Recover Zuo Zongtang in Xinjiang
Zuo Zongtang (左宗棠) (November 10, 1812 – September 5, 1885) was a Han Chinese poet with the character Ji Gao and a character for Pu Cun. Late Qing Dynasty heavy minister, military expert, politician, famous General of the Xiang Army, leader of the Western faction.
Zuo Zongtang was born with a brilliant nature and less ambition. At the age of 5, he went with his father to the provincial capital of Changsha to study. In 1827 (the seventh year of Daoguang), he was tested by Changsha Province and won the second place. He not only studied Confucian classics, but also studied the application of the world, and regarded those famous works involving Chinese history, geography, military, economy, water conservancy and other contents as the most precious treasures, which played a great role in his later leading troops to fight wars and administering government and financial management.
In 1830, Zuo Zongtang entered the Changsha Chengnan Academy to study, and the following year he entered the Xiangshui School of Hunan Governor Wu Rongguang in Changsha. He studied hard and excelled, ranking first seven times in this year's examinations. In 1832, he participated in the township examination held in the provincial capital of Changsha, because of the "search for relics" in the first place, but in the following 6 years, 3 times to beijing to meet the test, all failed the first.
Kechang was frustrated, so that Zuo Zongtang could not enter the upper echelons of society along the "right path" and then realize his ambitions. However, Zuo Zongtang's ambition and talent were appreciated and admired by many celebrities and eunuchs at that time. As early as 1830, when Zuo Zongtang, who was only 18 years old, visited He Changling, a well-known pragmatic official and scholar in Changsha, He Shi was "treated as a national scholar". His younger brother He Xiling was Zuo Zongtang's teacher when he was studying at Seongnam Academy, and he was very fond of his disciple, saying that he was "able to stand on his own two feet, but he really gained something from his studies", and later the teachers and students also formed a family of children. Tao Shu, a well-known feudal governor, also took the initiative to propose that his only son betrothed to Zuo Zongtang's eldest daughter.
Lin Zexu, who is famous all over the world, also has great importance for Zuo Zongtang, and the two have long talks in Changsha all night, and their views on the fundamental plan for governing the country, especially on the military and politics in the northwest, coincide. Lin Zexu decided that in the future, "Xiding Xinjiang" would be the only one who would give zuo jun, and specially handed over all the valuable materials he had sorted out in Xinjiang to Zuo Zongtang. Later, Lin Zexu also talked about this meeting with people many times, praised Zuo Zongtang as an "extraordinary talent" and a "unique wizard", and before his death, he also ordered his second son to write a suicide note on his behalf, and repeatedly recommended Zuo Zongtang to be a rare talent.
In 1852 (the second year of Xianfeng), when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom army besieged Changsha and the provincial capital was in danger, Zuo Zongtang, under the persuasion of Guo Songtao and others, went out of the mountains at the invitation of Zhang Liangji, the governor of Hunan, and threw himself into the camp of defending the Qing Dynasty. Zuo Zongtang entered the city in the days of artillery fire, and Zhang Liangji was overjoyed and entrusted all military affairs to Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang "adjusted the army's food day and night, governed the documents", and "district painting and guarding tools", all kinds of suggestions were adopted, and immediately put into practice, and finally the Taiping Army besieged Changsha for three months and withdrew to the north. Zuo Zongtang's lifelong fame also began from this.
In March 1854 (the fourth year of Xianfeng), Zuo Zongtang was invited by Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Hunan, to enter the shogunate of Hunan for the second time, which lasted for 6 years. At that time, the Qing Dynasty's rule in Hunan was already in jeopardy, the Taiping Army was galloping through northern Hunan, and many of the cities around Changsha were occupied, while the vast number of poor peasants in eastern Hunan, southern Hunan and western Hunan were one after another. Zuo Zongtang was anxious and thoughtful, planning day and night, assisting Luo Bingzhang in "four realms of internal Qing" and "five provinces of foreign aid", and working hard to support the overall situation. At the same time, we will eliminate maladministration, open up and reduce expenditure, stabilize the currency, and vigorously raise arms purchases: ordnance, ships. Luo Bingzhang obeyed him, "The books and paintings made by him will not be inspected." Thanks to Zuo Zongtang's careful assistance and planning, not only did the military and political situation in Hunan turn from crisis to safety, but also the successful operations in the province were repeatedly successful, and other work also achieved remarkable results.
