Chapter 57 Ten do not believe in books, believe in luck

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month is the day when Emperor Daoguang came to heaven. In order to thank Emperor Daoguang for his kindness, Zeng Guofan would put a few sticks of incense in front of the god of Emperor Daoguang every year on this day, and then kneel down three times and kowtow nine times.Today, after barely finishing the big ceremony, he felt very tired. As soon as he sat down, the scene of that day twenty-three years ago came to mind. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and Zeng Guofan, the thirty-nine-year-old right servant of the Ministry of Rites, is shaving his beard and shaving his face, preparing to attend Mu Xiang's feast tomorrow night.Every year on the 15th day of the first lunar month, Mu Zhang'a would invite the dignitaries among his disciples to the mansion for a gathering to connect with each other, and the invitees would feel very honored.They all prepared rare treasures early, so that they could honor their master on this day.Zeng Guofan is different.What he gave to his mentor on this day was always a picture.This picture is selected from an ancient prose or a few poems that he is most proud of in a year, and it is written in Chunhua paper that is as thick as money and collected by Ouchi.He closed the door, concentrated his breath, and wrote meticulously for three or four days.After finishing writing, it will be sent to a century-old store in Dashilan, which is dedicated to mounting calligraphy and paintings in the Wangfu——Hai Mazi Frame Shop, and the owner of Hai Mazi, the fifth grandson of Hai Mazi, will mount it himself.After everything was ironed out, Zeng Guofan personally gave it to his mentor on the second day of the Lunar New Year when he paid New Year's greetings to Mu Zhang'a.Every year after receiving this gift, Mu Zhang'a happily praised his handwriting for improving, and his poems and essays were better than last year's.On the 15th day, this painting was hung in a conspicuous place in the living room, so everyone came to observe and praise it.At this time, Mu Zhang'a was sitting on the grand teacher's chair in the hall, rolling two dark green Khotan jade balls in his hands, looking at him with a slight smile.And Zeng Guofan at this moment is also his happiest day of the year.

After the face is shaved and the beard is trimmed, the barber brings a glass mirror.The second-rank official in the mirror is young and elegant, with a vigorous complexion, and he has a bright future.The barber kept complimenting him, Zeng Guofan gave him double wages, suddenly Jing Qi came in, and said hurriedly: "My lord, just now Master Kuang from the Ministry sent someone, please go to the garden quickly, saying that the emperor is going to set up a crown prince." !” Zeng Guofan was taken aback, ordered the car to be prepared, put on his boots and hat, got on the car and went straight to the Old Summer Palace.

Emperor Daoguang is sixty-nine years old and has been ill for more than two years.Half a month ago, there was news of a critical illness in the palace.The preparations for the big change had already been made, but out of his feelings for the emperor, Zeng Guofan still did not want this to happen.After Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, in view of the shortcomings of the princes competing for the throne due to the establishment of the prince first in the Kangxi Dynasty, it was changed to secretly establish the crown prince.Once the emperor has decided on a successor in his heart, he will write his name in two copies, one is hidden on his body, and the other is sealed in the built storage box, which is placed behind the "upright and bright" plaque in the Qianqing Palace.When the emperor was critically ill, the relatives, nobles and ministers jointly opened a copy hidden around him, took out the storage box from behind the "upright and bright" plaque and unsealed it, and checked it with the court officials, and then made it public to the world after it was correct.

The heir to the throne of Emperor Daoguang was decided two years ago.In the spring of that year when he was hunting in Nanyuan, the fourth son of the emperor, Yi Chi, didn't shoot a single arrow. Emperor Daoguang asked him why he didn't shoot.Emperor Daoguang was happy for a while, but he forgot the ancestral system, and said in front of his ministers that he wanted to make Yipin the crown prince, and he looked at Yipin differently from then on.But after all, the official procedures passed down from the ancestors have not been fulfilled, and it may happen in case.Who will succeed the great reunification, this is the first major event in heaven and earth.The future of the country and the destiny of the individual depend on him alone.Zeng Guofan urged the groom to hurry up, for fear that he would be late and miss the last meeting.

The groom whipped his whip vigorously, and the two big green Mongolian horses ran westward like crazy, and the breath exhaled from their nostrils was immediately turned into a cloud of white mist by the severe cold.It's still too late!As soon as the carriage arrived at the gate of the garden, they heard cries as if the mountains were shaking and the ground was shaking.Emperor Daoguang died!When Zeng Guofan heard this, he immediately fainted in the carriage, and it took him a long time to wake up.Emperor Daoguang showed too much grace to him.His honor, his wealth, and the glory of his family all came from the mighty grace of Emperor Daoguang.The young Minister of Rituals wiped away his tears, and immediately threw himself into the preparations for the funeral, which was costly and cumbersome.What he dedicated is not only his hard work and hard work, but more importantly, his and his family's loyalty to the royal family.At the end of the funeral, he held the souvenir clothes he presented, feeling sad from it.

