Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Listening to relatives and friends in a dream

After dawn, Zeng Guofan asked people to go to "Tiger Leaping Village" to call the dibao for questioning. After a while, the security guard from Hutiao Village came, and as soon as the security guard entered the signing room, he greeted Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan looked closely at the dibao, and saw that he was a man with a short beard, big eyes, bright forehead, short body and slightly fat, neatly dressed, and a loud voice.Looking at that posture, he doesn't look like a rural dibao, but a full-fledged thousand households①. After a pause, Zeng Guofan asked, "What's your name?"

The dibao replied loudly: "In the words of the adults, the younger one is called Ma San." "Oh," Zeng Guofan nodded, and asked again, "Ma San, the hall wants to ask you a few words, and you must answer honestly. If you know one, say one, and if you are two, say two, understand?" "Naturally," Ma San replied, "Ma San already knew Master Zeng's name a long time ago, so you can just ask, and the younger one will answer truthfully." Zeng Guofan asked with a smile: "Ma San, in which village and village are you working as a land security?"

Ma San was taken aback, and asked back, "Don't your lord know?" Zeng Guofan smiled and said: "Of course the hall knows. You are the dibao of Majiazhuang, Longzhao Township." Zeng Guofan pointed to the album page and read softly: "Isn't it?" Ma San grinned and said, "Your Excellency's words are not bad at all." Zeng Guofan didn't say a word, stood up and walked out of the signing room. The people waiting outside the door, ordered by Hongcai, were whispering to each other, but when they saw Zeng Guofan coming out, they stopped talking.

Zeng Guofan waved lightly, called the person on duty to his side and said, "Come in with me." The yamen servant on duty will come over immediately.Zeng Guofan didn't say a word, turned around and entered the signing room, and the yamen servant followed.Zeng Guofan sat down, pointed at Masan and said to the yamen servant: "Brother, where is Majiazhuang, Longzhao Township, Wenshang County?" The yamen servant gave a deep bow and said: "Returning to my lord, I have been working in the yamen for more than 20 years. I have never heard of any Majiazhuang in Longzhao Township. You must be joking with me."

Zeng Guofan smiled at Ma San and said, "Ma San, which village's land protector are you? Tell the officer about it." Immediately, Ma San blushed and stammered, "The little one deserves to die! The young one deserves to die! Please forgive me, my lord!" Zeng Guofan narrowed his triangular eyes immediately, and said word by word: "Ma San, where are you from, why do you pretend to be the land protector of 'Tiger Leaping Village' to deceive me?" Ma San said pitifully: "According to adults, the young one is not a local security. The young one is a tailor from Chengnan Tailor Shop. The young one is indeed called Ma San. Please check carefully."

Zeng Guofan suddenly shouted at the yamen servant: "Bold tolerance, you still don't kneel down! Don't you know the crime? The Ministry is ordered to investigate the relief. It is reasonable for you to cooperate, but how dare you deceive yourself!" The yamen servant just knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, and said: "Please listen to me, my lord." "Li Bao!" Zeng Guofan shouted out of the room, and Li Bao walked in in response. Zeng Guofan said: "Please tell Hong Mingfu to meet me!" Li Baoying said "嗻", and strode out. After a while, Li Bao walked in alone and said: "Returning to your lord, Hong lord is talking to the people in the governor's yamen in the official hall. I heard that Hong Ming's mansion has been promoted to the Jining prefecture, and he is handing over to the acting director who just arrived. Hong lord I will come to see you in a while, please wait a moment, my lord."

When Zeng Guofan heard this, his head buzzed, and he immediately felt the stars bursting out in front of him. He trembled all over, as if suffering from malaria, and his mind gradually became a little confused.He faintly heard Li Bao shout "My lord!" After that, he didn't know anything. He returned to the Heye Pond in Xiangxiang, where he had been thinking about day and night.Unexpectedly, the first person to greet her was Grandmother Wang Taigong.Grandma is still the same as before, with kind eyes and kind eyes, neither smiling nor speaking.When Zeng Guofan saw his longing grandmother, it seemed that thousands of grievances came to his heart.Without thinking about it, he yelled: "Grandmother!" He plunged into Wang Taigong's arms and choked up, completely forgetting that he was 30 years old.

