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I was speaking of the substates so thank you for answering my question. I never play in China so I didn't know what would happen to the substates. I know you can't annex puppets; I had just assumed that you would release them then declare war on them.

Sorry I misunderstood, but glad I answered your question!
 
Part 5: 1843 Sino-British Treaty of London

As negotiations with Britain continue, the attempt to build a new Qing fleet has hit an unfortunate snag:



The clipper transport market is suffering from a severe shortage, and without the ability to maintain their new ships, the Emperor has issued a decree to cannibalize the new ships for scrap, and focus on stockpiling naval goods for the future. Tentative plans to attack Japan are shelved for now, perhaps permanently.

(why China has 0 clipper transport production is beyond me; Qing China definitely had the capability to build basic wooden transports without needing to import supplies from the West even before industrializing, but ah well. I'll just set the clipper transport supply to stockpile towards the max)

Some have suggested Korea as the next target, to punish them for terminating our alliance.



(yes, the 2nd Ottoman attempt to retake Egypt is going much better than the first, in part because Ethiopia joined the dogpile)

On another diplomatic front, the USA seems well on the way to sphereing Manchuria, treacherously interfering with Chinese hegemony over the region.



(Hopefully this means Russia will be unable to sphere it, and the Peking Convention won't fire.)

Meanwhile, a massive famine caused by overpopulation combined with lower-than-average crop yields occurred, forcing the Qing Emperor to institute drastic tariff reductions so the peasantry could afford imported food. The Qing coffers are strained greatly by the move.

The British, meanwhile, had overruled the East India Company in the negotiations with China, sending an embassy directly to Beijing. It had been decided that dealings with China were not under the jurisdiction of the East India Company. The British embassy arrived with little warning, intending to establish a large and permanent diplomatic presence in the Beijing itself, and other European powers rapidly announced they would send embassies too. The Qing had been expecting only a single ambassador and a few attendants, not such a massive, permanent embassy.



To the British, this seemed like a generous gesture, making clear once again that the foreign devils were far too culturally primitive to understand the Middle Kingdom at all. The Emperor and the entire Qing court was outraged beyond words. The Emperor had been loosening restrictions on foreign intrusion as part of the reforms, true, even allowing foreign military missions in a few Chinese provinces. But such a large foreign presence in the capital itself, without even so much as sending advanced notice, let alone asking permission, was seen as unforgivably rude.

The Emperor refrained from his initial instinct, to boot the entire embassy out of the country entirely, by force of arms if need be. Instead, he gave the most important members of the embassy temporary quarters in Beijing, in housing normally reserved for tributaries, while refusing the rest of the British embassy access. The Emperor intended to stall for time as long as possible while he and his court debated how to respond to the insults.

Many in the court called for a total expulsion of the British embassy, saying that they were no better than invaders and that the foreign devils needed to be taught a lesson in respect. They were in the minority, though, however loud a minority they might be; the rest of the court was aware that such a decision would utterly sabotage negotiations in London and risk war, a war China would lose.

Weeks passed with the British growing increasingly impatient, as endless debate raged in the Qing court, with the Emperor himself caught between pride and pragmatism, unable to make a decision.

Finally, a compromise was reached, as the Emperor dispatched a letter to London, giving instructions.

After more intense negotiations, the British agreed to a treaty, though they were rather displeased with how poorly the Qing received the embassy. The treaty had significant differences from the Emperor's instructions, but were close enough that the Emperor reluctantly signed it, despite further outry from high-ranking members of the military and bureaucracy.

The terms of the 1843 Sino-British Treaty of London were as follows -

1. The Qing would allow Britain, and other European powers, to establish formal embassies in their capital, but the ambassadors would limit their movements to a special Legation Quarter and would refrain from bringing any Christian missionaries with them. Priests would be allowed, so long as they did not try to convert any Chinese people. This de facto would also mean a permanent end to the prior system of diplomacy between China and the European nations, which had largely been through China's tributary system of diplomacy.

