The History of China - #294 - Qing 29: The Conquest of Qinghai

Episode Date: May 31, 2025

While the Yongzheng Emperor attempts to get his domestic policy ducks in a row from the Forbidden City, out on the Western Frontiers, change is the only constant. Between squabbling Tibetan lamas, restless Kokonor Khans, and the ever-dangerous Dzungar Empire still on the loose out there, the new successor of the late, great Kangxi Emperor has some very big combat-boots to fill... Time Period Covered: ca. 1722-1728 CE Major Historical Figures: Qing Empire: Kangxi Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Xuanye) [r. 1661-1722] Yongzheng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yinzhen) [r. 1722-1735] Prince Yinti, the Fuyuan Daijiangjun [1688-1755]Governor Nian Gengyao [1679-1726]Governor-General Yue Zhongqi [1686-1754]General Erentei [d. 1718]Funingga [d. 1728] Dzungar Khanate: Tsewang Rabdan, Khong Tayiji [r. 1697-1727] Galdan Tseren, Khong Tayiji [r. 1727-1745] General Tsering Dondup Tibetan Gelupa/“Yellow Hats”: 5th Dalai Lama[r. 1642-1682] 6th Dalai Lama [r. 1697] 7th Dalai Lama [r. 1720-1757] sDe-pa Sangya Gyatso [1652-1705] Polhanas (Polhané Sönam Topgyé) [1689-1747] Kokonor Mongols (Khoshots): Güshi Khan (Torbaikhu) [r. 1642-1655] Lhazang Khan [r. 1700-1717] Prince Lobzang Danjin, Dalai Hongtaiji [d. 1731] Sources Cited:Perdue, Peter C. China marches west: the Qing conquest of Central Eurasia.Rowe, William T. China's last empire: the great Qing. Zelin, Madeline. “The Yung-chung reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 9: The Ch'ing Dynasty, Part 1: To 1800. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to an Airwave Media Podcast. you'll pay the same thing every month. With all of the mysteries that life has to offer, a few certainties can really go a long way. Subscribe today for the peace of minds you've been searching for. Public Mobile, different is calling. Hello and welcome to the history of China. Hello and welcome to the history of China. Episode 294 The Conquest of Qinghai. Concerning Lobsong Danjin, his ancestor Gush Khan in the early days of our state bowing to the ground expressed humility. At that same time, directed to him officials, after having a discussion, approved the decision to give him the lands for nomads. These lands, where the Tibetans lived together, were very close to Ganzhou. The strategy of my gracious father, Kang Shi, leading a great

army, pacified the northern desert. He nurtured a strong spirit, and Dasha Baathe of the Kokonor tribe and the others got frightened of his greatness and obeyed. The gracious Kangxi Emperor showed benevolence and conferred Dasha Baathe a title of Qingwang, and eight of his elder and younger brothers were awarded the hereditary title and salary as well. Although they explicitly demonstrated that they were under control, bad thoughts and character cannot be fixed by law and virtue. Over thirty years, they harbored ill feelings. When I ascended the Great Throne, I continued to administer the Great Charity by granting

them honors. At the time, I still had hoped to pacify the wild hearts of the subjects. However, Lobzong Danjin raised a revolt stupidly and recklessly and took the lead of it. Speaking of a good deed of creating a great state, he did not show that he was preparing for the uprising. But he dared to lead a rebellion, to engage the Tibetans in it, to attack the border towns, to demonstrate anti-government slogans, committing unspeakable acts to Heaven. Then I appointed the Duke, Great Defender, Governor-General of Sichuan, Nian Geng Yao,

to become the Great General of pacifying distant lands. I publicly accused Lobsong Danjian of his crimes and sent a punitive expedition. In the tenth month of the first year of Yongzheng, the soul of honor, Nian Gung Yao, started his military campaign. He achieved victory over a hundred thousand people, and also defeated more than twenty high lords. I showed mercy toward Lobsang Danjin's stupidity and lack of consciousness, and decided that if he, having no wish of reputation or woe, repented his crimes and personally appeared, I would grant him my complete forgiveness.

