Chapter 18 Chapter 3: Mo Yu Declines Zhang Liangji's Invitation After Coming Out of the Mountain

There is a custom of hiding in the countryside of Hunan. October 12th is Zeng Guofan's 43rd birthday.Since Daoguang came to Beijing in the winter of the nineteenth year, he has not been at home for twelve birthdays.His father and younger siblings are secretly preparing to have a lively birthday party for him.Relatives and friends near and far have been inquiring for news.Some of them sincerely came to congratulate, but more of them used this to curry favor. When Zeng Guofan was a child, his family was at its best. Later, when he had more younger brothers and sisters, his father's family fortune was not good;When he was more than ten years old, his family situation was not as good as before, so he developed a frugal life style since he was a child.When he came home, he was surprised and angry when he saw that the house was so well built, the yard was so big, and the ostentation was so luxurious.More than 500 tables were held for the mother's funeral, which shocked the neighbors in the whole town, which Zeng Guofan never thought of.He severely reprimanded his younger brothers. In order to express his dissatisfaction with their ostentation and extravagance, he decided not to hold a birthday wine, and went to the fifth uncle's house in Tongmu Chongnan, fifteen miles away from his home. Go hide.

Uncle Nan Wu was very moved by this.In the two months since my nephew came home, I don't know how many rich relatives and friends came to pick him up to live with him, but he declined them all. He was the only one who could think highly of himself, a poor uncle, who stayed here for a few days, which added honor to the old uncle. Zeng Guofan really respected this Uncle Nan Wu who had neither money nor talent.Uncle Nan Wu is the first cousin of Guofan's mother.He also studied in a private school for several years.Later, his father died and his family fell into poverty. He dropped out of school to farm at home and shouldered the burden of the family prematurely.Uncle Nan is honest and honest, and he has been kind to Guofan since he was a child. He always said that Guofan would have a bright future in the future.Guofan failed in the two exams and felt uncomfortable. Uncle Nan Wu took him to Tongmuchong, where he lived for half a month. He often encouraged him: The sharp edge of a sword comes from sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold. Don’t be afraid of setbacks. After several trials, I will do a great job in the future.

In the winter of Dingyou year, Zeng Guofan went to Beijing for the third time for a test.The family was scraping together, and there was only 20,000 yuan in total. They borrowed money from others, but they didn't get a single copper. Zeng Guofan felt extremely uncomfortable.Suddenly, Fifth Uncle Nan ran over excitedly: "Kuanyi, I have twelve thousand coins here, and if I add up the twenty thousand coins, there will be thirty-two thousand coins. If you save a little, you can reach the capital." Zeng Guofan was so happy that he burst into tears, and he accepted it without asking at the time: How did Fifth Uncle Nan have so much money all of a sudden.I didn't remember it until I arrived in the capital, and I wrote to my family to find out that Uncle Nan Wu had sold his only little scalper!

Zeng Guofan always remembers Uncle Nan Wu's great kindness.Cheng Yi, who came back from the main examination in Sichuan that year, won three thousand taels of silver.He sent home one thousand taels, specifying that one hundred taels would be given to Uncle Nan Wu.Later, when he was promoted to be a minister, his salary increased, and he gave him an annual gift of twenty taels of silver every year. In the past few days, he talked with Uncle Nanwu about the year, and he knew that the farmers in the lotus leaf pond had a hard time these years. There was not much production in the fields, but the donations increased every year.In the event of natural disasters and man-made disasters, some families were even destroyed, and more than ten households have been reduced in the past few years.Since April, there has been an increase in donations for group training, and each household has donated 500 yuan, and the people have complained.Uncle Nan Wu also quietly told Guofan that there are still people in the lotus leaf pond who hope to grow their hair and make things happen, so that the dynasty can be changed, the new emperor will pardon the world, and live a good life for a few days.All these surprised Guofan.

