Once the alliance of the three countries is enough to change the world pattern, it will be a good thing for the Qing Dynasty and for Yuanqi, which is conducive to improving the international status of the Qing Dynasty, and is also conducive to consolidating the vast territory newly conquered and newly bought, Southeast Asia, Alaska, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the territory east of the Altai Mountains can be consolidated to the greatest extent.

However, the disadvantages are also obvious, the United States and Russia are now short of money, the Northern Federation still owes Yuan Qi fifty or sixty million taels of silver, the war will not end in two years, this number will definitely continue to expand, Russia is also in urgent need of money, once the three countries form an alliance, Russia will definitely ask for assistance again, and the United States may also try its best to delay the payment.

Although Yuan Qi made a lot of money in the cotton trade, he also needed a large amount of investment everywhere in the country, and he really didn't have so much silver to sprinkle out, so he pushed the Qing court out.

Seeing the uncle, he really followed the guidance and jumped into the pit, and he immediately said: "The alliance of the three kingdoms is not a trivial matter, this matter must be negotiated with His Majesty the Emperor of our country, Yuan Qi has no objections, if necessary, it can also be actively promoted." ”

Hearing this, Bo Jiadeng was a little dumbfounded, he understood the other party's thoughts as soon as he heard it, this is to use the Qing Emperor and the imperial court as a shield, but he can't refuse this matter, he groaned slightly, and then he said: "I will reply to the country as soon as possible with Your Excellency's intentions, and promote this matter as soon as possible." ”

After a pause, he continued: "Does Your Excellency have any concerns about Russia? Can we guarantee or resell our assistance to Russia? ”

It is easy to react as soon as he hears this, Russia is really in urgent need of money this time, and it is expected that because of the territorial transaction, he is afraid that Yuanqi will not lend, and he is using Latin America as an intermediary, think about it, since Britain and France intend to intervene in the Polish uprising by armed force, it is impossible for European financial forces to lend money to Russia, and it is estimated that Russia is also forced to have no choice, and it happened that Yuanqi made a lot of money in Europe through the cotton trade, which hit the idea on Yuanqi's head.

It would be safer to let the United States lend it to Russia, but it would obviously be detrimental to the relations between the Qing and Russia, especially since the territorial deal east of the Altai Mountains had not yet been completed, and he did not want to make a fuss.

He took out the jade pipe and slowly lit a cigarette before he spoke: "You should know very well that the arms and drugs trade between Yuan Qi and your country has always been on credit, and now the arrears have reached forty or fifty million taels of silver, where is the spare ability to provide Russia with a large amount of low-interest loans?" ”

Hearing him say this, Bo Jia really didn't know how to speak, so he immediately changed the topic and talked about the current situation, and he got up to say goodbye after tea time.

Sending off Bo Jia, Yi Zhishu strolled in the courtyard with a cigarette in his mouth, he knew very well that the Russian ambassador Putiyatin would soon come to the door, and they would not give up easily, after all, for Russia, it was only possible to raise a large amount of military expenses from Yuanqi.

He didn't know much about the situation in Poland, but in his mind, it would not require such a huge amount of military expenditure to quell the Polish uprising, and 10 million taels of silver should be more than enough.

He expected it well, but an hour later, Putiyatin came to visit, and after a brief greeting between the two of them, Yi Zhizhi said straightforwardly: "How big is the scale of the Polish uprising?" Your country needs 100 million pounds for war military spending? ”

"It was a misunderstanding." Putiyatin hurriedly explained: "In fact, our country only proposed to borrow 50 million pounds ......... ”

As soon as he heard this, Yi Zhizu immediately reacted, the Northern Federation also wanted to take this opportunity to borrow from Yuan Qi, because the amount of money owed was too large, they were embarrassed to speak, so then this opportunity lions opened their mouths, but they didn't expect Putiyating to turn around and sell them.

"The situation in Poland is complicated." "From 1860 onwards, large-scale demonstrations broke out in Poland, and a 'Red Party' was formed to form the Central National Council, and this insurrection was an organized, premeditated and planned insurrection.

Not only that, Poland has also instigated riots in Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and other places, and if it cannot mobilize a large army to suppress and quell it as soon as possible, Britain, France, Prussia and Austria will inevitably carry out armed intervention under the guise of maintaining European security.

