Chapter 84 Section 84: The Westward Expedition

Zuo Zongtang's broken pieces were issued within a month, and the imperial edicts began to arrive at the Governor's Yamen in Lanzhou one after another.First of all, he was granted the bachelor degree of Dongge University and let him stay as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.Soon after, Zuo Zongtang was asked to supervise military affairs in Xinjiang as an imperial envoy.Yuan Baoheng and Jing Lian were both recalled to the capital. Not long after this decree arrived, another decree was issued: "Zuo Zongtang asked to raise two million taels of foreign funds. Today, the decree has been issued to allow it to be handled." Only then did the imperial court set a major policy and decided to raise foreign funds and use them. Force has come to recover Xinjiang.

Zuo Zongtang got busier as the Qing Dynasty sounded the clarion call to regain Xinjiang by force. However, Russia did not believe in the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty, and was willing to give up its financial resources to use troops against Xinjiang. They sent military officer Sosnovsky and other people to Lanzhou to spy on military intelligence in the name of travel and investigation. When meeting Zuo Zongtang, he offered to purchase five million catties of military rations for the troops leaving the customs. At the governor's office, Sosnovsky said: "My lord, I want to tell you that Russia produces a lot of grain in Shannoer, and the camels are healthy, not far from the ancient city of China (now Qitai in Xinjiang) If the grain is needed for each army going out of my country, our country can do it for you and send it to the ancient city for delivery. From Russia, you need to send soldiers to protect and transport them. It only costs seven taels of silver per hundred catties, which is extremely cheap. Governor, no matter what other countries say, please believe in the sincerity of our country. This time your country regained Xinjiang, and our country must help. "

After hearing what the translator said, Zuo Zongtang looked at Sosnovsky again and again in disbelief, and said, "You mean, you can buy military rations for our country? It's only seventy-two-five cents for a hundred catties?" Sosnovsky said: "The governor is right. I can purchase military rations for your country's army. If five million catties is not enough, ten million catties will be fine. I guarantee it with my personality." After saying this, Sosnovsky raised his fist and hit his chest to prove his sincerity.Zuo Zongtang smiled and said, "Don't beat yourself up, I just believe it."

After setting up Sosnovsky and his group, Zuo Zongtang thought for a long time, but couldn't figure out the real intention of the Russians. But for a while, he was afraid that Sosnovsky's purchase of grain was true and he was afraid of missing the opportunity. A dozen or so people, including Gansu alternate Zhi Ding'e, who was the governor of Gansu, rushed to Balikun. In order to prevent the Russians from cheating, before Ding E and others left, Zuo Zongtang specially sent someone to the inn where Sosnovsky and his party lived, and asked him to issue a contact letter. Without even thinking about it, Sosnovsky solemnly issued a grain purchase letter written in Chinese and Russian languages ​​for the two of them that day, and then bid farewell to Zuo Zongtang, leaving Lanzhou and returning home quickly.

When it comes to buying military rations for the Qing army, naturally there is no more follow-up with Sosnovsky's departure, and Tao Zhaoxiong rushed to the ancient city to no avail.This is actually just a strategy implemented by the Russians to test whether the Qing Dynasty really went west.One is to find out the truth of the Qing Dynasty's recovery of Xinjiang, and the other is to find out the troops used by the Qing Dynasty to recover Xinjiang. Sending off Sosnovsky and his party, Zuo Zongtang invited the imperial court to pay homage, and Jian sent Liu Dian, who was living in the state to recuperate from illness, to serve as an alternate in the third-rank Jingtang to handle military affairs in Shaanxi and Gansu. Commanders from all walks of life went to Lanzhou to discuss the Western Expedition together.

On August 20th in the first year of Guangxu (1875 A.D.), Zuo Zongtang passed the provincial examination for the first time after being supervised in Gansu Province, and then he sent out all the troops and prepared various preparations before leaving the customs. The British government, which had always been in collusion with Agubai, saw that the Qing Dynasty was really going to use force to regain Xinjiang, and immediately panicked. It urgently sent Wade, the Minister to China, to persuade the Qing Dynasty to strike.At this time, Agub also referred Wade to Wade through the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking Wade to mediate and mediate, willing to regard himself as a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty.Wade went to the Zongli Yamen to talk to Prince Gong about this matter.

