While the Ottomans were fighting the Russians, another conflict was going on in Xinjiang: the Dungan Revolt. China ended up putting down the rebellion but Russia occupied a border city during the chaos, which made General Tso (of the General Tso's Chicken fame) want to fight a war with Russia and settle their differences in the region once and for all.
Could China have altered the scales in the Russo-Turkish war of 1877?