Chapter 650 Treaty and Fat Sheep

In June of the fifth year of Chengtian, China and Austria reached the "Sino-Austrian Treaty of Alliance, Friendship and Mutual Assistance" in Nanjing:

1. The contracting parties guarantee to jointly take all necessary measures to stop direct or indirect aggression by Russia or other countries. Once any contracting party is invaded by Russia or a country allied with Russia and is thus in a state of war, the other contracting party shall provide military and other assistance to the best of its ability.

2. Neither of the contracting parties shall conclude any alliance against the other party, nor participate in any group or any action or measure against the other party.

3. The contracting parties shall consult with each other on all major issues concerning the common interests of China and Austria in the interests of consolidating peace and universal security.

4. The contracting parties guarantee to develop and consolidate the economic and cultural relations between China and Austria in a spirit of friendship and cooperation, and in accordance with the principles of equality, mutual benefit, mutual respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, provide each other with all possible economic assistance, and carry out necessary economic cooperation.

5. This treaty shall take effect immediately after being approved by the emperors of both parties, and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged in Istanbul.

The validity period of this treaty is 20 years. If no contracting party expresses its willingness to abolish it one year before its expiration, it will be extended for 10 years and extended accordingly.

The signing of the Sino-Austrian Treaty of Alliance, Friendship and Mutual Assistance was open and transparent. The signing of the agreement by both parties was carried out under the witness of reporters. On that day, all newspapers in Nanjing City removed the headlines that had been set, and the news spread to all directions overnight.

Many people already knew about the Ottoman Empire, but the signing of this alliance book made the word Ottoman become more popular in China.

The Yangtze River Publishing House under the name of the Li family took advantage of the opportunity to launch Xie Qinggao's travel notes. Although Xie Qinggao's travel notes did not completely describe the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire also had a certain proportion in it. Naturally, it took advantage of the opportunity to become popular!

The Ottoman Empire, which has a history of almost 500 years, first made many Chinese people who only heard of it but did not have a deep understanding of it stand in awe of it because of its long history. After all, after the 800-year Zhou Dynasty, from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there was almost no 300-year-long country in Chinese history. [I have never regarded the Han and Song Dynasties as one country]

And the Ottoman country was indeed awesome for a while.

From the 15th to the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire can be said to have single-handedly defeated the entire Europe for 200 to 300 years. Although Europeans at that time had already started the Age of Exploration, the Ottomans were also a knife hanging over the head of the entire Western civilization. At that time, the enemies of the Ottoman Empire were not just Austria and Russia, which were next to them, but also Britain, France, Poland, and Italy.

Although the Chinese consider themselves to be the "heavenly and imperial country", they are also amazed at the glory of the Ottoman Empire.

That is an unforgettable green in human history!

Even though the Ottoman Empire has declined in the past 100 years and has been beaten again and again by Austria and Russia, the Chinese people's habit of looking at the background has made them recognize the identity of the Ottoman Empire as an "ally" to a certain extent.

——This once glorious empire is qualified to be the younger brother of the Heavenly Kingdom.

In many secret treaties that cannot be made public, China promised a series of assistance to the Ottoman Empire, from the establishment of military schools to military instructors; from military technology to real money. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire also promised the right to help China gain a foothold in the Gulf of Aden, which means that Yemen, the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula, was included in China's sphere of influence.

China also assisted the Ottomans with shipbuilding technology, medical care and industry, but this was purely a bonus. The Ottoman Empire also had its own Western-style sailing fleet. The navy was also the branch of the Ottoman Empire with the largest number of naturalized Pashas. It was a long-standing custom for Europeans to convert to Islam and then serve as senior generals in the Ottoman military. In terms of medical care and industry, if the Ottomans did not settle the influence of the sect, there would be no great development prospects.

Potemkin and his party, who had already walked to Xinjiang, saw this newspaper in Urumqi, although six days had passed. But they were able to see such an important news on the eve of leaving China, which was already God's blessing.

"Muravyov must have protested to the Chinese emperor. But who would care about the voice of the loser?" Tsebokdorji laughed secretly. China and the Ottoman Empire have truly formed an alliance. As a great Torghut noble who has lived under the rule of the Russians for more than 30 years, how could Tsebokdorji not understand what this means?

And look at the covenant above.

China and the Ottomans are completely tied together. In the future, if anyone wants to move the Ottomans again, they will declare war on China together. Just like the French and Spain now. When this treaty is completed in Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire will declare war on Spain and even France, because China has already declared war on Spain. Even though the Ottomans are still far away from the Spaniards, the so-called declaration of war is completely a verbal form, including the Ottomans against the Gallic rooster.

So what to do? It's just a formality. If the Ottomans have enough strength, they will support China first, and then let China fight Spain.

Just like after Austria declared war on the Ottoman Empire, China was in the same situation, because China could not reach Austria at all.

But if the Russians were to play this role, it would be different. If Russia were to attack the Ottomans again, they would have to consider the threat from the Chinese.

Does this mean that in the future, the Russians would have to invest a lot of manpower, material resources and funds in Siberia?

