late Qing Dynasty arrest

"Dong Fuxiang's surrender shows that we are the teachers of justice and what the people of the people want. The people of the three Jin Dynasties hope that peace will come sooner, and it will also free us up to deal with those stubborn rebels. Be tolerant of the new converts and don't always Expose people's scars, with a condescending demeanor, as if you are the master, and others are pugs kneeling down to beg for mercy."

Zuo Zongtang paused, looked around at the generals, saw that no one dared to question his decision, and then continued: "Next, our goal is to occupy Dong Zhiyuan, which is Tongling Prefecture in the north and Shaanxi in the south. The key to Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Capture Dong Zhiyuan, insert a sharp knife into Jinjibao’s chest, and tear Ma Hualong to pieces.” Zuo Zongtang sat in the main seat with a serious expression, and did not say much.

After the opening remarks, a counselor stood up, held a wooden stick, pointed to the topographic map placed on the long table, and said clearly: "Dong Zhiyuan is on the west bank of the Malian River in Ningzhou, Gansu, about 150 miles in length and 280 miles in width. The natural conditions here are superior, the land is flat and fertile, and can be farmed and grazing. There have been many fortresses since ancient times. Now, after years of operation by the rebels, they are densely packed on the loess slopes like ant nests, which are hard to chew. The bones are the lair of bandit leaders such as Ma Zhenghe, Bai Yanhu, and Yu Yanlu.

Every time the rebels went out to collect food and attack surrounding towns, they always used Dong Zhiyuan as their base. They once captured Qingyang, Ningzhou, Zhenyuan, Pingliang and other cities and more than [-] fortresses, and they entered Shaanxi from time to time for activities.The battle was unfavorable and we hid back to Dong Zhiyuan. Although we didn't retreat completely, our army could never hurt the enemy's bones.Now that the enemy is not fighting well, and they are hiding in Dong Zhiyuan to lick their wounds, this time we will destroy the enemy's lair and not give them a chance to survive.

The rebels chose places to live according to the original village or teaching workshop relationship. A large residential area is called the first battalion.The battalion is both a production unit and a combat organization.The number of people in each camp varies from tens of thousands to several thousand.The leaders of the battalion are mainly imams and upper-class figures of the Hui nationality, and there are also some rebellious farmers and handicraftsmen.The original [-]th Battalion of the rebel army had connections with the Jinjibao Hui Army and Dong Fuxiang's starving people's armed forces in northern Shaanxi.

Now Dong Fuxiang has revolted, and our army has inflicted heavy losses on the enemy in Zhengning and Binzhou, causing heavy enemy casualties.According to reliable information, Dong Zhiyuan's rebel army is now reorganizing and merging the original [-]th battalion into four major battalions. The marshals of the [-]th battalion include Ma Zhenghe, Bai Yanhu, Yu Yanlu, Cui Wei, Chen Lin, Yu Deyan, Feng Junfu, and Ma Changshun , Yang Wenzhi, Ma Zhenggang, Ma Shengyan, Bi Dacai, Yan Xingchun, Lan Mingtai, Ha Lianjin, Zou Baohe, Zhang Daiyu, Ma Weixiang, etc.In addition, there were rebel troops led by Sun Yibao and others operating in Guyuan and other places.Prepare to fight to the end, and then I will talk about the military deployment of each battalion;;;;;;"

Zuo Zongtang drew up a three-way strategy for advancing troops, and decided to march to Gansu in three ways:

Xu Zhanbiao led his troops westward from Suide, nominally attacking Huamachi, but actually pointing to Jinji Fort, which was the north road;

Li Yaonan and Wu Shimai led their troops from Longzhou and Baoji to Qinzhou, which is the south road;

Zuo Zongtang and Liu Dian led the army from Qianzhou to Jingzhou via Binzhou and Changwu, which was the middle road.

Among the three roads, the north road is the key offensive direction, that is to attack Dong Zhiyuan's rebels and open the road leading to Jinji Fort; The connection between the forts and preparations for attacking Hezhou; the middle road mainly assists the North Road, and takes care of the South Road as a supplement.

All the generals in the conference hall took their orders and did not dare to disobey a little bit. The tactical deployment was finalized by Zuo Zongtang. This was an unquestionable decision.As for the specific combat plan, it was under the command of Xu Zhanbiao, the commander-in-chief of the front line, and all the ministries moved to Dong Zhiyuan for defense, preparing to wipe out Dong Zhiyuan and defend the enemy.

