The Siege Of Manas Was
Interesting Both For The Stubbornness Of The Attack And Defense, And Also
As Marking The Successful Termination Of The Chinese Campaign Against The
Tungani.
With its capture, those Mohammedans who might be said to be
Chinese in ways and appearance ceased to possess any political importance.
It would not be going much too far to say that they no longer existed.
The
movement of rebellion which began at Hochow in 1862 was thus repressed in
1876, after having involved during those fourteen years the northwestern
provinces of China, and much of the interior of Asia, in a struggle which,
for its bitter and sanguinary character, has rarely been surpassed.
[Illustration: KANG, THE REFORMER]
The successes of the Chinese gave their generals and army the confidence
and prestige of victory, and the overthrow of the Tungani left them
disengaged to deal with a more formidable antagonist. The siege of Manas
had been vigorously prosecuted in order that the town might be taken
before the army of Yakoob Beg should arrive. The Athalik Ghazi may have
believed that Manas could hold out during the winter, for his movements in
1876 were leisurely, and betrayed a confidence that no decisive fighting
would take place until the following spring. His hopes were shown to be
delusive, but too late for practical remedy. Manas had fallen before he
could move to its support. The Chinese had crushed the Tungani, and were
in possession of the mountain passes. They were gathering their whole
strength to fall upon him, and to drive him out of the state in which he
had managed to set up a brief authority. While the events recorded had
been in progress, Yakoob Beg had been ruling the state of Kashgaria with
sufficient vigor and wisdom to attract the observation of his great
neighbors, the governments of England and Russia. He had shown rare skill
in adapting circumstances to suit his own ends. The people passively
accepted the authority which he was prepared to assert with his Khokandian
soldiery, and the independent state of Kashgaria might have continued to
exist for a longer period had the Chinese not returned. But in 1875 the
arrival of Kinshun at Barkul showed Yakoob Beg that he would have to
defend his possessions against their lawful owners, while the overthrow of
the Tungani and the capture of their strongholds, in 1876, carried with
them a melancholy foreboding of his own fate. The Athalik Ghazi made his
preparations to take the field, but there was no certainty in his mind as
to where he should make his stand. He moved his army eastward,
establishing his camp first at Korla and then moving it on to Turfan, 900
miles distant from Kashgar. The greatest efforts of this ruler only
availed to place 15,000 men at the front, and the barrenness of the region
compelled him to distribute them. The Ameer was at Turfan with 8,500 men
and twenty guns. His second son was at Toksoun, some miles in the rear, at
the head of 6,000 more and five guns. There were several smaller
detachments between Korla and the front. Opposed to these was the main
Chinese army under Kinshun at Urumtsi, while another force had been placed
in the field at Hami by the energy of Tso, and intrusted to the direction
of a general named Chang Yao. No fighting took place until the month of
March, 1877, and then the campaign began with a rapid advance by Chang Yao
from Hami to Turfan. The Kashgarians were driven out of Pidjam, and
compelled, after a battle, to evacuate Turfan. The Chinese records do not
help us to unravel the events of the month of April. The campaign
contained no more striking or important episodes, and yet the reports of
the generals have been mislaid or consigned to oblivion. The Athalik Ghazi
fought a second battle at Toksoun, where he rejoined his son's army, but
with no better fortune. He was obliged to flee back to his former camp at
Korla. After the capture of Turfan the Chinese armies came to a halt. It
was necessary to reorganize the vast territory which they had already
recovered, and to do something to replenish their arsenals. During five
months the Celestials stayed their further advance, while the cities were
being re-peopled and the roads rendered once more secure. Tso Tsung Tang
would leave nothing to chance. He had accomplished two of the three parts
into which his commission might be naturally divided. He had pacified the
northwest and overthrown the Tungani, and he would make sure of his ground
before attempting the third and the most difficult of all. And while the
Chinese viceroy had, for his own reasons, come to the very sensible
conclusion to refresh his army after its arduous labors in the limited
productive region situated between two deserts, the stars in their courses
fought on his side.
Yakoob Beg had withdrawn only to Korla. He still cherished the futile
scheme of defending the eastern limits of his dominion, but with his
overthrow on the field of battle the magic power which he had exercised
over his subjects vanished. His camp became the scene of factious rivalry
and of plots to advance some individual pretension at the cost of the
better interests and even the security of the State. The exact details of
the conspiracy will never be known, partly from the remoteness of the
scene, but also on account of the mention of persons of whom nothing was,
or is ever likely to be, known. The single fact remains clear that Yakoob
Beg died at Korla on May 1, 1877, of fever according to one account, of
poison administered by Hakim Khan Torah according to another. Still the
Chinese did not even then advance, and Yakoob's sons were left to contest
with Hakim Khan Torah over the dismembered fragments of their father's
realm, A bitter and protracted civil war followed close upon the
disappearance of the Athalik Ghazi.
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Page 168 of 188
Words from 170261 to 171269
of 191255
