Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Continents and Continents (2)
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The Qianlong Emperor's extermination army against the Dzungars was plagued by nightmares.
It was a mistake to dismiss Amursana as merely a fraudulent rebel. Everything he said was more or less true, aside from the parts about Joseon.
The nearby Mongol tribes like the Khalkha and Zaisan had indeed joined in a chain of rebellions.
The Qianlong Emperor's edict, bizarrely enough, demanding that all women be rounded up to turn the entire Mongol race into cuckolds like Genghis Khan, spread at the most Mongolian speed thanks to Amursana. The NTR-style defense doctrine he had preached in Ili had truly galvanized all the Mongols.
Not only did the Dzungar forces remain, but the mere survival of one man, Amursana, was exerting this outsized influence.
The Qianlong Emperor, who was supposed to achieve two of the Ten Great Martial Feats here, grew increasingly irritated by the delayed reports of pacification.
However, the quest difficulty only kept rising.
Right next to the entire Dzungar territory, in Uyghur lands, the Muslim leader Khoja Jihan also rose up in Yarkand and Kashgar.
Originally, he was supposed to rebel separately right after Amursana's death and be crushed individually, becoming the Qianlong Emperor's third Great Martial Feat. But now, it had snowballed into a single mass.
The entire territory of modern-day East Turkestan was in chaos. The ministers, unaware of the oil there, wanted to abandon that useless wasteland and retreat to Ming territory. But the lord of humanity crushed such foolish proposals with his enlightened insight.
And it didn't stop there. Even parts of Tibet, deeply linked culturally and religiously to the Mongols, began to stir.
True to form as a traditional force of evil, the Panchen Lama of Tashilhunpo had flip-flopped between the godless Dzungars and the Qing for years.
During the Kangxi Emperor's reign, he had pretended to aid the emperor only to stab him in the back. After the Qing, caught off guard and struck by Tantric grand seals, installed the Gelugpa leader as a puppet to control him, Tibetan Buddhism remained within China's political sphere, whether in the 21st or 18th century.
The historical account that "the Qianlong Emperor brought Tibet fully under control through the Dzungar campaign" could be flipped to mean "if the Dzungars aren't completely exterminated, even Tibet will become unstable."
Park Jiwon wrote this in his Rehe Diary:
<The Qing fear the 48 Mongol banners most, and the 48 Mongol banners fear the Western barbarians most, so the emperor takes the Living Buddha as his master and personally travels to the Rehe summer palace every year to keep the barbarians in check.>
As he said, the scenario the Qing dreaded most throughout their reign was a simultaneous rebellion by the Mongols and Tibet.
Of course, Amursana's main Dzungar independence force was also highly active.
They would fight the Qing army and, when at a disadvantage, slip into Russian territory.
Krotopov refrained from overt actions like providing fortresses as bases or direct supplies. Empress Elizabeth had permitted local pressure but not full-scale war.
Instead, Krotopov adopted the easiest method. To the protesting Qing officials, he said:
"Ah, we're aware of the horse thieves crossing the border. We're trying to capture them too, but the land around here is quite vast, you see. Is there any country in the world that stations armed troops flawlessly along every inch of its border?"
The Governor-General of Heilongjiang and various generals were not from the future. So they couldn't retort that such a country would soon exist in the East Sea.
Krotopov, experiencing the rare sensation of being demanded to stamp out bureaucratic sloth and enforce policies by the book, gave a response that felt like picking his ears with his mind.
"In any case, we are fully prepared to uphold our treaty obligations to China with good faith, so we will positively review your request and make every sincere effort."
The Qing bureaucrats, fluent in civil servant speak just like Krotopov, received his "get lost" without misunderstanding.
The Russians had never honored a single treaty since ancient times. They promised tariff-free trade but imposed duties, drove stakes to block Qing patrols—thugs through and through.
The responsible officials concluded they had no choice but to report directly to the emperor.
