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The last chapter of the Dungan riots sees the Xinjiang civilians as protagonists, determined more than ever to get rid of Yaqub Beg, who quickly turned from a liberator to a tyrant.
Jihad between Muslims
Since the arrival of Yaqub Beg, the Turks Taranchi had lined up alongside the Hui in supporting the revolt, the situation over time, however, changed, radically transforming what was to be an anti-imperial revolt. In fact, the followers of Yaqub Beg feared that the Hui were willing to undermine their power and, therefore, he soon gave orders to massacre the Dungan, even declaring jihad against them.
At this point the intentions of the Uzbek adventurer appeared evident to the entire population of Xinjiang (even to the Uyghurs), thus starting an increasingly stronger protest of the latter. The chaos within the region became unmanageable, with an internal civil war causing the situation to deteriorate rapidly. Fearing popular uprisings and the arrival of the Qing army, Yaqub Beg managed to establish treaties with the British and Ottoman Empire, but failed to form an alliance with Russia, the only nation capable of quickly providing him with military support.
Free yourself from the Empire
Given the incredible internal instability, in 1876 the arrival of Zuo Zongtang was welcomed as a mirage by the whole population, who immediately sided in favor of General Qing, giving life to a real liberation struggle. The vast majority of the soldiers of Yaqub Beg deserted, going to join the imperial ranks and thus decreeing a complete liberation in 1878, with Kashgar alone as a stronghold to conquer.
Without a shadow of a doubt, this victory was made easier by the presence of thousands of Hui in Zuo’s troops, who also brought Ma Zhan’ao as an example of the emperor’s incredible benevolence towards his faithful subjects. With this event, one of the most tense chapters ever in Chinese history will definitely close, but destined to resurface with the rise to power of the Kuomintang. With this last article, we announce that we are taking a week off to structure the Patreon well and finally get it out. The latest content will be a video coming out on Youtube this Sunday in which we will explain why (at least historically) the Chinese do not have problems with Muslims.
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