This timeline will deal with an alternate War of the Three Feudatories, the late-17th century rebellion which came kinda-sorta close to toppling the Qing Dynasty. The period is not very well-chronicled, so in this post I’ll introduce the setting, characters, and context before getting into the meat of the timeline in the next update.
I am interested. Tell me more.
OK. It is 1673. The Ming Dynasty is dead. The Manchu Qing Dynasty controls all of China. But not really. Three military leaders, or “feudatories,” exert total control over several of the southern provinces. They have absolute civil and military authority in their fiefs, and the cost of maintaining their armies is almost half the yearly national revenue. The Qing have heretofore tolerated this state of affairs because the south was the last stronghold of the Ming Dynasty. But by 1673, the Ming Dynasty is clearly dead, and the Qing court can’t live with the fact that in practice they have no control over south China. There are a bunch of boring shenanigans involving insincere promises to retire by the three feudatories and then at the end of the year war breaks out. I can explain this in greater detail if you’d like it.
There are too many words. I want a picture.
OK. Here’s a map that was made by someone better at making maps than me.
The solid black line represents the territory controlled by the three feudatories at the beginning of the war. The dotted line shows the territory controlled by the rebels at the height of their success. It is roughly half of China. For the first two and a half years of the war, the rebels enjoyed a more or less uninterrupted run of success. They won battles, secured defections from important generals, and pushed the Qing near their breaking point. Though the rebels were very successful in the initial part of the war, they lost in the end. The tide started to turn against them in the middle of 1676, and the rebellion was totally defeated by 1681.
Why?
Good question. There were several reasons, the most important of which was disunity. The rebel armies answered to different leaders, making it difficult for them to coordinate strategy and on occasion leading to situations where they fought each other. Another reason why they failed was their lack of decisiveness. In the early portion of the war, the rebels experienced success after success, yet were reluctant to really push their advantage. The protracted conflict that followed was one that the rebels couldn’t sustain; the provinces under their control were not as rich as the ones controlled by the Qing. Furthermore, while a bunch of people defected to the three feudatories, there was never the kind of mass change of allegiance among rank-and-file members of the gentry that they needed.
What will happen in this timeline?
The three feudatories will experience greater success, duh, because otherwise I wouldn't bother writing this. That said, in this case success is very much in the eye of the beholder. The better performance of the rebels relative to real life will certainly lead to a more exciting outcome, that being total fucking chaos. I think there’s a lot of room to mess around here. In the short run, China will be less populated and more miserable than the Qing Empire was at the equivalent time in real life. In the long run, as per Keynes, we're all dead.
I am stroking my neckbeard ruminatively.
Then it’s as good a time as any for the DRAMATIS PERSONAE!
WU SANGUI, Prince Who Pacifies the West: If the Three Feudatories were a band, Wu would have been the front man. He was the first to rebel, soldiers loyal to him made most of the rebellion’s gains, and it was his death that effectively ended the war. Formerly a high-ranking general during the Ming Dynasty, Wu’s defection to the Qing was a crucial point during the Ming collapse. He administered the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou when the rebellion began.
KANGXI, Emperor of Great Qing: At the beginning of the rebellion, Kangxi was only nineteen years old and had just begun to exercise direct control over the Qing bureaucratic apparatus. Though in real life he would lead the dynasty for sixty successful years, right now he is an impetuous, brash teenager who does not have the full backing of the Manchu court and nobility.
GENG JINGZHONG, Prince Who Pacifies the South (靜南王): Another of the Three Feudatories, Geng controls the southeastern province of Fujian. He inherited his title from his father, Geng Jimao, who in turn inherited the province from his father, the great general Geng Zhongming. The present Geng is famous less for his martial prowess and more for his bedroom prowess; his debaucherous lifestyle is the subject of myth and legend.
SHANG KEXI, Prince Who Pacifies the South (平南王): The third and weakest of the Feudatories, Shang controls the southern province of Guangdong. Though Shang himself is relatively loyal to the Qing Dynasty, he is an old man, and his son, SHANG ZHIXIN, could very well prove to be far less accommodating.
ZHENG JING, King of Taiwan: Zheng inherited his position as the ruler of southern and central Taiwan from his father, the illustrious admiral Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga). His powerful fleets dominate key trading routes, yet Zheng’s gaze is fixed firmly on the Chinese mainland. Unlike his father, who was a hardline Ming Dynasty restorationist, Zheng the Younger’s first priority is carving out an empire of his own. While he talks about restoring the Ming, ultimately Zheng Jing’s only allegiance is to himself.
-- As the story moves on we’ll meet other important characters on both sides of the conflict. Keep an eye out for the turncoat governors Sun Yanling and Wang Fuchen, as well as Mongolian rebel Burni; the latter in particular will have an impact on this timeline disproportionate to real life. On the Manchu side, remember the name of Lergiyen, the general charged with prosecuting the war in its early stages and who proved unequal to the task. You should also keep an eye out for Tuhai and Yolo (shut up, that’s his real name), two of the more successful Manchu commanders. We’ll also meet characters unaffiliated with Manchus or rebels who will have a major impact on the story, not least of whom is Galdan, Great Khan of the Dzungars.
Great! So . . . what happens now?
