Chapter 68 Alaska
St. Petersburg.
Sergey, who took over the errand, found his accomplices and told them about the situation.
“Hey, this time we can get a sum of money as long as we can convince the empire to sell the Alaska colony to the Hechingen Consortium. If we can help them pay less, the more we can get, here is As long as we complete the task, we will get one hundred thousand rubles for the 20,000 yuan deposit in advance. For every one million less, we can earn 10,000 more.”
Sergey took the Hechingen Consortium before. Said the check for twenty thousand rubles.
"Your Excellency, is this Hesingen Consortium too stingy? They only want to pay so much for such a large piece of land?" said a minister.
“What do you know about this? You should know by heart that hellish place in Alaska. It’s a place where birds don’t shit, and it’s of little value. You still hope that someone will really take over! This is Heixinggen. The boss of the consortium has unique hobbies, so he is willing to spend money to take over." Sergey said.
"Your Excellency, isn't the Empire contacting the Americans to purchase the Alaska colony? The Americans should be able to pay a higher price!" someone asked.
Sergey said fiercely: "Even if the Americans wanted to buy this land, they would not be willing to do so. If we had not supported the Americans when the United States became independent, they would not want to talk to us at all."
"So even if the Americans took over the Alaska colony due to the sentiments of the past, what does this have to do with us? The Americans will not pay us alone?"
"Now, we have persuaded the empire to sell the Alaska colony to the Hechingen Consortium. Not only can the empire get rid of the burden of Alaska, but we can also receive an additional part of the reward. Why not do such a win-win thing?"
…
The Winter Palace.
Sergei and others are proposing the sale of Alaska to Tsar Alexander II.
Alexander II looked at Sergei and others curiously and said: "Count Sergei, about the sale of Alaska, only a few people have always known where this Hechingen consortium came from. News.”
"Your Majesty, this is actually normal. After all, we have discussed this matter with several European royal families, and behind the Hechingen Consortium is Prussian Prince Ernst of Hechingen. It is not difficult to obtain this information with his identity." Sergey replied calmly.
Alexander II agreed with this reason, nodded and said: "Well, that's true." Then he said: "Then what price do they plan to pay?"
"Five One million rubles."
"What? Five million rubles, did I hear that right? This is absolutely impossible," Alexander II said in disbelief.
Seeing this, Sergey quickly explained.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. In fact, what the Hechingen Consortium wants to purchase is not the entire Alaska colony, but the part north of 56 degrees north latitude. As for the land south of 56 degrees north latitude, it is still part of the empire."
After saying this, Alexander II was immediately interested. You must know that Alaska is in the cold zone, and only the further south it becomes, the more suitable it is for human habitation.
Previously, Russia tried to immigrate to Alaska in order to develop Alaska. However, the harsh weather made life in the north basically impossible, so most of these immigrants based themselves on the islands with a maritime climate and the relatively warm southern land.
The Hechingen Consortium actually gave up the warm south and instead chose the vast snowfields in the north, which confused Alexander II. "Why did they abandon the Alaska territory south of 56 degrees? Instead, they chose the harsh climate in the north?" Alexander II asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, this is because the Hechingen Consortium has the same embarrassment as us, that is, there are two too powerful potential opponents on the North American continent, one British and one American." Sergey explained.
“The Hechingen Consortium just wants to find an area to engage in the fur business, so the Hechingen Consortium does not really need the relatively warm south, but chooses the barren and harsh climate in the north. This can avoid the British Greedy. "
Alexander II was very happy when he heard someone say that the British were greedy for the first time. After all, in the international community, it was always Britain, France and Austria who said that the Russians were greedy.
“You mean that the Hechingen Consortium is using the empire as a shield!”
“Your Majesty, in my opinion, this is a matter of mutual benefit. "What was the purpose of colonizing Alaska and selling it now?" Sergey asked.
"Of course the purpose of colonizing Alaska was to develop and expand in North America. Now that Alaska is being sold, this land is a complete burden, and the British are eyeing it." Alexander II said.
“That’s right, Your Majesty, if we really sell Alaska to the Americans, we will forever lose our foothold in the Americas in the future. But by selling Alaska to the Hechingen Consortium, we will not only The relatively habitable areas of Alaska have been retained, and in the future, the empire's energy has been restored, and it can use southern Alaska as a base to continue to expand southward. As for the threat of the British, after we sell most of Alaska, we can expand the territory of Alaska. The population migrated to South Alaska, south of 56 degrees north latitude controlled by the empire. With a certain population, even if the British in North America wanted to swallow up the empire's South Alaska, they would still have to break a tiger's tooth."
< br>Alexander II very much agreed with this. In fact, the British had very strict restrictions on Russia. Since the Crimean War, Russia was temporarily unable to fight against the British.
That’s why the idea of selling Alaska, the American bridgehead, came up. In fact, with the virtue of the Russians, the harsh climate is nothing at all. There are so many places in Siberia with harsh environments that will be swallowed up by Russia.
“In short, Your Majesty, we will gain nothing from selling Northern Alaska to the Hechingen Consortium. Even if the price is lower, it doesn’t matter. After all, compared with losing the bridgehead in America, we will make less money at present. Nothing.”
Other profitable ministers also echoed Sergei's statement, which further shook Alexander II's mind.
After all, the wealth of North America is visible to the naked eye to the Russians, especially the rapid development of the United States in recent years, which all reflects the fertility of the American land.
If it had not experienced the defeat in Crimea, even if it suffered losses every year, Russia would never give up the opportunity to expand to North America.
Now that someone is willing to buy the Northern Alaska region, this greatly reduces the pressure on the Russians in America.
The Alaska region south of 56 degrees north latitude is in the southeastern corner of the Alaska colony. It is dominated by archipelagos and mountainous terrain, with an area of approximately 20,000 square kilometers. It is indeed easy for Russia to defend.
And this location is closer to the core of Canada and the United States. After all, the entire northern part of North America is covered with huge areas of snowy tundra and forests. Thousands of miles of uninhabited areas are a true reflection of northern North America.
The place that Ernst specially left to the Russians is very particular. Not only is it located at the southernmost point of the Alaska colony, but it also has the Alaska Warm Current passing through it. The climate conditions are the best in Alaska. At the same time, there is nothing in this place. Important resources.
Compared with the gold-producing land of Juneau in Alaska and some nearby oil-producing areas in his previous life, if it were not in the southeastern corner of Alaska, Ernst would have loved to leave the entire southeastern tail of Alaska to the Russians so that he could cooperate with Canada and the United States in the future. Dog eat dog.
(End of this chapter)