What followed was that Emperor Xianfeng deposed Mu Zhang'a and cleared the Mu Party. He was stunned by the unexpected turn of events, and he had personally experienced the danger behind the glory of the officialdom.Since then, Zeng Guofan has been more conscientious and cautious, and at the same time, he has deepened his longing for Emperor Daoguang.Later, whenever things went wrong, and when there was a disagreement with Emperor Xianfeng and Cixi, this kind of longing became more intense... "Oh, I can't believe that twenty-three years have passed!" Zeng Guofan walked out of the memories of the past and entered the reality. When he saw the crooked and decayed old man in the dressing mirror, he felt chills down his spine and lost all thoughts!That night, he suffered from insomnia again, and only fell asleep hazily at dawn.As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw Emperor Daoguang sitting in the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, reviewing the memorial. When he saw him coming, he greeted him with his hands.He walked over and knelt down.Emperor Daoguang, contrary to his usual unpredictable Tianwei, even had a friendly chat with him.As he was talking, Emperor Daoguang tilted his head, and Zeng Guofan yelled in fright when he encountered the dragon case.When I woke up, I found that my whole body was soaked with sweat.

"Master Daoguang misses me, and his old man wants me to accompany him!" Zeng Guofan thought to himself, his head became dizzy again, accompanied by bursts of pain in his liver.He once again clearly realized that he would not be alive for too long, and he wanted to tell his ninth brother and his son what he often thought about while his mind was still clear. Hearing that the elder brother fell ill after a few days, Zeng Guoquan knew something was wrong, so in order to add some joy to the elder brother, he finally decided to give the golden retriever and tiger skin that Li Chenzhang gave to the elder brother today.

"How can you have such a thing?" When Zeng Guoquan unfolded the tiger skin, Zeng Guofan was very pleasantly surprised.He caressed the long and soft golden-yellow Jiangnan tiger skin with black stripes, and couldn't put it down. He was very satisfied with this generous gift from the ninth brother.It's only a pity that I didn't get it more than ten years ago. At that time, what set off the majesty of the commander of the Hunan Army was just a fake tiger skin. "Xiangyun's brother gave it to you, and he gave it to me." Seeing that his elder brother liked it, Zeng Guoquan was very happy, and he regretted that he didn't give it on the day he entered the mansion.

"Xiangyun's brother? Where is he now? How could he have such a good tiger skin?" After Li Chendian's death, Li Chenzhang visited Zeng Guofan many times, so his memory is deep. "I met him by chance this time on the Digang Wharf, and I was a guest there for a day." Zeng Guoquan's eyes were shining brightly, and he told his elder brother vividly about his day in Tiger Mountain.Finally, he said with a great sense of freshness, "Brother, you probably didn't expect that the Hunan Army would form a gang with its deadly enemy, Changmao, and walk out of a road that neither supported the imperial court nor opposed the people. the third way. It is incredible how things have changed in this world!"

After speaking, he stared intently at his elder brother, eagerly waiting for an answer.Zeng Guofan didn't answer, but kept combing his long gray beard slowly, with his eyes slightly closed.In this way, the two brothers remained relatively silent for a full quarter of an hour.The former commander of the Jizi Battalion did not understand what the former commander of the Hunan Army was thinking during the long silence. "Yuanfu." Zeng Guofan finally spoke, calling his brother affectionately, and looked at him with eyes full of benevolence and friendship. "Master Xuan Zong has already waved to me this morning, and I should have gone back to his old man's side long ago. Tonight, we two brothers have a good chat about what is in our hearts. Maybe this is the last time we say goodbye."

Unexpectedly, the experience of Tiger Mountain caused the elder brother to be silent for such a long time, and the words after the silence were so sad, Zeng Guoquan looked depressed, and said: "Brother, don't say such things, you are just over sixty years old, and your grandparents enjoy the same age." Longevity, your parents are both approaching seventy years old, you have made great contributions to the country and the family, and the gods of your ancestors will bless you for a long life." "I have no virtue or talent, and I dare not compare myself with my father and grandparents. As for saying that I am a hero of the country, this is the opinion of you and some kind-hearted people." Zeng Guofan felt warm all over his body for his brother's heartfelt comfort.He said with a wry smile, "In the eyes of others, I may also be the country's culprit." "Brother, how can you say such a thing?" The commander of Yuan Jiziying has always regarded himself as the hero who saved the court. He and a group of highly rewarded generals around him have never thought about it. It's a big mistake.Because of this, after the capture of Jinling, he felt that the earl's reward was not enough to repay him; when he was appointed as Efu, he had no official documents, and even the failure of the New Hunan Army, he thought it would not damage his reputation.On the contrary, he bought a field and built a house in the lotus leaf pond, all of which were taken for granted. "Yuan Fu, do you think Chang Mao's demise is due to the Hunan Army?" Zeng Guofan stared at his ninth younger brother, although his gaze was not as fierce as before, it still made people dare not look at him closely. "Although the banner soldiers and the Green Battalion also participated in some battles, they did not play a major role. The credit for defeating Changmao should belong to the Hunan Army." The word Ying, the words came to his lips, but he didn't spit them out. "Wrong, Yuanfu." Zeng Guofan shook his head lightly, "It's all due to luck." Zeng Guoquan looked at his elder brother with wide eyes.This Jiu Shuai who was born in Gongsheng was unwilling to follow the advice of his elder brother to study books in depth since