Zuo Zongtang came out of the Xiang curtain, the first appearance of Zhengrong, attracted the attention of the government and the public, when people have the saying that "the world can not be without Hunan for a day, Hunan can not be without Zuo Zongtang for a day", some high-ranking officials and dignitaries competed in front of the emperor to recommend, and the Xianfeng Emperor also gave great attention. However, this also caused some people to be jealous and slandered, especially the framing of Fan Xie, the commander-in-chief of Yongzhou Town in Hunan Province, which almost saved Zuo Zongtang's life, but fortunately, the righteous words of Hu Linyi, Guo Songtao, and others, and the clothing of Pan Zuyin, Sushun, and other ministers, only then did an uproar be put to rest.
In 1856 (the sixth year of Xianfeng), Zuo Zongtang was ordered to use bingbu langzhong for receiving military salaries from Zeng Guofan in order to seize the merits of Wuchang occupied by the Taiping Army.
In 1860 (the tenth year of Xianfeng), after the Taiping Army broke through the Jiangnan camp, Zuo Zongtang accompanied Zeng Guofan, the minister of Chincha and the governor of Liangjiang, to handle military affairs. In Hunan, 5,000 people were recruited to form the "Chu Army" and went to Jiangxi and Anhui to fight against the Taiping Army.
In 1861 (the eleventh year of Xianfeng), after the Taiping Army conquered Hangzhou, Zuo Zongtang was recommended by Zeng Guofan to be the inspector of Zhejiang and supervise military affairs.
In 1862 (the first year of tongzhi), Zuo Zongtang formed the Sino-French Mixed Army, called the "Changjie Army", and expanded the Sino-British Mixed Army, successively capturing Jinhua, Shaoxing and other places, and promoting him to the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.
In March 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi), Zuo Zongtang attacked Hangzhou and controlled all of Zhejiang. On merit, he was awarded the title of First Class. Xuan was ordered to lead an army into Jiangxi and Fujian to pursue Li Shixian and Wang Haiyang of the Taiping Army, and by February 1866 (the fifth year of Tongzhi), Zuo Zongtang had attacked Li Shixian and Jiaying Prefecture (present-day Meizhou) in Guangdong.
After suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Zuo Zongtang proposed to reduce the number of troops and pay them, and increase them to training troops. In 1866 (the fifth year of Tongzhi), Shangshu asked to set up a bureau to supervise the construction of steamships, and was approved for trial implementation, that is, to set up a shipyard at a site in Mawei, Fuzhou, send personnel to buy machinery and troughs abroad, and found the Qiushitang Art Bureau (also known as the School of Ship Administration) to cultivate shipbuilding technology and naval talents. When the northwestern incident arose, he was reappointed as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and recommended Shen Baozhen, the former governor of Jiangxi, to be the prime minister of shipping. A year later, the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau (also known as the Mawei Shipping Bureau) officially started construction, becoming the first new shipyard in China.
In 1862 (the first year of tongzhi), the Hui people in Shaanxi took advantage of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Twist Army to enter Shaanxi to launch a rebellion. The main leaders in the early days were Hemingtang, Ma Shengyan, Ma Zhenhe, and Bai Yanhu. At the same time, a large-scale Hui rebellion broke out in Ningxia, and its main leaders were Ma Zhaoyuan and Ma Hualong.
At first, the Hui army in Shaanxi could take advantage of the Qing army's busyness to deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to gain a foothold in central Shaanxi, but from 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi) it was forced by the Qing army to retreat to the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region. After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was destroyed, Zuo Zongtang led the Xiang army to begin to use troops in the Shanxi area of Shaanxi. Zuo Zongtang first attacked the Twist army, and then attacked the Hui army in Shaanxi after the Twist army was broken, and in 1866 (the fifth year of Tongzhi) the Hui army retreated to Gansu. In 1869 (the eighth year of Tongzhi), Zuo Zongtang sent Liu Songshan to attack Jinji Fort in Ningxia, and Ma Hualong's father and son surrendered and were killed.
In 1871 (the tenth year of Tongzhi), Zuo Zongtang entered Gansu, and the local Hui leader Ma Zhan'ao surrendered, and Was organized into the Qing army by Zuo Zongtang. In 1872 (the eleventh year of Tongzhi), the Hui army led by Bai Yanhu was forced to withdraw from Qinghai. In 1873 (the twelfth year of Tongzhi), Bai Yanhu and others retreated to Xinjiang, and finally fled to Russia to escape. The Shaanxi-Gansu reversal ended here.
