In the Western Regions, Zuo Jigao repulsed the coalition forces of Tsarist Russia and Kazakhstan. The greatest effect of this battle was to stabilize the people's hearts and minds of the new dynasty in the Western Regions.
After the First World War, the people north of the Tianshan Mountains returned home one after another.
In a turbulent place like the Western Region, it is everyone's common expectation to have a strong government to protect the place.
This is true no matter which dynasty, the people provide taxes for the state, and the state provides protection for the people. This is also the core idea of Western contract theory.
However, this idea was not pioneered by the West, but has existed naturally since the emergence of the state. It is more like a natural law.
When ordinary people encounter danger, the first thing they think of is their own country.
But things in the Western Region are far from over.
To the south of the Tianshan Mountains, spies from Tsarist Russia incited the Hui troops to cause rebellion in Kashgar, killing the Qing troops stationed there and quickly occupying the cities south of the Tianshan Mountains.
Yingjishar, Yarkand, Heyue and other major cities in Shannan fell one after another.
The situation in Shannan is more complicated than in Shanbei, where religious influence is stronger.
The Manchu immigrants were mainly concentrated in Ili, Urumqi, Turpan, Hami and other places in the north of Shannan. Every rebellion in Shannan was because most of the local people returned and did not have much sense of identity with the Manchus.
Another reason is that the natural environment in Shannan is much worse than that in Shanbei. This is also the reason why the Manchu and Qing Dynasty focused on developing the Shanbei area.
In the barren Shannan area, the Manchu Qing Dynasty only sent some garrison troops to garrison there.
Perhaps the Qing government knew that the rebellion in the Western Regions would not be successful if it relied solely on Shannan.
As long as the Qing army firmly controls the Shanbei area, they can quickly put an end to these uprisings.
This is not the first time that Shannan has experienced an uprising, from the Xiaohe Zhuo uprising to the Zhang Geer uprising.
Rebellions in Shannan came one after another, never ending and never winning.
In this uprising, the Burkes in Shannan were instigated by Tsarist Russian spies to prepare to establish a **** regime.
I learned that Tsarist Russia sent 50,000 troops to attack Huiyuan City in Ili.
These people seem to have received a reassurance in their hearts. With such a good opportunity, these people cannot resist the temptation.
Less than twenty years after Zhang Geer's rebellion failed, these people have healed their scars and forgotten the pain.
This time the Kokand Kingdom intervened again and colluded with Tsarist Russia. The previous Zhang Geer rebellion had the support of the Kokand Kingdom.
Under the instigation of Tsarist Russian spies, the Kokand Kingdom promised to send 5,000 troops to support the Burke uprising in Shannan.
With the dual support of Tsarist Russia and the Kokand State, the Shannan Burke uprising was massive from the beginning, and their methods were even more cruel.
They arrested local Han people and people of other ethnic groups settled here by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, incited ethnic hatred, confiscated the property of Han people and other ethnic minorities, and demoted them into slaves.
Many persecuted people fled north. However, most of them were caught, and all those who escaped were killed and hung on the top of the city as a warning to the slaves.
Many of the incited Huihui benefited from these robbery activities and supported the Burkes wholeheartedly, greatly increasing the number of rebels.
They elected Samuel, the leader of the Baishan faction, and claimed to be Samuel Sultan to command the entire Hui tribe in Shannan. They assembled a mob of 20,000 people and, with the help of 5,000 Kokand cavalry, they marched northward in a mighty manner.
At this time, Zuo Jigao had just returned to Huiyuan City, and Wang Congzhi was still marching north along Lake Balkash.
Tsarist Russia established a line of fortresses from Omsk southward to the east shore of Lake Balkhash.
It should be noted here that Tsarist Russia’s invasion of the Kazakh grasslands was mainly through the establishment of fortress lines.
In 1738, Tsarist Russia established Orenburg in the northwest of the Kazakh grassland. This place name will be very famous in later generations.
In this way, Tsarist Russia gained the allegiance of Xiaoyuzi Abul Khair Khan.
Beginning in 1741, Tsarist Russia comprehensively built a 1,890-kilometer-long fortification line, connecting the Ural River and the Tobol River.
However, Kazakhstan was still a unified khanate at that time. It was not easy for Tsarist Russia to conquer the Kazakh Khanate, and it could only continue to erode it.
In the following years, Tsarist Russia built a group of bunkers along the Irtysh River to continuously squeeze the Kazakhs southwards.
