Chapter 40 The real man who has gone away - Zeng Guofan

In view of the turbulent public opinion, Cixi called Zeng Guofan: Zeng Aiqing, the public opinion is turbulent!Now there are three people on board, the emperor and Aiqing. There are too many people on board, and one person has to jump off... Zeng Guofan said: Of course the Queen Mother and Your Majesty can't dance, but my humble ministers can. Empress Dowager Cixi was a little moved: Ai Qing understands the righteousness, and the Ai family is very pleased. You can't do this Zhili Governor and Beiyang Minister. It just so happened that Ma Xinyi, the current Governor of Liangjiang, was assassinated, so I wronged you to be the Governor of Liangjiang. By the way, let's investigate this case clearly!

Zeng Guofan accepted the arrangement calmly and returned to the place where he had fought for many years. However, Cixi was not completely ruthless, leaving the Governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang to his proud disciple-the smooth and witty Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang has been doing this for twenty-five years, and since then he has gained power and slandered the world. Before Li Hongzhang appears again, please see his business card: Changting ancient road, the autumn wind is bleak, and the gowns are hunting. Zeng Guofan looked at Li Hongzhang who was seeing him off—this down-and-out young man who followed him to study thirty years ago, this person who was his staff twelve years ago, this person who went through difficulties and tests together—had to sigh, now Years have passed, and the waves have washed the sand, and the person left behind is not only his student, but also his friend.

So he looked at his friend and said affectionately: You are talented and intelligent, but the officialdom is dangerous and your career is bumpy. It must be possible to turn the crisis into safety. With tears in his eyes, Li Hongzhang nodded in agreement. Sure enough, he firmly remembered the teacher's exhortations, and in the following years refined the four-character principle of "forbearance with Xu Tu" into the eight-character policy of "reform of domestic demand, and harmony with external demand".These eight words roughly mean that we should establish good relations with the foreign powers, try our best to obtain a peaceful development environment, and not lose too much because of small things, but to gain time to reform and develop ourselves.

It should be said that this is a far-sighted and correct diplomatic strategy, which is exactly the same as the development strategy of the Republic today. However, no matter how good the strategy is, if it is not implemented correctly, it will be nothing but magic. In the next thirty years, Li Er's way of "harmonizing with Rong" was not ideal.His choice is: use barbarians to control barbarians, compromise and give in.That is to say, we either put our hopes on the cessation of Leninism, and dogs eat dogs, such as letting the Russians and the Japanese bite each other, and the result is that the front door drives the tiger into the back door; or they are forced to sign some unequal treaties in exchange for space and time for development. , the result is the infamy of traitors on the back.

Of course, this is something in the future, so let’s get down to business for now. No matter how difficult the current situation is and how dangerous the situation is, Zeng Guofan has survived, but this time he can't, because no matter how sincere and brave he is, he can't bear the pain of being regarded as a traitor by the world! Many people are unhappy because they are too sensitive.For example, some people often get angry for a month because of other people's words or comments. In serious cases, they become Ma Jiajue: they are so depressed that they want to kill someone because they don't invite them to dinner.

Zeng Guofan was also not happy, because his impartial handling and his loyalty got him notoriety. Such an ending made it unbearable for this tough man, and his physical condition declined sharply.More than a year later, in March 1872, Zeng Guofan died of illness in depression, ending his turbulent life. The vicissitudes of life show the true qualities of a hero! Today, a hundred years later, countless glitz has dissipated, and Zeng Guofan has been rehabilitated by history.He is brave, talented, and almost impeccable in moral character. He is the so-called person with both ability and political integrity.More importantly, his experience and writings have influenced a large number of people, especially Hunanese, thus changing the course of modern Chinese history.As an unborn genius with extraordinary character, talent, and influence, Zeng Guofan should be passed down from generation to generation.