Food, what the people in the Western Regions lack most now is food!
Under Aguba's rule, agricultural production almost came to a standstill, young and middle-aged people in the countryside were plundered in large numbers, food production dropped sharply, and there was no supplement from trade routes!
Famine is everywhere, and children and the elderly are starving to death in large numbers. Survival has become an overwhelming problem!
When the people heard that the Qing army was coming and they could accept prisoners in exchange for food, and even dead bodies could be exchanged for grains, they all went crazy. In some areas, there were even absurd scenes of people snatching the corpses of rebels!
Car after car of corpses were transported to the Gobi Desert outside Dihua City. It was summer and the desert was extremely dry. Plague would not break out even if the corpses were parked here for a short time!
Zuo Zongtang's vanguard army began to count the results of the victory, and cart after cart of grain from the Central Plains was sent up and began to be distributed!
When Zuo Zongtang arrived at Dihua from Hami, the inventory of the battlefield was coming to an end!
"Commander! We captured 6,000 people during the great victory in Dihua and killed more than 44,000 rebels. All the elite around Agubai were lost. Our army should take advantage of the victory and pursue it now!"
"Please give the commander-in-chief an order to recapture southern Xinjiang with the entire army!"
Zuo Zongtang looked at the kneeling generals in front of him, smiled and helped them up one by one, "Don't worry, don't worry, our enemy is not just Aguba. Things in the Western Region are very complicated and cannot be solved in one day." !”
"First send a telegram to the imperial court announcing the victory, and then immediately send detailed battlefield data. The numbers we report must be able to withstand inspection by the Ministry of War!"
Zuo Zongtang inspected the battlefield, took stock of the supplies, and even accepted an audience with elders from various local ethnic groups. The commander spent two full days to calm these people's hearts.
After everything came to an end, Zuo Zongtang summoned Guan Lu and Duoluo, two confidants of Emperor Tongzhi!
With a table of simple food and wine, Zuo Zongtang toasted three glasses of wine in succession: "General Doro, General Guan Lu! For this great victory in Dihua, the two generals took the lead. One personally commanded the artillery, and the other was in charge of the iron barrel array. Without the bloody battle between the two of you, this great victory would not have been possible!"
"How dare you, how dare you!" Duoluo and Guan Lu quickly stood up and bowed, "The commander-in-chief has defeated us. The first contributions to this victory are made by General Liu and General Xu. The commander-in-chief also laid out the strategy from a high position, and you are the first contribution. The number one hero above!"
"How dare we follow Tan Tianzhi's merits? Please don't hurt us, Commander-in-Chief..."
"Hahaha... sit down, sit down, why are you so nervous? No one's credit can be taken away. I'm not someone with a small belly who can't bear to give credit to my subordinates!"
"To be honest, you two can return to the capital to enjoy the blessings after conveying the decree to His Majesty, but you voluntarily stay in the Western Regions to suffer the wind and sand!"
"There is no one in the Western Expedition Army who is not convinced by you!"
"In the future, when you two return to the capital, your future is limitless. In the future, I will still have these brothers who are marching to the west, and you will need to take more care of me!"
"I would like to toast you two with this glass of wine on behalf of our brothers who marched to the west!" After saying this, Zuo Zongtang actually stood up to toast and bowed to Doro and Guan Lu.
The two of them knelt down with a swipe, "What orders does the commander-in-chief have? I will fight to the death, but I don't dare to accept this gift!"
"Get up, get up!" Zuo Jigao pulled the two of them up, "I still have something to ask you..."
Zuo Zongtang raised his head and looked in the direction of the Central Plains, tears suddenly flowing down his face, "Hey... Marshal Zeng passed away years ago! I didn't go to see him off in person until the end. I was so sad..."
"It's so uncomfortable..." Zuo Zongtang beat his heart and shed tears thinking about Zeng Guofan, who fought together like a teacher and a friend!
I couldn't sleep for many days. Only then did I realize that I was old. How many days could I still have a good life? After conquering the Western Region, I’m afraid I won’t be able to conquer it again!
"I'm not afraid of anything... I already have a first-rank official position, and there is no room for promotion. What the court will give me in the future is just a title and reputation. How much is too much? I don't want anything else..."
"But, I don't ask for anything. What will happen to these brothers who follow me to fight? They still have a long half life, and even future generations will have to live!"
"You two have a bright future. In the future, you two will be indispensable in the imperial military department... I just ask you to take care of these fighting brothers for the sake of blowing sand and eating dry food together!"
Guan Lu and Doluo's eyes were red, and they stood up immediately, "Commander! I didn't say anything! As long as we can help, we will never let the brothers of life and death suffer!"
"Okay... then I'd like to thank you very much! I have a few things that I hope you two can do for me!"
Zuo Zongtang held the wine glass and thought for a moment, "This time it is not enough to just send a telegram to the imperial court. Someone needs to go back to the capital to report on his work. He must personally tell His Majesty and the imperial court about the situation in the Western Regions!"
"After much thought, you two are the most suitable!"
"Ah? The commander-in-chief won't let us continue fighting? No, we must wait until Agub's entire army is wiped out before we leave!"
"Sit down...sit down...listen to me! In this great victory at Dihua, we killed Aguba's 50,000 elites. These are all his core veterans!"
"He is no longer a threat. He went south to recruit some ordinary people to be strong men. He is no match for us at all. What's more, we still have cannons in our hands!"
"You don't have many bad battles to fight if you stay, so it's a waste of your talents, isn't it? The more dangerous place is in the court!"
"This time when you two return to Beijing, please bring a few instructions from me to His Majesty..."
"First, after the victory of Dihua, I will station the army for one year. There will be no large-scale battles during this year. Our army will reclaim farmland in Hami, Dihua, and Turpan to restore the economy..."
"The problem in the Western Regions is not a simple military issue. In the final analysis, it is a battle for the hearts and minds of the people. It is not enough for us to just conquer without considering how these ethnic groups and the Han people will live in the future!"
"We are farming and have extra grain in our hands. We can control the Western Regions and prevent rebellion with grain alone. This is fundamental!"
"Second, the benefit of farming is not only to eat food, but also to turn those ownerless lands into the land of our troops, and to turn the barren fields into the fields of the court through farming!"
"With the Tuntian District, I can take a bold step forward...that is, to change Xinjiang into a province like the mainland! Open teeth and build a government, we have a level-by-level administrative system of provinces, prefectures, roads, counties... It’s established!”
"This is the foundation of ten thousand years! We can't just leave it to the hands of the local royal nobles and the Khan after the war like before!"
"It won't take a few years, and we'll still have to rebel!"
Duoluo and Guan Lu suddenly realized, "Ah! So the commander-in-chief wanted to rely on farming methods to build up the provincial government structure without any resistance from local ethnic groups?"
"That's right, that's right! These two little brothers prove that you are not just warriors. Sooner or later, you will also be the fate of North Korea's military aircraft!"
