From 1718 to 1720, the Kangxi Emperor sent Qing troops to defeat the Dzungar tribe of Tseringdun Dobu, who invaded Tibet, restoring order in Tibet, and Tsering Dun Dobu fled back to Ili, Xinjiang. Next, the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors were busy pacifying the big and small Jinchuan in Qinghai and western Sichuan, especially in the early Qianlong Qing court, which was deeply involved in the Battle of Jinchuan, which consumed too much manpower, material resources and financial resources, and did not have too much energy to solve the Dzungar forces.
After the pacification of the Great and Small Jinchuan in 1749, the Qing Dynasty was able to smoothly carry out land reform and return to the southwest region, a policy that had a great impact on future generations, changed the way of governance in southwest China for thousands of years, and made great contributions to the unity and territorial integrity of our country.
During the Qing Dynasty's conquest of Jinchuan, the Dzungar chieftain of the northwest region, Gardan Tse-zero, died of illness in 1745. Kaldanze Zero and his father Alabutan were more difficult opponents than Kaldan, and his death was good news for the Qing court, but it also brought about instability, and infighting within the Dzungars for the khan's throne began.
The various forces within the Dzungars fought fiercely, and eventually the grandson of the general Tsering Tun Dob (the one who had fled from Tibet), Dawazi, seized the throne and established himself as Khan because he had the support of his ally Amir Sana.
Amir Sana was the chief of the Huit tribe, a small tribe of the Weyrat Mongols that was attached to the Durbert clan of one of the four Weirat (Dzungar, Heshot, Durbert, turk). After the Turks moved west to the Volga River, the Huites moved to the tacheng area of present-day Xinjiang, replacing Turbat as one of the four divisions of the Weyrat.
Amir Sana was the grandson of Tseresa Alabutan and an ambitious man who helped Dawazi only to take advantage of his power. When Amir Sana's ambitions could not be satisfied, he eventually turned against Dawazi and began to attack the other side, only to be defeated and lead his people to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.
After a few years of recuperation after the Battle of Jinchuan, Qianlong also wanted to take this opportunity to solve the problem of Dzungar once and for all, and this was the best time. As a result, pre-war preparations began, mobilizing men and horses from various places, collecting food and salaries, and formulating a strategic policy.
In February 1755, the Qing army divided into two routes and directly attacked Ili. The 25,000 men of the Northern Route Army, led by the Dingbei general Bandi and the surrendered Amir Sana, left Uriasutai, crossed the Altai Mountains, and then advanced southwest.
The 25,000-strong Western Route Army, led by the Dingxi generals Yongchang and Salar, was killed from Balikun via Urumqi to Ili. The two armies met at the Borotara River (present-day Bortala River, Xinjiang).
When Dawazi heard that the Qing army was approaching, he was discouraged by the wind, so he abandoned the city of Ili and fled in a panic, leading more than 10,000 people to retreat to Mount Geshan. Gelan Mountain is located southwest of Ili City, 60 to 70 kilometers west of the county seat of present-day Zhaosu County, Xinjiang, on the east bank of the Sumbair River. Not far from Gedeng is the present-day China-Kazakhstan border. If you stand on the Gedeng Mountain you can see the small town of Kazakhstan opposite.
Gredeng was originally an unknown mountain, but because of this war, it has left a mark in history. Later, Qianlong ordered the erection of a monument about 3 meters high on the mountain, "Pingding Dzungar Le Mingge Mountaineering Monument", and also wrote an inscription in his own handwriting to record the process of counterinsurgency. Leaving this matter aside, let's go back to the battlefield first.
After the Qing army occupied Ili, the soldiers still divided into two ways, crossed the Ili River and approached Gelan Mountain, encircling the Dawazi rebels. At night, the Qing army sent Ayuxi, a former Dzungar, to lead 22 horsemen to take advantage of the night and familiar terrain to blend into the Dawazi camp and launch an attack unexpectedly. The Dawazi rebel camp was in disarray and was defeated by the Qing forces that followed. Dawazi led two thousand men south across the Tianshan Mountains and fled, where they were captured by local chiefs near Ush and dedicated to the Qing army, at which point Dawazi's rebellion was put down.
In this war to pacify the forces of Dzungar Dawaqi, although Ayuxi was only a small wing commander of the forward team, he made immortal merits for the Qing Dynasty to pacify the Western Regions with his bravery, and was included in the list of 100 meritorious heroes, and ranked 33rd. Qianlong personally received Ayuxi and wrote a personal inscription for his portrait of the "Portrait of Ayuxi of the Scattered Rank Minister, Karabatulu", which was hung in the Purple Light Pavilion. Today, this portrait exists in the Tianjin Museum and is one of the only two remaining portraits of 100 heroes after the invasion of China by the Eight-Power Alliance.
Although even without Ayuxi, the Qing army with 50,000 troops, almost each equipped with 3 horses such a strength, pacifying Dawazi is sooner or later, but Ayuxi's brave and martial performance undoubtedly makes the whole process of war simpler and easier. Ending the war faster also reduced casualties and the consumption of money and food. On a larger level, Ayuxi made important contributions to the unification of the country and indeed deserved the praise of the Qianlong Emperor.