Chapter 119 Chapter 119 The way of being an official

On the night of returning to the mansion, Zeng Guofan asked Tang Xuan to gather all the servants in the family in the main room after dinner, and Tang Xuan would pay back all the wages according to their ranking. Zeng Guofan then said: "The main hall was ordered to go to Jiangxi to preside over the rural examination, and the list will be released in September. The emperor also rewarded the main hall with two months of family leave. In this way, the main hall should not be able to return to Beijing until six months later. You can use these six months. For a month, they all go back to their hometown to have a look around, leaving only one person in the mansion to guard the gate."

Zhou Sheng said: "My lord, this slave has no relatives or friends in his hometown, so he should stay in the mansion to look after the house." Zeng Guofan said: "Then I will trouble you. At the beginning of December, regardless of whether the main hall can be returned, everyone must come back. Li Bao and Liu Heng are on business, so they can go with the main hall. The main hall will be there tomorrow morning. After leaving, after a while, Tang Xuan and Zhou Sheng helped Li Bao and Liu Heng to pack up the things that the hall should bring. Hong Xiang has already hired a horse-drawn sedan car for the hall, and he will pick me up early tomorrow morning. Li Bao, You can hire two more carriages in a while, the larger ones. In the past few years in the capital, Honbutang has not made much progress, but he has accumulated more than a dozen boxes of books, and he has also obtained ten copies of "Guo Gap Shadow". Pull things, you can also sit on them. In this way, the mounts are also saved, wouldn't it be better!"

After Li Bao went out, Liu Heng said: "My lord, is the Yamen no longer sending soldiers to escort it? We are the emperor's servant!" Zeng Guofan said: "The road today is not very quiet. It's not good to be too ostentatious. The main hall has already announced to the Holy Majesty, and the Holy Majesty has given permission. This time, the main hall will go to Jiangxi. Except for the two of you, there are three guards. The less the better." The whole family didn't rest until midnight. Early the next morning, as soon as Zeng Guofan had breakfast, Li Hongzhang brought more than 20 people from the Imperial Academy to see Zeng Guofan off.

Zeng Guofan complained that Li Hongzhang should not be so ostentatious, and said again and again: "The main hall just went to Jiangxi to preside over the rural examination, and he will be back in a few months. You have worked so hard, and it will be good to spread the word. Everyone, please go back." Young and old Hanlins just stood still. At this time, the hired horse-drawn sedan chairs and carriages arrived, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites also arrived.Everyone helped move things around, which was neat and tidy. Seeing that it was late, Zeng Guofan was afraid that he would not be able to get out of the city gate, so he cupped his hands and said, "The main hall is on the road now." Then he sat in the sedan chair and said "get up the sedan chair".

All members of the Hanlin Academy and the ceremonial staff, young and old, also sat in their sedan chairs and followed the carriage step by step until they were sent to the official road outside the city. Then they got off the sedan chair together, fisted at Zeng Guofan, and returned. When the Hanlin and Zeng Guofan separated and walked to the city in sedan chairs, they met Shengbao at the Chengguan who was rushing out of the city. Shengbao sat in a big green woolen sedan chair carried by eight people, followed by a dozen blue woolen sedan chairs, and walked on his back with a dozen sedan chairs of young and old Hanlin.

Liu Kun, the old Hanlin who was walking in front, saw a green woolen sedan chair coming from the opposite side, followed by more than a dozen blue woolen sedan chairs. At that time, he thought that someone in the hall was about to go on a tour, so he hurriedly let the sedan chair stand aside and waited for the people on the opposite side. People walk by.Unexpectedly, the green sedan chair stopped in front of Liu Kun's sedan chair, and the curtain of the sedan chair was lifted, and Sheng Bao walked down from inside with a red face. Liu Kun, who didn't intend to get off the sedan chair, had no choice but to come down and greet Shengbao.Everyone also got out of the sedan chair, bowing and bowing, and kept busy.

When Shengbao saw Liu Kun, he was the first to ask, "Maybe Zeng Youtang has already left the city?" Liu Kun said: "I'm just waiting to send Master Youtang back." Shengbao shook his head and said, "Come on! Come on! Hurry up, it's still a step too late. How many soldiers did Mr. Zeng bring out of the city this time?" Liu Kun smiled and said: "Only three guards and two guards, Li Bao and Liu Heng." "How can that be done!" Sheng Bao pretended to be surprised, "Nowadays it's not as usual, and Jiangxi is so far away, even if you don't bring your own soldiers, you should inform the local yamen to escort you along the way! This official should play Ming Sheng, for Zeng My lord, fight for it!" After speaking, he got on the sedan chair, turned around and went back to the city.This day is June 24th in the second year of Xianfeng (AD 1852).