Prince Gong did not dare to publicly reject Wade's mediation, but claimed: "With regard to the war and peace in Xinjiang, the Empress Dowager has entrusted the imperial envoy with full authority to Zuo Zongtang, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu." Prince Gong kicked the ball to Zuo Zongtang. Not only did he save his tongue, but he also lost the endless chatter of the British. Witoma believed it to be true, and immediately sent a letter to Zuo Zongtang, stating that he was entrusted by Agubai and was willing to mediate the matter.Zuo Zongtang was furious after reading the letter, and immediately wrote back, saying: "The leader of the army has the right to participate in the affairs of the battle formation, and no one else can participate." Wade was bored, and the mediation failed.

In August of the same year, Zuo Zongtang founded the Lanzhou Gunpowder Bureau.At the end of the year, Zuo Zongtang once again summoned a group of leaders including Liu Jintang to further discuss how to prevent Aguba from continuously harassing Urumqi and Turpan. At the end of the year, Zuo Zongtang made a petition to the imperial court saying, "Now follow the decree to organize the army to go out of customs, but the source of salary is exhausted, and the time is urgent. Please follow the case of Taiwan's defense and allow 10 million taels of foreign money to be borrowed. After ten years of deduction and repayment, the ministers have borrowed what they have, and quickly went to the army."

Although the imperial court had previously issued a clear order to the provinces that "no matter what province thereafter, they are not allowed to borrow money from foreigners", they also stated that "Zuo Zongtang's plan to borrow 10,000,000 taels of foreign money due to the urgent need for customs clearance was unavoidable. If it is not approved as requested, I am afraid that the minister will be caught off guard, and it has something to do with the overall situation of the western frontier." The reason was issued on the seventh day of the first month of the second year of Guangxu (AD 1876).

In the spring of the second year of Guangxu, Zuo Zongtang consulted with Liu Houji, the commander-in-chief of Yanyusui, and said: "Elms and willows should be planted widely along the river, not only to strengthen the embankment, but also to make soldiers and horses. I think it has been established. Over the past few years, canals have been built, roads and Building forts and planting trees are quite effective, and they are also the strength of each defense battalion." At the same time, Zuo Zongtang ordered the officers and soldiers who were going to Suzhou from all walks of life to plant ten trees with each soldier and plant them along the road, and they should not be perfunctory.Soon, Liu Dian, who was in charge of the Shaanxi-Gansu military affairs, arrived in Lanzhou on order to discuss the military affairs and the aftermath with Zuo Zongtang.