2. The British and Chinese agreed formally to a border between the British and Chinese spheres of influence/control in what had once been Panjab. (the British failed to formally recognize China as a sovereign nation in the treaty, though arguably this term's words implied such recognition; but that was not one of the terms the Emperor had ordered the embassy to secure, so the embassy didn't push for such recognition)

3. The Chinese government recognized that all of Burma was the sovereign territory of the British Empire, abandoning any and all tributary relations with Burma. (Burma was still technically independent at his point, so this did not exactly make the Burmese government feel safe)

4. The British would provide foreign military advisors. On this point the terms of the treaty were different in the different languages. The British version more or less read, beneath all the legal technicalities, "We will dispatch agents to assist China in civilizing its primitive armed forces, and to monitor them and ensure they do not threaten British interests." The Chinese version was creatively translated to read more or less "We will allow the barbarians the great privilege of observing the great and powerful Chinese army in action, in return for which they will share knowledge of British military practices." Both embassies agreed such a creative difference in translation was the only way either government would agree to the terms of the treaty.

Regardless, both governments approved the treaty, and the 4th term was accompanied by the Emperor announcing sweeping reforms of the military as the foreign officers arrived. The treaty also meant that de facto, Panjab had been formally annexed into the Chinese Empire.







The Emperor soon announced that Kashmir would become a self-governing puppet, albeit one with only a single province.



(luckily Kashmir has one core outside the state of Kashmir itself, so wooo free infamy reduction! I still don't get to release Ladakh, though, sadly)

And so the Qing had won a great diplomatic victory. For now, at least, the risk of war with Britain was reduced.
 
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The road for reform is always tough as a nation like China that must endure what they see as humiliation. Still, they have to swallow their pride so they could rise up once again.
 
Part 6: The New Tianxia

Tianxia was an ancient Chinese concept, the cultural ideal behind the tributary system. Under Tianxia, the Mandate of Heaven made the Chinese Emperor ruler of the entire civilized world. Barbarians would always exist in the periphery of the world, of course, but all civilized regimes were expected to acknowledge the nominal authority of the Emperor by becoming tributaries, thus being accepted as full members of the Chinese tianxia. This was the political paradigm that had dominated East Asian politics for thousands of years.

China was once again at peace, and Kashmir had been released as a new tributary state that had properly acknowledged China's Mandate of Heaven, joining the tianxia. However, the people of Kashmir were not all as enthusiastic about this, and a garrison of 9,000 irregulars was permanently assigned to Kashmir.

The tributary system had been in a state of collapse in recent years, and some in China had begun to fear that the very concept of the tianxia, the ideal that the Chinese Emperor was the ruler of the entire civilized world, would be lost. In the recent treaty with Britain, China had for all intents and purposes de facto recognized the European barbarians as rulers of their own sovereign nations, something that directly contradicted the ideas of tianxia and the tributary system. Moreover, as European influence in East Asia increased, China's neighbors were slowly but surely withdrawing their acknowledgement of China's hegemony; the most humiliating example of this being Korea's termination of its alliance with China, an unimaginable insult that threatened to undermine hundreds of years of unbroken Chinese hegemony in Korea.

After consulting with scholars who had studied European laws, the Emperor determined that part of the problem was that the European principles of so-called "international law" did not give any acknowledgement of the tributary system. However, it did recognize the concept of vassal states. Thus the Emperor, with Kashmir as the example, decreed that henceforth the workings of the tributary system would be revised - tributaries would accept complete Chinese control over their foreign policy, and formally acknowledge not just Chinese superiority and hegemony, but also formally accept the status of being vassal states. Plans were made to give Panjab such status as well, though for the moment the hunt continued for a suitable survivor of the former Panjabi royal family.

The Koreans, meanwhile, had dispatched an embassy to China, seeking to correct the misunderstandings of recent years. Unfortunately for the Koreans, their ambassador arrived right after this decree was announced.



