There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 419 The World
The year was the third year of the Xinghua reign of the Han Dynasty, the sixth year of the Jiaqing reign of the pseudo-Qing Dynasty, and 1801 AD.

At this pivotal year of the century, not only did China witness a momentous transformation, but the world was also rapidly transitioning towards modernization.

In January of this year, the British officially merged with the Irish and changed the country's name to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

This also initiated the first census of the United Kingdom, confirming the British ambition to dominate the world.

In the same year, Napoleon, allied with the defeated Spanish, invaded Portugal for the first time, and the Portuguese kingdom, caught in a pincer attack, was quickly defeated.

Portugal signed the Treaty of Badajoz and the Treaty of Madrid, ceding some territory, including Olivenza, to Spain and making concessions to the French regarding Portugal's overseas colonial interests.

The Kingdom of Portugal was on the verge of collapse. The Portuguese governor of the Goa colony in India was already overwhelmed by the domestic situation and had no time to deal with the rebellion of the Macanese in Macau in the Far East.

……

Annam.

The ongoing civil war among the three kings within the Xishan Army gradually eroded its internal foundation of rule and severely depleted its military strength.

Nguyen Phuc Anh, the Nguyen ruler of Annam whose kingdom had been destroyed, seized the opportunity to return to Jiaonan with the support of foreign powers such as Siam, France, and Portugal, in preparation for the restoration of his kingdom.

Last year, with the support of Mo Guanfu, the "King of the East Sea" on the island of Tây Sơn in South China, the army fought to a near standstill with the returning Nguyễn Phúc Ánh's army.

Although the Tay Son army suffered severe losses due to internal strife, and Nguyen Phuc Anh had the support of foreign powers and local strongmen in Bac Ha, the difference in combat strength between the two sides was not too significant.

This year, Nguyen Phuc Anh will engage in a decisive battle with Nguyen Quang Tuan of the Tay Son army at Ao Hai Kou (Thuan An Hai Kou).

In this decisive battle, Nguyen Phuc Anh's army won a narrow victory, while the Tay Son army suffered a crushing defeat, almost being wiped out. Even the pirate groups such as the "Dong Hai King" who supported the Tay Son army were captured by Nguyen Phuc Anh's army.

The small kingdom of Annam is about to undergo another dynastic change, but the new Nguyen dynasty is essentially a restoration of the country with the support of foreign powers.

The French contributed the most, so inevitably, the Nguyen Kingdom became a puppet protectorate of the French.

However, the Han army was not without a chance. The Han army in Guangdong was about to swallow up the entire province. If they continued to advance into Guangxi, they could establish a border with Annam.

If things go as expected, the Tay Son army in Annam can hold out for another year before being driven to Thang Long (Kochi) next year, at which point they will definitely seek help from the Han Dynasty.

Historically, on the eve of the destruction of the Tay Son army, Nguyen Phuc Anh sent envoys to the Qing court for help. Fearing that the Qing court would actually help, he also sent envoys to intercept them and presented evidence of the Tay Son army's collusion with pirates in South China.

Emperor Jiaqing was furious, but also did not want to waste money and resources sending troops to save the nearly wiped-out Tay Son army, so he recognized Nguyen Phuc Anh as the ruler of Annam.

But now that the situation has shifted to the Han Dynasty, we need to do something about it.

At present, the Han Dynasty is temporarily unable to attend to matters concerning Annam, but this does not mean that the Han Dynasty can tolerate Nguyen Phuc Anh's unification of Annam.

Anyone could rule Annam and be the King of Annam for a few years, except for Nguyen Phuc Anh.

Because this guy was a French puppet, allowing him to unify Annam meant that the Han Dynasty had a French colonial protectorate to the south.

……

Across the ocean, on the American continent.

This year marks the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and one of the most powerful presidents in American history.

During his presidency, President Jefferson established the tradition that U.S. presidents cannot serve consecutive terms, while simultaneously strengthening the U.S. political structure of separation of powers.

By signing a series of foreign and land laws, the westward expansion of the United States was established, providing a legal basis for subsequent US foreign expansion.

However, it was also at this timeline that the Americans and British became enemies again. This was because the Napoleonic Wars were about to break out on the European continent, and Napoleon was about to brandish his whip over the European nations.