he was a child.What he advocates is swordsmanship and force, and he pays attention to immediate benefits. He is never good at abstract and profound philosophical thinking, and he doesn't really believe in the eight-character fate that farmers often say.He believes that the former is lost in pedantry and emptiness, and the latter is lost in cowardice and incompetence. He wants to be a hero and a strong man, and to be the master of fate. "Yuanfu, brother, to tell you the truth, the Hunan Army, which is dominated by your Jizi Battalion, is not an army that has achieved great achievements. Of course, listening to this, as the commander of the Jizi Battalion, you will not feel comfortable , but elder brother is the founder of the Hunan Army, and the commander of the land and water armies of the Hunan Army with a maximum number of 200,000, if it were not the truth, would I say that, elder brother?" Zeng Guofan picked up his teacup and took two sips of tea .Ten years ago, he could talk for two hours without drinking a sip of water, but now his dry tongue and mouth are getting worse. "The Xiang army may not be comparable to the divisions of Shang, Tang and Zhou Wu, but in terms of merit, I don't think it is inferior to the Yue family army and the Qi family army. Okay? I don’t believe it! Zuo Jigao can see through this point. A book of twenty-three histories, I don’t know how many Zuo Laosan’s dreams of fighting water robbers are fabricated!" Zeng Guoquan was not convinced by the elder brother's statement.Last year, scholars in central Hunan recommended Wang Kaiyun to write Hunan Army Chronicles.Wang Kaiyun also threatened that he was none other than himself for the Hunan Army's aspirations. He wanted to follow Dong Hu's pen, not to be overly beautiful, not to pretend to be evil, and to preserve a faithful history for the Hunan Army.Zeng Guoquan was anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly wrote to Wang Kaiyun.Tell him not to discredit the Hunan army. If you don't listen to the warning and gossip about the Hunan army, especially the Jiziying, even if the board is carved and printed into a book, the board will be destroyed and the book will be burned.At the same time, Zeng Guoquan asked his former aide, Wang Ding'an, a native of Donghu, Hubei, who is now at home, to write a history of the Hunan Army, and advanced him three hundred taels of silver as a finishing touch.Zeng Guoquan didn't mention these things to his eldest brother, and now it seems that it is even more inappropriate to mention them. Ninth Brother's dissatisfaction was what Zeng Guofan expected.Instead of arguing with his younger brother, he just smiled and continued following his own train of thought: "The main reason for Changmao's failure, and even their demise, is themselves. Corruption, coupled with the severe disasters and the people's livelihood, Hong Yang took the opportunity to confuse people with the slogan of farming together and eating together, and gathered people to rebel. Sitting on the throne, stealing Jiangning, and blatantly setting up another puppet dynasty. After occupying Jiangning, Hong Yang's nature was exposed, and his actions were very different from those at the beginning of the rebellion, so he lost people's hearts. In the six years of Xianfeng's internal strife, it proved that they were a group of cruel and vicious robbers fighting for power and profit. At that time, people of insight had seen their defeat.Later, relying on the dying support of tyrants such as Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, it lasted another seven or eight years.The Hunan Army took advantage of these loopholes to get away with it.If it was not you and my brothers who planned to build the Hunan Army at that time, but the Huai Army built by the Shaoquan brothers, or even the Sichuan Army built by Bao Chao, the Guizhou Army built by Zhu Hongzhang, and the Fujian Army built by Shen Baozhen, it is possible to take the merits of the Hunan Army and replace them.To put it another way, if our opponent Hong Yang has middle-class capital and is not eager to establish the capital in Jiangning and become king, but leads the rebels to attack the capital directly, then our Hunan army will not be allowed to exist one day.Yuanfu, think about it, aren't your first-class uncles and mine first-class marquises picked up by good luck? " The elder brother's words are reasonable, but to say that the nobles of Hou Bo are all picked up is to belittle oneself too much.Zeng Tietong, who has been besieging Anqing for more than a year and Jinling for more than two years, cannot accept this point of view anyway.If the words did not come from the mouth of the eldest brother, but from someone else, he would even be so angry that he would kill this person with a knife.He stared intently at his elder brother, only to see that his face was pale, and his whole body was almost lifeless. He thought: elder brother often said that he was weak in courage, is it true that he has lost all energy and masculinity now?Otherwise, why suppress yourself so much?Zeng Guoquan heard from his family that in the six months before his death, his father was so timid that he was not as good as a child, and he was very humble in front of ordinary farmers.People say that the old man's yang energy is running out and he won't live long. Thinking of this, Zeng Guoquan felt pity for his eldest brother.Instead of being angry, he smiled and said, "Brother said too much, there is still a fifth-class title to be picked? So many people think, why can't others get it? Could it be that luck is all ours, and others have no luck? " "Believe it or not, I don't force it. Anyway, I believe it." Zeng Guofan picked up his teacup again and drank two sips of water, and stroked his long beard with his right hand. "Let me tell you a few things. See if it's luck. At the beginning of Xianfeng's four-year military campaign, I was defeated in Jinggang. Ten victories not only offset my failures, but also won the complete turnaround of the Hunan Army. This is an example. The second example, when Xianfeng was in Jiangxi for five years, Shi Dakai introduced all my sampans to Poyang Lake, and then besieged with all his strength My naval officer forced me to commit suicide by jumping into the Yangtze River. Although I was rescued, the