Zuo Zongtang finally made up his mind. What forced him to make this decision was Zeng Guofan's influence on him and the promotion of his generals.
Yes, he also worked from the grassroots level. Why didn't Liu Jintang come back when he went to the toilet? Of course Zuo Zongtang knew that his men had gone to have a secret talk with Zuo Chaofeng.
I don’t like money, but I still have to find a way for my subordinates to make money!
Originally, the military merit system of the Qing Dynasty was unreasonable, and the big-headed soldiers were suffering too much. The investment company established by Xiao Letian immediately captured their hearts.
What ideals do a poor soldier have? They never even dreamed of dying in a coffin. A mass grave was their final destination.
But today, the plan of the Western Region Investment Bank suddenly ignited the chaos in the hearts of all the soldiers.
It turns out that there are benefits to fighting hard and building a big empire. With a little share in your hand, your grandson will be able to get a little money every month in the future!
Even if the money is so small that it is only enough for him to eat and drink alone, it is better than nothing! It’s better than dying in vain in the past!
Zuo Zongtang could not refute such a plan to win people's hearts. He even knew that if the news was leaked, even if a gust of wind blew into the ears of the soldiers, the morale of the army would be shaken.
I have no way to refuse. Could it be that I have to tell the soldiers personally that I, Zuo Zongtang, am a loyal minister of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and we don’t want the money of rebellion!
So you have to endure hardships with me, neither of you will end up with anything, and you won’t be buried in a thin-skinned coffin even if you die together, and your children and grandchildren will still suffer from poverty for the rest of their lives?
Just because I, Zuo Zongtang, want to be a loyal minister of the Manchus, do I have to let all my brothers live such a life?
The morale of the army will not be broken until it collapses!
Zuo Zongtang knew that he could not resist the entreaties of his brothers, so he had to accept this plan even if he didn't accept it!
The influence of Zeng Guofan and the promotion of his brothers were not all the reasons and reasons. What finally made him make up his mind was actually a dream in the hearts of all Chinese literati!
Anyone who openly offends a strong man will be punished no matter how far away!
What exactly is the Western Region? The Western Regions are actually a touchstone of the martial spirit of Han civilization!
In the long history, all the civil servants and generals who were able to conquer the Western Regions were not famous, and there was no one who was not praised!
The Western Regions have become a proof of the strength of the Han civilization. Has your country's destiny expanded or declined in the past few hundred years? Just look at how the Western Region is run.
Whenever the Chinese are strong in national power, they always invest heavily in the West and adopt a posture of expansion... It seems that Chinese civilization secretly wants to open a golden channel from Central Asia to Europe.
Because Chinese civilization is not a maritime civilization, when it communicates with other civilizations, its first choice is through land.
In the prosperous times, the economy and culture of the Central Plains dynasty were quite strong, with such strong productivity, so many high-quality and low-price goods, so many cultural products relying on Chinese civilization... they all had a very primitive impulse to expand outward.
To make money, to expand living space, to expand cultural coverage... and the geographical location of the Central Plains determines that advancing to Europe through the Western Regions is the first choice, and the ocean is the last choice.
Western Region! Over the past thousands of years, it has become a watershed in the rise and fall of Chinese civilization!
If we gain the Western Region, the Chinese civilization will be in an offensive position. If we lose the Western Region, the Chinese civilization will have to struggle defensively!
This has been the true dream of Chinese scholars for thousands of years. Who wouldn’t want the credit of Zhang Qian and Ban Dingyuan?
Zuo Zongtang also couldn't let go of the Western Regions, which is almost a totem-like symbol in Chinese culture. If such a large territory was recovered in his own hands, what kind of credit would it be?
Isn't it a great blessing for a good man to study and serve his country, and to be able to accomplish such a meritorious deed in the end?
Just for this dream in his heart, Zuo Zongtang tried his best to raise money to conquer this territory!
Not to mention that Zeng Guofan also came up with the hidden dragon theory, which made Zuo Jigao dizzy!
yes! Compared with the thousands of years of Chinese civilization, our own life is so small. So how should each of us manage our own life and ideals?
Are you just blindly pursuing personal success? Study to become an official, go to war and get promoted, then become a frontier official, a prince or a general... There is even a chance to rise to the top in one step, rebel and become the emperor?
Am I going to pursue such an extremely selfish personal ideal all my life?
Why not jump out of your short decades of life and look higher? Standing on the thousands of years of history, overlooking the earth, history and life like a flying dragon!
Only then will you realize how ridiculous your ideal of satisfying personal desires is!
It is not easy to pass on the fire from generation to generation and pave the way from generation to generation in a lifetime!
Zeng Guofan could remain a watchdog of the Qing Dynasty for the rest of his life without rebelling, but what was he guarding? It was just a matter of time to provide some protection to the budding Han forces.
He used his remaining body to protect the newly emerged Han forces from being immediately strangled by the Manchus!
One more year of protection will make these forces stronger, and one more year of guarding will prevent the Manchus from ceding land to foreigners.
What he wants to protect is just hope that the new China in the future will be larger than the territory of the Ming Dynasty!
The Manchus had ruled the Central Plains for so many years, and it was almost time to repay the principal with interest. How come they, the Manchus, had to return the white mountains, black waters, Mongolian grasslands, Xinjiang, and Tibet to China!
Before this big thing is accomplished, these Tartars cannot be stimulated to go crazy, but you have to coax and deceive them.
Zeng Guofan knew very well that he himself would not be able to see that day, but he firmly believed that his dead soul would definitely be able to see it!
"Haha... Can't I, Zuo Jigao, be this hidden dragon? My personal desires are nothing! My honor and disgrace are nothing!"
"It is my historical mission to spend the last ten years of my life to make Xinjiang belong to China forever!"
"I don't care how the Central Plains dynasty rises and falls in the future? I don't care what surname he has to be king and hegemony?"
"But at least the land in the Western Region has been recovered from me, Zuo Zongtang. In the final analysis, this land must be integrated with the Central Plains!"
"Damn it, I don't want anything else, this is what I'll do for the rest of my life!"
"I risk my life! Can your head of state, Xiao Letian, risk this money?"
"Thirty-five million taels of silver! If you dare to lie to me with empty words, be careful that I will die with you!"
Fan Jin's face turned red from being sprayed, "Calm down, calm down, Marshal, please calm down... I don't dare to lie to you, I really don't dare to lie to you..."
"Your Majesty, please say a few words quickly to give advice to the commander-in-chief!"
Note: In Chinese history, any dynasty that can maintain an offensive posture in the Western Regions is absolutely prosperous. This has been a historical law for thousands of years.
So now our Belt and Road Initiative has also maintained an expansion and offensive trend in the Western Region or Central Asia!
What does this mean? The national destiny has risen!
History has proven some regular things. We don’t need to prove them, as long as we discover them!
When will Xinjiang be renamed the Western Regions? Come to think of it, the name Xiyu sounds nice!
