In p>1854, an American businessman named Saunders came to Petersburg, claiming to be on business, but quietly called on the important minister of the dynasty, Grand Duke Constance nikolayevich, and they had a close talk for a long time ...

Three years later, in March 1857, the newly appointed foreign minister of Russia, Duke Ya Gorchakov, received a letter from Archduke Constantine Nikolayevich suggesting selling Alaska. He wrote: "This transfer is completely in line with modern requirements. We don't have to deceive ourselves, but we should foresee that the United States of America will definitely seize our territories if it wants to rule North America as a whole, and we can't hide them. Besides, these territories have brought us little benefit, and selling them doesn't seem to cause excessive repercussions ... "

Duke Gorchakov, the foreign minister, is in a dilemma: he doesn't approve of selling Alaska, but he can't ignore the opinions of the rich and powerful. He had to report it to the tsar. Unexpectedly, the emperor was extremely interested in this, and Yu Bi instructed: "This discussion is worth considering."

Dagong is the younger brother of the czar, which may have been "considered" by them at the family gathering. It was planned by conspiracy, and only a few people participated in it. The conspirators knew that the opposing foreign minister was the only insurmountable obstacle, so they designed a little play: first, the archduke who was recuperating in France wrote to the foreign minister to raise the matter. Their analysis: It is of great importance, and the Foreign Minister will definitely report it to the Emperor, and the Emperor will show interest and "consider" it, so that the Foreign Minister may change his position ...

The Foreign Minister will no longer openly oppose it. He also knew that Dagong had secret contact with an American businessman three years ago. It was probably the American businessman who persuaded Dagong to agree to sell the North American territory, and then Dagong instilled this idea into Tsar Alexander II. The Duke of Gorchakov is prepared to delay and seek support for it. He looked for Admiral Vrangel, who had served as consul of Alaska in Russian territory from 183 to 1835. Who knows the admiral is a man who dares not offend anyone. He took the middle route. In his letter to the foreign minister, he wrote "on the one hand ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

after careful consideration, Gorchakov suggested to the tsar to suspend the sale of Alaska until the ambassador to the United States, Baron Tekeli, found out the intention of the United States. The czar gave a brief instruction on April 29th, 1857. The general idea is: first, this matter is not finished; Second, the selling price can be greatly reduced.

"Sharpen a sword every ten years"

Gorchakov is really capable of suppressing this matter for ten years. (It's also God's help. During this period, it happened that there was a civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865! ) But during these ten years, the cabal didn't sleep. Archduke Constantine Nikolayevich is the mastermind of the conspiracy group. Apart from often blowing in the emperor's ear, he also drew Finance Minister Laiteng into the circle. The ambassador to the United States, Baron Tekeli, was the leader of this group from the beginning. He spared no effort to sell his territory between Russia and the United States within ten years, and even prepared a treaty manuscript that humiliated Russia. "Ten years of grinding a sword", the conspiracy group began to split up: Dagong was responsible for getting through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and re-raising this issue with the Minister of Foreign Affairs; The finance minister pressed the tsar with the financial crisis and suggested lending to the west; The ambassador to the United States stepped up consultations with the US government.

the cabal has stepped up its pace.

In September, 1866, Finance Minister Lai Teng submitted a report to the Tsar, claiming that in recent two or three years, debts were high and the national treasury was empty. In order to pay off foreign debts, it was necessary to raise 4.5 million rubles as soon as possible, but it was impossible to raise this money at home. There was only one way: to pay off old debts with new international loans. He made the tsar understand that whether Russia can get a loan depends on the attitude of selling Alaska. In other words, if it sells Alaska, it can postpone paying its debts.

In October, 1866, Baron Tekeli returned to Petersburg from Washington, D.C., and conspired to get together at the Grand Duke's residence, and made two decisions: 1. Selling Alaska for 5 million gold dollars; Second, continue to put pressure on the Minister of Foreign Affairs to strive for a breakthrough as soon as possible.

at noon on December 16th, 1866, all members of the conspiracy group came to the Foreign Minister's house in the name of "Day Prayer", and the Tsar himself also came. He made it clear that he agreed to betray Alaska There is no official record, but there are two lines in Alexander II's diary: "At noon, the Duke of Gorchakov held a meeting on the American company. Decided to sell it to the United States. "

the tsar's diary shows that selling Alaska is a foregone conclusion, but at this time, the Ross Council of Ministers and the State Council knew nothing about it.

The conspiracy group avoided the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and appointed Baron Tekeli to be fully responsible for the negotiation and signing. However, the minister, as the plenipotentiary, did not have any written instructions or authorization from the government, but the finance minister told him, "It will cost 5 million dollars."