Wang Taigong slowly stroked his grandson's hair, and said in a low voice: "Kuanyi, my dear, grandma knows that you have suffered a lot for this Qing Dynasty. Don't cry dear, a man's tears are not lightly flicked! Grandmother Fried dumplings for you." Zeng Guofan stopped his sobs and looked up to see his grandmother, only to find that his grandmother had long since disappeared.He used to act like a baby in the arms of his good friend Luo Zenan, a scholar from Xiangxiang. Zeng Guofan blushed immediately, and hurriedly broke out of Luo Zenan's embrace, spat: "What a pockmark, when will he change seventy-two? You are so old and not serious, you want to take advantage of me! Shame on you!" Don't be ashamed!"

Luo Zenan was the same as when he was a child, he laughed loudly and said, "Dasheng, now you finally know the reason why Luo didn't go out to be an official, right? I said a long time ago that the Qing Dynasty was dominated by the Manchus, and there were no Han people like me." You just don’t listen, so what if you become a servant now? Even Hechun dares to promote officials who are greedy for relief under your nose, so what can you do as a servant? Listen to people’s advice and eat enough , you should go to Yuelu Academy to sit in the library! Old Master Tang is going to be the head of Yuelu Academy!"

Zeng Guofan argued: "It is true that Hechun is a Manchu, but Hongcai is a Han! The emperor has emptied the national treasury for disaster relief! As a member of the Han Dynasty, how can Hongcai have the heart to watch his compatriots starve to death without paying attention? Although the Qing Dynasty was ruled by the Manchus, the emperor dreamed of governing the Qing Dynasty well! The emperor introduced Guofan as a confidant, and Guofan did not show his heart and soul, so is it considered a person to devote oneself to death?" Luo Zenan suddenly bowed deeply and said, "I've seen Mr. Zeng before."

