How much did Zuo contribute to the recovery of Xinjiang?

I don't think it's too much to describe Zuo Tang Zong's contribution to the recovery of Xinjiang. Zuo was also the most creditable national hero in China in the late Qing Dynasty.

Personally, it has always been believed that national heroes either turned the tide when the nation was in danger, devoted themselves to the motherland, or opened up territory when the nation was at its peak, which made great contributions to the development of the country and the nation. Zuo, who was bullied in China at the end of the Qing Dynasty, not only died for his country, but also recovered Xinjiang, which occupied China16. No matter what angle he stands in, no matter what kind of praise he receives, it is not too much.

Zuo Tang Zong

Moreover, it depends on the conditions under which Zuo achieved great success in regaining Xinjiang: in the Opium Wars of 1840 and 1, the British knocked on the door of China, and almost all the powers in the world regarded China as a huge piece of fat meat, vying to bite it.

The decadent Qing Dynasty was unable to counter the invasion of foreign powers, and China became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. When Akuba, a warlord in Central Asia, invaded China's Xinjiang region with the support of Russia and Britain, China had just experienced the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Nian Army Movement, which swept half the country and killed hundreds of millions of people.

The invasion of China by foreign powers.

At this time, the Qing dynasty was not only exhausted in the encirclement and suppression war, but also had to deal with the aggression of the greedy powers at any time. Therefore, the Qing court was unable to take care of Xinjiang thousands of miles away. Therefore, some ministers of the Qing court believed that there was neither strength nor need to defend Xinjiang at this time.

Such as Li Hongzhang and others? Haiphong school? I think we should pay more attention to coastal defense and give up Xinjiang, a place far away from the capital Wan Li, which is vast in territory and vast in population. In the face of this argument, Zuo made a strong rebuttal and refutation, and finally broke through many obstacles. In Tongzhi 13, he carried the coffin westward and led the children of Xiang army to Xinjiang, and finally defeated the invaders and recovered the 1/6 of the motherland.

Left to recover Xinjiang

Left's insistence on the western expedition to recover Xinjiang is by no means a temporary courage, let alone a temporary impulse. Zuo, a visionary, has long been keenly aware of the importance of Xinjiang to China. Xinjiang is by no means the frontier wasteland that Li Hongzhang and others think, but it is related to the survival of the core area of the Central Plains;

Xinjiang is surrounded by the Great Wall in the east, Mongolia in the north, Wei Zang in the south and Qingji in the west. When the situation is high, it will be enough to defend China and protect us. Otherwise, the land of Shanxi, Gansu and Mongolia will be lost and the Central Plains will be shaken. .

It was with Zuo's foresight and his efforts to transport the coffin into Xinjiang regardless of his advanced age that Xinjiang finally kept the huge territory of China16. Moreover, Zuo's contribution to China is not only to recover Xinjiang by force.

Zuo Tang Zong

Before recovering Xinjiang, Zuo also put down the chaos in the northwest that affected tens of millions of people. After recovering Xinjiang, Zuo also invited the Qing court to set up a province in Xinjiang and vigorously immigrated to the real border, which greatly consolidated the rule of the Qing court in Xinjiang. Therefore, once there is no Left, China is likely to lose not only Xinjiang, but also northwest provinces such as Gansu, Qinghai and Shaanxi. This also means that half of China's territory will be cut off, and such a price is by no means affordable to China.

Since the first Opium War, China's national conditions have been declining and sinking. After the demise of the Qing Dynasty and the entry into the Republic of China, China's national conditions have not improved, but have become more and more chaotic. Therefore, if Zuo doesn't seize the opportunity and decisively carry the coffin to the west to recover Xinjiang, once Agubo, supported by the powers, is allowed to stand in Xinjiang.

Zuo Tang Zong

In that case, China, whose national strength continues to weaken, will have less ability and strength to recover Xinjiang, and China will probably lose Xinjiang and even the whole northwest region. Without China in Xinjiang and the beautiful tail of a rooster, can China be a complete China?