Putiyatin
February 1858 After the end of the Guangzhou War, the four ministers of the United States and Russia came to Shanghai with the British and French coalition forces and submitted notes to the Qing government respectively.
The main content of the note between Britain and France is:
1, allowing British and French ministers to enter Beijing.
2, add trading ports.
3, allowing British and French subjects to freely enter mainland China to travel, do business and preach.
4, compensate for all losses of war funds and " Ma Pussy incident ", " Yaro incident ".
5, reply to this note within three months, otherwise the British and French governments have the right to use force to achieve the above goals.
The content of the US and Russia’s note is:
We are responsible for mediation, we only require the revision of the contract and do not participate in the war. The requirements for revision of the convention are the same as those of Britain and France.
It should be noted here that in addition to submitting the note on the surface, Russia secretly submitted a note to the Qing government. The main content is:
requires the investigation of the Heilongjiang, Ussuri River, and Ili region boundaries.
Xianfeng After receiving these notes, the emperor replied to Britain, France and the United States: Your ministers of the Three Kingdoms quickly leave Shanghai and go back to Guangzhou. I have called the new governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Huang Zonghan to investigate and deal with your affairs impartially. If you have any questions, just go to him.
's reply to the Russian minister was:
Since you are mediating in the center, you should participate less in matters in Guangdong. If you want to discuss the matter of determining the boundaries, hurry to Heilongjiang and go there to discuss with Yishan . He cares about this matter.
When the ministers of the four countries saw Xianfeng's attitude, they felt that it would be impossible to stay in Shanghai. They had to drive the joint fleet to Dagukou, Tianjin to use force as a backing to put greater pressure on the Qing government.
Russian minister Putiyatin suggested:
"The best time to show off your military power to Dagukou should be April and May. At this time, most of the time in Tianjin is sunny and not too hot, which is convenient for military operations. The weather is very hot in June, and in July, it is raining more, which is not convenient for military operations."
In April, the British and French coalition forces arrived at Dagukou, Tianjin, and the four ministers of Britain, France, the United States and Russia who arrived with the joint fleet once again sent a note to the Qing government. Their division of labor is still that Britain and France have proposed a request for amendment, otherwise the goal will be achieved by force. While the United States and Russia proposed a request for amendment, they emphasized that we are responsible for mediation.
Emperor Xianfeng and his loyal ministers believed after repeated discussions:
1. Although southern had Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rebels, a few thousand British and French coalition forces were not afraid of.
2. Tianjin is no better than Guangdong, and it is an important part of the capital, so it has long been fully prepared. It is not difficult to defeat the British and French coalition forces.
3. Russia, the United States and Britain and France are different. We can use them to control the barbarians.
4, foreign people are like dogs and sheep, simple mind, we can agree to some of their requests and reject other requests. For example, open one or two trading ports to reduce taxes. They have nothing to say when they get the benefits.
finally decided to send Cangchang Minister Chonglun to Tianjin to negotiate with the British and French ministers on behalf of the Qing government. However, the British and French ministers Earlkin and Baron Grosch believed that Chonglun's position was too low and had no full authority, so they refused to meet him. Emperor Xianfeng then sent Zhili Governor Tan Tingxiang as the imperial envoy to participate in the negotiations.
Tan Tingxiang
Tan Tingxiang was not granted full power or cheap power by Emperor Xianfeng, and the British and French ministers were still dissatisfied.
Tan Tingxiang said:
" Qing cannot give full authority to ministers. It is also impossible for ministers to have the power to act cheaply."
After hearing this, the British and French ministers refused to meet Tan Tingxiang. All the meanings to be expressed were conveyed by the US and Russian ministers.
Russian minister Putiyatin told Tan Tingxiang when he was sending a message to the British and French ministers, and asked Tan Tingxiang to tell Emperor Xianfeng that there are Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Red Gun Club , Xiaodao Club, Tiandi Club and other rebels in rebellion, and there are pressure from the British and French coalition forces outside. The Russian government deeply sympathized with this.Therefore, he made the following suggestions on behalf of the Russian government:
1. Britain, France and the United States are already coveting the Manchuria region. If the Qing government transfers the north of Heilongjiang and east of Ussuri to Russia, then the great powers will not dare to get involved in Manchuria.
2. If the Qing government agrees to the above requirements, the Russian government will not only repay well, but will also pay 100,000 taels of silver to the local residents for moving expenses.
3. The Russian government can provide weapons to the Qing government for free and send military advisers to help train the army. The Qing government had a strong army, which not only could quell internal rebellions, but also resisted external humiliation.
4, the Russian government requires all rights of Britain, France and the United States in China.
5, given the current internal and external difficulties of the Qing government, the best choice is to cooperate with the Russian government in friendly cooperation. Of course, if the Qing government does not agree to the above requirements, the Russian government will also rely on its own strength to achieve the above goals.
After Emperor Xianfeng learned of these requests from Putiyating, he felt that his plan to use barbarians to control barbarians was instantly lost.
During the stalemate between the two sides, the Russian monk, the Grand Priest of the Orthodox Church in Beijing, , Barady rushed to Tianjin to pay homage to Putiyatin. Barady gave Putiyatin a piece of information he collected, which was:
1, Beijing is now very short of food.
2, Emperor Xianfeng is preparing to escape.
3, there are 10,000 troops deployed between Tianjin and Beijing.
4, the Qing army in Dagukou had wooden ships and iron chains blocking it, and large ships of the British and French coalition forces were unable to enter.
Pitiyatin handed over this information to Erjin . He also told Erjin:
"To the Qing government, only a firm and unquestionable threat would be given, otherwise satisfactory results would not be achieved."
Under the pressure of the great powers, the Qing government had to make concessions. However, there was no agreement to transfer the north of Heilongjiang and east of Ussuri River to Russia, nor did it agree to foreign ministers to be stationed in Beijing, compensation, trade and other conditions.
