Yang Zengxin (1864-1928), a native of Mengzi County, Yunnan Province. In the fifteenth year of Qing Guangxu, he successively served as a lieutenant in Gansu Zhongwei, Tianshui Zhixian County, Hezhou Zhizhou, Gansu Tixue, and the supervisor of higher schools. Guangxu was transferred to Xinjiang in 34 years and served as the local administrator of Balikun and Urumqi.
In 1911, emperor Xuantong abdicated, Yuan Shikai appointed Yuan Dahua, the governor of Xinjiang, as the governor of Xinjiang, and Yuan Dahua insisted on resigning from his post and recommended Yang Zengxin to be the governor of Xinjiang. Yang Zengxin served as the governor of Xinjiang until his assassination in 1928.
Among the frontier officials of the Qing Dynasty, there were capable people and mediocre people, some active and promising, some who kept their ways and did nothing, and even those who acted arbitrarily. During Yang Zengxin's reign in Overseer, he was honest and self-disciplined, strict with himself, and far-sighted, decisive in the face of things, and quite fierce in his means. In the autumn of the Republic of China and when the country was tired of eggs, the revolutionary torrent was stirring inside, the British and Russian powers were surrounding the outside, general Yang Lao was doing his best to do Huang Lao, resting with the people, doing his best to protect the territory, and during the seventeen years of his reign, Xinjiang could be said to be isolated from strife, unmoving, and as peaceful as a rock, compared with other provinces, it was like a peach source.
Of course, as for all kinds of revolutionary "chaotic parties," they appear to be fierce and sinister in their means, but they can be regarded as a great contribution to the country by citing their big end of protecting the land and the people. In high favor of Sven Hedin's evaluation of him: "Yang Zengxin is knowledgeable, far-sighted, ambitious, flexible, and if he grows up in European society, he must be a great man." He is the last typical figure representing China's old society, old culture, old morality, and old traditions.
1. Meritorious service, preserving one-sixth of the territory
The Qing Dynasty collapsed, and Inner and Outer Mongolia, which borders Xinjiang, was divided, and Outer Mongolia followed Russia. Yang Zengxin resolutely resisted the infiltration of Tsarist Russia between himself and various forces of various nationalities. Altay belonged to Outer Mongolia during the Qing Dynasty, the main peak of the Altay Mountains is the high point of friendship in northern Xinjiang, Yang Zengxin said, "We can't look up at people with our faces", he held his fists in both hands, no money and no soldiers, relying on strategy and the support of local Mongolian, Kazakh and other ethnic groups, to take Altay into the Xinjiang system.
During the Qing Dynasty, the Altay region came under the jurisdiction of Outer Mongolia, and after Yang Zengxin sent troops to recover, he sent a telegram to the Beiyang government to be transferred to the jurisdiction of Xinjiang Province. Since then, Altay has been under the administration of Xinjiang, and the Altay region is a piece of fat that Yang Zengxin seized from Tsarist Russia, an area as large as Jiangsu Province. If Yang Zengxin had not retaken Altay, Russia's collapse of Xinjiang would be just around the corner— the Tsar had long tried to make Xinjiang a new Russian province. The Kobdo region and the Donnu Ulyan Sea were occupied by Outer Mongolia and Russia, and remained abroad forever.
The most remarkable political achievement is that Yang Zengxin single-handedly eliminated the intrusion of nearly 200,000 Russian Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uyghurs and other refugees into Xinjiang. Especially after the October Revolution, about 20,000 well-equipped Tsarist White Bandit Army attempted to establish a counter-offensive Soviet base in Xinjiang, which was skillfully defused by Yang Zengxin, who expelled them and defended the territorial integrity of Xinjiang.
Yang Zengxin maintained Xinjiang's stability and development. The Qing Dynasty governed Xinjiang by relying on "co-pays", which was a salary to increase the income of the rich provinces on the southeast coast, about two or three million taels per year, which was used to maintain the overall pattern of Xinjiang and to pay the salaries and military salaries of Xinjiang officials. With the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the loss of the salary, Yang Zengxin maintained Xinjiang within The Territory of China by means of communication and mutual assistance with the grassroots, as well as personal strategy and mind. "The Xinjiang region will fall apart" has become a bubble.
For modern China, Yang Zengxin's contribution is irreplaceable and must be paid special attention. Without Yang Zengxin, the harmonious, stable, and common development of Xinjiang, the western region, and China, would surely be overwhelmed by turmoil, famine, and ethnic conflicts. Yang Zengxin resolutely opposed foreign personalities coming to Xinjiang to preach, and he would immediately drive away those who spread the "double-pan" ideology under the guise of running schools and seal down schools, which is of far-reaching significance. At the same time, he also consciously advocated the spread of traditional Chinese culture in Xinjiang, opened schools, and effectively promoted Bilingual Teaching and Confucianism in Han and Hui, which is what we have been advocating now.
