Qianlong's Ten Great Campaigns Begin

1750

The Qianlong Emperor, ruling the wealthiest state on earth from the Forbidden City, turned his attention west. Over four decades his armies would march on the Dzungars, the Miao, the Gurkhas, and Burma - campaigns his grandchildren would brag about and his treasurers would quietly weep over. The campaigns extended Qing territory to its greatest extent but drained a surplus that the dynasty would never recover.