In the early spring of the seventh year of Xianfeng (1857), Zeng Guofan's father passed away. After hearing the bad news, Zeng Guofan, who was in deep trouble, hurried back home for the funeral without waiting for Emperor Xianfeng's approval.
Zeng Guofan left so impatiently, not because he was anxious to see his late father one last time. His father lived to be over sixty-eight years old. He was a scholar and was awarded the first rank by the court and three rewards from the emperor. There was no other person in Xiangxiang. This was all due to Zeng Guofan. Therefore, Zeng Guofan was worthy of his old father, and he also rested in peace. And in the end, there are no regrets.
If this is the case, then why is Zeng Guofan like this, unable to wait even a minute?
Zuo Zongtang still has a fiery eye. When he learned that Zeng Guofan had left like this, Zuo Zongtang, who always dared to speak and never showed face to others, immediately accused and abused Zeng Guofan, saying that he was selfish and incompetent for running away from battle, and that his claims of loyalty and integrity were all lies. Hypocrite, very hypocritical.
Zuo Zongtang’s almost bottomless attack made Zeng Guofan very painful. He felt that Zuo Zongtang was too much. He had always regarded him as a friend, but he chose this time to attack him. Rub salt into the wound. In order to relieve this pain and anger, Zeng Guofan vowed never to speak to Zuo Zongtang.
Although what Zuo Zongtang said was indeed cruel and hurtful, Zeng Guofan had to admit behind his back that Zuo Dapao hit his mark. The reason why he couldn't wait to leave at this moment was nominally because he was anxious to mourn, but in fact he was taking the opportunity to escape the dilemma he was facing at that time.
To put it bluntly, it was his father's death that saved him.
Without this common excuse, it would be difficult for Zeng Guofan to get rid of the current mess that is restricting him, and if he persists, the situation in the future may be even worse. Now that he is fine, by leaving the mess to Jiangxi while attending the funeral, he can not only take a breather and think about the way out for the future, but more importantly, this move can also embarrass the court invisibly.
And this embarrassment is the weight of future bargaining.
Objectively speaking, Zeng Guofan at this time did not have the level of a saint at all. At that time, he looked like a depressed layman with little responsibility and more calculations.
As for whether it is hypocritical or not, that is a matter of opinion.
In the history of Zeng Guofan, the dilemma he faced at this moment is very famous and typical. Anyone who is enterprising but cannot follow the law may encounter it——
Just say Zeng Guofan Well, since he came out of the mountain in December of the second year of Xianfeng, in the five years, one side has been hard work, and the other side has not been rewarded, but misunderstanding, pain and humiliation. Knocking out teeth and swallowing blood by himself seems to have resulted in nothing but grievance. Why is my passion and loyalty ignored by everyone from the emperor to his colleagues?
Not only will they turn a blind eye, but they will also be met with suspicion, exclusion, accusation, and abuse!
Obviously he is the leader of the Hunan Army, but it is always someone else who gets promoted. Heroes like Hu Linyi can just get promoted, but Tao Enpei and his like who are evil-minded and incompetent can also rise all the way up.
Is this fair?
Zeng Guofan felt that this was unfair, but at the same time, he felt that he was not qualified to talk about fairness. Speaking of merit, I do have some achievements. In the past five years, I have conquered Wuchang, Hanyang and other places. But the terrible thing is that the territories I conquered are always gained and lost again. What is even more depressing is that after gaining and losing, others will It can always be taken back, in short, it will go around a big circle, and the final credit will always belong to others.
Is this just my bad luck? Or not capable enough?
Zeng Guofan, who returned to his hometown in Heyetang, chewed on these all day long, just like when we encounter this kind of dilemma, he couldn't figure it out, couldn't sleep, and kept asking himself, where is the way out? Where is the future?
A philosopher once said that if life is an upward ladder, many people will stop after a few steps. These people will either build nests, linger on the crowded stairs, or simply jump off; There are still a small number of people who will get rid of the crowd and continue to go upwards, but except for geniuses, everyone will be forced to stop after a few steps. At this time, the upward ladder will ask everyone for a pass. The pass is not wisdom or luck, but rebirth. Understanding and courage.
In short, those who have not changed themselves will never have the opportunity to change the world.
As the philosopher said, Zeng Guofan was standing on this staircase that was not crowded and could not go up or down. What is admirable and enviable is that he finally completed the transformation that could see the blue clouds. .
As for how Zeng Guofan accomplished this rebirth, there is a strong flavor of legend.
The most famous saying is that the Taoist master awakened Zeng Guofan at the right time with a copy of the Tao Te Ching.
Putting aside the miraculous Taoist masters, what did Zeng Guofan understand from the "Tao Te Ching" that allowed him to complete this "miraculous" rebirth in one fell swoop?