And at the same moment, Krotopov reached the same conclusion.
He issued a strict order to the Semipalatinsk fortress to "maintain current guidelines until further orders." Then, taking Elizabeth's credentials and letter, he departed for Beijing.
Despite the Qianlong Emperor's urgings, Prince Hong Yeom of the Dara and Gong Army truly took time to submit a proper report to his brother.
It was because the intelligence from Joseon during the "Spring in Hanyang" incident seemed afflicted by some perceptual distortion spell.
This wasn't to say Joseon's security was ironclad. Traditionally, Joseon's "dispatches" were transparently swift advanced information releases, to the point of notifying war discussions to the enemy.
Currently, Kim Unhaeng had shut down the Dispatch Office (under the Office of Royal Decrees) for media control and diverted its budget, but Hong Yeom could still get news through his porn smuggling routes.
Yet this was worse than a total blackout.
"They say the Joseon king went senile and set fire to the Hanyang powder magazine before fleeing!"
"No, no. Senility is a rumor—the rebels kidnapped the king!"
"All nonsense! The Joseon king is in Hanyang; he sent the crown prince to Pyongyang. Don't be fooled, great lord!"
"Just got new news: the crown prince used sorcery to command hundreds of East Sea Qing bugs to pulverize the traitors..."
"Same here. Stories that Kim Unhaeng used the Earth-Contraction Technique as Duke Dongchun to rescue the royal grandson!"
Hong Yeom clutched his head after dragging out the last two.
"What the hell is going on?"
In the rebellion process, Kim Unhaeng's "national announcement," the real truth, and people's misconceptions had been mixed and amplified by Joseon's ten million machine learning algorithms.
As a result, rumors had now swallowed the spy lines whole. Overloading information is far more effective at obscuring attention than blocking it.
Hong Yeom was skilled at making money but no master of politics or diplomacy.
Flustered, he remembered he was General Seonggyeong and tried pressuring the Governor of Pyongan.
But the governor, Min Baek-sang, had gone to Seoul, tested positive for Kim Unhaeng's senility virus, and was "quarantined." Kim Unhaeng's pandemic-hardened quarantine measures left no gaps.
Only after Kim Unhaeng installed Han Ik-mo did Hong Yeom receive an official document.
"Taking advantage of the king's advanced age, treacherous ministers whispered wicked words, fooling the king into fleeing to the Namhansanseong auxiliary palace. The traitors were executed, but the king's mind is confused and he refuses to leave the palace, so the crown prince, who has long ruled as regent, is temporarily handling state affairs, and the queen dowager's abdication edict has already been issued."
To Hong Yeom, whose sanity was crumbling, Han Ik-mo's press release shone like truth and common sense.
This was acceptable. Far more plausible than fighter squadrons scrambling or shrinking-earth gourd drifts.
Thinking it over, Hong Yeom interpreted "fleeing to Namhansanseong" as a metaphor for the "Joseon king's northern expedition plans" rumor he'd heard in Beijing before.
Thus, it was no stretch for him to translate the document as "(thanks to General Seonggyeong's delicate diplomacy) pro-Qing crown prince's coup succeeds."
The Qianlong Emperor, upon receiving his brother's urgent report, summoned 10,000 Eight Banners troops stationed around Shenyang. No time for negotiating with Joseon.
But he didn't call Hong Yeom. Militarily unnecessary anyway, and since he seemed eager to stay, and for future payoffs from Joseon, better to have an old official there.
Conversely, Hong Yeom needed to manage Joseon well while the emperor was busy.
Indeed, upon arriving in Shenyang, the scale of Joseon-Qing smuggling dwarfed what Hong Yeom knew. Too juicy to let slip.
Hong Yeom now found himself in the needy position, repeatedly contacting Kim Unhaeng. The budgets scattered by the above nagdal made brokers like Gil-sang choke on "Lord Jangdong's" grace.
