The total number of cattle, sheep, and horses in Kapchagai exceeded 100,000. This was already a scale that the Cossack Cavalry Regiment could not resist. The first batch of more than 20,000 livestock rushed and swallowed up the 500 Cossack vanguard, let alone More quantities later.
The expedition team made it very clear that we spent money to buy these livestock, but we only wanted them to save lives. When everyone escapes, the brave ones can come back and collect these livestock at will.
It's impossible for all these livestock to die, and it's impossible for them all to become trophies for the Rakshasa ghosts. There will always be fish that slip through the net. When the time comes, you can take them away at will, and whoever gets it will belong to him.
The herdsmen saw another glimmer of hope, so they worked harder. Many bold herdsmen with excellent equestrian skills began to drive their herds further west. They faced the main force of the Cossacks and pushed forward.
The expedition team was finally safe. They moved lightly along the frozen Ili River and headed east.
The Chalun River, the Kursiliko River... and many other streams have all frozen due to the cold. The rivers that used to have to rely on ferries have now become smooth roads.
Gordon looked at the frozen river and said viciously, "It would be better if I brought more*. I blew up the entire ice cap for him. I'll see how they cross the river..."
Samuel Baker wrapped his bearskin coat tightly, "It's useless, it can freeze overnight in such a cold weather..."
"No... no, the lord is right..." the guide beside him shouted against the wind, "It is true that the weather is cold, and it is true that it freezes overnight... but the ice that freezes overnight cannot carry the cavalry team. Trampled!"
"The ice cover is too thin... A large number of war horses cannot pass through. It will have to freeze for at least two days and two nights..."
"Look... I'm right, I should really bring more..."
"It's useless. The cavalry has their legs spread out. They can go around and cross the river..."
Sure enough, it was dangerous contact. When the expedition team turned back and could no longer see the frightening Cossack cavalry, these people actually had time to bicker.
Only Samuel Baker was a little concerned about his collection. Many animals, plants, and minerals were very rare, and sending them to Europe would definitely cause a sensation.
Also distressed were Doro and Guan Lu, who spent money like water like water overnight. They spent more than 300,000 in silver notes, along with all the cash and silver coins.
"What should I do! What should I do with Long Live Lord's errand?"
"The six hundred thousand silver note is Long Live Master's own personal money. He asked us to hand it over to Marshal Zuo Zongtang... Now we have spent half of it!"
Guan Lu's face turned bitter and he sighed, "I can guess what Long Live Master is thinking. He wants to use his private money to help him become a commander. After all, the military expenditure the imperial court can provide is too little..."
"As long as Marshal Zuo receives His Majesty's personal money, he will understand the painstaking efforts of Long Live Lord... Our imperial party must have its own soldiers and its own loyal ministers!"
That's right, Duo Luo and Guan Lu became Zai Chun's envoys, sleeping in the open air and taking a detour from Central Asia to meet Zuo Zongtang. Their purpose was very clear.
The first one is to conduct an on-the-spot investigation of the customs and customs of Central Asia for Zai Chun, to see with his own eyes what the war in Xinjiang has become.
The second is to investigate how deeply Tsarist Russia has penetrated here. Especially British people like Gordon are even more interested in this issue. After all, there are many conflicts between Britain and Tsarist Russia in Central Asia.
The third important reason is to win over Zuo Zongtang to become a member of the imperial party!
Zai Chun and Xiao Letian have been together for so long and have personally seen the European political system. He is no longer the naive child he used to be in Sijiu City.
He has understood that even if he has a righteous name, others will not take the initiative to hand over their rights to him!
There are many factions in such a large empire. If you don't form a loyal imperial party yourself, you will be unable to fight against other forces.
Needless to say, without actual rights, he couldn't even defeat his own two mothers!
Zuo Zongtang is a very important figure. Although he was born in the Hunan Army system, Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guofan called each other brothers, while Li Hongzhang was more naughty and directly addressed Zeng Guofan as his teacher.
There is a secret here. In fact, Zeng Guofan did not teach his subordinates anything. However, in the political situation of the late Qing Dynasty, if the subordinate officials and the superior officials were both imperial examination officials, they could call each other teacher according to their age and examination qualifications. .
The king of heaven and earth is the teacher, and the teacher has his own way. Calling such a title naturally makes the relationship one step closer!
But Zuo Zongtang is not like this. Although Zeng Guofan took the imperial examination earlier than him and ranked higher than him, he was still his superior, but he refused to call him teacher, but called him brother. This shows Zuo Zongtang's aloofness. Ambitious.
Such a person does not belong to any force. He will only become a force by himself or be directly loyal to the emperor. At present, it seems that Zuo Zongtang has chosen the latter.
After Zai Chun's bodyguards received Western-style military training in Ryukyu, nearly two-thirds of the best ones were sent to Fujian, which was Zuo Zongtang's sphere of influence.
It was with Zuo Zongtang's financial and power intervention that Zai Chun had formed a direct force of his own, and the soldiers he chose were also hard-working mountain people in Wuyi Mountain.
It can be said that Zuo Zongtang has been branded as an imperialist party, but it has not been fully implemented. This time Doro and Guan Lu took the emperor's private money to work in the army, which means a lot!
As long as Zuo Zongtang is not a fool, he can understand the emperor's intention!
But unexpectedly, half of the 600,000 silver notes were gone before they were delivered to Zuo Zongtang!
At the critical moment, Doro, the Eight Banners dandy, was able to see clearly, and the banner man's fearless and fearless spirit came out again.
"Lao Guan, don't worry, isn't it just money? If you have money, there are ways to have money, and if you don't have money, there are ways to have no money!"
"Zuo Zongtang is also a commander-in-chief. He doesn't take hundreds of thousands of taels of silver seriously... What this kind of person wants is an attitude. Even if Long Live Lord gives him 60,000 taels, he doesn't dare to have such friendship. deny!"
"Without money, I still have a sharp tongue, and I still have this life!"
"If he doesn't give me the right words, I will die in his military tent!"
Gordon vaguely listened to the conversation between the two guards, and let the translator guess the meaning. Finally, he sighed in a low voice, "Hey... Your Majesty, your road to power is too difficult!"
"The Qing Empire is too big, and the burden of controlling such a large empire is too heavy... I hope you can hold on!"
"Great Queen, please rest assured that as long as I am here...the interests of the Empire in Asia will never be damaged! I swear to protect it with my life!"
Not only Gordon but also the guards, Samuel Baker was also secretly looking at everything from the corner of his eyes. He had the most confidential map of Central Asia hidden in his arms.
The explorer himself was a master at drawing military maps. Even Gordon didn't know that Samuel Baker actually had the secret support of the Imperial Military Department.
Such an expedition team, each with its own ulterior motives, fled towards northern Xinjiang!