The Kazakhs themselves did not live up to their expectations, and the three major forces, Dayuzi, Zhongyuzi, and Xiaoyuzi, were fighting among themselves, giving Tsarist Russia an opportunity to take advantage of them.
In the first half of the 19th century, Tsarist Russia basically controlled Kazakhstan.
They established a north-south fortress line along the border between Kazakhstan and China.
What Wang Congzhi had to do at this time was to remove this blockhouse line. China had never recognized Tsarist Russia's illegal occupation of the Kazakh grasslands.
Many of these bunkers have extended into China's inherent territory. For example, these bunkers were built in the northeast of Balkash Lake.
At the same time, Zuo Jigao also ordered people to build a military town at the north end and south end of Balkash Lake. They were called Babei City and Banan City respectively.
After the waterway is connected, ships from Ili City can sail directly here. By then, this place can serve as a bridgehead against Tsarist Russia.
At the same time, as retaliation against the Kazakhs, Zuo Jigao sent more than 10,000 cavalry, including the original cavalry of the Qing army. They went deep into the area west of Balkash Lake and launched retaliatory actions against the Kazakhs.
Kazakhs who were willing to surrender to China moved to the Ili area to accept China's arrangements.
All those who were unwilling to surrender to China were eliminated on the spot, and their livestock and people were captured.
The population can be used as labor to build cities, and the cattle and sheep can be used as military supplies.
After the battle that just passed, Kazakhstan was extremely empty inside, facing the attack of the Baath Army.
These scattered tribes have no power to fight back, and their backers, the Tsarist Russians, cannot help them for the time being.
This proactive attack eliminated hundreds of thousands of Kazakhs, most of whom were captured and made prisoners. The entire central and eastern part of the Kazakh steppe was completely emptied.
There were also some wise tribes who joined China and became competent leading parties. Together with the cavalry of the Renaissance Army, they conquered other Kazakh tribes.
Zuo Jigao knew very well that if these Kazakhs were not eliminated, they would still become Tsarist Russia's servants when the next war broke out, fighting and providing supplies for Tsarist Russia's army.
It would be better to take this opportunity to kidnap all these Kazakhs and create a thousands-kilometer no-man's land west of Lake Balkash.
At this time, news of the rebellion in southern Xinjiang also reached Zuo Jigao's ears.
The 14th Division, which was previously sent to southern Xinjiang, was blocked in Aksu.
Because the Fourteenth Division had not yet completely changed its equipment, and most of its troops were equipped with front-loaded rifled guns, the Fourteenth Division did not dare to attack directly.
The commander of the 14th Division stood firm in Aksu and blocked many attacks by the enemy coalition forces.
The enemy surrounded the city and bombarded it with captured Qing artillery.
The Fourteenth Division first showed weakness to the opponent, and waited until all the opponent's artillery was pushed up.
The artillery of the 14th Division suddenly took action and wiped out all the rebel artillery in one fell swoop.
Then the rebels took advantage of their large numbers and adopted the method of attacking the city with ants.
The Fourteenth Division's lack of firepower allowed them to attack the city walls.
At the critical moment, the grenades of the 14th Division played an important role, causing the rebels who attacked the city to suffer heavy casualties.
The rebels could only retreat temporarily.
After Zuo Jigao in Huiyuan City heard the report about the rebellion, he just gently rubbed the blade of his sword with his hand and smiled coldly.
During this expedition, his two direct divisions, the 11th and 12th divisions, did not win any battles.
They had already been holding back some energy in their hearts. Zuo Jigao was about to send two divisions to the south to support the 14th Division.
Zuo Jigao asked them to recover the prefectures in Shannan and punish the Kokand Khanate for supporting the rebellion.
Now the three khanates in the Western Regions are nominally surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, but these aristocratic feudal khanates are religious.
Each Yelang was arrogant and not only fought endlessly against each other, but the Kokand Khanate also repeatedly invaded the Shannan region of China's Western Region.
In the past, the Qing government would have issued an imperial edict at most.
"Left Mule" will not tolerate them. He sent three divisions south this time not just to quell these rebels.
He wanted to take advantage of the situation to punish the Kokand Khanate. What if such a small country, like a rat and a rat, was destroyed?
The news of the great victory in the Western Regions reached Xinjing.
Dong Shuheng is trying out a small boat in Beihai Park.
This small boat is similar to the cruise boat on the lake, except now it is equipped with a propeller.
There was a "humming humming" mechanical noise in the boat.
This is the improved No. 1 machine from the No. 0 machine in the laboratory. After improving the air intake device, this machine has been able to operate stably.
Now scientific researchers have installed it on this modified small cruise ship, just to test its practical application capabilities.