In 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi), when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Tongzhi Shaanxi-Gansu Hui rebellion spread to Xinjiang, the powerful forces in All parts of Xinjiang took advantage of the opportunity to rise up, and there was a chaotic situation of division and strife and each being king. Kashgar was ruled by The Islamic White Mountain Sect leader Mamuti Alaim. Soon, the leader of the Kyrgyz tribe, Si Diq, contacted the Hui feudal lord Jin Xiangyin, and in the confusion seized Kashgar and claimed the title of king, chasing Mamuti Alaimu.
Mamuti Alaimu sent to the Khanate of Kokand in Central China, intending to use external forces to expel Siddiq. Sidik also sent Kim Sang-in to Kokand to contact him personally, hoping to invite the exiled Montenegrins and Zhuo descendants of Kokand back to Kashgar to confront Mamuti Alaimu. This led to Agubai, who established the "Hongfu Khanate" in 1867 (the sixth year of Tongzhi) to occupy Xinjiang.
In July 1872 (the eleventh year of Tongzhi), the Qing court was still arguing about the crusade against Agubai, and Zuo Zongtang believed that "it is a matter of the monarchy and both China and foreign countries, and it is not possible to settle the situation, and simply do it", and led his division into Lanzhou to prepare to recover Xinjiang.
After pondering deeply, Zuo Zongtang adopted the strategy of "slow advance and quick decision" and planned to launch an active and rapid battle. "Slow progress" means actively managing the army. Zuo Zongtang spent a year and a half raising salaries for the army, accumulating grass and grain, reorganizing the army, reducing redundant personnel, and enhancing the combat effectiveness of the army. Even its own main force, the Xiang Army, eliminated the empty quota and eliminated the weak and retained the strong. He also stipulated that all those who did not wish to go out of the Kansai Expedition would be given funds and repatriated to their hometowns without force. "Quick decision" means that in order to reduce military expenditures, once the large army has set out, it must make a quick decision and strive to win a complete victory in about a year and a half and collect troops as soon as possible. Therefore, when declaring the military budget, Zuo Zongtang personally made a survey and a subtle calculation, starting from a soldier, a military horse, and the daily grain and forage needed, and deduced the use of the 80,000 horses of the whole army for a year and a half. Then, a hundred catties of grain were transported for a hundred miles as a -A-bit, and the freight and consumption of the whole process were estimated. Even the use of donkeys, camels, or vehicles to transport, which method of savings has been compared. After careful planning, it was estimated that the total military expenditure would cost a total of eight million taels of silver. In order to prevent unexpected expenses and leave room for it, Zuo Zongtang declared 10 million taels to the imperial court.
Shen Baozhen, the minister in charge of finance at that time, when he saw the budget report on the military expenditure of the Western Expedition, the amount was very large, and he wanted to apportion it to the provinces and draw it from the local financial revenue, but in this way it was not easy to get together for a while, and there was a risk of missing the fighter. The military chancellor Wen Xiang asked, and Zuo Zongtang personally went to the Tongzhi Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi to present their interests. The Tongzhi Emperor approved: "Zong Tang is the minister of sheji, this western expedition is a state affair, as long as the border areas are peaceful, the imperial court will not hesitate to allocate ten million gold, and order him to borrow five million foreign treasury bonds." ”
Zuo Zongtang also established the "Lanzhou Manufacturing Bureau" (also known as the "Gansu Manufacturing Bureau") in Lanzhou to build guns and cannons for the Western Expeditionary Army. In order to deal with the foreign guns and cannons of the Agubai Army, experts and skilled workers were transferred from Guangzhou and Zhejiang to build a large number of weapons in Lanzhou, and they also imitated german screw guns and breech-loading guns, and modified Chinese split-mountain guns and Guangdong shellless guns.
