Until the war with Britain broke out, the Qing Empire was not a country that frequently entangled itself with Western powers.
Still, if one exception had to be named, it would undoubtedly be Russia.
In the past, when Russia was still the Tsardom of Rus, it concluded the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Qing China, establishing the border around Manchuria and the Primorye region.
This treaty was considered significant because it was not a treaty imposed entirely under Qing superiority but rather a European-style treaty between equals.
Later, the Treaty of Kyakhta further clarified the border, and trade between Russia and Qing continued.
Russia abandoned its claims to Primorye and parts of Manchuria at the time because Russia itself was in turmoil and because it judged that fighting the powerful Qing Empire would be disadvantageous.
After all, who had been the Qing emperor then?
It was Emperor Kangxi, regarded as the greatest ruler in Qing history and called the sovereign of a thousand generations.
Naturally, Russia concluded that gaining profit through trade would be far better than going to war with Qing.
But more than a hundred years later, the situation had completely reversed.
Russia's national power had expanded to the point where it could claim to be the policeman of Europe.
Meanwhile, Qing China had already been exposed as a declining power.
Furthermore, the damage suffered in the war with the British Empire had been enormous, causing turmoil within the country.
And that was not all.
The empire was struggling to gather the indemnities it had to pay Britain.
More than anything else, the humiliating fact that Qing had ceded territory to another nation for the first time in its long history weighed heavily on the emperor's shoulders.
Once something happens for the first time, it becomes easier the second and third time.
No country had yet demanded territory outright.
But the United States and France were continuously pressuring Qing to sign commercial treaties with them, just as Britain had done.
To Emperor Daoguang, who still considered himself the Son of Heaven ruling the Middle Kingdom, the arrogance of these Western nations was deeply offensive.
Then the letter from Russia arrived.
And it overturned the wounded emperor's pride entirely.
"…Primorye has historically belonged indirectly to Russia since the time of the Grand Principality of Moscow. Therefore we request that the previous unequal treaty be annulled and a new treaty concluded. Since Russians are already settled north of the Amur River, it would be appropriate for Russia to administer the region in the future…"
"These bastards have lost their minds!"
Enraged, Daoguang tore the letter apart.
The officials immediately prostrated themselves.
"Your Majesty, forgive us!"
"The insolent demands of Russia are not even worth hearing! The Great Emperor Kangxi already concluded a treaty—how can they speak differently now?"
"We must respond firmly to their demands!"
Of course, even those officials did not truly believe that Qing China was capable of fighting Russia.
But the same could be said of Russia.
Although both Qing and Russia were vast empires, if a front formed in Primorye, the actual number of troops either side could deploy would be only in the thousands.
Moreover, Britain had appeared suddenly from the far west.
Russia, by contrast, had been in contact with Qing for centuries.
It was difficult to imagine that Russia could be as overwhelmingly powerful as Britain.
Even Emperor Daoguang thought the same.
"I have seen men who wish to trade with us. But never have I seen men so shameless as to demand our territory outright. It seems Russia too is merely another rootless barbarian. I will never accept such unreasonable demands. All of you must join together and offer your wisdom to overcome this crisis."
"Your Majesty, perhaps we should mobilize the Eight Banners stationed in the northeast and send them to Primorye."
"But we cannot deploy the Banner forces in large numbers right now. Perhaps we should gather local militias to supplement the army."
"But those would be little more than militias. How could they face the firearms Russia would bring?"
"If their weapons are similar to those of the British, even the Banner forces may struggle. We must bring as many soldiers as possible…"
Even the officials advocating strong action sounded uncertain.
The memory of the previous defeat was simply too strong.
Emperor Daoguang himself could not shake an uneasy feeling.
Britain was known to be the strongest power in Europe, a nation specialized in warfare.
But Russia was different.
True, there were rumors that Russia had grown stronger in recent years.
Yet Qing China could not emotionally accept the idea that it was inferior to Russia.
But what if they actually lost the war?
Then Primorye would be lost entirely.
And that defeat would carry a different meaning from the war against Britain.
Britain had been a new Western power Qing had never encountered before, and the gap in naval strength had been enormous.
In fact, Qing officials had been emphasizing naval inferiority as the main explanation for the defeat.
They argued that if the great Qing army had gathered on land, victory would have been easy.
But since Qing relied heavily on cavalry, it could not defeat Britain—the world's strongest pirate nation—at sea.
Most of the territories ceded to Britain had been islands anyway, aside from Shanghai.
Those islands were not truly important to the continental empire of Qing.
Such rationalizations were still possible.
But if Qing's army lost to Russia and territory connected to Manchuria were taken, even that excuse would no longer work.
In some ways, this crisis was even more urgent than the previous threat from Britain.
They wanted to fight.
