When I was young, I read history and admired the image of the Qing rumor officials who were upright and ready to serve the people, and felt that without these pillars, our society really did not know what the darkness would be like. Later, as I grew older and more experienced, I slowly understood that many things could not only look at the surface, but also learned to "see the essence through the phenomenon". Combined with the books I read, after my understanding of history gradually deepened, I also knew that these people were clear and clear, but most of them were ignorant and did not understand practice but were self-righteous fools. #左宗棠 #
These people have good moral articles and a sense of justice, but they can't do practical things, and more often than not enough to be successful. For example, the Donglin Party of the Ming Dynasty was busy with party struggle every day, and there were few good policies for governing the country and the army; the so-called "although there are a thousand words in the next pen, there is really no policy in the chest", and the depth of the mistake of the country and the people is not under those notorious "castration parties".
However, these people are not useless, and in the late Qing Dynasty, when the "three thousand years of unprecedented changes", the Qingliu, headed by Zhang Peilun, Zhang Zhidong, Huang Tifang, and Yu Yinlin, led by the "Four Counselors of Hanlin", still played an unexpected role, and to some extent even influenced the direction of history and indirectly contributed to the recovery of Ili. Why do we say that?
It is said that when the content of the treaty signed by Chonghou was made public, these Qingliu immediately exploded with a sense of morality, and they went to the court one after another, demanding that Chonghou be severely punished. The Qingliu pointed out to the point: Chonghou, without being coerced and coerced by the Russians, actually signed a treaty of loss of power and humiliation of the country, called the recovery of Ili, but in fact gave up a large area of territory around Ili (this is like winning a Guangzhou, but selling Guangdong), such a stupid and incompetent person, who lost power and humiliated the country, and did not kill enough to be indignant.
However, Chonghou's envoys to negotiate with Tsarist Russia were precisely approved by Cixi, and at this time, he demanded severe punishment of Chonghou, so why did Lafayette beat himself up and admit that his employment was unknown? Therefore, in the face of the awe-inspiring righteousness of the Qingliu, Cixi put on a look of being able to drag on and delay, trying to make big things small, which further aroused their full fighting spirit, and decided to change a way, create a lofty little rumor, take advantage of the weakness of human nature, and force Cixi to obey.
So Huang Tifang confronted Cixi: "Chonghou stabbed such a big basket, making your old man feel like a needle felt, but do you know what he is doing?" Then he said with ill will: "He has already arrived in Shanghai, and now he eats and drinks spicy every day, and the beautiful woman is in his arms, and he is very happy, just waiting to come and receive the reward!" ”
After hearing this, the expression on Cixi's face suddenly froze: I was pointed out by thousands of people in the capital, but you are revered but happy and happy! His face was immediately livid, and he asked in a cold voice, "You went to the book before, saying how to deal with Chonghou?" Huang Tifang was secretly proud and said unhurriedly: "Pig-like guy, slaughter it." So Cixi roared, "Come, go to Shanghai and arrest Chonghou for me." ＂
Therefore, the three halls of the imperial court held a trial and found that Chonghou did not ask the leaders for instructions, did not consult with his colleagues, and signed a traitorous agreement without authorization, which seriously endangered the interests of the country, committed a heinous crime, and was beheaded and imprisoned! As soon as he heard that Chonghou had been convicted, the Russian minister to China, Kaiyangde, immediately came to the Prime Minister's Yamen of the Qing Dynasty, slapped the table and kicked the bench, and punished Chonghou. Then he continued to teach biology lessons to the officials of the Qing Dynasty: take the meat of the polar bear in the mouth, and the consequences are very serious!
The Tsar, knowing that the news was also on fire, immediately sent a fleet of two ironclad ships to the Pacific Ocean to prepare to blockade the Chinese coast. At the same time, let the governors in Turkistan and Siberia be ready for war and ready to teach the Qing a lesson. What is even more puzzling is that the British Empire actually sided with the enemy Tsarist Russia, and the envoy to China, Wittoma, specially ran to the prime minister's gate, and the mother-in-law counted down the Qing Dynasty, and left the harsh words to prevent the Qing from breaking the treaty.