Uncle Nan's family has few guests and is quiet.Waking up early in the morning, Zeng Guofan started to write letters to his friends in the capital after reading the post for half an hour as usual.Later, he wrote a long letter home to his son.The eldest son, Jize, is fourteen years old this year, so it's time for him to learn how to handle things slowly.Zeng Guofan wrote to Jize one by one what his family members should do in the capital before they left Beijing to return to their hometown. After writing, he read it carefully from beginning to end and counted it. There were 17 items in total.When I was about to seal it, I took out another piece of paper and added three things.

One is to tell his son how to deal with the three carts and three mules at home, and how much money was spent on the big and small mules when they bought them.The second is to give all the furniture to Mao Jiyun alone, so don't disperse it, because there are few furniture, and it is a favor to give it to one person.The third is to ask the son to make a new set of clothes so that he can kowtow in front of his grandfather. He folded this piece of paper together with the six large sheets of paper he wrote just now, put them in the envelope, and sealed them carefully.Just about to pick up a pen to write the cover, Jiang Gui came in and said, "Master, Mr. Zhang, the governor, has sent a letter. The old man invites you to go home."

Zeng Guofan hurriedly bid farewell to Uncle Nan Wu and went home with Jiang Gui.As soon as he entered the house, the fourth brother said happily: "Brother, I heard that it is a letter written by Mr. Zhang!" As he spoke, he handed Guofan a large envelope that was more than a foot long.Because of Zeng Guofan's identity and status, he has a high prestige among his younger brothers.Respect the elder brother and the younger brothers like gods.Although the messenger said that the letter was about Mr. Zhang asking Guofan to run a regiment in Jin Province, Zeng Guohuang, the head of the Heyetang Capital regiment, was eager to know the details, but he didn't dare to open his brother's letter privately.

Zeng Guofan opened the envelope, and it turned out to be Zhang Liangji's own handwriting.The governor's letter was very affectionate. First, he expressed deep condolences for the loss of Guofan's mother, saying that he was far away in Kunming at the time and could not come to express condolences. Later, he came to Changsha during the war and was unable to leave his birth. He felt very sorry. I had no choice but to visit the tomb in the lotus leaf pond next Qingming; then I told how I admired him.Finally, I talked about the siege of Changsha, and it was hard to drive back the long hair. I asked Guofan to come out of the mountain to Changsha for group training for the sake of his father and elders.At the end of the letter, it is written: Liang Ji is not talented, and he lacks the honor of the hometown, so he cannot bear the heavy responsibility.Your Excellency is an elite in Sanxiang, the pillar of the country, the emperor relies heavily on it, and the people trust him. He is eager to move to Changsha, host a regiment training, eliminate bandits and thieves and calm the place, and comfort the people;

Zeng Guofan read the letter carefully twice, put it back into the envelope, and locked it in the cabinet.In the past few days, I talked about family affairs with Uncle Nanwu, and the more I talked, the worse my impression of Hunan's officials was.I have long heard of corruption in Hunan's officialdom, and what I have seen and heard in the past two months has proved to be the case.How can this kind of environment work!What's more, Zhang Liangji, Pan Duo and others are not familiar with each other.Lian Yong made great contributions to the court when the Pingbai Lotus sect rebelled decades ago.After Bai Lian finished teaching, Lian Yong also withdrew.In the past ten years, the situation in Yunnan and Guizhou has been unstable, and some group trainings have been held in various counties and counties, but with little success.Listening to Uncle Nan's tone, the common people don't seem to support it.In order to verify Uncle Nan's words, Guofan called his fourth brother into the inner room.

Zeng Guohuang came in as soon as his brother called him.Among the five brothers of Zeng's family, Guohuang has the lowest talent, but he is unnatural and the most pushy.Luo Zenan wanted him to be the head of the regiment, and he acted as if he had become a first-rank official, proud of himself, and pretended to be arrogant in front of the villagers.Zeng Guofan was a little uncomfortable with it. After coming back for so long, he deliberately didn't ask him about the group training.Guohuang wanted to show off in front of his brother, but seeing that his brother was not interested in it, he swallowed his words several times.Now my brother took the initiative to ask him about the group training in Xiangxiang, which was scratching his itch.He told his brother enthusiastically: "In April this year, Changmao broke through Yong'an, Guangxi, fled to Quanzhou, and approached the Chu territory. Zhu Mingfu held a Baojia in our county and ordered the clan to practice the regiment to protect each other. The clan agreed to be the head of the clan. , the head of the house, or the four or five ethnic groups into a group. The group agrees to be the head of the group and the head of the training. All men from each household who are over 15 years old and under 50 years old will join the group training. Each person will make a jacket , One piece of equipment. Practice at home in the morning and evening. When encountering robbers and policemen, the head of the regiment, the head of the practice, the head of the clan, and the head of the house will take them to the place where there is trouble. There is nothing to do on weekdays, and everyone is safe. The head of the regiment, the head of the practice, etc. meet twice a month Second-rate."

