The History of China - #295 - Qing 30: Building Better Worlds

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

The Yongzheng Emperor seeks to capitalize on his father's greatness abroad - but cautiously. He wants to exterminate the barbarians... but delicately. He wants to build better worlds... no matter how many he has to destroy in the process. He's riding for a fall. Time Period Covered: ~1725-1731 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. TV I'm not missing the game it's kind of like I'm already on vacation nice on behalf of Air Canada, nice travels. Wi-Fi available to airplane members on equipped flights sponsored by Bell Conditions Applied, seercanada.com Hello and welcome to the history of China. Episode 295, Building Better Worlds. 弟弟至右峻,不入鑄下至王業 Confucius, the Analects. To the east and north, the barbarians have retained their princes. Thus, they are not in such a state of decay as we in China. Translated by Arthur Wesley.

The barbarians of the north and east, even led by sage-rulers, are still not the equal to the states of China, even leaderless. Translated by Bruce and Teiko Brooks Outer peoples who retain good rulers are blessed with wisdom, while the Han people, without rulers, have turned into animals. Moral government has nothing to do with location in the interior or exterior. The Yongzheng Emperor's interpretation, via David Perdue. Those who understand the great righteousness of respect for their kin and are clear about the fixed distinctions between superior and inferior may be called human.

Those who destroy the consistency of heaven and devastate the human order are animals. What makes humans different from animals are the principles of morality. The five relationships are the basis of human morality. If you defy one of them, you are not human. The primary relationship of these is that of ruler and subject. How can we call people human if they have no rulers? Those who want to get rid of rulers are just like animals. Those who fulfill the five relationships are human.

Those who destroy heavenly principles are animal. You cannot divide human from animal on the basis of civilized and barbarian. Those who are given rulers by heaven's mandate but try to defy heaven cannot avoid being exterminated by heaven. The Yongzheng Emperor in his Daiyi Zhemilu or the Record of Righteousness to Dispel Confusion circa 1730. I killed them. I killed them all.

They're dead, every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children, too. They're animals, and I slaughtered them like animals. I hate them. Anakin Skywalker. Star Wars Episode II. Attack of the Clones. We last left off with the Yongzheng Emperor successfully dominating the Kokonur or Qinghai

region and its Mongol princes, while likewise roping Tibet and its Lamest Theocracy ever closer to the centralized control of Beijing. Today, we'll look at what is considered, bar none, the biggest stumbling block of the entire Yangzheng era. His repeated attempts to expand upon dear old dad's initial successes against that most hated of eternal foes, the ever tenacious Jungar Khanate, way out there at the edge of nowhere. So let's go ahead and launch right in. the ever tenacious Jungar Khanate way out there at the edge of nowhere.

So let's go ahead and launch right in. Things stayed relatively calm between the Qing and the Jungars for about a year after 1727, with both sides feeling out what this new relationship might look like. The Qing locked in their border with Russia through the Kyakta Treaty of 1727, finally setting those old disputes left over from the Nurchensk Treaty of 1689. The Russians, swayed by trade concessions, could be trusted not to back the Jungars, and they would keep the nomadic peoples of Siberia and Manchuria firmly under control, pinning them in place. These talks set a border between Siberia and the Khalkha Mongols, who were now under Qing rule, stretching more than 2,600 miles in total.

Both sides agreed that neither would harbor refugees or criminals, and boundary stones would mark the official border. The Russian envoy, named Sava Vladislavich called it quote an everlasting demarcation line between the two empires, end quote. Galdon Sarin was offered regular tribute trading missions, but only if he agreed to set borders with the Qing. A Jungar embassy even visited the capital in 1728, but peace as it would turn out was not in the cards. The Qing were dead set on keeping the Jungars out of any formal dealings with Tibet, and

they also demanded the surrender of Lobzong Danjian into Qing custody. When Galdon Seren asked to send men to Lhasa for ceremonial tea offerings for the monks, called Manza, or in Mandarin, jiancha, to support the spread of Buddhism, the emperor denied it coldly, saying, quote, "'The Jungars are a small tribe in the northwestern corner. What relations can there be between the propagation of Buddhism and your offering of a manja?' End quote. Those ceremonial missions, complete with trade caravans and llamas, were a critically important