The Koreans offered tribute to the Qing Emperor, and expressed their willingness to rejoin the tributary system. They claimed that foreign devils had led them astray, but that King Heonjong had finally seen the truth and imprisoned the treacherous foreign devils. The ambassador further offered the Emperor the devils' heads, if it would please the great Emperor.

The Emperor laughed in the ambassador's face. Turning to his court, he declared, "What he means is that the King thought we had lost the Mandate of Heaven, and decided to cast in his lot with the foreign devils. Fair-weather friends indeed!" The Qing court laughed, and the Korean ambassador sweated profusely, wondering if he would be executed for the insult.

The Emperor turned to the ambassador.

"We are willing to accept Korea back as a tributary state, but our scholars have determined the older tributary system was flawed. Just yesterday I issued a decree on the matter. Have you read it? No? Let me make this clear. The King of Korea will formally cede sovereignty to myself, accepting status as a vassal king under Qing rule, with all Korean foreign policy under total Qing control. The King will also issue a formal apology for his treachery, and hand over the foreign devils to our authority. If that proposal is not acceptable, we will repay your treachery with war. Is this understood? Now, leave, and delivery my message to the traitor Joseon King!"

The Joseon ambassador hastily bowed and withdrew, and the Qing Emperor began the process of building support among China, and the rest of the world, for the planned invasion, as Qing forces recently returned from Panjab were rapidly redeployed to Manchuria.





Meanwhile, many in the aristocracy were growing angry, as the recent expansions of the celestial bureaucracy cut through their attempts to evade taxes - the bureaucracy had already doubled in size relative to the population, though it was still woefully too small. In particular, the Punjabi aristocracy were furious at the loss of their traditional privileges and power with the new Qing regime.



The Joseon court had, of course, refused Qing China's demanding ultimatum, just as the Emperor had expected. The insult would be repaid in blood, and China's hegemony in Korea restored.

Unfortunately, the attempt to justify war did not go quite well as hoped, and many in the international community were outraged by the move. European ambassadors in the legation quarter expressed a great deal of outrage. The Emperor paid them no heed - so far as he could tell none of them cared enough to intervene, especially after the Joseon King had imprisoned so many barbarians in an attempt to appease the Qing. Many East Asian nations were also shocked and horrified, viewing the Qing decree as tantamount to a declaration of war on all of them. But they were even less of a threat to China.



Thus, war was only a matter of time.
 
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The road for reform is always tough as a nation like China that must endure what they see as humiliation. Still, they have to swallow their pride so they could rise up once again.

It doesn't help that the Western Winds event fired much sooner this time than in my last game as China... It makes keeping militancy under control almost impossible. Last time I managed to get through all the needed reforms without any reactionary uprisings, but this time I'm pretty sure I'm going to have tons of rebels.
 
Just make sure you teach the Japanese, who dare to call their state an empire a good lesson before that hydra raises its head. With the islands put in their place everything will go as planned.
 
Just make sure you teach the Japanese, who dare to call their state an empire a good lesson before that hydra raises its head. With the islands put in their place everything will go as planned.

Unfortunately the USA is well on their way to sphering Japan, so attacking Japan would likely cause an American intervention. So such a move is to be considered very carefully. I might do it, I might not; at this point the American military is relatively small and I might actually stand a chance against them thanks to sheer numbers, but it would be risky.

The Japanese AI isn't scripted to attack China so far as I'm aware, so provided I westernize faster than Japan, I doubt they'll be a serious threat. The main reason to attack Japan would be for the huge amount of research points, the extra pops, and the coal provinces.
 
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Part 7: The Third Manchu Invasion of Korea

In the Second Manchu invasion of Korea, a two-month long conflict starting in 1636, the full might of Qing had fallen on the obstinate Joseon Korea like an avalanche. Over a hundred thousand Qing forces had poured over the border, annihilating any feeble attempt at a Korean defense and besieging the King in his fortress. The war ended when the Joseon king agreed to Qing suzerainty as a tributary, and to end all relations with the Ming.