In 1875 (the first year of Guangxu), the imperial court disputed the dispatch of troops to recover Xinjiang, causing a dispute between "coastal defense" and "Cypriot defense". Li Hongzhang and others advocated coastal defense, with Japan as the main imaginary enemy, and advocated abandoning the defense of Cyprus and "paying for stopping and withdrawing, that is, evenly for coastal defense." Zuo Zongtang was a Cypriot defender, and vigorously expressed his dissent, pointing out that in the northwest, "if I withdraw from the fence, then I will retreat and advance", especially attracting British and Russian infiltration. Wen Xiang, the military minister at the time, was persuaded by Zuo Zongtang and fully supported him. Therefore, the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict to zuo Zongtang as a minister of Chincha, with full authority to control the three armies, with the general Jin Shun as his deputy commander, and choose the opportunity to go out to put down the rebellion in Xinjiang.
Zuo Zongtang's strategy to recover Xinjiang was to first stabilize Xinjiang and return to Xinjiang, "If you want to harvest Ili, you must first conquer Urumqi." If the city of Urumqi is overcome, "I will wei weiyang", and then the tuntian will be revitalized to ensure long-term logistics supply and appease the tribes in Xinjiang to cultivate and graze as usual. In this way, "that is, not to plough the plow, but to be sure not to commit." The situation in Wucheng is solid, and then it is clearly stated that the size of the Ili I border is not allowed to be let go."
In terms of tactics, Zuo Zongtang analyzed: "Although Russia has a strong army and is difficult to wrestle with, it is safe and sound, and it is fixed on the degree of externality." If the troops are neatly organized, strictly disciplined, and refined with guns and artillery, and unified to be able to make sure, will they not be able to turn weak into strong, and then the laborers will attack far away? Therefore, "it is not in the first Soi plough, but in the rush to urumqi." Zuo Zongtang ordered Zhang Yao, commander of the forward troops of the Western Expeditionary Army, in advance, and the garrison of Hami to repair water conservancy and Tuntian Jigu. In 1876 (the second year of Guangxu), more than 5,160 stones of grain were harvested in one year, which basically solved the needs of the ministry for half a year's military food. In order to transport military grain, Zuo Zongtang established three routes: one was to purchase military grain from Hexi in Gansu Province, out of Jiayuguan, through Yumen, and transported to Hami in Xinjiang; second, from Baotou and Naturalization to Balikun or the ancient city of Balikun or the ancient city (present-day Qitai) in Xinjiang via the Mongolian steppe; and third, from Ningxia to Balikun via the Mongolian grassland.
By April of the same year, zuo Zongtang's western expeditionary army consisted of 25 battalions of Liu Jintang's Xiang Army, 14 battalions of Zhang Yao's Songwu Army, and 5 battalions of Xu Zhanbiao's Shu Army, including the Qing army in various strongholds in Xinjiang, with a total of more than 150 battalions of horse, infantry, and artillery, with a total strength of nearly 80,000 troops. But only about fifty battalions and more than twenty thousand people actually fought on the front line.
Because the march will pass through the famous Moheyan Moraine Desert, quicksand for hundreds of miles. Grain and grass can be carried by horse and long-distance transportation, "but the lack of water springs, although dredging in many ways, can not provide for the needs of thousands of people to ride for a day, must be installments and continue to advance." The biggest problem encountered by the march of large troops is that it is difficult to solve the problem of drinking water for people and livestock, so they can only march in batches and stages. Zuo Zongtang sat in Suzhou and ordered Liu Jintang and Jin Shun to divide the troops into two roads and successively lead the division out of the customs. He divided the army into a team of a thousand people, and marched in a team the next day, Liu Jintang took the north road, Jin Shun took the south road, and met in Hami. Liu Jintang led the main force of the Western Expeditionary Army from Suzhou into Xinxin, and traveled about 1700 miles to Hami, and entered Hami smoothly. After the battalions of the troops arrived in Hami, they carried the military grain that had been transported to Hami one after another from Suzhou and other places, crossed the Jiuqu Dangerous Road in the East Tianshan Mountains, and distributed them to Barikun and the ancient city (present-day Qitai). Soon, Liu Jintang's forward forces had occupied Jimusa (present-day Jimsar County), which was less than three hundred miles from Urumqi.
