Chapter 171 Battle Situation: Escape to the North
Faced with Emperor Kangxi's invitation, the Empress Dowager naturally accepted with a smile.
After Emperor Kangxi, the Empress Dowager, and the Crown Prince left the pavilion, Consort De, who had followed them out, did not fawn over Emperor Kangxi to win his favor. Instead, she took the opportunity to go find the Fourteenth Prince, still thinking about her youngest son.
The Empress Dowager also summoned the Fifth Prince, whom she could no longer see every day after he moved to the Princes' Residence. She smiled broadly and held the Fifth Prince's hand as she spoke to him.
The Empress Dowager doted on her beloved grandson, asking him repeatedly whether he was doing well in the Princes' quarters, whether he was well-fed and clothed, and whether he was in good health. She only occasionally inquired about his studies and how he was behaving in the Imperial Study.
Stepping out of the pavilion, Kangxi strolled and admired the moon in the bright, clear moonlight of the Imperial Garden, where lanterns hung everywhere. He broke the silence and took the initiative to talk to the Crown Prince, mentioning the late Empress Hesheli—today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and this morning Kangxi had sent people to pay tribute to his three empresses.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager was content with having a grandson, Kangxi and the Crown Prince talked about Empress Hesheli. The atmosphere gradually became harmonious. The concubines were all very tactful and did not disturb them. They did not think about competing for the emperor's favor at this time. They all avoided each other and dispersed to admire the moon in the dimly lit and brightly lit Imperial Garden.
When the concubines with children saw that the tenth prince, Yin'e, was pulling the Noble Consort to the other side of the corridor to admire the moon, and that Consort De was also heading towards the pavilion where the prince was, they seemed to be reminded and went to find their children to reunite with them.
The concubines without children felt a little lonely at the sight, but today, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Imperial Household Department had decorated the Imperial Garden beautifully, with lanterns hanging everywhere. Even if it was dark at night, they wouldn't be afraid of getting lost or feeling scared.
They wandered around, enjoying the quiet and mysterious night, admiring the full and round moon like a silver plate, and strolling quietly under the bright moonlight. Their moods were either calm or slightly melancholic. On this Mid-Autumn Festival night, they missed their hometowns and their homesickness intensified.
Despite the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere within the Forbidden City, Emperor Kangxi was hosting a banquet for civil and military officials in the Paiyun Hall in the morning, and inviting the Empress Dowager, concubines, princes, and princesses to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival together in the evening. In fact, Kangxi's intention was to appease his officials and the people, as well as the Manchu noble families, not to indulge in pleasure.
After Emperor Kangxi fell ill and had to withdraw from the front lines, the war between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate did not go smoothly. At the end of July, the situation became critical, and even the capital was placed under martial law for several days.
—On the 29th of last month, Galdan, the leader of the Dzungar tribe, led his army deep into southern Mongolia and camped at Ulan Butong, only 700 li from the capital. The situation was urgent, and the capital was placed under martial law. For a time, people in the capital were in a state of panic and chaos.
At the end of July, Galdan stationed himself on the summit of Ulan Butong Peak, while the remaining 20,000 troops were deployed in the jungle and swampy area of Paozi River in front of Ulan Butong Peak to guard against an attack by the Qing army.
In addition, the Junggars built a "camel city" on the higher side of the Paozi River: they tied the hooves of the camels so that they would kneel down in a neat circle on the riverbank, put tall stacks of boxes on their backs, and cover them with wet felt soaked by the river water, thus temporarily building a tall and solid fortress on the battlefield.
Camels are animals, after all, and vary in size. Unlike man-made bricks that can be perfectly fitted together, there are always gaps between camels. Therefore, Galdan arranged his soldiers in the gaps between them, and when the camel city was attacked, they drew their bows and spears to defend against the enemy.
When Prince Yu, Fuquan, who was appointed by Emperor Kangxi as the Grand General of Pacification, led the Qing army to Ulan Butong, they set up camp on the spot, building forty camps with tents stretching for dozens of miles, facing the Dzungar army across the river. The firearms battalion served as the vanguard, aiming at the most elite and core Dzungar troops from afar.
On the morning of August 1st, Fuquan ordered a battle with the Dzungars. The army was divided into left and right wings, and with guns and cannons transported from the capital and deer antlers made from sharp and sturdy tree branches cut on the spot, they slowly advanced and steadily attacked the Dzungar army occupying Ulan Butong Peak.