As soon as he got on the official road, Zeng Guofan said to the bearer sitting in front of the sedan chair: "Hurry up!" The bearer dared not neglect, he raised his whip to urge the horse, and the sound of horseshoes suddenly became hurried.A group of people hurried forward and arrived at Hejian Mansion five days later. When passing through the city gate, it was almost noon, Zeng Guofan ordered the bearers to stop on tiptoe after crossing the busy street. The bearers loved the horses very much. For the first few days, Zeng Guofan did not rush the carriages, but the horses were getting tired after entering the Chengguan of Hejian Prefecture. .

Although Zeng Guofan was in a hurry, he couldn't hurry anymore, so he ordered to find a bigger inn, where the men had to beat the tip and rest, and the horses had to be fed some fodder.The bearers are naturally full of joy. As he was walking, Zeng Guofan suddenly heard someone asking in front of the sedan chair, "Is the person sitting in the sedan chair Mr. Zeng who went to Jiangxi to preside over the provincial examination?" Zeng Guofan opened the sedan chair curtain and saw a yamen servant standing in front of the sedan chair with his legs crossed and asking questions. The bearer took the horse with a "wow".Li Bao rushed over from behind a few steps, and replied: "So what?" The yamen servant didn't answer, turned around and flew away.

Zeng Guofan was confused, Li Bao cursed and returned to the carriage behind.After another three arrows, more than 20 people suddenly crowded out of the slanting stab, and a big blue sedan chair in the middle stopped in front of Zeng Guofan's sedan chair, and a person came out of the sedan chair. Without knowing it, the bearer jumped out of the sedan chair and grabbed the horse with both hands, so that the horse was not frightened. The man got off the sedan chair, bowed deeply to Zeng Guofan's sedan chair, and said, "I will see Mr. Zeng!" The three guards, Li Bao and Liu Heng hurried over, and Li Bao took a step forward to open the sedan door.Zeng Guofan stepped out of the sedan chair and looked at it, and couldn't help but shouted: "Is it Wu Tingdong, Wu Taishou?" The person who came was Wu Tingdong, the prefect of Hejian Prefecture.