In May, the two roads meet. In September, urumqi was first captured. Bai Yanhu, the second leader of Agubai's army, fled to Toxon. He also conquered the city of Manas, thus leveling the northern road. Then gather forces and attack the south road. In March of the following year, he recaptured Dabancheng and Toxon City successively. Agubai fled to Yanqi, leaving his youngest son behind Korla as his mat. Soon, Zuo Zongtang's army recaptured Turpan, and when Agubai saw the door to the South Road open, he knew that the general trend had gone, so he committed suicide by poisoning (it is said that he was poisoned). Agubai's eldest son, Huri, killed his brother in a struggle for power and fled to Kashgar with the remnants. Bai Yanhu led the remnants to flee to the Kaidu River area. At this time, Li Hongzhang and other coastal defense factions also operated the imperial court and issued an edict: "The court and courtiers gathered to discuss, the western expedition cost a huge amount of money, and now Wucheng and Turpan have it, and they can truce." Zuo Zongtang didn't think much of it, so he went up again to resist and argued according to reason. Empress Dowager Cixi read his recital and was persuaded, so she continued the reconquest of Xinjiang.
At this time, Tsarist Russia and Turkey went to war, and Jin Shun suggested taking advantage of the false attack to take Ili, which was occupied by Tsarist Russia. Zuo Zongtang thought that the master was nameless, but he was slandered by him and stayed behind. In August of the same year, the army advanced westward from the right way, first recapturing the four eastern cities of southern Xinjiang: Yanqi, Kucha, Aksu, and Ush, and then recapturing the western four cities: Kashgar, Ingisha, Yarkand, and Hotan. Agubai's eldest son, Huri, fled to Russia with Bai Yanhu. At this point, the Agubai Rebellion, which was supported by Britain and Russia, was put to rest. Seeing this, fourteen tribes of the Bruts (present-day Kyrgyz) who lived in the mountains also competed to be annexed.
In just over a year, Zuo Zongtang commanded the Western Expeditionary Army, conquered the eight cities of southern Xinjiang that had been invaded by the Waikou, and recovered the territory of Xinjiang except Ili. After the completion of the matter, Zuo Zongtang went to the imperial court, the Guangxu Emperor and the Empress Dowager Cixi Jiaqigong, and was enfeoffed as a second-class marquis. Various parts of Xinjiang have also established Zuo Gong Ancestral Halls in villages and towns, large and small, and burned incense to pray.
After the reconquest of Xinjiang, The German technician Fokker of the "Tailai Foreign Firm" in Shanghai met with Zuo Zongtang in Hami, watched the drill of the troops, and saw that the Xiang army was strictly disciplined, trained well, and did not lag behind in its artillery, so he said: "If the Qing army engages Russia in Ili, it will win a complete victory." Zuo Zongtang also built the "Gansu Weaving General Bureau" (also known as the "Lanzhou Machine Weaving Bureau"), which was the first machine textile factory in China.
Zuo Zongtang wrote to the imperial court in the first month of 1880 (the sixth year of Guangxu) to express his proposal for the establishment of a province in Xinjiang. He also suggested that the imperial court send personnel to talk with Russia to return Ili and extradite Huli and Bai Yanhu. The imperial court took his advice and sent Chonghou as minister plenipotentiary to Russia to negotiate.
As early as 1871 (the tenth year of Tongzhi), Russia took the opportunity of Agubai's invasion and occupation of Xinjiang, sent troops to invade and occupy Ili, declaring that "Ili will always be under the jurisdiction of Russia", but Tsarist Russia was relatively weak at that time, and had already suffered a major defeat in the Russo-Turkish War for Crimea, and its envoy in China had to say some diplomatic rhetoric when sending a note to the Qing Dynasty Prime Minister on state affairs, saying that the occupation of Ili was to "stabilize the order of the frontier", "only because the rebellion has not been quieted, on behalf of the recovery, it is expedient to send troops to garrison, after the cities of Urumqi and Manas are overcome, Return immediately". Unexpectedly, however, the Qing army did retake urumqi, Manas and other cities, and was left behind. Zuo Zongtang used this excuse to emphasize that the Russian side had promised to return it first, so it was necessary to peacefully resolve the Ili issue through diplomatic channels first.
Russia said it would not be able to return Ili until it had made concessions from China in terms of trade, land cession, reparations, and readjustment of the border north of the Tianshan Mountains. While Russia was negotiating, Bai Yanhu and Berkhuri were constantly armed and harassed China's borders. Russia said that if the demands were not met, "it would declare that the treaty had been torn up and not returned to Ili." Then, Chonghou signed the treaty with the three demands of "trade, demarcation and indemnity" put forward by Tsarist Russia.