rite for the Mongols, tying them both spiritually and commercially to the heart of Tibet. Back in Sawaang Rabdan's day, the Qing had stripped the rank from a Mongolian jasak who let Sawaang Rabdan's envoys pass through his land on a tea mission to Tibet. But now Qing policy was all about stabilizing and isolating the Jengar state, thus cutting them off from their closest cultural neighbors, the Mongolians and the Tibetans, as well as any potential support from the Russian Empire. Handing over Lobzong Danjin would seal the deal by removing

any doubts about the loyalty of the Kokonur Mongols. And that is why Galdan Serin found that he could not afford to sever even his shaky ties to either Kokonur or Tibet proper. Come 1729, the emperor ditched his peace policy and called it instead for a full campaign to wipe out the Jungar state once and for all. He went on at length to justify this decision, listing all the wrongs that the Jungars had supposedly committed since Galdan's time. Every other Mongol group had submitted to the Qing, only the Jungars kept holding out. Yongzheng pointed out that after two victories over Galdan, the Kangxi emperor should have

finished the Jungars off altogether, but had instead held back, worried about criticism for quote, exhausting the army with excessive campaigns, end quote. Later Kangxi had sworn to eliminate Sehang Rabdan after offering him a pardon. Yongzheng had made the same offer to Sewang Rabdan, but his raids on Hami and meddling now in Tibet showed that he was not interested in peace. Galdansarin claimed he wanted peace with a Qing, but the Emperor accused him of walking the same path as his father, and even threw in a new charge of colluding with the Tibetan rebels. Although wise emperors typically avoided trying to chongbing duwu, or again, exhaust the army

with excessive campaigns, only using troops as a last resort, Yongzheng found that instead he was determined to finish what his father had started. There would be very little glory in crushing these tiny, far-off, and virtually insignificant little tribes, but if they were allowed to survive and germinate, down the line they could grow to pose a serious threat to the nation as a whole. Yongzheng echoed a lot of his father Kangxi's rationales for the campaign, Yongzheng echoed a lot of his father Kangxi's rationales for the campaign, but his tone was more decisively defensive, almost exasperated, compared to Kangxi's confident assertion of power. From the imperial perspective, the Qing had shown mercy to win gratitude and bring prosperity

to these troublesome Mongol peoples, but they just kept responding with violence. The Jungars' constant broken promises gave Yongzheng the justification he needed to oh-so-reluctantly greenlight extreme and excessive violence. Unlike the Ming, who saw the Mongols as little more than bestial animals driven by greed and violence beyond the empire's control. The Qing understood and treated them as human players who were responsible for their own choices. From Purdue, quote, The Qing, by contrast with the Ming, viewed the Mongols as human actors who could take

responsibility for their decisions. Ming, by contrast with the Ming, viewed the Mongols as human actors who could take responsibility for their decisions. Ming rulers could see them only as equivalent to beasts, constantly driven by greed and violence over which the empire could exert no control. Paradoxically, alienation of the Mongols and belief in their inhumanity had led the Ming to practice a more defensive policy. The rulers made no grand efforts to eradicate these nomads, since they were more like a natural force than a human society. It would be as futile as trying to eliminate wolves

or floods. By contrast, the Qing goal of universal peace among humans led the Qing to endorse elimination of those humans who obstinately refused to knuckle under to the imperial view. Humans who chose to resist the Qing terms remained human, but they had to pay the costs of their choice. Righteous extermination, or Zhengjiao, designed to return the world to a rational order. Concepts of universal peace and benevolence, however, fit rather awkwardly with endorsements of hyper-violent repression. Yongzheng felt this innate tension much more than Kang Xi ever did. His constant mentions of the classic phrase,

chengbing du wu, shows that he knew a wise Confucian ruler should rely on moral influence instead of brute force. Kangxi on the other hand was much more in tune with his central Eurasian roots and mindset that prized battlefield glory alongside good governance, sure, and moral authority, whatever. Those three values meshed better under Kang Xi, and his expansion brought more peace and bolstered support for the Manchu regime.

Yongzheng, however, was dealing with a rather bigger challenge in an empire that was now stretched to both its administrative and logistical limits. His instinct was to pull back, and then carefully manage resources and plan meticulously from there. His focus was on withdrawing and consolidating his troops and power in order to avoid overly straining the treasury or the local populations. The Kokonor intervention against the Lobzong Danjin was a rare, short, and at least at the time seemingly successful, exception to that rule.

