Chapter 154 A Brilliant Game of Strategy
The Khalkha Mongols, located in northern Mongolia, had long submitted to the Qing Dynasty, considering themselves subjects of the Qing, paying tribute annually, and never disobeying the court's orders.
Now that the Khalkha are being invaded by the Dzungar Khanate, if the Qing Dynasty stands idly by, ignores the Khalkha's plea for help, and refuses to provide assistance, then the Khalkha will surely become alienated from the Qing Dynasty, and other Mongol tribes will inevitably feel the same way.
Nomadic peoples are inherently unruly, and Mongolia, being a territory outside the Qing Dynasty and far beyond its borders, was subject to very little control by the imperial court. Once the Mongol tribes harbored rebellious intentions and ceased to submit to the Qing, they were bound to cause trouble in the future, flirting with Tsarist Russia and harboring ambitions to become a second Dzungar Khanate.
Rescuing the Khalkha was necessary, but in addition to taking this opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the Qing Dynasty and the Mongolian Mongols in the north, and to make the Mongolian Mongols in the north rely more on the court, just like the Mongolian Mongols in the south led by the Khorchin, it was also necessary to grasp the right balance and not invest too much in rescuing the Khalkha.
The imperial court cannot allow large amounts of grain to flow out of the country. Grain reserves are a matter of national importance and cannot be easily compromised. Rescuing subordinate officials should prioritize preserving the nation's strength.
The Dzungars also have Tsarist Russia behind them. At present, the Qing Dynasty is in a standoff with Tsarist Russia and the Dzungars. If the Qing Dynasty were to bleed heavily to help the Khalkha and consume a large amount of food, it would be equivalent to reducing its own strength and cutting off its own arm.
In addition, the Khalkha region is extremely close to the Dzungar tribes.
If the imperial court sends too much relief grain to Khalkha, it may attract the greed of the Dzungars and cause Khalkha to be plundered again.
In this way, the Qing Dynasty was not only depleting its own reserves for disaster relief, but was also indirectly aiding the enemy.
It was precisely because of these two considerations that Emperor Kangxi finally decided to provide relief grain based on population in response to the Khalkha's request for assistance.
Emperor Kangxi wanted to help the Khalkha, but he also did not intend to give the Dzungars the opportunity to grow stronger through plunder.
Finding the right balance between these two factors was the first game of strategy between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate. Although they had not yet officially gone to war, the power struggle between the two sides had already begun.
The grain sent by the Qing Dynasty to Khalkha was intended to provide emergency relief rather than to alleviate poverty. Emperor Kangxi was not worried that the Dzungars would covet this relief grain and plunder Khalkha again.
If the Dzungars were to seize even this grain, their actions would be incredibly short-sighted. Besides causing immense suffering and weakening the power of several Khalkha Mongol tribes, they would actually be helping the Qing Dynasty.
If the Dzungars plundered emergency supplies, causing a large number of Khalkha herders to starve to death and large areas of pastures to be abandoned, and the Khans, nobles, and Tibetan Buddhist monks of several tribes in Outer Mongolia to have to migrate south to Outer Mongolia, then the Dzungars would have essentially helped the Qing Dynasty get rid of the Khalkha, a burden that was holding it back.
The Khalkha region was geographically situated between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar tribes. During the standoff between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungars, the several Mongol tribes located in the Khalkha region were essentially hostages.
Because Khalkha was a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, if the Dzungars attacked Khalkha, the Qing Dynasty, as the elder brother, had to react and stand up for its vassal state; otherwise, its subordinates would become disloyal.
Even though the Qing Dynasty was far from the Dzungar Khanate and could not intervene effectively, fighting in a foreign land would be extremely dangerous and harmful to the Qing Dynasty. However, the Qing Dynasty had to appear to support the Khalkha Khanate.
The Dzungar Khanate was located far in western Mongolia, thousands of miles from the heart of the Central Plains. A personal expedition against the Dzungar Khanate would be a loss for the Qing Dynasty, but it was a necessary price to pay to uphold the dignity of the Qing Dynasty and maintain its unity. Even if it meant suffering a loss, it was worth it.
Therefore, if the Dzungars directly defeated the Khalkha, causing the several Khalkha Mongol tribes to either collapse and perish or migrate south to southern Mongolia, it would be tantamount to eliminating a hostage that could threaten the Qing Dynasty and discarding their trump card.
After the Khalkha fled south, the area between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate became vacant. This not only freed the Qing Dynasty from the burden of the Khalkha, but also gave it greater strategic depth, allowing it to deal with Dzungar invasions more easily.
After defeating Ochirtu Khan, the leader of the Dzungar tribe, in the fifteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Galdan gradually transformed the loose alliance system of Western Mongolia into a centralized political system. In the seventeenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, he formally established the Khanate and proclaimed himself Khan—he was a ruthless and ambitious leader.
Galdan was both ambitious and capable. He was able to re-establish a khanate in Western Mongolia after the split of the Oirat Mongols. He carved out his own path under the threat of the two behemoths, the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia. He colluded with Tsarist Russia and brazenly invaded the Qing Dynasty. He was far-sighted and would not do anything foolish that would harm himself and benefit the enemy.
Emperor Kangxi was thirty-seven years old this year, in the prime of his life. He was not wary of most of his sons who were not yet adults, and continued to educate them like tigers, wanting to cultivate all his sons into pillars of society.
At this time, Emperor Kangxi had high expectations for his sons and had no reservations when teaching them.
Emperor Kangxi explained the confrontation between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate in detail and without reservation, wanting nothing more than to pass on his experience to his sons, wishing he could open a hole in their heads and pour the knowledge directly into them.
