Such mutual probing was an experience that Emperor Kangxi had always had with the Mongols. It had always been done this way. If a palace maid was to marry, several of them would inevitably be sent to Mongolia for a political marriage.
However, in recent years, as the Qing Dynasty has developed better and better, the frequency of Mongolians coming here has also become more and more frequent. It is obvious to everyone that the balance of power between the two sides has become extremely unbalanced, and the Qing Dynasty has gradually gained absolute dominance.
Therefore, even if the Mongols were no longer willing to submit to the Qing Dynasty at this point, they wouldn't be allowed to cause too much trouble, though there would be some issues. However, if the Qing Dynasty stopped supporting the Mongols, the Dzungars might pose a very strong threat to the Mongols, causing them heavy losses.
Unfortunately, because the Dzungars and Mongolia were very close to each other, they had a deep-seated hatred for each other for generations, making cooperation absolutely impossible.
Ultimately, strength is what matters, especially given the unfavorable climate in recent years. The poor growth of pastureland in Mongolia has impacted their horse production, consequently affecting their fighting capacity and trade. Horses are a crucial resource for them.
While climate certainly had an impact on the Qing Dynasty, the country was vast and rich in resources, and there were always places where the grain production could meet the requirements, which meant that the impact on the Qing Dynasty was not particularly significant.
In addition, several Mongolian tribes fought each other two years ago. Their internal fighting weakened their own strength. Although the eldest son of one of the tribes later inherited the position and gradually brought those tribes together, internal strife still occurred.
Although the various Mongol tribes had been fighting amongst themselves in the past, they were generally very united. However, in recent years, they brought these conflicts into the open, and it is clear that the contradictions have become very serious.
Although the Khorchin remained the absolute core, the newly appointed prince of the Khorchin in recent years, who was also the grand-nephew of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, was about the same age as Emperor Kangxi, but he was no match for Emperor Kangxi in terms of his abilities.
Let's not even compare him to Emperor Kangxi; even compared to the previous princes, he didn't have any outstanding achievements.
He was moderate in his actions, and although he wouldn't make any major mistakes, it would be difficult for him to lead the Khorchin tribe any further. Not to mention that the proportion of the Borjigit clan in the Qing Dynasty's harem was decreasing, and their living space was gradually being compressed. Everyone could see that Emperor Kangxi was trying to check and balance the Khorchin tribe!
The emperor could not allow the entire Qing Dynasty's harem to be occupied by women from the Khorchin. This was something the emperor would never allow. As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. With the passing of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, the current situation was already predetermined.
In other words, there is still an Empress Dowager in the Qing Dynasty's harem, otherwise the Khorchin's living space would definitely be more limited.
But how long can this Empress Dowager in the palace hold on? She is already quite old; she can't possibly maintain the glory of the Khorchin for another thirty or fifty years!
If they couldn't get women from the Borjigit clan into Emperor Kangxi's harem, then they would have to consider marrying a Qing princess... preferably several, and preferably those whom Emperor Kangxi valued and favored highly.
Although there were opportunities for marriage alliances in the past, including the fact that the Khorchin people now have a princess, perhaps because the Khorchin people held a high position in the eyes of the Qing Dynasty, their sense of crisis was not strong enough, and they did not fight so fiercely.
But this time it might be different. Shortly after the selection, Horqin sent people over.
Nominally, it was a gift for the Emperor to celebrate the festival, but this gift wasn't just for the Emperor. Every concubine in the palace with a name and surname also received a gift, including the princesses who were gradually growing up.
It's not a special festival, and the Horqin people usually send gifts twice a year, once in the middle and once at the end of the year, so they wouldn't suddenly come over in the middle like this.
Everyone knows that Horqin has already set its sights on them!
These past few days, Minghui and Mingxuan have become quiet in their study. They used to think they were still young and didn't need to think about this matter. Although they knew it was hard to escape, they still felt they could postpone it.
But now that the people from Khorchin have arrived, does this mean they've already signaled that their princesses might be betrothed away?
Even Mingxuan's mother was starting to get nervous, constantly sending signals that she should perform well in front of the Khorchin, which made them even more anxious and nervous.
Minghui wasn't much better off. After all, she had been raised by the Empress Dowager's side, and the Empress Dowager's affection for the Khorchin was beyond question. The Empress Dowager was naturally very happy that the girl she had raised could marry into the Khorchin, so the Cining Palace was filled with joy. However, she had no way to express her opinion on this matter, so she seemed even more frustrated than Mingxuan.
Jingrou only heard about this at the dinner table at Prince An's mansion, but there was nothing she could do. She knew this was a very important event in a girl's life, which might determine where she would spend the rest of her life...
She couldn't bring herself to tell them to relax and not worry too much, as that would seem too cold-blooded. But she also didn't know how to comfort them. When something like this happens to you, how can a few words of comfort really put you at ease?
Even someone as quiet as Wenying in the study had to try her best to liven up the atmosphere.
However, Emperor Kangxi never explicitly stated his opinion on this matter. It wasn't that he was waiting for a higher price; it was simply that his daughters had been carefully nurtured by him, and given his ambition, he had high hopes for them and had no intention of belittling them.
Even if they were to be married off to Mongolia, a suitable place had to be carefully chosen for them, one that they would be willing to accept and that would be beneficial to the Qing Dynasty. Only by making them willing would they be loyal to the Qing Dynasty, rather than going to Mongolia, and what was beneficial to the Qing Dynasty was of paramount importance.
So, in fact, those who were able to marry into Mongolia this time were much luckier than before. Therefore, Emperor Kangxi only listened to what the people from Khorchin said. If there were any talented young men from Mongolia, he would show interest, but he would never make any promises. This made the people of Khorchin a little anxious.
Could it be that the Qing emperor has already made promises or commitments to others, and is now treating them like fools?
But according to the information gathered by our spies, no one could react faster than the Horqin people!
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