Introduction: In the eyes of Li Hongzhang, the times have undergone tremendous changes, and the reason why the Qing Dynasty has been repeatedly humiliated is because coastal defense is too weak. If a strong navy could be built, and a good coastal defense system could be built, then the Qing Dynasty could be preserved and then developed. Under this ideal, even if Xinjiang is lost, it will not hesitate. However, Zuo Zongtang did not think so.
How good it is to be attacked in the belly and back
Li Hongzhang's idea is indeed very reasonable, after the outbreak of the Industrial Revolution, steamships are no longer a new thing, Europeans rely on strong maritime combat capabilities, conquered and colonized countless regions and countries, even the Qing Dynasty, which regarded itself as a heavenly dynasty, suffered two consecutive defeats in the Opium War.
Therefore, Li Hongzhang urgently needs a large number of military salaries to build his dream maritime empire, and even in order to fight for military expenses, even the inherent land can be sacrificed.
In fact, in today's view, at that time, the Qing Dynasty was facing not only enemies from the sea, but also Tsarist Russia in the north and many khanates in the west were eyeing the Qing Dynasty, and even the country was plagued by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
At this time of internal and external troubles, Britain and Russia took advantage of the situation and forced the Qing government to sign an unequal treaty, resulting in the cession of more than 400,000 land in the Qing Dynasty. Not only that, Tsarist Russia supported the invasion of Xinjiang by many countries, including the Kokand Khanate, and if the Qing Dynasty did not take measures, then Xinjiang would be in jeopardy.
However, before the matter in Xinjiang could be resolved, Japan launched the "Peony Society Incident" in an attempt to invade and occupy Taiwan.
At this time, Li Hongzhang believed that "Xinjiang can also be lost, and coastal defense must be built." "Only in this way can we defend Daqing from being bullied."
In fact, if you look at it this way alone, it may make many people think that Li Hongzhang seems to be a sinner. But this was only Li Hongzhang's conclusion, and the basis for the conclusion was indeed reasonable at the time.
First of all, if coastal defense cannot be defended, then the vast coastline of the Qing Dynasty will also become the extinction line of the Qing Dynasty.
Secondly, the Xinjiang region is remote, very poor at management, and the management cost is also very high.
Third, Xinjiang is sparsely populated, and the desert Gobi can be seen everywhere, even if it is left in the hand, it will not be of much benefit to the Qing Dynasty.
In addition, the people in Xinjiang are fierce, and although they have been surrendered since the Han Dynasty, they are in harmony with each other and often make trouble. Sending troops to quell chaos is not only time-consuming, labor-intensive, but also costly. If it was fine when it had money, now the Qing Dynasty is worried about internal and external troubles, and it will not be able to take out excess money to recover Xinjiang.
Therefore, it is better to spend all the money on the construction of coastal defense.
In the face of Li Hongzhang's attitude, Zuo Zongtang, another big coffee level figure, gave a different view.
Forever relieve the sorrows of Xi Gu
He believes that "coastal defense can be slowly built, and Xinjiang must collect it." Xinjiang is an inherent territory, as a big country, if it can't even protect its own territory, then it will also send a dangerous signal to others, that is, the Great Qing State can be slaughtered.
In addition, Xinjiang is located in the northwest, which is of great strategic significance, and the advance can be lower than that of foreign enemies, and the retreat can be consumed by relying on the terrain. If Xinjiang is lost, then the back of the Qing Dynasty will be completely exposed to the enemy, and there will be no such perfect barrier to protect the country's security.
After weighing it up, Empress Dowager Cixi decided to adopt Zuo Zongtang's advice and recover Xinjiang. Zuo Zongtang also lived up to the expectations of the people, and finally, without taking a penny from the imperial court, he forcibly recovered Xinjiang and became the most important national hero in history.
However, many people do not know that Zuo Zongtang's exploits not only to recover Xinjiang, he summed up the problems mentioned by Li Hongzhang, and finally found the most fundamental drawbacks in Xinjiang. Subsequently, Zuo Zongtang also proposed a method that could solve the difficult management of Xinjiang once and for all.
According to the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", Zuo Zongtang immediately went to the imperial court after recovering Xinjiang, hoping to establish Xinjiang as a province, and if implemented, "it is a strategy for Xinjiang to be long-term peace and long-term governance, and it can forever relieve the worries of the imperial court." ”
Before this, Xinjiang had always adopted the "Burke system", that is, a system jointly managed by all officials in Xinjiang, to put it bluntly, it was up to the "Hui king" to decide. This makes Xinjiang difficult to manage and often has turmoil.
If this system is abolished and Xinjiang is transformed into a province, and the county system is implemented like the rest of the country, then all problems can be completely solved.
Of course, Cixi understood Zuo Zongtang's good intentions, but the "Burke system" had been formed since the Tang Dynasty, and the influence of the "Hui King" in administering Xinjiang was also deeply rooted, and it was so easy to say that it was abolished and abolished, and if it was not good, it would cause greater chaos.
Zuo Zongtang also knew that this matter was very difficult, so he put forward various proposals in succession, including the decomposition of the power of general Ili, the addition of governors and inspectors, plus he had just recovered Xinjiang, and the army was in Xinjiang, which was the best time to establish a province.
After Zuo Zongtang went to the top five times, Cixi finally agreed to this request.
In this way, in the ten years of Guangxu, Xinjiang was officially established as a province.
And this move is also to hold Xinjiang tightly in the hands, and there has never been a major turmoil since then, which has benefited future generations so far.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Biography of Zuo Zongtang, Biography of Li Hongzhang