"How did you get the money?" Zeng Guofan asked. "All the group training will be paid by each family themselves, and there is no need for much money." "Always ask for some money! The team leader and the trainer meet twice a month, whose house will they eat at?" "Of course it's a matter of funding. Each regiment and ethnic group has their own regulations. Some pay according to the population, one hundred or two hundred cash per person, and some are paid by a few well-off families." "You said one hundred and two hundred each, but Uncle Nan said they each paid five hundred. Why is there such a big difference?" "Some patriarchs are black-hearted and want to take advantage of this opportunity to make a profit." "Chenghou, it seems that there are disadvantages in this training regiment. Not long after it was established, some people wanted to take advantage of it. If we continue to do it for a while, we will do more bad things." "Yes, some members of the group also took the opportunity to do bad things. For example, they took advantage of the gambling shop to blackmail, and they used the investigation to commit adultery at night. I heard that there were a few cases in Tianziping." "You said it will be performed sooner or later. I have been back for two months. Why haven't I seen you perform?" "When it was first established, I practiced a few times, and then I gradually became lazy, and the long hair didn't come again, so I didn't practice for two or three months. It is a rule written on paper when it comes to practicing sooner or later." "Are there any good ones?" "Yes. There are several capitals near the county seat, led by Luo Shan, Pu Shan, Xi'an brothers, etc. to personally command, and it is said that they are quite decent." "Chenghou, do you think the group training will be done well, or not?" "I think it can be done well, at least it can deal with small groups of bandits and rob the king. However, if we continue to do it like this, I'm afraid it's just a few long fonts, and the people won't get much benefit, and everyone is not united. It can't be done." Well, we'll break up in a few months." "How will it actually work?" "In my opinion, to be effective, you have to train a team exclusively, and you have to eat food and pay. Only then can you train well, so that you don't have to worry about two things." "Where does the salary come from?" "It's because there is no way out for food and wages, so it can't be done!" The two brothers talked about the group training most of the night.After Guohuang left, Guofan shook his head and thought to himself: It seems that this regiment training is going nowhere.Besides, I am a dignified second-rank servant in the court, and I am very filial in my body. If I go out to do errands just because of the invitation of a governor, I will not only lose my status, but also invite the ridicule of scholars.How can this be done! Zeng Guofan wrote a reply letter to Zhang Liangji.There are many reasons why it cannot be written. The only reason that can be given is to keep the system at home.After a flurry of kind words, he wrote: It has been a century since Guofan left his hometown, and his love for his relatives is increasing day by day. He almost wants to leave the imperial capital for a long time, serve his relatives, and be a filial son and grandson for the rest of his life.Unexpectedly, when the wanderer returns today, there are grasses in the tomb of the king's father and mother;For a hundred days, I have been worrying and thinking endlessly, my square inch has been messed up, and I am so guilty that I can't redeem myself even if I die a hundred times.Ming Gong is elegant, and Guofan bows and kowtows again.However, is there any reason for doing business immediately after the mother died and was not buried?If he obeys his orders, he will not only be ridiculed by scholars, but also deeply ashamed by himself.At this time, Guofan had no other wish, but he wished to be married next to his tomb and stay with his mother for three years, so as to fulfill his responsibilities as a son and reduce the crime of unfilial piety.The black bird's selfishness, I still hope that Ming Gong will forgive it. The late Zeng Guofan bowed his head ① Grab the king: Hunan dialect.Refers to a small group of people who fight with open fire and rob.