Faced with the pressure of the foreigners, the imperial court was really a little panicked. On the other hand, at this time, because of the newspaper, the content of the treaty signed by Chonghou was already known to both the government and the public, and for a time the whole country was shocked, the crowd was excited, and public opinion was in an uproar, and the Qing government had to give an explanation. At this time, all kinds of pressures at home and abroad came pouring in, which made the pressure on the Qing court a great mountain. Cixi simply turned her heart sideways and threw the pot to Zuo Zongtang and let him make a decision. I have to admit that this Lafayette before the overhaul of the Summer Palace was still clear and prioritized at the critical moment, knowing when to find someone and do something to make the long-broken giant ship of daqing not sink on the reef. Just as she knew when to rely on Zeng Guofan and when to use Li Hongzhang, at this time, in addition to letting Zuo Zongtang make up her mind, could there be a better way than this?
Zuo Zongtang's opinion is very simple, break the contract and talk again, and do not hesitate to seek peace with war! At the same time, he drew up a battle plan for the three-way invasion of Yili, and consulted Liu Jintang's opinion and asked him whether he was sure of russian operations. When Zuo Zongtang received Liu Jintang's reply, he laughed: "I didn't expect that what he thought was exactly the same as me, there was Yi Zhai (Liu Jintang character), and Fu Yili was enough." Zuo Zongtang then presented the "Situation of Fu Chen Arrangement" to the imperial court. He believed that "the Russian ship going east, going to the sea frontier, marrying slaves, and sealing the Liao Sea are nothing more than a strategy of false coercion and peace." In a letter to Prime Minister Yamen, he pointed out: "Looking at the situation, it is indeed impossible to overcome by decision. ”
At the same time, Zuo Zongtang wrote a letter to Cixi: First, when this letter arrives, the British will definitely change their minds and support the annulment of the treaty; second, I will personally enter Xinjiang and ensure that the Russians will not dare to fight, if they must fight, I will guarantee to win the war, and if they do not win, they will never come back alive. When Zuo Zongtang's epigraph arrived in Beijing, the first article confused the government and the public: Is Zuo Zongtang confused, and the British still came to the Prime Minister's Gate two days ago to scold us in a different way? Is it possible?
But Wittoma really came to the door again, but this time it was like a completely changed person, the preamble of the reputation was invalidated, and he also condemned the Russians as robbers, the treaties that the robbers forced you to sign, of course, without admitting it. And don't be afraid, the British Empire has always presided over justice, and we will cover you.
In an instant, all the officials of the Qing Dynasty were petrified, and how could the speed of the British envoys in China turn their faces faster than turning over books?! What's going on? It turned out that when the British government heard that Wei Tooma had persuaded the Qing to accept the treaty, it was so angry that it scolded Wei Tuoma for being confused, and immediately asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send an urgent telegram and quickly ordered him to change his position and not to interfere with the Qing and repeal the treaty. At the same time, he summoned the Russian ambassador to Britain and warned the polar bear not to affect China's free passage at sea, otherwise the British Empire would not stand idly by.
At this moment, everyone couldn't help but wonder, how could Zuo Zongtang be so expected to be like a god? Quite simply, Zuo Zongtang was diligent in reading foreign newspapers and knew that Britain and Russia were fighting for hegemony, so he was sure that the British would do their utmost to support anything that could cause trouble for the Russians. As for why Wittoma was confused before? It must have been a short circuit in his head, and the British government would naturally fix him.
As soon as he saw that Zuo Zongtang was once again expecting things to be like a god, the big stone in Cixi's heart finally fell, and he made up his mind to be tough on Russia, and immediately informed the Russian minister in China that the previous agreement was nullified! Another person was sent to renegotiate the Ili issue. At the same time, the imperial court ordered Li Hongzhang and Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, to quickly strengthen coastal defenses; to re-recruit Bao Chao, a famous general of the Xiang Army, to lead the old army of 10,000 troops to Tianjin to garrison; and to order Song Qing, a veteran general of the Huai Army, to make defense arrangements in the northeast.
In April 1880 (the sixth year of Guangxu), Zuo Zongtang began to deploy troops, with Liu Jintang riding 10,000 people out of Wushi on the south road, 7,000 people from Zhang Yao's army on the middle road taking Ili directly from Aksu in two ways, and more than 10,000 people in Jinshun's department on the north road to guard the Jinghe River in preparation for the Russian army to invade Urumqi in the east. At the end of May of the same year, Zuo Zongtang, at the age of sixty-nine and sick, braved the sweltering heat to carry a willow coffin from Gansu to the west, and told the Russians with practical actions: In order to recover Ili, the Qing Dynasty is not afraid to go to war. On June 15, Zuo Zongtang entered Hami to set up an account, ordered all armies to be on alert, ready to march to Ili at any time, and vowed not to give up until they achieved their goal. In the face of the unprecedented determination of the Qing Dynasty, will the insatiable Tsarist Russia give in?
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