Chapter 68 Alaska
St. Petersburg.
Sergey, who took over the errand, found his accomplices and told them about the situation.
"Hey, this time as long as we can convince the empire to sell the Alaska colony to the Hechingen Consortium, we can get a sum of money. If we can help them pay less, the more we will get. Here is the advance deposit of 20,000, As long as we complete the task, we will get one hundred thousand rubles, and for every one million less, we can earn ten thousand more."
Sergey said while holding the check of 20,000 rubles previously sent by the Hechingen Consortium.
"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 is a place where birds don't shit, and it has no value. You still hope that someone will really take over! That is to say, the boss of the Heixingen Consortium has unique hobbies. Only then are they 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 want to buy this land, they are not 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 portion of the reward. Why not do such a win-win situation?"
…
Hermitage.
Sergei and others were proposing the sale of Alaska to Tsar Alexander II.
Alexander II looked at Sergey and others curiously and said: "Count Sergei, about the sale of Alaska, only a few people know where the Hechingen consortium got the 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 million rubles."
"What? Five million rubles, did I hear correctly? This is absolutely impossible, it is really wishful thinking." 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.
In the past, 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.
"And 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, harsh climate in the north. This can avoid the greed of the British."
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 Britain, France and Austria who always said that the Russians were greedy.
"You mean this Hechingen consortium is using the empire as a shield!"
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, this is a matter of mutual benefit. There is no one who takes advantage of whom. Think about the purpose of colonizing Alaska and selling Alaska now?" Sergey asked rhetorically.
"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. By selling Alaska to the Hechingen Consortium, we will not only keep Alaska relatively livable. area, and in the future when the empire's energy is restored, it can use southern Alaska as a stronghold to continue to expand southward. As for the threat from the British, after we sell most of Alaska, we can move the population in Alaska to the empire's control South Alaska, south of 56 degrees north latitude, has a certain population. Even if the British in North America want to swallow the empire's South Alaska, they will still have to break a tiger's tooth."
Alexander II agreed with this point. 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, a bad climate is nothing at all. There are so many places in Siberia with bad 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 to losing the bridgehead in America, making less money at present is 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 about 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 was very particular. Not only was it located at the southernmost point of the Alaska colony, but it also had the Alaska Warm Current passing through it. The climate conditions were among the best in Alaska. At the same time, this place did not have any important resources.
If Juneau, the gold-producing area of Alaska, and some nearby oil-producing areas were not in the southeastern corner of Alaska in his previous life, Ernst would have loved to leave the entire southeastern Alaska tail to the Russians so that he could fight dog-eat-dog with Canada and the United States in the future.
