During the Republic of China period, Urumqi, Kashgar, Hami, Tacheng and other places in Xinjiang once preserved the Zuo Wen XiangGong Ancestral Hall. According to the word of mouth of the elderly, the courtyards of the Zuo Gong Ancestral Hall are the same scenery, with old trees hugging each other, green shades the sun, and the statue of Zuo Zongtang solemnly enshrined in the hall. Zuo Zongtang's statue has a solemn demeanor and is slightly sick.
These slightly sick-looking statues are like two people sentenced to Zuo Zongtang, who is bright-eyed, old and strong, in the Zuo Gong Ancestral Hall in Changsha. However, when we unveiled the doubts about the statue of the sick face, there was a bitter and desolate old age Zuo Zongtang.
When Zuo Zongtang regained Xinjiang, he was already sick and unable to walk
Zuo Zongtang retakes Xinjiang on crutches
Carrying a coffin to the west is not only the arrogance of seeing death as a homecoming.
In January 1878, Zuo Zongtang announced the reconquest of Xinjiang. However, Ili is still unresolved. The Qing government sent a peace negotiator Chonghou to St. Petersburg to negotiate with the Tsar's representatives. The Tsar's mouth was too loud, and the peace talks represented Chonghou's treaty with the Tsar, which was rejected by the Qing government. In this context, Zuo Zongtang cooperated with the next round of peace talks of the Qing government and did not rule out the use of force to recover.
Zuo Zongtang's haunting Ili grassland
The twilight is long, and the left gong is old. Even so, Zuo Zongtang still said: "The Western affairs are difficult and dangerous, everyone is looking forward to it, and I am the only one who bears it, but I also want to endure all the suffering, leaving blessings and descendants, and leaving an example in the ears of the world." In May 1880, Zuo Zongtang set out from Jiuquan, Gansu Province, and personally went to Xinjiang. This time into Xinjiang, his guards carried a coffin he had prepared for himself. At this time, he had arranged a three-way army of 50,000 elite soldiers, ready to retake Yili with arms at any time. He didn't think his plan was bankrupt.
Zuo Zongtang's camp at Fenghuangtai in Hami, Xinjiang
When carrying the coffin to the west, Zuo Zongtang's health was very bad.
Zuo Zongtang commanded the Western Expedition and recovered Xinjiang at a time when it was nearly ancient. In 1880, he came to Hami, Xinjiang, at the age of seventy. In the same year, he said in a note to the imperial court: In recent years, I have often coughed and bleed in my mouth, my spleen and stomach are weak, and my medicine is ineffective; in recent years, I have had a hard time walking, I have long used crutches, and if I encounter a festival, I need help to kneel on the stage to prevent falling.
Zuo Zongtang's army once crossed the Taklamakan Desert to retake Hotan
When he returned to Beijing, he was tormented by illness all the way
Zuo Zongtang's reconquest of Xinjiang on crutches is not a lie.
He reported on his personal health in "Obeying the Orders of Chen To Come to The King's Majesty". The original text of the recital is: "Frequent years of force disease from Rong, hemoptysis, spleen leakage and other diseases, from time to time, the bait is ineffective." In the near future, forgetfulness is even more beneficial, and it is difficult to walk. For many years, the staff has not left the hand. Whenever there is a sacrifice ceremony, the bowing is bowed and kneeled, and the beard is supported to prevent the fall and the shape of the pole declines... I dare not make myself clear. ”
The vicissitudes of Urumqi
This was before the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1880. At that time, Zuo Zongtang was camping in Hami Phoenix Terrace in Xinjiang, and suddenly received a holy order. At that time, the Qing government changed its strategy of recovering Ili and relied on peace talks to achieve it. At the same time, the Qing government wanted to summon Zuo Zongtang back to Beijing. Soon, Zuo Zongtang was ordered to withdraw the three-way army armed to retake Ili. Subsequently, he held talks with Liu Jintang and others in Hami and handed over the Great Seal of GuanFang, the minister of Chincha, to Liu Jintang.
On October 12 of the same year, Zuo Zongtang left Hami, Xinjiang, with an illness, and embarked on a long road back to Beijing. After 38 days, he arrived in Lanzhou, Gansu, rested for 10 days, and handed over the Great Seal of the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu to Yang Changli. Ten days before the Spring Festival in 1881, Zuo Zongtang arrived in Xi'an, stayed for 3 days, and then hired a civilian mule and continued to set off.