Liu Jintang listened quietly, full of doubts in his heart. After listening to Zuo Zongtang's military deployment, he spoke first: "Marshal, although Dong Zhiyuan has many fortresses and is a tough bone, the slope of the loess high slope there is not the same. It is not dangerous and steep, our army's cannons can be dragged up. Although it takes life to fill up the fortress, as long as we clear the outer fortress, the rebels will lose their morale. Dong Zhiyuan is not a place to defend to the death. Sitting there waiting to die. Ma Zhenghe, Bai Yanhu, Yu Yanlu and the others are all cunning people like foxes, how could they sit trapped to death? They might very likely seek refuge with Ma Hualong in Jinji Castle. If they lead Dong Zhiyuan's main force to flee, it may be detrimental to our next battle, Jinji Fort's terrain can definitely be described as steep, we must not let Ma Hualong of Jinji Fort have the opportunity to sit on the big side."

Zuo Zongtang wondered if Dong Zhiyuan's rebels would flee in winter?In the ice and snow, it is very difficult for others to flee with tens of thousands of rebels and tens of thousands of family members accompanying the army.

Other military officers were also thinking about this issue, and they all agreed with Liu Jintang's idea, and proposed to prevent Dong Zhiyuan's rebels from fleeing to Jinji Fort.Zhang Yao couldn't believe it, so he couldn't help interjecting: "Ma Zhenghe, Bai Yanhu, Yu Yanlu and Ma Hualong have feuds, and the relationship is not harmonious. I don't think he will go to Ma Hualong. This possibility is not great. How can anyone run away before the war begins?" reason?"

Zuo Zongtang did not express his opinion, but asked in a consulting tone: "You all talk about it, express your opinion?"

Liu Jintang smiled and said: "Marshal Zuo, Xu Zhentai must have an internal response. Whenever the enemy makes any changes, we just need to be more vigilant. The ability to maneuver should be improved, so that we can fight tough battles at any time and wipe out the fleeing enemies in one fell swoop. As for the bandit leader It is very possible that Ma Zhenghe, Bai Yanhu, Yu Yanlu and others did not flee to Jinjibao, but directly fled to Xinjiang. This is just my opinion, please Commander Zuo Feel free to teach me."

Zuo Zongtang pretended to be mysterious with a smile, and said: "Capturing Dong Zhiyuan at the beginning of spring is the established goal, but we must be prepared with both hands to intercept the fleeing enemy at any time. In addition, we must capture Dong Zhiyuan in the shortest possible time. The most ideal base in the rear, if Dong Zhiyuan can be captured before planting in the spring, we can have food for [-] soldiers and horses in the autumn. In the case of Shaanxi and Gansu, it is difficult to raise troops, it is difficult to raise food, and it is especially difficult to raise transportation. Raising food. Shengbao, Duolong'a, Yang Yuebin and others did not understand the characteristics of using troops in the Northwest. , Dong Zhiyuan wants to become our army’s agricultural reclamation base, and set up farmland on the spot in Dong Zhiyuan. The demobilized soldiers will be used as civilian settlements, and some of the soldiers who will not go to the front line will be used as military settlements, and Dong Zhiyuan will be built into a large granary for our army.”

This is an important measure for Zuo Zongtang to solve the difficulty of military food transfer, as well as the problem of food and payment, and stabilize the morale of the army.Learning the military household system of the Ming Dynasty, and solving logistical and supply problems on the spot, he is the only one who has the courage to spend with the rebels. He doesn't decide the outcome of a battle. If he doesn't eliminate the chaos, the army vows not to teach The momentum of returning to court.

This new proposition was immediately supported by all the officers, and no one challenged it.If you don't make some extra money in a war, it's a waste of time. Keeping the soldiers in front from starving is the right way to use troops.Several military officers who had the authority to submit documents made it clear that they immediately wrote a memorial and submitted it to support Zuo Zongtang's proposal.

Wei Guangtao, a Taoist member of Pingqing Jinggu, heard about farming, and immediately said: "Marshal Zuo, I think that the land in Guanlong in the northwest is small and barren, but there has been a bad habit of planting poppies for a long time. Planting poppies and smoking opium are not only It is the cause of poverty in Gansu, and it is also the source of the decline and chaos of the folk customs in the Northwest. Therefore, the lower officials thought that the planting of poppies was banned and cotton mulberry was introduced.

