311. New players
“Madness does not necessarily have to lead to negative consequences for all participants in the process.”
Barbara Tuchman
“When innovation is too difficult to implement, it is a sign that it is not necessary.”
Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues
«Ведь кузнечик скачет,
А куда - не видит.»
Козьма Прутков [1]
«нормальные герои всегда идут в обход» [2]
old movie
“They [the Mongols] drink tea, adding dumplings to it. It is cooked with salt, milk and fat. They also often put toasted flour and ram bone marrow in tea.”
Unknown author
“Herdsmen - residents of the Steppe... lived in debt to Chinese traders, paying for the collected essential goods with the expected offsprings of livestock”
Lomakina
Mongolia.
Background. The big problems in Qing-owned Mongolia started after the Taiping Rebellion: due to the huge expenses and losses of a revenue the Qing government needed silver. As a part of solution it changed the taxation system in Mongolia ordering its population to pay taxes not in a cattle, as was always done, but in silver. The obvious problem for the Mongols was that they did not have any silver and the only way to get it was to borrow from the Chinese money-lenders under a very high interest and to pay them with a cattle which these Chinese were taking at the “discount price” and selling in China. As a result, by 1894 a number of the livestock in Mongolia decreased at least 10 times down to a meager 1.5 million heads [3].
Then, starting from the mid 1880s, the Guangxu Emperor launched its reforms policy which included a massive assimilation program. A seemingly abstract idea of turning all population of the empire into the “uniform Chinese” had, in the case of Mongolia, a practical component: a massive influx of the Han and “modernization” of the traditional military system was intended to create a reliable buffer on the North to prevent possible danger of the Russian invasion. The Chinese were permitted to settle on the Mongolian territory, the Mongols had been permitted to speak Chinese and Chinese-Mongolian marriages were permitted. To conduct his reforms the emperor appointed a Manchu, Sando, as his viceroy in Mongolia.
After arriving to Urga, Sando immediately began to implement a "new policy": ten services for the supervision of troops, taxation, trade, government, etc. were organized. Plans were made to colonize Mongolia by Chinese farmers. In 1894, Colonel Tang Zaili arrived in Urga, with a task to reorganizing the Mongolian army, the share of the Mongols in which was to be only 50%; barracks for 400 Chinese infantry were built near Urga. The uncompromising policy of the new administration caused protests from the Mongolian population, but his calls not to change the old order did not yield results.
On one hand, there was a clear and present danger for Mongolia turning from a privileged part of the empire into an ordinary province with a prevailing Han population while on the other secular and spiritual feudal lords of Outer and Inner Mongolia were aware that the consequence of this situation may be not only a break with Pekin and successful opposition to it, but also an excessive strengthening of Russia's position in Mongolia in the conditions of an increasing confrontation between the latter with its southern neighbor.
Dissatisfaction with the activities of the Qing administration kept growing but
initially there was no unity and practically all imaginable options had their supporters:
- To keep appealing to the Qing government for restoration of the old order.
- To try to get autonomy within Qing Empire.
- To try to get independence.
- To try to get independence with the Russian help and guarantee Russian protection.
- To appeal for incorporation into the Russian Empire.
The Mongolian side definitely needed a leader and at least this part was clear, it had to be Ngawang Lobsang Chokyi Nyima Tenzin Wangchug. Not because he had a charismatic personality or outstanding mental or military abilities, most probably this was not the case, definitely not because he belonged to the aristocracy tracing its lineage all the way to Genghis Khan, he did not (actually, there was at least one prominent feudal who had this ancestry and was a capable general), not even because he was a richest man in Mongolia (he was) but because, being Bogdo Gegen VIII, he was the third top ranking figure in the Buddhist hierarchy after Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama and the head of Mongolian Buddhists. So his authority as a leader was not in question and it is not as he was not active in defense of his people and religion. In 1882 he insisted on relocation of the Chinese trade district from Urga because the traders were prohibited from operations nears the Buddhist monasteries. Bogdo-gegen actively protested against the tax increases by Urga’s amban Dae Ling, refused to meet with him and eventually achieved his resignation. Consistent anti-Chinese actions of the young Bogdo-gegen even caused an attempt by the Qing authorities to physically eliminate the undesirable hierarch through poisoning.