At present, His Majesty the Emperor has sent 100,000 troops to Poland, and in view of the complexity of the situation, there may be a large increase in troops in the future, and your financial situation in our country is well ......., and we have no other intentions. ”

Sending 100,000 troops is still not enough, it seems that the situation in Poland is indeed beyond his imagination, Yi Zhicontent pondered for a while before saying: "Since your country is in urgent need of silver, the agreement to purchase the land east of the Altai Mountains will be formally signed, and 30 million silver dollars can be loaded on ships at any time." ”

After hearing the news that Yuanqi had made a lot of money in the European cotton market, Russian Foreign Minister Gorchakov sent a telegram instructing that he was not in a hurry to formally sign a territorial transaction agreement, but in fact he had the intention of raising prices, and a large-scale uprising broke out in Poland, and Russia was in urgent need of a large amount of military spending, so he naturally thought of this huge amount of money.

Russia is now no longer counting on price increases, but hopes that Yuanqi can provide additional large low-interest loans, and for this reason, it has also negotiated a plan with the United States to form an alliance of three countries, but Yuanqi is not moved at all.

At the moment, there is an urgent need for silver, and if the price rises, Puti Yatingti does not dare to mention it, for fear of annoying the other party to continue to delay this territorial transaction, and now the country is waiting for the rice to be cooked, he does not dare to think about it, and hurriedly said: "The fleet is already ready, and the agreement can be signed at any time." ”

After a pause, he said unwillingly: "Once the three countries form an alliance, your country, our country and the United States are allies, Your Excellency can't favor one over the other, the American Civil War has caused the United States to owe 50 million silver." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "Almost all of the money Yuan Qi earned through the cotton trade filled the hole in the United States' payment, and the cotton business continued to invest heavily in ........ As he spoke, his tone changed, "However, since Yuan Qi actively supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the United States, there is no reason not to continue your country's ....... ”

After a pause, he continued: "At present, Yuanqi's funds are indeed a little tight, and for the time being, I will lend 20 million silver dollars to your country, plus 30 million silver dollars for the purchase of land, a total of 50 million, which is enough for your country to quell the Polish rebellion. If the scale of your country's invasion of Poland continues to grow, Yuanqi will be able to raise some more funds after the summer....... ”

Putiyatin was overjoyed, the focus was not on the 20 million, the other party was tantamount to a guarantee that if the war in Poland expanded, the other side would not stand idly by, and would continue to provide large low-interest loans! He hurriedly stood up and bowed slightly, "Thank you very much, Your Excellency, for lending a helping hand to our country when it needed it most. ”

Yi Zhishu got up with a smile, "Let's hurry up and sign the agreement, and then Your Excellency will rush to Beijing to use the seal, and I will raise cash for you here." ”

Putiyating went to Beijing to sign a contract with the seal, which really shocked the Jingshi and a group of court officials, even Yixun and Su Shun were dumbfounded after reading the agreement, it was really unbelievable that the amount and area of this territorial transaction were unbelievable, although there were rumors as early as after the Battle of Jinjing, Yuan Qi wanted to buy the territory east of the Altai Mountains from Russia, but no one took it seriously.

I don't want a few years to pass, this thing has come true, one billion silver dollars, tens of millions of equal kilometers of territory, this is really appalling, the Empress Dowager Ci'an even hesitated and did not dare to use the seal, and the military aircraft department sent a telegram to Shanghai to repeatedly ask if there was indeed such a thing, whether Yuan Qi alone paid for the silver to buy, and after getting confirmed, this was the seal on the agreement.

Looking at the bright red seals of the Qing and Russian emperors on the agreement, Ci'an still had a feeling of unreality, although it was a vast and bitter cold land, but from then on, the Qing Dynasty no longer had to worry about external threats from the north.

This news quickly spread throughout the Beijing Division, and the entire Beijing Division was in an uproar, one is that the purchase amount is one billion silver dollars, and the other is tens of millions of square kilometers of territory, no matter which of these two is enough to cause a huge sensation!

The officials, gentlemen, and people of all walks of life have discussed this matter, not only lamenting Yuan Qi's wealth, but also praising Yuan Qi for this feat, which is definitely a feat that has never been done before.

