Chapter 44 Section 44 Talking with Zuo Zongtang

On this day, there was no wind in the capital, and there was no cloud in the sky. It was a very rare good weather. An old man in his sixties, dressed as a businessman, and with four entourages, all of whom were in short attire, strolled leisurely into a department store in the east of the city.Seeing the business, the old shopkeeper hurriedly came out from the counter, clasped his fists, and said like an acquaintance: "Master, you haven't come to my account for a while. Which product did you buy recently?" He turned back and called the waiter : "I don't make tea when I'm here! How can I do business if I treat my grandfather so slowly!"

The old man looked around the store's shelves for a week, and then fixed his eyes on the white marble, so he asked quietly: "Is this authentic Yunnan white marble? How much is it?" The old shopkeeper hurriedly reached out his hand to brush the dust off the white marble, and said, "You always look at this pattern, this is not an ordinary product, it is an authentic Yunnan product! There is no other such good product in the whole capital. You always want it , The normal selling price of my number is two hundred and twenty taels of silver, no bargaining, you are always a regular customer, so let's count it at two hundred taels, I will pay it to my friend, it's worth it!"

The old man didn't speak, just looked at the white marble with his eyes. "One hundred and eighty taels?" The old shopkeeper lowered the price himself. The old man remained silent. "One hundred and fifty taels! Can't be less!" The old shopkeeper gritted his teeth, and then added, "The last time the Hanlin Academy built the Confucian Temple, it used my name's white marble. Dare I say, the quality can exceed I don’t have my number. If you ask around the capital, who doesn’t know that our products are the best! Don’t you still believe it?” The old shopkeeper retreated to the counter, took a sip of tea dejectedly, and said nothing more.

The old man walked out of the shop without saying a word, and then walked towards another shop. This old man is none other than the current Emperor Daoguang in disguise.And among those four followers, one of them was Chang Shun.Emperor Daoguang thought he was good at kung fu, so even though he was assigned to use by Yi's side, he was still sent to come over in case of emergency. More than ten days later, Zeng Guofan's body was infected with autumn air, and his skin ringworm broke out again. He was so sick that he could not sit for a long time in the office, which was already very serious.So according to the usual practice, I asked Zhao Ji, a bachelor's attendant, for leave, and wanted to lie down at home for a few days.

When Zhao Ji heard this, he immediately opened his eyes wide, and reprimanded: "Zeng Guofan, you have only been demoted for a few days and you have to ask for leave? You are clearly looking down on this official! You ask for leave, this official No, you should go to Mr. Wen! When Mr. Wen played mahjong with this official yesterday, he repeatedly praised you as a role model for the officials of the Qing Dynasty. Why can't you help yourself?" Zeng Guofan was robbed for no reason, and said a few times in his mouth that "my lord taught me the lesson", and then he withdrew in dismay, not knowing what to do.

Zhao Ji was also a Han official, and he was admitted a year earlier than Zeng Guofan. Because his old father went to Beijing, Zeng Guofan was not present, and he was the vice-examiner of Zeng Guofan in the Sichuan provincial examination, and he has always been bitter about it.People before and after have often said that "Zeng Guofan climbed up by relying on the pillars of Mu Zhongtang, and Zeng Guofan is a dog of a Manchu nobleman".In order to avoid suspicion, Zeng Guofan would not have dared to go to the gate of Mu Mansion unless Mu Zhang came to invite him.Therefore, since Zeng Guofan was demoted, whenever he had the opportunity, he would reprimand him.Huang Zishou and Mei Zengliang wanted to argue with Zhao Ji several times, but were stopped by Zeng Guofan.Wen Qing admired Zeng Guofan. Seeing Zhao Ji suppressing Zeng Guofan everywhere, he wanted to say a few words of justice several times, but later saw that Zeng Guofan was a normal person. In addition, Zeng and Zhao were both Han Chinese, and he was a Manchu. Put this thought aside.

Zhao Ji still went his own way, fighting against Zeng Guofan exclusively, and got along pretty well with other officials. Zeng Guofan couldn't ask for leave, so he had to grit his teeth and go back to the office, but suddenly found that there was a message from the Ministry of Officials that had just been delivered on the case: "According to the imperial decree, according to the Zuodu censor Laoren of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Kuangzheng, used the Confucian Temple to repair a section, and wantonly embezzled the treasury silver. After verification, he was immediately removed from the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and demoted to three The high-level transfer was used by Tianfu. All the embezzled treasury silver was returned, half of the property was copied into the treasury, and the salary was fined for three years. It was also ordered: Wen Qing, a scholar in charge of the Imperial Academy, concealed and did not report Kuangzheng's embezzlement of treasury silver, and wrote it by the Ministry of Officials reprimand, and suspend your salary for three months, as a warning to others."