But over the years Joseon loyalty had grown steadily weaker, and Qing agents had long reported that the Joseon secretly viewed the Qing as barbarians and were eager for independence. For years, the faltering Qing regime had tolerated this impudence. But formally cancelling their alliance with China had been the final straw - the Joseon must be taught a lesson. And this time, the Daoguang Emperor decreed, their punishment would not be so light.

In the previous war, the Joseon had clinged to their loyalty to the false Ming Emperors, who had lost the Mandate of Heaven; a misguided loyalty, true, but still honorable. But the Joseon had sworn their loyalty to Qing as the new holders of the Mandate of Heaven - by breaking these ties, and consorting with the foreign devils instead, the Joseon had rebelled against Heaven itself, and it was the Emperor's duty to cast down the traitor Joseon dynasty.

Not everyone agreed with this, of course, and many people quietly voiced dissent. Korea had been China's most loyal tributary for hundreds of years - there were extremely strong cultural, diplomatic, and political ties between the two states. Many felt that the new Emperor was nothing more than a jingoistic expansionist who sought only to conquer land without regards for whom they conquered. And there were, of course, a few who felt they'd like to rebel against the Manchu themselves, and felt that the Manchu were the ones really selling out to the European barbarians. And though such talk of rebellion was routinely met with death, the whispers continued to grow stronger.



However, the Qing propaganda machine was effective at countering this rhetoric, using newly introduced state-run printing presses to slander the Koreans.



The Emperor appointed a new, up and coming general, Sonin Zhanshan, as overall commander of the Qing forces massing in Manchuria. Schooled in both British tactics of maneuver and the ancient wisdom of Sun Tzu and other great Chinese commanders, he was said to be a mastermind at lightning advances, able to move armies with blazing speed. The Emperor did not want the war to get bogged down in bloody mountain attrition, like it had in Panjab, but rather a speedy conquest.

Speaking of which, the Qing forces in Panjab had finally located a distant female relative of the former Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who they had strong-armed into serving as ruler of Panjab. Her claim to the throne was tenuous at best (absurd, many Panjabi said, until the Qing occupation force silenced them; after the first few hundred executions people stopped questioning her claim), and she was barely more than a child in age.

But all the Maharaja's closer relatives were now either confirmed dead or had seemingly vanished in the chaos of the invasion and occupation. After years of searching the Qing were more than happy to accept her as their new tributary, albeit closely monitored by a large Qing army and an array of Chinese advisors. She herself was reported eager to accept her newfound power, and was fast learning the ways of proper Chinese governance and Confucian philosophy under an array of Chinese tutors.

As for the invasion, its ending was a foregone conclusion.



The Koreans had mobilized an army to guard the border, knowing the Qing attack was imminent. Sonin Zhanshan rapidly moved in to cut off their supply lines (and any hope of retreat), while his subordinate Fu Shangzhi, attacked with his veteran soldiers from Panjab. The Koreans, who had lived peacefully under Qing protection for centuries and came armed with traditional Chinese firearms, were ill prepared for Shangzhi's infantry, armed with modern Russian firearms and battle-hardened from Panjab. The Korean army crumbled, and fell into a desperate, disorganized retreat. Wth Sonin Zhanshan's army waiting in ambush along their primary line of retreat, the fleeing Korean command, and much of their army, was soon snapped up and captured. Those few Korean soldiers who escaped the ambush dissolved into the countryside.



Sonin Zhanshan's strategy and Shangzi's tactics had worked brilliantly - despite Shangzi's army being outnumbered, the casualties had been two - to one in China's favor in just the battle itself, nevermind the total loss of the surviving Korean army to prison camps.



Sonin and Shangzi settled down to besiege the northeast of Korea, not wanting to leave a threat in their rear, while loyal Manchurian irregulars continued to advance into the heart of Korea.

