Chapter 121: The Relocation of the Dzungar Khanate

A few days later, after getting to know his several "haha beads" for a while, Yin'e figured out why the Crown Prince had rushed from the Imperial Study to the Qianqing Palace when they met some time ago.

This wasn't because Yin'e was deliberately inquiring, but because the Imperial Study was located in a palace complex centered around the Qianqing Palace, and the tutors there were all Grand Secretaries, while the students were all princes of noble birth. This made the Imperial Study very well-informed, and news of events from the previous dynasty would quickly reach them.

This time was no exception. Although Yin'e did not pay much attention to court affairs, he was forced to study in the Imperial Study every day and was forced to receive all kinds of information. He soon learned about the major events that had recently occurred in the court—the Dzungar Khanate of Mongolia had made some unusual moves.

Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus and Mongols had been intermarrying for nearly a century. The Qing Dynasty's attitude towards the Mongol tribes was mainly one of appeasement, and it often used methods of winning them over and buying them off. It was unwilling to antagonize or even go to war with the Mongols without good reason.

After Emperor Kangxi assumed personal rule, he would visit Mongolia every few years. His frequent trips from Beijing to the border regions for hunting were all aimed at appeasing the Mongol tribes, strengthening relations with them, and ensuring the continuation of the friendly relations between the Manchus and Mongols.

Although the Qing Dynasty always treated the Mongol tribes well, not every Mongol tribe was willing to submit to the Qing Dynasty and accept its rule.

The Dzungar Khanate has always harbored resentment and has been quite unruly in Outer Mongolia for years. A few days ago, an urgent military intelligence report was sent back from beyond the Great Wall, revealing that the Dzungar Khanate intended to collude with Russia to obtain Russian assistance in order to annex Khalkha Mongolia as soon as possible by "ceding" Yaksa.

—Yaksa was Qing territory. The Dzungar Khanate used the condition of ceding Yaksa to form an alliance with Russia. In addition to intending to annex Khalkha Mongolia, their aim was to directly target the Qing Dynasty. Their wolfish ambition to invade Qing territory was completely undisguised.

The unusual activities of the Dzungar Khanate have made the atmosphere in the court particularly serious these past few days. The Imperial Study, which is adjacent to the Qianqing Palace and is well-informed, has also been affected by the turmoil in the court. Upon hearing the news, the princes couldn't help but stir up a commotion, discussing it privately and reacting in various ways.

This was the first time that the brothers Yin'e and the Ninth Prince had encountered such a momentous event since they began studying in the Imperial Study. The Ninth Prince was very interested in it and had a strong sense of participation. Every day during breaks, he would pull Yin'e aside and discuss it endlessly.

“The Dzungar Khanate is unlikely to choose to start a war in winter.” With his beautiful, upturned phoenix eyes wide open, the Ninth Prince analyzed to Yin’e with great seriousness, “Even if a war really has to be fought, it will have to wait until next spring.”

The grasslands are already cold, and winter brings even harsher weather and extremely low temperatures. Not to mention, no one can predict whether a white plague will strike the grasslands this year. In any case, waging war in winter is unsuitable and not a good choice, as it would cause enormous consumption of manpower and resources.

Although the Dzungar Khanate had always lived on the grasslands and was more adapted to the grassland weather than the Qing army, which had been in the Central Plains for decades, the Dzungar Khanate wouldn't be foolish enough to choose to start a war in winter.

The Dzungar tribe's collusion with Russia this time was to seize Qing territory, not because the tribe was suffering from a white disaster and urgently needed to replenish supplies. There was no need for them to risk plundering the Qing, so they would not act impulsively or rashly.

“That makes sense.” Yin’e nodded in agreement.

Even without considering weather factors, it would likely take a considerable amount of time for the Dzungar Khanate to successfully reach an agreement with Russia in the early stages.

Russia has always been greedy, and while it coveted the Qing Dynasty, it wouldn't necessarily harbor all goodwill towards the Dzungar Khanate. It's quite possible that Russia also secretly had designs on the Dzungar Khanate. For the Dzungar Khanate to attempt cooperation with Russia was tantamount to seeking a tiger's skin; opportunity was accompanied by crisis, like walking a tightrope where collapse was always a possibility.

Besides, Russia had fought and lost to the Qing Dynasty just a few years ago, so it might not necessarily get involved in this mess now.

Although news came from beyond the Great Wall that the Dzungar Khanate had made some unusual moves, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince privately believed that in the early stages, it would only be a war of words, with the three parties exchanging letters and arguing for a while. If they could not reach a consensus in the end, they would then really consider going to war.

Just then, the Fifth Prince, who was sitting in front of Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, turned to face them with a big smile on his face, his eyes and brows full of joy. He excitedly and happily said, "Grandma Empress is moving! She's moving to Ning Shou Palace!"

The Ninth Prince was still immersed in the discussion and didn't react for a moment. After a while, he softly said, "Ah: Now? Moving the palace in the dead of winter?"

Yin'e was slightly taken aback, his expression somewhat strange. It was the dead of winter in the twelfth lunar month, and the decision to move the Empress Dowager from Cining Palace to Ningshou Palace at this critical juncture made it impossible not to think about Kangxi's intentions behind this move.