When it comes to Lake Baikal, it may not be a strange place, because it was once Chinese territory. As the world's largest freshwater lake, Lake Baikal is deeply imprinted in the hearts of Chinese. Historically, Lake Baikal had close relations with China and was part of China's territory for a long time. However, in the early Qing Dynasty, the Baikal region was ceded by the Qing in 1689 in the Treaty of Nebuchu, a decision that caused widespread controversy.
Why did the Qing Dynasty give up more than 100,000 square kilometers of land in the Baikal region?In fact, it was out of desperation. Lake Baikal is located in southern Siberia and is a traditional nomadic land of the Sauron people. The Saurons are an ethnic group composed of Evenki, Oroqen, Daur and Buryats, who established the Solon Khanate during the Ming Dynasty and were vassals of the Ming Dynasty. However, with the rise of the Later Jin (later changed to Qing), the Solon Khanate was threatened in the early 17th century. In 1639, the Solon Khanate went to war with the Qing army, and the Qing army finally destroyed the Sauron Khanate and incorporated it into the Eight Banners. At the same time, the ** people also entered the Heilongjiang River basin to carry out colonial activities.
When the Yaksa War broke out, the Qing sent troops north to fight against the people. Three years later, the Qing army succeeded in driving out the ** people, prompting the two sides to negotiate. However, the Qing ** faced a great dilemma, because the Qing army could not hold the Baikal region, the Saurons had fallen to **. Qing ** finally compromised, and in 1689, the minister Suo Etu led a delegation to Nebuchu to negotiate with **.
During the negotiations, the Qing people recognized the strength of the people, and Suoetu made a compromise and recognized the presence of the people in the Baikal region in order to maintain peace on the border. Soetu's negotiation strategy proved to be quite successful in the end. After the negotiations, the Qing ** went all out to deal with the threatening Dzungaria, while the ** people remained peaceful at the border. However, this compromise also laid the groundwork for a potential crisis later.
In general, although Qing**'s decision was controversial, it seemed helpless in the context of the time. The compromise strategy of negotiation enabled the Qing Dynasty to seek relative stability at a time of internal and external troubles. But it also created an opportunity for ** to gain a foothold in the Far East and become the main threat to northern China.
References: "Analysis of Siberian Migration Activities in Modern Times", "Research on the Conquest of Siberia", "History".