The Baron's negotiation with the United States is an out-and-out traitorous farce. The text of the treaty was dictated by the US. Five of the seven clauses are about the rights of the US, that is, what the US government should get after signing the contract. The other two items are about payment, but there is no mention of the responsibility and punishment for breach of contract during payment.

The American government bought the land and the Lochiel consortium paid for it.

Americans were optimistic about Alaska's economic prospects and knew its political and military value, but at that time, the United States had just ended the civil war, and its treasury was empty and there was no money in hand. So behind the buyer of the American government, there appeared a man who paid for it. In the process of preparing to sign the contract, an American name flashed: August Belmont. Belmont made his mark in the United States at the age of 23. Before that, this promising young man was already the head of the Frankfurt branch of the Bank of Lochiel. Later, he bought a bank for the Lochiel consortium in new york and served as its supervisor. He soon became an economic adviser to the President of the United States and a creditor of the government. Obviously, the Lochiel consortium gave the money to the American government through its own agent, and the government came forward to buy Alaska.

According to the materials in 186, Russia covered an area of 97, square kilometers at that time. If Alaska was ceded, Russia would lose 6% of its territory after deducting 6, square kilometers. Alaska is a golden rice bowl. In fact, at that time, the Russian American company had started to produce coal and gold mines, but its financial resources were limited and the Russian government did not give necessary support. But there are ways. As long as they cancel the monopoly of Russian and American companies on Alaska, open it to Russian private capital and entrepreneurs, and develop Alaska together, it is definitely promising.

the mystery of raising land price

In March p>1867, the "negotiation" between Russia and the United States was drawing to a close, and a formal contract could be signed soon. For some reason, on behalf of Secretary of State Hugh Alder, the United States changed the sixth clause of the treaty, resulting in the amount of 7.2 million dollars, while the original land price was 5 million dollars! Baron Tekeli was ecstatic and immediately reported to the Russian government. On March 26th, 1867, Gorchakov, Foreign Minister, sent a secret telegram to the Baron: "The Emperor allowed to sell and sign the contract for 7 million dollars ... Try to receive the money in the near future, and if possible, transfer the money to the Bahrain Bank in London."

On the night of March 29th, 1867 to the early morning of the next day, American Secretary of State Hugh Alder and Russian Ambassador to the United States Tekeli formally signed the treaty. After signing the contract, the United States won Alaska immediately without waiting for Congress to approve funding and undertake any obligations. The Secretary of State of the United States Government does not agree to pay in London. He is interested in participating in this financial activity. He knew that the Bahrain Bank in London had a private account of the Tsar Romanov family, while the money from the Russian treasury was deposited in the Bank of England.

The appreciation of land price undoubtedly gave Russian representative Tekeli a boast about his capital. He said that he bargained successfully in the negotiation, and because of his work, "some influential American figures" helped a lot. He believes that he should have a share of the $2.2 million in land value appreciation. But Petersburg doesn't think so. In addition to awarding medals, the czar only awarded him 25, silver rubles. Feeling very wronged, Tekeli said in a letter to westman, a friend of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "As for the bonus given to me, I think it should be more generous ... If the emperor can't correctly evaluate the contribution of his emissary, then he will try to get what he deserves."

of course, Alaska's price increase has nothing to do with Tekeli. But why should the US raise the land price? In order to solve this historical mystery, American detective Ralph persson wrote a book, An Invisible Hand, after a long-term investigation and study. He wrote: "During the American Civil War, Russia sent its own fleet to American waters to rescue the American government. There may have been a secret agreement between the Tsar and Lincoln (the 16th president of the United States-the author), and the United States should pay for the Russian fleet. Johnson (who took over as the 17th president after Lincoln was assassinated-the author) has no constitutional authorization and cannot pay this fee. And the cost of the fleet is quite high: $7.2 million. Therefore, Johnson negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia through Secretary of State William Hugh Alder. Historians who don't know the truth call' raising land prices'' Hugh Alder's stupidity'. So far, some people have criticized the secretary of state, saying that such a piece of land should not pay such a high price. However, the purchase of land is only a means to use the Russian fleet to pay off the military expenses to Russia. The actions of the Russian fleet did make the United States avoid a fierce battle with Britain and France at that time. "

When it comes to Russian naval aid to the United States, the situation in the late summer of 1863 was as follows: the Russian naval forces cruising on both sides of North America were two sub-fleets: the Atlantic sub-fleet was commanded by Rear Admiral Lesovski and the Pacific sub-fleet was commanded by Admiral popov. They once sailed into new york Port and San Francisco Port respectively, which was unexpected by Britain and France.

