There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 292 Foreigners
The third day of the first month of the second year of Xinghua (the fourth year of Jiaqing).

Emperor Qianlong did not die on that day. The old bastard was still alive. In fact, thanks to the two noble ladies from the Fucha family who looked very much like Empress Xiaoxianchun, sent by Emperor Jiaqing, he became even more energetic, as if he had been given a second spring in his life.

Fortunately, due to the snowfall during the cold winter, there has been no bad news coming back from the south for several months. Even the White Lotus Sect in Henan is like a grasshopper in autumn, about to be completely quelled.

With the advice of his two senior ministers, Wang Jie and Liu Yong, Emperor Jiaqing seized the opportunity to flatter Emperor Qianlong: "In the current situation in the south, the Han rebels in Huguang have already made their first attempt, but their momentum has waned and will eventually be exhausted. At this opportune moment, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Li Fenghan, and the Commander-in-Chief of Jiangnan, Wang Bing, have personally led the Jiangnan Army of 200,000 men to jointly suppress the rebels by land and water. The Han rebels are already at their wits' end, and their annihilation is just around the corner."

"Furthermore, although the White Lotus Rebellion in various provinces suddenly broke out and devastated the local areas, with the assistance of loyal ministers and generals such as Sichuan Governor Yi Mian, and relying on a scorched-earth policy, the rebels were successfully driven back and forced to continue their exile. By the end of this year, the White Lotus Rebellion in Henan will be completely quelled by the sweeping force of the Eight Banners of Zhili under the Great Qing."

"This is all thanks to the Emperor Emeritus's strategic planning, which enabled him to add another unparalleled achievement to the existing Ten Great Military Victories!"

After several months of recuperation, Emperor Qianlong had almost fully recovered. Although he still couldn't speak much, he had no problem with basic writing and reading memorials.

Hearing Jiaqing's flattery, especially the last sentence, it almost struck a chord with Qianlong.

During his sixty-year reign (sixty-three years), Emperor Qianlong was most proud of his "Ten Great Military Achievements".

Now, Jiaqing uses the "Ten Great Military Achievements" to flatter Qianlong, and forcibly turns the White Lotus Rebellion into Qianlong's achievements, even adding it directly to the "Ten Great Military Achievements" as Qianlong's "Eleven Great Military Achievements".

Emperor Qianlong, who was always fond of grand achievements, was immediately overjoyed: "Heh...heh..."

Because it was still early and Heshen had not yet entered the palace to pay his respects, no one could understand Qianlong's rambling nonsense.

Although Emperor Jiaqing did not understand, he could pretend to understand.

He came to pay his respects to Emperor Qianlong early this morning, before Heshen did, not just to flatter him or show filial piety.

Emperor Jiaqing said, "Your subject humbly requests permission to hold the Emperor's Birthday Celebration in the sixty-fifth year of his reign, so as to announce to the world the civil and military achievements of our Great Qing Dynasty and the Emperor Emeritus!"

This was Jiaqing's true purpose: to use the pretext of the so-called "eleventh complete" military achievement to celebrate Qianlong's ninetieth birthday.

Emperor Qianlong is already 89 years old this year, and will be 90 next year, assuming he lives to this time. The 90th birthday celebration of a monarch is an extraordinary affair, requiring preparations to begin more than a year in advance.

As for whether Emperor Qianlong would agree?
Wang Jie and Liu Yong's analysis for Jiaqing was that the retired emperor would definitely agree. As long as Jiaqing dared to make the request, the retired emperor would surely go along with it and agree to the matter.

Although Emperor Qianlong had never expressed this intention before, they were still very certain of their judgment.

The reason is simple: Qianlong's great-grandson, Aisin-Gioro Zaixi, got married last year, and this marriage was personally decreed by Qianlong before he suffered a stroke.

Such attention is not something an ordinary prince can enjoy.

Zaixi was indeed no ordinary prince. He was the great-grandson of Yonghuang, the eldest son of Emperor Qianlong, and also the eldest great-great-grandson of the eldest branch of the Qianlong line.

During his more than eighty years of life, Emperor Qianlong not only became the longest-lived emperor in Chinese history and almost the longest-reigning emperor, but he also lived to see his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi, and welcomed his great-great-grandson before abdicating.

For Emperor Qianlong, this was the fulfillment of his greatest vanity and fantasy: the country was at its peak during his reign, with a strong national power, and he had also destroyed the Dzungar Khanate, a long-standing enemy that his ancestors had been unable to defeat for three generations. At the same time, he was able to have five generations living together before he abdicated.

Therefore, for Qianlong, having already achieved such great merit and received such good fortune, Heaven should be able to grant him even more blessings!

As for what Qianlong wanted, his political dreams had been largely realized. What remained was simply the extravagant hope of having six or seven generations living together, so that future generations would forever remember him as a legendary emperor.

Seven generations under one roof is probably out of the question, as Emperor Qianlong was aware of his age, but six generations under one roof is still a possibility.