When discussing the Guanlong governance law, the prohibition of opium must be the first priority; if you want to ban opium, you must first order that there are fewer smokers in the county; if you want to have fewer smokers, you must first prohibit the cultivation of poppies; It can be used for profit, and then the people will know that planting poppies is not very profitable, and then greed will gradually get stuck.My brother's advice to plant grass cotton is better than poppy in terms of its one-year plan, because it is so bright, and I don't want to use harsh methods to seek quick results, so it won't work.The wise will be able to learn from it.

To put it simply, it is three words: prohibition, guidance, and advocacy.It is to make full use of effective economic means to solve the complex and arduous problem of banning opium poppy.

Prohibition means prohibiting the cultivation of opium poppies; advocacy means advocating the planting of grass cotton to replace poppies; guidance means the guidance, persuasion and persuasion between one ban and one advocacy, that is, a kind of education that takes advantage of the situation and gives its benefits Work.

Only by doing so can we fundamentally block the source of the poison and change the atmosphere, and the catastrophes of long hair, twisting, and returning are all caused by this poison.Xiaguan compiled "Ten Essentials of Cotton Planting" and "Cotton Book", hoping to do more good things for the people in the Shaanxi-Gansu area. "

How can the rebels in troubled times have the mind to farm?Whatever has quick results and huge profits, they can do whatever they want. In the base area, they grow opium poppies as a way of making money.The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Nian Army, and the Hui Army all sold opium and planted poppies, smuggled and trafficked drugs, and supported their soldiers.The rebels staying in Dong Zhiyuan's agricultural reclamation area still did not do production, but specialized in looting and robbery, making Dong Zhiyuan a poppy planting base.

"Wei Daotai cares about the people of Shaanxi and Gansu. I am very relieved. The appointment of local officials should be done with caution. Not only must they be capable officials, but also honest officials. Next, Wei Daotai, you will suffer." Zuo Zongtang admired Wei Guangtao very much. In terms of farming, most of them rely on Wei Guangtao, a member of Pingqing Jinggu Taoist.

"This is what a subordinate official should do, Marshal Zuo, this gift is too expensive and not suitable for you, I should use it." Wei Guangtao confiscated the tiger skin that Liu Jintang brought, such a big package, I saw it as soon as I entered the door. I had already shaken off the package and saw that it was a tiger skin.Since Zuo Zongtang is as clean as water, he will not be polite.

Zuo Zongtang was in a good mood, this time to save face, he said with a smile: "Keep the tiger bone wine, no corruption allowed."

Seeing that Wei Guangtao was like a thief, he fled out with the package, not giving Zuo Zongtang a chance to repent.A group of officers smiled knowingly, the commander was in a good mood, with the atmosphere of the New Year, the military meeting ended early.

Some officers like to clean up and take a shower, and prepare to go to the banquet after taking a bath.Some officers can not take a bath for a month, so they don't care about the sour smell on their bodies.He began to take out his bong, took out the shredded tobacco in the bag, and smoked the dry tobacco.Zuo Zongtang also smoked, and everyone in the room was smoking, making the room smoky.

Zuo Zongtang's wife, Zhou Yiduan, opened the door and wanted to have a few words with him. When she smelled the strong smell, she coughed for a while and couldn't open her eyes. She turned around and ran out, saying, "Ji Gao has eaten." , your health is not good, smoke less, this dry tobacco is also poisonous."

"Hey! Ma'am, it's rare to take a few puffs." Zuo Zongtang tilted his left foot, knocked the cigarette rod under the official boot a few times, and stood up after he was addicted to the cigarette.

"Mrs. Zhou, who said that dry tobacco is poisonous? Tobacco is obviously a good thing for curing diseases and saving lives. We soldiers cannot do without it. It will make us healthier and refresh our minds. We need it." Guo Baochang couldn't help playing tricks, and was left Zongtang blew his beard and stared in shock, and immediately followed Zuo Zongtang's example, hitting the sole of his military boots with the cigarette stick to extinguish the cigarette.

A group of military officers gathered around Zuo Zongtang and went to the banquet together. The most uncomfortable thing for coming to the Northwest was eating and drinking.