Originally, Dong Shuheng drew a prototype of a walking tractor for them, but it has not yet been produced.
So it can only be tested on a ship. As a power plant on small ships, diesel engines are much more powerful than steam engines.
First of all, it occupies a small space and is easy to install on a ship.
Unlike China's current practical steam tugs, basically the entire tug is used to install the steam engine and load coal.
Secondly, the combustion efficiency per unit volume of fuel is much higher than that of coal.
This means that if you use a diesel engine, you don't need to carry so much fuel.
Finally, diesel engines can be used in vehicles and agricultural machinery because of their small size.
It plays a significant role in the development of China's transportation industry and the improvement of farming efficiency.
China is now building farms on a large scale in border areas. With these machines, more land can be planted with the existing manpower on the farm.
By then, the food problem plaguing China will be solved.
Even if the yield per mu has not increased much, the yield problem can be solved by expanding the planting area.
Of course, Dong Shuheng does not expect to use these diesel engines now. Even if they can now drive small cruise ships, they still have problems of their own.
In Dong Shuheng's impression, the biggest advantage of diesel engines is their durability and durability.
But now the little guy next to him is a bit delicate.
In addition, scientific researchers also need to solve the problem of multi-cylinder diesel engines and multi-stroke problems.
In addition, with the advent of the diesel engine, the invention of the gasoline engine has also been put on the agenda. There are similarities between the two, but there are also big differences.
Dong Shuheng gave old Bob some advice as usual and then left Laboratory No. 5.
Today's test ride made him feel very happy. He finally took a step forward in the second industrial revolution.
Diesel engines have a wide range of functions and can be used in construction machinery, agricultural machinery, underground equipment, vehicles, and generators.
Not only can it replace the original steam engine, but it can also play many functions that steam engines do not have.
With a diesel engine, a stable source of oil must be put on the agenda.
The crude oil currently in Dong Shuheng's hands is mined from Yumen, Gansu.
There may be China's first oil well.
Now it is mainly used for experiments, and also provides kerosene for lighting.
But Dong Shuheng knew that the oil field in Yumen was too small, and he had to have a large and stable oil field. This oil field was definitely not in the mainland of China.
Dong Shuheng knew that there were no large oil fields in China that were easy to exploit.
Current mining technology is limited, and large oil fields that are easy to mine must be found.
To this end, Dong Shuheng has sent an oil exploration team to search for large and easy-to-exploit oil fields around China.
Dong Shuheng knew that there were many large oil fields in the Middle East that were easy to exploit, but that was the British sphere of influence.
Even if people don't realize the value there now, they won't let Huaxia move there.
After returning to the Summer Palace, Wei Yuxiang sent over today's battle report.
Now, the good news on the three fronts has been transmitted.
Dong Shuheng was not relieved.
Although the battle was won, this major battle that did not exist in history will inevitably affect the course of the Crimean War.
Tsarist Russia, which was hit hard in the east, faced a choice. A two-front war proved to be unfeasible, so Tsarist Russia had to choose between the east and the west.
Dong Shuheng himself did not want Tsarist Russia to turn its goal to the East.
In this case, if China is at odds with Britain and France in the future, it may have to form an alliance with the entire Europe to deal with it.
Britain and France will then support Tsarist Russia in attacking China from the west and north.
Britain and France would blockade and attack China from the sea.
In that case, China will inevitably fall into trouble.
Dong Shuheng formulated a State Council system, including all high-level officials from the military and government cabinets as members of the State Council.
Once China's affairs involve both military and political aspects, a state meeting must be held. Everyone will discuss and deal with it collectively.
If it purely involves military matters, it will be discussed at the military meeting. If it only involves government affairs, it will be discussed at the cabinet meeting.
This is Dong Shuheng's way of limiting the cabinet. China's current cabinet is not a responsible cabinet, but serves more of an execution function.
At this stage, Dong Shuheng must ensure that he, as the great president, has monopoly power and Qiankun is arbitrary. Otherwise, many things may not be implemented.
Now, many people do not understand his policy of expansion and immigration, and think it is a waste. We should focus on developing people's livelihood.
This gave Dong Shuheng a sense of crisis and tightened his grip on power.
At the beginning of the meeting, Wei Yuxiang introduced the combat situation on the three fronts to everyone.
In this battle, China annihilated a total of 50,000 Tsarist Russian regular troops, which was almost the entire regular military strength of Tsarist Russia in Siberia.
There were also 40,000 Kazakh servants.