But he persisted in his errors, bringing fear he resisted not obeying. Then I plotted his destruction under great secrecy. The Sichuan general Yue Zhongqi was appointed to command. In mid-spring, they moved to attack. For my sake, the soldiers served with enthusiasm, risking their lives. Having suppressed the rebels and pacified the Tibetans, they extinguished their beacons of smoke and fire forever. People of both internal and external lands enjoy this peace and prosperity. Indeed, and not only name, following the intentions of my ancestor Kangxi, I have achieved this great success." The Yongzheng Emperor, as carved into his

Conquest of Qinghai Stele of 1725. In the later years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the Qing Empire ramped up their control over the Far West, launching major military campaigns against both the Jungars and Tibet itself. This all had come to a head with the 1720 expedition to Lhasa. While Qing intervention in Tibet is often treated as a separate campaign, it was actually closely tied to their overarching goal of wiping out the Jungar state once and for all. The campaign stemmed from an earlier failed attempt by Kangxi to get rid of Tsewang Rabdon, once again Galdan's successor, by leveraging internal rivalries within Tibet and gaining

access through Kokonor, or as it's known now, Ching Hai. The Jungar leader, Sehwang Rabdan, mostly steered clear of any direct conflict with the Qing until a schism broke out within Tibet. This was sparked by Lhazang Khan of the Khoshot Mongols of Kokonur. Lhazang, a grandson of Gush Khan, a major Tibetan Lamest supporter, killed his brother and took over the Khanvent in the year 1700. With the backing of Qing China, he tried to restore Khoshot supremacy over Tibet after Galdan's defeat. But Tibet remained a battleground for many rival Mongol factions, and the Qing ultimately

benefited from this rivalry, almost regardless of its ultimate outcome. Tibetan politics had long been fragmented along different Buddhist sects, each tied to Mongol patrons. At the top there was something of a triumvirate, or three-way split, between the Dalai Lama, Mongol patrons, and a temporal administrator, the Deppa, or Dibba, who, as you may recall, would step in as regent when the Dalai Lamas were children or reincarnating or otherwise incapacitated. By the mid-1600s, Gujrek Khan of the Khoshot Mongols had installed the Gelopa, or the Yellow Hats, as the dominant sect in Lhasa, after defeating the rival Karmapa,

or Red Hat, faction. Gujrek Khan's support allowed the Dalai Lama to enforce discipline and collect taxes. After Gujre's death, his successors became bitter rivals, and the Dalai Lama's power shifted back to his natural son, Sangye Gyatso. The Deppah controlled Tibet after the Dalai Lama's death in 1682, all the way up until Galdan's defeat. Lhazang Khan, with the Kangxi Emperor's support, marched into Lhasa in 1705, killed the regent, and set himself up as the main ruler of central Tibet, uniting several kingdoms. Under Lhazang, Tibet seemed to regain some unity and even autonomy.

Like Kangxi, Lhazang welcomed foreign missionaries, hinting that he might even convert to Christianity, and impressed the Jesuit Desideri with his quote, sophistication, generosity, and curiosity, end quote. Kangxi, pleased, granted Lhazang the title of the law-abiding, obedient Khan. But when disorder broke out in Tibet under the Deppa, the emperor worried that the Sixth Dalai Lama's removal might spark a renewal of old Jungar-Tibetan ties. Kung-Chi supported Lhazang's efforts to push out Jungar influence by expelling the Sixth Dalai Lama, telling Lhazang to seize the false Dalai Lama and present him to the court.

The Dalai Lama wound up dying before this could ever come to pass, but rumors persisted for years and centuries thereafter that Lhazang's men had a direct hand in the Holy One's death. The Khan then backed his own candidate for Dalai Lama, but the Tibetans believed that their true spiritual leader would be reborn in Kokunor. In 1706, a child was found in Litang, believed to be the reincarnation, but Lhazang and his supporters kept him from Lhasa for quote-unquote his own protection. Meanwhile, Sawaung Rabdan started taking a more direct interest in Tibetan affairs, responding to calls for help from the Yellow Hat Lamas against the excesses of Lhazang Khan.

