Chapter 51 In the Four Arts Hall, Zeng Guofan talked about the people in the world

Zeng Guofan combed his long beard up and down, pondered for a long time, and then slowly said: "People in Yuedan are never easy. People in high positions can determine their lives with one word, so they must be cautious about such words. I have always It is because of this that you don’t talk about others easily. Today’s meeting is very unusual. If you don’t say some things, you may never have the chance in the future. However, I’m just talking casually, and you can keep it in your mind after listening. Comment, let alone mention it to others. The number one person in the country today is Zuo Jigao in the northwest. This man is a man of great talent, and he is the best in fighting with soldiers. He is honest and honest, and he is also a good friend and virtuous But he is very flattering and conceited. These shortcomings often make him suffer, but he himself does not understand. After Jinling recovered, he did not communicate with me. Later generations may think that we are the end of the war. In fact, we It’s a matter of military strategy and state affairs, not personal feelings. I always thought he was a rare general since the founding of the Qing Dynasty. I think, if he talked about me calmly, he probably wouldn’t make me useless.”

Li Hongzhang said: "Students heard from Yang Changjun that as long as the salary in Zhejiang is a few days late, Zuo Jigao will promptly send a letter to remind him, regardless of whether it is red or white, and he will ask severely: Who gave you your official? I missed my important event." , I will kill your governor immediately!" "This is Zuo Jigao!" Zeng Guofan laughed, "Only he can say that. Under Zuo Zongtang, there is Peng Yulin. This person is very bloody, upright, jealous of evil, and indifferent to fame and fortune, and values ​​love and righteousness. I often say that he is a strange man in the world. Every time he tells me that he wants to go back to his retreating nunnery."

"He once told me that Mr. Chen Guangfu once looked carefully at his bones and said that he was an old monk in Nanyue in his previous life." Li Hongzhang interjected. "This may be true." Zeng Guofan said sternly, "Mr. Hiroshiki's appearance is very accurate. He is going to retreat to the provincial nunnery, and I will not force him anymore. From now on, don't bother you about small things. Him. If foreigners have a war with me, if you use the word loyalty and righteousness to provoke him, I predict that even if he is seventy or eighty years old, he will go to the front bravely like Lao Lianpo."

Li Hongzhang nodded in agreement. "In addition, there is Guo Yunxian. A few years ago in Guangdong, he and Jiyun had a quarrel. It is fair to say that Yunxian is wrong. In the early years in the capital, Jiyun saw Yunxian's literary talent, so he wanted to accept his friendship. Later, he served as Xiangfu, and he repeatedly thought about extending his entry. Compared with being the governor of Guangdong, Ting Ji asked Huang Xinnong whether he could win the position of Yue Fu, and sent Yun to impeach Huang and Wenge, the governor of the vassal, while Baoguo was able to serve as Guangdong governor. Fu, your elder brother is worthy of serving as a vassal. Although Jiyun is not as talented as Junxian, he is more virtuous than Yunxian after all, and Yunxian and Jiyun are fighting for power, which makes the governor at odds. Yunxian himself is not disciplined. First, he abandons money Mrs. Shi, welcome Qian to enter the house, and his old concubine orders to meet each other. In the housing, the wife is at the bottom, and the concubine is at the top. When entering the Fufu Office, you and your wife and Mrs. Ru will be carried into the gate together in a green sedan chair. You Look, why isn't there a lot of public opinion? But Yunxian is blatantly ignoring it."

"No wonder Yue Fu can't continue." Li Hongzhang was very interested in hearing these anecdotes. "But having said that, Junxian's talent is rare in China, but his talent is not in Fengjiang. He is so talented that he can't bear the drama. He can only come up with ideas, offer strategies, and plan in the curtain. He has great insights into Westernization. I plan to recommend him to go abroad for an investigation next year. What he sees will definitely be much deeper than that of Zhigang and Binchun. In my opinion, his complexion is by no means older than Changsha Chengnan Academy Maybe he will do something astonishing in his later years, thus reaching the pinnacle of his career.”

"I know a little bit about this same year. He is the most suitable to associate with foreigners. When the Tianjin case happened last year, the whole country advocated toughness and opposed softness. Yunxian resisted all opinions and denounced the irresponsible Qingyi. It is really commendable." "Yes, his knowledge in this area is far superior to that of popular customs, and also better than Meng Rong." Zeng Guofan said, "In addition, Liu Yinqu is humble and humble, with a correct heart and a humble personality. He is a blessed person. Deep, dishonesty in dealing with people, but there is no danger to protect oneself. Shen Youdan is narrow-chested and capable. Unexpectedly, Yang Houan was seriously ill and bedridden. He lacks knowledge, and his career may only reach this stage. Yes. Huang Yisheng is very honest and honest, but his ability is not good enough. He is the admiral of the Yangtze River Navy. He will be replaced when he finds a suitable person in the future. Ding Richang is shrewd and capable, and he is a good hand in foreign affairs, but he lacks integrity and has a lot of material complaints."

