The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang didn't say a word. After Kangxi finished venting his emotions and Fuquan came in, she tapped her cane.

"Xuan Ye, you are the Emperor of my Great Qing Dynasty. You must understand who your main enemy is!"

"Galdan is ultimately a Mongol, while our Great Qing has been in the Central Plains for thirty years. The scholars produced by the imperial examinations in these years are backed by local gentry. It will be difficult for Galdan to enter the Central Plains, while Wu Sangui and others, under the guise of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming, will find it easier to win people's hearts!"

As she spoke, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang looked at Prince Yu beside her, and after considering for a long time, she revealed a wise smile.

"Fuquan, the eldest daughter of Prince Yue Dong of An County, is still unmarried, right? Let's grant her the title of Princess!"

Fuquan was taken aback when he heard this, but then he understood what Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang meant. Before he could speak, Kangxi, his face flushed, interrupted him.

"Grandmother, are you proposing a marriage alliance?"

"No, absolutely not!"

"Where is the dignity of our Great Qing Dynasty then?"

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang sighed upon hearing this, realizing that it was not a good thing for the emperor to be too young. He was always hot-blooded and impulsive, willing to sacrifice long-term interests for trivial matters.

"Xuan Ye, it is already quite difficult for my Eight Banners soldiers in the southwest to resist Wu Sangui and the other three feudatories. If news of the loss of Beijing's safety is spread by those with ulterior motives, those Eight Banners soldiers will be afraid to fight because they are worried about their families, which will lead to a complete defeat."

"Now, your grandmother is asking you: do you want the empire, to repay Galdan a thousandfold in the future, or do you want this so-called face, to let the Qing Dynasty perish forever?"

After Xiaozhuang finished speaking, she also showed a resolute expression, a stark contrast to her previous demeanor as the Empress Dowager. If Kangxi really acted impulsively, she might very well strip him of his power.

Which of the Eight Banners leaders of the Qing Dynasty, and those Manchu and Han officials, wasn't a close friend of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang?

Emperor Kangxi kept his head down and didn't see this scene, but Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's words brought him to his senses.

"Then, Grandmother, Galdan commands an army of 100,000, and Beijing is so close at hand. Would he agree to a marriage alliance at this time?"

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang felt a sense of relief upon hearing this, followed by a confident smile. "I've heard of Galdan. He's only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old this year and is still unmarried. He has a noble princess as an option, why wouldn't he want her?"

"Moreover, this time, in addition to the princess's marriage alliance, he was also given an official edict from the Great Khan of the Mongols, and the Western Regions, both south and north of the Gobi Desert, were granted to him, shifting his focus to other places, such as Qinghai and Tibet, or Tsarist Russia to the north!"

Seeing that Kangxi was about to get angry again, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang grabbed his shoulder and said, "Don't worry about the gains and losses at hand. As long as you quell the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories, you will have plenty of time to launch a northern expedition against Galdan, given the vastness and resources of the Central Plains."

"If one year isn't enough, then five, ten, twenty years! If 100,000 troops aren't enough, then 200,000, 300,000, 500,000!"

Encouraged by Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's enthusiastic encouragement, Kangxi began to fantasize about leading his troops north to the grasslands. He abandoned his previous hesitation and slammed his hand on the table.

"Prince Yu, have the Ministry of Rites draft an edict tomorrow morning recognizing Galdan as the Mongol Khan, legally ruling over southern and northern Mongolia and the Western Regions. Confer the title of Princess Jing'an upon the daughter of Prince An, and arrange a marriage alliance with Galdan. Simultaneously, provide two million taels of silver for his departure and five hundred thousand taels of annual tribute, and from then on, the two sides will engage in trade!"

……

Five days later, Galdan's army arrived at Juyong Pass. The 70,000-strong army stretched like a long snake. Located between mountains, it was impossible for them to deploy their forces to attack the city.

