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Rejuvenate your dream in Xinjiang, don’t forget Zuo Zongtang
Author: Former Railway Soldier Newspaper Luo Guangming
The old leader Director Zhai Jisheng’s three series of masterpieces in "Rejuvenate your dream in the Southern Xinjiang Railway" have caused great responses among his comrades, and also made me miss the beautiful Xinjiang that I once fought in life and fought even more. I can’t help but think of Zuo Zongtang, a famous minister of the generation. More than 140 years ago, when Xinjiang was facing the crisis of decline, he stood up, turned the tide, destroyed the bandits, drove out the barbarians, and recovered the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in one fell swoop, bringing the 1.66 million square kilometers of great rivers and mountains back to the embrace of the motherland.
Without him, there is no way to talk about the construction of the southern Xinjiang railway.
Chairman Mao once highly praised him: "Without Zuo Zongtang, things in Xinjiang are hard to say."
Liang Qi praised him as: "The No. 1 Great Man in Five Hundred Years".
Xinjiang was called the Western Regions in ancient times. Since ancient times, this vast fertile land has shared the common name with the Central Plains: China. As early as the first century BC, Emperor Xuan of Han established the "Western Regions Protectorate" in Luntai, and officially placed the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains under the banner of the Han Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms era, even in the situation of warlords' melee, Cao Wei still implemented effective management of the Western Regions. Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi established the Western Regions Chief Mansion in Loulan and established a military garrison system, similar to today's Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, which was produced and guarded the border. After entering the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of Tang successively established the "Anxi Protectorate" and the "Beiting Protectorate", and included the current Western Regions, including the five Central Asian countries, into the territory of the Tang Empire. The poet Li Bai was born in Tokmak (Broken Leaf) in Kyrgyzstan. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Central Plains Dynasty lost its effective jurisdiction over the Western Regions. It was not until the Qing Dynasty quelled the rebellion of Junggar and Hezhuo that the wanderer who had been separated from the Central Plains dynasty for nearly a thousand years returned to his mother's arms. Emperor Qianlong, who was very fond of merit, changed the Western Regions to "Xinjiang", which means "the hometown is new."
The years are glorious, and the past is like smoke. By the middle of the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty was already suffering from internal and external troubles, with devastation and desolation. The bandit leader Agubai, who invaded Xinjiang, took the opportunity to establish himself as a country and declared his separation from the Qing court. Tsarist Russia, which had long coveted Xinjiang, took advantage of the situation to rob Yili. Britain, which has been eyeing the Northwest, has also stretched out its clutches. For a moment, dark clouds were over the city, and the northwest border was in danger!
The house is leaking and raining all night. At this time, Japan provoked the battle on the southeast coast and sent troops to raid Taiwan. Faced with the crisis of broken mountains and rivers and land in China, where can we go? A fierce debate that determines the fate of Xinjiang began in the Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang, advocated giving up Xinjiang in the name of strengthening "coastal defense", believing that Xinjiang is a place outside the world, with a vast land of thousands of miles, sparsely populated, and barren land. "The new destiny is gone, and it is not damaged by the vitality of the body." His proposal was supported by many court officials.
As a member of the Chinese nation's big family, Xinjiang has been working hard for thousands of years, fighting with its own blood and life, protecting this sacred territory with its blood and life, and composing heroic songs that are singular. In the face of the provocation of the Xiongnu, Chen Tang, the general of the Western Han Dynasty, was not afraid of the distance, and crossed the mountains and crossed the Guanshan Mountains. He led his army to raid for 3,000 miles, killing the Xiongnu Zhizhi Shanyu, who threatened the territory of the Western Regions, leaving behind a heart-wrenching and bold statement, "Those who violate the powerful Han Dynasty will be punished even if they are far away." Ban Chao, the Marquis of Dingyuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty, performed the feat of "thirty-six cavalry in the Western Regions" with his heroic spirit of "not entering the tiger's den, how can he get a tiger's son". He guarded the border for the country for 30 years, and did not return to his hometown Chang'an until he was 71 years old. He died in just one month, and devoted his life to the border of the motherland. During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, An Gao Xianzhi, deputy envoy of Xiduodu, led 30,000 Anxi Army and 100,000 Daxi Army to fight fiercely in Talas for 5 days and 5 nights, killing tens of thousands of enemies, killing corpses everywhere and blood flowed into rivers. Since then, the Arabs have never dared to go further east. After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, more than 10,000 Daxi soldiers who stayed in the Western Regions shared the same hatred of the enemy under repeated sieges of the Uighurs and Tubos, and vowed not to surrender. They held their territory for more than 40 years. In the end, all men died in battle, and women committed suicide to their country, showing their bloody loyalty that moved the world.