"I've also heard about Ding Richang. Some people in Tianjin call him Ding Guizi. He is a bit like a student, and he doesn't leave much room for future affairs." Li Hongzhang smiled self-deprecatingly. "Recently, the Ministry of Households has a discount. It is said that Wang Wenshao did it. Do you know this person?" "never seen it." "This scripture is well written, and he has the talent of a prime minister. We should pay attention to accepting it in the future." "Oh." Li Hongzhang wrote down the name in his heart. "As for brother Ling Xiaoquan, he is not as bloody as you, but he is more stable than you."

"Teacher, what do you think is the biggest shortcoming of a student?" Li Hongzhang suddenly opened his mind and asked Zeng Guofan this question out of the blue.Based on his many years of experience with teachers, he knows that by asking questions suddenly, he can often get the most straightforward truth from the teacher's heart.It worked.Zeng Guofan replied casually: "Your shortcoming is lack of tolerance. I have no other strengths in my life, and I am better than you in this point. When I was still in the capital, Shao Weixi saw it. He said that after my death, I will be posthumous as Wenren. Gong, although it is a joke, it really hits the point. Do you remember the very first one I told you that year?"

"I remember, I remember." Li Hongzhang replied repeatedly.The story that Zeng Guofan told that year about two countrymen who refused to give in to each other on the field left a deep impression on him.He had thought about it seriously for a long time, and realized a lot of content contained in this little story, but he was not sure what the teacher meant. "Men, disciples and other staff couldn't figure out the meaning of that story at that time, please enlighten us!" Looking at Li Hongzhang's pious attitude, Zeng Guofan smiled: "Actually, it doesn't have any deep meaning, it's just a trivial matter that you can often see in the countryside. They are two stubborn people, standing there, let's see which one stands up. For a long time, those who cannot persevere will naturally lose. When I was young, I liked to work hard with others. Now that I am old, I can’t stand up, so I don’t have any achievements. It seems that I will still stand up, so I remind you to pay attention , Who wins and loses in the world, sometimes it depends on whether you can stand up or not."

Li Hongzhang nodded as if realizing something.After a while, he said: "The student thought at the time that the teacher told this story to warn us: it is always useless to shout and discuss the affairs of the world from outside the bureau, and we must bow down to the bureau and be responsible, just like that old man. There is hope of success. For example, in the Tianjin religious case that happened later, the main fighters were all outsiders. They were irresponsible and arrogant. If they were allowed to take responsibility for the game, they would not shout so vigorously. This understanding of disciples, I don't know if it makes sense?"