Kim Unhaeng was a close aide to the pro-Qing Joseon king (real). He could relay exactly what the emperor wanted and even shape reality to match.
Park Mun-su had been right all along.
Prudent handling usually yields good results.
Having humbly accepted the wise elder's advice, Kim Unhaeng reaped great rewards that autumn.
Not only did he swallow almost all the Royal Kitchen budget meant for Hong Yeom (minus some red ginseng), but he even maneuvered a "gift from Hong Yeom to Kim Unhaeng."
Receiving a "gift from a Qing imperial clansman" was truly an enormous achievement.
The legendary stinginess of Qing royals was rare even in China's long history.
The Kangxi Emperor, who mocked "Joseon's sorry state" during the great famine and sent only 5% of the rice Wanli had promised, or the Daoguang Emperor sighing over 5 taels for mending clothes—their frugality rivals Yao and Shun in thatched huts.
But I couldn't boast about this "achievement" purely.
As a Noron orthodox representing Chunqiu justice, advertising receiving anything from the Jurchens was impossible. Even lowly servants tossed Buddha statues (Jurchen + Buddhist = double taboo) from the emperor into the Yalu River in our sacred kingdom of Joseon.
So the gift arrived via unofficial channels like Gil-sang.
Not through officialdom, but delivered to my house while I was at work.
I couldn't lift my head before the Qing version of the Jade Dragon Wood—no, Jade Dragon Jade—that Se-hwa had set out.
"What on earth is this hideous thing?"
It's disgustingly well-made.
How did they dye it that color? Did they source jade like that originally?
Jade is harder and smoother than wood, so great material, but such a heavy object is hard to make clockwork in this era.
Yet the Qing apparently had artisans who could hollow it thinly while preserving jade's properties.
I recalled the jade cabbage and jade pork in Taipei's National Palace Museum. If Joseon is paper punk, Qing is jade punk.
But Se-hwa wasn't admiring Qing jade craftsmanship.
"I thought I'd faint when I unpacked the gift from General Seonggyeong myself. Why would this come to you? Could it be that the rumored Jade Dragon Wood secretly circulating in the capital since ancient times..."
"Indeed! You're right. I'd heard those rumors too, but now I see those barbarians were secretly peddling them in Joseon!"
I yelled that out, seized the Jade Dragon Jade, and jumped up.
"They probably thought it expensive, but is such an insult tolerable in a refined noble house like ours? I must smash this profane thing at once. Farewell!"
But Se-hwa stopped me.
"Wait. General Seonggyeong is the emperor's brother—if word leaks of you smashing his gift, what then? Leave it to me."
Hearing that, I genuinely wanted to break it.
"Tch. How can a scholar bend to evil even in death? I must..."
Damn, so thin yet so tough? My grip strength won't do it.
Se-hwa said:
"When I received my lady's title and distributed food and wine via the Outer Quarters, several wives who carried axe blades as toys while praying for sons. But if lowly folk pray for sons to rocks like this, isn't it more effective than axe blades? I'll give it to one of those wives to strengthen bonds."
Huh. Good sales idea on second thought. Market it as a prayer aid, and Jade Dragon Wood could go legit.
I subtly tested Se-hwa.
"Come to think of it, we have only one son?"
Se-hwa primly replied:
"I have no need for such trifles."
Not that she doesn't want a son. But having this around would counterproductive for birthing sons or daughters.
On reflection, the crown prince already has seven kids. Two seems a bit few for Joseon times.
Lee Jae-un led the Kim family guards to greet Kim Unhaeng at Wangsipri's Chunsik Ranch (Team Japan seemed to shudder with trauma).
"You said lunch, but something delayed you—I was about to send someone."
"Official duties kept me busy."
Boosting household numbers is Joseon's most vital public service. Kim Unhaeng felt no shame.
"Can the ginseng depart right away?"
"Of course. Count it yourself."
The red ginseng scraped together for Hong Yeom but undelivered had no domestic buyers now.
