The negotiations between the Ming Dynasty and Russia continued in this unknown atmosphere. Before the first meeting, Yang Xu had already sent a message to the capital in a secret letter. After the first meeting, Yang Xu sent another secret letter to report to Zhu Yicheng.

While reporting on the situation, Yang Xu also calmly explained to Zhu Yicheng the current situation and his judgment. When I cannot defeat Irkutsk and eventually win this war, the Ming army's continued attack will not bring greater results. Instead, due to the weather, it will return in vain soon.

Because of this, Yang Xu planned to talk to Tolstoy and take this opportunity to temporarily stop the battle, thereby stabilizing the occupied territory and pulling the main force back to Ulan-Ude.

Yang Xu did not hide the idea from Zhu Yicheng at all. At the same time, he realized very clearly that Tolstoy's idea was probably the same. Tolstoy was talking a lot of things, and his real intention was probably a temporary ceasefire, which gave the Russian army in Irkutsk a precious breathing time.

Yang Xu guessed that Tolstoy did plan so. Before coming to the Far East, Tolstoy had the idea of ​​fighting with the Ming army, intending to make merits for the Russian Empire in the Far East.

But after arriving in Irkutsk, he directly felt the cruelty and fierceness of the front-line war. The reality made Tolstoy realize immediately that judging from the current Russian troops and the situation in Irkutsk, Berekov's defensive tactics were correct. Once a head-on battle was fought, it was impossible for Russia to defeat the powerful Ming army on the battlefield, and could only barely defend the front with its current attitude.

Tolstoy was not a soldier, but he was an excellent politician and diplomat, so when he understood this, he decided how to deal with the Ming Dynasty.

At present, since the death of Peter the Great, the current domestic political situation in Russia is in turmoil, and the rights are controlled by the female Tsar Yekaterina, the Supreme Secret Committee and several great nobles respectively.

Tolstoy is the confidant of Peter the Great, and is also one of the six giants of Russia's highest secret committee. From this point of view, Tolstoy has a high status and stable power within the Russian Empire. But in fact, Tolstoy himself knew that his status was not as stolen as outsiders seemed, but was in danger.

The reason for this is ultimately due to the incident back then, that is, the death of Alexey, the crown prince of Peter the Great.

Crown Prince Alexei died at the hands of Emperor Peter the Great, or it could be said that he was forced to rebel by Emperor Peter the Great, and finally he was beaten to death by whip. After he was investigated, when Crown Prince Alexei failed to rebellion, he fled to foreign countries, Tolstoy took action to deceive Crown Prince Alexei and then lured him back to his country.

After Crown Prince Alexei returned to Russia, Tolstoy instantly abandoned his promise to the Crown Prince and even participated in the trial of Crown Prince Alexei as a political officer, which eventually led to the death of Crown Prince Alexei.

After the death of Peter the Great, the current Tsarist throne in Russia was inherited by Peter the Great's empress, formerly the deputy king of Russia, and was called Yekaterina I.

Although on the surface, the throne of Caterina I was still stable, because the son of Caterina I and Peter the Great died young, the inheritance of the throne left by Peter the Great was legally stating that Peter the son of the crown prince Alexei was the most direct next generation heir.

Once Peter succeeds to the throne and becomes the next Tsar of Caterina I, he will definitely attack Tolstoy, who was one of the culprits of deceiving and participating in the killing of Crown Prince Alexey, to avenge his father.

It is precisely because of this that Tolstoy was frightened and the current Russian government is basically controlled by the powerful minister Myshinkov. Although Tolstoy and Myshinkov were both confidants of Peter the Great back then, their relationship was not good. Compared with Tolstoy, Myshinkov was the conservative leader of the Russian Empire and was more inclined to sympathize with the crown prince Alexey who died tragically. From this point of view, Tolstoy was not as glorious as outsiders saw it.