But the Jungar state's stubborn survival gnawed at the Qing sense of unity, like an open wound. As long as any group from the quote-unquote traditional Central Eurasian world of Mongols, Tibetans, Muslims, and Manchus kept rejecting the universal power of the divine sovereign, Yang Zheng found that he could not rest easy, and neither could his empire. His view of the Jungars was full of contradictions. On the one hand, he dismissed them as a small, remote tribe in the northwest corner. But on the other, he also saw them as a massive threat to the

entire national project. As such, the renewed aggression in 1729 wasn't exactly grounded in strategy, se, it was more about the growing imperial ideology that demanded universal peace across its totality, irrespective of any other factor. The Qing were not the only empire to blow up minor powers into major world-ending threats. Still, Yongzheng hesitated to launch a new campaign since he couldn't quite find a real solid reason to justify doing so, aside from demanding Lobzong Danjin's return. In April 1729, Ferdon was named the generalissimo for suppressing rebels, or the Jingni Dazhangjun, leading the North Route Army, while Yue Zhongqi,

with 324 officers and 26,500 troops, became General Isimo for pacifying the distant frontier, or Ningyuan Dazhangjun, of the West Route Army. They were set to march out in June and July, heading straight for Galdon Seren's base at Ili. A grand troop review was held in Beijing on June 1729, but then disaster struck. The emperor and his brother both came down with influenza, and his brother died on June 18, 1730. The loss of his brother was a devastating blow for the Yongzheng Emperor, as he'd been a key advisor in the Imperial Court. Immediately thereafter, an envoy from Galdon Seren showed up at court, promising to hand over Lobsong Dangjin.

The Emperor jumped at this chance for peace, calling the generals back to the capital and putting the army's advance on hold for the next year. The generals Ferdinand and Yue Zhongqi both returned to the capital as of January 1731. Yet just as they arrived, Jungar units started raiding frontier posts in Kokonor and Barknall, making off with loads of horses and other supplies. They were driven off from Turfan, but then besieged the strategic Gaspas in Kokonor. Yongzheng didn't take the bait, even though Yue Zhongqi pushed hard to reinforce the frontier garrisons with at least 5,000 more troops.

The emperor instead insisted on keeping the bulk of his forces in the Gansu corridor and at Xining, refusing to send larger units beyond the pass. He turned down Yue's 16 proposals to bolster the garrisons, admitting that he admired Yue's passion to crush the enemy who'd stolen so many horses, but saying that now is not the right time. He even called Yue's efforts to support Turfan nonsense, and every proposal ill-considered. Thankfully the Turfan garrison managed to fend off the Jungars and get their horses back, while the Mongolian Jassaks held Kokonur.

This was a stark contrast to Kangxi's dynamic with his commanders. Here now, a cautious emperor was reigning in eager frontier generals. Byung-jung admitted, quote, I really cannot make up my mind. At this moment, according to heaven's will and the general state of the situation, we can do nothing but wait quietly. End quote. Spring's arrival in March 1731 brought a fresh wave of confidence for the emperor and his generals, with the ice melting on rivers and roads, making travel easier. Word came that Galdan Sarin was moving to attack Halas-Shar, a small Muslim settlement some 200 kilometers northwest of Turfan.

Yejong-Chi again asked to go on the offensive, but again the Emperor told him to hold his ground and focus on defending Barkol. At the same time, Yongzheng got touchy about complaints that army provisions were jacking up market prices across Shanxi. Letting his paranoia show through, he blamed the grumbling on old enemies like Yin Ti, Yin Gangyao, and even Yan Xin, who he claimed had, quote, spread underground rumors to incite the people, end quote. He then declared outright, quote, In the future, our demands for military supplies will be greater, and prices will inevitably rise, while slamming the, quote-unquote, ignorant people with selfish goals,

who didn't see the bigger picture of the campaign's benefits. Once again, Yongzheng's long-winded self-justification and fear of criticism stood out, especially when compared to the Kangxi Emperor's far harsher crackdowns on dissent. He neither fired nor demoted nor imprisoned nor executed any of his critics, but did send officials across Shanxi to persuade the people to accept the burden of supplying the army while also promising to punish any local officials caught extorting the population. With Jungar raids continuing to harass the Turfan greater polity, the Emperor finally

gave Yue the green light to move on Urumqi, 170 kilometers northwest of Turfan, in order to build a fortress and take out the enemy nests. Capturing Urumqi, a larger oasis, might also solve Turfan's supply issues since it couldn't sustain a big force. This time, the Emperor trusted Yue's local knowledge, saying, I am thousands of li away, you must decide on the spot. Unlike Kangxi, Yongzheng had no interest in leading the charge himself, and he wasn't fully confident in Yue, admitting, I'm beginning to lose faith in you, when it came to handling the challenges of attacking Oremshi while defending Turfan. No Frills delivers! Get groceries delivered to your door from No Frills with PC Express.

