War of the Three Feudatories

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.

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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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On December 28, 1673, Wu Sangui rose up in rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, proclaiming himself the “Great Commander Who Summons Men And Horses For The Pacification Of All-Under-Heaven” (天下都招討兵馬大元帥). You’ll note that he does not claim to be the Emperor. This is not due to any lack of self-regard on Wu’s part, but is rather an attempt to appeal to Ming Dynasty loyalists. “I’m just trying to restore the Ming. Really!” says Wu, in his most suave and charming voice. Unfortunately, while the Ming Dynasty loyalists are down on their luck these days, they still weren’t born yesterday. They are thus understandably reluctant to flock to the banners of a man who is famous for betraying that same Ming Dynasty. Oh well, thinks Wu. It was worth a try.

Wu Sangui's opening move is to send one of his most competent generals, Wang Pingfan, north to invade Sichuan. Wang swats aside what little opposition there is with ease, and is more or less in control of the province by March 1674. Not that there’s much to control, practically speaking - Sichuan was devastated in the previous war, the one that brought the Qing to power, and it is still a wasteland of sorts (1). It won’t provide the rebellion with much in the way of recruits or supplies, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Wang Pingfan gets named Governor-General of Sichuan for his trouble.

Meanwhile, Wu is moving north. His army, numbering roughly 65,000 men at the beginning of the war, marches through Guizhou to ensure that province’s loyalty (2) before entering Hunan. They receive a pleasant surprise when the entire province surrenders without a fight. Wu settles down in the city of Changde and prepares to tax the coming rice harvest in Hunan. He’ll stay put for the rest of the year, motivated partly by the desire to reorganize his forces and partly in the knowledge that his son, Wu Yingxiong, is a hostage of the Kangxi Emperor (3). While Wu is worried for his only son, he’s feeling quite pleased about the whole rebellion thing. Why, he’s already captured two provinces and he hasn’t even broken a sweat.

No, wait - make that three. At the end of March, Sun Yanling, the military governor of Guangxi, stages a coup. He imprisons the civilian governor and then proceeds to execute everyone in the provincial military establishment who is loyal to the Qing, or who might be loyal to the Qing, or who looked at him funny once. Wu rewards Sun with the title Prince of Linjiang (臨江王) and a complimentary fruit basket. Sun doesn’t go so far as to send any troops to join the fighting - he’s trying to keep one foot, or at least a couple of toes, in the Qing camp in case things go sour for the rebels - but his coup still secures Wu against attack from the south.

Some readers may at this point be wondering where the other two of the promised Three Feudatories are. Guangdong and the Shang family are both quiet at the beginning of the war. The old general Shang Kexi is staying loyal to the Qing, and for the moment there’s nothing his ambitious son Shang Zhixin can do about it. But our third feudatory Geng Jingzhong has been watching the progress of the rebellion so far, and he’s been impressed. Sensing blood in the water, on April 21 he raises his own flag and joins the rebellion (4).

Geng’s opening move is to try and work out an alliance with Zheng Jing, who’s been watching events unfold from his perch across the Taiwan Strait. Zheng is rather unsure how to feel about all of this - on the one hand, this is clearly bad for the despised Manchus, but on the other hand, he can’t help but feel that Wu and company may not in fact be serious regarding their vows to restore the Ming Dynasty (5). Negotiations between the two parties break down quickly, done in by a mutual lack of trust and by several early victories on Geng’s part, which serve to convince him that he doesn’t need Zheng’s help after all. Zheng takes this as a personal affront and spends the summer raiding Geng-controlled ports. Geng, meanwhile, orders his second-in-command Zeng Yangxing to attack north into Zhejiang, while he personally leads troops west into Jiangxi.

For Kangxi and the Qing, the opening four months of the war have proceeded with all the smoothness and grace of a man slipping on a banana peel, falling into an open sewer, and breaking his neck. It’s been one bad piece of news after another, thinks the beleaguered Emperor one sunny spring morning as he braces for another attack of diarrhea after eating some bad seafood the night before. His reverie is interrupted by a eunuch, who knocks on the bathroom door and asks the Emperor to please come out now, because they’ve just got word that Geng Jingzhong has risen up in rebellion. This news isn’t wholly unexpected, and Kangxi’s plan has been to sweet-talk Geng back to the right side. But today he’s tired and angry and his colon feels like a bus ran over it. If Geng wants a war, Kangxi will give him one. (6)

He immediately orders the Manchu princes Giyesu and Yolo (stop laughing, I already told you that was his real name) to stop Geng’s offensives in Zhejiang and Jiangxi, respectively. The Qing are issuing marching orders to their other generals as well around now, as they attempt to respond to the growing rebellion. Prince Molo is sent to the northwest with orders to beat back Wang Pingfan and the rebels in Sichuan. Prince Lergiyen, son of the famous general Lekdehun, is made commander-in-chief of the armies; it is he who will directly oppose Wu Sangui. Lergiyen heads for Hubei Province and the strategically vital city of Jingzhou, where he sets up his headquarters. He will be spending the next several years proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that military leadership is not a genetically inheritable trait.

Despite all of this action, Kangxi is hedging his bets as summer of 1674 begins. He’s worried at how far and how fast the rebellion has progressed. Meanwhile Wu Sangui is willing to talk as well, perhaps aware that the rebel gains are more impressive on paper than in real life and certainly aware that he prefers his son with a head attached to his neck. So messengers are sent and negotiations are opened. The initial signs are not promising. Kangxi’s opening offer is that Wu quit his rebellion and return to Yunnan, in return for which Kangxi will magnanimously let him live. Wu counters by suggesting that Kangxi commit suicide. In a fit of generosity, he later ups his offer: if the Qing withdraw from all of China, Wu will let them keep Manchuria. He’ll even throw in Korea to sweeten the deal! Obviously, getting to yes will take some work here . . .

NOTES

(1) In the “wolf packs roaming the streets of formerly major cities” sense.

(2) Wu does not technically administer Guizhou but he has the power to appoint provincial officials, which he has used and/or abused to ensure that everyone from governor down to dogcatcher is loyal to him.

(3) Wu Yingxiong is married to the Manchu Princess Heshuo, who happens to be Kangxi’s great-aunt, if I’ve got my family trees straight (a doubtful proposition).

(4) Exactly what happened in real life.

(5) Neither is he! Literally no one important is interested in restoring the Ming Dynasty at this point, but it’s a useful slogan to rally the disaffected around.

(6) So, I guess this is the point of divergence, though it’s a minor one. In real life Kangxi tried to talk it out with Geng Jingzhong for a couple of months before accepting he was a lost cause and sending troops south. In a bad mood due to diarrhea brought on by eating poorly prepared seafood, Kangxi makes an impulsive decision and decides not to negotiate with Geng. Troops are immediately sent to confront him.

*Here is a hideous map. Try not to avert your eyes. Actually, if you've got a handle on Chinese geography, avert away. If you don't, it may be helpful in understanding who is doing what, and where they're doing it. The next bit will be posted in a couple of days, or whenever I get around to it.

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