<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > Left Precious: The first senior Qing general killed in the Battle of Jia-Wu and worshipped as a god by the Korean people</h1>
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="18" > left precious: the Sino-Japanese naval battle was fought like him, and it was certain that the ending was different, a rare national hero</h1>
Zuo Precious (1837-1394), ziguanting (also known as guanting), Hui, shandong Fei County. Because of the loss of parents in the early years, the family has no permanent property and has a difficult livelihood. In the early years of Xianfeng, he joined the army with his two younger brothers (Baoxian and Baowan), and because of his many meritorious achievements, he was later promoted to the rank of chief soldier, and was stationed in Fengtian (present-day Shenyang) during the Guangxu period. Although Zuo Precious was a military general, he did not forget his hometown and fellow villagers. In 1891, he returned to his hometown to visit, which can be described as a return to his hometown. However, Zuo Precious did not have any general's shelf, he was approachable, conscientiously carried out the gift of the younger generations to enter the meeting, and was very affectionate with the fathers and elders of the villagers. When he saw that the mosque was in disrepair, he donated money to rebuild it, and also funded the construction of roads and bridges, which was well received by the people in the township.
Although Zuo Gui was a military general, he attached great importance to cultural education and public welfare undertakings. The history books say that he "valued scribes and loved talents and courage" (Zhao Gongyin: ("Shenyang County Chronicle"), paid attention to cultivating talents, and vigorously established schools. During his stay in Fengtian, he set up large and small schools in Yingkou Haitan Temple, Shenyang Military Training Office, Nanbei Temple and other places, and personally donated to the school to assess the curriculum. He also cared about the sufferings of the people and did a lot of public welfare charity. The counties west of Fengtian are low-lying and often flooded. In order to prevent disasters, he personally led officers and soldiers to participate in the construction of local cities and embankments, and shared the hardships with the earthen pawns. He also set up disaster relief porridge factories, Tongshan Hall, Habitat And Nursery hall in various places in Shenyang to help orphans and refugees.
In the summer of 1894, when Japanese imperialism launched the Sino-Japanese War of Aggression against Korea and China, when the left-hand army was stationed in Fengtian and sino-Japanese negotiations began, he paid great attention to the movements of Japan and sent personnel from afar to understand the movements. After the outbreak of war, Zuo Gui led the Feng army to Korea for reinforcements and stationed in Pyongyang. As soon as he entered Korea, he advocated active resistance and took the initiative to attack. To this end, he waged a resolute struggle against Ye Zhichao, commander of the Qing army stationed in Korea, who was greedy for life and afraid of death and cowardly warfare. When the Japanese army invaded Pyongyang and the battle began, Ye Zhichao called a meeting of generals and arranged to abandon the city and flee north.
For this reason, Zuo Precious was extremely angry and made a generous statement: "I thought that I was ordered to go on a crusade to the east, vowed to declare power for the country, and "struck a surprise blow at the enemy" so that he would not return... If we retreat without a fight, why should we repay the country to Korea?" (Luan Shushan: "The History of Chu Prisoners") He said: "If the generations are sorry to die, they can go by themselves, and this city is my tomb!" (Shenyang County Chronicle) He sent his own soldiers to monitor Ye Zhichao so as not to abscond.
After the Japanese army launched a general offensive against Pyongyang, Zuo Precious commanded the Feng army to resist the Japanese army at the commanding height of Mudantai in the north corner of the city, causing heavy casualties to the Japanese army and repeatedly repelling the fierce attacks of the enemy. However, in the end, due to the disparity between the crowd and the helplessness of the army, the Peony Terrace was lost. Zuo Zhen led his army to retreat to Xuanwu Gate. At this time, the Japanese artillery fire was even more fierce, and the artillery and grenades were like flying locusts in the sky, and the direct blow was "the sun and the moon have no light, the mountains and rivers have changed color," the fog is sad, the smoke is fierce, and the grass and trees are red" ("The History of Chu Prisoners").
Zuo Precious saw that the final moment had arrived, and with determination to die, he put on the yellow robe and horse coat given by the emperor, and ascended to the head of the city with great courage, encouraging the soldiers to say: "My generation has been paid a lot of money and food for decades," And now when the country is in danger, "I am the first, and I will wait for it!" A battalion officer surnamed Yang asked him to go down to the city, but he refused. He personally fired an amplified cannon, "hand grenade thirty-six" (Shenyang County Chronicle). For a moment, the subordinates were indignant and fought fiercely. Although Zuo Precious was injured under the ribs and the left forehead successively, he was still wounded and fought again. Unexpectedly, a bullet flew in, hit his left chest, and finally martyred heroically, becoming the first senior general of the Qing Army to die on the battlefield in the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War.
After Zuo Precious martyred the country, the Qing government praised his "loyalty and courage", allowed him to be exempted from all punishments before his death, and listed the Zhaozhong Ancestral Hall, let the National History Museum establish a biography for him, and allowed him to establish a special shrine to commemorate his meritorious service. More importantly, the Chinese and DPRK people were deeply touched by his patriotic spirit, and they all remembered him and built shrines and homes for him one after another. The people of Fengtian built a shrine outside the south gate of Shengjing, and the spring and autumn festivals will not fade. The people of Fei County, Shandong Province, built a crown tomb for him, which still stands today. Shi Yulin, a Tianjin man who had led a horse for him, thanked him for his kindness and abandoned his family to Shandong to guard his tomb for him for the rest of his life, until he died in his nineties. According to the old man, Zuo Precious governs the army strictly on weekdays, has clear rewards and punishments, does not hesitate to reward meritorious service, and does not lynch crimes; he loves soldiers and pawns, cares for his subordinates, often wears the clothes of soldiers when facing the enemy in wartime, "commits crimes first," and lives and dies with soldiers, and is deeply loved by officers and men.
The Korean people remembered him, set up a marker for him in the places where he fought, and later worshipped him as a god. In Pyongyang, there is a story of "The Left General's Rainy Night Manifestation", which says that on the rainy night of September 15, 1897 (that is, the third year after Zuo's precious sacrifice), an old man nearly sixty years old, Lin Shanhua, walked outside the Gate of the Seven Stars, overheard the sound of horses hissing and sword blows, looked up, and seemed to see General Zuo riding a white horse, wielding a saber, and the cold light flashed like a flash, heading north. The news spread that on the fifteenth rainy night of September of the following year, many people went to the Seven Star Gate, and sure enough, they saw General Zuo riding a white horse. Since then, the story of the manifestation of the Seven Star Gate of General Zuo on the rainy night of September 15 has spread.
Although this is a legend and is not a true fact, it shows that the precious heroic image of Zuo will always live in the hearts of the Korean people. If, in the original Sino-Japanese Naval Battle, the Qing generals could resist heroically like Zuo Precious, how could the Japanese be allowed to commit murder for many years to come!