The first battle between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate lasted from noon until evening. Tong Guogang, the Right Wing Minister, bravely led his troops and charged into the enemy lines.
Galdan led his army to meet the enemy across the river, placing numerous camels lying horizontally in front of his army formation to create a barrier against the massive camels, and engaged in fierce fighting with the right-wing army led by Tong Guogang.
Tong Guogang led the right-wing army to the Paozi River in front of Wulanbutong Peak. During Tong Guogang's valiant charge into the enemy lines, Galdan suddenly drew his musket and fired several shots, striking Tong Guogang and killing him instantly.
Although Tong Guogang was dead, the right-wing army destroyed the "camel city" established by the Junggar tribe, tearing the camel defense line in two. Unfortunately, the right-wing army lost its supreme commander and was blocked by the swampy mud along the riverbank, forcing it to retreat from Paozi River.
The right-wing army suffered a setback, losing Kangxi's maternal uncle, Tong Guogang, who was serving as Grand Minister. However, the left-wing army achieved considerable success. Grand Minister Tong Guowei led the left-wing army to bypass the main road and attack from the mountainside of Ulan Butong to the summit, where they decisively defeated Galdan's hastily established camp.
With his camp breached, Galdan was forced to flee. Under the cover of darkness, he led his remaining troops in a retreat towards Western Mongolia. To buy himself time, Galdan feigned sending an envoy to Prince Yu's army to sue for peace, claiming his willingness to make peace with the Qing Dynasty.
At that time, Emperor Kangxi was not on the front line, but had retreated to the border between the interior and the exterior of the pass. He sent a message to Prince Yu, who was on the front line, to take command of the war and make careful plans. He wanted to send a large army to surround and kill the fleeing Dzungar army, wipe out the remaining forces, and annihilate them in one fell swoop.
Prince Yu, Fuquan, received Emperor Kangxi's decree, but he did not obey it. Instead, he ordered the army to halt its offensive and did not send troops to pursue the remnants of the Dzungar forces.
After Galdan fled from Ulan Butong, he headed north, intending to cross Outer Mongolia and return to Western Mongolia. In order to delay the pursuers, the Dzungars burned the grasslands along the way, preventing the Qing pursuers from replenishing their pastures and forcing them to abandon the pursuit.
When news of Fuquan's order to halt the offensive reached Emperor Kangxi in the interior, Galdan had already fled, and the opportunity to end the war and completely eliminate the Dzungars had long been missed.
Emperor Kangxi was furious at this and rebuked Prince Yu, Fuquan, for missing the opportunity to win the battle. He refused to forgive Fuquan and decided to settle accounts with him after Fuquan returned to Beijing.
—In fact, it was because Galdan fled back to Western Mongolia that he had the opportunity to continue colluding with Tsarist Russia and gathering troops to invade Western and Southern Mongolia, threatening the territory of the Qing Dynasty. This forced Emperor Kangxi to personally lead the second and third expeditions against the Dzungars.
As early as mid-July, Kangxi had already withdrawn from the front lines, but he did not return to the capital until August. This was because while on his way back, Kangxi was still directing the war on the front lines and remotely managing the war from the rear, strategizing and handling the related logistical work.
Unfortunately, Emperor Kangxi was not at the front lines, and communication between the two places was delayed. As the saying goes, a general in the field may obey the emperor's orders but not necessarily follow them. Fuquan did not fully obey Kangxi's command. After Tong Guowei led the left-wing army to defeat Galdan's camp, he did not take the opportunity to pursue, but instead privately ordered the Qing army to suspend the attack, which allowed Galdan to successfully escape back to Western Mongolia.
Although it was somewhat regrettable that Galdan was not captured and the Dzungar tribe was annihilated in one fell swoop, Tong Guowei's decisive victory over Galdan's camp forced Galdan to flee north, and the outcome of the battle was already decided.
The war between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate has achieved initial results – the Dzungar Khanate has been driven back, preventing them from plundering Mongolia in the north and harassing Mongolia in the south. Emperor Kangxi, who had been forced to leave the front lines due to illness, was finally able to relax for the time being and immediately accelerated his journey back to the capital.
The Crown Prince's negligence and lack of diligence in attending to the ailing Emperor led to his reprimand by the Emperor for lacking loyalty and filial piety, and he was banished back to the capital. This occurred in mid-July.
Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, August 15th. A full month has passed, and it is only now that Kangxi and the Crown Prince have reconciled. Besides the fact that Kangxi is still angry with the Crown Prince, the tense situation at the front also means that Kangxi is preoccupied with the war between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate in Ulan Butong, and he doesn't have much time to think about the discord between him and the Crown Prince.
The Qing Dynasty suffered heavy losses in this campaign against the Dzungar tribe. Although they successfully drove the Dzungars away, they failed to capture Galdan, who escaped back to Western Mongolia. Therefore, it could not be called a great victory. Emperor Kangxi did not show it on his face and did not reveal it to anyone, but in fact, he had already prepared for the Dzungars to invade again.
Of course, Kangxi was well aware of the performance of Prince Yu Fuquan, Tong Guogang, Tong Guowei, and even Prince Gong Changning, the First Prince Yinti, Suo'etu, and Fuquan in this battle. He had already decided to thoroughly settle accounts after the army returned to the capital, rewarding those who had made contributions and severely punishing those who had made mistakes.
It is unknown what thoughts were running through Kangxi's mind as he chatted with the Crown Prince, trying to mend the cold and unyielding father-son relationship that had developed over the past month. Meanwhile, Yin'e, carrying an octagonal palace lantern, walked hand in hand with the Consort Gui along the waterside corridor, admiring both the moon in the sky and the moon reflected in the pond.
Consort Gui was delighted to be pulled out by Yin'e to admire the moon, but she couldn't help but wonder: "Why isn't Yin'e with the Ninth Prince and the others? In previous years, you always spent Mid-Autumn Festival with your brothers, didn't you?"
“This year is different from every year before.” Yin’e raised his little face and smiled at the Consort. “I used to live in Yongshou Palace, and I didn’t see my brothers many times a year. During the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion banquet, we finally got together, so of course we had to stay together, play together, and catch up on our brotherhood.”
“But after the Golden Festival last year, I moved to the Prince’s Residence and entered the Imperial Study. Apart from a few younger brothers who hadn’t entered school yet, I could see all my older brothers in the Imperial Study every day, except for the Crown Prince and my eldest brother. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, I finally got to see my mother, so of course I spent time with her. Why would I want to get together with my brothers?”
When he lived in Yongshou Palace, Yin'e could see the Consort every day. So when the family was reunited during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he chose to get together with his brothers whom he rarely saw before, to connect with the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince, and to deepen their brotherhood.
But this year the situation was reversed. Yin'e could see the other princes in the Imperial Study every day, but it was very difficult to see the Imperial Concubine. It was extremely difficult to return to Yongshou Palace. When he finally saw the Imperial Concubine at the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet, Yin'e naturally chose to accompany the Imperial Concubine to admire the moon, ignoring all his brothers.
The Ninth Prince was very resentful of Yin'e's "disloyal" behavior and even wanted to go with Yin'e to find the Imperial Concubine. After all, he went to Yongshou Palace to find Yin'e every day when he was a child, spending most of his day there. He had a good relationship with the Imperial Concubine and probably saw her more often than he saw Consort Yi.
The Ninth Prince wasn't entirely indifferent to Consort Yi; he still cared about her. However, he wasn't close enough to actively seek her out for a mother-son reunion. Moreover, with the Eleventh Prince present today, Consort Yi would undoubtedly be more focused on him and wouldn't have as much time to attend to the Ninth Prince.
After Yin'e "heartlessly" abandoned the Ninth Prince to go find the Imperial Concubine, the Ninth Prince was left to miserably keep the Seventh Prince company.
The Fifth Prince was summoned by the Empress Dowager, while the Seventh Prince wanted to take the opportunity to see his birth mother. Unfortunately, his birth mother, Lady Daijia, had been in the palace for many years but was still a concubine. Although she enjoyed the treatment of a noble lady because she gave birth to a prince, she was not qualified to participate in the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet.
Just like the family banquet during the Lunar New Year, only the concubines of the rank of Consort or above were eligible to attend. Concubines of lower rank were not included in the invitation to the family banquet, and the state banquet for officials and nobles was even more out of the question.
The Thirteenth Prince's birth mother, Consort Zhangjia, has been very favored in recent years and is currently pregnant, but Emperor Kangxi has not broken the rules for her sake.
Since giving birth to the Seventh Prince, Daijia, who had been neglected and remained unknown in the palace for many years, could not expect Emperor Kangxi to make an exception for her and allow her to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Thus, after Yin'e and the Fifth Prince left one after another, the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince "relyed on each other for survival".
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