Li
Before the Lantern Festival, Zuo Zongtang came to Baoding via Shanxi. Baoding was the residence of Li Hongzhang, the governor directly under him. According to Zuo Zongtang's report to Empress Dowager Cixi, when he passed through Zhili, he was to "meet with Li Hongzhang and consult everything in person." After years of arguing and separating for many years, What Li Hongzhang saw was already a faltering and heroic Twilight Zuo Zongtang.
When he saw this palace, Zuo Zongtang's condition had worsened
The Minister of Military Aircraft often takes sick leave during his term of office
Zuo Zongtang returned to Beijing and was entrusted with important duties by the Qing government.
On the first day of February 1881, Empress Dowager Cixi issued a decree: "Zuo Zongtang, a scholar of the university, is in charge of the affairs of the military department, walking on the military aircraft minister, and walking in the prime minister's office of state affairs." Zuo Zongtang thanked him, saying that his energy was still supportive, but he was exhausted. It was he who walked, his legs and feet weak, stumbling. However, in this difficult time, we should do our best.
During the term of military chancellorship, Zuo Zongtang had frequent contact with Li Hongzhang, the governor directly under him. After Zuo Zongtang returned to Beijing, two thousand soldiers were stationed in Zhili. When Li Hongzhang dredged the Yongding River, Zuo Zongtang ordered his soldiers to assist in completing the task. In addition, the two discussed the issue of taxes on imported goods, and there was no conflict.
After Zuo Zongtang returned to Beijing, the Xiang army began a career in Xinjiang
In the summer, Zuo Zongtang suffered from heat stroke, became ill, was dizzy and deaf, and constantly asked Empress Dowager Cixi for leave, saying that she could not be an errand boy and needed recuperation. In July, he came to ask for another month's leave. At that time, his feet were puffy, his hands were cramping, his chest and abdomen were swollen and painful, and his liver cirrhosis was getting worse and worse. The doctor said that his heart and spleen were not good, and his liver qi was not good. With careful conditioning, it is difficult to heal.
After the autumn, Zuo Zongtang could only walk a hundred steps every day with a crutch. If you do not use crutches, you will not breathe enough, cough and wheezing with blood, and it is difficult to support. The joints below the waist and legs are dead, and they can no longer stand up when kneeling. He asked Empress Dowager Cixi to remove him as minister of military aircraft, the prime minister of state affairs, and the errand of managing the affairs of the military department.
Cold side off hot blood
"The days of life are all years of service to the country"
In his later years, Zuo Zongtang regarded a day as a year.
At this time, Zuo Zongtang said, "The days of my life are all years of serving the country." "He very much wants to be an idle adviser in the capital, and once he is called, he will inevitably return to the military aircraft to discuss with the minister and contribute to the country." Unexpectedly, on the sixth day of September, the Qing government appointed Zuo Zongtang as the governor of Liangjiang and concurrently the minister of trade affairs.
In October of that year, Zuo Zongtang's feet were still swollen, and he staggered on the road to the governor of Liangjiang. When he returned, he took his own soldiers with him. It has been 22 years since Xianfeng ten years ago, and he has never had the opportunity to save himself from the grave. On this road, Zuo Zongtang passed through Zhili, Henan, Hubei, and then through Dongting Lake and Changsha Province, both land and water, and finally returned to his long-lost hometown, where his ancestors were buried on the banks of the Xiang River.
When in Xinjiang, Zuo Zongtang, who had a sick face
Zuo Zongtang was old and weak, and his liver and lung diseases became more and more serious. After recovering Xinjiang, he could not sleep at night, his hard work had long been dissipated, and he already knew that there would not be many days to come.
Zuo Zongtang's only sore spot was not in his body, but in Ili. He believes that the armed reconquest of Ili is not necessarily invincible. Since the pacification of various places, "the brave Ding of Xi Zhan and the general of Xiao Zhuang are selected and recruited anywhere." If it is not recovered by negotiation, but won by a victory, then the whole situation will be different after that.
……
The surviving left male willow
The image of Zuo Zongtang with a sick face is the true portrayal of Zuo Zongtang. In the ancestral hall, the Shubian soldiers restored the wind and dust, walked with crutches, and staggered to recover Zuo Zongtang in Xinjiang.
Today, when we travel from Xi'an to Xinjiang, we can still see a lot of Zuo Gongliu along the way. Those big willow trees, with thick trunks, many of them were pecked out of the burrow by birds, and the dead branches were still shaded. From the look of the big tree, we always think of Zuo Zongtang. (Text/Fan Forward)