At the end of the Qing Dynasty, although the imperial court was corrupt, there were still many capable ministers who tried to find a way out for the country, but because the ideological level was stagnant, they did not propose any feasible measures for China, but they did make certain efforts to improve the government, such as the politician and military figure Zeng Guofan at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Zeng Lao was very prestigious in the late Qing Dynasty, although Empress Dowager Cixi was in power, he still had many disciples and scholars, with a high status, and Zeng Lao sat on such a high position and did not love money, it can be said that he was very clean, but he talked about heavy money to support the army in his hands, and this army played a great role in quelling the rebellion.
Zeng Guofan was an important minister in the imperial court at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and any period in the imperial court had to be implemented through his eyes, and it was such a heavy minister who scorned the way of money. Elder Zeng not only did not love money nor seek fame and fortune, he was able to achieve such a position by relying on the respect of the ministers of the DPRK and the appreciation of the emperor.
People who have achieved this position will more or less covet the wealth of the imperial court, like Hezhen is a typical minister who is rich and enemy of the country, but Zeng Guofan will never be like this, he not only does not let himself love money, he also has very high requirements for his subordinates, he will only reuse those who do not seek fame and fortune, there are many literati in ancient times who want to serve the country, and there is no pursuit of money.
These are the people who have been reused by the old. He once clearly stipulated that there are four selection criteria, the most important of which is that you can't care about fame and fortune and money, because people who care too much about fame and wealth will not be able to resist the preferential treatment, and a little bit of small profit will make him forget his bottom line, and even because of a little interest, he will be resentful, which is not a good thing for his colleagues and superiors.
Therefore, Zeng Guofan's subordinates, like him, were people who were not seeking fame and fortune, and were willing to dedicate themselves for the development of the imperial court and the country. Zeng Lao is also a very family-oriented person, he believes that only a harmonious family can cultivate a talented person, so he also attaches great importance to his family relationship, often writes letters to his children, and cares about whether his children grow up healthily.
He also admonished his sons and daughters to always maintain the concept of thriftiness and thriftiness, even if their father is a major minister of the DPRK, they must still be diligent and thrifty, which is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, and must be carried forward.
Such a thrifty man is very willing to use heavy money to build in raising soldiers, and he will use heavy money to stabilize the hearts of the army and reward the army with generous rewards. It is precisely because of this that zeng guofan's Xiang army can be invincible and heroic on the battlefield. Why did Zeng Guofan, who was diligent and thrifty in life, spare no money in building an army?
The combat effectiveness of the officers and men of the Qing Dynasty was very poor, not only had they not undergone complete training, but they did not yet have a spirit of unity, so they were often defeated on the battlefield, and even defeated by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. However, the main reason for the weakness of the Qing army was because the salary was too low, and the Qing government withheld the salaries of officers and soldiers, which also made them have no intention of fighting for the Qing government.
Therefore, Zeng Guofan had to solve this problem when he established the Xiang Army, he wanted to increase the salary level of soldiers, and only by making these soldiers earn enough money to support their families would they really fight for their lives. Another reason is that if military salaries are withheld, there will be a large amount of corruption, and there are many places in the army where corruption can be carried out.
Once many people have a heart of corruption, then the entire army will collapse, which is also one of the reasons why Zeng Guofan used heavy money to build the army at the beginning, so as to curb the phenomenon of corruption from the source. At that time, the soldiers who were soldiers in the Xiang Army could earn about four hundred and two salaries per month, which was three times more than the Qing army.
Such generous treatment is recognized by everyone as rich, so soldiers with such high military salaries will also sincerely fight for Zeng Guofan, so in the campaign to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the old Xiang Army played a very important role. Later, in order to further arm the army, he also equipped the Xiang army with high-level equipment, and after letting them undergo systematic training, this army was bound to be invincible.
Although Zeng Guofan is very strict with himself and strict with his subordinates, he will give very rich feedback to his soldiers, in addition to military salaries, if he makes a battle merit, Zeng Guofan will also give high rewards, which also prompts the Xiang army to be more courageous in killing the enemy on the battlefield.
Zeng Guofan is a very good leader, in addition to he also formulated a lot of systems and tactics that can be used as a reference, if you want to understand through the "Complete Works of Zeng Guofan" book to understand, the book contains a lot of verifiable Zeng Guofan poems and letters, is the academic community after years of research after compiled, very worth reading readers.
"The Complete Works of Zeng Guofan" details the process of using money to build an army, people's beliefs may change, but people's pursuit of interests will not become, like this method is recorded in the book a lot, so the current company can also learn the method in the book.