If you look closely at the map, there is a rather unusual part of the border northwest of Xinjiang in China, and that is Ili, which is sandwiched between the Borokonu Mountains and the main vein of the Tianshan Mountains.
The main river flowing in this valley is the famous Ili River, which originates at an angle between the two mountains and meanders into Lake Balkhash, and geographically the Ili Valley is classified as the same geographical plate as the Kazakh plain. China and Kazakhstan each occupy half of the Ili River Basin, that is, China controls the upper reaches, and Kazakhstan takes the middle and lower reaches.
Unlike xinjiang's overall semi-arid climate, the upper reaches of the Ili River have always been a place of abundant water and grass. The angle between the Tianshan Mountains and the Borokonu Mountains opens to the west, and the warm and humid air flow from the Atlantic Ocean has reached the end of the crossbow after a long journey, but after being intercepted, there is still a lot of rain subsidence, so that the Ili River Valley has the title of "Saiwai Jiangnan".
In the early Qing Dynasty, the emperors of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties fought against the Dzungar Khanate at any cost, and the target of their contention was the Ili River Valley where the latter occupied. Of course, at that time, the sphere of influence of the Erut Mongols was far more than this angle, and the entire Ili River Valley, including the eastern part of present-day Kazakhstan, was the territory of the Mongol cavalry. After Qianlong pacified Dzungar, the territory of the former khanate was incorporated into the Qing Empire, and at this time China's territory reached as far west as Lake Balkhash, that is to say, during this period we controlled all of the Ili River.
However, the glory of the early Qing Dynasty could not hide the nest of the late period, and when Tsarist Russia came from the west, the Manchu Qing was powerless to resist. The crushing defeat of the Qing Dynasty in the First and Second Opium Wars stimulated the desire of the Russians to encroach on China. While ceding large areas of territory in the northeast, Tsarist Russia still did not forget to turn its attention to the northwest. The 1864 Sino-Russian Treaty on the Demarcation of the Northwest Boundary led to the loss of 440,000 square kilometers of land for no reason, including the middle and lower reaches of the Ili River.
Although because of the strong resistance of the Chinese, Tsarist Russia was unable to trace its power back to the source of the Ili River, but Tsarist Russia obviously would not give up. After the signing of the treaty, the Russians soon supported the invasion of Xinjiang by Agubai, the military leader of the Kokand State, and the Russian army also took advantage of the fire and looting to drive the forces of the Qing Empire out of the upper reaches of the Ili River, that is, full control of the angle between the Tianshan Mountains and the Bolokonu Mountains.
Unfortunately, this time Chinese determined not to give in, and the Qing Dynasty weighed the pros and cons, and Zuo Zongtang, who was already in his old age, carried a coffin from the capital. A year later, Agubai committed suicide in defeat, and all of Xinjiang except for the upper reaches of the Ili River was restored, but in the face of this angle occupied by Tsarist Russia, Zuo Daren was obviously much more cautious. From the Russian point of view, they naturally went all out to strip this area from the territory of the Qing Dynasty, because once the two sides were bounded by the Tianshan Mountains and the Borokonu Mountains, then the fertile river valleys and rich water sources in the west would be unique to Russia, so that not only more garrisons could be moved, but the Tianshan Mountains and the Borokonu Mountains could also become natural defense lines. In the face of the threat of the Russian army, the bottom line of the Qing Dynasty is to keep the upper reaches of the Ili River, otherwise it will not hesitate to fight.
Picture - Overlooking the Delta of the Ili River
At this point, many people of insight have seen the crux of the problem: the climate in Central Asia is generally arid, and whoever controls the water source has the advantage, and the Ili River originates here and has two mountain rings, which is a natural place for soldiers. Even if our generation cannot change the fate of history, as long as we keep the family foundation for future generations, we are not afraid of the day when there will be no reversal in the future.
In 1878, under the circumstances of the two sides, the bannerman Chonghou went to Petersburg on behalf of the Manchu Qing government to negotiate, and as a result, this person was fooled by the Russian side and completely ceded the Ili River Valley. When the news reached the capital, the imperial court was furious, and while ordering the general Chonghou to be imprisoned for questioning, he also sent envoys to seek salvation. However, Russia refused to negotiate again on the grounds that the international treaty was in force, and the imperial court was very passive for a while.
Photo - Aerial photography of the Ili River Valley
Seeing that the wood had become a boat, at this time, Empress Dowager Cixi, who was thousands of miles away, and Zuo Zongtang reached an unprecedented tacit understanding. At the sound of an order, Zuo Zongtang ordered the army to go north to Ili, and at the same time released the words: "Either renegotiate or end up together", until this time Czarist Russia finally understood that the old man in Hunan had never thought of leaving Xinjiang alive from the beginning.
Seeing that the Chinese desperate, Tsarist Russia finally admitted, and in 1881, the Qing envoy went to Russia again, the two sides signed the "Sino-Russian Amendment Treaty", and Ili returned to the territory of the motherland.