The Qing court at this time was already a leaking vessel, merely awaiting the fatal kick from its neighboring adversary that would hasten its demise.
Westerner's marrow is ingrained with the genome of Vikings, who deem piracy at sea as natural as the sky and earth, whereas the conquest of land is not part of their ambition.
Only in ancient empires where imperial power is centralized does an extreme greed for land exist, for land brings population and farmland.
Under the agrarian system, all people and land belong to the Emperor as private property; expanding territory is tantamount to increasing the Emperor's private assets.
Feudal subjects regard expanding frontiers as an achievement for eternity, motivated not only by personal aspirations for ennoblement but also by a foolish loyalty to their sovereign.
Westerners fail to understand this because their birth determines their social status; nobility will always be nobility, and commoners will always be commoners.