In a meantime Sando was making one lapse after another causing numerous incidents and the Mongols kept petitioning the Qing government asking for his removal.
In the spring of 1894 the Mongolian nobility convinced Bogdo-gegen to convene a congress to discuss the declaration of independence. The formal excuse was a traditional holiday, celebrated in July, during which allocation of the taxes was routinely discussed. The congress met on July 10, and Bogdo-gegen directly raised to the assembled princes the question regarding their intentions regarding the "new policy". Eighteen of them denounced submission to China and later, having met outside the city, decided to declare the country's independence.
Delegation led by Tögs-Ochiryn Namnansüren (an influential hereditary prince tracing ancestry back to Genghis Khan) was sent to Russia to ask for supoort. The letter signed by Bogdo-gegen and three khans of Khalka was asking for help against China, including military, in exchange for the Russian concessions in Mongolia. At that point, Russia opted for preserving the proprieties supporting Mongolian autonomy within Qing. To protect the returning delegation, the Russian consular guard in Urga was increased. The Russian consul in Pekin notified the Qing government of the fact of the delegation dissatisfied with Chinese colonization, administrative reforms and the increase in China's military presence in Khalkha. It was announced that Russia cannot but be concerned about the situation of the neighboring region, and a warning was issued about the possible consequences of ignoring the demands of the Mongols. Reaction was predictable: Sando demanded from Bogdo-gegen to revoke the request for Russian military presence in Khalkha and he agreed on condition that the “new policy” is going to be abolished. Telegram from Pekin to Urga stated that in
some parts its implementation can be
postponed. Sando banned the Mongols from any relations with the Russian consulate in Urga, threatening otherwise to introduce an additional five hundred infantry into Urga and increase its Chinese population.
To notify the amban of the Russians' visits to Bogdo-gegen and prevent them, Chinese guards were organized around Bogdo-gegen's palace, and troops were sent to the border to intercept the returning delegation.
Russia. The intentions of the Chinese side had been obvious for the Russian side but, from the Russian perspective, they could also be abpart of a long term Chinese plan to prepare for an aggression against the Russian territories: after all, the similar processes had been going on in Manchuriaea as well, steadily increasing its population by the Han migration. Which means that Russia had to come with the counter-measures of its own and situation in the Outer Mongolia was seemingly presenting some interesting opportunities. And then, why only
Outer Mongolia? The main problem was to define what exactly will serve the Russian interests better and on this issue there was no (at least for a while) consensus:
- The “militant party” argued for a direct annexation insisting that Khalka can’t exist as an independent state because “historically, it has no prerequisites for autonomous governance of the state, since there are no personnel of state figures, military commanders and financiers.” Among other supporters, this party included a number of the high-ranking military who saw annexation as a potential opportunity to, finally, got some military glory.
- Russian industrialists and entrepreneurs spoke from an independent position, and advocated for promoting the desire of the Mongols for state independence and the establishment of a protectorate over this country, but not to import goods into Mongolia (due to the extreme poverty, purchasing potential of the population was to small for forming a serious market), but to export livestock products from Mongolia to Russia.
- There were also supporters of the development of Russia's trade relations with Mongolia, fsvoring creation of autonomous Mongolia under the protectorate of China.
- There was also another point of view: "Mongolia to the Mongols." Its essence was that Mongolia is unable to defend its independence from either China or Russia, and therefore it is necessary to create an autonomous buffer state under the auspices of the union of European States. This was not an abstract fantasy: starting from 1870 Mongolia had been visited by the numerous expeditions from various European countries.