An army of 21,000 Koreans guarding Seoul was all that was left of the Korean army, and soon, the invading army began to encircle them.



Seeing the invincible armies of Qing in glorious action convinced many European powers they would rather be friends with China than enemies. Most notably the Prussians, who were eager to check the power of their European rivals in the region, and lacking a colonial empire in Asia, had nothing to lose from a Chinese ascendance; and plenty to gain from arms exports. The Prussians and other major European nations agreed to massive bulk purchases of modern European small arms and artillery by the Manchu. No longer having to rely on the scraps of Russian equipment captured in the rebellion, or on Portugal's meager firearms exports to China, the Emperor announced that a drastic reorganization of the entire Chinese military would occur. The largely irregular Chinese army would be replaced with several new armies of 39,000 soldiers each, consisting of 6000 cavalry and 33,000 modernized infantry armed with European firearms each.

He named these armies the New Model Armies - as they were meant to be a model to all the world of the invincible glory of Qing China.





Meanwhile, Seoul had fallen under attack by an army of Manchurian irregulars, as Sonin Zhanshan advanced on Wonju. The esteemed Korean general Hong Mok reportedly committed suicide rather than surrender to the overwhelming Chinese army, but his sacrifice was meaningless. Seoul soon fell, and before the year's end, every last inch of Korea was under Qing control.







The Joseon dynasty, unfortunately, had largely escaped. The Qing navy was nonexistent, and thus the whole family had desperately fled by sea, presumably to Japan; what reception awaited them was unknown, as Sankoku-era Japan had cut virtually all ties with China. (some also suggested they might have fled to southeastern Asia, but no fleet of Korean ships had been sighted along the Chinese coastline, so this seemed unlikely) The few Joseon who had been left behind were executed, of course, and for the time being Korea was brought under direct Chinese rule.

The Chinese victory was total and complete.

(translation: Woooo more research points! =D )

 
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Very interesting material. You do a very good job of capturing the perspective the Qing, as you are portraying them here, would have on these affairs. Subscribed.

...though I must express my deepest wishes for a free Korea and, one day, a Chinese republic :p
 
Nice job taking Korea to speed up your modernization. I'm curious whether, once you do become civilized, will still roleplay and conquer the neighboring lands or simply destroy everything in your path.
 
Very interesting material. You do a very good job of capturing the perspective the Qing, as you are portraying them here, would have on these affairs. Subscribed.

Thanks! =D I'm not sure if I am, really, since I think the notion that China would ever have chosen to annex Korea is slightly ludicrous given history. Various Chinese dynasties could easily have done so at various points in history, and all chose not to. Even the Yuan only vassalized Korea, instead of annexing it. But I needed the research points, so annexation it had to be. Glad you thought my roleplay justifications for such actions was up to par!

...though I must express my deepest wishes for a free Korea and, one day, a Chinese republic :p

Maybe if a Jacobin revolt succeeds. =P

Though I do intend to at least shift China to Prussian constitutionalism if possible, as Boxer rebels can only spawn under an absolute monarchy. Beyond that, it depends on how angry my populace gets about the lack of voting rights.

I am unsure about Korea. I might release it as a puppet later on, but it would become useless for decades because it would take forever to pass reforms and industrialize. I honestly might just heavily industrialize the Korean peninsula, then mod the save file to make KOR civilized = yes, then release it as a puppet, in a tiny bit of cheating that would be fully justified roleplaying-wise by the fact that Korea is already a modern industrialized society. If I don't edit the save file, I'm guessing all my factories would go up in smoke and KOR would still be just as backwards as when I first conquered it. But even then they'd still be a puppet. =P

Nice job taking Korea to speed up your modernization. I'm curious whether, once you do become civilized, will still roleplay and conquer the neighboring lands or simply destroy everything in your path.