It destroyed most of Tsarist Russia's strongholds in the Central Siberian Plateau. It extended its power westward again from the direction of Yakutsk and conquered a large number of local indigenous forces.
In the direction of the Mobei grassland, they captured the important town of Amukhabashang in the upper reaches of the Iniesei River and cleared out the Tsarist Russian strongholds in the middle and lower reaches of the Iniesei River.
In the Ob River Basin, they captured Tomsk, the important town of Tsarist Russia, and cleared all the Tsarist Russian strongholds in the upper reaches of the Ob River.
In the Western Region, the front was pushed to the Kazakh grasslands west of Lake Balkash.
Zuo Jigao has also cleaned up the Kazakh grassland. I believe that this area will become an uninhabited land for a long time.
At that time, Tsarist Russia will have to bring its own dry food if it wants to attack the Western Regions.
"Everyone, although we have achieved an unprecedented victory in this war with Tsarist Russia, you must also see that our enemies are also making progress. Tsarist Russia also used rifled guns in this battle, so next time they come
, will they use the same breech-loading rifle as ours?”
"So, war is not the only way to solve the problem. Many people say that I, Dong Shuheng, want to be militaristic. In fact, what I want to do most now is develop China's economy and improve the quality of life of the people."
"Today, we have brought everyone here to discuss the aftermath of the war. We cannot wait for the Russians' revenge every time." Dong Shuheng introduced the topic of today's meeting and expressed his thoughts at the same time.
Zeng Xianfeng is the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, and he also knows Dong Shuheng. Since the establishment of Huaihai Navy, this organization has been an efficient organization.
It’s not that everyone is very capable, but that everyone is being pushed forward by current events.
Zeng Xianfeng was not yet sixty years old, and his temples were already gray. Dong Shuheng had just turned twenty and could see white hair on his head.
Everyone in the upper echelons of this organization has almost split themselves into two, and the feeling that time has not waited for us has been lingering in their hearts.
"President, if possible, it is best not to have another major war break out next year," Zeng Xianfeng said.
For a country as big as China, small-scale wars would basically have no impact on it. But a war with a big country like Tsarist Russia would require the entire country to fight, which would consume too much vitality.
Although there were not many casualties in this war on three fronts, the consumption of weapons, equipment, and logistical supplies was huge.
The war has just ended, and the specific figures have not been released, but in the past six months, at least half of the Chinese government's energy has been focused on the three fronts.
If it weren't for this war, China's domestic construction would have been faster.
"President, it is difficult to cease war with Tsarist Russia. We can't give them the land we already operate, and they won't just admit defeat. I don't have a better way to do this."
After Zeng Xianfeng finished speaking, he looked at the audience, hoping that someone would have a good idea.
As China's Foreign Minister, Liu Qingbei stood up and said: "President, if you want to negotiate, you must pay your chips. We want peace, but Tsarist Russia may not want peace."
"According to intelligence from Europe, Tsarist Russia has suffered a serious domestic fiscal deficit after the two-year Crimean War."
"Furthermore, the serfdom system is still implemented in Tsarist Russia, and their domestic consumption power is very weak. In addition, their domestic ports have been closed by Britain and France, which has led to a large number of domestic factories shutting down."
"Factories were shut down and without tax revenue, Tsarist Russia could only increase taxes on serfs. This further aggravated its domestic conflicts."
"The new emperor of Tsarist Russia, Alexander II, is open-minded and not a stubborn person. It's just that Tsarist Russia attaches great importance to military achievements. He cannot admit defeat so quickly, otherwise it will have a great impact on his prestige."
"So my subordinates thought that we should go to the Lord to talk to them and give them a step up."
"Who do you think Minister Liu will send to negotiate? Do you already have a suitable candidate?" Dong Shuheng asked. Seeing Liu Qingbei talking so much, he felt that Liu Qingbei already had a plan in mind.
"My subordinates think that the newly appointed director of the Tsarist Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Yunxian, can do it. He is nearly forty years old and was born in Yuelu Academy. He has a tenacious character, is not mystical, has quick thinking, and is good at debating. He is a Manchu scholar but
He has not served as a Manchu official for several years. He should be able to handle the task of being an envoy to Tsarist Russia."
After the founding of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also attracted many new talents.
"As for the selection, I believe in Qingbei's choice, but what leverage can we give up?" Dong Shuheng said.
ps: I’m going to push today, and I’m going to give you a big chapter! Please ask for recommendation votes and monthly tickets here! Happy National Day everyone, bring more clothes when you go out, because you don’t know where you will be left in isolation. Or should you read and relax at home⊙?