Part 30: The Long March, Part 2
Outside Africa, America has declared war on Mexico yet again, seeking a state in northern Mexico.
And the Emperor has completed diplomatic preparations for war with the pretender Caliphate of Sokoto.
And the Empire continues efforts to crush the anarcho-liberal revolt, finally succeeding in crushing the last remnants. The Qing casualties were relatively small, as most of the rebels were quite poorly armed and equipped. But nevertheless, total Chinese deaths numbered well over a hundred thousand dead and wounded. The horrific death toll has helped build pressure on the Qing government to officially repeal restrictions on public meetings, but for now the Emperor does no such thing.
But anyway, back to the Long March!
Mingzhu Xingde was very impressed during his stay in Buganda. While the Bugandans were technologically backwards, their culture was very sophisticated. They were still of course uncivilized barbarians who needed to brought into the tianxia, but one thing was clear - the European attitude that all the peoples of Africa were subhuman animals or demons was absurd to the point of being laughable. Animals could never have built such a sophisticated society. When the mission had first embarked, Mingzhu Xingde, Zhao Linge, and the rest of the Qing military elite had not really cared at all about the social justice championed by many liberal Qing philosophers; who argued China had a duty to save Africa from the European barbarians. That was seen by the military elite, and indeed the Emperor himself, as nothing more than an excuse to justify Qing expansionism to the masses. But having met varied Africans peoples during the journey, and especially meeting the more sophisticated Bugandans, he grew increasingly infuriated at the European philosophy of white supremacist racism, and so did many of the other officers and soldiers who accompanied him; to classify an entire continent of people as subhuman animals and demons was a philosophy so barbaric that Mingzhu Xingde could barely even comprehend it.
And so after a week or so of rest, with renewed determination, Mingzhu Xingde began preparation to resume the march, after informing the Kabaka that another Chinese army of similar size would be along shortly. Muteesa I's emissary was again given a small guard, to escort them back to Hobyo. Muteesa I requested a Chinese officer stay behind to assist the Bugandans in modernizing their military - Mingzhu Xingde agreed, in exchange for more guides and translators to assist the Chinese on their journey.
The Qing next arrived at the borders of Bunyoro, Buganda's neighbor. The Bunyoro monarch, Omukama Kyebambe IV of Bunyoro, refused China entry, perceiving them to be allied with his enemy Buganda. Mingzhu Xingde faced a choice; find an alternate route around the kingdom, or invade Bunyoro. Less than enthusiastic about having his men die en masse to attrition while his guides figured out an alternate route, he chose the latter option, and a brief and decisive war ensued.
Mingzhu Xingde soon sent an emissary to back to Buganda; the emissary brought along Omukama Kyebambe IV as a prisoner, and informed the Kabaka of Buganda that Bunyoro was henceforth his vassal. This was phrased as a gift from the benevolent Qing Emperor for China's new tributary. After raiding the (former) country's surplus food supply, the Chinese moved on further.
The Chinese soon made contact with the Zande people, a more tribal civilization northeast of the Kingdom of Kongo, whose economy consisted almost entirely of subsistence agriculture. They were awed at the splendor of the Chinese army, and happily agreed to trade them what little surplus food they had. In exchange, the Qing army gave them a few luxury goods, but mainly provided the Zande with modern firearms and a few modern agricultural tools. Zande oracles also reluctantly asked for Chinese aid in curing a few Zande who had fallen victim to "witchcraft." The Chinese doctors were able to successfully save several lives from the plague... er, witchcraft infecting them, earning the gratitude of many of the Zande. A few tribal elders and oracles agreed to pay tribute to the Chinese Emperor as thanks; a small Qing guard was assigned to escort them back to Hobyo, to join the others making their way to Zhao Linge. Others agreed to work for the Qing as guides, and the Qing proceeded west.
The Baka people inhabited the jungles the Qing now traversed - they were hunter-gatherers without any formal power structure, and certainly not enough surplus food to feed such a large army. Still, Chinese doctors were surprised by the effectiveness of their herbal medicine, and learned many things from them in the weeks of passing through Baka lands. The Qing managed to persuade a few Baka skilled in these medical arts to visit the Emperor's court in Beijing, luring them with tales of great splendor; the medical knowledge they possessed would hopefully help advance Chinese medicine and save lives. Hobyo was too far away now for the Qing to send them back with an escort, and so the Baka herbalists stayed with the Qing army.
The Qing also met many Bantu subsistence farmers and villagers scattered across the region, but again, none of them had nearly enough surplus food to feed an entire army, though they gladly sold what they could in exchange for modern agricultural tools.
