Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885), zi jigao, a native of Xiangyin County, Hunan, was one of the representative figures of the Western school.
One of his exploits is undoubtedly the glorious deed of insisting on sending troops to Xinjiang, sweeping away the Agubai bandit gang, smashing the conspiracy of the British and Russian forces in a vain attempt to dismember Xinjiang, and safeguarding the territorial integrity of the motherland.
In addition, he also actively participated in the development of Xinjiang and made indelible contributions to the modern political and economic development of Xinjiang (
Further reading:
Reading Notes: How did the Qing Dynasty manage the Great Northwest?
）
Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885)
So the question is, what preparations did Zuo Zongtang make in order to recover Xinjiang? After the recovery of Xinjiang, how will local production and construction be restored? I checked the information, and then I will talk to you briefly.
1) The dispute between "coastal defense" and "cypriot defense"
Since the pacification of Dzungar and The Great and Small Hezhuo, the remnants of hezhuo who fled to Central Asia have from time to time invaded the border and disturbed the border, posing a serious threat to the production and life of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang (
An overview: The past and present lives of "Hezhuo" in Xinjiang
）。
Today, the ancient city of Kashgar is calm and peaceful
After the outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864), the Qing court focused its main energy on the war against the Taiping Army, and the northwest border defense affairs became increasingly abandoned. Coupled with the fact that officials at all levels in southern Xinjiang have taken advantage of each other and plundered, oppressed and exploited the local people of all nationalities, resulting in the boiling of the entire people's resentment and the increasingly acute internal contradictions.
In 1864, large-scale civil unrest broke out in various parts of Xinjiang.
Kashgar, Turpan, and other places have successively established local separatist regimes. Under the slogan of "Manchu, Anti-Han, and Defending Religion," they deceived and incited ethnic vendettas, and the situation in Xinjiang became extremely chaotic.
In 1865, he was known as the "Butcher of Central Asia" as an officer of the State of Kokand
Agubai led an army to invade southern Xinjiang.
After the total destruction of the various separatist regimes, the establishment of the so-called "Zhedshar Khanate" was announced. He also extended the magic claw to the north, and successively captured Urumqi and the Turpan Basin.
Agubai
At the same time, The British and Russian forces also began to fight the idea of Xinjiang.
In 1871, Tsarist Russia invaded and occupied Ili, and successively controlled the western part of the Dzungar Basin from Tacheng and Emin River in the north to the JingHe River and Kulkhala Wusu (present-day Wusu) in the south, and infiltrated into other places (
Thinking of Danger in Times: An Overview of two frontier crises in modern China
In addition, Britain and Russia, who were pregnant with ghosts, gave a lot of support to the Agubai regime.
-- Not only did he supply him with a large amount of arms and weapons, but he also signed the "Anglo-Afghan Treaty" and the "Russian-Afghan Treaty" with him respectively, and on the basis of recognizing Agubai as the leader of the "Zhedshar", he obtained the privileges of trade and envoys in the southern Xinjiang region.
To put it bluntly, Xinjiang at this time is in great danger of being dismembered.
Kokand Army
At the same time, Japan sent troops to attempt to invade and occupy Taiwan, and the situation in southeast coastal defense became increasingly tense.
Therefore, within the Qing government, the call for strengthening coastal defense also rose.
Directly subordinate to Governor Li Hongzhang
He believes that "it is difficult to take into account the western expedition of coastal defense", "moving to the west to help coastal defense", "Xinjiang is no longer recovering, and there is no harm to the limbs",
Advocate abandoning Xinjiang and suspending troops and salaries.
In response to Li Hongzhang's fallacy,
Zuo Zongtang severely refuted it.
As a result, a debate over the importance of "coastal defense" and "cyprus defense" broke out in an all-round way.
Zuo Zongtang believes that
From the perspective of safeguarding national security, Xinjiang must be recovered.