I didn't include the Total Wars mod without reason. Believe me, I fully intend to go well past the infamy limit such that I trigger infamy wars, once China is strong enough to survive them. XD Beyond that, I'm not sure, it will depend on the situation. But the primary objective of my wars at that point will, of course, be to achieve a worldwide Sinocentric model.
 
I meant more in the sense of the writing style. I agree that, historically speaking, a Qing invasion of Korea - or the Panjab, for that matter - is pretty ludicrous, but as you say, research points demand it be so :p

Given that, though, you're doing a good job!
 
Part 8: The Rice Riots





The number of Confucian scholars in society had increased significantly under the Emperor's reforms, but the Qing budget is growing increasingly tight. Riots in the streets by starving artisans, alongside the resource shortages caused by said artisans starving, had forced the Qing regime to make sizable cuts in tariffs, and the budget is now in a state of almost permanent deficit. Many reformists in the government are arguing that the Empire cannot afford the expenses of the New Model Army without making serious economic reforms. But as a small minority, their voices fall on deaf ears for now, and the Emperor proceeds with his modernization plans.



The new state press of China was silent on the matter while the war raged on, but now papers are widely circulated expounding the glories of the war. In general, Chinese people are proud of the great victory after so much national humiliation; but to the Qing regime's consternation, many peasants and artisans instead responded with more riots, attacking military officials and looting the stockpiles of wealthy merchants. The riots were put down brutally, but the rage they embodied was not so easily dispelled. The Chinese people are growing tired of the "emergency" tax increases the Qing regime had imposed nearly a decade ago, and continued to enforce ever since; they had been decreed as necessary to defend against the British and Russians, but so far as the Chinese people could see, the British and Russians hadn't attacked and hunger was a greater concern for many. The growing population only exacerbated this problem; China could no longer feed itself, having to rely on food imports. Many of the people just wanted rice and lower taxes, not guns.

Nevertheless, the Emperor proceeded with the program of military reforms, ignoring both the peasantry and the Reformists and siding with the military elite. Sonin Zhanshan was showered in honors for his glorious victory, and it is announced he will lead the New Model Army charged with guarding Beijing - a great honor. And the Emperor continues the search for new ways to improve China's military prowess, even as the armies assembled.





Confucian scholars had studied European military engineering, using books imported from the West, and proposed massive improvements in Imperial fortifications. The expense of this program, however, only further infuriated starving peasants and artisans. The anti-Western unity that had arisen in the emergency of the devastating rebellion had faded, and with the riots having been silenced so brutally on several occasions, many Chinese were instead once again quietly organizing outright rebellions.

(Ow. Chinese pop militancy is over 5.00 and increasing)



But the Qing continued their modernization efforts, indeed accepting further European military missions. With their assistance, the Qing forces soon mastered the usage of the flintlock rifle armament.





Meanwhile, an ambassador from Belgium arrived to join the Foreign Legation Quarter in Beijing, apparently recognized by the British and others as a "Great Power." Oddly, many of the barbarian ambassadors appear to be whispering disparaging words about Spain, and outright failing to invite them to diplomatic meetings. The Qing ambassadors simply dismiss this as another foreign eccentricity.

Soon, the New Model Armies begin to assemble. The Emperor needs proof, though, of their ability, to help justify the inordinate expense to the Chinese elite.



(I wonder who the next target might be... =P )

A small rebellion breaks out in Panjab, but nothing of serious concern.



As the Emperor builds support for a Chinese claim to Dai Nam, news arrived - the earlier truce between Burma and the British has expired, and the British have moved to complete the annexation of Burma. The Burmese begged for Chinese aid in desperation, but the Chinese ignore the cry; all of Burma was the sovereign territory of the British Empire, under the earlier Sino-British treaty. Dai Nam and Cambodia, however, answer the call to arms and marched to aid their fellow nation in the heroic (but utterly and completely doomed) struggle against the foreign devils.