But pouring national power into such a distant frontier was extremely difficult.
As everyone hesitated, General Yishan, Commander of the Ili region, spoke.
"Your Majesty."
"Oh? Are you volunteering to command the army?"
"If Your Majesty commands it, I will obey. However… if we lack manpower, might we not borrow help from another source?"
"Another source?"
"I recall reading records from the time of Emperor Kangxi. When he drove out the northern barbarians, he received assistance from Joseon. Though small in number, it was helpful. In Primorye, neither we nor Russia can send large armies. If Joseon were to send even a small force, it would greatly help us."
"Joseon…"
Thinking about it, the distance from Joseon to Primorye might actually be shorter than the distance from Qing's heartland to Primorye.
Looking at the maps brought by the officials confirmed it.
Joseon and Primorye were surprisingly close.
In terms of distance within China itself, it was no more than crossing a single province.
From Qing's perspective, this would be little more than a small expedition just beyond its own backyard.
"Not a bad suggestion. In fact, it is quite an excellent one. Even if Joseon is weak, sending a few hundred soldiers such a short distance should not be difficult."
"Yes. And if Russia moves south, Joseon will feel threatened as well. Unlike us, who are bound together by the Chinese world order, how Russia might treat Joseon is uncertain."
There had once been minor friction between Qing and Joseon regarding the origins of a certain British figure named Killian Gore.
But that issue had been resolved, had it not?
The situation was urgent.
Emperor Daoguang quickly issued his orders.
"Send an imperial decree to Joseon immediately. They are not always obedient, so emphasize the Russian threat as strongly as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"And send word to Russia as well. Inform them of my firm position—that not a single inch of Qing territory will be given up."
"We obey Your Majesty's command!"
Had Qing known Joseon's current internal situation in detail, they would have realized Joseon would never accept so easily.
But Qing neither knew nor cared what Joseon was truly thinking.
In truth, that was only natural.
At that moment, Qing barely understood the situation of its own country.
Once the emperor ordered the decree to be delivered to Joseon as quickly as possible, Qing moved with frightening speed.
By coincidence, the imperial order reached Joseon at almost the exact same time that Victoria gave birth to twins in Canada, surrounded by celebration.
On the day Canada was filled with joy, the State Council (Bibyeonsa) in Hanseong was thrown into chaos.
"What do they mean we must send troops to fight Russia? Are we a provincial government of Qing?"
"Qing cites the precedent of the Nasun expedition during the reign of King Hyojong and asks that we respond in the same way."
"But the circumstances are completely different now!"
Even the rival factions of the Andong Kim clan and the Pungyang Jo clan united in anger to condemn Qing's outrageous demand.
Left State Councillor Kim Do-hui turned toward Kim Jwa-geun, who had recently risen rapidly to become Minister of War.
"Minister, do you believe Joseon is currently capable of sending troops as Qing requests?"
"It is impossible. Even sending one hundred soldiers would require securing supply routes for food and equipment across the border. The cost alone would be enormous. Qing is asking for two to three hundred soldiers—given our current situation, that demand is absurd."
"Then shall we explain our circumstances and respond that sending troops is impossible?"
Logically and emotionally, that should have been the answer.
But none of the officials dared speak first.
After all, the request came directly from the Qing emperor.
Refusing him meant accepting the consequences.
If things went wrong, the person who spoke first would become the scapegoat.
"Why not say we will try our best to gather troops and delay the timing with various excuses?"
"That may be reasonable. But Qing insists that if Primorye falls to Russia, Russia will immediately target us next. Should we not prepare for that as well?"
"Russia is said to be particularly obsessed with territorial expansion among the Western powers. We should prepare countermeasures. But that is separate from sending reinforcements, is it not?"
Many opinions were expressed.
But the conclusion remained the same.
Joseon could not act alone.
Allowing Russia to seize Primorye was unacceptable.
But sending troops to help Qing would break Joseon's back financially and militarily.
A complete dilemma.
Even worse, Joseon had previously received intelligence from Britain that Russia was targeting Primorye.
Yet they had made no preparations.
If things continued like this, Joseon might become nothing more than a drum in the hands of Western powers, beaten from all sides.
But if they immediately turned to Britain for help, it would give Britain an excuse to interfere deeply in Joseon's affairs.
So everyone remained cautious.
Until someone finally spoke.
"In that case… should we request mediation from Killian Gore, as previously discussed?"
"He seemed very grateful when we accepted him as a nominal member of the royal clan. Perhaps he will listen."
"Realistically, that may be the only option."
Afraid of the wolf, they now considered asking a tiger for help.
It was the kind of short-sighted thinking that ignored the consequences as long as the immediate crisis was solved.
Kim Jwa-geun sighed quietly.
A deep unease settled in his chest.
Russia might not be the real problem at all.