"Those who are heavy on Xinjiang, so they protect Mongolia, and those who protect Mongolia are so Weijing Division, the northwest arm is connected, the situation is complete, and there is no gap to take advantage of." On the contrary, "if Xinjiang is not solid, then Mongolia is uneasy", not only Shaanxi, Gansu, and Shanxi are "invaded by time, and it is impossible to prevent it, that is, there is no day for feasting and sleeping in Guanshan in Zhibei".
If the troops are stopped at this time and the salaries are withdrawn,
"I am not alone in the right side of the road, that is, in the north road Kobdo, UlyaSutai, etc., I am afraid that I will not be able to feast", "
It may not be beneficial to coastal defense, but it is a great obstacle to coastal defense."
Statue of Zuo Zongtang
In a word, in Zuo Zongtang's view, "sai defense" and "coastal defense" should pay equal attention to each other, and should not favor one over the other.
The suspension of troops and the withdrawal of salaries "concerns the overall situation, and if we do not prepare details, we will regret it, and in the midst of the matter, there are those who dare not say anything, and those who dare not say it endlessly." Geng Geng's heart, good is not him. ”
To show your resolve,
He said that "(I) am a high-ranking eminent lord... I am sixty-five years old, and the twilight of the day is long. ... It is my duty to lead the border to the wilderness and arduousness," and there are really "those who will not tolerate themselves."[Xinjiang] at this time did not ask any questions, as if the future troubles were born, and it was inevitable that they would be worried about going on for hundreds of miles." "Zuo Zongtang's patriotism in defending the territorial sovereign integrity of the motherland regardless of personal gains and losses is worthy of praise by all the people of our country.
2) Preparations before the reconquest of Xinjiang
Zuo Zongtang's recital deeply touched the highest level of the Qing court.
In May 1875, Zuo Zongtang was appointed minister of Chincha, supervising the military affairs of Xinjiang, commanding "the division of Shaanxi and Gansu Hundred Battles, riding the sharp out of the customs", aiming to recover Xinjiang.
However, just as the so-called "soldiers and horses have not moved, grain and grass have gone first," considering the declining national strength, the problems of soldiers, salaries, grain, and transportation that were urgently needed before the Western Expedition were very tricky, and "it is difficult to raise salaries than to raise soldiers, it is difficult to raise grain, and it is difficult to raise grain for transportation." Coupled with the obstruction and interference of the "coastal defense faction" headed by Li Hongzhang,
Zuo Zongtang was under very great pressure.
However, he used his wisdom and in a relatively short period of time to solve the problems of soldiers, salaries, grain, and transportation, and made full preparations for the recovery of Xinjiang.
1) Reorganize the army
To retake Xinjiang, the main enemies were not only the Agubai bandits, but also the British and Russian invaders
。 To defeat them, it is necessary to organize a well-organized, well-trained army capable of fighting.
However, in the garrisons in Xinjiang and Gansu, officials are corrupt, soldiers are afraid of the enemy like tigers, and their combat effectiveness is extremely low.
No substantial harm can be inflicted on the aggressor.
Faced with this situation, Zuo Zongtang carried out drastic reforms to the local garrison in Xinjiang.
The Qing Army under the lens of a Russian photographer (1875. Gansu)
The first to bear the brunt is right
Urumqi Admiral Cheng Lu's troops
of rectification.
As early as January 1867, the Qing court ordered Cheng Lu to lead an army into Hami to act as a backup for Jing Lian, the minister of Counselor General of Yeerqiang. However, he has been stranded in Gansu Gaotai on the grounds of "poor grain transportation" and has stopped moving forward. In September 1870, the Agubai forces invaded Urumqi, and the Qing government strictly ordered Cheng Lu to reinforce Jinglian. However, Cheng Lu not only refused to send troops, but also "maintained a drama class, feasted and listened to the drama all day", and regarded Gaotai as his "health place".
Cheng Lu's troops were not only ineffective in combat,
The phenomenon of "eating empty pay" is also very serious.