Regarding the statement that President Lincoln had a secret agreement with Tsar Alexander II, in 1939, Soviet historian Malkin affirmed: "The documents published by Russia and a large amount of data from the United States all explained this relationship at that time, and confirmed the statement that in 1861 or 1863, a sub-fleet was sent to support the establishment of a secret alliance between North America and Russia and the United States ..."

Russian warships cruised in American waters for nearly a year, and how much did they spend on the national treasury? According to the materials of the Admiralty at that time, the annual military expenditure of the national treasury for a 44-gunboat was 357,469 rubles. The cost of 12 warships of two sub-fleets is more than 4.2 million rubles. In addition, the sinking of the cruise ship "upstart" in San Francisco Bay should also be included in the total expenditure. Also, when the sub-fleet sailed into the Atlantic Ocean, 13 sailors were sacrificed, and dozens of people suffered from scurvy and were treated for a long time. After sailing in the ocean, many ships needed to be overhauled ... In short, the total expenditure should be added with the number of 3 million rubles, and the total military expenditure should be 7.2 million rubles. So, if the United States intends to raise the land price to $7.2 million to pay Russia's due military expenditure, isn't Alaska equal to giving it away for nothing? !

Suspicious Receipt

In 199, at an exhibition called "Russia's America" in Tacoma, near Seattle, USA, people saw a receipt-a receipt issued by Russia after the US government bought Alaska.

This receipt has caused many questions to scholars who have studied this issue for a long time. The sixth paragraph of the treaty reads: "On the basis of the above-mentioned provisions, the United States shall, within a period of ten months after the exchange of ratified treaty texts, be in Huasheng?" Steep? Is it awkward? What are you talking about? Chen ornaments? Silly na? ù? 2, gold dollars ... "Comparing the above terms with the receipt will reveal many problems. The terms stipulate that the place of payment is Washington, and the receipt is new york. The payee is also suspicious. It is Edward Tekeli who signed the receipt as the payee. According to the provisions, as a representative of Russia, he can receive money. However, there is one situation: after the ratification of the treaty, Foreign Minister Gorchakov was worried about problems in receiving money, and immediately transferred the full authority to complete the matter from diplomatic representatives to the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance should immediately send representatives with corresponding credit to Washington, collect gold dollars, personally supervise the loading of gold coins on Russian warships, transport them to Petersburg, and then transfer them to the state treasury ... If this is done, it will be foolproof. But the "receipt" exhibited in the United States shows that the Ministry of Finance failed to take over the matter, and the diplomatic representative Tekeli monopolized the power. It was he who violated the US regulations on cash and gold coins and received a check for 7.2 million "Green Buick" banknotes without any objection. "Green Buick" is a green-backed banknote issued by the United States during the Civil War. Its market value is much lower than that of gold coins. The "Green Buick" check paid by the United States is actually only worth 5.4 million dollars. The baron's "negligence" and "tolerance" cost Russia 1.8 million gold dollars. The difference was left in the US Treasury. It is conceivable that Russian diplomatic representatives benefited from it.

Also, the treaty stipulates that the payment period is within ten months after signing the contract, but the United States has delayed payment after occupying Alaska. The deadline has already passed, and the US Congress is still debating whether to pay according to the contract. This is a very abnormal situation. According to international practice, the breaching party should bear the responsibility and be punished. But the Russian government did not say a word about it. In a letter to the Foreign Minister on July 15th, 1868, Baron Tekeli wrote: "The American people spoke highly of the gratitude and generosity of the czar government, which did not protest or complain, although it had the right to do so. Because the payment is not paid within the prescribed time limit, it is actually a blatant violation of the agreement. " Beautiful words, more exposed the traitor's face. Since the diplomatic representative understood the truth so well, why didn't he write down the liability for breach of contract and the penalty clause in the treaty?

In August, 1868, the Baron gave the Russian Treasury a certificate of "all the $7.2 million was received" and claimed that the money had been transferred to a bank in new york. According to the bank's testimony to the US Congress, it was confirmed that only $7.35 million had been remitted to the bank. Needless to say, $165, has been put into the pockets of diplomatic representatives.

The baron's final fate is like a mystery. In May 1869, he wrote to his friends in the Foreign Affairs Department, saying that he hoped to get a two-year vacation. The letter was full of fear and sadness. One put his hand into the emperor's pocket (it should be said that it is the rice bowl of ordinary people! What will happen to people? Finally, Baron Tekeli disappeared, lost his trace in Russia, and couldn't find him abroad ...