From the "Biography of Zeng Guofan", we can see the love-hate relationship between Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang

Recently, I was reading "The Biography of Zeng Guofan", although I read it intermittently, but some details in the book made me feel very interesting. For example, the two famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang, had a grudge. Write it down and share it with everyone.

I remember getting to know these two people for the first time in a history textbook. I only know that the two people, in the same era, are only one year apart in age, and have lived for a long time. Together, the two joined forces to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and set up a foreign affairs movement. Together with Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong, he was called the "Four Famous Ministers of Zhongxing in the Late Qing Dynasty", and that was it.

However, this time reading Mr. Zhang Hongjie's "Biography of Zeng Guofan", I deeply understood the life deeds of the two people, but excavated some interesting things from them.

Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang are not only of similar age, but also fellow villagers, both from Hunan. However, the personalities of the two are very different, so the circumstances of the two people's lives are different.

Zeng Guofan, from an ordinary background and mediocre qualifications, can be said to have a very low starting point, and he was only admitted to the exam seven times, but this did not affect his life and decades of officialdom. One of the main reasons is that he advocates the life creed "still clumsy".

Clumsy, stupid. And Zeng Guofan's "stupidity" is not the "stupidity" of stupidity, but the work is solid and stable. Because clumsy people are more humble, the contrarian quotient is higher, the foundation is more solid, and the work is more practical.

Whether it was his determination to be a saint in the early stage of his life, which was incompatible with the officialdom, or the "hardening of the village and fighting a stupid battle" in the later suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, this life creed accompanied him all his life.

But this point was very despised by Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang is a wise man, a person with lofty ambitions and a proud heart. In his early contact with Zeng Guofan, he found that Zeng was a talented person with mediocre wisdom, so he looked down on Zeng.

In particular, especially the Former High School Hanlin, compared to the left who has repeatedly failed to pass the jinshi, it can be described as an official luck and prosperity. Therefore, Zuo always has the feeling of "the theory of the uselessness of the imperial examination", which is probably the so-called "examination complex".

In addition, zuo, who compares himself to "Zhuge Ge", often has the exclamation of "both born Yu and He Shengliang". He believed that Zeng's talent was not enough to pacify the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and zeng blocked his path to great achievement.

Although he was generally intelligent, he knew people well and had a broad mind. Throughout his life, he has repeatedly promoted Baoju Zuo as an official. Without Zeng's support and strong support, Zuo Is afraid that he would have lived a lifetime with the bottom of the yamen, not to mention the later immortal achievements of pacifying Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang.

And how did Zuo give back to Zeng, who had the grace of knowing himself? The Battle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom lasted for more than ten years. After capturing Nanjing, the Zeng Guofan brothers thought that the young lord of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was dead, so they went to the imperial court, and then the brothers were both enfeoffed with great merit!

But in fact, the young lord of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fled! After Zuo Zongtang learned of his whereabouts, he did not greet Zeng Guofan and directly played without saying a word, saying that the Zeng brothers had let go of the "Young Heavenly King", deceived the king, and used half-efforts to deceive the reward of the marquis!

This is a really murderous thing! Prior to this, Zuo Zongtang had many verbal malicious comments about Zeng Guofan. In this regard, Zeng Guofan has never refuted or defended, and zuo Zongtang is the same as always.

However, this time it was the key point of Zeng Guofan! Zeng Guofan also began to defend himself and exposed Zuo Zongtang's past. The two sides reveal each other's bottoms, you come and go, killing each other.

Coincidentally, at that time, the imperial court was worried that the Xiang army was too powerful and was ready to divide and rule. In this way, the confrontation between the two of them was in line with the wishes of the imperial court.

The two have been at odds ever since. Interestingly, since then, Zuo Zongtang has developed a habit of loving to scold Zeng Guofan! Every time I saw a person, I had to talk about his grudge with Zeng, and as long as I talked about it, I scolded Zeng Guofan.

As for Zeng Guofan, he was much calmer, not only ignoring it, but also admonishing his relatives, family and friends to treat Zuo Zongtang with courtesy and not to fight with his will.

A friend wrote to tell him that Zuo Zongtang scolded him morning and night, and he was not annoyed. He wrote back and said, I know this, but I am stupid, and arguing with him is certainly not arguable, it is better not to argue. Besides, I can't hear other people praising me, so I don't have time to listen to this.

Not only that, what has been most admirable is that there is a great plan for the country in the chest, and it is clear on the major issues of right and wrong. Later, Zuo Zongtang's western expedition to raise military salaries was the turn of Zeng Guofan.

Zuo Zongtang was also worried that Zeng Guofan would give him small shoes to wear because of the past. Unexpectedly, Zeng Guofan not only raised enough military salaries for him regardless of previous suspicions, but also transferred his most powerful subordinate Liu Songshan to Zuo Zongtang. It can be said that for Zuo Zongtang's western expedition, Zeng Guofan can be described as a strong support and the most contributed!

Zeng Guofan's retribution with virtue touched Zuo Zongtang. After zeng guofan's death, Zuo Zongtang sent 6 people to send him to the alliance:

Seeking the loyalty of the country, knowing the wisdom of the people, ashamed of themselves is not as good as Yuanfu.

If the same heart is like gold, the attack is like a stone, and the phase period is not negative.

He finally admitted that he was inferior to Zeng Guofan! Zeng Guofan won the respect of his opponents with his character!

Regarding the discord between the two, some people say that this is actually a double reed sung. Both of them were intelligent people, and this practice was precisely to dispel the suspicion of the imperial court, to retreat into the future, and to retain their own strength.

Both of them were feudal officials in the southeast, and if they firmly held the group, how could the imperial court trust them? Since the two wanted to be loyal to the Qing court, they only had the one way to look at each other unfavorably. At the real critical moment, we all work together to help each other and support them.

Because from the fact that after Zeng Guofan's death, Zuo Zongtang repeatedly received help to take care of his family, it can also be seen that the friendship between the two is really great.

Of course, it is not excluded that Zuo Zongtang was indeed impressed by the personality charm of Zeng Guofan, after all, the Si people have passed away, and what grievances are there to say.

In short, the life of Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang can also be said to be love and kill each other. Their friends once commented that the most fundamental difference between Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang was that one was a sage and the other was only haojie. I don't know, zuo Zongtang listened to it, what kind of reaction, haha.

Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guofan