"The twelve battalions of the First Army, the existing real number is only five or six battalions, and there are still many redundant." An enraged Zuo Zongtang wrote a special letter demanding that Chenglu be strictly investigated. Soon, the Qing court dismissed Cheng Lu from his post and assigned the twelve battalions under his command "into three battalions" to Jing Lian for moderation and dispatch.
In addition to Cheng Lu, Mutushan's troops, who supervised the defense of Lanzhou, were also reorganized.
In addition to the more than a thousand horse teams in Jilin and Heilongjiang led by him, the infantry was "all dismissed to save the waste."
The troops of Jing Lian, Jin Shun, and Wen Lin stationed in Xinjiang have also been greatly optimized
- Jing Lian and Jin Shun's troops were once reduced to 19 battalions; Wen Lin's troops, except for the Jilin and Heilongjiang horse teams, were all disbanded and dismissed.
In the face of the Western powers armed to the teeth, the Qing army had almost no power to fight back
In addition, he also carried out a large-scale reorganization of the Western Expeditionary Army under his command.
In addition to eliminating vacancies and dismissing the old and weak, he stipulated that "all those who do not wish to leave the Kansai Expedition shall be repatriated and returned to their hometowns" and that "once they have been reorganized into an army, they are not allowed to leave the camp without authorization, and those who violate the law will be severely punished."
He demanded that the officers and men of all departments of the Western Expeditionary Army should not extort and harass the local people everywhere, and that "those who violate the law shall not be severely punished"; officers shall not deduct the food and salaries of soldiers, and "in the event of such a situation, yongding will be allowed to appeal to the people... The superiors will certainly act on their behalf." After some drastic rectification, Zuo Zongtang gathered a force of about 70,000 or 80,000 people.
It is a unit composed of patriotic officers and men of han, Hui, Manchu, and other nationalities with quite strong combat effectiveness.
Zuo Zongtang's Western Expeditionary Army in the old photo
2) Raise military salaries from multiple sources
There are 130 battalions under the Western Expeditionary Army, with a total of 70,000 or 80,000 officers and men, and they need to pay at least 6 million taels of silver every year, plus the expenditure on transportation of grain and other expenses
The annual demand for military expenditure is more than 8 million taels.
However, at that time, the Qing government's finances were already very difficult, and the support that the central government could give could be described as a drop in the bucket.
In addition to the central government, local support is also quite limited.
Gansu in the rear area is "barren and bitter in the world", "tong province Ding grain is only more than 200,000 taels a year old", and later even 200,000 taels were not enough; Shaanxi Province's finances were slightly better than Gansu's, but the annual income of ding ding was only 400,000 taels. Therefore, the shaanxi and Gansu provinces alone cannot effectively solve the problem of military salary supply.
As a result, the Qing government had to order the provinces to "pay the salary and support".
However, the salaries of the provinces and customs were often not in place in time for various reasons; in addition, Li Hongzhang competed with Zuo Zongtang for "coastal defense."
The work of raising salaries for the Western Expeditionary Army was once at an impasse.
Therefore, Zuo Zongtang had to apply to the imperial court,
Allow yourself to borrow from foreign banks.
In January 1867, the Qing court ordered the household department to allocate 2 million taels of silver, "and allowed it to borrow."
5 million taels of foreign silver
Provinces should release 3 million taels of salary in advance, which is enough to reach 10 million. In June, Zuo Zongtang borrowed 5 million taels from the British HSBC Bank, with an annual interest rate of 10%, which was guaranteed by the customs tariff revenue and repaid in seven years.
In April 1875, he moved to Jardine Matheson & Co. in England
Borrow 1 million taels
British India Liru Bank borrowed 2 million taels, with an annual interest rate of 10.5%, a term of three years, guaranteed by customs duties.
HSBC Shanghai(1865)
In 1878, Zuo Zongtang sent a special letter to Hu Xueyan, a "red-topped businessman", asking him to negotiate a loan of silver from China, "set up a company, gather many merchants, and pool funds to be borrowed." In September, Hu Xueyan organized a Qiantai company in Shanghai that specialized in borrowing money. However, when the Chinese merchants only gathered 1.75 million taels and hesitated, HSBC took the initiative to "attach chinese stocks to lend" with the same amount.
