Zuo Zongtang, a legendary figure of the late Qing Dynasty, his life is full of magnificent chapters. His life is a history full of struggle and tenacity, and it is also a testimony of the efforts of the sons and daughters of China to defend the country and achieve national prosperity.
In a scholarly family in Xiangyin, Hunan, a small life was born on November 10, 1812. He is Zuo Zongtang. Since childhood, Zuo Zongtang has shown extraordinary intelligence and diligence. He began his enlightenment education at the age of four, became familiar with the Confucian classics at the age of six, and was able to write good poetry at the age of nine. In the county examination, at the age of fifteen, he won the first place in one fell swoop and became a well-known little prodigy.
However, the road to the imperial examination was not all smooth sailing. Although Zuo Zongtang is talented, he failed to pass the imperial examination many times. This did not discourage him, but strengthened his conviction. He turned to academic research, with a particular focus on practical studies such as geography and the art of war. During his years of study at Changsha Yuelu Academy and other places, he dabbled in a wide range of books and accumulated a wealth of knowledge.
At the age of 23, his parents died, and his family fell into the middle of the road, and Zuo Zongtang entered the Zhou family in Xiangtan. His wife Zhou Yiduan was born in a famous family of scholars, and she has read poetry and books since she was a child, not only is she familiar with scriptures and history, but also good at writing poetry. At this time, although he cultivated Xiangyin, he still did not fall into the ambition of the bird. Even if he was ridiculed by the villagers at that time, Zuo Zongtang was not disturbed, not only did he raise his eyebrows with his wife and love each other for a lifetime, but he still lived up to his wife in a high position in the future. According to historical records, the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty gave Zuo Zongtang a marriage after he recovered Xinjiang, but was treated as a grandson by Zuo Zongtang, who could not shirk the emperor's grace. Zuo Zongtang is exemplary in the relationship between husband and wife.
In 1851, Zuo Zongtang, who had experienced the Opium War, witnessed the outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion in Guangxi. The following year, the Taiping army besieged Changsha, and the 39-year-old Zuo Zongtang was accepted as the shogunate by the then governor of Hunan. After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was suppressed, Zuo Zongtang served as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu and pacified the Shaanxi-Gansu rebellion. For the soldiers who died in the march and battle, Zuo Zongtang often built temples and monuments, and wrote a joint to pay tribute to praise, and to inspire the comers and boost morale. "The yellow stream is injected into the east, the Huangshui comes from the south, the turbidity waves are vertical and horizontal, and the hundred twists and turns must eventually converge to the giant sea; During the pacification of the Shaanxi-Gansu Rebellion, Zuo Zongtang inscribed this couplet in the "Zhaozhong Temple" in Xining, showing his loyalty to the martyrs with generosity and tragedy
In 1866, Zuo Zongtang requested the establishment of the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau to train shipbuilding technology and naval talents. This move has had a profound impact on China's modernization process. At the beginning of the Northwest Incident, he was reappointed as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and Shen Baozhen, the former governor of Jiangxi, was recommended to be the prime minister and the minister of shipping. A year later, the Fuzhou Shipyard (also known as the Mawei Shipyard) officially started construction, becoming the first new shipyard in China. Originally, Shen Baozhen was Zuo Zongtang's right-hand man and successor. However, after Shen Baozhen left office, the relationship between the two took a sharp turn for the worse. Although Zuo Zongtang was still able to exert influence on the shipyard situation by virtue of the privileges granted by the Qing government, with the intervention of the Huai forces, the relationship between Zuo and Shen deteriorated. This is enough to see that the relationship between Zuo and Li is influenced by political factions and does not have a purely personal relationship.
In 1874, Japan's invasion of Taiwan ignited a debate between the Qing government and the opposition over coastal defense and blockade defense. Li Hongzhang, a member of the coastal defense faction, believes that Britain and Tsarist Russia both attempt to occupy Xinjiang, and even if they take Xinjiang, it will be difficult to defend it. The southeast is a heavy tax area, so Xinjiang should be abandoned to recognize the Agubo regime, and the military expenses saved should be used for coastal defense in the southeast. Zuo Zongtang wrote to the imperial court, sternly refuting Li Hongzhang's strange logic that only by sacrificing the fortress defense can the coastal defense be strengthened, and clearly put forward that both coastal defense and the fortress defense should be equally valued, but not evenly distributed, but there should be priorities.
He believes that in the long run, coastal defense is more important, but at the moment it is the northwestern crisis that is more urgent. Xinjiang is an important barrier to the northwest, and the loss of Xinjiang means that Mongolia and Beijing are in danger.
In April 1876, 64-year-old Zuo Zongtang led Liu Jintang, the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, and 25 battalions into Xinjiang in batches.
In April 1877, he marched into southern Xinjiang in three ways, recovering northern Xinjiang except Ili in September before the snowstorm, and then marching to southern Xinjiang.
In June 1878, the Qing government sent Chonghou to Russia to negotiate and was forced to sign an unequal treaty, which caused public outrage. Li Hongzhang, however, thought that if the agreement was ruined, it would give Tsarist Russia a pretext for war, and proposed to recognize the unequal treaty. Zuo Zongtang was extremely angry at Li Hongzhang's traitorous remarks and severely criticized and refuted them.
In order to express his determination to recover Yili, Zuo Zongtang was 68 years old, and he went out of the customs with illness and "acted with his cowardice". "The West is very difficult, everyone is discouraged, I am the only one to bear, but I also want to endure all the suffering, leave some blessings and children and grandchildren, and leave some examples in the ears of the world. Zuo Zongtang, who carried the coffin and went out on the expedition, described the state of mind of the Western Expedition in this letter to his family.
During his second arrival in Xinjiang, Zuo Zongtang left a memorial couplet for the Zhaozhong Shrine in Urumqi that reads, "Where is the Sunset Township Pass, and how many people have returned from the ancient conquests," and left a couplet for the soldiers resisting the invasion of Tsarist Russia: "The blood turns into red phosphorus, the Qiang is low, and the Wujiang River is cold; the loyal soul returns to the white, the moon in Qinhuai is dark, and the Chu land is coquettish."
In 1880, the Qing government sent Zeng Jize as an envoy to Russia to renegotiate the treaty. Hearing that Zuo Zongtang was preparing for war in Xinjiang, Tsarist Russia exerted pressure again, forcing the Qing government to recall Zuo Zongtang and sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty at the negotiating table, which was defeated without a fight.
In October 1881, Zuo Zongtang went to serve as the governor of Liangjiang.
In 1884, under Zuo Zongtang's unremitting request for many years, the Qing government officially agreed to establish Xinjiang as a province.
In 1885, when he was seriously ill, Zuo Zongtang requested that the governor of Fujian be changed to the governor of Taiwan, and soon after the Qing government established the premier's naval affairs yamen and set up a province in Taiwan.
On September 5, 1885, this great soldier passed away. At the age of 73, he left behind countless legends and achievements. His life is a symbol of struggle, progress and glory, and his name will forever be engraved in history!
After Zuo Zongtang's death, he was posthumously presented as a Taifu and given the title of "Wenxiang". "Xiang" is an evaluation of outstanding military achievements, he pacified the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, exterminated the Twist Army, and recovered Xinjiang, and the word "Xiang" is well deserved.
Zuo Zongtang's story tells us that no matter what kind of difficulties and challenges we face, as long as we have firm beliefs, move forward bravely, and continue to work hard, we will be able to write our own glorious chapter!