Are the foundation that our ancestors have developed with their blood and lives, so they are at slaughtered by others?
At the critical moment, Zuo Zongtang, who was then the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, slapped the table and stood up, denounced Li Hongzhang's fallacy of "Xinjiang is useless" and "it is not worth the loss", and pointed out that the land of the Tianshan Mountains is fertile and sweet, the resources are rich, and the minerals are rich. The so-called desert of thousands of miles is actually a treasure pot. "Xinjiang will never be restored, and the thief will definitely gain a foothold. The Qing Dynasty will not sleep at all." The recovery of the northwest border will be elevated to a height that concerns the safety of the country.
history often has amazing similarities. In the early 1950s, when the US imperialists burned the war invasion to the Yalu River, the great man Mao Zedong pointed out with a high strategic perspective that if the invaders were allowed to occupy the Korean Peninsula and put the cannons on the Yalu River, our country's security would be threatened for a long time and endless troubles. He resisted the opposition and with his superhuman courage and courage, he made the wise decision to "resist the U.S. and aid Korea, defend the country." It was that epic war that brought prosperity to the country and peace for the New China, and the prestige of the country and military power. The world will be determined by a battle. There will be no war on China's Eastern Front from then on.
The two great men of Hunan and Hunan have nearly a hundred years apart, but their strategic vision is highly the same when it comes to issues concerning national sovereignty and safety.
Zuo Zongtang's patriotic feelings eventually received the support of the two empress dowagers Ci'an and Cixi who were honest and obedient to politics. They were appointed as the imperial envoy to supervise Xinjiang's military affairs.
On an autumn evening, Zuo Zongtang, who was ordered to take the opportunity to bid farewell to the capital and embark on a long journey westward. The sunset in the distance collapsed, dyeing the sky red, and the golden afterglow shone through the car window on his tough and tough face. Despite the difficult and dangerous road ahead, there was a huge pride in his heart. He had been waiting for a long time this day. Next to him was the map of Xinjiang that Lin Zexu gave him in his early years. For many years, he never forgot the heavy trust of Xiangjiang that night.
It was a late autumn 20 years ago. Lin Zexu, who was the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou at the time, returned to his hometown in Fujian to recuperate. When he passed by Changsha, he parked his boat on the Xiangjiang River at the foot of Yuelu Mountain. The reason why he stopped here was to meet Zuo Zongtang, who had been heard of for a long time but had never met him. Previously, his close friend Hu Linyi recommended Zuo Zongtang to him many times, saying that Zuo was "the first person in Chucai recently." At that time, Zuo Zongtang, who was living in seclusion in Liu Township, Xiangyin, was overjoyed when he heard Lin Zexu who had admired him for a long time summoning him and rushed forward. When he arrived at the bank of the Xiangjiang River, the moon was already rising and the night was falling. When Zuo Zongtang was excited, he stepped on the air and fell into the water. Lin Zexu smiled and said, "Is this your meeting gift?"
That year, Lin Zexu was already 64 years old and a national hero all over the world. Zuo Zongtang was just a 37-year-old commoner, but his common ambition and feelings made the two surpass the differences in age and status, like an old friend who had been reunited after a long separation. At the foot of Yuelu Mountain, on the banks of Xiang River, one old and one young talk at night. The wind and waves of the river outside the boat are blowing, and the fishing fires are dotted. The two people in the boat discuss the world's perfection and tide, and they talk about the ambitions of the world until the east turns white and the rest of the fun is not over.
