Speaking of ancient Chinese military experts, pull up your fingers and count, Sun Bing, Bai Qi, Xiang Yu, Huo Fuyi, Yue Fei and so on.
In fact, in the long river of ancient Chinese history, we must not ignore a figure in the late Qing Dynasty, this person is Zuo Zongtang.
To say that Zuo Zongtang was the leading military figure in ancient China is by no means an exaggeration, because Zuo Zongtang's strategic thinking, Zuo Zongtang's military command talent, and Zuo Zongtang's achievements are indeed few compared.
The impression of later generations on Zuo Zongtang seems to be only discord with Zeng Guofan, and for Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang, it is completely praise and depreciation.
In fact, this was too unfair for Zuo Zongtang.
First of all, let's first look at Zuo Zongtang's contribution to defending the motherland's territory and sovereignty.
In 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi), at the time of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, the powerful forces in Xinjiang took advantage of the opportunity to rise up, and a situation of division appeared, each becoming its own king, and Tsarist Russia seized the opportunity to occupy Ili.
The capture of Ili aroused the great attention of the Qing court, and Jinglian and Chenglu were ordered to lead the army out of the customs, but Jinglian and Chenglu were weak in advancing. In May 1875 (the first year of Guangxu), the Qing court ordered Zuo Zongtang to supervise the military affairs of Xinjiang as the minister of Qincha, and to exercise full control over the three armies.
As a result, the curtain opened on Zuo Zongtang's recovery of Xinjiang.
In terms of military strategy, Zuo Zongtang proposed to "first go north and then south" and "slow advance and rapid warfare."
"First north and then south" means to first stabilize northern Xinjiang (but not rush to take Ili), and then march into southern Xinjiang, considering that the power of the rebel Agubai is mainly concentrated in southern Xinjiang, and at the same time, Urumqi in northern Xinjiang has important political significance. In terms of geographical location, the recovery of northern Xinjiang can create the necessary conditions for the next step of recovering Ili.
"Slow-forward and rapid warfare" means to do a good job in logistics for a long time, raise military salaries, train the army, boost morale, and enhance the combat effectiveness of the army; taking into account the emptiness of the national treasury, as well as the inconvenience of transportation in the northwest, and the excessive length of the front line, once the large army sets out, it must make a quick decision, and strive to win a complete victory in one and a half years and collect troops.
After that, the war situation was exactly as Zuo Zongtang expected, and in just over a year, Zuo Zongtang commanded the Western Expeditionary Army and recovered all the territory of Xinjiang except Ili. Various parts of Xinjiang have also established Zuo Gong Ancestral Halls in villages and towns, large and small, and burned incense to pray.
A military general who can make his army burn incense and pray to the people in the place where he is stationed can imagine his superior ability to govern the army and his political appeal, which is a height that is difficult for any military general to reach.
Secondly, Zuo Zongtang wrote to the imperial court many times to establish Xinjiang Province and Taiwan Province.
After Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang and returned to China's territory, he tried to "draw a strategy for Xinjiang for long-term peace and stability", Zuo Zongtang wrote to the imperial court five times to propose that Xinjiang be established as a province, and in 1884, Xinjiang Province was formally established. This measure further weakened the local feudal separatist forces, realized the unification of the administrative system of Xinjiang with other provinces across the country, and greatly strengthened cultural exchanges between Xinjiang and the interior.
In addition, Zuo Zongtang also eventually contributed to the establishment of Taiwan as a province, and Zuo Zongtang proceeded from strengthening coastal defense to place Taiwan within the unified administrative division of the whole country, and after that, through the efforts of Inspector Liu Mingchuan, Taiwan became an advanced province in the country.
A military general can focus on the overall situation of the administrative division of the whole country, which is not only the vision of a military expert, so Zuo Zongtang is an excellent politician.
Third, Zuo Zongtang's "national defense concept" is even more advanced, advocating "attaching equal importance to coastal defense and Cypriot defense."
In ancient China, coastal defense was never mentioned to a strategic height, so that from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Wokou prevailed, and finally in the late Qing Dynasty, it was opened by the warships of the British and American powers.
Zuo Zongtang advocated replacing old warships with new-style steamships to conform to the trend of coastal defense modernization, and he consistently advocated that the construction of coastal defense must have unified command powers, thus contributing to the establishment of the Prime Minister's Yamen Naval Affairs Yamen, and also advocated the joint defense of soldiers and civilians in coastal defense construction, which enriched China's thinking on coastal defense construction.
In terms of "Cyprus defense", Zuo Zongtang adhered to the principle of "size cannot be let go" of the national territory and proposed a series of measures to "strengthen the army".
Fourth, talk about Zuo Zongtang's strategic and tactical achievements.
In the three years that Zuo Zongtang used troops in Xinjiang, the real combat time was only more than four months, and the rest of the time was spent on material preparations, the selection of fighters, and the careful study and calculation of the enemy's dynamics.
Later generations of military experts commented: Zuo Zongtang's use of troops has indeed reached the state of "the magic of use and the existence of one heart."
To sum up, it is no exaggeration to evaluate Zuo Zongtang as the most outstanding military figure in ancient China, and even his strategic vision is higher than that of other outstanding politicians. Moreover, in the campaign to retake Xinjiang, how many people can compare with his outstanding ability to strategize?