How Qianlong annexed the largest territory to China
History Revealed While the Qing Dynasty is often misunderstood as a declining dynasty, this is not the case. The prosperity of the Kangqian Dynasty showed the strength and glory of the Qing Dynasty, and at its peak, the land area of the Qing Dynasty even reached 13.16 million square kilometers, which was more than 3 million square kilometers larger than now.
This is due to the unremitting efforts of the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. Among them, during the reign of Qianlong, the land area of the Qing Dynasty reached its peak, and he reigned for 60 years as the sixth emperor.
Emperor Qianlong was the longest-reigning and longest-lived emperor in Chinese history, and he achieved the unification of a multi-ethnic state on the basis of the Kangxi and Yongzheng dynasties.
He once sent 50,000 troops north against public opinion, and in a short period of time incorporated a huge territory into China's territory, making a significant contribution to the growth of China's land area.
So, what strategy did Emperor Qianlong use back then? What about the territory that was included in the Qing Dynasty?
Dzungaria is located in the Ili River valley and has been a place of border conflict since ancient times. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, although he sent troops to Dzungaria many times, he could not completely pacify them.
It was not until the Qianlong period, after 70 years of war, that Dzungaria finally belonged to China. Despite this, relations between the Qing dynasty and Dzungaria remained strained, which became a major problem during the Qing dynasty's rule.
In 1678, the Dzungar Khanate was ambitious and began to expand outward, successively attacking the Kazakh Khanate and accumulating rich war capital, while planning to invade the Qing Dynasty in the south.
At this time, the Kangxi Emperor was in charge of the government, and he had just succeeded in recovering Taiwan, but then he was engaged in the battle with Dzungaria. After Declaring war on the Qing Dynasty, Galdan continued to invade Mongolia, Qinghai and other places, and forced the tribes in the Mongolian region to launch attacks against the Qing Dynasty.
In 1690, the power of Dzungaria had seriously threatened the security of the Forbidden City.
In response to this challenge, the Kangxi Emperor personally set out on an expedition from Beijing to Galdan and successfully halted their expansion. However, due to the strength of the Galdan, the Dzungar tribes did not submit to the Qing Dynasty, and the two sides fell into an ongoing local conflict.
It was not until Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne that the pacification of Dzungaria was once again on the agenda. In a short period of time, he succeeded in pacifying the entire Dzungar region and incorporating it into the Chinese territory.
Namuzar, although he was the queen of Emperor Kangxi, his road to the throne was not all smooth sailing. His father, Galdan, had three sons under his knees, of whom Namzar was the eldest.
However, after the death of Namzar's father, a battle between his three sons for the throne caused civil strife, and years later, Namzar succeeded in defeating his brother's brother and ascending to the throne with the strength of his mother.
Although Namzar became emperor at a young age, he often quarreled with his sister due to his rebellious personality, and the ministers of the court were dissatisfied with the way he managed him.
His elder brother Darza later joined forces with the ministers and staged a coup d'état, deposing Namzar from the throne and becoming the new ruler.
Emperor Darza of Qianlong was iron-blooded and had a unique vision. After he ascended to the throne, he decisively eliminated dissidents and executed many powerful ministers by thunderous means, plunging Dzungar into civil strife.
Then, the ministers of the Dzungar Dynasty fled to the Qing Dynasty to surrender. Since Qianlong's accession to the throne, he has been closely following the development of the northwest region. When he learned the news that many generals in Dzungaria had surrendered to Chengcheng, he saw an opportunity to solve the great trouble of his henchmen, so he decided to take advantage of the civil strife in Dzungaria to attack the northwest, and the two dynasties were angry.
Although some people disputed this, believing that this was not the best time to attack, Qianlong firmly believed in his decision and tried his best to disagree with the public. In the twentieth year of Qianlong, he sent 50,000 soldiers, 170,000 horses, and 20,000 camels to the north to prepare for battle.
Emperor Qianlong's army successfully conducted a military operation after the Dzungar troops fell apart. The common people of the Ili region were dissatisfied with the rulers because of the wars provoked by the nobles, so they did not show unity in the face of the Qing attack.
However, after discovering this situation, the Qing Dynasty actively implemented the policy of preferential treatment for the people and won the support of the Dzungar people. This made the Qing Dynasty welcomed and supported by the surrounding herdsmen and people of all ethnic groups in the process of unifying the northwest.
During the Qing Dynasty's war against Dawazi, a surprising scene occurred: when the Qing army arrived, the people along the street warmly greeted them with cheese and sheep and horses to express their support for the Qing army.
As the main army of Dzungaria, Dawazi has always been regarded as a formidable opponent by the Qing army, but in this war, they misjudged the situation, surrendered without a fight, and fled before the war broke out.
After the war, Qianlong took advantage of the victory to pursue and continued to attack Dzungaria, in order to thank the Dzungar generals who contributed to this battle, he also promised to give them ** Houlu, sealing Cheling as Dulbert Khan, Amur Sana as Huit Khan, Banjul as Heshute Khan, etc., in order to win the hearts of the people.
