How did the Qing Dynasty lose to Tsarist Russia in the battle for geographical location in North Asi

When Russia was only a Muscovy, it could only live on the East European Plain, who would have thought that after hundreds of years of foreign expansion, the territory would be expanded several times in one fell swoop, and the territory of the Soviet Union at its peak was as high as 22 million square kilometers, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's current territory is as high as 17 million square kilometers. Russia's occupation of 13 million square kilometers of North Asia has played a crucial role in its territorial expansion.

However, when the land of North Asia did not belong to Russia, China seemed to have the upper hand in geopolitical relations. Think about 13 million square kilometers of land, which is twice the size of China's current territory, and now, with the exploitation of oil resources, this seemingly barren place has become a fragrant bait. Many Chinese can't help but sigh:

If these 13 million land are Chinese, then China is the largest country in the world, and with rich oil resources, how can there be large-scale oil imports!

When Russia did not occupy North Asia, this land was never really under the rule of a certain civilization, but when the Chinese regime was strong, it still had a certain influence here, and some local indigenous tribes could also establish nominal jurisdiction under the tributary system through fetters.

As early as the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, China and Russia had clearly demarcated through a series of treaties such as Nebuchu and Kyakhta that the vast majority of the Central Siberian Plateau and the Eastern Siberian Mountains were owned by Russia. However, at that time, the industrial revolution had not yet broken out, and even if the level of civilization development in Europe as a whole had surpassed that of Chinese civilization, the degree of leadership was not deep, and Russia at that time belonged to the marginal and backward part of the European civilization system. China has an absolute advantage over Russia, and even then, China will only give up North Asia through negotiations.

Many people will ask: Why did China give up to Russia when it had a greater advantage?

Yun Shijun will analyze from the following three points.

Clause. 1. The natural limitations of agrarian civilization.

On the one hand, under the conditions of agricultural civilization, agricultural planting capacity is the most important criterion for judging the value of land. Obviously, North Asia, a bitter cold place, was not suitable for farming, and in the era of agricultural civilization, its value was very low.

On the other hand, in the era of agriculture, the level of technological development is limited, and the communication between various plates in the world is not smooth, so it presents an island pattern, and natural geographical barriers such as oceans, deserts, and mountains block the exchange and integration between the geopolitical forces of various plates, and effectively prevent the possibility of conflicts of interest between various forces.

In the century, mankind's ability to break through the geopolitical barrier is limited, although mankind's conquest of the sea has intensified, and North Asia alone is still an effective geopolitical barrier.

This makes it easier to understand that in China's cognitive system at that time, in addition to controlling the Mongolian Plateau, which was more suitable for the survival of nomadic forces, and further north, the environment was harsher in the central and northern parts of North Asia, which was only suitable for the survival of scattered fishing and hunting tribes, and the threat to itself could be ignored.

I think the main reason is the arrogance of the Qing rulers and their contempt for the enemy, as well as the fact that their combat is not advanced and so on.

Because the location of North Asia was originally not wanted by the Qing Dynasty, and there was no time to manage it when it came, but for Russia, this place in North Asia was very important. So try your best to get it back.

The Qing Dynasty had relatively low combat effectiveness at that time, and the logistics supply route was very long. Therefore, in the long-term battle, the advantage was slowly lost.

Due to the high latitude and extremely low winter temperatures in the Tohoku region, it was a place of terrible bitter cold in ancient times when there were no modern heating equipment. However, due to the lack of human activity and the natural environment of this high latitude, the Northeast region has also become a cornucopia of luxury goods.

The forest sea snow field in the northeast.

Fur is the largest luxury item in the Northeast. For people living in Northeast China, fur is a rigid need to protect against the cold. But for people who don't live in other parts of the country, getting a garment made of fur comes at a considerable cost.

Due to the cold environment in Tohoku, many of the local animals grow thick fur to protect themselves from the cold. Mink and sea otter skins are the most sought after and the most expensive of them. In addition to mink and sea otters, foxes and lynx fur are also very popular.

In addition to the fur of these animals, the locals of the Northeast at that time would also catch squirrels, and their fur was the same as the animals mentioned above, and they could also be made into some cold clothing, but the ** and texture were not as good as the former.

In addition to fur, pearls, ginseng, and mushrooms were also specialties of the Northeast at that time. During the period of Nurhachi's reign in Jianzhou Jurchen, these specialties of the Northeast of the Antler Kernel sold well in the Ming Dynasty, and even crossed the ocean to Japan, and even some of the Northeast specialties were resold by many hands and appeared in the Americas ruled by the Spaniards. The export of these specialties provided Nurhachi's regime with great wealth and financial support for Manchuria's wars with the Mongols and the Ming Dynasty.

After the entry of Manchuria, due to the changes in the climatic environment and production and lifestyle, the Manchus have generally accepted the customs of the Han people, but they have not completely abandoned some of their customs in the northeast. The love of furs, mushrooms, and brothers or pearls was one of the customs that the Manchus retained after entering the customs.

Moreover, after defeating the remnants of the Ming Dynasty and unifying the country, the Manchu demand for Northeast specialties did not decrease, but increased. Because these Northeast specialties were not only rewarded to the Eight Banners nobles, but also more of these Northeast specialties were rewarded to bureaucrats at all levels as items by the Manchu royal family, as a link between the royal family and the bureaucrats and nobles. Moreover, the morning pearls on the dresses of bureaucrats at all levels, as well as the winter dresses, also required a large number of pearls and furs.

In addition to the increase in demand, the Qing royal family itself knew that these resources in the Northeast meant a lot of wealth, and only by holding these wealth in their own hands could the royal family feel safe. Therefore, after entering the customs, the Qing Dynasty paid more attention to the production of special products in the northeast.

The feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty, in the era of industrial society, could not compete with the rule of Tsarist Russia, which entered the industrial society, in Siberia, so the Qing Dynasty could not do anything about the annexation of Siberia.

The Siberian no-man's land was given up when it was abandoned, which was normal in the eyes of the Qing emperors.

To this day, Siberia remains one of the most backward regions in the world, with vast uninhabited areas. Siberia was not clearly defined even during the Yuan Dynasty, because the main area of activity of the Mongols was in the latitude of Lake Baikal. Siberia is part of the sphere of activity, but it is not counted as a formal territory.

Therefore, many people look at the territory of the Yuan Dynasty and think that the Qing Dynasty gave up the territory of Siberia, but the reality is that in addition to Tsarist Russia, it likes to engage in strategic buffering and wants to occupy Siberia. Other countries and regimes do not take Siberia seriously.

For the Qing Dynasty, the closer the area of North Asia to the Arctic Circle was terra nullius, and whoever wanted to have the strength could occupy it, the Qing emperor did not care. Therefore, the Qing Dynasty signed the Treaty of Nebuchu with Tsarist Russia, which officially recognized Tsarist Russia's ownership of the depths of North Asia. The bitter cold land is difficult to develop and utilize even if it is occupied.

In addition, it was not the industrial age, and many natural resources were worthless at that time, such as oil and gas.

I think it was the Qing Dynasty after entering the customs that was assimilated by the traditional "farming-based" thinking of the Han people, and quickly transformed from a fishing and hunting nation to an agrarian nation.

If the Qing Dynasty had not entered the customs and had remained a regime outside the customs, it was very likely that he would have intensified its competition for North Asia; Because for the traditional fishing and hunting people, the barren land in the eyes of the Han people is precisely the source of treasure in their eyes;