whole army was routed and was just about to be captured. But Bao Chunting suddenly returned with an army of grain hunters, disrupted Changmao's position, and killed me. In the third example, Xianfeng was defeated from Zhangshu Town and returned to Nanchang in the sixth year, and Shi Dakai surrounded Nanchang City. I never dreamed that the long hair would be completely removed overnight.The fourth example, Xianfeng was in Qimen for ten years, and Li Xiucheng led an army of tens of thousands to kill me right under my nose.There were less than 3,000 people in Qimen, and almost all the staff members fled, even Li Shaoquan was frightened away.I have written my will, and I am lying on my sword, ready to kill myself at any time.In the end, Bao Chunting rushed into Qimen Mountain to save him again.The strange thing is that Li Xiucheng stopped attacking and led his troops west.If he didn't leave and continued to fight, Ting Jun might not be able to stop him.Yuan Fu, look, I am able to get to where I am today, is it because of my ability?Or is it just luck?Zhou Yunong and Pan Boyin were polite, and praised me as a great economic learner, and also said that the Empress Dowager Cixi once told the ministers around her that Zeng was able to calm down when he was in extreme chaos, all because of his Neo Confucianism.I wrote to Yunong and Boyin, saying that I don't believe in books, I believe in luck, and I want to tell the world. " Hehe laughed twice after speaking.Zeng Guoquan laughed when he heard it interestingly. "Yuanfu, that's why I told you earlier that although you are capable, you can't take full credit for it. You have to give half to the sky. This 'sky' refers to luck. If you look at it this way, you can avoid a lot of troubles , less sulking, this is not only the way of life, but also the way of keeping in good health." At this point, Zeng Guoquan nodded for the first time. "Now let's talk about the union of Li Chenzhang and Qu Rongguang. Yuanfu, what do you think?" Zeng Guofan asked the ninth brother. "I don't think it's a big deal." Zeng Guoquan thought for a while and said, "This is also a way of making a living. As for Qu Rongguang, he used to be a long-haired man in the past, but he isn't anymore, and there is no need to settle the old score." "Yuan Fu, you take this matter too simply and superficially." Zeng Guofan frowned, looking at himself, the ninth younger brother of Jue Gao Zhilong, deeply worried about his shallow knowledge. "The victor's Hunan Army and the loser's long-haired sworn brothers and plan things together. In the eyes of the loser, how much weight does the winner have? In the eyes of the winner, how much sin is the loser? Tiger Mountain Doesn't the combination of these two troops mean that the Hunan Army and Changmao have been drawn into a straight line?" The former commander-in-chief of the Jizi Battalion had never done such deep thinking at all. For a while, he couldn't tell whether his eldest brother's association was a brilliant insight or nonsense. He was dumbfounded and speechless. "This is one of them. The key point is not here. The key point is that this has actually wiped out the boundaries between right and wrong. Our Hunan army is the king's teacher who protects the father and defends Confucius and Mencius. It is doing an upright cause of saving the country and the people, and the long-term What Mao did was perverse and perverse. There is a clear distinction between right and wrong, good and evil. We and Changmao are irreconcilable and irreconcilable, how can we be called brothers and equals? Hey, this group of fools!" Zeng Guoquan blushed when he heard this, "Li Chenzhang, these guys, dare to openly despise the Queen Mother and the Emperor, and they have a heart of disobedience. Whenever there is trouble, they will repeat the long-haired thing. Xiangyong died in battle. Not counting, there are at least 200,000 people alive, and as long as 10% of them are people like Li Chenzhang, they may cause chaos in the world. And there are more than 20,000 Xiangyong stranded in Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hubei without returning to their original places. And most of them are recruited by the Gelao Club. They are gangs and factions. They are courageous and have guns in their hands. These people are actually explosives buried on both sides of the Yangtze River! Yuanfu, do you see this?" "Is it so serious? Brother, you are overthinking." Zeng Guoquan disagreed with his elder brother's harsh criticism of Li Chenzhang and his group. "In the end, they are just a group of soldiers. They are used to easy food, and they don't want to be farmers who are exposed to wind and rain. Besides, Fang Ping, you and my brothers, Xueqin and Jigao , Shaoquan are still there, who would dare to risk the disgrace of the world and repeat the mistakes of Changmao?" "You make sense." Zeng Guofan nodded lightly, "Our brothers are here, Xueqin, Ji Gao, Shaoquan and others are here, and those with different ambitions must be on guard. There will be chaos. Although Ji Gao is very energetic, he is already over sixty years old, Xueqin is in his fifties, you and Shaoquan are also on the verge of fifties, and many people in Xiangyong scattered across the river are only like Li Chenzhang It is hard to guarantee ten or twenty years, and they will not be defiant when their old age withers. Of course, if the imperial court is strong, they can control all directions, but now it is just that the female lead is in court, and the emperor is weak." This is the backyard of Jiang Du's yamen, which is heavily guarded, and it is late at night, and there is no one there. Out of the habit of being overly cautious for many years, Zeng Guofan still kept his voice very low when talking about the queen mother and the emperor: "King Gong It is suspected that the center has no capable talents, and among the governors of the eighteen provinces, more than half have made their fortunes with military exploits, and they still hold their own army in their hands. For more than two hundred years since the foundation of my dynasty, the outside is more important than the inside. The situation is no worse than it is today, and the foreigners are stalking and bullying. Yuanfu, you finished reading the Twenty-Three Histories before you were thirty. Think