After the Qing Dynasty settled Junggar, why didn't it continue to expand westward and annex Kazakh?

The Kazakh Khanate is located in Central Asia. It was founded around the 15th century and was once powerful. The Qing Dynasty and Kazak were far away, and there was a powerful Junggar Khanate in between. There really was no contact. But after the Qing Dynasty eliminated the Junggar Khanate, all this changed. The Qing Dynasty and the Kazakh Khanate bordered, and conflicts broke out between the two sides at first, and both sides won and lost.

We know that the Qing Dynasty is a bit far away from Kazakhstan. From before, we can see that the Qing army’s food, military pay, and combat weapons all come from the inland thousands of kilometers away. They are fighting against Junggar. For more than 60 years, this logistics supply has always been a problem.

But if the Qing court has such an energy to fight Zhungar, Kazakhstan is definitely not an opponent. It can be seen that after the Qing Dynasty calmed down the Junggar Khanate, it did not continue to expand westward, and it was not because it encountered any powerful opponents.

Then after the Qing Dynasty put down the Junggar Khanate, why did not continue to expand westward and annex the Kazakh Khanate?

On this point, we need to understand why the Qing Dynasty spared no effort to resolve the Junggar rebellion. There is a saying in China that is, on the side of the couch, one should not allow others to snore. This sentence can well understand the reason why Daqing insisted on destroying Junggar for nearly 70 years.

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Mongolia was mainly divided into three parts: Moxi, Mobei, and Monan. As for the Moxi branch, it was the Oala that was once strong during the Ming Dynasty, but it split during the westward migration after its decline, and the Junggar tribe was one of them.

In the 17th century, the Junggar became stronger, driving away the Turgute tribe, and constantly oppressing other tribes. In particular, Galdan unified the tribes of Western Mongolia and began to dominate the Western Regions.

However, the ambitions of the Junggar Khanate are very big, especially Galdan, and even want to unify the entire Mongolian plateau, and then go south to Beijing to reproduce the prosperity of the Mongol Empire.

This is a great threat to the Qing Dynasty. Although Daqing entered the customs not long ago, the trouble was not small. For a while, he adopted a gentle policy toward Gar, but it doesn't mean sitting idly by.

So whether it is Kangxi, Yongzheng or Qianlong, it is impossible to compromise on this issue. After the internal affairs of Kangxi pacified San Francisco and took over Taiwan, the Zhungeer issue began to come to the fore. For this reason, Kangxi did not hesitate to conquer Galdan three times, and his purpose was just that.

Although there was a short-term peace between the two sides, it was the fundamental goal of the Qing Dynasty to remove the threat of Junggar.

It is not that Emperor Kangxi and other emperors were so happy, because they destroyed the Junggar Khanate for personal reasons, but if it is not eliminated, the Qing Dynasty will continue to face huge threats from the north. This is a life and death war that the Qing Dynasty must win.

Kazakh Khanate is different. Kazakhs do have Mongolian ancestry, but they did not have the ambition to unify Mongolia. Moreover, after so many years of national integration and development, an independent Kazakh nation has long been formed.

It can be said that the Qing Dynasty did not have a reason to attack Kazakh. After that, Kazakh expressed its willingness to claim tribute, which is the best result for both parties.

Qianlong issued a decree after learning the news of Kazakh surrender.

According to the "Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty":

Instructed Kazakh Khan Abu Sai said, I am the co-lord of the world, China and foreign countries are integrated, Er Kazak is separated by Zhungar without a tribute. I am hereby pacifying the quasi-buy with soldiers, and I am deeply aware of it. According to the generals and other memorials, you should be given a title after returning, and the nomads should be identified. It will take some time for Zin'er to enter the envoy, and it will take some time for him to return. Erqiqin obeys my precepts and is forever blessed with infinite blessings.

Of course, except for the accident that the Qing Dynasty did not expand to the west, the Qing Dynasty in the late Qianlong period had already begun to decline, and the military's combat effectiveness was not as good as before. The domestic corruption was serious, and there was no ability to expand like the early days.Zhang.