Many scholars had once studied why Spain had declined.
Perhaps, as Bonaparte had just said, silver was important, but having silver did not mean having everything.
As she walked toward the crowd, Georgiana wondered what would have happened if the Qing Dynasty emperor had accepted the British World Group's terms of an "alliance."
First, if the British wanted East Asian trade, they needed a foothold—not some small island, but something on the scale of India. After accepting the British World Group's weapons, the Qing Dynasty could have helped Britain protect its interests in India, preventing France or local Indian rulers from taking it over.
Macartney's mission had taken place during the Second Anti-French Coalition. England had needed to pay the Allied forces "enormous" military expenses. The Qing Dynasty would gain cannons and guns, while England would gain the silver it desperately needed. Though this still could not solve the Qing Dynasty's inability to manufacture advanced weapons domestically, and it would still need the Self-Strengthening Movement to address its manufacturing problems in the future, it would at least preserve a channel for understanding the outside world.
Of course, this was only a hypothetical. It would mean allowing another country to meddle in one's own interests, while also tolerating England's growing power in East Asia. The emperor had already made his decision. As the Eastern military texts said, "The highest form of warfare is to thwart plans; next is to disrupt alliances; the worst is to attack cities." Since diplomacy could no longer achieve their goal, the next step was to prepare for war.
A nation did not necessarily need strength to proclaim sovereignty, but it absolutely needed force to defend it. In the end, sovereignty disputes still had to be resolved by force, even if, as Einstein said, war was inevitable