One month later, Zuo Zongtang paid Liu Dian all the affairs in Lanzhou, and he personally led ten soldiers, one battalion of Baima Di Lianding, and four cavalry teams. He set off from Lanzhou and went west to Suzhou to supervise the army.Before leaving, Zuo Zongtang ordered his soldiers to accompany him bravely, and each of them carried nearly a hundred willow trees, which were widely planted along the road to stabilize wind, sand and rain. Almost on the same day that Zuo Zongtang left Lanzhou, Liu Jintang, the old president of the Hunan Army, Xining Dao, according to Zuo Zongtang's prior instructions, ordered his named admirals to newly appoint Tan Shanglian, the commander-in-chief of Hanzhong Town, and Tan Diocui, the commander-in-chief of Ningxia Town, The three generals Yu Huen, the commander-in-chief of Shan'an Township, led the battalions of horses and infantry, and marched to Suzhou successively from various places. Zuo Zongtang was on his way to Suzhou, but he kept thinking about the candidate for the commander-in-chief outside the customs.Although the imperial court has issued a decree to send Jinshun to assist in military affairs and control the various officers and troops leaving the customs, Zuo Zongtang is not very reassured about Jinshun, and doubts his actual command and combat capabilities.Zuo Zongtang knew very well that the army was alone outside the Great Wall, and if it wasn't for a resourceful, courageous and strategically excellent person commanding the various armies, it would be really difficult to win.Although it is a taboo for military strategists to change generals before the battle, in order to successfully regain the lost ground, Zuo Zongtang really couldn't think of a better way except to change generals. Zuo Zongtang thought of Erqing'e from Jinshun, and then thought of Zhang Yao from Erqing'e, but these three people were not enough to take on the post of commander-in-chief of the armies outside the pass.Although Liu Jintang is the youngest compared with the above three people, Zuo Zongtang still wants to hand over to him the power to control the various armies after leaving the customs. After repeated consideration, Zuo Zongtang believed that Liu Jintang, who was only 33 years old, was excellent in both literature and martial arts, and his combat exploits and talents were extraordinary. . According to Zuo Zongtang's thinking, in order to recover Xinjiang, the country did not hesitate to borrow foreign money at high interest rates, and the amount turned out to be as high as more than 10 million taels.If you take it lightly, you will inevitably fall short. On the day of his arrival in Suzhou, Zuo Zongtang solemnly proposed to the imperial court in the compromise of "Reporting the Date of Arriving in Lanzhou and Exiting the Fortress" that Liu Jintang would command the battle against the enemy outside the pass instead of him. At the same time, Zuo Zongtang also ordered Jinshun and Zhang Yao's armies outside the pass, conveying the order that Liu Jintang had been appointed to control the armies.Jinshun and Zhang Yao were dissatisfied when they received the speech, but they dared not disobey it. On the tenth day after Zuo Zongtang arrived in Suzhou, the 20th Battalion of the Western Expeditionary Army, led by Liu Jintang, held a grand ceremony of leaving customs and offering sacrifices to the flag in front of the big camp in Suzhou. This day in Suzhou, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the sky is clear. Although the howling northwest wind makes people shiver, the city gates of Suzhou are densely covered with flags and drums are firing, which still makes people feel warm in their hearts. The prime minister was in charge of camp affairs, and Liu Jintang, the commander of the old Hunan army, led the 25th Battalion of horses and infantry, escorted a large number of grain, grass, and carts, braving the bitter cold wind, and lined up a neat team, waiting for inspection. According to the old practice, in order to boost morale, Zuo Zongtang sent someone to place wine on the official road, and braved the frosty cold, he brought a group of civil and military officials stationed in Suzhou to personally serve the soldiers on the trip. its OK.Zuo Zongtang's first bowl of wine was naturally to his beloved general Liu Jintang. Holding the wine in his hand, Zuo Zongtang tremblingly said with tears in his eyes: "Liu Jingqing, Agubo has taken over my country, and Britain and Russia have helped the tyrant! I have already boasted to the people of my country. If I don't recover this ancestral foundation in Xinjiang, I will die." Mu! Yizhai, I don’t have many years left, and I want to be buried like Zeng Wenzheng after death! Whether the old man’s long-cherished wish can be fulfilled depends on you! You Liu Jingqing, you can’t let the old man die with regret!” Zuo Zongtang's tears flowed down slowly, hanging on his beard, and soon formed ice beads, which were particularly dazzling when the sun shone.Liu Jintang took the wine bowl with both hands and solemnly poured it into his mouth. Liu Jintang handed the empty wine bowl