Zuo Zongtang made it clear to the imperial court: "In this negotiation with the Russians, the Tsar harbored evil intentions, and I wanted to pay compensation for military expenses now, taking advantage of my troubled autumn, deceiving me with less desire to fight, seeking more sympathy, and trying to blackmail." Ili is the leader of our country: dead, the Russian army took advantage of the false invasion, ravaged our border people, and plundered my property. I have now claimed the land, and the Russian side has actually asked me to compensate for military expenses, and such a banditry is not tolerated by international justice. In the name of demarcating the border between the two countries, the Russian side has plundered the land, the two sides have not fought a war, not a single bullet has been fired, and our DPRK has openly cut off land and people. The so-called trade of the Russian side, whose merchants are determined to seek profits, whose government intends to set up consuls in a wide range, to go deep into our hinterland, to sit in the middle of the matter, and to explore the truth. The subject thought that the plan now should be to salute first and then to soldier. We can replace the envoys and resume negotiations with the Russian side. If the Tsar insists on going his own way, he should resort to force. Although the minister is not talented, he is willing to take this position. Empress Dowager Cixi was persuaded, so she punished zeng jize and sent Zeng Jize to Russia to renegotiate the treaty.
Zuo Zongtang said: "Strong men and long songs, no longer take the plug as a bitterness, the old man is strong." "Volunteer to lead the army tun hami to back Zeng Jize." Then, the soldiers advanced in three directions in the direction of Ili. Ordering Jin Shunbu to take the Jinghe River as the East Road; Ordering Zhang Yao's troops to garrison the Turks River as the Middle Road: Ordering Liu Jintang's troops to go out of the Brut Nomadic Land as the West Road; Zuo Zongtang sat in Hami and personally led the back road to show support, claiming that Wang Shi was forty thousand, and was a huge support force for the Chinese representatives in the Sino-Russian negotiations. At the same time, Zuo Zongtang transported his coffin from Suzhou to Hami to show his determination to recover the bloody battle of Ili to the end.
This move caused Tsarist Russia to quickly increase its troops to hold on to Ili and send a fleet to cruise at sea, and China's coastal provinces and cities of Tianjin, Fengtian (present-day Liaoning), and Shandong were alerted one after another, all of which were on alert. Zuo Zongtang lived in Hami for four months, and in order to alleviate the difficulties of long-distance transportation of military grain in the interior, improve the Tianshan Transportation Road, build the Panqu Mountain Road, raise grain grain, mobilize the military and the people to reclaim the land, build water conservancy, and increase grain accumulation. At the Hami base camp, training was stepped up to improve the combat effectiveness of the troops.
At that time, Tsarist Russia had just ended the Russo-Turkish War, which was greatly hurt, and Tsarist Russia also believed that winning the war would outweigh the losses, and feared that defeating the Qing State would lead to the collapse of the Qing government and triggered an unpredictable reaction, and finally gave in at the negotiating table.
On February 24, 1881 (the seventh year of Guangxu), Zeng Jize and russian representatives signed the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty and the Charter of Land Trade. Tsarist Russia returned Ili, but still cut off the territory west of the Ili Khorgos River, and China compensated Russia for nine million rubles (equivalent to more than five million taels of silver); Russian merchants traded in the cities of Xinjiang in China, and did not pay taxes for the time being. Although this treaty was considered an unequal treaty by China, Zeng Jize did his best to recover the nine cities of Ili and the area around Turks. Zuo Zongtang expressed satisfaction with this treaty, saying: "The Sino-Russian peace talks, the Ili will be completely returned, and the boundaries will not be damaged." The consul only set up Jiayuguan and Turpan, and if they were dismissed, business was still peaceful. The Russian ships in Jilin were withdrawn, and the Songhua River did not allow Russian ships to come and go," and praised Zeng Jize: "Jie Gang's trip has been of great benefit to the situation, and he has fallen in love with China and foreign countries, and he is not very popular."
In the same year, Zuo Zongtang was sent to Beijing to serve as the minister of military aircraft and walked in the prime minister's yamen, managing the affairs of the military department. During his stay in Xinjiang, in order to ensure the supply of military food and develop the local economy, Zuo Zongtang vigorously established the tun reclamation industry, and his merits have been left behind to this day. Soon after, Zuo Zongtang was transferred to the post of Governor of Liangjiang and Minister of Trade and Commerce of Nanyang.
