" How awesome is Zuo Zongtang ? He is the last hard bone in our late Qing Dynasty! (Data photo: On a tall stone foundation, there is a marble Zuo Zongtang statue. I saw him wearing a cloak, the wind blows, holding scriptures in his hand, his eyes are bright and majestic! Under his right foot is a half-land shape!)
" Zeng Guofan said that he is the first person today! Liang Qichao also called him the number one great man in 500 years! If it weren't for him, then if we go to Xinjiang now, we might have to apply for a passport!
"On May 3, 1875, the 63-year-old Zuo Zongtang appointed the imperial envoy, and what he wanted to do was a difficult thing that everyone in the Qing court avoided to recover Xinjiang one by one!
But such a difficult thing was Zuo Zongtang himself so hard to ask for! So, why did he recover Xinjiang? The reason is very simple. If he had ignored Xinjiang at that time, Xinjiang would be gone!
"In the late Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement broke out, sweeping half of China, greatly weakening the national strength, and gradually reducing its control over Xinjiang. Various forces in Xinjiang rebelled one after another in 1864! Separate one side!
"After, Kashgar , in order to strengthen oneself, a foreign aid was introduced from Central Asia, a nobleman from the vast country, Aguber (two alien men, carrying long spears on their shoulders, tall and thick beards, and heads like vultures ). But what I didn't expect was that Kashgar's pure move was to attract wolves into the house! After entering Xinjiang, Aguber quickly annexed various forces and announced the establishment of the Zedesar Khanate in 1867. By the end of 1871, it occupied the entire territory of Xinjiang. At this point, Aguber became the overlord of Xinjiang!
"If Aguber's problem was a civil war similar to Taiping Heavenly Kingdom , this was not the most serious, but the trouble was that behind it, there were two US and Russia who were ready to fight and try to betray!
"They not only provided them with a large amount of arms, but also recognized the existence of the Jed Khan internationally. Later, , the Middle East , the , the Ottoman Empire, , also recognized the existence of the Khanate. If this continues for a long time, the Khanate will not only gain international status, but will also be recognized internationally! At that time, the territory of 1.66 million square meters will probably completely disappear on China's territory!
"Faced with this situation, Zuo Zongtang, the then governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, kept writing letters to demand the recovery of Xinjiang! (A portrait of the left-hand man in who is reading - wearing an official hat and sitting in a dangerous position).
"However, he was opposed by Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili , ! (Picture of the ministers - map hanging on the wall). Li believes that the most urgent task is to build a strong navy to prevent the enemy of the sea - Japan! (A photo of Chinese and Japanese officials - the person sitting upright in the middle is Li Hongzhang, the person with the legs is Japanese, and the followers of the two countries are standing four times). Regarding Xinjiang, Li believes that it is a barren land! Therefore, it is recommended to stop the western expedition and suspend abandoning Xinjiang!
"However, this statement was strongly opposed by the left! "The territory of our ancestors cannot be lost!"
" Then, I bluntly said Cixi , "The strategic significance of Xinjiang is really important! The battle between Zuo and Li was the famous battle between "coastal defense" and "game defense" at that time!
".........At the critical moment, Cixi made a decision! "The Xinjiang problem still needs to be solved! With the support of Cixi, Zuo can finally let go of his hands and feet to prepare for the recovery of Xinjiang.
"But, a more difficult thing was placed in front of him, that is, how to fight?
" In May 1875, (the statue of Zuo Gong wearing a maroon official uniform and an official hat) Zuo Gong, who was 63 years old, was approved by Cixi and put on the battlefield to prepare for the war. From the food and grass required by a soldier to the mode of transportation, after careful calculations, Zuo Gong calculated that the military expenditure required was about 8 million taels of silver! In order to prevent accidents, he declared 10 million taels!
"At that time, the national treasury was empty, and only 2 million taels were allocated, and the white sticks distributed to each province were awarded many times, and only 4 million taels were obtained! This money was far from enough for the army to fight west!
"After having no choice, left borrowed usury from foreign companies through the red-top merchant Hu Xueyan , and borrowed a total of about 16 million taels in the past, plus the previous 4 million taels, about 20 million taels in silver!
"In July of that year, Tsarist Russian came to Lanzhou under the name of scientific research to peek at the strength of the Qing army.However, it was greatly shocked! The Qing army has a large number of the most advanced muskets in Europe ! From this we judge that Aguber has absolutely no hope of winning!
"And it is true! In May 1876, after a year of preparation, Zuo led the Western Expedition Army into Xinjiang and launched a general attack on Agubai! Agubai, who was hiding in front of the Qing army, had no combat power! He was beaten to the point of throwing away his armor! From May 1876 to March 1877, 11 months, Zuo Gong recovered Xinjiang!
"And Agubai, who was hiding in the southern Xinjiang, fell into a desperate situation and eventually died in Kashgar!
"In January 1878, the whole Xinjiang was regained! British comments "This is the most glorious achievement that a Chinese army led by the Chinese has achieved since Qianlong! "
" But there is one place that has not been recovered, that is, Yili , occupied by Tsarist Russia! In 1871, taking advantage of the war, Tsarist Russia occupied more than 200,000 square kilometers of land in Yili.! "In order to stabilize the order in Xinjiang, as long as the Qing Dynasty is captured, I will give you back to the Qing Dynasty ."
" So, a minister sent a minister to negotiate, but unexpectedly, this official surrendered Yili in a confused manner! This move instantly angered Zuo Gong! He slapped the table and said, "This negotiation is invalid!" Talk again! Re-sign! Otherwise I will knock it down! "
However, how could Tsarist Russia spit out the duck that was in his mouth? So, in 1880, the Qing Russia talked again. In order to support Zeng Jize in the negotiations, the 68-year-old Zuo Gong led the Western Expedition Army again. In order to express his determination, this is the famous "carrying the coffin to go out"!
"Tsarist Russia understood the Western Expedition Army's plot, and Zuo Gong's determination to serve the country with death, and had a premonition that there was no chance of victory, so he had to make concessions and almost all returned to the entire territory of Yili!
"In 1884, under the repeated supervision of Zuo Gong, the Qing government officially established Xinjiang as a Xinjiang province, and was directly under the jurisdiction of Central Government !
"A year later, this iron-strong man in the late Qing Dynasty passed away! In this battle, the Qing army recovered 1.66 million square kilometers of land, completely stabilizing the situation in the northwest! It can be said completely! Zuo Gong and the Qing army have made great achievements for our country and nation! Left Duke! A well-deserved national hero!
"If Zuo Gong had not recaptured Xinjiang, then if we go, we may have to apply for a visa! Give a thumbs up to our great national hero!" (Author Zhang Yixin)