With the British in a state of war with Dai Nam, the Emperor knows the British could not possibly object militarily to a Chinese invasion of Dai Nam. The time has come, the Emperor soon announced. The north of Dai Nam had been part of China in the distant past, he declared, in the old dynasties; and the time had come for Qing to exercise their divine right, and take back Dai Nam, this time uniting all of it under China's rule!

 
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Just wanted to pop in and say that I've read a few of chapters thus far, and am enjoying what you have going on. Although not yet fully caught up, just wanted to let my presence be known and say fine job so far! Looking forward to catching up completely and following the rest of your AAR.

Cheers!
 
Just wanted to pop in and say that I've read a few of chapters thus far, and am enjoying what you have going on. Although not yet fully caught up, just wanted to let my presence be known and say fine job so far! Looking forward to catching up completely and following the rest of your AAR.

Cheers!

Thanks! I just added a table of contents as well. ^^
 
Part 9: The Vietnam War

In older dynasties, such as the Han dynasty, and for a brief period even the Ming dynasty, Dai Nam has been a part of Chinese territory. However, enforcing Chinese authority in Vietnam had always been difficult at best - the Ming rule over Dai Nam had lasted only 20 years before a rebellion drove them out. Even the Mongols themselves had been foiled in their attempts to do anything more than turn Dai Nam into a tributary, during the Yuan dynasty. Despite the small size of their nation, the people of Dai Nam had proven time and time again to have a fiercely independent spirit that defied all attempts by various Chinese dynasties to assimilate them into China proper. If the New Model Armies succeeded in crushing that spirit, it would bring great glory to the Qing, validate his attempts to modernize the military before its detractors, and prove to the Europeans that the Chinese army was now a force to be feared. Or so he believed, at least. The Emperor continues expanding the military, and orders the commission of a small transport fleet, as preparations for war commence.

Oddly, the Chinese peasantry is less enthusiastic about the preparations for war then the Emperor is. A massive peasant uprising has broken out, with over 36,000 angry Chinese having risen in rebellion and laid siege to Chenzhou. There is no one grievance uniting them - many are starving peasants, infuriated by high taxes. Others are bankrupt artisans, who blame the Qing for their financial woes. Others are anti-Manchu dissidents seeking an end to ethnic oppression by the Manchu. But uniting all of them is a common belief that the Emperor's reforms, and his openness to foreigners, were the wrong path, and a desire to return things back to the way they were. They all agreed, in their eyes, the Qing had lost the Mandate of Heaven.



The Emperor did not even know any of this, though. All his agents reported was disorder caused by ungrateful lawless peasants, who sought mob rule and looted all they touched. General Fu Shangzhi, commander of the third division of the New Model Army, was dispatched to restore order in Chenzhou. However, Fu Shangzhi's expectations of an easy victory, inspired by the Emperor's instructions, were ill-concieved - the peasants were much more heavily armed and organized than a normal riot, and casualties on both sides were enormous. Worse, the "peasants" maintained their organization even after the battle was ended, and Shangzhi had to chase them down in Yingzhou before he was able to disperse the rebels permanently.



From captured prisoners, Shangzhi obtained strong evidence that anti-Manchu members of the local aristocracy had helped organize and arm the rebellion and presented these findings to the Emperor - a few arrests were made, but overall the Emperor had more pressing matters at hand.



Many foreign diplomats registered protest at the Chinese invasion plans, particularly the Russians and the French; the French reportedly had their own designs on Vietnam, and the Russians continued to view Qing as their rivals. However, the British were forced to remain silent, due to the fact that they were themselves at war with Vietnam, and defending their enemies would have been seen as absurd. The Qing diplomats cleverly took advantage of this, justifying their invasion to the Europeans on the grounds that Dai Nam had violated Britain's rightful sovereignty over Burma, and that the Chinese would punish Dai Nam for their interference. As Dai Nam was a tributary of China, after all, it fell to China to ensure the Vietnamese government complied with China's foreign agreements.