It must be said that Emperor Kangxi was successful. His educational philosophy indeed made his sons all outstanding talents. Most of them became brilliant and pillars of the nation after they grew up. None of them were dull or ignorant. Their quality and level far surpassed that of the princes and grandsons who came after them.
However, being too outstanding is not always a good thing. Especially with the allure of the throne, the more outstanding the princes, the more chaotic the struggle for succession becomes.
Because he lacked paternal love in his childhood, Emperor Kangxi had a loving father's heart after becoming a father himself. In the early years, he adopted an elite education approach for almost all his sons, raising more than a dozen sons to be very outstanding. It is no wonder that the situation of the Nine Princes vying for the throne would later develop.
Kangxi's teachings were so detailed that they were practically broken down and stuffed into the minds of the princes. The eldest prince, feeling threatened as he began to take on official duties, and the crown prince, who had begun to crave power and was eager to participate in politics, listened with extra care, repeatedly chewing over every word of Kangxi, his guide, before swallowing it.
With his head slightly lowered, the Crown Prince pondered for a long time. Finally, a look of realization crossed his handsome face. He lowered his head with a look of shame and annoyance, clenched his fists, and said in a slightly ashamed tone, "Father, I understand. I was too naive."
"The white disaster that Khalkha suffered last winter and the raids by the Dzungars are only the obvious problems that need to be solved. In reality, simply rescuing Khalkha and appeasing the Mongol tribes is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. If we really want to solve the problem completely, we must target the Dzungars."
With a soft exhale, a fierce glint flashed in the Crown Prince's eyes, and his expression became solemn and serious: "The greatest threat the Dzungar tribe poses to the Qing Dynasty is not the plundering of the Khalkha which destabilizes the hearts of the Mongols in the northern desert, but the Dzungar's establishment of a private khanate, which undermines the Qing Dynasty's rule over Mongolia and is detrimental to the unification of the Qing Dynasty."
Looking up at Kangxi, who did not immediately comment on his views, the Crown Prince solemnly said, "We must wipe out the Dzungar tribe, which dares to openly call itself a Khanate in Western Mongolia, in order to quell the Mongolian unrest and make all the Mongolian tribes completely submit to the Qing Dynasty."
Nomadic peoples live by following the grass and face harsh living conditions, which makes them unruly and wild. Simply showing them kindness is not enough; the Mongol tribes must also see the strength of the Qing Dynasty and truly feel its power.
To truly win over the Mongol tribes, they first needed to understand that even a powerful force like the Dzungars could not shake the Qing Dynasty's rule, and that even if the Dzungars declared themselves a Khanate, they could not disrupt the Qing Dynasty's unity. Secondly, they needed to understand that only by following the Qing Dynasty could they have a good life.
Simply put, it's about first giving a slap and then a sweet treat, establishing the Qing Dynasty's authority before discussing appeasement and bribery.
Kangxi then nodded approvingly, pleased that the Crown Prince had grasped the concept so quickly, and increasingly believed that the Crown Prince was teachable and would be able to shoulder the responsibility of the Qing Dynasty in the future.
The Crown Prince's performance was already outstanding, but Kangxi was not satisfied. He turned his attention to the other princes, his handsome face showing expectation. He asked with a smile, "Have you all learned anything? Regardless of right or wrong, please speak freely."
It's true that Emperor Kangxi loved his crown prince the most, but he didn't completely neglect his other sons. He simply gave nine-tenths of his fatherly love to the crown prince, and most of that remaining love went to the eldest prince, with only the last bit going to the other princes.
Emperor Kangxi had high hopes for the Crown Prince's future and was determined to cultivate him into the most outstanding and all-around heir apparent. However, Kangxi did not neglect the education of his other princes, nor did he ignore their studies. He also had high expectations for their futures and did not show excessive favoritism towards one over the other.
It's really hard to say whether Kangxi was a good father or a bad father. Sometimes he was so indifferent to his sons other than the crown prince and the eldest prince, but at other times he treated all his sons equally, genuinely loved and valued them, and carefully considered their future.
Perhaps... this is Aquaman's talent; his passive aura constantly radiates light, making everyone who is illuminated by it believe that they are Aquaman's one and only.
After climbing the mountain and taking a seat in the pavilion at the summit, Kangxi waved his hand to dismiss the palace servants who were attending him, not even keeping Liang Jiugong.
Built on a high place with an extremely wide view in all directions, the pavilion contained only Emperor Kangxi and his princes. There were no other outsiders. It was a private occasion for just the father and his sons, so there was no need to hold back when speaking.
Since it was just a private conversation between father and son, even if one of the princes said something unpleasant or didn't grasp the point, Kangxi wouldn't really take it to heart, much less let their conversation be leaked outside—at most, he would just give the clueless prince a good talking-to afterward.
The eldest prince had listened very attentively to Kangxi's teachings. When Kangxi asked the other princes about their understanding and opinions, the eldest prince took the lead and spoke without hesitation, saying bluntly, "The Dzungars must be attacked, and it would be best to defeat them in one fell swoop."
"Firstly, the threat of the Dzungars, which sought to split Mongolia, had to be eliminated; secondly, conquering the Dzungars would also serve as a warning to those Mongolian tribes with disloyal intentions, giving them a strong deterrent and preventing them from betraying the Qing Dynasty."
After the grand banquet, Emperor Kangxi left behind the Crown Prince, Prince Yu, Prince Gong, and the First Prince, hinting at his personal campaign against the Dzungars. The First Prince was eagerly anticipating the war between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungars, hoping to gain merit on the battlefield.
When it comes to his own interests, the eldest prince naturally made his stance clear: if he doesn't fight for it now, when will he?
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