The first is to establish the Xiang army and destroy the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
At that time, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was strongly supported by farmers and quickly swept through most of China. The Qing army was defeated, and the Qing government could do nothing about it. Zeng Guofan was ordered to establish a local, that is, Xiang army. He was serious about military discipline and set a precedent of "parades don't disturb the people". He led the Xiang army to capture Tianjing, which the Qing army could not attack for a long time, and won the final victory. He was made the first-class Yi and became the first scholar in Qing Dynasty. He has served as governor of Liangjiang, governor of Zhili and official residence. To some extent, it delayed the demise of the Qing Dynasty.
Secondly, he created the situation of "tongzhi rejuvenating the country" and launched the westernization movement.
He reformed the bureaucracy, trained and recommended Li Hongzhang and other capable people to enter the political core. He tried to inject some vitality into the stormy Qing Dynasty.
He launched the Westernization Movement, advocated learning advanced science and technology from the West, establishing industries, establishing ordnance schools and factories, sending outstanding students to study abroad, and building the first ship in China, which laid a certain foundation for the rise of the Chinese nation.
Moreover, he is the core figure in the later period of Confucian culture, and his letters from home have a far-reaching impact on later generations.
Throughout his life, he pursued "impatience" first, advocated frugality in everything and was not proud of being an official. He is self-disciplined, seeking officials by virtue and politics by loyalty. He is always strict with himself, restraining his inner desires and suppressing the evil side of human nature. It is precisely because of his strict cultivation that he achieved the perfect combination of "self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world" and realized the ideal realm of Confucian "three immortals". Therefore, in the face of being persuaded to be emperor for four times, he was able to strictly abide by the word "loyalty", and his heart of serving his master remained unchanged, and he did not usurp the throne because of monopolizing state affairs.
He studied hard all his life, stressed practicality and respected Confucianism, and became a master of reviving Confucianism after Confucius and Zhu. His works, such as Zeng Jiaxun and some classic quotations, are still very practical today.
He managed his family well and trained outstanding figures from generation to generation, such as, Zeng,.
After he captured the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he slaughtered the people, which was disputed by many people. He was called "once bald", but in that decadent feudal era, he was able to settle down at home, fight for power and interests abroad, and strictly observe loyalty and self-discipline, and was called "the first perfect man through the ages".