This time, Tolstoy went to the Far East to deal with the Far East War. In addition to taking this opportunity to avoid the political vortex of St. Petersburg, he also planned to use this method to further enhance his political status within the Russian Empire to avoid future liquidation.

There is no problem with Tolstoy's idea. Once the Far East crisis can be solved, his political status in Russia will be more stable. Even if Peter Jr. ascends to the throne of the Tsar in the future, Tolstoy will be able to retreat with all his credit.

Moreover, Tolstoy was not without any resistance. In addition to being a politician and diplomat, he was also the highest leader of the secret police of the Russian Empire. In this regard, he was somewhat similar to Zhang Ran of the Jinyiwei, and had greater power.

You can't win for the time being. Since you can't win, let's talk.

After judging the situation, Tolstoy adopted the current policy. He first needed to contact the other party through meetings and then negotiated arbitrage. The armistice seems not to end the war, but in the current situation, the armistice is beneficial to both sides.

First, as long as the Far East can be in a truce, Tolstoy's political purpose of coming to the Far East will be completed. He can stabilize the situation in the Far East through the truce, and thus prepare for the future development of the situation.

Secondly, due to internal reasons, Russia is now unable to send large troops to fight in the Far East. The reinforcements brought by Tolstoy are probably the troops that Russia can barely send.

Third, whether it is Russia or the Ming Dynasty, such a stalemate war is meaningless. Tolstoy judged that the Ming army actually had the idea of ​​a ceasefire, which can be seen from the changes in the seasons and the fact that the Ming army could never take down Irkutsk.

I have to admit that Tolstoy's vision was vicious and his judgment was correct. So he tentatively sent a signal of negotiation to the Ming army. This temptation was also to confirm his judgment. When Yang Xu accepted the request for a meeting, Tolstoy felt even more at ease.

After a few days of the first meeting, the second meeting between the two sides continued to begin.

Although the war is still continuing, as the high-level leaders of both sides begin to contact, the Ming army and Russia tacitly slowed down the intensity of the war. Although they are still in a state of war, the war is no longer as fierce as before, which makes the soldiers on both sides have some expectations for the negotiations.

Diplomatic negotiations are nothing more than bargaining on the spot. Tolstoy is an expert and uses his methods and abilities in this area very well in the subsequent negotiations.

However, Yang Xu was not moved by him. Before receiving the imperial edict from Zhu Yicheng, Yang Xu could only use this method to touch the other party's bottom line. Although he was far inferior to Tolstoy in diplomacy, Yang Xu's persistence in the bottom line and his ruling on some key issues also left Tolstoy helpless.

Finally, about a month after the negotiations, Zhu Yicheng's reply from the capital finally arrived at the front line through quick messaging. In the reply, Zhu Yicheng told Yang Xu that as the commander, he could make practical judgments on the situation on the front line, including negotiations with Russia.

In addition to sticking to the bottom line of the Ming Dynasty and ensuring the current results, the rest can be discussed with the Russian side, including a temporary ceasefire.

After reading Zhu Yicheng's reply, Yang Xu was overjoyed and finally felt relieved. Zhu Yicheng was the hero of the Ming Dynasty and gave him the most appropriate and suitable decision, which made Yang Xu completely relieved.

Before the arrival of autumn, Yang Xu and Tolstoy finally reached a preliminary negotiation result on the so-called "conflict" and "misunderstanding" between the two sides, that is, the temporary ceasefire between the two sides, and the Ming army promised not to continue to attack Irkutsk, and the Sherekhov Fortress was the buffer area for both sides to maintain the status quo.

The main force of the Ming army withdrew from Ulan-Ude, and the war temporarily stopped. As for the subsequent negotiations, Tolstoy needed to go to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to discuss with the diplomatic officials of the Ming Dynasty and even the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. As for the outcome, Yang Xu could not control it. As the highest commander of the Northern Legion, he only carried out military orders and did not fall within the scope of his rights in politics.
Chapter completed!