Regardless of China's increasing international infamy and various domestic rebellions, the Emperor went ahead with preparing to attack Dai Nam.

The navy of Dai Nam was nonexistent - reports indicated the British Royal Navy had annihilated it with ease.



Thus, the Emperor and his generals plan a two-way invasion - the first division of the New Model Army, under General Oboi Xiangying, would attack from the sea, and cut Dai Nam in two. Meanwhile, irregular militias from the Empire's substates would mount an invasion from the north, aimed at the capital, Hanoi. A similar plan had once been tried by the Yuan, in hopes of surround their Vietnamese enemies; the plan had failed spectacularly, but the Daougang Emperor hopes modern weapons technology would prove a decisive advantage.

It soon became clear that the invasion would need to move urgently, as the British finished crushing Burma and announced their intention to establish a colony in Dai Nam as punishment for their "unprovoked aggression" against the British Empire. If China could not finish the war quickly, British forces might steal their victory from under their noses.



The rulers of Dai Nam had been scrambling to attempt construction of a new navy in the face of the British invasion, but it was too little too late as Qing forces were spotted offshore.



The Qing navy made port in Hue and laid siege to the local fortifications, seeking to establish a base of operations before they moved deep into the jungle. Meanwhile, militias swiftly took over Hanoi, with minimal fighting. The Dai Nam armed forces had left their homes practically unguarded, in their heroic but misguided efforts to aid Burma.

Qing scouts spotted fierce fighting between the remnants of Dai Nam's army and the British in Siam, and this only further intensified the pressure on Oboi Xiangying to finish the war with lightning speed, before the British could push through the jungles or send a naval invasion. The war had begun on April 8, 1847 - Hanoi fell on June 2, after less than a month. In August, the Qing had their first real battle, against Dai Nam's vassal, Cambodia.



With that swift victory, all hope for Dai Nam seemed lost, as the Qing forces laid siege to the last two holdouts of Dai Nam.



Inspired by the victories, the Emperor announced yet further reforms, which used advice from British advisors to create a more modernized system of officer recruitment and training, and to reduce class discrimination in the selection of officers. This infuriated many in the military, but the Emperor's announcement of a drastic increase in military spending and salaries helped stem the resentment.



Soon, the war was over, and the Qing had conquered Dai Nam before the British could arrive. British forces on the ground were furious at being thwarted, but the British government in London was mainly just impressed at the shocking speed and success of the conquest, and many proposed stronger ties with China. A few British officials were even beginning to say that China was well on the path to becoming "civilized," and that the British should assist them in doing so. Others were simply worried about the severe threat to India China's New Model Armies could pose, and believed friendly relations with China were a necessity to secure Britain's interests. Still, though, the British looked down on China as an inferior; they infuriatingly demanded China allow Cambodia independence, in order to appease furious hawks in the British army and government. The Chinese consented to the demand.



Still, with the victory, it seemed the Emperor, and China's, prestige was assured. The New Model Army had proven its worth (or so the Emperor declared, despite the war ending with barely any resistance by Dai Nam and only a single real battle). In the celebration of the great victory, the Emperor announced a mass commutation of all life sentences for those imprisoned in Chinese prisons (at the urging of liberal advisers who felt this would keep the peasants happy and prevent further riots). The actual effects were minimal, as most people so imprisoned simply had their sentences commuted to decades in prison rather than life, but politically this convinced many Chinese peasants and soldiers that the Emperor was gracious and merciful - or so the Emperor hoped, at least.



For the people of Dai Nam, it was a time of national mourning and humiliation - their allies had been colonized, their cities looted, their armies annihilated, as two competing empires fell upon them at once. And so the long history of Vietnamese independence came to an end - for now, at least.

(wooo more research points!)
 
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How many more targets do you have for free research points before you worry about antagonizing a European power? I could see your rebels breaking into your armory and become the New Model Rebels. Then, putting them down might be a bit problematic.