The Qing forces were in dire straits - if they continued like this, the army would run out of food by the time they reached the Caliphate of Sokoto. An attack on Sokoto by an army that would have had to eat its own horses to survive was judged unlikely to succeed, and so a change of plans was needed. Qing officers debated looting for food, and leaving all the locals to starve; but the idea was rejected as immoral and impractical, being likely to result in the entire countryside (and the guides the Chinese armies relied on) rising up against them. Instead, the Chinese armies turned north, to pay a visit to the Baguirmi Sultanate, southeast of Lake Chad.
The Baguirmi Sultanate welcomed the Qing forces into their borders, and the Chinese soon arrived in his capital, Massenya. The Sultan, Abu-Sekkin Mohammed IV, had heard tales of the Chinese army's great exploits, and had no wish to become the next target. He also hoped the Qing might be of assistance against his increasingly belligerent rivals to the east, the Wadai Empire, who were slowly reducing the Baguirmi Sultanate into a vassal.
Mingzhu Xingde decided they could not take such a large detour at this juncture, and so instead offered to have a few officers and soldiers stay behind to grant military advice. In exchange, Abu-Sekkin Mohammed IV would send an emissary with the army, to pay tribute to the Xianfeng Emperor. The Sultan reluctantly accepted this proposal, unhappy though he was about possibly compromising his nation's independence even further. Meanwhile, the Qing traded away most of what they had left in luxury goods and modern tools in exchange for enough food to last them until they could regroup with the second Qing army and invade Sokoto.
After a brief rest, the Chinese army again set out, soon arriving at the borders of Sokoto, and dispatched an emissary to present Qing demands to the Caliph. The demands were worded as aggressively and humiliatingly as possible, as the Chinese had no intention of ending this without coming to blows; their orders had been to start a war if at all possible. The demands included that Sokoto surrender its independence and become a Chinese vassal, and that the Caliph abdicate his title and henceforth rule only as Sultan. Caliph Ahmadu Atiku would also be expected to personally pay a visit to Beijing to personally kow-tow before the Emperor and pay tribute.
Unsurprisingly, the Caliph refused the absurd demands, securing China its diplomatic pretext for war.
Soon, the second Chinese army, under Songuttu Linge, also arrived.
And so the stage was set for war. Mingzhu Xingde also ceded tactical command of his branch of the army to General Tong Kang'an, who was judged much better equipped to handle such an invasion.
And so the Chinese army invaded Sokoto, concluding the Long March and beginning the First Sino-Sokot War.
The Ottomans and the North German Federation both joined the war effort; neither sent any soldiers, but the German navy would prove invaluable to getting Chinese reinforcements to Sokoto to replace the thousands who had died of attrition during the Long March.
Meanwhile, back in China, an increasing knowledge of biology led to a blossoming of belief in biological determinism on the part of Chinese philosophers and scientists. (woooo this is the tech I need for Darwinism! Now I just need to wait for the invention to fire)
And the Xianfeng Emperor had signed a renewed alliance with the Ottomans. (thus why they joined the war against Sokoto, above)
Meanwhile, the Dutch declared war on the Sultan of Aceh. The Sultan appealed to the Ottoman Empire for aid, citing an old treaty that named Aceh an Ottoman protectorate; signed back in the 16th century, before the Ottomans became the Sick Man of Europe. The Ottoman Empire's dictator replied that all such treaties were rendered null and void by the Revolution. In desperation, the Sultan appealed to anyone in the international community for aid, knowing Aceh alone had no hope of defeating the Netherlands. The American consul expressed sympathy, but did nothing. The other European great powers did not care; France didn't even bother to reply.
However, the Xianfeng Emperor immediately declared unwavering support for Aceh's independence from Dutch control, and immediately sent war subsidies and advisors to assist Aceh. The Emperor judged this was an excellent opportunity to show Europe that European colonial expansion in Asia was at an end. The Emperor condemned the unprovoked Dutch aggression, and immediately sent messages to the North German Federation requesting German aid in the matter. The Federation had replied no to the Sultan's initial cry for help, but on the appeal of the Xianfeng Emperor, the Germans were forced to reconsider the matter, and the North German Federation began urging the Dutch to end their aggression alongside China. The Dutch refused the demands, and tension began to steadily build as the Dutch proceeded with an invasion.
And even as the invasion of Sokoto continued, the Chinese formally declared war on the Netherlands after they refused a joint Sino-German-Ottoman ultimatum to end the war.
The Germans and Ottomans also joined the war effort.
Meanwhile in Sokoto, the Caliph's garrisons had fallen swiftly to superior Chinese firepower, and he had not dared attack the superior Chinese forces in the mountains. Without having fought even a single battle, the Caliph was forced to capitulate. Sokot Benin was ceded to China as a military base, and the Caliph henceforth called himself Sultan; however, the Sultan did not cede sovereignty to Qing. The exact words of the treaty were along the lines of "the benevolent Xianfeng Emperor allows the Sultan to keep his lands as a show of generosity."
And thus the Chinese forces retired to Benin and relaxed at last, glad the Long March was finally over; even as a new war raged against the Dutch.
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