about it carefully, what is the difference between the situation in the world today and the last days of the past? My two Over the years, I often think that the next time there is chaos, the remnants of the Hunan Army must be the backbone. Even if I am old and do not go to the battlefield, they will be behind the scenes. So I said, our brothers are the heroes of the country after all, I am still the chief culprit of the imperial court, and it cannot be determined now, even after I die, the coffin will not be finalized." After finishing speaking, Zeng Guofan sighed heavily and said sadly, "Yuan Fu, you may rarely follow this law. Think about it!" "Brother, even if the world is in chaos as you predicted, and some people in the Hunan Army participated in activities against the imperial court, it is not our responsibility. Why do you want to trouble yourself like this?" can not understand. "Yuanfu." Seeing that the ninth younger brother hadn't turned the corner, Zeng Guofan said solemnly, "I don't know, no matter how great the ancestors are in the world, there are unworthy descendants, and no matter how strict and disciplined the group is, there are outlaws. It is unavoidable that there are rebels from the imperial court and the scum of society in the army, and you and my brothers, as well as the dead Hu, Ta, Luo, Li and others, their loyalty to the emperor can be seen, and ghosts and gods can be seen. But in the Hunan army As long as one person rebels, the Hunan army will be covered with a speck of dust. If thousands of people take the road of confrontation with the imperial court in the future, how much black mud will be smeared on the Hunan army? After Jiang Ning took down, he didn't hand over a tael of silver, and set fire to the false Heavenly King's Palace. Although the public accusations on this matter have subsided in the past few years, how can people's disbelief be eliminated!Whether it is the Eight Banners soldiers or the Green Battalion, our dynasty has always been a secular system, and there has never been a precedent for the abolition of more than 100,000 troops in half a year.And when withdrawing bravely, owed a huge amount of salary, accumulated endless disadvantages, all of which were not resolved, and a lot of hidden dangers were hidden.These are things that we could not have imagined at the beginning of our recruitment.If there is no greater disturbance in the future, the court and future generations may not be harsh; if the scum in the Hunan Army raises the banner of rebellion one day, these old and new accounts will be settled together, and the history will say that someone once built The Xiang army did a big bad thing. Even if you, Zeng Yuanfu, attacked Jinling, later generations will say that you did not come for the imperial court, but for the sea of ​​gold, silver and mountains of wealth in the little paradise! " "Let them talk, I don't care." Zeng Guoquan muttered. "It's not something I don't care about." Zeng Guofan said gloomily, "It's a sad thing. What's even more sad is that I have clearly seen its future outcome, but I can't reverse it. The predecessors said there was nothing to do. The flowers fall, knowing that the flowers will fall, but it is impossible to keep the spring, the real greatest tragedy in the world is this!" For a moment Zeng Guofan felt a dull pain in his body and his mind was confused, so he had to stop talking.Zeng Guoquan's face was gloomy, and he bowed his head in silence.The Superintendent's study was deadly silent. After a while, Zeng Guofan felt a little calmer, and insisted on saying: "I am not long to live. This time I invite you to come to Jiangning. First of all, I want to remind you not to always pretend to be a great hero of the country. Secondly, the morals of the world The situation is unstable, your best choice is to protect your current situation, live in Heyetang, be your rich man Zhuang Dong, and don't come out to be an official again. Brother, I wanted to retreat bravely when I captured Jinling, but At that time, you were asked to go back first, and the two brothers could not fill vacancies at the same time, so they stayed. Later, I lost the Nian Zhan and my reputation was greatly damaged. Zhuangzi said that long life brings many humiliations. If I died when Jinling was captured, I would not be ashamed to be called a traitor and traitor later. You are also similar. I have been working as an Efu for several years, but I have not succeeded in fighting. He was also at odds with Guan Xiufeng, there were gossips from top to bottom, left and right, and the situation was not going well. Sometimes I think that our brothers descended from the sky just to deal with Changmao. Once Changmao is leveled, our duties have been fulfilled, and we will all be dismissed and returned to the field. Lao Tzu said "Don't rely on what you do, don't live when you succeed", and say, "The way to retreat from the sky after success" is really profound and wise. It's a pity that I didn't see this level back then, and I insulted myself. Therefore, my brother and I After death, I don't want you to come back to serve as an official, but I only hope that you and Chenghou will guard the grave of your parents and keep the Zeng family safe and sound, so I'm lucky." Zeng Guoquan thought that although the elder brother's words were pessimistic and sad, they were indeed the truth. Since the completion of their work, the two brothers have had an unhappy life.In the past, being a commander-in-chief, charging into battle, attacking cities and conquering territory, was extremely enjoyable, but as a frontier official, he was hindered everywhere, everything went wrong, and even the housekeeping skills of commanding and fighting were not effective.Is it true as the big brother revealed: the Zeng brothers were born for flat and long hair? "Hmm, eh." Zeng Guoquan hummed softly, nodded his head a few times, expressing that he remembered his brother's words. "Yuanfu, I have a poem here, please take a look." Zeng Guofan pulled out the drawer, took out a piece of paper with plum blossom watermark from a large envelope, and handed it to the ninth brother. Zeng Guoquan took it and saw that there was a poem called Qilu on the watermark.He read softly: "Just replace the tea pot with the cloud cup, the bamboo cup is