Otherwise, if China attacks Russia, wouldn't Russia be stabbed with blood all at once?

Lake Baikal has been renamed the North Sea by China.

A large number of Mongolians and Han people are migrating there. The Russian Siberia region east of Lake Baikal is always suffering from the most serious threat from the Chinese, that is, a sharp axe, which hits the center of Siberia heavily.

If the Russians don't want to lose the entire Siberia, at least East and West Siberia, they must be fully prepared against China.

Tsebekdorji's not stupid brain told him that the good days of the Torghut people have come. Because the Torghut tribe has already forged a blood feud with the Chinese, the Torghut tribe, which has been trusted by Russia, is undoubtedly the best choice for the Russians to fill the gap in Siberia.

However, the climate and water and grass in Siberia are far from comparable to the grasslands on both sides of the Volga River that the Torghuts now occupy. No matter how domineering the Russians are, in order to make the Torghuts willingly work for them, they must give up huge benefits to the Torghuts.

The Russians have always been very hostile to the autonomy of the Torghut tribe. Because of the existence of the "Oirat Code", the Russians cannot even implement the law in the Torghut tribe, and their influence cannot really penetrate into the tribe. The Torghut tribe, with a total scale of more than 40,000 tents and 200,000 to 300,000 people, exists like an independent small kingdom on both sides of the Volga River.

Catherine II dreamed of truly taming the Torghut tribe, which was not like what it is now, but like China's reform of the land system, using empty titles and short-term immediate benefits to feed the high-level nobles of the Torghut tribe, and then eating up 200,000 to 300,000 Torghut herders one bite at a time.

Although the performance of the Torghut tribe in recent years and the humiliation endured by Ubashi Khan over the years have made St. Petersburg very trustful of the Torghut tribe's top leaders, these cannot stop the realization of St. Petersburg's will.

In the past few years, St. Petersburg has successively established the Kalmyk Court Zargu and the Kalmyk Administration in Astrakhan. The name Kalmyk is the name of the Torghut tribe in St. Petersburg, which has met with the firm opposition of Ubashi Khan and the entire Torghut tribe. Then St. Petersburg abolished the two departments, but in a blink of an eye, it established the Kalmyk Quartermaster's Office, with a Russian government official as the main person in charge and three Torghut nobles as clerks, mainly collecting taxes and conscription. The Quartermaster's Office was once again strongly opposed by the Torghut people, and the Quartermaster's Office was forced to be abolished. St. Petersburg then established the Kalmyk Office, which was still generally dissatisfied with the Torghut tribe. The last news from the tribe that Tsebekdorji received before coming to China was that St. Petersburg changed its tactics again, abolished the Kalmyk Office and established the Kalmyk Office.

Catherine II, who played a series of tricks that dazzled people, certainly could not have thought that the Torghut tribe would be China's internal response, so this drama would be wonderful.

Tsebekdorji thought of the proud part and couldn't help singing a song. He looked at Potemkin's bitter face, and there was endless joy in his heart.

What is a mortal enemy?

That is, the enemy's unhappiness is your greatest happiness.

That is, the unhappiness built on the enemy is your greatest happiness.

Driven by the Russians, the Torghut tribe fought for them, and how many people died over the years. This is an irreconcilable mortal feud!

Tsebekdorji could imagine how happy the people in the Khan's tent were when this news reached the ears of Khan Ubashi.

Although this news did not spread to the middle and lower classes, not to mention ordinary civilians, even ordinary middle-class nobles did not know the truth of the battle.

To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive yourself. Otherwise, there will be too many people and too many mouths, and the risk will be too great!

But the most bitter person at this time is definitely not Potemkin. The alliance between China and the Ottoman Empire was expected by St. Petersburg, wasn't it? Now it just feels that the alliance treaty reached between China and Austria is too close. The most bitter people are the Dutch in Batavia, Robert in Shanghai, Watson, Bronte, Deckerma, and Perrier in Nanjing.

Why?

Because at this time, the merchant ships sent from Europe finally arrived in the East, and they brought the latest news to the representatives of the Netherlands, Britain, France, etc. in China.

Perrier certainly did not receive Paris' instructions to "declare war on China", because at this time the news of China's capture of Manila had only been reported to Europe not long ago. What made Perrier feel bitter was that there were only three French merchant ships that came to China this year, and the merchant ships also brought the latest news from India. The French unarmed strongholds in India were attacked and blockaded by the British. Although the British's actions were opposed by Indian princes, such as Hyder Ali Khan of Mysore, this form of the British holding the initiative really made Perrier gloomy.

The situation in North America did not change significantly. After the Continental Army received support from France and Spain, its morale was greatly boosted, but London was not blind. Of course, knowing the criticality of this time, it also sent troops to strongly support North America. That year, the British army occupied Savannah, an important coastal city in Georgia, ravaged most of Georgia, and established a pro-British regime. When Savannah fell, 5,000 Continental Army soldiers were annihilated, which cast a heavy shadow on the North American War.