Emperor Qianlong's decision-making demonstrated his determination and wisdom to maintain the unity of the Qing Dynasty. Although Amur Sana had surrendered, his actions showed that he did not obey the control of the Qing Dynasty, and even rebelled.
He proclaimed himself the chief khan of Dzungaria, propped up his own power, and refused to accept gifts from the Qing dynasty, even using his own official seal and approval in his work. These actions made the Qianlong Emperor very vigilant, and he realized the threat of Amur Sana, and decided to personally issue an edict to let him enter the Hajj as soon as possible, so that he and his wings could be eradicated in the interior to prevent future troubles.
Before Emperor Qianlong could implement his plan, Amur Sana openly rebelled, led his subordinates to break away from the control of the Qing army, ran to the Ili region, and attacked the nearby Qing army, resulting in the tragic death of Bandi and Erongan.
Faced with this sudden situation, Emperor Qianlong was taken aback and immediately sent a new army for a second expedition to Ili. In this march, Emperor Qianlong was full of confidence, and he successfully captured many cities with reason and emotion.
However, due to the rebellion still raging in the Dzungar region at that time, and the plague was raging, and a large number of people and animals died, it took only four months for the Qing army to reach Ili without bloodshed, and directly approached the garrison of Amur Sana.
In September of the 22nd year of Qianlong, Amur Sana died of illness at the age of 35. After his death, the situation in Dzungaria stabilized. Soon, the Qing army arrived in Kashgar, pacified the rebellious regime, achieved a complete pacification of the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, put an end to the decades-long situation in the northwest region, and further strengthened its control over Xinjiang.
Emperor Qianlong practiced national unification with practical actions, and in response to the lessons of history, after quelling the Junggar rebellion and unifying the territory, the Qianlong Emperor renamed the Western Regions Xinjiang and officially incorporated it into the Chinese territory.
Drawing lessons from the previous dynasty's neglect of the northern region and laissez-faire, he set up the Ili Protectorate in Xinjiang, which was responsible for managing Xinjiang's affairs and promoting the sinicization of ethnic minorities.
At the same time, he also sent a large number of troops to the northern region and set up military posts along the border to ensure the security of Xinjiang and prohibit neighboring countries from encroaching on Xinjiang.
Behind the successful unification battle of the portrait of Emperor Qianlong, it not only highlights the strong military strength of the Qing Dynasty, but also reflects the wisdom and skill of Emperor Qianlong. In this battle of Dzungaria, he skillfully used both soft and hard tactics to bring the tide of the battle to his control.
First of all, Qianlong pressed forward step by step, constantly sending strong troops to station, disintegrating the internal forces of Dzungaria, and exerting a strong deterrent effect on the internal regime of Dzungaria. At the same time, he also suppressed the leaders of the rebellion with iron blood, showing ruthless determination.
Second, Qianlong skillfully used religious and economic power to help the people of Outer Mongolia, and successfully won the hearts of the people and won widespread support by understanding reason and emotion.
In the end, although the Dzungaria had been pacified, Qianlong still gave preferential policies to the local people, abolished the serfdom system practiced by the nomadic feudal aristocracy of the Dzungars, and rescued a large number of poor peasants, thus promoting the economic development and agricultural development of the western border areas.
Under his leadership, the wasteland in the western region has been developed, and productivity has steadily increased.
According to incomplete statistics, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the area of tuntian and herdsmen in Xinjiang reached 459543 mu, which greatly promoted the development of agriculture, industry and commerce in Xinjiang.
In order to facilitate management, the Qing Dynasty also set up a coinage bureau in Xinjiang to mint a large number of Qianlong Tongbao, thus deepening the economic penetration and influence of the Central Plains Dynasty in the western region.
In addition, the Qianlong Emperor also forced the Burmese king to pay tribute to the Qing Dynasty through the Unification of the Dzungar War and the repeated use of troops in the southwestern region. In the 36th year of Qianlong, he sent troops to punish the big and small Jinchuan Tusi and successfully defended the territorial integrity of the country.
Overall, during his reign, Emperor Qianlong carried out large-scale development and administration of the Xinjiang region, while strengthening economic and military control over the western region, demonstrating his outstanding leadership skills and determination to stabilize the country's territory.
Emperor Qianlong's military exploits cannot be ignored, and even the famous British geopolitical scientist Mackinder once praised him, calling him a rare geopolitical genius.
After conquering the Western Regions, quelling the Junggar rebellion, and incorporating this huge land into the territory of the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor trumpeted his national prestige, causing the surrounding Central Asian regions to show favor to China one after another, becoming China's vassal states, and bringing huge benefits to China.
Under the rule of Emperor Qianlong, the territory of the Qing Dynasty was very large, breaking through the traditional concepts of "the Central Plains and its surroundings" and "the Son of Heaven and foreign vassals". At that time, a multi-ethnic, multi-geographical plate unified China appeared on the earth, demonstrating its great strength.
But unfortunately, the glory of the Qing Dynasty did not last for a hundred years, and the enemies in the west gradually became stronger, standing on the opposite side of the Qing Dynasty, and overthrowing this powerful dynasty step by step.