After Zeng Guofan finished reading this speech, his pain subsided immediately. The next day, another message from the Ministry of Officials was sent to the various ministries: "According to the imperial decree, according to Kuang Zheng, the former minister of the Ministry of Industry, Zeng Guofan, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, has always been ashamed to make friends with ministers since he lived in Beijing, especially during the renovation of the Confucian Temple. , It is even more domineering and muddle-headed. After investigation, it is true. From now on, Zeng Guofan will be excused from all punishments, and he will be promoted to be the Shao Zhan Shi of Zhan Shifu of the Imperial Academy and the Shaoqing of Dali Temple."

Zeng Guofan immediately became a fourth-rank official in Beijing, and became the immediate boss of Zhao Ji, a bachelor's servant. In the afternoon of the same day, all officials below the fourth rank of the Imperial Academy came to kowtow, and Zhao Ji asked for leave alone. Zeng Guofan took leave for one month and lived in Baoguo Temple. According to the Daqing official system, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple can be accompanied by a guard, and the Imperial Academy specially assigned a guard to wait around Zeng Guofan.Because Baoguo Temple is located in the capital, a large number of officials come here every year to rest and recuperate, and there are plenty of spare houses.The little monk knew Zeng Guofan, so he chose a clean house and unlocked it, and the guards who came with him cleaned the house and carried the luggage inside.

Zeng Guofan took a short rest and asked the little monk to lead the way to meet the abbot. The abbot was having a heated conversation with someone at this time, when Zeng Guofan passed by the window, he felt the laughter of the guests in the room sounded familiar, but when he went to the room to ask the abbot, he was stunned for a while.Who do you think is the person who had a heated conversation with the abbot?It was Zuo Zongtang, the son of Xiangyin, Hunan Province, in the same year as his provincial examination. Zuo Zongtang, whose style name is Ji Gao, and Zeng Guofan is one year old. What he enjoys most in his life is discussing war strategies with scholars.He read a piece of "Three Kingdoms" by heart, and Zhuge Kongming's "Jiangyuan" made him even more fascinated. No matter which chapter or section you click, you can answer it fluently, as if you made it yourself.Hunan Juzi saw that he loved reading military books more than stereotyped writing, so he jokingly called him "Jin Liang", and he really made "Jin Liang" his own name, and specially found a famous seal maker to engrave a seal, and inscribed a plaque for others. The couplets must be stamped with the imprint of "Jinliang", claiming to be Zhuge Liang today.

