I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 235

While Napoleon was plotting to hand over the entire Central Plains to his lord.

[Large-scale riots erupt in Qinghai Province]

[The government army suffers defeat against Yi rebels in Yunnan Province]

[Suppression forces are overwhelmed by rebels calling themselves the National Liberation Front in Guangdong Province]

As these urgent reports flooded in, Emperor Jiaqing’s face visibly aged.

Frankly, he hadn’t paid much attention to the sporadic rebellions of ethnic minorities.

He had decided that blocking the ambitions of the Western powers was the most pressing issue.

In addition to that, he had to monitor the movements of Vietnam, Joseon [Korea], and Japan.

Vietnam and Japan, in particular, were subtly comparing France and Qing, which inevitably drew his attention.

Although Joseon harbored resentment towards the Westerners and was unlikely to defect, if Vietnam sided with the Western powers, the imperial family’s position would become precarious.

The imperial authority had already plummeted since the Opium War; what if that trend accelerated?

In the worst-case scenario, the order of the Central Plains, maintained until now, might be fundamentally disrupted.

Therefore, Emperor Jiaqing couldn’t afford to divert his attention.

Fortunately, in the case of Vietnam, he received a guarantee from France that they would recognize Qing as their suzerain state [a state that controls another state’s foreign policy or relations].

The Governor-General of Liangguang [a region encompassing Guangdong and Guangxi provinces] also assured him that the newly appointed Governor of Hong Kong was more reasonable than expected.

Thanks to this, Emperor Jiaqing concluded that he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But after this brief respite, the situation was turning ominous.

This country was so vast that it took a long time for incidents in remote regions to reach the capital.

Even if the administrative system were functioning perfectly, which it wasn’t, it would be difficult to manage.

Moreover, officials commonly downplayed the scale of damage or even falsely reported incidents to avoid responsibility.

As a result, by the time Emperor Jiaqing heard the news directly, he was overwhelmed by the accidents pouring in from all directions.

“How many rebel forces have been confirmed so far? Five?”

“Qinghai, Yunnan, Guangdong, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Fujian, Jiangsu, and even Mongolia are showing signs of unrest, so there are eight confirmed locations.”

“…The reports didn’t reach the capital until things had reached this point?”

“Well, they did come in, but…”

Recalling his memories, reports had indeed arrived from various regions.

However, the passages Emperor Jiaqing had read were all optimistic, stating that the rebellions were being suppressed smoothly.

“Since when has our Eight Banners army [Qing military organization] become so weak that it can’t even subdue these rebels properly? I clearly told you to reorganize the system after the White Lotus sect [a religious and political movement] wreaked havoc!”

“S, sorry. The majority opinion was that restoring the damage from the last war should take precedence…”

“So, was the damage properly restored?”

“…”

The spacious audience hall, filled with high-ranking officials, fell silent.

Emperor Jiaqing now understood.

The reason Qing was struggling was not a lack of tax revenue or low productivity.

It was because too many officials were only thinking about embezzling.

It is often said that treacherous subjects swarm when a country is doomed, but could that time have already arrived?

He didn’t want to believe it.

Just before Emperor Jiaqing’s accession, the Qing Dynasty had experienced a golden age under the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Emperors.

But if the country had deteriorated like this in just over a decade, who was to blame?

If things continued like this, Emperor Jiaqing might find his name on the list of the worst emperors in history.

“Don’t just stand by and watch; immediately replenish the troops and form a suppression force! There’s no need to worry about the English or French armies, so if we deploy our main force, we should be able to suppress them easily, right?”

“No matter how hard the rebels try, they can’t match us in pure power. However, their scale and momentum are unusual, so a cautious approach is necessary.”

“How can I understand the words that even crushing a handful of rioters requires a cautious approach!”

Even the ministers of the Grand Council, the highest administrative body, were like this, and the Emperor’s anger continued to rise.

This was something unimaginable even 30 or 20 years ago.

The most shocking thing was that even in this absurd situation, the other Grand Council ministers and Grand Secretaries did not raise any objections.

In other words, everyone shared the same perception, but how could he accept this?

“…Tell me properly why a cautious approach is necessary.”

“…Yes. It’s because the rebels’ armament level is strange.”

“That’s because their forces have grown, so they must be using a considerable number of weapons that the regular army used to use.”

This is precisely why the riots must be suppressed early.

Didn’t the White Lotus sect follow a similar pattern when they stirred up the whole country?

“First, concentrate our forces on the regions where the rebel army is large and crush them one by one. If we rashly spread our forces and suffer a defeat, the situation could become more serious.”

“That is the right way to go, but… what’s unusual is not just that they are using our weapons.”

“…Then?”

“Not only are they using high-performance matchlock guns, but some are even using cannons. There have also been reports that they are aiming properly and firing. It can only be seen as someone backing them.”

Even if it’s a gun, I can understand it, but ignorant commoners accurately hitting targets with cannons?