His attack on Hami in 1715 put pressure on the Qing and the Khotrot Mongols besides, thus alerting the Kangxi Emperor to this growing and apparent threat. Thereafter, the Qing sent a small army to repel the expansion of Sauron-Rabdon, scoring a surprising victory. The Emperor immediately began planning a major campaign to quote-unquote EXTERMINATE Sauron-Rabdon, with expenses estimated to be between 3 and 4 million tails of silver. Sauron-Rabdon's forces were about 40,000 strong plus 10,000 or so torvets, while the Qing mobilized 15,000 troops from their Khalkha-Mongol allies, as well as their Manchu, Mongol,

and Chinese banners. These expeditions tried to follow the pattern of earlier Galban campaigns, but conditions on the ground had changed. The Emperor was now too old and unfit and ill to take part personally in any military conquest, and the quality of civil and military administration had declined in the interim. Corrupt officials embezzled funds, and troop morale suffered. The distances and supply problems that had already plagued his earlier campaigns now proved to be even greater than before.

Hami was 1200 kilometers west of Ulaanbaatar and over 500 kilometers from Suzhou, the nearest major supply base. Nonetheless, the Qing's expansionary push continued as their armies moved west. By April 1717, 8,500 troops were at Bar Khol, ready to advance on Turfan. But success was uncertain, and there were concerns about quote, narrow-minded people who spread rumors and undermine morale, end quote. The fallback plan was to alarm Seouang Rabdan's supporters by advancing the army, not necessarily by holding Turfan.

Both armies soon clashed east of Mule and Pijan, with the Qing defeating the Jungars, but failing to pursue them any further. Commander Ferdan even considered a full-scale advance up to Sehwang Rabdan's headquarters, but the Jungungars held firm. That summer of 1717, Sawang Rabdan sent his own general, Sering Dandup, with 10,000 men to Lhasa, forcing Lhazang Khan to barricade himself within the Poltela Palace. The Jesuit emissary, Epolito Desideri, described Sering donned up as, quote, passionate, expert, and

proud, daring, intrepid, and warlike, end quote, even comparing him to Alexander the Great. Shi Yi De noted that Sèwang Rabdan's men had led three thousand from Yarkand and Kashgar into Tibet, crossing, quote, three great snowy mountains, marching 10,000 li for a year, end quote. With only one horse each, they attacked Lazankhan, killed him, and seized both the Dalai Lama and his heir, the Panchen Lama. The Qing's Northern Relief Army advanced to Kela-Usu, but the heavy snows and long distances meant that their 100,000 troops in Sichuan and Xining couldn't move.

The expected Sering Dandup's men, exhausted now by snow, would be weak by the time they reached Lhasa, but Lhazang Khan's desperate appeals for help triggered new Qing mobilization. The stakes couldn't be any higher. The Kangxi Emperor warned that if Laosha was lost, quote, "...the entire Yellow Teaching would be eliminated." The Qing then sent the Manchu general Erenti to march on Laosha with 7,000 men, mainly Chinese and Muslims, while another force took the northern route from Xining. But before they could arrive, news came that the Jungars

had already sacked Lhasa and killed Lhasa Nkhan. The Salween River sat over a thousand kilometers from Xining, and it was here that the Jungars surrounded, killed Erinti, and laid siege to the rest of the Qing troops, who ran out of supplies and were destroyed by September of 1718. Funinga himself had to report this crushing defeat to the emperor, who was left asking the envoy from Saiwang Rabdon for any news. In response, the Kangxi emperor assigned his 14th son, Yin Ti, the Fu Yuan Dai Zhang Jun, to lead three armies into Tibet from the northwest, noting that if Yini distinguished himself,

he could be the new heir. Inti soon gathered a massive force, reportedly 300,000 troops in Xining, although numbers like that you always have to take with a bit of a grain of salt. The Sichuan governor, Nian Gengyao, well aware of the rough terrain, pointed out that Sering Dandup might even surrender to the Qing outright. Qing intelligence suggested Sering Dandup wasn't on good terms with his generals, and feared a retaliation by Sehwang Rabdan. Nian's suggestion to negotiate with Sering Dandup, however, was rejected.

The new living Buddha and his agents also worried that the Qing troops' disruption might cause local unrest, but the emperor brushed these off and pressed on. Mongol princes of Kokunor, still wary of Sehwang Rabdan, were concerned about their dependence on the Qing, but most of the top ministers, Manchu and Han alike, argued for a strong defense of Sichuan and the Kokonur borders. The Kubilgan, under the new 6th Dalai Lama, diffuser of the teaching, awakening of sentient beings, pushed for a campaign that would hit Cebuang Rabdon in both Turkestan and Tibet. Yin Ti stayed in Sinan to rally Khoshot support, while Galbi led the army out in February of 1720.