Therefore, Emperor Qianlong placed high hopes on Zaixi, who was only fifteen years old last year, and personally issued an imperial decree to arrange a marriage so that this great-grandson could have a child as soon as possible and give him a grandson (the son of the great-grandson).

Emperor Qianlong already longed for six generations to live under one roof, so he naturally wouldn't refuse a birthday celebration for his ninetieth birthday. It should be said that Qianlong believed he had basically recovered, although his speech was still somewhat slurred, but he thought living another ten or eight years wouldn't be a problem.

Upon hearing that Emperor Jiaqing was going to hold a grand birthday celebration for him and commemorate his "eleventh complete military campaign," Emperor Qianlong maintained a relatively calm expression, but his slightly rapid breathing betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

After a moment, Qianlong nodded slightly, his mouth agape, and said, "Ah...ho..."

After a long pause, Aba couldn't come up with a coherent explanation, so he simply picked up a brush and wrote a few small characters on the paper.

The eunuch serving beside him quickly presented the calligraphy copybook to Emperor Jiaqing.

When Emperor Jiaqing took it, he saw a pretentious note that read, "Keep everything simple."

Jiaqing raised an eyebrow, already feeling extremely disgusted. If his father, the Khan, were truly so frugal, he should refuse to hold a grand birthday celebration and relinquish power to retire as soon as possible, instead of keeping him here as a puppet.

The emperor himself, the dignified emperor of the Qing Dynasty, could neither live in the Qianqing Palace (the emperor's bedroom) nor in the Yuanmingyuan Garden. Even the people of Beijing did not know that the emperor had changed, and the reign title was still Qianlong.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Jiaqing breathed a sigh of relief, quickly composed himself, and cupped his hands, saying, "Your subject has heard that Heshen and Grand Secretary He are quite experienced in organizing the Emperor's Birthday Celebration and the Thousand Elders Banquet. Therefore, your subject would like to consult with Heshen on how to coordinate the preparations for this Emperor's Birthday Celebration."

Jiaqing's true purpose was finally revealed, and it was also Wang Jie's idea that led him to this conclusion.

Wang Jie knew Heshen well, knowing that Heshen's influence had spread to the Six Ministries, the Grand Council, and the Southern Study. To truly bring down Heshen's power, mere corruption, abuse of power, and forming cliques would not suffice; the only way was to address the root cause—the retired emperor.

However, the retired emperor trusted Heshen very much, so if they wanted to bring Heshen down, they couldn't smear him; instead, they had to say nice things to him and use a method similar to flattering him to death.

The first step was to have Heshen prepare for the Emperor Emeritus's birthday celebration.

This was a grand celebration for the Emperor Emeritus's birthday. No matter how powerful Heshen was, his power came from the Emperor Emeritus's tacit approval and support. Therefore, he had no choice but to accept the imperial decree and even volunteer to procure and prepare the supplies.

Emperor Qianlong nodded slightly: "Ah...that's fine."

Emperor Qianlong had grown accustomed to using Heshen, entrusting him with the Thousand Elders Banquet and the Emperor's Birthday Celebration, and Heshen always managed to organize events to his satisfaction.

It can be said that when it comes to controlling Qianlong's moods and preferences, even Jiaqing, as his son, was not as good as Heshen.

Otherwise, why would some unofficial histories say that Heshen was the reincarnation of a concubine of Emperor Qianlong who had once loved Emperor Yongzheng, which is why Emperor Qianlong trusted and valued him so much?

Having received the answer he wanted, Jiaqing was satisfied and respectfully took his leave. Qianlong's gaze was deep as he stared in the direction Jiaqing had left, a vague unease creeping into his heart, but he quickly suppressed it, confident that after sixty years on the throne, he should be able to control these troubles.

"Your Majesty, it's time for your medicine!" Qianlong's personal eunuch brought over a bowl of medicinal soup.

This was a prescription given to Emperor Qianlong by his imperial physician after he suffered a stroke; he was required to drink a bowl of it every day.

It does have some effect. Whenever Emperor Qianlong felt weak and tired, he would drink the medicinal soup and immediately regain his complexion and energy.

After finishing the medicinal soup, Emperor Qianlong had a eunuch loosen his collar shortly afterward, revealing his slightly reddish skin underneath.

He's hot!
……

Nanxiong, Guangdong.

A merchant group from Guangzhou is temporarily resting in Nanxiong City to replenish their food and supplies.

The merchant group itself was not special, but one person in particular drew attention.

Because this intriguing fellow was actually a foreigner, specifically a British merchant who, after landing in Guangzhou, traveled north with a merchant corps.

Although Henry Wilson was not high-profile, his appearance and clothing style were enough to attract the attention of the prefect of Nanxiong Prefecture as soon as he arrived in the city.

After all, neither the Qing Dynasty nor the Han Dynasty had any men who wore skirts and stockings.

Having finally managed to get rid of the prefect of Nanxiong with an excuse, Henry asked Wang Qiaosheng, the Hui merchant who had brought him there, "Wang, are you sure you can take me to see the king of your Han Kingdom?"