Some top-secret news came from Paris, such as the French and Spanish home fleets were preparing to form a joint fleet to attack the British mainland. At the same time, Paris asked Perrier to use his good relationship with the Chinese top leaders to get a batch of weapons from China and send them to Mysore in India. Mysore Sultan Hyder Ali had a strong anti-British tendency and was supported by many Indian kingdoms such as Hyderbara, Marat, and Punjab. India was about to erupt in a war against Britain with all forces participating and covering all regions. This war has already been carried out in some places and is about to be carried out in some places!

But as far as the current situation is concerned, how can Perrier still get a large number of arms to support Mysore?

The bitterness of the British and the Dutch is the same thing.

Watson felt that he was a big idiot. At the beginning, he gave up the goodwill of the Chinese and chose to firmly support the Netherlands, but what did London mean now? The parliament actually tended to force the Dutch into the war-not to stand on the side of the Kingdom of Great Britain, but to stand on the opposite side of London. Watson was about to collapse.

"Oh, my poor husband." The comfort of the beautiful countess could not make Watson feel a little happy. He could now imagine the ridicule of himself by the top leaders in London. When everything can be made public, he will become a laughing stock in the whole of Europe.

But how can he really be blamed for this?

Since the Dutch completely gave up the threat of force, the alliance between Britain and the Netherlands has lasted for too long. A large amount of British national debt is held in the hands of the Dutch. The two sides are simply a natural match!

- One has money, and the other has fists.

But in this war, is North America really too important? Or is there a consideration that it is not qualified for? London actually wants to force the Netherlands to its opposite side. What happened in Europe?

Thousands of thoughts turned over in Watson's mind, and his head was about to explode.

Bronte was as confused as Robert. The three people who gathered in the Nanjing Embassy were dumbfounded by this fact and their heads were big at the same time.

A problem was placed in front of them, how to bring their relationship with China closer again? How can they naturally convey London's intention to China?

You can't just tell the Chinese directly that you can now attack Batavia with confidence...

The 180-degree change in London's attitude is essentially a strategic persistence.

The North American War has become a protracted war. The participation of France and Spain did not quickly tilt the balance of the war to the Continental Army. Both sides have seen the possibility of the war continuing for a long time. Then, the British and France and Spain must create favorable conditions for their victory.

In a war, in a war fought to achieve a certain goal, even if the goal is to occupy a specific territory or position, directly attacking the coveted place may not necessarily be the best way to get it from a military point of view. Therefore, the goal of military activities may not necessarily be the goal that the warring governments want to achieve, especially in a war that can be called a total war.

This is something that anyone who looks at the problem from a strategic perspective can realize.

Therefore, such a goal that is attacked in order to win the ultimate goal has its own name - attack target.

When conducting a critical study of any war, it is first necessary to make it clear to people what the goals coveted by each warring country are; then, it is necessary to consider whether the selected military attack target, if the attack is successful, is most likely to achieve the goal of the warring government.

- For example, the Henan, Hunan and Guangxi Campaign that the Japanese devils fought when they were about to perish. That battle was directly fought on China, but the ultimate goal of that battle was to open up the mainland transportation line heading south, attempting to contact the Nanyang Japanese army that was cut off from maritime transportation, in order to protect the safety of the mainland and the East China Sea maritime transportation. And destroy the many air bases of the Allied forces in China that can launch air strikes on the Japanese mainland.

Henan, Hunan and Guangxi in China are an attack target.

The main participants in the war of 1778 were Great Britain on one side and the Bourbon dynasty that controlled the two great kingdoms of France and Spain on the other. Britain is now at a disadvantage in its strongest navy, so why does London force the Dutch to oppose it?

That is because the military strength of the Dutch is completely insignificant. The Franco-Spanish alliance has not been significantly strengthened after adding the Dutch. By forcing the Netherlands to join the war, Britain can get a favorable military condition - because its opponent's strength has not increased, but its opponent has gained several more strategic locations. The safety of the Dutch homeland does not need to be overly worried, but what about overseas colonies? Those important but weakly defended military and commercial positions are open to the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

In a word, the British regard the Netherlands as a fat sheep and their compensation target.

Once the Dutch join the war, many of the Dutch overseas colonies will become the target of the British fleet. This will not only contain and mobilize the French and Spanish armies, but also allow Britain to get enough compensation from the Dutch even if it really loses the most promising colony on the North American continent.

It is difficult to defeat the Franco-Spanish alliance with the strength of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the cost will be very heavy, but it is not difficult to defeat the Netherlands, which has degenerated from a coachman on the sea to a windmill. The Dutch are now involved in the war, which provides the best reason for Britain and the Netherlands to go to war again in the future. London is absolutely sure to push the windmill to the ground and rub it, so the large amount of British national debt held by the Dutch will be infinitely depreciated, and Amsterdam's financial status will also be greatly hit.

Regardless of whether Britain eventually loses the thirteen North American states in the war, London can get back some of what it has lost from the Dutch!

None of the three of Watson has a talent for war. They can't see through this. Now the bitterness in their hearts is about to annihilate the whole person...