The Dalai Lama was found in May, and by September 24, 1720, the Qing took Lhasa, with the Jungars having already fled. Five chief lamas who had supported the Jungars were executed, and the Dalai Lama was placed on the throne of the Potala. Tibetans, seeing the Jungars plunder and flee, prostrated themselves, saying, quote, "'Since the Jungars plundered and raped us, we thought we would never see the sun shine again.'" End quote. Yet, despite this Qing victory, their troops found that they could not stay long.

Yin Gung Yao led the march home by the shortest route, as supplies were low and their horses exhausted. Yin Ti and Nian Geng Yao's close alliance during the campaign would later cast a shadow over succession politics after the Kangxi Emperor's death. Yin Ti was recalled to the capital upon the Yongzheng Emperor's accession and was then put under house arrest and not released until the Yongzheng Emperor's death in 1735, more than 12 years later. Official sources paint a picture of a unified Qing-Ho-Shot campaign liberating Tibet from the barbarian Jungars.

But other sources, like INT's suppressed memorials, show a more complex story. Some huoshuoz who had good relations with the Zhengars only joined the coalition reluctantly. For years, they failed to follow basic Qing orders, and Mian Geng Yao reported great divisions even among themselves. When the emperor asked for divisions in 1719, Lobsong Danjin admitted that his brothers would not send any troops. E&T's memorials also revealed the role of Tibetan guerrilla fighters like Sonam Gyapo, who ambushed Jungar patrols and helped the Qing.

Contrary to the Fangwei, the Jungar army had already begun its retreat from Lhasa before the Qing had even arrived, suffering both from disease and guerrilla depredations. When Jungar soldiers heard a Qing force of 100,000 was coming, they panicked. One soldier, when asked if he was homesick, replied, quote, "'You should be able to understand my misery. Now Kansena's and Gari's and others and their thousand troops have blocked our way home. We cannot retreat. Furthermore, the great general, Kangxi's son, has brought several hundred thousand troops, and the Chinghai troops are bringing the Dalai Lama back to his throne.

How can our few troops defend against such a force?" In the end, only a quarter of the Jungar army ever returned home. The Qing's victory in Tibet was the result of many moving parts- divided Tibetans, quarrelsome Khoshuts, desperate Jungars, and disciplined Qing troops led by the Emperor's own son. The stelae set up in Lhasa to commemorate the conquest told a far simpler story. The Qing, with the koshots, restored the Dalai Lama and quote, revived the teachings of the Buddha, end quote. Selang Rabdan, for his part, claimed he wanted peace in Tibet and had intervened only to

stop the oppressive actions of Lhazang Khan and to quote, destroy the Red Sect, which deviated from the way, end quote, and seize La Zang Khan's wife and children. He offered to cooperate with the Qing if they would refrain from active intervention, but the Emperor had bigger plans. Prince Yinti's success in Tibet inspired even more ambitious plans. Funinga proposed a 17,000-man march from Barkhol to eliminate the Jungarian base, but the emperor postponed the assault, doubting they could capture Selang Rabdan in his remote location.

A captured Jungar soldier confessed, quote, Certainly the Han have sent envoys to the Russians, Kazakhs, and Burut, and now they will make an alliance to attack us simultaneously. If they do this, how can we survive? What will happen to our pastures? End quote. The emperor sent Mongolia's leading Buddhist cleric, the Jebzongdamba Kheduktu, to urge Sawaang Rabdan to submit, but Rabdan again refused. The generals felt confident, believing the Jungars had limited supplies and lacked any

kind of cohesive discipline, while the Qing troops had more gunpowder and cannon. Yet serious concerns over supplies remained, especially in Barkol and Turfan, and the tight supply situation meant the troops either had to advance quickly or focus on restocking. So no clear decision was made before Yinti returned to the capital. On December 21, 1722, Yinti was suddenly called back to Beijing after the Kangxi Emperor's death, and his brother, Yin Zhen, became the Yongzheng Emperor. Yin Ti's absence during Kangxi's final days allowed Yin Zhen to engineer his own

