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Yakoob Beg had withdrawn only to Korla.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.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 630 of 704
Words from 170928 to 171196
of 191255