Moreover, the low hills on both sides are also covered by the Great Wall, making it virtually impossible to cross over.

They could only rely on the Flying Thunder Cannon to stun the Qing troops on the city wall, and then the Blue Banner soldiers would launch a surprise attack.

Subutai spurred his horse forward, about to order an attack on the city, when suddenly the gates of the pass swung open. An official dressed in Manchu robes, accompanied by two soldiers, rode up to the front of the army and shouted:

"Ceasefire! Ceasefire!"

"The Qing Emperor has sent a letter of state to Galdan Taiji!"

Galdan, who was just about to return to his central command to rest, didn't expect Kangxi to pull this stunt. However, since the siege wouldn't be over in a short time, he waved his hand and said, "Liu Xin, let that official in!"

With the divine weapon of the Flying Thunder Cannon in hand, the terrain of Juyong Pass could not stop him, so the army did not set up tents. Galdan sat directly on horseback, looking down at the envoy.

The Manchu messenger was probably in his early thirties. He was exceptionally refined in appearance, but there was a hint of ruthlessness in his face. He was not afraid of Galdan, but he was stunned when he saw the Chinese characters and dragon pattern banner behind him.

As Galdan's number one lackey, Wanyan Wu drew his sword and rebuked the envoy for not speaking for a long time.

"You scoundrel, you're not here to deliver a letter of credence?"

Why aren't you saying anything?

Seemingly startled awake, the envoy hurriedly bowed and took out a yellow scroll from his back bag.

"Galdan Taiji, I am Li Guangdi, an envoy of the Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty. This is the official letter of credence drafted by the Ministry of Rites of the Great Qing Dynasty!"

Li Guangdi?

This is a talented person, someone who can get things done!

Although his conduct was unethical and he was obsessed with officialdom and power, it was all insignificant. In this imperial era, where could one find someone who was completely incorruptible and without a single stain on their record? Even the emperor wouldn't trust you.

"Read it aloud!"

Galdan was also curious to hear what kind of tricks Kangxi was up to, so he dismounted and sat cross-legged on the carpet that Liu Xin had laid out!

Li Guangdi was not angry when he saw this. The other party had so many soldiers and only those hotheads knew the rules. So he read out the imperial edict drafted by the Ministry of Rites.

Most of it was nonsense about the boundless grace of the heavens and praising Galdan's extraordinary talents. The main themes were just four points: marriage alliance, ceding territory, paying reparations, and tribute.

The marriage alliance naturally involved a princess, while the cession of territory meant the loss of southern Mongolia, since this area nominally belonged to the Qing Dynasty, and it was won by Huang Taiji through actual warfare.

Two million taels of silver for the departure.

The annual tribute of 500,000 taels.

In addition to other grains, salt, tea, and cloth.

Not much, but not little either!

Galdan fell into deep thought, but Subutai, Liu Weiqing, Ouyang Jing, and others beside him all showed expressions of joy.

With their homeland in the Western Regions and the southern and northern deserts combined, their strength had already surpassed that of Genghis Khan in his mid-period. For them, the desire to conquer the Central Plains was not so strong.

They tended to plunder Tsarist Russia and Kazakhstan.

Soft persimmons are easy to squeeze.

Upon seeing this, Li Guangdi revealed a disdainful expression, thinking to himself that such short-sighted grassland people were indeed unfit for great use.

Galdan happened to see that disdainful expression, and considering Li Guangdi's strategic acumen, he took the initiative to ask a question.

"This envoy from the Qing Dynasty, what are your thoughts on the matter before the marriage alliance? Why don't you share them with us?"

At this time, Li Guangdi had not yet returned to Fujian to observe mourning for his mother, so he naturally did not betray Chen Menglei to take credit for himself and become a close minister of Kangxi. However, this was also the time when he most wanted to achieve something great.

However, in Li Guangdi's eyes, the Dzungars were a small force, and he really looked down on them, so he simply shut up and remained silent, behaving like a seasoned veteran.