Zeng Guofan was surprised that Luo Zenan was so solemn. He lowered his head and rushed to help Luo Zenan, but what Luo Zenan was, it was clearly the majestic Jiang Zhongyuan. "Oh, it turns out that the martyrs have arrived!" Zeng Guofan pulled Jiang Zhongyuan's hand happily, "I heard that there were bandits in your place, and the martyr recruitment team practiced hard to calm them down. It has done a great job! I heard that Xinning county magistrate has been awarded ? I don’t know if this civil servant has done it smoothly?” Jiang Zhongyuan blushed and said: "Zhongyuan is a reckless man, how dare he talk about fame and fame in front of adults! It's ashamed to say it! Zhongyuan's ancestors used reading as their career, and almost generations of scholars have produced talents. In the end, he won the martial arts by archery! Lei Zaihao of Xinning raised his flag to rebel and ravaged the local people. The emperor sent several groups of troops to conquer them, but they all returned because of Lei Zaihao's cunning. As a native of Xinning, how could Zhongyuan Can you sit idly by? I am ashamed to say that, only one Lei Zaihao was caught, and the 3,000 people he gathered together dispersed in a rush! Fortunately, Zhongyuan was in the acting position for half a year, and he was also stable. The humble position was just last month. It’s really not enough, adults know?” Zeng Guofan hurriedly took Jiang Zhongyuan's hand and gave way to the study.In the study, Jiang Zhongyuan and Zeng Guofan met again. Zeng Guofan asked: "Min Qiao, have you ever met Luo Shan?" Jiang Zhongyuan said: "Luo Shan is a well-known celebrity in Hunan. Like him, he won the title of celebrity without fame. I'm afraid there is no second person in the Qing Dynasty. Mr. Zeng, you have a good future in old age. How did you come back to your hometown?" Zeng Guofan said indignantly: "The Qing Dynasty is now in devastation, Mu Zhang is jealous of the virtuous, the emperor is ill, and even if I have the power to split mountains and fill the sea on my shoulders, how can I lift up the Qing Dynasty! " Jiang Zhongyuan suddenly asked: "My lord, if you should not ask a low-level question, do you think that the Qing Dynasty will..." "Hurry up!" Zeng Guofan stretched out his right hand to cover Jiang Zhongyuan's mouth suddenly, "How capable are you and I, dare to talk about the country's right and wrong! Luo Shan is not a man of fame, so no one argues with him when he says light and heavy. Min Qiao, you are also a person who has been in Beijing for a long time, do you think Mu Xiangguo can last long?" Jiang Zhongyuan said angrily: "My lord, how can you ask the question? Look at Oboi, think about He Shen, can you explain it more clearly with a lowly position? My lord came to Shandong for disaster relief, and he stepped on the iron with bare feet. If he gets off, he will be hurt, and if he doesn't, he will be hurt!" " Zeng Guofan looked up at Jiang Zhongyuan, he didn't believe that this sentence would come from Jiang Zhongyuan's mouth; no one can make such an assertion without great talent and virtue! But Jiang Zhongyuan had long since disappeared, and the person sitting opposite him was his father. "Kuanyi!" Zeng Linshu said, "Nine years and tenth grade, since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there is no second, the emperor's grace is like the sea! Eat the king's salary, take care of the king's affairs, and the minister's duty. The ancestors of my Zeng family, Liezong does not ask you to be filial, but only to be loyal! You were only 43 years old when you became a scholar, but you are already a second-rank high-ranking official who is well-known in the country at 37 years old! Such a mighty emperor's favor, don't risk your life What kind of people do you want to repay the service!" Zeng Guofan shook his head.My father continued: "Since the old ancestor Zeng Shen, my Zeng family has never had a high-ranking official. Your grandfather was angry with scholars and officials. He swore that from the generation of his father, my Zeng family will have scholars, There have been talents from generation to generation. Thanks to God’s blessing, the ancestors have a spirit, and finally a red-capped son was born. This is not only the pride of my Zengmen, but also the pride of all Hunan people, and even more the pride of my Han people!" As the father of a county student, it was beyond Zeng Guofan's expectations to be able to speak such a great truth.He couldn't help looking at his father carefully, but found that the speaker was not Zeng Linshu at all, but his grandfather Zeng Xinggang.Zeng Guofan was relieved all of a sudden. Although Mr. Xinggang is illiterate, he is recognized as a sensible person with a radius of hundreds of miles, and he is the most sensible person.Zeng Guofan has always insisted that "a good official can only be a good official if he is not greedy for money", which originated from his grandfather's teachings. The person Zeng Guofan admired most in his life was his grandfather.From being a man, housekeeping to educating children, Mr. Hoshioka did everything according to the words of the saints, and he was not bad at all.The Zeng family paid attention to having courtyards and halls in the front and gardens and vegetables in the back.There must be fish in the pond, pigs in the pen, willows outside the walls, and poplars in the fields; men get up early to plow the fields, and women do needlework to manage the house.The Zeng family's women have to sew all the clothes, from hats to shoes, by the Zeng family.The house rules are formulated in detail. Later, on this basis, Zeng Guofan developed into "a woman makes a pair of shoes every month, and a jar of pickled vegetables". Read one chapter by heart; read three thousand words of history every day, and read one chapter by heart in ten days." Mr. Xinggang manages the family, and he pays attention to the joy of fish and pigs;On this basis, Zeng Guofan further emphasized that men must be able to read and write, and do not expect high-ranking officials, but hope that generations will have talents; women must start with the characters of frugality, virtue, and filial piety, and pay attention to female workers. Therefore, Zeng Guofan not only wanted to listen to Lord Xinggang's words, but also liked to listen to them, and he was determined to obey them.Zeng Guofan even believed that without Mr. Xinggang, Zeng Guofan would not be where he is today, let alone the prosperity of the Zeng family today. Zeng Guofan was about to tell his grandfather all the grievances he had suffered in the past few years when he came to Beijing, but he heard his grandfather suddenly say: "A grandson, who eats the royal salary, has to do things for the royal family. If the king lets the minister die, the minister will die." Dare not to die! Grandson, you must not let down the trust of Lord Long Live in you, and you must not disappoint the people of the world! What a privilege it is to be promoted to ten levels in nine years! Zicheng, do you know? Sometimes even the emperor If you want to suffer some grievances, what is it for you as a courtier to suffer some grievances? As long as you have a clear conscience, just do it." While speaking, Lord Xinggang suddenly stretched out his hands, pushed him brightly, and said: "Go Come on! Don't leave a bad name in Shandong!" A powerful impetus rushed towards his face, and Zeng Guofan stepped back a dozen steps in a row, but suddenly lost his balance with one foot, and his whole body leaned back, not knowing whether it was a cliff or a deep valley or river behind him. He was so frightened that he quickly closed his eyes, and opened them slowly after he fell firmly to the ground, but he felt sore and itchy all over his body.Apparently, ringworm, which had been nearly healed, had flared up again.