Chapter 150
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: The Moving Powder Keg (2)
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Before the war with Great Britain, the Qing Dynasty did not have frequent dealings with the Western powers.
If one were to pick a single exception, however, it would be Russia.
In the past, when it was the Tsardom of Russia, it had signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk with the Qing Dynasty, establishing the border in the regions of Manchuria and the Maritime Province.
This was considered quite significant as it was not a treaty in which Qing held complete superiority, but rather a European-style treaty of equals.
Since then, they had further specified the border through the Treaty of Kyakhta and continued to trade with Russia.
The reason Russia had relinquished its claims to the Maritime Province and parts of Manchuria was that Russia's situation at the time was chaotic, and they had judged that fighting the powerful Qing would be a loss.
And who was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty back then?
The Son of Heaven at the time was the Kangxi Emperor, lauded as the greatest and most enlightened ruler in Qing history, an emperor for the ages.
Thus, from Russia's perspective, it was only natural to conclude that gaining benefits through trade was better than fighting the Qing.
But now, more than a hundred years later, the situation was completely reversed.
Russia's national power had expanded to the point where it called itself the gendarme of Europe, while conversely, the uncomfortable truth that the Qing Dynasty was already in decline had been fully exposed.
Moreover, the damage sustained in the war with the British Empire was so severe that much turmoil was erupting within the country.
Was that all?
They were on the verge of breaking their backs to raise the reparations owed to the British Empire, and above all, the fact that they had ceded territory to a foreign nation for the first time in the long history of the Middle Kingdom weighed heavily on their shoulders.
The first time is always the hardest; once a precedent is set, the second and third times become easier.
While no other country had yet been brazen enough to demand territory, the United States and France, following Britain's lead, relentlessly pressured them to sign commercial treaties.
And this audacious behavior from the West was utterly displeasing to the Daoguang Emperor, who still considered himself the Son of Heaven of the Central Plains.
The letter from Russia that arrived in such a situation did not just poke at the wounded pride of the Son of Heaven; it completely overturned it.
“...The Maritime Province has been Russian territory, indirectly belonging to Russia since the time of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Therefore, we request the abrogation of the previously signed unequal treaty and the establishment of a new one. As Russians have settled and are living north of the Amur River, we believe it is right for Russia to administer this area henceforth... Have these bastards lost their minds!”
Reading the summary of Russia's demands, the Daoguang Emperor, unable to contain his fury, tore the paper to shreds, and his officials hastily bowed their heads.
“Your Majesty, this is outrageous!”
“Russia's insolent demands are not worth listening to! A treaty was already made by the emperor of the ages. How dare they say something different now!”
“You must respond firmly to their demands, Your Majesty!”
Of course, even the officials saying this did not believe that the Qing Dynasty was in any condition to fight Russia.
But wasn't it the same for those scoundrels?
Although both the Qing Dynasty and Russia were great powers boasting immense territories, if the front line were to form in the Maritime Province, the actual number of troops they could mobilize would be in the thousands at most.
Furthermore, while the British Empire was like a foreign body that had suddenly dropped from the west from Qing's perspective, Russia was a country they had been in contact with for hundreds of years, a significant difference.
No matter how they looked at it, it was hard to believe that the Russia they had known all this time could be far stronger than the monstrous British.
The Daoguang Emperor secretly thought so as well.
“I have seen those who wish to trade with us, but never have I seen those who so brazenly demand territory. Russia, in the end, must be just another rootless Westerner. I will never yield to such an unreasonable demand. Let everyone unite their will and devise a way to overcome this crisis!”
“How about we immediately summon the Eight Banners stationed in the northeast and have them garrison the Maritime Province?”
“However, we are not in a situation to dispatch the Eight Banner armies on a large scale. How about we gather volunteers from various regions to supplement our insufficient forces?”
“That would be no better than a militia. Can they truly stand against the firearms the Russians will bring?”
“If their firearms are similar to those of the British, even the Eight Banners will not have an easy time. Therefore, we must take as many men as possible…”
Perhaps because the memory of the recent defeat was too vivid, even the officials clamoring for a hardline response sounded unconvincing.
Of course, the Daoguang Emperor couldn't help but feel a nagging unease in a corner of his heart.
The British were said to be Westerners specialized in fighting, acclaimed as the strongest even in Europe, but Russia was different, wasn't it?
He had heard that they too had been strutting around with some confidence lately, but emotionally, the Qing Dynasty could not accept that they were inferior to Russia.
But what if they actually lost a war?
Then, they would naturally have to surrender the Maritime Province, and this would have a different meaning than the defeat to the British.
The British were a rising power from Europe that the Qing had never encountered before, and above all, the disparity in naval power was too great.
In fact, to justify their defeat to the British, the Qing were continuously emphasizing their naval inferiority.
The logic was that on land, the great Qing's Eight Banners could easily win if they gathered, but the cavalry-centric Qing had a hard time defeating the British, the world's strongest nation of pirates.
In any case, most of the territories ceded to the British, except for Shanghai, were islands, and those islands were not particularly important to the Qing, the center of the continent. This mental victory was somehow possible.
However, if their army was defeated by Russia and they had to cede land adjacent to Manchuria, such excuses would no longer be possible.
In a way, couldn't this situation be seen as even more urgent than the previous threat from the British?
He wanted to fight, but pouring national resources into that distant frontier was far too difficult in reality.
As everyone was lost in thought, General Yishan, Commander-in-Chief of the region, spoke up.