The total loan of this western expedition is 3 million taels, and Chinese businessmen and HSBC each account for half.
In 1881, Zuo Zongtang again sent a letter to HSBC
Borrow 4 million taels
, with an annual interest rate of 8% and a term of 6 years, was originally intended to be guaranteed by the income of the Shaanxi-Gansu Clan Treasury, but in fact deducted from the customs tariff revenue.
For the western expedition, Zuo Zongtang borrowed six times from foreign merchants, with a total of 15.95 million taels, accounting for 15% of the total military supplies of the western expedition.
Among them, 13.85 million taels (87% of the total loan) were borrowed as military expenses for the army to recover Xinjiang. Considering the national conditions at that time, in order to ensure that the cause of recovering Xinjiang would not fail in any way, Zuo Zongtang's measures to solve the problem of military salaries by borrowing foreign debt should be fully understood.
Zuo Zongtang in 1875
3) Open up transportation channels
In Xinjiang, which has been plagued by war, the people are displaced, the land is barren, and transportation is inconvenient.
Therefore, the procurement and transshipment of military food are very difficult. In this regard, Zuo Zongtang has a clear understanding.
The procurement and transportation of military food is a top priority that urgently needs to be resolved.
There are about 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers in the Western Expeditionary Army, and they need 4 million catties of military food and about 500,000 catties of horse materials every month. If purchased in Huguang, Sichuan and other places, the price of grain is cheap, but the cost of transshipment is very expensive. Yuan Baoheng (1826-1878), deputy to the Western Expeditionary Army, proposed a plan to "purchase grain from Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou and other places in Gansu and transport it by mule truck", but Zuo Zongtang rejected it by one vote.
Zuo Zongtang pointed out that in all parts of Gansu, which have experienced the ravages of war, normal production and living order have not been restored, and purchasing military grain in Gansu is tantamount to "grabbing the people's food." Therefore, the military food of the Western Expeditionary Army,
Mainly choose to buy in Ningxia, Baotou, Naturalization (Hohhot) and other places.
In addition, Outer Mongolia's
Ulyasutai and Kobdo
In other places, they also undertook the work of raising some of the military food for the Western Expeditionary Army.
Specific locations of Uriasuta and Kobdo (Image: Geo Valley)
Zuo Zongtang also believes that transporting grain is "not feasible with mule trucks."
The mule trucks have limited carrying capacity and huge consumption, and the grain transport teams have not yet reached their destinations, and the grain contained in them has already consumed a lot; in addition, there are many sand moraines outside the Guanwai, no water, no grass, and it is not suitable for driving. The price-performance ratio for mule carts is very low.
Zuo Zongtang suggested,
Transporting grain is "not a camel should be a car".
Each camel carries 500 pounds, travels 70 miles a day, feeds 3 pounds, adds a little salt, five camels and one husband, where there are water and grass, you can graze during the day, rush at night, and do not use grain. In contrast, in the land of sand moraines outside the Guanwai, camel transport is far better than mule carts. That is, "it is advisable to transport camels, the second is to drive a mule, and the second is a mule car".
After more than two years of hard work, as of March 1876, Hami had stored a total of more than 20 million catties of grain, the Russians Sosnov transported about 4 million catties of grain to the ancient city, Barikun transported millions of catties, plus the ancient city and Barikun each accumulated more than 110 million catties of grain, fully ensuring the smooth recovery of Xinjiang.
Military machinery of the Western Expeditionary Army
3) Foil the conspiracy of the Anglo-Russian invaders
In order to successfully recover Xinjiang, Zuo Zongtang formulated a strategy of "slowly advancing and fighting a rapid war.". Because of the adequate preparations, the correct operational policy, the generals' command of the law, and the soldiers' bloody battles,
The Agubai forces that occupied the northern frontier suffered a devastating blow.
