It is said that Sototo intends to take the Yenisei River as the boundary! What was the name and basis of Yenisei River in the early Qing Dynasty?

In the 28th year of Kangxi (A.D. 1689), Bian Xiao gave a detailed answer to the Sino-Russian negotiation and the signing of the Sino-Russian Nebuchadnezzar Chu Treaty, so here, Bian Xiao will discuss this issue with you again.

Russia's occupation of Siberia and the Far East appeared as early as the middle and late Ming Dynasty. In order to strengthen control over these areas, the Russian government built Yakutsk City and Irkutsk City at the corner of Lena River from northeast to north and the birthplace of Yenisei River in Lake Baikal. Today, these two cities are still the most important Russian cities in Siberia and the Far East, but they were built to occupy the territory of China at that time and were invaded by Russia at that time.

At present, there are three rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean from west to east in Siberia, namely ob river, Yenisei River and Lena River. Among them, ob river originated in Altai Mountain, which is not discussed in this paper. The Yenisei River rises in the west bank of Lake Baikal and then flows northward into the Arctic Ocean, while the Lena River rises in the northwest of Lake Baikal, flows northeast first, and then turns north into the Arctic Ocean in Yakutsk.

It is not difficult to find from this picture that the Yenisei River basin is far from the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and it was the territory of Russia as early as the Kangxi period. If the Qing government asked for the Yenisei River as the boundary during the Sino-Russian border negotiations, even Bian Xiao thought it was unreasonable, because if the boundary was divided in this way, all Russian efforts to embezzle Siberia and the Far East would be in vain, but in fact, it was very clear at that time.

However, the negotiation between the two countries on the border issue is a great test of one's determination and wisdom. In actual negotiations, both sides have an acceptable and unacceptable bottom line, so this "bottom line" is the most critical existence for the final success of the negotiations. This "bottom line" is like the "pre-tender price" in bidding. If the other party knows or guesses its own "pre-bid price", then the other party will take the initiative in the negotiation and get more benefits, and vice versa.

Regarding this border negotiation, the Qing Dynasty also had its own "bottom line". Before the demand map began, Kangxi told him his "bottom line" and hoped that he could live up to expectations. Kangxi's bottom line is:

If Nebuchadnezzar Chu belongs to me, Russian trade has nowhere to stop, and it can be bounded by the Ergun River.

The above are the records in the Draft of Qing History, and there are also relevant records in The Record of Sheng Zuren of Qing Emperor as evidence:

Today, with the Nebuchadnezzar tide as the boundary, there is no place for the trade of the envoys of eros, and it is difficult to communicate with each other. When we first discussed it, we should still take the Nebuchadnezzar tide as the boundary. If the messenger pleads with Nebuchadnezzar, he can take Ergon as the boundary.

Originally, Tu Tu meant to recover Nebuchadnezzar Chu, which is China's inherent territory, but Kangxi's idea was that if Nebuchadnezzar Chu was forcibly recovered, Russia's trade in the Far East would be disrupted, and before long, they would make a comeback and the Sino-Russian border would resurface, which was not what Kangxi wanted.

So, Mr. Tu Tu took Kangxi's "bottom line" to Nebuchadnezzar Chu to negotiate. In the first round of negotiations, both sides did not show the bottom line, not only did they not show it, but Soto also played a trick on the other side, that is, demanding that the Lena River be the boundary. Sototo never thought that the other party would accept this plan.

On the contrary, the other party will definitely refuse. After all, the Lena River basin has been firmly controlled by Russia, and they also built Yakutsk city in an attempt to accumulate strength and continue to expand to the Far East in the future. If the Lena River is the boundary, Yakutsk will be directly exposed under the eyes of the Qing Dynasty, and it will become more difficult or even impossible to continue to expand to the Far East in the future.

Therefore, Russia categorically rejected the "unreasonable" requirements of the demand map, and the first negotiation between the two sides ended. In the second negotiation, Russia followed the demand map and proposed taking Heilongjiang as the boundary. This time, the demand map was rejected, but for some reason, the demand map gave in first and proposed Nebuchadnezzar as the boundary, but it was still rejected by Russia.

During the third negotiation, Suoetu made a concession, that is, taking the Erbiqi River, the Ergon River and the Outer Xing 'an Mountains as the eastern borders of China and Russia. This is also the first time that Soto showed his cards, and Russia agreed. The two sides signed the Treaty of Nebuchadnezzar.

Although the Treaty of Nebuchadnezzar Chu is the first foreign equality treaty in history of qing dynasty, its contents are not equal, because the area of Nebuchadnezzar Chu that should belong to us still falls into Russian hands.

As for why Sokoto gave Nebuchadnezzar Chu to him at that time, many people pointed to the two missionaries who accompanied Sokoto to participate in the negotiations and were responsible for translation. Some people say that the two men privately accepted bribes from Russia and told Russia their own bottom line, which made Sokoto suppressed by Russia everywhere in the negotiation process and finally had to give in. As to whether this statement is true or not, Bian Xiao doesn't know. What do you think of this?