This is a meeting destined to be loaded into history. Lin Zexu, who had been exiled to Xinjiang for five years, talked to Zuo Zongtang in detail about Tsarist Russia's heart for the northwest border that night. He handed over all the information he had collected and the Xinjiang map he had personally drawn to Zuo Zongtang, and said earnestly: "I am old, I have the ambition to control Russia, but I will never achieve anything... In the future, there are some people in the Southeast Asian barbarians, but only in the west to settle Xinjiang, and I will give up my lord." Zuo Zongtang kept Lin Zexu's earnest instructions in his heart. That night, the lights penetrated the windows and the night sky, reflecting in the modern history of the Chinese nation.
When Xiangjiang night talks were about to leave, Lin Zexu wrote a couplet from many years ago, giving his friends who forgot about their age: "If it is beneficial to the country's life and death, how can we avoid it because of misfortune and good fortune." Zuo Zongtang and Lin Zexu only saw this, but regarded this famous couplet as a motto for their whole life.
A year later, Lin Zexu passed away. This national hero can rest assured that his unsuccessful career has successors.
In the spring of 1876, in front of the Shaanxi-Gansu Governor's Office in Liangzhou, the horns were sounded and drums were blowing, and the marching call to recover Xinjiang was sounded.At the foot of Qilian Mountains, cars and horses are sluggish. The flags of the old age are slinging with tens of men. The long wind blows the big flags. The left general is slinging with his sword and the Ying Feng is magnificent, leading 60,000 Hunan and Hunan children to advance west along the ancient road of the Han and Tang Dynasties. The iron hooves roll up the yellow sand in the sky...
The desert sand is like snow, and the horses are roaring. The army of the Western Expedition, with golden swords and iron horses, was as powerful as a tiger, and swept across thousands of troops. In just over a year, it wiped out all the Agubo bandits, and except for Yili, it recovered the entire territory of Xinjiang.
After the demise of Agubo bandits, Tsarist Russia still occupied the Yili River Valley and refused to return it. "The national territory cannot be used in size!" In order to regain the occupied territory, Zuo Zongtang once again put on the battlefield. At that time, he was 69 years old and nearly 70 years old. An old horse is in the stable and has ambitions for thousands of miles; a martyr has ambitions in his old age.
This is a absolutely moving scene: In order to show his determination to defend his territory, Zuo Zongtang moved the camp 1,000 miles from Suzhou (Jiuquan) to Hami. Behind him, the soldiers carried a dark coffin and followed the army. This was specially created by Zuo Zongtang for himself. "Yu Zi left the customs" expressed the old man's determination to fight against Tsarist Russia, and to wrap his body without hesitation, and to swear to return it without killing Loulan. "If you don't seek survival and enter the border, you will only repay the king if you die." Zuo Zongtang, who was dedicated to serving the country, turned his life into the most beautiful posture on the stage of history at that moment.
will have the intention to die, and a scholar will not have the desire to live. Zuo Zongtang's ambition and pride of death greatly stimulated the morale of the team. Tsarist Russia was forced to vomit Yili, which was swallowed into his mouth in front of the righteous army with a firm and high-spirited fighting spirit. At this point, Xinjiang, which has been separatist for 10 years, finally returned to the embrace of the motherland. Zuo Zongtang’s immortal contributions to the Chinese nation will shine forever!
Recovery of Xinjiang is the only time in modern history that China regained the territory occupied by the great powers by force. A history of the late Qing Dynasty is full of records of cede land and compensation, losing power and humiliating the country. China almost always suffers from agreements and is defeated without war. Only Zuo Zongtang's actions in the northwest were a stroke of thick ink and colorful strokes on the sad sunset pictures of the late Qing Dynasty.
After recapturing Xinjiang, Zuo Zongtang specially visited Lin Zexu Temple to comfort the spirit of national heroes in heaven. It has been more than 30 years since Xiangjiang said goodbye. Zuo Zongtang was entrusted to fulfill his promise for life.
Today, on the bustling Xiaoxiang Avenue in Changsha, a sculpture of "Xiangjiang Night Talk" stands tall, telling the past people the great meeting more than 100 years ago.