As the Grand Council minister said, this doesn’t make sense.

It’s impossible without prior training.

And if we make that assumption, we can naturally narrow down the list of suspects.

Logically, how many people can indiscriminately distribute weapons of higher quality than those used by the Qing regular army?

Only two countries came to Emperor Jiaqing’s mind.

“Do you think the English or French are behind the rebellion?”

“…Or perhaps both.”

“So, they’re proposing peace negotiations in front and inciting other ethnic groups to revolt behind our backs?”

If that were really the case, they would be the worst bastards in the world.

Were the eyes of the Governor-General of Liangguang full of holes when he said that the Governor of Hong Kong was reasonable?

Or could it be that the Governor-General of Liangguang was blinded by French bribes and deliberately filed a false report?

“…I’m going crazy.”

“I have already issued instructions to secure and analyze the weapons used by the rebels. If it is confirmed which country’s goods they are, we should formally protest and demand that they take responsibility for this situation.”

“Conduct the investigation as such for now, and focus on suppressing the rebellion as a top priority. Keep in mind that if you don’t produce proper results, the Grand Council may be dissolved.”

“I will keep that in mind!”

The Middle Kingdom is the center of the world, and the Emperor is the master of that world.

Even though they had lost once in the war, that belief did not waver.

But what if they lost again?

What if they failed to properly suppress the rebellions in various regions?

The worst possible outcome, which he had never even imagined, flashed through his mind for a moment.

Emperor Jiaqing suddenly raised his eyes and looked up at the map depicting the vast territory of Qing.

That majestic and vast territory, where the Emperor’s majesty was spread throughout the world.

His land, which seemed as if he could reach out and grasp it in his hands at any time.

It was collapsing to the point where he didn’t know where to start.

※※※

At the same time as the Forbidden City was in turmoil and worry.

Russian Empire, Saint Petersburg.

“Minister of War.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Alexander I, who succeeded Catherine II as the new Tsar, did not hide the annoyance on his face.

His gaze was directed at the map of southwestern Asia.

According to the original plan, the Russian army should have advanced to areas close to India.

But now, they hadn’t even advanced half that far.

“Why is there still no progress in the ambitious plan to reach West India by land?”

“That’s… we had no choice but to divert our forces to the Opium War that happened recently.”

“Oh, really? Then we must have achieved brilliant results in that Opium War, right?”

“…”

The minister, remembering the disgrace of the last war, couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

“Unlike those who came by a stable sea route, our army approached by land, so there was inevitably a problem with physical strength…”

“Then you should have taken that into account when planning the operation. Isn’t that right?”

“…You are absolutely right.”

Russia had ambitiously launched various projects, but in reality, when analyzing what they had gained, doubts arose.

The ice-free port they had so desperately wanted was only half-functional without Turkey’s permission to pass through the straits [Bosporus and Dardanelles].

The ambitious plan to go directly to India was an empty promise with no foreseeable date of fulfillment.

The Opium War, in which they had intervened to make a big profit, had instead been countered by Qing, damaging only their pride.

England and France, who had opened the ports, were happily reaping the benefits of trade, but Russia hadn’t gained anything in particular.

“Any news from France?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“…Is that so? I hear that England is starting a division operation in Qing.”

“Yes. It seems they are inciting various ethnic groups scattered throughout the region to revolt. Thanks to this, Qing is said to be falling into chaos.”

“Damn it…”

England’s intentions are easily predictable.

If Qing is torn apart, who will reap all the benefits?

Of course, England, who supported the rebellion, and France, who is a collaborator.

How grateful would the ethnic groups who gained independence with England’s help feel to those who supported them?

It’s easy to make them play the role of de facto colonies without having to formally colonize them.

In addition, France was establishing exchanges with various countries in Asia.

If the center of Asia, Qing, were to collapse, they would be fully prepared to move forward.

Even if Qing doesn’t completely collapse, it’s okay.

Even if it doesn’t completely collapse, it won’t be able to reign as the master of Asia as before, so what else would it be but a paper tiger?

France and England no longer need to be aware of it.

In that case, Asia would be in the hands of Europe.

In the old days, even the physical distance was a big burden, but now even that has become much less of a burden.

They can simply use the canal dug in Egypt [Suez Canal] to easily transfer the wealth of Asia to their own countries.

In other words, if they stand idly by this time, Russia will be the only one excluded.

Even Spain and the Netherlands are taking a share by supporting France, so what are they?

In the end, Alexander I had no choice but to make a decision.

“…Tell the ambassador in France. Tell them to fulfill their duty as an ally, as we will also take action.”

“Then, Your Majesty’s intention is…”

“Yes. Contact the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. We can’t let England take everything. We will take that region.”

“If we occupy Xinjiang, we will be able to reach India soon. Will England stand still?”

If they don’t stand still.

What are they going to do?

If they pick a fight, we can just accept it.

Rather than being excluded from the festival of all Europe, he would rather become an arsonist who would burn down the entire festival.

End