dust-free and the water threshold is clear. The gold and purple are all foreign objects, and the article is worthless through the ages. Because every Shujing holds a good banquet, I take advantage of the new year to celebrate peace. Take a quick look at the railings and think about the past, a dream is not clear." "Look, who does this poem look like?" Zeng Guoquan held the paper and pondered for a long while, then slowly said: "'Jinzimanshu' seems to be a high-ranking official, and 'articles are eternal', he is also a person who is good at poetry. It's just that the last two sentences are hard to understand.' A dream of love', what does this mean? Could it be that the poet regrets what he has done in the past?" "Your analysis is very reasonable. This is written by a person in a high position who is depressed." Zeng Guofan stared at the watermark paper, and stroked his beard with his right hand weakly. "Who is he, I can't figure it out." Zeng Guoquan looked at his elder brother suspiciously. "Prince Gong." Zeng Guofan said flatly. "Prince Gong?" Zeng Guoquan repeated in surprise. "This was sent to me by Yunong yesterday. The key to this poem lies in the last two lines: 'Slapping the railings and thinking about the past, a dream is not clear.' What is the dream in Prince Gong's heart?" Zeng Guofan asked Jiu Brother, the ninth brother shook his head. "I think it most likely refers to the incident eleven years ago." Zeng Guofan answered himself. "Brother, you mean that Prince Gong helped the Queen Mother get rid of Sushun?" Zeng Guoquan stared at his brother, feeling a little nervous. Zeng Guofan nodded. "So, is there a deep gap between Prince Gong and the Queen Mother?" Zeng Guoquan said. Zeng Guofan still didn't say anything, just nodded his head slightly again. "Why is there such a deep gap between Prince Gong and the Queen Mother? It seems that the prejudice between each other has not been eliminated." Zeng Guoquan muttered to himself. "Yuanfu, things here are too complicated." After a long time of deliberation, Zeng Guofan finally said solemnly to his younger brother, "Prince Gong's bureau is open and he uses Han people. This is the strength of Prince Gong; Too smart and transparent, and he can't get a foothold. This is the shortcoming of King Gong. At the beginning of Jinling, there were conflicts within the royal family. It can be seen that the queen mother in the west can't tolerate a talented uncle. And the uncle is not very disciplined, and finally he was arrested by his sister-in-law. After one round, my uncle lost to my sister-in-law. In the eighth year of Tongzhi, the empress dowager sent An Dehai, the eunuch next to her, to set up Longyi Jinxiu, which was captured by Shandong governor Ding Baozhen. When the report arrived in Beijing, it happened that the empress dowager was visiting drama. After discussing with the Queen Mother, King Gong killed An Dehai.In Prince Gong's view, it is very clever to avenge one's death by defending the ancestral system.He didn't expect his uncle and sister-in-law's resentment to go one step deeper.Recently, regarding the construction of the Old Summer Palace, Prince Gong disagreed with the Queen Mother.What is worrying is that there is also an alcohol king in the middle.Chun Wang is narrow-minded and has little knowledge.After the Tianjin case happened the year before last, he even uttered foolish words about destroying all foreign embassies in Beijing and driving away all foreigners, which shows his talent.However, he loves to show off and is dissatisfied with his brother's Chonglong status.He is also the brother-in-law of the Queen Mother.I already had a premonition that Prince Gong would be completely defeated one day, and the one who would succeed him must be that Seventh Lord.And this point, Prince Kung himself seemed to be aware of it, so he sighed "a erotic dream is not clear"!The strife within the royal family has always been the source of national disaster.There may not be such things as mother stealing and cubs whoring that people like Li Chenzhang mentioned, and even if there is, it is far from comparable to this.This is why I told you just now, don't think about being an official again, and keep your ancestral grave with peace of mind.do you understand? " What he said made Wei Yibo stunned and terrified. It took him a long time to recover, but his heart was still shivering. "Brother, there is another old saying that I want to tell you, and that is to spread money and seek blessings." Zeng Guofan saw the shock in his heart from his younger brother's eyes, and knew that his words could be accepted by him, so he changed to a peaceful one. He said in a tone, "Brother, I know that you have been greatly wronged. You have been notorious as a glutton, but in fact, you have not taken much of the extra money. This is also a big reason why you have been depressed over the years." "Only you, elder brother, truly understand me." Hearing what elder brother said, Zeng Guoquan felt very relieved, and then said angrily, "I don't know which guy who has lost his sons and grandchildren took this name and poisoned the whole country." "The "Spring and Autumn" blames the sages, this is human nature." Zeng Guofan laughed, "You don't have to ask who took the name. Since it can spread poison all over the country, it means that there are not only one or two people who criticize you. Besides, you are too. Getting benefits. Jealousy and jealousy are common human problems, and they cannot be eliminated after ten thousand years. The only way is to disperse some of them. This is a common method used by the ancients to distribute wealth. I often say to Brother Ji Ze that it is called Where it is, it should be shared with others, and where the benefits are, it should be shared with others, which is what I mean.” "I donated 12,000 taels of silver to build the Xiangxiang Guild Hall in Changsha." "Okay, this is a good thing to accumulate great merit. Mr. Xinggang often said that he knew how to go down to the pond, and he also knew how to go ashore. The purpose of distributing money is to go ashore." Zeng Guofan was very satisfied with his younger brother's move. "In the future, the public welfare in Xiangxiang County, such as building roads, erecting bridges and building gazebos, distributing cold clothes in