Plus, buying and reselling wastes margins commercially.
So Kim Unhaeng decided to sell it in Beijing via this tribute envoy.
Red ginseng is less a traditional staple here than a hot new product.
Kaesong merchants had only recently developed steaming methods. The first large-scale export was last year's tribute envoy with Kim Unhaeng.
Moreover, Kim Unhaeng's monopoly had temporarily caused a shortage in Joseon. Dumping real red ginseng on Beijing's rear, likely filled with bellflower disguised as ginseng, would command premium prices.
Of dubious legality, but no need to bribe and blackmail the Nakchang Army this time. The Uiju merchant alliance desperately wanted the "convoy under Lord Dosa's care" to join them.
The top decision-maker, the crown prince, was always pro-Northern Learning.
He'd gleaned Practical Learning leanings from briefings to Chundang youths like Park Jiwon.
He had Park Jiwon submit a report on "the need to adopt Qing's advanced culture." Per Kim Unhaeng, Park Jiwon "finally devoted his soul to public service."
That policy paper drew scorn from many scholars, even Kim Unhaeng. But the crown prince ignored it.
His iron will, ignoring even Kim Unhaeng's memorials, forced scholars to doubt rumors he was Kim's puppet.
Thus, this tribute envoy saw unprecedented official-private trade scale. Park Mun-su looked the other way, considering the crown prince's need for swift Qing recognition.
Money has no ideology, so Kim Unhaeng quietly withdrew his memorial and joined in. The crown prince joyfully granted broad authority to smuggling expert Kim Unhaeng.
But Kim Unhaeng wouldn't go personally. His position was too pivotal to leave the capital casually.
Kim Unhaeng turned to Hong Daeyong, who had come along.
"Not deputy envoy this time, but Third Secretary (third in envoy rank). As a high official, don't divert funds for weird Western trinkets like last time."
"Tch! What do you take me for, brother-in-law? Watch—I'll sell this ginseng at prices to shock even Chunsik! Many old ministers I met need tonics."
"No. Don't meddle in trades you don't know. Just block Qing officials harassing our Food and Drink Minister (Lee Jae-un) if they get ambitious."
Brutally shutting Hong Daeyong down, Kim Unhaeng, as Dosa, approved the envoy roster. As always, the crown prince stamped it readily.
Russian border commander Krotopov also arrived in Beijing that winter.
Having detoured far due to war, he submitted his letter to the emperor, then toured Beijing carefully.
Officially denying it, Russia was de facto supporting China's rebels.
This implied rebel bases in Russia—meaning Russia could annihilate them from the rear if siding with China.
Russia's future stance depended on the Qianlong Emperor, more precisely on China's response to Krotopov's proposals with Elizabeth's letter: Amur River navigation and various diplomatic items.
Joseon bore watching too. Krotopov visited the (exiled to southern legation) Russian quarters for intel, but priests only knew beatings by Joseonites.
"Rumor one Joseonite visited the Jesuit church. Maybe the Western Church (Catholic) influenced the emperor's suppression of us."
Krotopov ignored such conspiracies. But worth a visit.
En route, he saw a bizarre sight.
Chinese on streets doing odd things: some prostrating with arms to ground repeatedly, others sitting-standing loops. Some ran gasping, wasting rice?
"What the devil? Military drill?"
A Russian guide answered:
"Similar. A training method from Joseon is trending: 'East Spring Merit [Dongchun Gong]'? Chinese believe mastering it grants lightning energy (Chunsik armor) to block guns barehanded and beat swords with fists."
Krotopov snorted. So uncivilized—no great hopes for the Chinese government.
Soon at the Catholic church, but these Austrians, allies or not, wouldn't receive him immediately.
"Prior guest here—come tomorrow."
The errand boy said. Krotopov looked disappointed.
"Should've scheduled. Who is it? High Chinese official?"
If so, he'd push to meet. But the servant shook his head.
"High official, but Joseon high official."