In modern times, the last feudal dynasty in China has gradually declined, constantly being beaten passively, cutting up land and paying compensation, losing a lot of vassal states and inherent territories, such as the Xing'an Mountains in the northeast, Sakhalin Island, Tangnu Wuliang Sea, etc. It has more than 200 square kilometers. But when Xinjiang was invaded, the whole nerves of the Qing Dynasty tensed up, and other places could be lost, but Xinjiang could not be lost. This person even woke up Cixi with a single sentence, making her determined to recover it.
In modern times, according to the style of the Great Qing Dynasty, it was a battle that was bound to be lost, and if it was lost, it would cut off the land and pay compensation, and at that time, the Sino-French war was clearly won by the Qing army, and it was still blindly compromised with the outside world and signed an unequal treaty that lost power and humiliated the country. However, when Xinjiang was invaded, the Qing Dynasty rose to prominence. At that time, Xinjiang was very dangerous and complex, and after Tsarist Russia occupied the northeast and northwest, it began to encroach on Xinjiang, and the British wanted to infiltrate from India and Tibet. Moreover, Tsarist Russia's blatant support for the invasion of Xinjiang by the small Central Asian country of Agubai can be described as very complicated.
According to the practice of the Qing Dynasty, it is estimated that it is to let it go unchecked and pay compensation for the land. Moreover, most of the people with Li Hongzhang as the core at that time insisted on compromise if they could compromise, and they hyped up the theory of surrender. It is believed that thousands of miles away, the march is difficult, even if it is impossible to fight, it is better to save military expenses to build a navy and consolidate coastal defense. Moreover, Li Hongzhang also believes that Xinjiang is a place where birds do not, so what use can it be to take it back? In vain! With Li Hongzhang's authority at that time, it is likely that Xinjiang will eventually be abandoned.
At this time, Zuo Zongtang, who realized the seriousness of the problem, stood up and pointed out that the Qing Dynasty can lose any place, but it cannot lose Xinjiang, otherwise the country will not be a country. Zuo Zongtang pointed out: "I am in dingding and yandu, and there has been no flint police for hundreds of decades... It is the reason why those who value Xinjiang are the ones who protect Mongolia, and those who protect Mongolia are the ones who defend the Beijing Division. ...... If Xinjiang is not solid, Then Mongolia will be uneasy... It is impossible to prevent it, that is, to go straight north to Guanshan, and there will be no day of sleep."
This means that the reason why Beijing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty, can rule the whole country is entirely because of the strategic location of Xinjiang, with Xinjiang, the north is worry-free, and the north is worry-free, then the whole country will be peaceful. Once Xinjiang is lost, then the enemy will use Xinjiang as a springboard to encroach on Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, then the capital city of Beijing is dangerous, and the north is likely to be unprotected. If the North is not secured, the country will not be a country, and this is a matter of life and death. And it cannot be measured by the barrenness and barrenness of the land. Therefore, Xinjiang must be taken back, no matter how difficult it is, it must be taken back.
These advices completely awakened Empress Dowager Cixi, which was the main reason why she began to support Zuo Zongtang in recovering Xinjiang, for which Li Hongzhang was still grumpy and later retaliated against Zuo Zongtang.
After Cixi was finalized, zuo Zongtang, who was more than 60 years old, carried a coffin and vowed to recover Xinjiang, when transportation was so inconvenient and the situation was so complicated, the hardships of which could be imagined. Therefore, if there is no Zuo Zongtang, the consequences are unimaginable, and it is likely that coastal defense and Cypriot defense cannot be saved.