Shop online and get $15 in PC Optimum Points on your first 5 orders. Shop now at NoFrills.ca! Meanwhile, Ferdinand and his Northern Army had pushed forward to Kobdo, setting up a fortress there, the farthest west any Qing forces had ever gone in Mongolia. Reports said Galdon Seren had 10,000 troops guarding his border with the Kazakhs, while his loyal generals, the elder and younger Seren Dondub, had marched out with 30,000 men to showdown with the Qing army. Another general, Lobzong Sering, had broken with Galdon Seren to take his 3,000 households south toward the Kokonor border. Ferdon saw the split in forces as a golden opportunity to strike. He sent 10,000 men in three divisions to face the Jungars, leaving 7300 behind to guard Cobdo.

Word was, the younger Sering was just three days' march away with a small force. On July 20th, 1731, Ferdon found 2000 of the enemy and attacked with 3000 troops, forcing them to flee. But as it would turn out, that's right, it was a trap. Small Jungar units baited him with harassing raids, while their main force stayed hidden in the mountains. On July 23, the Jungars came pouring out of their hidey-holes, surrounding the Qing army with some 20,000 men at Hotanor, a small lake 210 km west of Kobdo.

After intense combat, Ferdon broke the siege on July 27th and retreated back to Kobdo with his men. Early reports to the capital claimed that Ferdon had lost his whole army, but later it turned out that the damage was severe, but not total. Only 2,000 men made it back to Kubdo. 80% of the Qing army was annihilated, and nearly all their Mongolian allies wiped out. Ferdon, to his dubious credit, did own up to his reckless advance, begging the emperor to execute him. Yongzheng harshly scolded him, but did spare his life, even commending

his successful retreat, and told him to focus on defending Kobdo. Ferdon threw himself into the building up of Kobdo's defenses, planning a massive fortress 7 kilometers in circumference with walls nearly 5 meters high, meant to house some 16,000 troops. But that garrison would be 1500 li, or about 870 kilometers west of the nearest Qing base at Chahansor. Which is to say, pretty tough to supply, and too far to make for any quick backup, and too far away to make for quick backup. The Grand Imperial Council decided to scrap plans for the fortress and pull the troops back to the more defensible line at Chahansor.

Yeongjeong could find a little comfort in Yejongchi's successful raid on Urumqi. When news of Ferdon's clash with the big Jungar force came in, Yue headed straight for the city, hoping to force the Jungars to split their strength. But Ferdon's defeat happened too fast for Yue's move to make a difference, and Yue found he couldn't hold Urumqi for long on his own. These military setbacks of 1731 hit Yongzheng hard. In a raw emotional re-script to Ye Zhongqi, one of the most telling documents any Qing ruler ever wrote, he laid bare his despair. Nothing had worked as expected. Because his armies had violated basic rules of military strategy, they'd met disaster.

Ultimately, he had to take the blame. As he said, quote, painfully I reflect on my responsibility, and I find that we, ruler and minister, have brought all the blame on ourselves. The Yangzheng emperor reels from the news of disaster 1731. An edict to Generalissimo Yuezheng Qi. From last year until now, nothing has turned out as I expected. I am really anxious and afraid. Painfully, I reflect on my responsibility, and I find that we, ruler and minister, have brought all the blame on ourselves.

Military strategists say, those who show force arrogantly will lose. Those who deceive themselves about the enemy will lose. Those who do not know the other will lose. Our army has committed all these mistakes. Even worse, with the full blessing of heaven, the preparations for armies on both routes were all excessive. I regret it endlessly. I can only confess my sins to Heaven and atone for my crimes. What else can I do? The enemy's power has

been far beyond what I had known or expected. As for the plan to advance and annihilate the enemy, not only is our strength and skill dubious, but also, seeing that Heaven does not favor us, do we dare violate Heaven's will? If we, ruler and servant, arouse the troops even further, our crimes will be even more unforgivable. But only the two of us should know these intentions. Not even the Vice-Generals must be aware of them lest the enemy extend his wild ambitions. If we are arrogant about our forces, underestimate the enemy, burden heaven, and act impatiently, the vice generals will certainly move at the wrong time and miss their chance. For now, I will respond to circumstances, and wait