Now we hop in our time machine and travel back to December 1673. It’s time for the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories to finally start. Better late than never. I'll post the next chunk of the timeline in a couple of days or whenever I have time to proofread it.
I am interested. Tell me more.
OK. It is 1673. The Ming Dynasty is dead. The Manchu Qing Dynasty controls all of China. But not really. Three military leaders, or “feudatories,” exert total control over several of the southern provinces. They have absolute civil and military authority in their fiefs, and the cost of maintaining their armies is almost half the yearly national revenue. The Qing have heretofore tolerated this state of affairs because the south was the last stronghold of the Ming Dynasty. But by 1673, the Ming Dynasty is clearly dead, and the Qing court can’t live with the fact that in practice they have no control over south China. There are a bunch of boring shenanigans involving insincere promises to retire by the three feudatories and then at the end of the year war breaks out. I can explain this in greater detail if you’d like it.
There are too many words. I want a picture.
OK. Here’s a map that was made by someone better at making maps than me.
The solid black line represents the territory controlled by the three feudatories at the beginning of the war. The dotted line shows the territory controlled by the rebels at the height of their success. It is roughly half of China. For the first two and a half years of the war, the rebels enjoyed a more or less uninterrupted run of success. They won battles, secured defections from important generals, and pushed the Qing near their breaking point. Though the rebels were very successful in the initial part of the war, they lost in the end. The tide started to turn against them in the middle of 1676, and the rebellion was totally defeated by 1681.
Why?
Good question. There were several reasons, the most important of which was disunity. The rebel armies answered to different leaders, making it difficult for them to coordinate strategy and on occasion leading to situations where they fought each other. Another reason why they failed was their lack of decisiveness. In the early portion of the war, the rebels experienced success after success, yet were reluctant to really push their advantage. The protracted conflict that followed was one that the rebels couldn’t sustain; the provinces under their control were not as rich as the ones controlled by the Qing. Furthermore, while a bunch of people defected to the three feudatories, there was never the kind of mass change of allegiance among rank-and-file members of the gentry that they needed.
What will happen in this timeline?
The three feudatories will experience greater success, duh, because otherwise I wouldn't bother writing this. That said, in this case success is very much in the eye of the beholder. The better performance of the rebels relative to real life will certainly lead to a more exciting outcome, that being total fucking chaos. I think there’s a lot of room to mess around here. In the short run, China will be less populated and more miserable than the Qing Empire was at the equivalent time in real life. In the long run, as per Keynes, we're all dead.
I am stroking my neckbeard ruminatively.
Then it’s as good a time as any for the DRAMATIS PERSONAE!
WU SANGUI, Prince Who Pacifies the West: If the Three Feudatories were a band, Wu would have been the front man. He was the first to rebel, soldiers loyal to him made most of the rebellion’s gains, and it was his death that effectively ended the war. Formerly a high-ranking general during the Ming Dynasty, Wu’s defection to the Qing was a crucial point during the Ming collapse. He administered the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou when the rebellion began.
KANGXI, Emperor of Great Qing: At the beginning of the rebellion, Kangxi was only nineteen years old and had just begun to exercise direct control over the Qing bureaucratic apparatus. Though in real life he would lead the dynasty for sixty successful years, right now he is an impetuous, brash teenager who does not have the full backing of the Manchu court and nobility.
GENG JINGZHONG, Prince Who Pacifies the South (靜南王): Another of the Three Feudatories, Geng controls the southeastern province of Fujian. He inherited his title from his father, Geng Jimao, who in turn inherited the province from his father, the great general Geng Zhongming. The present Geng is famous less for his martial prowess and more for his bedroom prowess; his debaucherous lifestyle is the subject of myth and legend.
SHANG KEXI, Prince Who Pacifies the South (平南王): The third and weakest of the Feudatories, Shang controls the southern province of Guangdong. Though Shang himself is relatively loyal to the Qing Dynasty, he is an old man, and his son, SHANG ZHIXIN, could very well prove to be far less accommodating.
ZHENG JING, King of Taiwan: Zheng inherited his position as the ruler of southern and central Taiwan from his father, the illustrious admiral Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga). His powerful fleets dominate key trading routes, yet Zheng’s gaze is fixed firmly on the Chinese mainland. Unlike his father, who was a hardline Ming Dynasty restorationist, Zheng the Younger’s first priority is carving out an empire of his own. While he talks about restoring the Ming, ultimately Zheng Jing’s only allegiance is to himself.
-- As the story moves on we’ll meet other important characters on both sides of the conflict. Keep an eye out for the turncoat governors Sun Yanling and Wang Fuchen, as well as Mongolian rebel Burni; the latter in particular will have an impact on this timeline disproportionate to real life. On the Manchu side, remember the name of Lergiyen, the general charged with prosecuting the war in its early stages and who proved unequal to the task. You should also keep an eye out for Tuhai and Yolo (shut up, that’s his real name), two of the more successful Manchu commanders. We’ll also meet characters unaffiliated with Manchus or rebels who will have a major impact on the story, not least of whom is Galdan, Great Khan of the Dzungars.
Great! So . . . what happens now?
Now we hop in our time machine and travel back to December 1673. It’s time for the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories to finally start. Better late than never. I'll post the next chunk of the timeline in a couple of days or whenever I have time to proofread it.
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