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On June 15, 1847, the 3rd Cavalry Corps of the Imperial Army surrounded Lanzhou. At this time, the gate of Lanzhou was closed, and the more than 20,000 Qing soldiers in the city were even more panicked, for fear that the imperial cavalry would attack the city. However, the Imperial cavalry did not attack, but waited for the follow-up large forces.

On June 18, the 7th and 25th armies of the Imperial Army also arrived outside Lanzhou. More than 100,000 troops surrounded the entire Lanzhou with three layers inside and three layers outside. On the artillery position built outside the city, one cannon after another has been pointed at Lanzhou City, which has caused great pressure on the Qing soldiers in the city. Many low-level soldiers, especially those who had just joined the army, took off their uniforms and fled. They serve as soldiers, just to get a little money. But now, even a small life has to be lost. How to choose, even a fool knows.

That morning, when the Imperial Army was about to launch an attack on Lanzhou, the gates of Lanzhou City suddenly opened. Two people walked out of Lanzhou City, one in front of him was a soldier, waving a white flag, but he didn't seem to be scared, and he walked a little staggeringly, as if he couldn't walk steadily. followed by a middle-aged man, this person was Bu Yantai, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.

"General, Bu Yantai, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, is here, and he wants to see you." Major General Liu Wu's adjutant said to him.

"What? Buyantai is coming? Here's how it works. Could it be that they want to surrender? Major General Liu Wu was a little surprised. The other generals were also a little surprised. Though. They did not take the remnants of the Qing army in the northwest into account. However, without firing a shot, the Qing army surrendered. That's a bit too timid, isn't it?

Soon, Buyantai was taken to the headquarters and met with Major General Liu Wu and others.

"This official is the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu in the Qing Dynasty, Bu Yantai, I have seen all the generals!" Even at this time, Bu Yantai, who was in the enemy camp, was still very calm, which made Major General Liu Wu and others think a lot.

"General Liu Wu. If the Governor has anything to say, just say it, and you don't have to go around in circles. Major General Liu Wu said directly, he had already guessed the other party's intention. If you can occupy Lanzhou City without bloodshed. That's not bad either.

"General, Lanzhou City knows that it is not an opponent of the army, and is willing to surrender. However, a guarantee is needed from the general. Pledge not to kill those Qing officers and local officials who surrendered. "Buyantai is colorful.

"Oh? Your Excellency the Governor. Don't you think there's room for bargaining now? Major General Liu Wu raised his eyebrows.

"If the general does not agree, then the soldiers and civilians in Lanzhou City will fight to the end." Buyantai said resolutely.

Major General Liu Wu frowned and thought about it for a moment, so he nodded. Emperor Long Yufei wanted to pacify the northwest, not to shed a river of blood in the entire northwest. Now that the Manchus have perished, there is no need to create so many more sins.

Major General Liu Wu agreed to the request of the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Bu Yantai, and subsequently. The gates of Lanzhou City were opened, and the Imperial Army entered the city. Light yì's control zhì up the city. After entering the city, Major General Liu Wu kept his promise and did not do anything to the Qing officers and soldiers who laid down their arms. Those civil officials in Lanzhou City were not in danger of life. However, all the family property they worked so hard to covet was confiscated, and nothing was left.

For these Manchu officials, being able to spare their lives is already preferential treatment for them.

After taking Lanzhou, the Imperial Army left an infantry brigade and a cavalry brigade in Lanzhou to defend Gansu, while the rest of the army continued to believe in advancing. Among them, the 3rd Imperial Cavalry Army marched to Xining to exterminate the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in Xining, and the main force of the army marched along the Qilian Mountains to Xinjiang. Compared with Yishan, the Ili general, Halejina, the minister of Xining who has only more than 10,000 people under his command, is not afraid at all.

Five days later, the 3rd Cavalry Corps of the Imperial Army attacked Xining, but the Minister of Affairs, Halegina, refused to surrender. The Great War ensued.

Although Halgina refused to surrender, the Qing army was unwilling to serve the Manchus when they had fallen. Therefore, after the start of the battle, a large number of Qing troops surrendered to the imperial cavalry. Under such circumstances, the Qing army was quickly defeated. On the same day, the imperial cavalry captured Xining, and the minister of Xining, Hallegina, was killed on the battlefield.

The imperial army recovered Gansu and Qinghai in a light manner, but it was not so easy to recover Xinjiang.

Xinjiang is too far away from the empire, the pressure on logistics and supplies is too great, and the Ili general Yishan still has 50,000 troops in his hands. If they relied on the favorable terrain of Xinjiang to fight guerrilla warfare with the imperial army in Xinjiang and specifically attack the logistical supply lines of the imperial army, the consequences would be unimaginable. Fortunately, the local forces in Xinjiang are not brainless. With the Manchu Qing Dynasty already extinct, there were not many local forces in Xinjiang who continued to obey the orders of the Ili general Yishan.