Wu Tingdong said: "My lord knows that my lord will test Jiangxi, and I will pass through Hejian, so I have people waiting on the official road day and night, lest my lord's sedan chair pass by quietly. My lord, please take the official's sedan chair, and we will talk again when we go back to the Yamen." Zeng Guofan arched his hands and said: "It's rare that the prefect Wu is so enthusiastic! The main hall thanked you here. It's just that the matter in Jiangxi is urgent, and the main hall dare not delay on the way. How about disturbing the mansion when the main hall returns from the test?" Wu Tingdong was not willing to listen, and said in his mouth: "I have to offend the official!" He pushed Zeng Guofan into his sedan chair, yelled "return to the office", and went straight to the prefect's office with his hands on the pole of the sedan chair.Li Bao and Liu Heng had no choice but to follow behind with the carriage. Zeng Guofan yelled in the sedan chair: "Prefect Wu, don't be like this, how can you disturb the officials! If it spreads out, it will hinder the reputation of the prefect!" Wu Tingdong held on to the chair pole and laughed loudly: "The lower official pays his own money to treat your lord to a meal. Does this also require an order from the emperor?" After dinner, Wu Tingdong invited Zeng Guofan into his study. Wu Tingdong said: "Your Excellency recommended you to the emperor to be reappointed. This lower official will never forget it. Please sit down and be respected by the lower official." Zeng Guofan supported Wu Tingdong and said: "The hall is to recommend talents for the country, and the eunuch must not worry about it. As long as the eunuch does things well for the people and relieves the country's worries, it is not an exaggeration for the hall to recommend thousands of times." Wu Tingdong said: "Since I became an official, I am not used to many things in the officialdom, and I am often uncertain about it. I hope you will enlighten me!" Zeng Guofan thought about it for a while, and said earnestly and earnestly: "The hall believes that in the officialdom, ignorance of wealth is enough to gather people, self-discipline is enough to convince people, generosity is enough to win people, and being first is enough to lead others. Modesty and prudence are a kind of retreat. Officialdom is a must. Of course, modesty must be based on facts, and you can't belittle yourself too much, otherwise the people below will not be in awe..." Wu Tingdong was overjoyed after hearing this, and sighed: "I am honored to hear what your lord has said today. Being an official is like drinking nectar, and you will be enlightened!" The two talked until midnight, but the interest in the conversation did not diminish at all. Before going to sleep, Wu Tingdong took a book from the study, handed it to Zeng Guofan and said, "My lord, what is the difference between these volumes and the currently printed books?" Originally, I pondered for a while and said, "Let's guess first. This seems to be a book compiled by Xu Guangqi in the late Ming Dynasty, a barbarian named Matteo Ricci. It seems to be about mathematics. I don't know if it is or not? The Ministry I have seen it in the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Beijing Normal University, but I have read it, but I don’t understand it very well.” Wu Tingdong clapped his hands and said, "My lord is really worthy of the word 'extensive reading'. But this set of books was not compiled by Xu Guangqi. My lord should read it first before commenting." Zeng Guofan opened the book, but suddenly opened his eyes, and said: "This edition is so well carved! Which library did it work? This really opened the eyes of the Ministry!" Wu Tingdong said with a smile: "Your Excellency, you might as well guess again, how long will it take to print 3,000 sets of this set of books?" Difficult to complete. It will take two to three months to print another 3,000 sets. In this way, seven months should be considered fast. How about it?" Wu Tingdong said: "The lower officials let the adults read this set of books because the printing of this set of books is amazingly fast! It only took a month!" When Zeng Guofan heard this, he laughed instead: "Wu Taishou, you have been deceived this time! This printed book block was originally the business of scholars. Do you still want to hide the affairs of scholars from scholars? This library uses Even if the engraver is a three-headed and six-armed man, don’t he even sleep? I don’t believe it if I say it!” Wu Tingdong said: "Don't say that my lord doesn't believe it, even the lower officials don't believe it! My lord, who do you think this set of books came from? It's the Shanghai 'Mohai Library' that has been widely spread all over the world!" Zeng Guofan was taken aback when he heard this, and then asked: "I heard about the library in the capital, and the owner of the library seems to be an Englishman. It is rumored that the library is printed with cows, but is it true?" Wu Tingdong said: "It's true! The official returned to his hometown after a vacancy. When he passed by Shanghai, he specially visited this 'Mohai Library'. It completely uses the Yi method to print books. Not only the plate making is fast, but the printing is also fast. .Several iron book printing lathes, several feet long and three feet wide, with two heavy wheels beside them. Two people are in charge of printing, and an ox is used to pull the shaft. What a coincidence! See you next time. Under the circumstances, he even recited a poem!" Seeing Zeng Guofan listening to the lecture silently, Wu Tingdong continued: "The car turns over the sea of ​​ink and turns the wheel, and there are hundreds of strange compilations in the universe. I am busy killing old cows, and I don't understand it. I don't plow the fields of books! Don't laugh at me, my lord." Zeng Guofan sighed with a smile: "The prefect's poem is so apt!" Afterwards, he opened the "Elements of Geometry" one by one, reviewed it repeatedly, and said to himself: "Although the barbarian people are half-baked, they are quite ingenious in making utensils! It's true that the gods created man, and there are shortcomings." , must have its length!" Wu Tingdong said at this time: "My lord, you are always an important minister of the court, and your words carry weight. The Qing Dynasty can no longer underestimate the strengths of the barbarians. The lower official was punished for making such a statement to the Ministry. Dismissed!" Zeng Guofan didn't say anything, but slowly turned the pages of the book. Wu Tingdong said: "The book "Elements of Geometry" and Xu Guangqi's "Elements of Geometry" happen to be a complete set. Xu Guangqi's is the upper part, and this set is the lower part. Xiaguan bought more than a dozen copies from Shanghai, and this set will be given to adults. Right. If you come to Shanghai, you can go to the 'Mohai Library' to have a look. A friend of the next official translates books there, and his name is Li Shanlan." Zeng Guofan said with a smile: "This book has finally opened my eyes. This set of books will be accepted by me. After I return to Beijing, I will let the emperor take a look. Prefect Wu, it's rare that you are so careful!" Wu Tingdong said: "My lord, the ancients said: seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. I remember that when this set of books was given to the Ministry, the Ministry once reprimanded the officials for adoring foreigners. They also said that the barbarians used cattle to print books. It's blasphemy. My lord! You always comment on reason, isn't this a random comment?" Zeng Guofan smiled, but said nothing.That night I stayed in the magistrate's yamen. The next day, Wu Tingdong took more than 20 subordinate officials and sent Zeng Guofan and his party outside the city to bid farewell.