for heaven's grace. We cannot predict a day when I can wipe away this shame and take revenge. Now the main thing to focus on is to repent our sins and seek heaven's forgiveness. We certainly cannot think of advancing and annihilating the enemy. Although you originally proposed this strategy, if I had not agreed to it, how could I have recklessly believed you or vigorously planned this great action? Furthermore, this frontier situation is an uncompleted goal of my father, and has been a hidden misery for the state. You simply

carried out my intentions sincerely and energetically. I really have no one else who can take charge of this matter. I admire and rely on your loyalty, respect, bravery, and sincerity. Truly my lack of careful examination committed crimes against heaven and the spirits. How could I desire or bear to hold a grudge or resentment against you? This is my genuine basic feeling toward you. I am afraid that you will not be able to know this, and you won't really know my feelings. If in the present difficult situation you are ashamed that your earlier counsel proved unwise, or allow some violent agitation to disturb your considered opinion so that I could no longer rely on you, nothing could harm me more than that.

If you want to return my favor, the only thing to do is to ensure our security on the frontier. Use carefully the military stratagems that you have relied on before. Now the enemy has defeated us by force, but his forces are not united like ours. Do not neglect military preparations and do not divide our forces. Rely on certain victory granted by heaven to those with adequate plans. It all depends on you to decide when to act. Absolutely do not try to relieve Turfan, even if the enemy attacks it in full force. My previous instructions and your proposals were all wrong.

We must not relieve Turfan. Only you and Generals Ilibu and Chang must know this. Furthermore, Turfan has a city wall to protect it, and 10,000 heroic Turkic soldiers in addition to our 3,000 troops there. If the enemy exhausts his forces in attacking it, he will suffer heavy casualties. For now, we can only speculate on the consequences. To abandon these three thousand soldiers and the mass of Turfanis does not mean that I am ruthless.

The situation simply makes it impossible to rescue them. The results are difficult to bear, but unavoidable. Heaven will understand us. You can decide to move the Turfanis quickly inside the main city and merely proclaim to them that our three thousand troops will join forces with them to await relief, calculating that even if the enemy attacks with several myriads of men, he may not take the city easily. If heaven bestows pity on the weak and defenseless honest people of Turfan in the harsh Midwest, there will be no supplies for the enemy to plunder.

After a long siege, they will run out of provisions, and must then either move out on our main camp or head via Yixun Chahan Qilato to plunder Kokonor. I leave it up to you to plan the best strategy. Assuming that the enemy clearly knows that our main force is drawn up to await them in the rear, they may not dare to penetrate deeply into Kokonor. They will just buy their time. Last year, when the enemy stole our horses, they lost over 1,000 men. In the attack on Turfan, reports are that we killed 500 of the enemy.

Now Ferdon reports that in the Northern Route campaigns, he killed several thousand. In these reports of enemy casualties, there must be some exaggeration. But there must be a total of at least two to three thousand killed in all these battles. Now, all we can do is to match our large army against the limited number of Jungar troops. These several thousand enemy casualties are one tenth of his crack troops. The only strategy to destroy him is to let him come by himself against us. The main point is to kill as many of the enemy as possible, and gradually let heaven reveal its will.

Turfan is one example of this granted by heaven. We can reinforce our defenses and wait for the opportunity to strike. This is the method for defeating the enemy. We should not expect total victory at present. We must be sparing in our use of Manchu troops and use them only when appropriate. What do you think of this? It's not that I am stingy, but if we pit our limited number of Manchu troops against the limited number of the enemy, it would be unbearable to have so many losses.

Besides, instead of slaughtering the enemy on horseback, it's better to have foot soldiers kill them at close quarters so that the enemy cannot carry out his stratagems. You must carry out this methodically, by yourself, and not let anyone else know, lest we damage the morale of the Green Standard and Banner Armies. Conceal your intentions, and let the officers and soldiers think that you despise the Manchu troops' ability, but do not dare to say so. This is best. But I fear that the Manchu ministers, officials, and troops will disobey your wishes when they

do not get special attention, and troops will disobey your wishes when they do not get special attention, and this will create hostility. Yet Ili Bu and Chang Ji know my instructions in advance, but they absolutely must not reveal them to anyone else. They will get the point and take care of things. In general, you should regard the whole situation as if you were me, and make security and seriousness foremost. If you have the slightest thought of taking risky measures to achieve glorious deeds, or of sacrificing yourself to repay my favors, not only would this be a mistake, but also you would forget my benevolence and commit an injustice.