winter, distributing porridge and soup when the green leaves are out of season, etc., our Zeng family will be ahead of others in these matters. My brother will contribute a share, and I will also Make a copy, and ask Chenghou to also make a copy. It doesn't cost much money, but it can win the praise of the villagers. I also want to invite the Li family and the Xiao family to jointly rebuild a joint venture. This matter is more meaningful and has a greater impact. How about you take the lead in this matter?" "Okay!" Zeng Guoquan readily agreed.He is the complete opposite of his elder brother.The elder brother is cautious in entering and exiting carefully, don't want any extras, and don't give others a penny randomly.He grabbed a lot of money by any means, and at the same time threw it out without any regrets. This is why the Jizi Battalion he commanded was able to win the battle. "I want to build a bookstore in Changsha, just like my elder brother built Jinling Bookstore in Jiangning. After the bookstore is built, I will engrave elder brother's poems, memorials, letters, etc., especially the family letters that elder brother wrote to our brothers when he was in the capital. It has taught us a lot, and now it can be used to educate our nephews, and if it is engraved, it will definitely be of great contribution to the world." Hearing this, Zeng Guofan was very relieved and said very happily: "You have the idea of ​​running a bookstore in Changsha, which makes me very happy. Many ready-made equipment of Jinling Bookstore can be transported to Changsha. Xiaocen is also old. The feeling of homesickness is increasing day by day, so I just asked him to go back to do this matter. It can be said that my younger brother has done this matter, which can be said to be a great favor to Shilin. But the first moment I said my words, this must not be done. My words are only It can be left for future generations to watch, and it cannot be printed and given away." "Why?" Zeng Guoquan was puzzled. How many officials who were mediocre and without any achievements were much lower than the eldest brother. In their later years, the only major thing was to go around and carve collections for themselves; Many scholars ask for help to raise funds, and even don't hesitate to beg for money from all directions like a beggar, engraving a collection of poems by the owner of a certain library, an anthology of a certain studio, etc. for themselves.What is the big brother thinking? "I was very conceited about my poems and essays in my early years. I was not convinced when I saw Mei Boyan being praised in the literary circle of the capital, and I often hated that there were no Han Tuizhi and Wang Anshi in this world to talk about. Maybe I could write a few decent books, but it was a pity that I didn’t allow it later. I have a lot of different views on classics and history, and on poetry and prose, and I really want to write them down and express my thoughts. I am too busy with military affairs and government affairs to have time for this. I often feel sorry for it, thinking that it will be the end of Guangling. Zhao Huifu laughed at me for having the habit of treating emperors like Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty for being subordinates, alas! Zeng Guofan sighed and said emotionally, "Zhao Huifu doesn't understand me."I was born in the Imperial Academy, and I spent a long time burying my head in the collection of historical anthology, reciting poems, composing Fu, and writing books, which is the career of an emperor in my heart;Huifu and I still treat me like this every day when we are together, I don't know how future generations will misunderstand me! " "Such a misunderstanding is a good thing." Zeng Guoquan said with a smile. "Anyway, I am an Hanlin who never published a book until I died, and I have been disturbed by it all my life. I don't blame Wang Renqiu for saying that I'm too early to die, and the dragon and snake regret the auditorium book", he is telling the truth. My poems and essays are all written hastily without careful study, so I can fool people for a while and engrave them for future generations to scrutinize word by word, so wouldn’t that mean I’m being pushed out as a target to be shot at?” Zeng Guofan mocked himself He smiled, drank two sips of water, and continued, "After Hu Runzhi's death, his family engraved a collection of Hu Wenzhong's bequests. The selection was improper. I think if Runzhi Jiuquan knew about it, he would definitely scold others. He wrote Some letters to Guan Xiufeng said a lot of good things about the officials, but they were Runzhi's tricks to win over, not what was in his heart. Now Guan Xiufeng is taking it out as his achievements in governing Hubei." "That old bastard is the best at doing this." Guan Wen is Zeng Guoquan's deadly enemy, and he gets angry when he is mentioned. "This is to put a high hat on people. Although it is not true, it is not enough to cause resentment. I don't have Hu Runzhi's self-cultivation. There are many extreme words about people and things in my letters. If I don't pay attention to hurt people, even if I am gone, his children They will also come to cause trouble. Take the five years of Tongzhi, when our brothers discussed Li Shaoquan's character in private, if it is engraved, it will be no wonder that he hates death!" "Some can be deleted." "Those who have noticed can be deleted. What about those who have not noticed? There is nothing to worry about in this world, just in case, it is better not to engrave it. It doesn't matter if I die. The ones who are affected are you, the fourth child, and Jize. brother." After a while, Zeng Guofan said again: "Just now when I talked about the engraving of books, I remembered something. There are still some copies of Li Ciqing in Heyetang. Ciqing was the earliest from me, and I made great contributions when I was in Jiangxi. It is very big, and others are rewarded by high officials. I feel very sorry for him. He is the only one who is still a teacher in Changsha. If you engrave any posthumous collections in the future, you will engrave the manuscripts of Shen Ciqing. This not only aggravates my crimes, but also makes my soul uneasy, so you must not engrave and print them.” "Speaking of Li Ciqing, I remember Fourth Brother once said that