History has long been left to reflect the past and present. After the founding of New China in 1950, in order to consolidate the northwest border, a Hunan-born general led an army of 70,000 to attack Xinjiang along Zuo Zongtang's march route that year. The long road is long, yellow sand covers the sun, and rows of "Zuo Gong Liu" on the side of the road sway in the wind, green and tall. That was what Zuo Zongtang took all the way when he fought in Xinjiang. The boundless green corridor is like a long stele without words, silently telling the feats of the past. The general was deeply moved: "This road is difficult to walk. It is conceivable that it was even more difficult for Zuo Gong to take this road back then... Zuo Gong's recovery of Xinjiang was a manifestation of patriotism." This general was Wang Zhen, who had served as the commander of the railway corps.
On June 18, 1885, 74-year-old Zuo Zongtang passed away suddenly at the headquarters of the Fuzhou imperial envoy. That night, the tragic wind echoed, lightning and thundering, heavy rain was pouring, and the vast sky shed tears all over the sky, expressing sorrow to this loyal soul of the nation.
News came out, the people of Fuzhou closed their doors and stopped the market, Zhang Jian Jian Jian, burned incense and sacrificed their sacrifices, and raised the city to mourn. When the coffin was transported, "there are no less than tens of millions of people who welcomed the Tao, and the road was blocked." The Qing court issued an edict to posthumously award him the title of Prince's Tutor and posthumously named "Wenxiang".
Zuo Zongtang fell on the front line of the anti-French struggle. Before his death, he was in charge of military affairs in Fujian and was preparing to fight back against France's invasion of our southeast coast. In his death memorial to the court, he said to himself: "I have not yet exerted my country's power, and I have regrets for my whole life, and I will never be blinded." A man's heart is as iron as iron, and Zuo Zongtang still misses his battle for the country and nation at the last moment of his life!
years old, I know pine and cypress, but I find loyal ministers in the country. In the late Qing Dynasty, when the national disaster was severe, Zuo Zongtang spent his whole life shouting and striving to fight against foreign aggression and promote the power of China.
As early in the Opium War, facing the barbaric invasion of the British, Zuo Zongtang, who was 28 years old and was still a "people in the mountains and wild grass", called out loudly to the court: "I am willing to be willing to do it forever, and you should not be tamed by your wolves." He firmly opposed giving in to the invaders;
1860, the British and French coalition forces captured Beijing, burned the Old Summer Palace, and Emperor Xianfeng fled in a hurry. Zuo Zongtang, who was fighting against the Taiping Army in Anhui, was furious when he learned about it and repeatedly proposed to Zeng Guofan that he would lead the Chu army alone to "go to the north to serve the king";
After the outbreak of the Sino-French War, Zuo Zongtang made a generous speech in the court: We cannot succumb to foreigners forever. Instead of paying compensation, it is better to use compensation as a war fee. Cixi, who was present, burst into tears when she heard this, and immediately appointed him as the imperial envoy to supervise the military affairs of Fujian. Under Zuo Zongtang's command, the Chinese army attacked the French invaders in Guangxi and won the "Zhennan Pass Victory", which directly led to the collapse of the French Rufeili Cabinet;
When Zuo Zongtang was the governor of Liangjiang, he inspected Shanghai's defense four times. Whenever the concession authorities heard that he was coming, they immediately lowered their flag, replaced it with the Qing Dynasty dragon flag, lined up on both sides of the street, paying tribute to Lord Zuo, who was sitting in the green eight-carrying sedan chair. Among the civil and military officials of the Qing Dynasty, Zuo Zongtang was the only one who could make the arrogant foreigners so respectfully.
Only when the sea flows through the sea show the true nature of a hero. In the late Qing Dynasty, when he was servile to foreigners, Zuo Zongtang demonstrated the strong and uncompromising spirit of the Chinese people with his unyielding spirit and became the backbone of the nation that stood out in that era. As praised in a poem eulogy: "I never mention peace and discussion, and I am the only one in Zuo Wenxiang for thousands of years."
Editor: The world is bright and the heart is wide and there is no boundary 2020.5.20