In the case of the Southern Mongolia and the Northern Mongolia, the emperor has become the emperor of the Mongols. Under the persuasion of the envoys from Monan, the various tribes of Moxi Mongol finally took refuge in the empire. Moxi Mongolia was divided into four divisions, including the Dzungar Division, the Heshute Division, the Dulbert Division, and the Turghut Division. Among them, the Jungar Department has almost been killed because of its resistance to the rule of the Manchus, and it no longer has much strength in Xinjiang. The Turghut tribes were the Mongol tribes that returned to the west, and their strength was also relatively weak, only the Heshute tribe and the Dulbert tribe were stronger. The Khan kings of these two parts judged the situation and finally chose to defect to the empire.

The price paid by the empire is to treat the Mongols of these tribes equally, and in addition, warriors will be recruited from these tribes to join the empire's army. Although, the cavalry of the empire already had 6 corps, as many as 210,000 people. However, Xinjiang is a vast region and faces the vast Central Asian region, which requires more troops to defend it. Moxi Mongols have lived in this area for hundreds of years, and they are familiar with this area. Recruiting troops from these Mongol tribes would give Xinjiang a better defense.

In fact, the imperial emperor Long Yufei planned that after the pacification of Xinjiang, troops would be recruited from various ethnic groups in Xinjiang to form border defense troops. The Frontier Garrison, which consisted of several cavalry and infantry brigades, was commanded by the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army stationed in Xinjiang as the main military force for the defense of the enemy in the west and for the future use of troops in Central Asia.

Later, when the empire used troops in Central Asia and further launched an offensive against Russia, the frontier troops had the largest number of troops, once reaching 8 cavalry brigades and 12 infantry brigades, with a total strength of more than 100,000 troops. Effectively cooperated with the regular army of the Empire, defeated the invasion of the enemy, and ensured the strategic offensive of the Empire in Central Asia.

With the support of the Mongol tribes in Moxi, the imperial army's advance into Xinjiang was much easier.

In mid-July 1847, the main force of the 4th Cavalry Corps of the Imperial Army, with the assistance of the Mongol departments in Moxi, defeated the army of the Ili general Yishan in the Hami area, annihilating more than 20,000 Qing troops. And all the way west, light yì conquered Dihua.

After that, the imperial army attacked all the way west, and at the end of August, captured Ili. Ili general Yishan, captured in battle. After General Ili was captured, the Qing army lost its fighting spirit, and countless people were killed and captured by the imperial army.

Subsequently, the Imperial Army began a six-month-long purge work, and the remnants of the Qing army, as well as those who rebelled against the rule of the Empire, were destroyed in the purge process. At the same time, the empire also sent people to strengthen its rule over Xinjiang and promote the empire's ethnic policy. In addition, the imperial * army did not kill innocents indiscriminately, and soon won the support of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Gradually, the imperial army began to gain a firm foothold in Xinjiang and took over the defense of Xinjiang in an all-round way.

However, Xinjiang is too far away from the hinterland of the empire, and more than 100,000 troops are stationed in Xinjiang, and the logistics department is overwhelmed by the logistical pressure. The emperor's proposal to build a railway from the interior to Xinjiang was also put on the agenda. A large number of prisoners of war and natives captured from the jungles of the South Seas were forced to work on the railway construction site, which made the construction of the railway very fast. Of course, in the process, a large number of prisoners of war and indigenous people died. It can almost be described as a corpse of an aborigine under every sleeper.

It is difficult to build a railway in the desert and on the Gobi Desert. However, despite the fact that the empire invested a lot of financial and human resources, the railroad was built rapidly. In just three years, the railway was built to Dihua and further westward to Ili. This greatly strengthened the empire's control over Xinjiang, and also improved the logistical guarantee for the empire's further expansion into Central Asia.

The biggest headache for the empire is probably the ethnic problem in the northwest region. This question has been a question for hundreds of years. Despite the Empire's policy of ethnic equality, conflicts broke out from time to time. At its most intense, even the logistical convoys of the Imperial Army would be attacked. Of course, in the face of such a situation, the empire also adopted the most severe suppression, and anyone who dared to attack the imperial convoy was executed, regardless of nationality, which greatly deterred all ethnic groups in the northwest.

Coupled with the construction of roads and railways, the empire strengthened its control over the northwest, and the imperial government's investment in the livelihood of the people in the northwest, making the lives of all ethnic groups in the northwest better and better, and everyone's identification with the empire became higher and higher. This allowed the empire to gradually solve the problem of the northwest, so that the empire had a stable rear when it further expanded westward.

(The Northwest issue is too complicated, in order not to be 'river crab', so far) (to be continued......)