People who didn't know much about the northern territory of the Qing Dynasty rushed to buy maps, and the map of Asia and the world were out of stock in an instant, and after learning that the vast land east of the Altai Mountains was all uninhabitable and bitter cold land, public opinion suddenly changed, and the praise of Yuan Qi turned into a heartache, and in the eyes of everyone, this was completely a loser! How much can a billion silver dollars do, but it is used to buy such a worthless piece of land.

At the same time, the purchase of Alaska and Kamchatka from Tsarist Russia for 20 million taels of silver was also discovered, and after learning that those two places were also barren and inhabited by birds, the discussion of Yuanqi was even more unbearable.

The diplomats of the Western embassies in Beijing were also stunned by this territorial transaction, which was definitely the largest and largest territorial transaction in the history of the world, and it was definitely the most famous and eye-catching territorial transaction that was destined to be unsurpassed.

The next day, the imperial court issued an edict announcing this agreement for the purchase of territory, and there was a heated discussion among the government and the opposition, and soon the provincial newspapers published maps one after another, clearly marking this piece of territory, and giving Yuan Qi a very high praise for this feat from the perspective of territorial expansion and national defense.

But the big and small shareholders of Yuanqi were angry, Yuanqi donated to the imperial court, and they also admitted it, and they also admitted it, and provided indefinite loans to the imperial court, and they also admitted it, after all, they all had a last resort, spending 20 million silver to buy Alaska and Kamchatka, and they also admitted it, after all, the amount was not very large!

But spending a billion silver dollars to buy a barren and bitter cold land that has no value to Yuanqi, they couldn't bear it, and finally got out of anger, and for a while, shareholders from all over the world questioned Shanghai Power Generation.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

"The telegrams everywhere are as dense as snowflakes, and they are all questioning the purchase of land." Zhao Liewen said with a smile: "The crowd is raging, the big shopkeeper always gives them an answer?" ”

Yi Zhishu said slowly: "What kind of reply does Huifu think can calm their anger?" ”

"A billion silver dollars to buy a worthless piece of bitter cold land, unless the truth is told, no amount of explanation can extinguish the anger in their hearts." Zhao Liewen smiled, "The student thinks that ignoring it is the best answer." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "Then ignore it!" After a pause, he continued: "No one will understand now, but I can say for sure that the greatest wealth I left to Yuanqi is not a bank, not a factory, but Alaska and Siberia. ”

Hearing this, Zhao Liewen couldn't help but be a little moved, he knew that Yi Zhi's contentment to buy these two bitter cold places contained rich mineral deposits, but to make Yi Zhizhi say this, how rich should the mineral deposits in these two places be? And how exactly does the other party know?

"The big shopkeeper." Cao Gensheng walked in quickly, opened the folder and said: "The Beijing Division Military Aircraft Department called, Su Xiang asked, about Siberia, is it a ban or a province to set up a prefecture and a county to encourage immigration?" ”

It is not surprising that Su Shun has this question, after all, Siberia was purchased by Yuanqi with a huge amount of money, although it belongs to the territory of the Qing Dynasty, but it is also Yuanqi's private property, however, Siberia is too big, if it is regarded as private property, it is too shocking, it is tantamount to a country within a country.

Yi Zhizhi said without thinking: "Call back, Siberia is the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and the imperial court should naturally build a province and set up a county to encourage immigrants to reclaim and govern, in order to encourage immigrants to reclaim, the land of Siberia, who reclaims to whom, however, in order to give an account to the shareholders of Yuanqi, all the mineral resources and energy resources in Siberia belong to Yuanqi, and no one is allowed to mine them privately." ”

Energy resources? Zhao Liewen keenly captured this new word, and only after Cao Gensheng left, did he say: "Mineral resources are easy to understand, what does this energy resource mean?" ”

"The so-called energy resources are natural resources that can provide energy for human beings." "For example, coal is an energy resource, which can provide heat, and water, which is also an energy resource, and rivers can provide kinetic energy, which can be converted into electricity, and there is also oil ....... ”

After a pause, he said slowly: "With the development of industry, the demand for resources will become greater and greater, and now the barren and bitter cold are uninhabited, and the places that are not suitable for human habitation often contain rich resources, not to mention thirty or fifty million silver dollars, even if it is really one billion silver dollars to buy Siberia, it is the price of cabbage." ”