China's modern history is complicated, so the people or things inside can not be black and white, generally speaking, Li Hongzhang, as a major minister of the Qing Dynasty, is obviously such a figure, he can step by step through the imperial examination, step by step to the position of governor and military minister, in addition to his own excellent ability, but also with Zeng Guofan and other people's help and support can not be separated from the relationship.
In his later years, Li Hongzhang, who experienced great winds and waves, also had a long-term vision that others could not reach, and under his strong advocacy, he also once did an act that surprised others, marrying his 22-year-old daughter to a middle-aged minister, but the two children and grandchildren became world-famous figures.
Li Hongzhang had a total of three sons and a daughter in his lifetime, three of whom took on heavy responsibilities in the imperial court, and their marriage also had obvious political marriage purposes, such as the eldest son Li Jingfang, who married the daughter of Liu Bingzhang, the governor of Sichuan, and Li Guojie, the son of the second son Li Jingshu, and married Zhang Zhidong's granddaughter, but in the marriage of his daughter Li Jujun, Li Hongzhang took the initiative to make a decision, and in 1888 he promised her to his courtier Zhang Peilun, which caused a lot of controversy.
Why don't everyone approve of this marriage? Let's first look at who Zhang Peilun is, born in 1848, he was a jinshi during the Tongzhi period, and he had a family very early, and in 1882 he was promoted to the position of imperial envoy of the left deputy capital.
However, Zhang Peilun vigorously led the battle in the Sino-French War and served as the minister of shipping in Fujian, but because of the defeat in the early war, he was deprived of his official position and assigned to the frontier, and after several years of pardon, he returned to Li Hongzhang's staff to manage the documents. Zhang Peilun, who reached middle age, can be described as a disaster, during this period, his wife also died of illness, leaving only a lonely person.
It can be said that Zhang Peilun is more than 40 years old, has a family, has made a big mistake in the official field, and has a dark future, but Li Hongzhang resolutely and resolutely assigned his daughter to him, and it is no wonder that everyone does not understand. In fact, Li Hongzhang naturally has his reasoning.
The history books record that when Zhang Peilun was a teenager, he reacted quickly and thousands of words of articles were swept away. And during his tenure as imperial historian, he dared to be bold, and just after taking office, he impeached and dismissed several derelict officials of the Ming Zheng Imperial Court, and in terms of external positions, Zhang Peilun was also very tough, and he argued on the unreasonable demands of the great powers, and it was these practices that made Li Hongzhang very appreciative of this rising star, not only took on the interference, but also sent him back to the beijing division of the frontier, and also married his daughter to him, Zhang Peilun was also very grateful to Li Hongzhang.
After this, Zhang Peilun, with the efforts of Li Hongzhang, was reinstated again as an official and promoted to a bachelor of adversaries, and in 1875-1884, he played a total of 127 pieces, of which one-third impeached ministers and direct counselors, but it was precisely because of too many enemies that after the Invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900, Zhang Peilun could only stay at home.
Although there are great differences in age, the conjugal life of Zhang Peilun and Li Jurong is incomparably harmonious, and he once mentioned the days with his wife in the "Jian Yu Diary": "Drinking with homebrew and bowing, the moon's shadow is clear, the flowers are swaying, and the wine is slightly drunk." "Leave a good story.
Zhang Peilun and Li Juling raised three sons and a daughter, of which the daughter of the third son, Zhang Zhiyi, is the father of Zhang Ailing, a famous female writer in modern times, who provided classic and famous works such as "Color Ring" and "Red Rose and White Rose" for future generations.