succession. The Emperor had, after all, never named a formal heir, and his son's rivalries played a key role in the outcome. Yin Se, the eldest, had campaigned with Kangxi and gained favor, while Yinti, the Emperor's eighth son, was also prominent because of his military record. Injun, however, had never led an army, but was skilled in both ritual and policy work. Some historians think Yinti was sent away on purpose as part of the succession plot, while others argue that the Emperor

wanted Yinti's to succeed on the Frontier. Either way, Yinti's military achievements made him a strong contender for the throne. In the end, the succession remained an insolvable puzzle, but it's clear that the Frontier expansion changed both the succession and the writing of Chang history at the same time. The new BMO VI Porter MasterCard is your ticket to more. More perks. More points. More flights. More of all the things you want in a travel rewards card.

And then some. Get your ticket to more with the new BMO VI Porter MasterCard and get up to $2,400 in value in your first 13 months. Terms and conditions apply. Visit BMO.com slash ViPorter to learn more. After the Jungars were pushed back, things in Tibet got a bit of a facelift in terms of Imperial support. Actually, in many ways, they were even better than before. The region's office was done away with, and the new, seventh Dalai Lama, who was just a boy of twelve, stepped in as symbolic leader, while the real power lay of course with the top Tibetan nobility. The big players there were Sonam Stabgyal, the chief of Polha in Western Tibet, better

known as Polhanai, and Khansenus, both above the charge in organizing local resistance against the Jungars. Three Manchu officials, called the Asahan Amba, kept an eye on things, backed by a garrison of 3,000 soldiers. But still, no matter how one tried to put a brave face on things, the government was still largely a mess at the local level, with regional rulers struggling to form a solid central council that could stick together long enough to even call a quorum. Which led to all sorts of political instability.

Then as now, an occupational army is no picnic and so it was so for the Tibetans with the Qing soldiers. It was a heavy burden driving up the grain prices in local markets even though the Qing were already shelling out huge amounts of infrastructure and payment to haul grain from thousands of kilometers away. Generals Nian Gangyao and Yan Xin had told the Kangxi Emperor that the troops in Lhasa needed to be scaled back as soon as possible. But as the new Emperor, Yongzheng, had other ideas. He instead ordered a full and swift withdrawal as part of his grand retrenchment plan, hoping

to keep the peace with the Jungars and ease the strain on the Tibetan people. Kansinas, though, wasn't so sure about this move and urged the Emperor to think again before the troops were marched off. The Hoshok princess, who'd been used to calling the shots in Tibet since the days of Gushag Khan, suddenly found themselves sidelined. The chain intervention and then quick exit left them with no real role now to play. Tibet was supposed to be self-governing, without a regent or the koshot Mongol protector. The old system, where Mongols were the military muscle, the Dalai Lama the spiritual head, and the regent the day-to-day administrator, had lost two out of three of its key pillars.

Naturally, chaos and confusion followed. Some of the Koshos decided to reach out to Sehwang Rabdan, hoping that he'd step in to help them regain their influence. They felt that the Qing had gone back on a promise that the Kangxi Emperor had made, one that let them appoint a Khan of Tibet from amongst themselves. Enter stage left Prince Lobzong Danjin, a grandson of Gush Khan and a major Kokunor chief who'd backed the Chinese intervention in Lhasa. His main rival was Chagan Danjin, another grandson of Gush Khan but from a different

line, and with the Yongzheng Emperor firmly in his corner, letting him expand his territory at Lobzong's expense. Things began to get truly heated as of July 1723, when Lobzong went after three other Kaushat princes, all of whom were also Gush Khan's grandsons. This included our Dengi Arke Togkanai, who wound up fleeing and seeking Qing protection after his ignominious defeat. For his part, the Qing general, Nian Gangyao, wasn't keen on getting himself involved, saying, quote, If the Kokonor princes should now forget their great indebtedness to our country,

and kill their own flesh and blood. It is their concern to us." He knew how these nomadic conflicts often played out, noting that Qing troops advancing, quote, would only waste the strength of our own men while the Mongols fled far off into the distance on their well-fed horses, end quote. But the Emperor wasn't about that life, and overruled Nian's objections. Yangzheng ordered Nian to protect Ardini Arca if he made it to Qing territory. This kind of support for refugees from a rising Mongol power echoed the kind of way that Kangxi had gotten tangled up in disputes between the Khalkhas Jungars a generation before. Lobzong Danjin was given a chance to back down and submit to the Qing, but if he chose not to, a righteous army of extermination, or Zhengjiao, would come for him.