Nothing is worse than harming me this way. You must follow my orders and consider how to act appropriately. When Aki-2 arrives, I will have passed on repeated commands to him orally, instructing him on my intentions of using troops. I am not accusing you of cowardice. We have both received heavenly favor in many affairs. Heaven will certainly bless us again someday. For now, we must both merely repent of our sins and calmly await heavenly favor. Emphasize careful defense. Absolutely do not advance troops rashly. Hold fast in all things. Be farsighted and look at the larger picture.

Don't be concerned if you lose a few positions. I will forgive you. If you get so agitated that you lose perspective on the long-term goal, you will disappoint me. Could you bear it? Keep this in mind. Strive to follow my earnest instructions and admonishments. Do not neglect any opportunity.

If you see a completely safe opportunity, act extremely carefully. If Heaven grants us a complete victory and the enemy flees, you absolutely must not pursue him a long distance. Why is this? Because we cannot gain success in a single engagement. Do not leave the city for more than several hundred li in pursuit before having the troops return. You know my intentions, consider them carefully. I am not a coward.

I only respect the commands of heaven and follow heaven's will. You must take my intentions to your heart. You may take measures on the frontier to rouse up the warrior spirit and proclaim an advance to exterminate the enemy, stirring up the troops to rouse up the warrior spirit, and proclaim an advance to exterminate the enemy, stirring up the troops to kill before advancing. But always follow my instructions carefully before you carry them out. Before undertaking a relief expedition, consider all factors carefully. In sum, stay calm and avoid agitation. These are my clear instructions, my most urgent orders about the relief expedition. You should not make a copy of this edict. If you want to read it over several times,

you may keep it in your office for a while and return it with a batch of the other orders. I am in good health. Please don't be concerned about me. How are you feeling? From the Guoli Gu Gong Bo Wu Yuan, the Gongzheng Deng Yongzheng Chao Zhou Zhe in the Taipei National Palace Museum. The Supreme Lord of Heaven felt stumped by cunning enemies and forsaken by a harsh heaven. The world felt out of whack. For now, only Yue and the Emperor knew the full extent of the disaster, but they still had to think long term. Yongzheng even thought about dropping the Jungar campaigns altogether, which would mean

abandoning the grand mission that his grandfather had started, to end the nomadic threat once and for all. But he decided to keep going, though much more carefully and waiting for better timing. Turfan could be given up after putting up a fight. With a body count mindset, the Emperor figured that he had no choice but to kill as many Jungars as possible. Galdan Saren, boosted by this win, sent his forces to raid the area southeast of Kubdo, aiming to weaken Ching and Kalka resistance. He also reached out to the Kalkas, urging them to join as fellow descendants of Genghis Khan against the Manchus. In his letter, he wrote, You are descendants of Genghis Khan, who are subordinate to no one. Why not move your pastures

to the Altai and live together with us in peace? We can unite to resist any military threat." But the Kalkas weren't interested. They instead fought the Jungars near Ardini Zhao, the seat of Mongolia's highest-ranking living Buddhist. The Kalka leader, Sering, a Genghis Khan descendant, had been named head of the new Sai Yin Noyan Khanate in 1725 for his service to the Qing. In the battle, over 10,000 Gengars had been killed, though some escaped west of the Altai. The grateful emperor made Sering military governor of Ulyasutai, built him a city with a palace, and after his death, honored him as the first of only two Mongols with memorial

tablets in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Yongzheng couldn't take credit for this victory. His Kalka allies did all the heavy lifting, after all. But both sides were now worn out from all the fighting and ready to talk peace. The Yongzheng Emperor's bold ambitions had led to military disaster, the first major Qing army loss to the Jungars ever, in fact. In his drive to outdo his father's achievements, Yongzheng went again his own cautious instincts.

Once again, classic nomadic tactics had beaten the Qing by stretching them beyond their supply lines. And for the next 20 years, the Qing's main focus shifted to retreat, retrenchment, and stabilization of the border. That's where we're gonna leave off for now. Next time, we'll start looking at the twilight years of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, and then begin looking ahead at the insanely long period to come, that of his own son-in-air, Qianlong.

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