Finally, the decision was made to opt, depending upon the circumstances, either for independent Mongolia (under Russian protectorate) or for Mongolia getting an extended autonomy within Qing Empire which would
officially provide Russia with practically the same rights as China. The same was going for the territorial goals: the Outer Mongolia would be a “must” and Inner Mongolia - “desirable but not necessary”. The recent accidents in 64 villages provided a good excuse for going into the action.
In September Russian troops started arriving to Urga. Bogdo-gegen, under pressure from Sando, promised to inform the Russian government that there was no need for this, but the Russian contingent in Urga continued to grow.[4] Sando asked Pekin for resignation but his request was denied. In a meantime delegation returned and reported results to the highest nobility and clergy, who made an appeal to Bogdo-gegen, expressing the need for independence from the Manchu dynasty, which no longer has a beneficial effect on the Mongolian faith and the state. Bogdo-gegen response with a decree thanking authors of the appeal and prescribing the Mongolian families to unite into a single state of their own. Top Mongolian aristocracy formed a Provisional government of Khalkha and ordered mobilization. 500 riders came immediately from the nearby area. The Mongolian delegation came to Sando’s residence and declared that Mongolia is getting independent from China and Bogdo-gegen is going to become the Mongolian Emperor. Sando declared that he recognized his past mistakes and promised that he’ll appeal to Peking for the Mongolian autonomy but he was told that he is just being
informed about the situation and nobody is going to discuss it. He was given 24 hours to leave the country.
By that time the Chinese garrison in Urga shrunk to 150 soldiers, the rest deserted because they were not receiving salaries. These soldiers were disarmed by the Mongols and Russian Cossacks. Sando, fearing for his life, fled to the Russian consulate and was later escorted to Manchuria.
Some Chinese shops in Urga were looted and burned; the Chinese fled the capital for fear of replitions by the Mongols. The Chinese administration also began to leave the country, some of them requesting the Russian escorts for the safety. Only in one place the Chinese were trying to defend the fortress they were garrisoning but it was easily taken. Bogdo-gogen was proclaimed an emperor and so far the events had been proceeding in a relatively peaceful manner, mostly because government in Pekin did not fully recognized seriousness of the situation and had serious problems with the Japanese.
The Provisional government still had been facing two big problems:
- Acknowledgement of independence by Qing government.
- Situation in Inner Mongolia where the Chinese authorities remained in power and, besides pro-independent movement, a strong pro-Qing party also existed.
So one of the first things the Provisional government did was to start strengthening its army. It was fortunate to find among the top Mongolian aristocrats two outstanding generals who also happened to be the true patriots, Manlaibaatar (“forefront hero”) Damdinsüren from Inner Mingolia
and Khatanbaatar (“unyelding hero”) Magsarjav.
Both got their honorary titles for a successful taking the Chinese-defended fortress of Khovd and annihilation of the Chhinese relief force.
Obviously, even with its forces being mobilized and armed by the Russians, a newly-proclaimed Mongolian Empire was not strong enough to force Qing to acknowledge its independence and the same goes for the ability to kick the Chinese out of the Inner Mongolia. If Russia wanted to achieve its geopolitical goals without bogging down in a prolonged conflict, it was a time to interfere right now, while the Sino-Japanese war was still going on.
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[1] “After all, the grasshopper is jumping,/And where - it doesn't see.” Kozma Prutkov. “Author’s” comment to this verse: “Written in a moment of despair and embarrassment about the upcoming government reforms.”
Kozma Prutkov is a collective pseudonym of a group of the literary inclined aristocratic young men (one of whom was A.K.Tolstoy mentioned in the previous chapters as an author of the easiest way of dealing with the Russian liberals) who wrote in mid XIX a number of the literary parodies and satiric verses.
[2] “The normal heroes always chose a roundabout route.”
[3] In OTL by 1909. Timetable is, again, ahead of the schedule.
[4] There seems to be a world-wide pattern with the “unselfish military help”: once it starts, those who asked for it pretty much cease to matter. 😜