"It makes sense." Zeng Guofan smiled knowingly.I thought to myself: This clever Nian Jiazi can really see what others can't see, and send out what others can't. You see, he has seamlessly connected the little story about the Tiancheng dispute with the public opinion on the Tianjin case! "The third important thing is to hope that the younger brother will carry out Xu Tu's self-improvement career to the end. In the next two years, the matter of selecting and sending young children to go abroad must be done well.My virtuous brother has achieved outstanding results here, and I am most at ease. " Speaking of Westernization, Li Hongzhang was most interested in it, and he thought he had done the most research. Unknowingly, he began to talk loudly: "Westernization must be done! For a hundred years, European countries have invaded the hinterland of our borders from India to Southeast Asia, and from Southeast Asia to Northeast China. Nothing in history has been recorded, nothing in ancient times has been communicated, and all of them seek mutual markets. With the speed of the sky, our emperor has made an agreement with all of them to do business with them, and the earth, east, west, north, south, and 90,000 miles away are all gathered in China. This is indeed true. This is a major change in the past three thousand years. China's bows, spears, and earthen cannons are no match for foreigners' rifles and cannons. China's boats and boats are no match for foreigners' turbines and ships. Therefore, they are controlled by foreigners. In today's situation, we can talk and fight against foreigners. , expulsion, etc., solid false theory, that is, to maintain peace and defend the territory, if there is no guns and ships, it is also empty talk. The disciples believe that the way to self-improvement lies in learning from what they can and taking what they have, so they cannot Instead of setting up a machine bureau, set up a shipyard. The disciples thought that the gunships and ships of the foreigners were only created in a few hundred years, and they can use them to invade China. If we can understand the method, we can also build With ships and cannons like foreigners, maybe they can surpass them, and then they will not have to worry about being barbarian and self-reliant. Therefore, my disciples are very supportive of sending young children to study abroad, and I will do my best to help my teacher do it well." Zeng Guofan held his beard and listened to Li Hongzhang's grand remarks attentively, and he admired his argument of "a great change in three thousand years".This is a deafening cry, I hope the queen mother, the emperor, the ministers of the central government, as well as the governors, governors, generals, and admirals of all provinces can hear this cry! "Shaoquan, you summed up today's situation with the phrase 'a great change in three thousand years', which is very concise and pleasant. After you return to Baoding, use this sentence as your purpose, and give the Queen Mother and the Emperor what you just said. Zhezi, let everyone in the world be shocked." "Okay, I'll write when I get back." Li Hongzhang also had this idea a long time ago, and he wanted to sound the alarm for people like King Chun and Wo Ren who passed away not long ago. "Shaoquan, there is one thing I want to remind you, whether it is doing foreign affairs, citing the good methods and systems of foreigners, or sending people to study abroad, there is one basic point that must be kept in mind at all times, that is, we must use our Chinese Famous teaching is the foundation. Your staff member Feng Guifen expressed this in the clearest language ten years ago: "Based on Chinese ethics and famous teaching, supplemented by the art of prosperity and strength of all countries." This sentence, I Appreciate it." "This is also what the disciples mean. Mr. Jing Ting discussed many points in the book "Xiaobinglu Protest" with the disciples. When it was engraved, the disciples also subsidized him two hundred taels of silver." Li Hongzhang laughed. "That's good." Zeng Guofan nodded in satisfaction. "We must learn from the strengths of foreigners, and we must not lose the mantle of our ancestors!" After a short pause, he asked again: "Shaoquan, Zhili is the first center of diplomacy. Over the past year, what kind of attitude do you have in negotiating with foreigners?" Li Hongzhang thought for a while, and said: "Students do not have a fixed attitude when interacting with foreigners. Foreigners are cunning, and students only talk to them like a ruffian." After speaking, he looked at Zeng Guofan.Zeng Guofan stroked his beard with five fingers and remained silent for a long time. Li Hongzhang knew that what he said was inappropriate, so he stopped talking. "Ah, ruffian accent, ruffian accent! I don't know how your ruffian accent is played, please type a few words for me." Zeng Guofan moved his hand up and down on his gray beard several times before finally Say these two sentences slowly. Li Hongzhang hurriedly said: "Students are just talking nonsense. What kind of attitude should we have when dealing with foreigners? I also ask my mentor for advice." Zeng Guofan kept his hand on his beard, stared at Li Hongzhang for a long time, and said: "In my opinion, the word "sincerity" is appropriate, since sincerity can move people. Foreigners are also human beings. Loyalty can be practiced in a savage, this is absolutely unmistakable. We have no real power right now, and he can see clearly that it is useless if you try your best to pretend. It is better to be honest and honest See, if you reason with him, although you can't take advantage of it, you may not be too disadvantaged. In any case, my integrity is always reliable. I am down-to-earth, and the fall is not too heavy. I think it is more reliable than the ruffian. Do you agree?" "Yes, yes." Li Hongzhang nodded endlessly, "Students must follow the teacher's teachings and deal with foreigners in the future." Beside the mottled bamboo grove, in the Yihuang Pavilion, the teacher and the student were having a heart-to-heart chat.The sky in the west gradually turned from bright to crimson. Finally, the setting sun finally broke out of the clouds tenaciously, and at the last moment about to fall into the west mountain, it revealed its fiery red corner.The afterglow illuminated Liangjiang governor's yamen brightly, indicating that tomorrow will be a sunny day.Zeng Guofan waved to the servant outside the window.The man came in, holding a small wooden box about seven inches long and three inches wide, covered with dark red brocade.Zeng Guofan took the small box and opened the lid, revealing two exquisite dark green jade balls.He pointed to the jade ball and said to Li Hongzhang: "These two Khotan jade balls were originally Mu Zhongtang's favorite things, and they have been in his hands for more than 20 years. It was given to me. Since then, it has been in my palm for another seventeen or eighteen years. Now, I don’t need to use it. Although my brother is full of energy, he still needs to take care of it. Tomorrow is a It’s a sunny day, just right to start, I have no rare treasures in my life, these two jade balls from Mu Zhongtang, I will give them to you, as a little souvenir I left for you, I hope my brother will cherish it for the country!” Li Hongzhang raised his hands and took the wooden box solemnly, not knowing what to say for a while.At this time, Zeng Jize came in with a silk-cotton cloak, and said to his father, "I just received a letter from Uncle Jiu from Wuchang, and I have sailed to Jiangning on the second day of the lunar new year. I'm afraid I will arrive in two days." "Oh, it's time for Yuanfu to arrive. Shaoquan, let's go back to the upper room for dinner!"