Wang Qiaosheng laughed and said, "Rest assured, my friend, when have I ever lied to you?"

This guy has clearly dealt with many foreigners; his speech has a strong translator's accent.

Henry nodded and said in broken Chinese, “I believe you, my friend. I came to Qing China because I heard that trade had opened up here. But your Emperor has restricted cargo ships and trade volume, and he only accepts our silver, not any of our goods. If we take the goods back, all the silver we spent on this trip will be lost to the company, and our shares will be taken over. This is a scam targeting us shareholders! A meticulously planned, huge scam!”

Wang Qiaosheng nodded at the opportune moment: "I sympathize with you, my friend. If our merchant guild were to deceive us in the same way, we would certainly be furious!"

"Thank you for your understanding and trust, woof!"

Henry smiled and said, "That's why I don't plan to go back this time either. I heard that there has been a rebellion in your Qing Kingdom. Under the tyrannical rule of your Qing emperor, a rebel king who calls himself Han has emerged. I admire your Han king very much. He is a hero of the people and leads your people to resist the tyranny of the Qing emperor. I am now very eager to meet this great King of Han!"

At this point, the words became rather blunt. Wang Qiaosheng maintained a smile on the surface, but inwardly he was already somewhat disdainful.

These barbarian barbarians really don't even understand the most basic sense of propriety. What do they mean by admiring the King of Han? They're clearly just trying their luck with the Manchus because they couldn't get through to the Manchus. So they're trying their luck with the Han and seeing if they can get any benefits from the Han.

Of course, if the Han Dynasty could truly overthrow the Qing Dynasty and transform the Qing Dynasty into the Han Dynasty, then Henry would indeed want to start with the Han Dynasty to open up the Chinese market.

After all, his greatest understanding of the Han Dynasty came from what Wang Qiaosheng had explained to him.

In order to lure this guy over, Wang Qiaosheng was willing to say anything, almost exaggerating the Han King into a saint like the Mughal Emperor.

Indeed, at least to the British, the former Mughal emperor was a saint!
They asked for no benefits whatsoever, only that British merchants offer pilgrimage and some novelties, and they would be allowed to trade freely on Indian soil, establish factories, pay no taxes, and even enslave the Shudras of India to work for free.

However, such a wonderful era is about to be gone forever.

First, the kingdom lost its North American colonies. Although it seized Canada from the French through the Seven Years' War, regained its place in the Americas, and established its maritime hegemony.

But what is lost can never be regained. The kingdom was forced to shift its main focus to the Far East colonies. As the entity responsible for the Far East colonies, the East India Company, which possessed the power to wage war, mint coins, conduct diplomacy, collect taxes, and trade—essentially equivalent to the kingdom's overseas branches—naturally became too powerful.

Henry was absolutely right. These merchants came to China, but they couldn't conduct normal trade, which could indeed be considered fraud.

However, this fraud was not the East India Company's original intention. The East India Company's original intention was to open up the Chinese market, just like it had opened up the Indian market, and to make the company's stock rise again.

This would allow the company to maintain its bribery relationship with the kingdom, return it to its former free trade status, and continue to control the kingdom's Far East colonies.

Unfortunately, all of this was destined to be just a fantasy. With Macartney's failed visit to China, almost all of his demands were rejected by Emperor Qianlong, with only Guangzhou being opened as a last resort.

This was unacceptable to Macartney, yet he felt helpless about it.

Of course, Qianlong's conservatism stemmed from both the Qing Dynasty's own reluctance to engage with the world and the excessive greed of the British.

Below is a picture of Macartney's negotiation terms with Emperor Qianlong:

Does it look familiar after watching it?
That's right, this is the blueprint for the Treaty of Nanjing after the Opium War. The British had actually wanted to do this for a long time.

And just fifty years after Macartney's failed attempt, he took action with guns.

Henry was talking to Wang Qiaosheng when suddenly Wang Qiaosheng broke out in a cold sweat. His hands trembled as he took out a copper pipe from his pocket and then pulled out a cloth bag containing tobacco mixed with a special brownish-black substance.

Simply mix the two together, put them into the pipe, light the pipe, and as the smoke swirls around him, Wang Qiaosheng immediately looks on with enjoyment as he starts puffing away.

"Woof, I'm going back now."

Henry, unfazed, didn't disturb them further and went back to his room to inventory the goods.

Wang Qiaosheng ignored him, still smoking and looking around, his mouth agape with a silly grin and drooling, as if he had seen something inexplicable.

(Historically, there are two main theories about the cause of Emperor Qianlong's death: one is that he died of natural causes, at the age of old age, and the other is that he died of poisoning. The author personally leans towards poisoning because he died too quickly. Immediately after Qianlong's death, Heshen was swiftly dealt with by Emperor Jiaqing, which was clearly premeditated, even planned in advance of Qianlong's death... Of course, this is all just my subjective speculation, so please take it with a grain of salt, and it also makes writing the book easier /doge)

(End of this chapter)