In 1882 (the eighth year of Guangxu), Zuo Zongtang once again appealed to the Qing Government to establish a province in Xinjiang, proposing to take advantage of the beginning of the recovery of Xinjiang and the threat of the western expeditionary army to establish a province and a county without losing no time. In this way, it conforms to the will of the people and is conducive to waiting for everything to be done, restoring vitality, and practicing practical and effective management. Zuo Zongtang earnestly persuaded the Qing government to agree to start establishing a province in Xinjiang. Liu Jintang, then the governor of Xinjiang, formulated a specific plan for the establishment of the province. The provincial capital was located in Dihua (present-day Urumqi), and there were towns of Didao, Ita, Aksu, Kashgar and the following provinces, departments, prefectures, and counties. Ili still set up a general's palace, but no longer commanded the military and political affairs of the whole of Xinjiang, and the political center was moved to Dihua.
On November 16, 1884 (the tenth year of Guangxu), Hubu asked for the addition of one Inspector of Xinjiang and one envoy of The Cloth Government, and in addition to Liu Jintang as the Inspector, he also transferred the Gansu Cloth Envoy to the Xinjiang Cloth Envoy. Since then, Xinjiang Province has been formally established.
In June 1884 (the tenth year of Guangxu), Zuo Zongtang entered Beijing as the Minister of Military Aircraft. At the time of the Sino-French War, the French army was alone in August in the Battle of Mawei to completely annihilate the Nanyang Marine Division stationed in Mawei, Fujian, and the war situation was unfavorable to China. In September, Zuo Zongtang was ordered to supervise the affairs of the Fujian Navy as the Minister of Chincha and save the war situation. In November, Zuo Zongtang arrived in Fuzhou, actively deployed defenses, and formed the "Kejing Aid Taiwan Army" to cross east to Taiwan.
In the first month of 1885 (the eleventh year of Guangxu), the Black Flag Army and the Kejing Dingbian Army first won victory at Zhennanguan and captured Langshan. This led to the collapse of the French Joffrey cabinet. France, in a state of great shame, allocated fifty million francs to the French army in Vietnam, indicating that it had no intention of giving in to it. The Chinese side was exhausted, Liu Yongfu's troops "only had five hundred people, recruited no more than a thousand people from many sources, had a dilemma between attack and defense, and lost ground" at the same time, under the mediation of Hurd, China and France had been engaged in secret talks, and north Korea's Koshin coup made China more eager to withdraw from Vietnam quickly. Thus the new Sino-French Covenant was signed. The main content of the Sino-French New Treaty was the confirmation of the Provisional Treaty of Li Fook in 1884, which negated China's suzerainty over Vietnam and replaced it with Full French administration of Vietnam.
Zuo Zongtang was completely incomprehensible about Li Hongzhang's signing of the treaty, and made the following criticism of Li Hongzhang, who was the lord of peace at that time: "As far as China is concerned, ten French generals are not as bad as one Li Hongzhang"; "Li Hongzhang will be cursed for eternity by mistake." Enraged, Li Hongzhang decided to take Zuo Zongtang's subordinates and instruct his close associates Pan Dingxin and Liu Mingchuan to frame and attack Wang Debang, the leader of the "Kejing Ding Border Army," and falsely accuse Liu Huang of Taiwan Dao, and impeach Liu Huang for making him lose his military power and die. Zuo Zongtang wrote to the imperial court to complain about the grievances of his subordinates, but a month later he died of illness in Fuzhou on July 27 (September 5 of the solar calendar) at the age of seventy-three, and the imperial court posthumously awarded Taifu the title of Wenxiang. The Ancestral Hall of Zhaozhong and the Ancestral Hall of Xianliang were built in Hunan and ligong provinces.
Zuo Zongtang's tomb is located in Baizhu Village, Jumping Horse Township, Changsha County, from Huangxing Town across the Dongshan Bridge, about 2 kilometers south, you can see the "Reconstruction of Zuo Zongtang Tombstone" on the side of the highway. Climbing dozens of stone steps from behind the monument, the "Tomb of Marquis Zuo Wenxiang of Jinghou of Qing Taifu University" jumped into view. There is a stone platform in front of the tomb, equipped with stone tables, stone drums, and stone incense burners. On both sides of the Huabiao inscription: "Hanye Tang Rules Western Qian Yonggu; Qinchuan Longdao Sai Liu Changqing".