Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/85

Rh conquer them. Preparations for the expedition were at once undertaken and Chao-hui was sent as quartermaster-general to Uliasutai, headquarters of the Northern Route Army. The expedition, commanded by, with Amursana as his assistant, advanced in 1755 and in a few months pacified the Eleuths. But after the armies had withdrawn Amursana rebelled and turned most of the Eleuths against the invaders. The expeditionary forces were sent back, and under the command of Duke Tsereng 策楞 (d. 1757), great-grandson of, again stabilized the Eleuths, causing Amursana to flee.

By this time Chao-hui had been transferred from Uliasutai to Barkul, the base of the expeditionary forces. Volunteering to go to the front, he was appointed a councilor, and early in 1756 was sent with a small detachment to Ili where he was appointed assistant commander of the expeditionary forces (定邊右副將軍). Meanwhile the rebellion of the Inner Mongolians (see under ), and the inefficiency of the commanders of the expedition, caused renewed resistance on the part of the Eleuths. Amursana returned to Ili to direct the insurgents who almost annihilated the expeditionary forces. Chao-hui alone succeeded in retreating with 500 soldiers, bravely fighting against an overwhelming number of enemies. On February 22, 1757, five days after the Chinese New Year, he entered the fort of Urumchi which was surrounded by the Eleuths for twelve days. On retreating farther east he was forced to encamp when an enemy detachment was found to have cut across his path. However, he finally joined the troops sent to his rescue and returned safely to headquarters at Barkul (April 11). On hearing the report of his predicament the emperor made him Earl Wu-i 武毅伯 of the first class with right of "perpetual inheritance" (世世罔替); and, in addition to other favors, promoted him to the presidency of the Board of Revenue. Late in April he and the commander-in-chief, Cenggūn Jabu (see under ), each led an army to stabilize the rebels in Ili and soon routed them completely. Amursana fled to Russian Siberia, and the Eleuths who had followed him in the rebellion were ruthlessly slaughtered. Some of the survivors were moved to Heilungkiang, leaving a few scattered tribes in the rich valley of the Irtish. This region, called Ili, was patrolled by garrison troops and became a colony where emigrants and exiles were sent. After the Eleuths were subdued, the Kazaks and the Buruts to the west of Ili recognized the suzerainty of China, and began to pay tribute until the Tung-chih period (see under ).

While Chao-hui was pursuing Amursana a representative and his escort, who were dispatched to the Mohammedans in Eastern Turkestan, were murdered by Khozi Khan 霍集占, the so-called Little Hodja 小和卓木 whose capital was at Yarkand. Khozi Khan and his elder brother, Burhan-al-Din 布拉尼敦, known as the Big (大) Hodja, whose capital was at Kashgar, had both been captives of the Eleuths and were released only in 1755 when Bandi's army entered Ili. Hence the rebellion of the Mohammedans was much resented and Chao-hui was instructed to suppress it. But for a time in 1758 Chao-hui was kept busy annihilating the remnants of the hostile Eleuths, while the impatient emperor put another general in command of the forces against the Mohammedans. Soon this general was found incompetent and Chao-hui was called upon to take over the command. Late in October he reached the city of Aksu which surrendered. With three thousand men he marched across the deserts, reaching Yarkand in November. Finding the city well defended he sought to take the enemies' supplies on a nearby mountain. But before long the Mohammedans outflanked him and surrounded his barracks. The siege, lasting three months, is said to have so reduced Chao-hui's supplies that his men were driven to cannibalism. When the emperor heard of this brave defense he raised Chao-hui to duke of the first class with the designation Wu-i mou-yung 武毅謀勇, and conferred on him other honors. At last and A-kuei came to his rescue and the siege was raised in February 1759. Chao-hui returned to Aksu and in July succeeded in taking the cities of Yarkand and Kashgar. The Hodjas fled to Badakshan, west of Kashgar, but were executed by the sultan of that place who sent their heads to Fu-tê to be forwarded to Peking. This completed the conquest of the whole region of Chinese Turkestan which came to be known as Sinkiang, or "New Dominion". Large garrisons were left there and, from 1762 onward, administration of the territory was entrusted to a military-governor at Ili and a military lieutenant-governor at Urumchi, until the area was incorporated into a province in 1882–84.

On his return to Peking at the head of the victorious army Chao-hui was greeted by the 73