When Zeng Guofan saw Zuo Zongtang, he first shouted: "Hi Zuo Jigao!" Then he said: "When will you arrive?" Zuo Zongtang didn't even salute, so he said in a loud voice: "Dasheng, how are you, Uncle and Auntie? I want to learn from you to take part in the next year's examination and earn great fame for my ancestors. Who would have thought that as soon as they enter this imperial city, they will go to the imperial city again?" It's dizziness and fever, how can I go to the mansion in this state? I can only go to the old god to relax for a few days, and then go to ask for advice. Hey! Disheng, I found out in the inn when I entered Beijing You have been demoted from a fourth-rank official to a seventh-rank official. What is the reason for it? I think the emperor of the Qing Dynasty is really difficult to serve. Why do you have to eat this bowl of rice? It’s better for you to open a vacancy. I don’t want to take these three or five exams anymore, we brothers will open an academy together, you will focus on the three and five exams, and I will focus on military books and war strategies, wouldn’t it be good?” "Amitabha!" Elder Yizhen interrupted Zuo Zongtang with a smile, "Master Zeng entered the meditation room and only said two sentences before and after, but Zuo Xiaolian has already said dozens of sentences in one breath. Gao said that my lord has been demoted, so there must be something wrong with him? My lord is talented, and my Sanxiang children will rely on my lord to support me in the future. Zuo Sanguan, is this old man telling the truth?" Zuo Zongtang refused to accept it and said: "The peaceful and prosperous age is naturally the world of life. If it catches up with the beacon fire for three months, hum! But it is impossible to say who is a hero! Sheng, Ji Gao is not joking, right?" "Of course!" Zeng Guofan laughed, "Zuo Lao San is the well-known Zhuge Kongming in my Sanxiang. I'm afraid that even my subordinates will join my subordinates for a living in the future!" The three of them burst out laughing, Zuo Kongming's old face refused to blush. That night, Elder Yizhen set up a finely crafted plain mat in the meditation room.The three of them chatted for another midnight.The next day, Zeng Guofan asked Elder Yizhen to change to a bigger house. He and Zuo Zongtang lived together, and eating, living, and talking were really much more convenient. Zuo Zongtang was not a cautious person, he could eat fish, meat, and vegetarian tofu.In order to entertain Jin Liang, Zeng Guofan sent the messengers who came with him into the city for three meals a day to buy some fresh fish and freshly killed pork and mutton, and secretly cooked them for Zuo Zongtang in the room behind the back of an elder.Yiyi knew it well, and didn't reveal it. The topic that Zuo Zongtang talked with Zeng Guofan the most every day was military strategy, and when he was free, he went to an old pine tree in the temple to dance a sword, saying that it was Taiji swordsmanship, which was pioneered by Zhang Sanfeng.Zeng Guofan knew that Zuo Lao San didn't know anything about martial arts, so he went to watch it once, but he didn't see Zhang Sanfeng's swordsmanship, it looked like Zuo Sanfeng's routine, so he just smiled and stopped watching. Once, Zuo Zongtang also wrote a stereotyped article and asked Zeng Guofan to comment on it.Zeng Guofan read it over carefully, and found that the arts and sciences are good, but they don't quite match the stereotyped style.Stereotypes are speaking on behalf of saints, but Zuo Zongtang is speaking on behalf of himself: firstly, the imperial examination was originally for the selection of talents, and it was limited to a style of writing. How can outstanding talents stand out?The theory was quite harsh, and the final conclusion was that "the stereotyped writing harms the country". Zeng Guofan dipped his pen into the ink, and really wanted to write a few words about the arrogance of killing this madman on the left, but he couldn't comment on it, so he finally put down his pen and didn't write a word. But Zeng Guofan already knew that Zuo Jinliang had no hope of being on the list next year.Thinking about what he has learned, astronomy and geography, he can explain thoroughly, and he can write incisively on military books and strategies. It became more and more prosperous. This time he went to Beijing, Zuo Zongtang complained to Zeng Guofan like an oath. If he could not surpass Sun Shan next year, he would never try anything in Beijing again in his life, so he gave up the idea of ​​becoming an official. Zeng Guofan didn't say a word to Jin Liang's words, but he was very clear in his heart: Zuo Lao San relied on the imperial examination to become an official, and he might be hopeless in this life.But it's hard to say.I think of Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang who often disagreed in Changsha Yuelu Academy; Zeng Guofan's taciturnity and dullness often make Zuo Zongtang unable to be arrogant most of the time, and he often makes mistakes.A slap can't be made, and the two get along more harmoniously.Others dismissed Lao Zuo's madness, and some simply called him Zuo lunatic. Hunan Xuezheng Liu Xiangji once commented on Zeng Guofan and said: "Zeng Disheng can accommodate Zuo Zongtang, he must be one of the best figures in Sanxiang!" In fact, people at that time still did not understand Zuo Zongtang.Zuo Zongtang is the most open-minded person in the world, dare to speak and act, nothing can be brighter.Zeng Guofan knew in his heart that choosing friends is the most important thing in life.The success or failure of life is all about whether your friends are good or not, so don't be careless. Before Zeng Guofan visited Hanlin, Zuo Zongtang liked to complain to Zeng Guofan the most, commenting on the right and wrong of Zeng Guofan's work. The outside world always thinks that Zuo Zongtang looks down on Zeng Guofan.Only Zuo Zongtang himself knew this. The thing he admired most in his life was Zeng Guofan, but he didn't say it out loud. After Zeng Guofan went to Hanlin, many classmates mentioned it in front of Zuo Zongtang, in order to embarrass Zuo Lao San.Zuo Zongtang showed no signs of embarrassment at all, and said instead: "Zeng Disheng is a man who can't understand anything. If he writes stereotyped essays well, he will naturally be able to win the Imperial Academy. But is being awarded the Imperial Academy a success? " Others refuted him: "According to Zuo Xiaolian, it's not considered promising to be a member of the Imperial Academy, but is a person who complains all day counted?" Zuo Zongtang was stunned for a while, and then his face turned red suddenly: "Shuzi is not enough to talk about, only Disheng can talk to me." But the man was unwilling to let go: "Xiaolian and Zeng Hanlin can talk, but Zeng Hanlin will have no time to listen to Xiaolian's high-level arguments in the future; he will become an official after he has ordered Hanlin, and the official is very busy!" This is also the reason why Zuo Zongtang went to Beijing again and again for the test.