Chapter 197: Zuo Zongtang Prepares for Entering Xinjiang (2)

Zuo Zongtang received the order, knelt and recited again and again, and was overjoyed, that is, Liu Jintang's Mabu 25th Battalion was quickly moved from Liangzhou to Suzhou, ready to go. Zong Tang sat alone in Lanzhou, just waiting for Liu Dian to enter Gansu.

On March 3, 1876, Liu Dian, the former governor of Shaanxi, came. Zong Tang held his hand to greet him and said happily; Brother Hou'an, Zuo has to look at the ears of the frontier.

Liu Dian also sighed with emotion, saying: I left Long before, just because my body and mind were wasted; This is refreshed, and he will definitely help Brother Ji.

Zuo Zongtang said: Liu Jintang's army has been opened, and after the handover with my brother is completed, I will go to Suzhou to supervise the war, Shaanxi and Gansu military administration, peace and people, soldiers, tuntian, grain transportation, pension and other things, there is Lao Hou'an brother to manage.

Liu Dian said: Since you come to Ganlong, you have an unshirkable responsibility. Entering the Xinjiang expedition, military affairs and salary affairs are fundamental, and Zuo Shuai has enough money?

Zuo Zongtang said: The queen mother of the two palaces specially allocated 10 million taels of silver, and the silver has been abundant; The Krupp breech guns, the mountain splitting guns, the large and small flowering breech guns, the field chicken cannons, the breech seven-shot guns, and the fast-acting guns were all equipped with all the armies. Liu Jintang, Jin Shun, Zhang Yao, Xu Zhanbiao, Jin Yunchang and other powerful soldiers have been ready to move for a long time. I also warn the generals that the army of the main suppression, step by step, step by step, to recover a city and a fort, that is, it is advisable to divide troops to garrison, to rush to the pass, must be protected by a bureau, and report quickly by the passage road. The journey is getting farther and farther, and the troops are becoming more and more separated, so they have to prepare for it in advance. The main defense army, but on the terrain to coordinate the castle passes, to rush to the remote to determine the number of troops, do not plan the guerrilla division to prepare for urgent response. The defensive soldiers should have more steps and less horses; The soldiers who respond to the strategy should have fewer steps and more horses. The ground has a fixed shape, and the number of soldiers can be determined.

Liu Diandao: It's a pity that Zuo Shuai is already in the age of the sixtieth year, and he can't supervise the battle before the battle; Is the pre-camp arranged?

Zuo Zongtang said: The army has advanced and stopped at the right time, and has given Liu Jintang of Xining Road, the Prime Minister's Camp Office, so that his camera can handle it, and I will not be remote. In the military affairs ahead, everything should be adapted, and the urgency should be divided and combined, but the president should take care of it.

Liu Diandao: Prime Minister Liu Jintang's camp affairs, Jin Shun's assistant military affairs, the two of them fit in position, Zuo Shuai sits firmly in the Chinese army, and everything is solved. However, Zuo Shuai is still thousands of miles away. Liu and Jin have different opinions, what should they do?

Zuo Zongtang said: Military victory or defeat is difficult to decide; However, they will know each other, and there will be no pretense in the state of battle, and the main soldiers can be arranged at any time, and it is appropriate to cooperate with each other. I have warned Jintang that if Jin Shun insists on acting, he must be good at persuasion. However, Jintang said that winning 10,000 soldiers is enough to run amok; The salary and silver are sufficient, that is, there is no Jinshun banner, and the old Hunan army can also settle the border. Jintang is arrogant, Jin Shun occasionally has small setbacks, and Jintang can also save it alone.

Liu Diandao: It is not easy to raise grain, and it is especially difficult to transport grain to Xinjiang.

Zuo Zongtang said: Xinjiang uses troops everywhere in Tuntian, which has been the case since ancient times, nothing more than to save grain transportation costs; Zhang Yao's army was in Hami, and he got more than 5,000 stone of grain last year, but he was not in a hurry. I have found the Quartet, first, Gansu Hexi out of Jiayuguan, Yumen to Hami. 2. From Yurt Baotou and Naturalization, through Uriya Sutai and Kobdo, to Balikun. 3. From Ningxia beyond the Mongolian steppe to Balikun. Fourth, buy Russian food and materials and transport them directly to the ancient city.