The 17 years that Yang Zengxin has been in charge of Xinjiang have been 17 years of stability and stability in Xinjiang; 17 years of ethnic unity in Xinjiang; and 17 years of harmonious development in Xinjiang. At the beginning of Yang Zengxin's administration of Xinjiang, Xinjiang was worried about internal and external troubles and was in danger, because he kept the external separatist forces out of the country; it was he who forbade the spread of religious extremism in Xinjiang; it was he who advocated young officials of the Han nationality to learn the Uyghur language; it was he who defended territorial integrity with his meager strength; it was he who reclaimed wasteland, used water sources, developed resources, popularized education, and treated different ethnic groups equally.
Second, rule by doing nothing, stabilize the frontier
Yang Zengxin is highly concerned about the people's livelihood in Xinjiang. As a "parent official", no matter what ethnic group people live in Xinjiang, he regards them as his people to love and care for, attaches importance to solving the people's livelihood problems of ordinary people, so the "old general" has such a good reputation. This is worth learning from history.
At that time, there was a saying in society: "Big cases are not old, and small cases are not seasons." That is to say, petty theft, cattle theft and horse theft and other cases, the case is not solved in season. Within three months, if you can find out who is an official, that's fine. If you can't find out, take money out of your "pocket" and pay it to the owner.
Larger cases, such as digging holes and robbing people, as long as it is not a case of human life, do not celebrate the New Year. If you can't find out the investigation for a year, then you will take out your "pocket" and pay it to the reporter. As long as you settle the victim well, you don't do it, and I don't care. Yang Zengxin used this method to govern local officials. This method was also very clever, basically curing the county officials, and the local government has been peaceful since then.
Then again, how much money can you make as a county magistrate? Isn't it a loss to the county magistrate to handle the case in this way? No loss, he got it for you in advance. He called the county magistrate corrupt, and he could only embezzle the public, not the people. Like Qiande County at that time, he worked as a county magistrate for three years and earned eight thousand silver seeds. If you do a good job, without thieves, you will end up with eight thousand pieces of silver. This silver is deducted from the taxes and grain paid by the peasants to the state, and the common people pay the "imperial grain" until it is enough. The county magistrate is the most serious about handling the case, because he is afraid of paying "pockets". So he didn't dare not be irresponsible!
In 1984, when many literary and historical experts were investigating in remote oases and wilderness, the common people talked about Yang Zengxin, and they were so excited that they couldn't say a word, and they mentioned the "old general" with tears in their eyes. The most touching was kuwan Kuduruk, a 100-year-old Rob man who had served as a driver for Sven Hedin and pulled a camel for Stein. Speaking of Yang Zengxin, he said: "When the old general was alive, the world of our Rob people was very wide. Tears welled up after saying that. At that time, nearly 60 years after Yang Zengxin's death, he still maintained such a popular will.
Yang Zengxin ruled Xinjiang for seventeen years, and his political ideology was always "rule by doing nothing." When the bianlou of the northwest corner of the governor's mansion was completed, he instructed his subordinates to write poems and write a couplet, most of which were uncomfortable, only a joint of his colleague Wang Shunan: "The republic has just opened its grass, and it is shameful to call it the five hegemons and seven heroes, and the disputes do not ask about the Central Plains; the border court has a Taoyuan victory, and the south returns to the north, and the hun is long as the taigu people." "Most liked. Later, Yang Zengxin also instructed the craftsman = engraved on the yanglian, which has been hung in the lobby of the Xinjiang provincial government.
Throughout Yang Zengxin's life, he has always taken "thinking loyally and making up for his mistakes". Therefore, he named his family's hall "Qiande Hall", and he named his own study "Supplementary Fast". Even some of his later letters, letters and telegrams, notices, and reading notes were included in the "Supplementary Fasting" and "Supplementary Fasting Diary".
Third, one person throughout the ages
Yang Zengxin "recognizes the temple but does not recognize the gods", and there is a reverse saying that "recognizing the gods does not recognize the temple". For example, when Yuan Shikai became the president of the Republic of China, I recognized Yuan Shikai, which is "recognizing God but not recognizing the temple." But the central government during the Republic of China changed people like a marquee, and did the local government not cause regional unrest by doing so?
At this point, Yang Zengxin saw it very clearly. "Recognizing the temple" is to identify with China- the Chinese nation, Xinjiang is China's territory, under China's governance, the people's livelihood in Xinjiang will get better and better; "not recognizing God" means that local governments cannot bear the consequences of political turmoil, let alone pass this burden on ordinary people. Yang Zengxin died on July 7, 1928, before the fall of the Beiyang government, he was about to recognize the Nationalist government in Nanjing, but was assassinated in the process.
Yang Zengxin was a very orthodox Chinese official, born into a scholar, and had been an official for a long time, and the way of Kong Meng was imperceptible in the depths of his thinking and had a very deep accumulation. In traditional Chinese political thought, there is a very important idea of "great unification", which holds that China is a sacred entity. The pursuit of "great unification" penetrated deep into Yang Zengxin's bone marrow and blood, so no matter who the leader of China was at that time, he instinctively recognized China and "recognized the temple."
Zuo Zongtang tried his best to retake Xinjiang with his own efforts, while Yang Zengxin single-handedly maintained Xinjiang. During the period when the country was the weakest in thousands of years, the two national heroes saved Xinjiang for the Chinese nation and avoided the fate of being cannibalized by Tsarist Russia.