The Daoguang Emperor's Pacification Campaign

This book recounts the military campaign that pacified the Hui territories at the start of the Daoguang Emperor's reign in the Qing dynasty. In the early years of the Daoguang reign, a rebellion by the Khojas of the White Mountain faction of Islam broke out in the Hui territories south of the Tianshan Mountains. Known to history as the Jahangir Rebellion, it plunged the region into turmoil. The Daoguang Emperor ordered Changling, General of Ili, Yang Yuchun, Governor-General of Shaan-Gan, and Wulong'a, Governor of Shandong, to lead an army to suppress the rebellion. The following year, they launched a counteroffensive and recovered the lost territory. The pacification of Jahangir's rebellion forms the book's central narrative, interwoven with numerous historical events that marked the Qing dynasty's decline under the Daoguang Emperor. It describes how, after a long period of peace, the court grew complacent and its civil and military officials became indolent. When turmoil erupted on the frontier, the emperor and his ministers revealed their many different sides and engaged in subtle power struggles. The book also portrays the patriotic devotion of the loyal, battle-hardened generals and scholars who still served the country, aiming to provide a comprehensive account of a period of history unfamiliar to most readers.