Liu Dian said: Zuo Shuai went west, borrowed the British foreign money, and the grain sold by the Russians, Zuo Shuai also smiled; As everyone knows, the Russians have already occupied Ili. The wolf ambition of the Rakshasa people must be deceitful.

Zuo Zongtang said: Britain and Russia, the more you give me, the more beneficial it will be to me; On the contrary, they will look at me like enemies, and they will interfere with my reconquest. In other words, the hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit. The British lent me a huge sum of money for a big profit. The Russians are willing to sell me grain, just because the Ili River valley is rich in grain and grass; Ili transported grain to Urumqi, which was 20 times more profitable than in the Guan. Sigh that Ili has great rivers and mountains, and has been grabbed for profit by outsiders. If we don't fight to the death, we will hate it for eternity!

Liu Diandao: The courage of the left handsome, pitching the first life; Zuo Shuai's gaze is like a torch and electricity. I'm worried!

On April 7, Zong Tang and his own barracks arrived in Suzhou, and called all the generals and said: Attacking and suppressing the Xinjiang bandit army, in short, is to slow down and fight a rapid battle, first in the north and then in the south. In the case of the overall situation, the governor should move to Suzhou, dispatch military food to regulate the northern Xinjiang, take the southern Xinjiang, and then return Ili, which is committed to the north and the south. The army attacked the ancient pastureland, Hongmiaozi, and Urumqi, and the bandit army in southern Xinjiang dared to go to the aid of the northern road, and the officers and troops fought several battles, which could thwart their fierce front; In the future, the south road of the army will be more prestigious, and it will be easier to start. Liu Jintang has been preparing for more than a year, and the bandit army is arranged, can he know everything about it?

Liu Jintang said: Qiyu Zuo Shuai, more than 60,000 Agubai bandits, most of them are stationed in southern Xinjiang, Kashgar is its old nest, and there are 15,000 soldiers; There are 15,000 bandits in northern Xinjiang, most of whom are stationed in the three cities of Manas, Urumqi and Hongmiaozi; Dabancheng, Tuoxun, Turpan line, adjacent to the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, this area of bandits are heavily armed, Turpan has 5,000 infantry, 3,500 cavalry, 10,000 Tufen; Tuoxun had 2000 infantry and 4000 cavalry; Daban Castle has 1,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. The army captured northern Xinjiang, reoccupied the three cities, and Xinjiang was settled.

Zuo Zongtang said: Where is our army now?

Liu Jintang said: Qiyu Zuo Shuai, Zhang Yaosong Wujun 16 Battalion Tunzha Hami, Jinshun 23 Battalion Tunza Guchengzi, Qitai, Jimusa, Xu Zhanbiao 7 Battalion Tunzha Balikun, Xu Xuegong, Kong Cai, Zhang He's militia group, has been fighting in northern Xinjiang for more than ten years, and it is also a usable division.

Zuo Zongtang said: The former Qinchen Jing Lian, the people Xu Xuegong and others have fought bloody battles for more than ten years, and they have won Guchengzi, Qitai, Jimusa, Hami, Balikun, Shashanzi, Fangcaoyuan, Nanshan and other places. We will wait until we go to Xinjiang to gain a foothold. They can be a role model for our generation! Quickly pass my order, from Suzhou, Jiayuguan to Hami, Balikun, all defense army; From Balikun to the ancient city and Jimusa, it is an army that defends and fights; From the ancient city, Jimusa to the ancient pastureland, Hongmiaozi and Urumqi, it is the main battle army. Liu Jintang of Xining Road, that is, led the 25th battalion of the army, slowly marched, arrived at the ancient city in March, and the army of Hui Shun was the first to attack the ancient pastureland, and the fence of Urumqi and Hongmiaozi was completed, that is, to pound the hole and plow the nest, and it was achieved overnight.

Liu Jintang and the generals shouted: Obey the military order of the left commander! Suppress the rebels and bandits, and never give up!

Zuo Zongtang Road; Wang Changlingyun: Qinghai Changyun Dark Snow Mountain, the lonely city looks at Yumen Pass. The yellow sand wears gold armor in a hundred battles, and Loulan will not be returned if it is not broken. Loulan is gone, and the generals have won the western frontier, which can comfort their lives.