To this end, the British, through Li Hongzhang, begged for Agubai to surrender "a founding state" and allowed him to "surrender to the country as a vassal state, only to be subordinate to the territory, and there is no need to pay tribute."
For the "careful thinking" of the British, Zuo Zongtang can be said to be well aware.
He believes that "Wittema (the British minister in China) is the beggar of Agubai, and also calls Agubai the king of Ka", "if you do not know that Turpan and the eight southern cities are my territory, and Pasha (referring to Agubai) is my thief", "I have not reached the word 'return to my homeland, tie up and sacrifice to the Kou', what is the intention, it is unpredictable.".
He analyzed in depth that "Russia and Britain have been fighting for India for decades, and the land in southeast India is owned by Britain," "Russia covets the land of the northwest, and the British beg to surrender on behalf of Agubai, the purpose of which is to prevent our country from recovering Xinjiang," "I want to protect the other frontier from being invaded by others," and "protect its Indian red ears."
The image of the British army in the movie "Red River Valley"
In order to dispel the concerns of the Qing court,
He specially wrote to Prince Gong Yishi: "The thief of the southern road (Agubai) is in the three places of Daban, that is, the Kasun camp, Turpan, and Toxun, and the officers and troops will go south, and there will be several major evil battles, and if they succeed in three places, the momentum of breaking bamboo can be achieved." "As long as the (Western Expeditionary Army) has food, pay, and ammunition, it will not be delayed for a long time", "There is no need for the British to worry about it for them."
Considering that the British beg for Agubai to surrender the "founding of the country" may shake the hearts of the army, Zuo Zongtang specially ordered liu Jintang, the commander-in-chief of the former enemy: "Agubai has been stealing the stronghold of the city for more than ten years, and he is a thief I must beg. ... Recently, the British have entered Beijing, it seems that they are begging for surrender for Agubai, and they are a little arrogant. ... I am determined to enter the southern frontier in the next spring, and the matter of the battle front is in the hands of the main soldiers, and no one else can participate."
In short, if the Southern Route Army's offensive went well, the British would have nothing to do.
On April 14, 1877, the battle to march into southern Xinjiang officially began.
The Western Expedition was like a broken bamboo, and the three places of Lianke Daban, Turpan and Toxun were completely annihilated by the main force of Agubai, and the "gateway to the eight southern cities was opened". Like a frightened bird, Agubai committed suicide by poisoning, and his remnants almost collapsed completely.
On December 28, Kashgar, which had fallen for 12 years, returned to the embrace of the motherland, and the Agupa power was completely destroyed.
Schematic map of the Qing army's reconquest of Xinjiang
However, although the Agubai forces were completely annihilated, Tsarist Russia still relied on Ili and refused to return to China.
On June 22, 1878, the Qing government sent Chonghou (1826-1893, late Qing diplomat) as minister plenipotentiary to Russia to handle the recovery of Ili. On October 2, he signed the Treaty of Livagiya with Tsarist Russia, taking back the nine cities of Ili and the territory near the Turks River Valley at the cost of more than 70,000 square kilometers of territory northeast of Tacheng and about 70,000 square kilometers west of Ili and Kashgar.
When Zuo Zongtang learned of this, he was furious.
"I have only one desolate suburb left in Ili, and between one or two hundred miles in the north are all Russian subordinates, and they are desperate, so why should they survive?" "In the autumn when there is no competition in martial arts, there are those who cut the land and seek peace." He did not add a single arrow, but he deliberated on abandoning the important land and feeding on what he wanted, for example, by throwing the dog into the bone, and the bone was exhausted and still eaten. Since the current affliction is extreme, the worries of another day are extreme! This is for the sighing haters! ”
Zeng Jize (1839-1890, late Qing diplomat)
In 1880, the Qing government sent Zeng Jize (1839-1890, late Qing diplomat) to Russia to renegotiate the treaty.
