In the early qing dynasty, the national strength was still good. When Qianlong unified the Dzungar Khanate, the territory of the Qing Dynasty also reached its maximum, and its national strength reached its peak. However, the frontiers of the Qing Dynasty were not very stable, such as Tibet, which was invaded by Nepal, which was called Gorkha at that time. Located in the southern Himalayas, Gorkha is quite far from the Central Plains. In the face of the invasion of Gorkha, the Qing Dynasty chose to send troops to safeguard the national territorial sovereignty. And why did the Qing Dynasty attach so much importance to national territorial sovereignty?
1: The awareness of territorial sovereignty of Western countries was introduced to the Qing Dynasty. As Western countries gradually came to China. They established their own colonies around China. As there was more contact with Western countries, the territorial consciousness of the West also came. The most obvious of these is the border treaty signed between the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia. With a boundary treaty, the border line between the two countries can be determined and legally recognized internationally. European missionaries also preached European ideas and culture to the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. This made the Qing Dynasty attach importance to the border issue, and thus to the territorial sovereignty of the country.
2: National territorial sovereignty represents a dignity. After having a sense of territorial sovereignty, it is a provocative act when a border area is invaded by another country. When a country is strong enough, this kind of behavior is equivalent to trampling on its dignity. The key Gorkha is still a small country, and Qianlong is a tough figure, he is not even afraid of Tsarist Russia, is he still afraid of a small country?
The invasion of Nepal provoked the majesty of the Qing Dynasty. If left unchecked, the status of the Qing dynasty's suzerainty would be questioned by other vassal states. Therefore, whether it was to maintain the integrity of the country's territory or to maintain the dignity of the suzerainty, the Qing Dynasty would send troops to defeat the Kingdom of Nepal.
3: Deter the countries that peek into the territory of the Qing Dynasty. During the Qianlong administration, there were also many challenges. There are uprisings inside and great powers on the outside. The war between the Qing Dynasty and the Gorkha took place in the late Qianlong period, and in the face of the aging Qianlong, the neighboring countries were also eager to move. For various reasons, Nepal invaded Tibet, which gave the Qing Dynasty an opportunity to show its strength and tough attitude. In the end, Nepal is empty of people and money, territory cannot be obtained, and money is not enough. It was also invaded by the Qing army, accepted the canonization of the Qing Dynasty, and became a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty.
From these factors, it can be seen that the early Qing Dynasty attached great importance to national sovereignty, and sometimes had to be reflected through war. Of course, this is the Qing Dynasty in the period of strength, if it is a backward late Qing, no matter how much attention, if there is no strength, everything is a floating cloud. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese Expeditionary Force entered Burma to fight, leaving behind a feat that can be sung and wept.
The Qing Dynasty's war against Nepal was also an expeditionary war. Under the leadership of Fu Kang'an, the governor of Liangguang, the Qing army entered the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. After the complex and changeable terrain, it is also necessary to cross the Himalayas and enter the Kingdom of Nepal to fight, and finally defeat the Nepali Army and force Nepal to surrender. In terms of distance and nature, it was also a feat of an expedition. It successfully struck at countries that wanted to invade the Qing Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty did not pay attention to the invasion of Nepal, or lost the war, it would also have a great impact on the Qing Dynasty. Winning this war was also of great benefit to the Qing Dynasty.
The first is to maintain the integrity of the country's territory and the stability of Tibet. After this war, the Qing Dynasty's control over Tibet was further strengthened. At the behest of Qianlong, Fu Kang'an formulated the "Statutes for the Aftermath of the Disaster in Tibet," and for more than a hundred years since then, the Qing Dynasty has strictly implemented Tibet's political, military, and taxation systems. This was an important basis for the Qing Dynasty's rule over Tibet. Tibet and its neighboring countries then entered a state of peace and tranquility until the decline of the late Qing Dynasty.
The second is the Dalai Lama and some corrupt officials who have terrorized Tibet. The reason for the outbreak of this war was caused by the Dalai Lama, whose contradictions escalated into a national war, coupled with the profits of corrupt officials, and finally caused the war. After the victory in the war, many Tibetan officials and the Dalai Lama reshuffled their cards.
This also affected the British invasion of Nepal. Britain, which occupied India, also wanted to invade Nepal. But Nepal became a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, which was somewhat jealous of the British. After all, the British have been spying on Tibet for a long time, and if they can rule Nepal, they can use this as a springboard to invade Tibet. Unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty won the war and Nepal surrendered, so that the British idea had to be postponed.
It can be seen that winning a war is still of great benefit to a country. Through the expedition to Nepal, the Qing Dynasty consolidated the rule of Tibet, also shocked the neighboring countries, and also safeguarded the country's territorial sovereignty and the dignity of the suzerainty, so that other countries did not dare to use force against the Qing Dynasty easily.