Predictably, Lobzong did turn down the Qing's offer to mediate a peace, with the Qing envoy Chang Shou reporting that Lobzong's plan was to take down Chagan Danjin and rally all the Kokonor princes to declare him the Great Khan. Rumors began swirling that the Jungars might soon show up on the shores of Kokonor. And so it was that Nian and the Emperor hatched a secret plan to secure Kokonor. Their greatest worry was that the disgruntled princes might band together against Qing rule and get an affirmation from Sehwang Rabdon if they asked him for help.

To drive a wedge between that possibility, they gave Chagan Danjin the title of Qing Tai, matching Lobzong's rank and hoping that Chagan would therefore break away from him. Sure enough, this Qing backing pushed Lobzong to attack Chagan Danjin on September 16, 1723. Lobzong even took on the title of Dalai Hong Taiji, aiming to unite all of the koshot Mongols like they'd been under Gusha Khan. That gave the Qing the perfect excuse to step in militarily. Nian was still cautious, thinking Chagan Danjin could hold his own against Lobzong, but the emperor ordered him to move in immediately. On November 16, 1723, the Qing army clashed with Lobzong outside of Terci, or Kunbun Monastery, about 20 kilometers from modern Xining, and forced them back.

Lobzong then laid siege to the Xingcheng fortress on November 27, and hid the garrisons in Ganzhou and Liangzhou along the Gansu corridor. But he was defeated fast. In less than a month, in fact, the war was over. The Jungars never came to Lobzong's aid, because Sehwang Rabdan was tied up, fending off the Russians and Kazakhs. He hadn't planned to back the Kokunor princes anyway, but he did give shelter to Lobzong Khan when he fled to him for refuge.

Before the fighting started, the Emperor had told his troops to treat the locals decently. No raping women, no desecrating graves, no looting from those who surrendered or wrecking houses, temples, or monasteries. You know, the usual. But once the conquest was done, the Qing troops turned more brutal, taking revenge on the llamas and villagers who had supported the prince's resistance. Their real aim was to wipe out Lobzong Danjin and everyone loyal to him. As such, they killed hundreds of non-combatants, burned down more

than 150 villages, and even went after the Gan Lun Monastery, the base of the Jiangjia Ketuktu, a long-time ally of Lobzong. They slaughtered all of the monastery's 6,000 monks and razed the palace to the ground. In the capital itself, they held grand ceremonies to celebrate the success of this campaign, treating it as a victory on par with the repression of the Three Feudatories, or the defeat of Galdan. Officials made formal victory announcements at eleven temples all around the city, including the temples of Heaven and Earth, the altars of Grain and the Imperial lineage, and even the tombs of the Imperial ancestors.

A stele at the Imperial Academy called Lobzong Danjin an evil rebel with quote, a wolf's heart and an owl's nature, end quote, while praising Nian Gang Yao for taking out his crazed followers and getting thousands more to surrender in record time. Yes, this campaign was shorter and easier than the ones that had been launched against Galdaan or the three feudatories. But even so, Yongzheng could still claim that he'd brought a huge territory under lasting Qing domination. The Kokonor princes no longer had any real independence from the Qing, and Qinghai moved ever closer

to being permanently in the fold of China, an integration that the region of Qinghai would never prove able to draw back from. After the crackdown, officials set up a strict banner and jasak system in Kokonor, just like they'd done in Mongolia. Nian Geng Yao took charge of detailed plans to integrate and rebuild the region. The princes, or taiji, were turned into jasaks, or banner commanders, under Qing military oversight, and were allowed three tribute missions to Beijing per year. The Kalka Mongols and Kokonur were also reorganized into separate banners, freeing them from

koshot control and giving the Qing a way to keep koshut ambitions in check. Nian suggested, and the Qing agreed, that the whole area should now be considered part of the interior of the empire, or neidi. Local Tibetans would be managed by tu-se, or tribal headsmen, under the Qing garrison supervision. They also cut formal ties between these Tibetans and the Dalai Lama. He could no longer collect taxes from them, but as consolation, he would get 5000 jin

