In 1752, a new dynasty called Konbaung rose to challenge Restored Hanthawaddy, and went on to reunite much of the kingdom by 1758. In 1758-59, King Alaungpaya, the founder of the dynasty, sent an expedition to the farther Shan States , which had been annexed by the Qing over two decades earlier, to reestablish Burmese authority. . Three of the ten farther Shan state sawbwas  and their militias reportedly ran away into Yunnan and tried to persuade Qing officials to invade Burma. The nephew of Kengtung sawbwa and his followers also fled. The Yunnan government reported the news to the Emperor in 1759, and the Qing court promptly issued an imperial edict ordering reconquest. At first, the Yunnan officials, who believed that "barbarians must be conquered using barbarians", tried to resolve the matter by supporting the defected sawbwas. But the strategy did not work. In 1764, a Burmese army, which was on its way to Siam, was increasing its grip of the borderlands, and the sawbwas complained to China. In response, the Emperor appointed Liu Zao, a respected scholarly minister from the capital to sort out the matters. At Kunming, Liu assessed that the use of Tai-Shan militias alone was not working, and that he needed to commit regular Green Standard Army troops.
WHAT DID THE YUNNAN OFFICIALS BELIEVE IT WOULD TAKE TO CONQUER BARBARIANS
barbarians