In order to organize an anti-French coalition and retaliate for weakening France, the British blockaded and attacked French overseas colonies and plundered any French ships. Coincidentally, Americans were doing business with the French, and their ships were also plundered by the British.

Unable to resist, the Americans simply signed the Embargo Act, implementing an American-style isolationist policy that prohibited American ships from going to sea to do business with foreign merchants.

……

Spain.

Although Spain just joined forces with the French to invade Portugal this year, in reality, Spain and Portugal are both in the same boat.

Portugal anticipated being conquered by the French six years later, and the Portuguese regent, João VI, fled to Brazil, becoming the first emperor of the Brazilian Empire.

In the same year that Portugal fell, Spain was invaded and occupied by French troops, and Napoleon installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.

The Spanish could no longer tolerate the French, and the War of Independence broke out the following year. This war cost Spain dearly, and it almost lost all its overseas colonies.

This is also an opportunity for the Han Dynasty. While Napoleon in the west is wielding his whip and ruthlessly lashing out at the Western powers, the Han Dynasty can happily take over Spain's colonies in the Far East.

Speaking of which, Spain seems to be the only independent country in the world that is entirely composed of autonomous communities.

……

Japan.

The Edo Shogunate has been passed down to the eleventh generation, and the current Shogun is Tokugawa Ienari, who is also the adopted son of the previous Shogun, Tokugawa Ieharu.

Because Tokugawa Ieharu had no sons, Tokugawa Ienari was able to succeed him as shogun.

These Japanese shoguns were quite strange; they often had no sons or descendants, leading to the extinction of their direct bloodlines. For example, Tokugawa Ienari's great-grandfather, Tokugawa Yoshimune, inherited the shogunate from a collateral branch of the Tokugawa family.

The direct bloodline of Tokugawa Ieyasu had all died out by the seventh generation, which was almost the same as that of the Qing dynasty, truly befitting their "father-son" relationship.

The current Japanese government has just undergone the "Kansei Reforms" of the senior councilor Matsudaira Sadanobu.

The fundamental purpose of this reform was to try to allow the shogunate to continue the national currency system, but in practice it was a step backward in history. It forcibly overturned the reforms of the previous shogun, the old middle-aged man, and restored the rice-based economy, making the gold and silver currency of the era of the old shogun, the rice-based economy, and the rice-based currency.

The result of this wave of reforms was that the shogunate's finances were not alleviated, and social conflicts were not resolved; on the contrary, they became more intense and difficult.

Tokugawa Ienari was deeply dissatisfied with this, and a few years ago he forced the senior councilor Matsudaira Sadanobu to resign and return to his hometown.

Yes, Matsudaira Sadayoki's kinship with the Chinese is that he is the uncle of Shogun Tokugawa Ienari, because his grandfather was also Tokugawa Yoshimune.

Having driven away the senior councilor Matsudaira Sadanobu, the Tokugawa Ienari shogunate did not attempt to solve social problems, but instead simply embarked on a hedonistic mode.

The Japanese common people, samurai, merchants, and daimyo are dissatisfied? So be it! After all, General Ienari has worked so hard for the shogunate for so long, what's wrong with him enjoying himself a little?
In short, during the time of Tokugawa Ienari's adoptive father, the shogunate adopted a radical and progressive approach, forcibly promoting urbanization reforms. However, in the early period of Ienari's shogunate, during the reform era of the senior councilor Matsudaira Sadanobu, the shogunate became extremely conservative, attempting to turn back the clock and prolong its existence.

Tokugawa Ienari, however, was different; he neither moved forward nor backward.

They lacked both the courage to reform and open up the country and the determination to suppress everything in order to maintain the rule of the shogunate.

His main strategy was to stall, to delay as long as possible, since he wanted to enjoy himself and just wanted to make sure the shogunate didn't collapse during his generation.

At that time, Tsarist Russia was already expanding into Hokkaido, Japan, and the native Ezo people of Hokkaido were trading with both Japan and Tsarist Russia.

Foreign merchant ships, including those of the British, were also taking turns testing the Japanese shogunate's bottom line on opening the country.

However, the Ienari Shogunate refused to open the country to foreign trade and also refused to learn any foreign technologies, including the advanced firearms and cannons brought back from overseas by scholars from the Netherlands.

(End of this chapter)