At the same time, Zuo Zongtang's troops divided into three routes and ordered the army to advance in the direction of Ili. In order to boost morale, he personally set out from Suzhou into Xinjiang and sat in Hami to show his solidarity, showing his determination to fight to the end. After hearing the news, Tsarist Russia not only rapidly increased its troops in Ili, but even sent a fleet to harass the sea.
Forced by the situation, the Qing court had to recall Zuo Zongtang in advance.
However, Tsarist Russia, which had long been exhausted by the Russo-Turkish war, was worried about a complete rupture between China and Russia after learning that Zuo Zongtang had entered Beijing, so it made no small concession at the negotiating table.
In February 1881, the two sides signed the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty and the Charter of Land And Commerce.
Although China increased its reparations and had to cede territory west of the Ili Khorgos River, it recovered large areas of territory around the Nine Cities of Ili and Turks, and also recovered some rights of interest in consular issues.
Faced with the signing of the new treaty, Zuo Zongtang's mentality was quite complicated.
On the one hand, he said that "the boundaries are not damaged" and "business is still peaceful", but when he wrote to Liu Jintang more than a year later, he said: "Ili only has a piece of wasteland, and each of them is against each other to be safe, but he did not expect such an end to the peace talks, and it is rotten to say!" ”
4) Xinjiang large-scale development
After Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang, he not only abolished the traditional military government system and "bo restraint", but also reformed the local grain system and presided over a series of infrastructure construction, laying a relatively strong material foundation for Xinjiang to build a province.
In November 1884, Xinjiang Province was formally established.
1) Resettling refugees and actively organizing canal repair and reclamation
For the refugees rescued during the Western Expedition,
Zuo Zongtang advocated repatriation to their original places of origin and the distribution of grain, seeds, livestock, etc., so that they could quickly resume production.
Some of the turks, who were originally nomadic in the Karashar area, were forced to flee to The Kurkhala Usu in order to escape persecution by the Agubai forces, and "migrated and displaced, and the hardships were extreme." After the situation in Xinjiang stabilized, they demanded to return to their hometown, and Zuo Zongtang asked for permission, in addition to distributing grain, he also issued another 40,000 taels of silver in order to purchase accounting houses, breeding sheep, seeds, etc., so that they could settle down.
"Zuo Gong Liu" in Hami
In order to restore agricultural production,
Zuo Zongtang organized the military and people of all nationalities to build water conservancy projects and reclaim wasteland.
"Hami repaired the Shichengzi Canal; the Zhenxi Hall repaired the Daquan East Canal; the Dihua Repair Yongfeng and Taiping Second Canals, and the Anshun First Canal; the Suilai County Slender Canal; the Qitai County Repaired Various Canals; in addition to the canal workers belonging to Turpan, there were 185 Karez wells. ....All the generals of the defense battalions, supervise the bravery of the defense battalions, and take turns to work. Those who use both civilian power are given employment. ”
Due to the reclamation and the gradual recovery of agricultural production, local tax revenues have been increasing.
Data show that between 1878 and 1879, the southern and northern xinjiang collected more than 261,900 stones of grain, collected more than 180,000 yuan of gold, and the collected grain was provided for the garrison to eat.
Zuo Zongtang in the Jiayuguan Silk Road group portrait
2) Promote the sericulture industry
In addition to building water conservancy projects and reclaiming land for planting, Zuo Zongtang also ordered the four places of Hami, Turpan, Kucha, and Aksu to first establish a general bureau of silkworm weaving to coordinate the promotion and development of mulberry breeding, silkworm breeding, and silk weaving.
By 1880, a total of 806,000 live mulberry trees had been grafted or planted.
