics that can be thought of
Drink it all.
He Ziguang was older, while Xiang Xiaoqiang was the youngest and the most troublesome. Molotov saw it correctly and focused on Xiang Xiaoqiang. Although Xiang Xiaoqiang was young, he could never drink this old Russian wine barrel, and he was quickly drunk
She felt dizzy, staggering around and talking nonsense.
Both parties were in a good mood. Molotov finally completed the mission that he had failed to complete in Nanjing. After returning, he would not lose the favor of Comrade Stalin. And the Ming side also saw that the Soviet Union obviously had no appetite.
It's so big as I imagined. It seems that we can deal with it with only some southern Xinjiang land.
The next morning, the negotiations continued. Molotov opened his mouth and asked for the Taklimakan Desert, that is, the entire Tarim Basin. The Ming side was surprised. They did not expect that the Soviet Union also wanted that area. It seemed that they were really hungry.
Perhaps Stalin took a fancy to the geographical location of the Tarim Basin. Although it is a desert, the easternmost point is very close to Gansu and Qinghai, only about 200 kilometers away.
Nan Ming did not expect that the Soviet Union would really go to the Tarim Basin, which suddenly shortened the distance to the mainland, and began to feel a little worried. However, this also provided Nan Ming with an interface and would not make any further concessions to the Soviet Union. Northern Xinjiang would definitely not give in.
.
In the next few days of negotiations, the Ming side did not make any concessions. The Soviet side seemed relatively satisfied and did not engage in any more vicious blackmail. Until the two sides decided to wait for the signing of the agreement, the conditions of the two sides were basically the same as those on the first day.
and those things for the next day.
In this way, in order to get the opportunity to advance in the east, the Ming Dynasty allocated about 800,000 square kilometers of land to the Soviet Union. This is equivalent to the area of the entire Manchuria. Of course, the quality of the land is far from comparable. Among these 800,000 square kilometers,
65% is the desert and Gobi desert in the Tarim Basin.
However, the area is huge. This area is much larger than the two Soviet republics-Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan combined. The Soviet power in Central Asia has also extended 1,000 kilometers eastward, approaching
to Gansu and Qinghai.
On December 23, the Ming-Soviet Secret Agreement was signed in Nanjing. The next day, the 24th, the Tomorrow Secret Agreement was signed in Nanjing.
At this point, the Ming Dynasty and its two powerful neighbors: Japan and the Soviet Union, reached an agreement. The final death date of the Northern Qing Dynasty was also determined.
…
The night when the secret contract was signed happened to be Christmas Eve. It was also the day that Xiang Xiaoqiang came to Daming for the whole year.
At the Christmas Eve dance, Xiang Xiaoqiang invited Zhu Yourong to dance for the first time under the watchful eyes of everyone. Zhu Yourong also gave the first dance of the night to Xiang Xiaoqiang. This was the first time he gave a hint to the outside world.
For this dance, Xiang Xiaoqiang asked Qiu Qiu to teach him countless times. Anyway, now, being able to dance gracefully with Zhu Yourong in his arms without stepping on her shoes is considered a success.
Under the brilliant lights and intoxicating music, the two people were spinning under the gaze of everyone.
Zhu Yourong looked at Xiaoqiang nervously and unnaturally, looking like she didn't know where to look, and smiled. Then she pursed her lips, quickly glanced around, and put on an elegant "professional smile"
.
"That's right..." She winked almost imperceptibly, opened her red lips slightly, and whispered a word from between her teeth, "Now... what are you thinking about?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang was stunned, and after a moment he whispered:
"I...I'm thinking...how the history books of later generations will write about us..."
"What?"
"We..." Xiang Xiaoqiang dodged his eyes and said hesitantly, "...we cut off so much land in order to save fewer lives...will we become...sinners of the nation in the future?"