Thanks in advance for all the comments - and if this thread replicated an earlier one, please let me know!
In OTL, Chinese Emperor Qianlong embarked on a series of military campaigns that crushed the Zhungars (residing in present-day Western Mongolia) in the 1750s. During that time, Zhungar prince Amarsanaa caused a lot of trouble for the Qing throne, often evading the Chinese armies and re-starting revolts and uprisings that have been previously crushed. in 1757, Qianlong reportedly amassed an army of 400,000 in order to finally crush the Zhungars. While these nomads were quickly subdued, in the end of June 1757, their leader Amarsanaa disappeared. Not until November 1, 1757 did the Qing authorities find out that he had gone to Russia, but by then he was already dead. Qing officials were able to piece together that after disappearing from Zungaria, he had gathered 4,000 followers and fled toward the Kazakh steppe to seek protection. But that time, the Kazakh Sultan recognized the authority of the Qing Dynasty and refused to aid Amarsanaa. He then fled to Russia and in Tobolsk (Western Siberia) he fell ill to small pox and died on September 21, 1757. Emperor Qianlong was unconvinced that his old adversary was really dead.
He demanded that Russian officials return his body to China so it could be properly identified. The Russians refused, but offered to send the body to Selenginsk in Siberia to allow Qing officials to examine it there. Qianlong was furious with the Russians' refusal to send him the body, he halted trade between China and Russia and
threatened to send his armies into Russia. This threat was taken seriously enough that a fortress wall was built to protect Irkutsk, the capital of Eastern Siberia. By March of 1758 Qianlong had cooled down, and he finally arranged for a delegation to go to Selenginsk to examine the remains.
http://www.gohovd.com/wiki/Amarsanaa
So the question is - what if Qianlong did not cool down and instead sent his armies to Russia? How would this war unfold? Would the Russians be able to hold massive Chinese armies at bay? Obviosuly, the logistics were taken into considerations by the Qing since they already sent hundreds of thousands of troops - and supplies - far into their western frontier to deal with the Zhungars during the 1750s. Would the Qing be able to advance far into Russian Siberia, which was very thinly populated at the time and had few military forts? And if the tide was to turn against the Russians in Siberia, would the Qing be able to actually advance into Russia west of the Urals?
Look forward to your thoughts!