In order to improve the sericulture technology, Zuo Zongtang "hired 60 people from Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, who were familiar with sericulture workers", and brought mulberry seedlings, silkworm seeds, and silkworm tools to the Hami, Turpan, Kucha, and Aksu Silkworm Weaving Bureau in Xinjiang, and taught the people to plant mulberry, graft, breed silkworms, press strips, "bath silkworms, breed, boil cocoons, weave the laws", and "pestering the people to study diligently, which can achieve half the results." ”
Zuo Zongtang believes that the cause of planting mulberry silkworms will be extended to the north and south roads of Xinjiang, and the cultivation and weaving will be enough to enrich the people, and the raw silk can be exported and the profits will be more.
Xinjiang silk
3) Determine the currency system, prepare for the construction of iron works, and manufacture agricultural tools
After Qianlong successively pacified the Dzungars and the Great and Small, in order to unify the Xinjiang currency system with the interior, the "Puer money" that was used in the past was recycled.
Recast the "Qianlong Tongbao", each weighing two coins.
After Zuo Zongtang recovered southern Xinjiang, he ordered people to mint new money in Aksu according to the Qianlong money system.
Each piece weighs one dollar and two cents,
"It is forbidden to increase or decrease, but to show the uniformity"; the Qianlong system of money, which weighs two dollars, "allows the people to use two coins."
After Agubai invaded Xinjiang, he minted "Tiangang silver coins", each weighing five points, "round as a cake, no square hole in the middle, not similar to money shape, the weight is arbitrarily reduced, and the plan is to sell its adultery, so the market price is equal to the right, can not allow the association, the people think it is bitter." Zuo Zongtang believed that "silver money should be transformed to benefit civilian use at a flat market price", so he "made a new copper mold in Lanzhou and handed it over to the Zhang Yao Supervision Bureau for trial production according to law." The new silver coins weigh one dollar each, which can be worth two Tiangang silver coins.
With the passage of time, this new silver coin gradually replaced the "Tiangang Silver Coin".
Other than that
Zuo Zongtang actively prepared an iron factory in Xinjiang and manufactured a large number of agricultural tools for farmers everywhere to use.
He ordered his subordinates: "Although the old iron works in Urumqi have been closed, there should still be iron workers in the local area who can be hired, mining iron ore, and the establishment of iron works is the current important policy." The opening of the factory should be "business to handle, is the convenience of the period, once the official office, then the advantages are less and the disadvantages are more." Frankly speaking, his views and practices are more in line with the actual situation.
A biographical work of Zuo Zongtang during the Republic of China period
4) Build roads to facilitate transportation
Xinjiang is vast for thousands of miles, with towering mountains and desert Gobi, making transportation extremely inconvenient.
For the sake of the normal progress of the Western Expedition and the recovery and development of the post-war economy, Zuo Zongtang led the Western Expeditionary Army to build roads throughout Xinjiang to facilitate transportation.
The road from Hami to Barikun is more than 300 miles, but it is necessary to cross the Tianshan Mountains, heavy mountains, cliffs and cliffs, and the road is steep. Zuo Zongtang ordered his men to dig the mountain to open the way and build a guardrail on the steepest mountain road. Despite the arduousness of the project, it has facilitated future generations.
Afterwards, Zuo Zongtang personally wrote the "Tianshan Fulan Inscription" to commemorate it.
Calligraphy work of "Tianshan Fulan Ming"
In addition, Zuo Zongtang ordered his subordinates to set up post stations between the cities in southern Xinjiang to transmit clerical information, and to build houses near the post stations, which were specially used for merchants to stay and stay, and the passing passengers charged according to the number of carriages and horses, and the fees were low.
With the resumption of transportation inside and outside Xinjiang, the movement of the army has become smoother, economic and cultural exchanges have become more convenient, and it has also played a huge role in promoting the development of Xinjiang.
5) Conclusion
At the end of the 19th century, when the Qing Dynasty was in serious internal and external troubles, and Agubai and the Anglo-Russian invaders were about to dismember and split Xinjiang, Zuo Zongtang resolutely defended the integrity of the country's sovereign territory with full patriotic enthusiasm and indomitable fighting spirit.
It has also made important contributions to the political and economic construction after Xinjiang's recovery.
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