he wanted to cancel that marriage." "No!" Zeng Guofan interrupted his ninth brother and said displeasedly, "There is no reason to go back on a marriage that has been settled for more than ten years. How old is Chenghou's full daughter?" "Eighteen years old this year." "Go back and tell Marquis Cheng that you can't withdraw. You will be married on Duanyang Festival. I used to give a dowry of two hundred taels of silver for my daughter, and one hundred taels for my niece. For his man's daughter, I gave two hundred taels, and Ji Fen's couple Treat it like a sister." "Okay, I'll tell him when I get back. I came up with a name for the bookstore, Xiansheng Bookstore. Brother, do you think it's worth it?" "Good voice, good voice." Zeng Guofan read twice softly. "I don't think it's suitable. Although I don't agree to engrave my book, I know I will engrave it after I die. A hundred years after you, Jize and Ji Rui will also engrave a collection for you. That doesn't mean bragging. Do you have the voice of a sage? I don’t think it’s the voice of a sage, but the heart of loyalty. What do you think?” "Yes, brother thinks far!" Zeng Guoquan suddenly realized, "It's called Chuanzhong Bookstore." "Yes, that's a good name." Zeng Guofan praised. "Yuanfu, how is the matter I told you to watch the land?" Last year, Zeng Guofan wrote to ask his fourth and ninth brothers to look for a cemetery in Heyetang on his behalf. When they came this time, the two brothers discussed it. When they arrived in Jiangning, seeing that their elder brother was seriously ill, Zeng Guoquan was reluctant to speak up, for fear of causing his elder brother to feel sad. "My fourth brother and I invited more than ten good land immortals, and searched around the lotus leaf pond for two months, but couldn't find any good land. In the end, the two brothers decided to take out the coffin of my parents and adults. Adjust it again, and you will be able to free up a hole." That year, Chen Guangfu called it the depression at the beak mouth of the Dapeng. Not long after Zeng Guofan came out of the mountain, the coffin of Mrs. Jiang was buried on it.At that time, I also intentionally left an acupuncture point for the old man to use.Later, the old man was also buried, and the depression could no longer be buried.In order to satisfy the eldest brother, Zeng Guohuang proposed this idea. "This is absolutely impossible." Zeng Guofan shook his head repeatedly. "If the souls of my parents and adults are not at peace, how can I feel at ease! Since there is no land in the lotus leaf pond, I don't have to transport the coffin back to Xiangxiang after my death. When I held a group training in Changsha that year, I saw it in Shanhua Pingtang. I bought a piece of land. A small hill is located between two mountain ranges. From a distance, it looks like two dragons playing with a pearl. Let me be buried on this pearl? Although this is not a good place, it can be regarded as a middle-level place, which can make future generations The sons and grandchildren are pure and auspicious. The way of heaven is forbidden to prosper. I have always liked the phrase 'the flowers are not fully bloomed and the moon is not yet full'. My family is in our brother's generation. I should be satisfied. Don't expect to be a general in three or four generations. It is enough for the children and grandchildren to read and write, and to be safe and sound." "Brother, don't worry, this matter can be done. After I return to Hunan, I will go to Pingtang to take a look, ask who owns the mountain bag, and buy it in its entirety. I might as well add another ancestral mountain outside Changsha city." gone." Zeng Guofan was satisfied.Closing his eyes and resting his mind, he suddenly thought of his sixth younger brother, Guo Hualai, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. "I haven't seen Wen Fu for five or six years. This time you go home and drop by to see him, and tell him about Ji Shou's great progress in his studies in the past few years, which will make him happy." Zeng Guoquan didn't make a sound.Zeng Guofan felt strange: "Did you hear what I just said?" Zeng Guoquan remained silent, and after a long time, he said slowly, "Sixth brother returned home two years ago." "You mean Wen Fu, he passed away a long time ago?" Zeng Guofan was inexplicably surprised, his heart beating wildly, "How did you know, why did you keep it from me?" "Mr. Guangfu went to Baoqing to visit friends in the autumn of the previous year, and he made a detour to Heyetang and told us about the unfortunate incident. He said that when Wen Fu was collecting herbs in Guling, he accidentally fell off a cliff and died. At that time, my eldest brother was working on a teaching case in Tianjin and was depressed. I discussed it with my fourth brother and kept it a secret for the time being. This time I saw that my eldest brother was not in good health, so I didn’t dare to mention it.” "Are you going to hide it to the end?" Zeng Guofan asked, his eyes were already moist. "En." Zeng Guoquan replied softly, the voice only he could hear. "I'm sorry Wen Fu." After a long silence, Zeng Guofan uttered a sentence from the bottom of his heart. "When I return to Hunan this time, I will go ashore in Jiujiang and take the remains of the sixth brother back to bury him in the ancestral tomb. We cannot leave him alone." Zeng Guofan's heart was already heavy enough, and the sad words of the ninth brother added to the weight of guilt, but he thought that once Wen Fu's remains were transported home, there would be a lot of trouble, and maybe it would be concealed. Things that have been going on for more than ten years will be completely exposed because of this.cannot!He was ruthless and said, "Go to Mount Lu and plant soil on his grave, and just kowtow three times. Under the enlightenment of Mr. Guangfu, Wen Fu has seen through the life and death of human relationships, and there will be no lonely souls." There is no need to return to the ancestral tomb for mourning abroad." Zeng Guofan looked at his ninth brother blankly, with a few drops of muddy tears slowly flowing from his eyes.After a long time, he said softly to Guoquan: "Ninth brother, tomorrow you arrange a small steamer and ask Shuyun to go to Mount Lushan to take Mr. Guangfu to Jiangning. I want to see him."