“Your Majesty.”
“Oh, are you perhaps volunteering to take command of the army?”
“If Your Majesty commands it, I shall. But if our own hands are not enough, is there not a way to borrow the hands of another?”
“The hands of another, you say…?”
“I have read records that when the Great Kangxi Emperor reigned, he received reinforcements from Joseon to drive out the northern barbarian hordes. Although small in scale, neither we nor the Russians can dispatch many troops to the Maritime Province. In that case, would not even a small number of troops from Joseon be of great help?”
“Joseon, you say…”
Come to think of it, wouldn't the distance for Joseon to advance to the Maritime Province be shorter than the distance for the Qing to organize troops and send them to that faraway land?
Indeed, when the officials brought a map, he could see that the distance between the two was closer than expected.
In terms of the Central Plains, Joseon and the Maritime Province were adjacent, barely the distance of crossing a single province.
By Qing standards, this was practically a light expedition to one's own front yard.
“Not a bad proposal. No, not just not bad, but a brilliant plan. No matter how weak a nation Joseon may be, sending a few hundred soldiers over such a short distance would not be a great burden for them.”
“Yes. And they too would feel threatened if Russia were to advance south. Unlike us, who are bound by the Sinocentric order, it is uncertain how Russia would treat Joseon.”
There had been a slight potential for friction with Joseon over the origin of the British man Killian Gore, but in the end, hadn't that been resolved well?
The Daoguang Emperor, finding the current situation extremely urgent, decided to act immediately on Yishan's proposal.
“Send an imperial edict to Joseon at once. The people of Joseon are often disobedient, so be sure to emphasize the threat of Russia as much as possible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“And convey my firm resolve to the Russians as well. Tell them that not a single handful of Great Qing's territory can be ceded.”
“We shall obey Your Majesty's command!”
Had they known Joseon's current situation in detail, they would have realized that Joseon would not comply so easily, but the Qing Dynasty had no way of knowing what Joseon was thinking, nor did they have any desire to find out.
In fact, it was all too natural.
The Qing Dynasty did not even properly understand the situation of their own country, let alone that of another.
***
As the Son of Heaven's command to deliver the edict to Joseon as quickly as possible was issued, the Qing moved with frightening speed.
The day Joseon was thrown into an uproar upon receiving the Son of Heaven's command coincided exactly with the day Victoria gave birth to twins in Canada, receiving the blessings of all.
On that day when all of Canada was filled with joy, the Border Defense Council in Hanseong was overturned by shock, with shouts and denunciations flying about.
“They want us to provide troops to fight Russia? Are we some provincial government of the Qing Dynasty?”
“The Qing are citing the precedent of King Hyojong's expeditions against Russia and are hoping for a similar response.”
“The situation is different from back then. How can we possibly respond in the same way?”
They were in a situation where even maintaining the current military system was a struggle. What kind of talk was this about expeditions against Russia?
The Andong Kim clan and the Pungyang Jo clan, who would normally be at odds, were united as one, veins popping on their necks as they criticized the Qing's absurd proposal.
Left State Councilor Kim Do-hee, who had been on a frighteningly fast track to success, asked Kim Jwa-geun, the newly appointed Minister of War.
“Minister of War, do you think Joseon is in a position to send troops as the Qing requests?”
“It is impossible. Even for a hundred men, securing a supply route for provisions and materials to fight across the border would be an immense waste. Yet the Qing are asking us to dispatch a force of two to three hundred men or more. Given our current circumstances, this is an unreasonable demand.”
“Then, shall we explain our current situation and reply that it is difficult to dispatch troops?”
Both rationally and emotionally, they should have shouted yes, but none of the high officials of the Border Defense Council dared to speak rashly.
It was a direct request from the Qing's Son of Heaven, and refusing it meant they had to be prepared for the consequences.
If things went wrong, the one who had spoken carelessly here would be the first to be put on the chopping block.
“For now, why don't we say we will do our best to gather troops and then delay by making one excuse after another?”
“That has merit. However, the Qing side is practically asserting that if the Maritime Province falls to Russia, Russia will immediately target us next. Shouldn't we prepare for that as well?”
“Russia is said to be particularly obsessed with territorial expansion even among the Westerners of Europe, so we certainly need to prepare countermeasures. But isn't that a separate issue from sending reinforcements?”
Various opinions were being voiced, but the conclusion that emerged was that it was impossible for Joseon to do anything on its own in the current situation.
They absolutely could not stand by and watch Russia occupy the Maritime Province, but sending reinforcements to the Qing would break their own back, not just strain it.
It was a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward.
Even though they had previously received intelligence from the British that Russia was targeting the Maritime Province, Joseon was completely unprepared.
A sense of anxiety coiled within them that if things continued this way, Joseon might end up as an instrument beaten about in a game played by the Western great powers.
But to immediately reach out to the British now would only give them a pretext to infiltrate Joseon more deeply than necessary.
Therefore, he had been keeping his words to a minimum, but still.
“At this point, how about we request mediation from Killian Gore, as was discussed before?”
“He seemed very grateful for being made a member of the royal family, even if only in name. Don't you think he'll be receptive?”
“Realistically, I don't think there's a better way right now.”
Fearing the wolf, they would ask for help from a tiger with whom they only had a one-sided sense of intimacy?
Such short-sighted thinking, believing they only needed to overcome the current predicament without considering the aftermath.
Kim Jwa-geun let out a small sigh, trying to shake off the deep unease that perhaps Russia was not the real problem at all.