to the guard serving the wine, and said in a loud voice: "Please rest assured, Lord Minister, Wansheng has set one goal in his departure this time: not to recover Xinjiang, not to wipe out Aguba and other bandits, and vow not to return home marriage!" Zuo Zongtang was taken aback, and suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Turtle son, scare the old man with this again! Quickly change your words, otherwise, the old man will stop toasting. Why did you forget that a hero cannot have no descendants!" Liu Jintang was forced by Zuo Zongtang to be helpless, so he had to change his words: "If Wansheng can't recover Xinjiang and regain the foundation of his ancestors, he won't have to die after death!" After Liu Jintang finished speaking, he whispered again: "Uncle Shi, is it okay this time?" Zuo Zongtang smiled, and muttered: "It doesn't matter whether you use a coffin or not. It's useless to learn from me!" Zuo Zongtang handed the wine bowl to Huang Wanpeng, the first rank admiral. Zuo Zongtang said loudly: "Huang Junmen, your brother has been fighting with this old man for several years, and he has made countless achievements. Now he is leaving the customs with Liu Jingqing. I am proud of you! Here, the old man changed two lines of ancient poems into You are strong: I advise you to drink more wine, there is an old friend in Yangguan in the west! The old man is waiting for your triumphant return in Suzhou!" Huang Wanpeng took the wine bowl with both hands and drank it down.Afterwards, he threw the empty wine bowl into the distance, plopped down on his knees in front of Zuo Zongtang, kowtowed, and said, "Thank you for your promotion, Lord Juexiang!" Zuo Zongtang signaled Liu Jintang to help Huang Wanpeng up, and handed the third bowl of wine to the general soldier Tao Dingjin. Tao Dingjin hurriedly took the wine bowl and said: "Master Jue, don't talk about it when you are old, and don't continue to toast. This bowl of wine will be drunk for all the soldiers behind. You have just recovered from illness, and you can't stand it." Toss, let's go back to the office and rest." After Tao Dingjin finished speaking, he drank it all down, then threw the bowl away, knelt down and said, "Master Jue Xiang, please go back to the office to rest! Please, Master Jue Xiang, cherish it for the country!" Liu Jintang also walked quickly to Zuo Zongtang's side and said: "Master Jue, don't make things difficult for them when you are old! You can go back when you are old! You can't let Wansheng hang on to the battle! Wansheng will also kneel to you down!" After Liu Jintang finished speaking, he knelt down and said: "Wan Sheng kneels and asks the nobleman to go back to the government office to rest." When the soldiers on the expedition saw the commander kneeling, they all knelt down immediately. Zuo Zongtang saw rows of soldiers knelt down, and waves of heat surged in his heart.He took out a cloth towel and wiped away his tears, and was lifted out of his coffin, then knelt down trembling.All the soldiers were shocked. Zuo Zongtang said in a hoarse voice: "On behalf of the emperor, the empress dowager, and the people of the whole Xinjiang, thank you! I hope you will succeed soon! On the day of your triumphant return, I will still serve wine here to celebrate your achievements! " With tears in his eyes, Liu Jintang stood up and took a step forward, together with the guards, they lifted Zuo Zongtang up. Liu Jintang choked up and couldn't speak, so he gritted his teeth and flew on the horse, saluted Zuo Zongtang and all the people who saw him off. Then he drew his waist knife and pointed to the front of the official road. Jiayuguan trip to... Ten days before Liu Jintang left the customs, the top-secret official letters of the imperial envoy Guan Fang were stamped, and they had been sent from the post station to the defense army camps outside the customs. The official letter first notified the exact date of the old Hunan army's departure from the customs, and then said: "Since ancient times, there has been no reason for remote control in military affairs. Those who don’t follow the schedule, are self-important, and hinder the military situation, no matter what the rank of the official residence, once the Headquarters predicts it, it will definitely participate in it strictly!" Since then, China and foreign countries have also begun to pay attention to the war in Xinjiang, especially Russia and the United Kingdom, which secretly supported Yagub.When Witoma learned through the Zongli Yamen that after Zuo Zongtang appointed Liu Jintang as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy this time, he was lucky and insisted that the young Liu Jintang was definitely not the opponent of the scheming Aguba. Spending a huge amount of money to use troops in Xinjiang will definitely be defeated! Buce, the Russian minister to China, held the same view as Wade.In fact, even Zuo Zongtang himself worried about Liu Jintang day and night.He was afraid that Liu Jintang, who was young and energetic and unfamiliar with the terrain, would rush to attack and be fooled by Agubo.