of tea each year. The temples, which Nian called Filthy Hovels, had been independent, collecting tribute from followers and doubling his storage for weapons, food, and even religious activities. Now they were capped at just 200 rooms, with no more than 300 llamas, to be expected twice each year. The core reasons behind the war against Lobzong Danjin remain hotly debated even to this day. It's too simplistic to say, for instance, as both the Yongzheng Emperor and his generals

asserted, that it was merely a rebellion against Qing rule. The term rebellion itself, which both Qing and modern Chinese historians do still often use, suggests a once-loyal group now rejecting the Emperor's magnanimous protection and challenging his authority in an illegal manner. But up until 1723, the Khotot Mongols had been pretty much independent of direct chain control, even if they'd made some temporary alliances with the Empire. Now we've talked about this before. This comes down to the very different in worldview of these two civilizations as they interact.

The Qing views these sorts of relationships as permanent and diplomatically binding, whereas the Mongols tend to view any such alliance or agreement as being temporary and ephemeral in nature. Where these worldviews intersect, and especially where they clash, well that's where we have been seeing and will continue to see the repeated acts of, again, so-called rebellion pushing against this idea of some permanent overarching control over their, up until this point, independent civilization. Most of these Mongol groups feel that hey, they didn't sign up for permanent suppression and subjugation.

Many had joined the expedition to Lhasa, though some weren't exactly happy to be doing it. Historian Kato Nauto thinks that there were pro-Qing and anti-Qing factions among the Kokonor princes, and that Lobzang Dungeon's attack on Chagan Dungeon was in fact a clash between those two groups and their ideologies. Yet Ishihama Yumiko makes a stronger case that the lines perhaps were not quite so clear. There was even a real chance at one point for the princes to unite against Qing's suzerainty, possibly with Jungar backing. The Yongzheng Emperor, seeing the prince's divisions, jumped to the chance to launch

a military campaign in order to bring all of Kokonor under his permanent domination. By crushing Lobzong's power, the Qing permanently ended the Kokonor prince's autonomy and cut them off from any further influences from or in Tibet. A classic divide and conquer strategy. The Qing's main fear was that these princes and their followers might team up with the Jungars or even head to Jungaria to join up more formally and permanently. Lobsong himself never meant to pull in a big Qing army, and Chagan Danjin, his rival who'd actually supported the Jungar invasion of Tibet, wasn't exactly a big fan of great Qing either. But their infighting gave Yongzheng the perfect opportunity

for a quick and relatively easy win, especially since it was close to the Qing military base in Xining. In this case, Yongzheng went all in with his aggressive approach, even though cautious generals like Nian Gangyao and Ye Zhongqi were not so hot on such an approach. Yet, once given the reins, neither Nian nor Yue held back. They acted decisively, even brutally, and they got the results that were expected. At first, the Emperor was full of praise for Nian in his re-scripts. Any big military push was going to heavily rely on this energetic Chinese Marshal General. But as it would turn out, Nian's luck ran out fast.

In 1726, he was sentenced to death for 92 crimes, including maladministration, corruption, and treasonous intrigue, though he was allowed the mercy of being able to take his own life, rather than a public execution. Yue Zhongqi even helped dig up evidence of his supposed crimes. Nian's quick fall had a lot to do with how much he knew about the murky details of Yongzheng's particular rise to power. His military successes made him both a national hero, but also a threat that couldn't be afforded to be ignored. And yet, with Nyen out of the picture, Yongzheng would soon find that he could not keep up

the pace of expansion, and that he would soon overreach, leading ultimately to humiliating defeat. Kokonur still wasn't fully stable. Tensions in Tibet in 1727 risked spilling over into the Kokunor Mongols, though no major resistance wound up breaking out. Lobzong, though, refused to surrender alive and still had some pull from afar. Since Tsaoang Rabdan's successor, Seren, wouldn't send him back, the court worried that some Kokunor Mongols might ditch their duties to the Qing and try to join him in Jungaria.

The Kokunor banners now had to supply horses to the Qing armies, supposedly at market prices, but local officials piled on extra little tack-on surcharges. When the Khoshhat Prince Rajab tried to move his pastures to dodge those heavy horse levies, he was instead ordered to return, and the emperor called for an investigation by the local officials. Then in 1731, Prince Norbu, who'd been assigned to guard against Jungar invasion in Kokonur, rebelled against the Qing demands. After ten days of looting, he fled west but was quickly caught. Most Kokunor princes actually backed the Qing in putting down such a rebellion. Still, doubts about their loyalty prompted the Emperor to issue

a lengthy edict, reminding them that they were the descendants of Gusha Khan, who'd received plenty of favors from the Qing, and that the Qing had supported the Yellow Teaching, while the Jungars were troublemakers who violated the faith. The Emperor warned them, quote, It is too far, and your hearse will die. How can you support yourselves? Also, the Jungars are surrounded by enemies and are always fighting.

In every battle, they will put you on the front lines. Isn't it better for you to stay in your ancestors' pastures and enjoy eternal peace?" Even though the Khoshhat princes had originally come to Kokonor from Jungaria, the Emperor urged them to see Kokonor as their true ancestral home, offering peace and stability under Qing rule if they but gave up their freedom to roam. With the retribution over, the Qing got back to pulling troops out of the region. They'd allowed contributions in exchange for degrees as a temporary way to fund the campaign, but such programs were now scrapped.

Tibet, though, soon turned into a battlefield itself again due to growing rifts among the Tibetan nobles. Khan Senas, the capable anti-Jungar governor that Cheng had relied on, was now stirring up resentment among his other ministers, which ended with his murder on August 5th, 1727. Manchu Brigadier General Ose called for immediate reinforcements to quash the resistance. Meanwhile, Polhanas didn't waste any time. He rallied his troops to take down his rival, Napora. Jelanka, president of the consulate and governor general, Maioh, pulled together 15,000 troops from Shanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan, setting out from Xining on June 13, 1728.

Polhanous moved fast, seizing Lhasa on July 3, before the Qing troops even got there, and arrested Napoda and his co-conspirators. He'd kept the Qing emperor in the loop this whole time, earning quick support for his clever handling of the Civil War. The Qing forces moved swiftly through Kokonor, handling logistics by having soldiers carry two months' grain and four tails of silver each to buy more along the way as needed. When Jalan Ka reached Lhasa in September 1728, he and Polhanas put Napoda and the others on trial for Consenus's murder. Tibetan sources say that the rebel ministers tried to defend themselves by accusing Consenus

of ties to the Jungars. But the Manchu judges weren't buying it. They ruled in Polhanas's favor and sentenced the ministers to death by slow slicing. Thereafter, Polhanus was named governor of both eastern and western Tibet and would receive hefty rewards from the emperor. When Jalanca pulled his forces out, he removed the ineffective Dalai Lama from Lhasa altogether, leaving instead two high Manchu officials, or amban, behind with a small garrison of just 2,000 men.

The emperor understood that a larger force would put too much strain on the impoverished Tibetan resources. Both sides in the Tibetan Civil War tried to tie their fight to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Zhengars. The Qing official account, found in Wei Yuan's Shengwu Ji, claims that the Zhengars were working with the Tibetan rebels. But historian Luciana Petic, backed by contemporary records from the Fanglui, argues that it was really an internal Tibetan conflict, and not a rejection of Chiang oversight altogether.

Any talk of Jungar involvement only came up later to justify Chiang intervention retroactively. It wasn't until 1729, when the Yongzheng Emperor shifted to a more aggressively anti-Jungar stance, that he started hinting at Jungar ties to the Tibetan War. After his successful military move, Yongzheng patted himself on the back, saying that he'd found a policy, quote, to settle Tibetan differences once and for all, or Yongyuan zhidao, end quote. But when it came to Mongolia, he would not prove to have the same luck. All of that notwithstanding, when Serang Rabdan died in 1727, it would be his son, Galdan

Seran, who stepped into power. And that will be our stop point here today. With the successful conquest of both the Qinghai and the roping in closer of Tibet, the Yongzheng Emperor has done something that none of his predecessors could have scarcely more than dreamed. And next time, he'll seek to continue capitalizing on that momentum by going after the grand prize, the one that got away from even dear old dad. The Yongzheng Emperor will, come what may, try to conquer the Junggar Khanate. Thanks for listening. Have you ever gazed in wonder at the Great Pyramid?

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