To put it simply, it is a sentence from the "Tao Te Ching" - "The soft overcomes the strong, and the weak overcomes the strong."
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The words of "Great Enlightenment" have always been read badly by the world. To obtain the essence, one must have heart-wrenching experience and just the right understanding. When Zeng Guofan was completely awakened by these words, he Only then did he realize that his previous way of doing things seemed reasonable, but in fact it was just a way of dealing with people.
Zeng Guofan was actually inspired by his grandfather's "manly style" of dealing with people in a direct and head-on way. The influence of the family motto "It is a shame to be weak but not strong", but after several years of head-on confrontation, I either laid hidden dangers and offended others, or encountered countless artificial obstacles. It was not until I realized the true meaning of "softness overcomes hardness, and the weak overcomes the strong" , he realized that being soft is actually not soft, and that the most rigid thing is actually no hardness.
After the depression in his heart was so completely opened, the instructions of the "Tao Te Ching" finally turned into Zeng Guofan's reborn way of life—— Respect overcomes laziness, righteousness overcomes desire; know the male, and guard the female.
What does this mean? Different moods can be interpreted in different ways, let’s just talk about what we think is comfortable. , It is easy to break when you are strong and hard, and people are easy to fall when you break. Therefore, smart people often have a heart of awe in their conduct and work. They look at people and things with a high look. When they appear to be suffering on the surface, they are actually unyielding. Don't waste your time; moreover, when you do something with a strong desire, it is very easy to be competitive and tit-for-tat. Winning this time does not mean the next time, so it is better to put morality first, so that you can advance and retreat freely between winning and losing, and finally win. A big win will be yours.
Again, know your male and female. To put it simply, you must keep your head down and look up at others.
After understanding this, and then thinking about what his close friend Hu Linyi did in Hubei's officialdom, Zeng Guofan realized that he did not have the integrity of a man, and he clearly knew how to do it. The essence of conquering strength with softness.
What did Hu Linyi do that made Zeng Guofan unable to understand and despise him at first, but later secretly admired him?
What did Hu Linyi do in the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty? At the provincial level, there has always been a tradition of checks and balances between governors. It was rare for the governors to be harmonious, especially when one was a Manchu and the other was a Communist. But in Hubei, this tradition was broken. Governor Hu Linyi and Governor Guan Wen were both involved. Not to mention how harmonious the relationship is, or in other words, the main task is to keep an eye on Hu Linyi's Manchu official documents. Instead of keeping an eye on them, Hu Linyi is in charge of everything.
Of course, the situation at the beginning was. That's not the case, but Hu Linyi took the opportunity to do something, and the disharmonious situation was immediately harmonious.
Guan Wen was a Manchu nobleman who was hated by Hubei official circles. One day, his sixth aunt was too thirty. On his birthday, in order to save face for his sweetheart, Guan Wen sent a circle of invitations to Wuchang official circles in the name of the governor's office, meaning that they all came to support my sixth aunt.
But. On the official day, no one from the Hubei official circles came to congratulate them. Just when Guan Wen and Sixth Aunt were feeling too embarrassed, a miracle happened. The dignified Hubei Governor Hu Linyi condescended to congratulate a concubine on her birthday with a large gift.
Seeing this scene, those people in Hubei officialdom couldn't sit still. Since the governor is giving face like this, they must keep up. Just like that, the scene that had no one cheering turned into a full house, and Guanwen Sixth Aunt was so happy.
At this point, Hu Linyi's drama is not over yet. After wishing the sixth concubine Guan Wen a birthday, he took the initiative to invite this concubine to his house. What did he get for it? Let my mother recognize this concubine as my goddaughter, and I will become this concubine's godbrother.
Mrs. Hu Linyi was speechless in her cooperation. She gave him a big gold bracelet as a gift. After this scene, Mrs. Guan Wen's sixth aunt immediately fainted and regarded Hu Linyi's family as relatives.
When I got back, I told Guan Wen, who favored me, that we were all a family now, and we could no longer embarrass my godbrother Hu Linyi in the future.
As a result, the official document, which was not doing practical things, was very happy to mess up, and Hubei's military and civil affairs were all in the hands of Hu Linyi.
In the past, Zeng Guofan would have never been able to do this kind of thing. If he could, he would still suffer from having his teeth knocked out and blood swallowed.
But after being completely enlightened, Zeng Guofan no longer thought so. He felt that Hu Linyi was the real master, and he wanted to be such a master.
On the third day of June in the eighth year of Xianfeng's reign, just when Zeng Guofan felt that he could fight the troubled times again, Xianfeng's edict arrived.
After receiving Xianfeng's edict, Zeng Guofan no longer had the previous strong pretensions and bargaining. It didn't matter whether he had the actual duties of governor or not. He had the opportunity to do things that had not been done well or failed before. Getting up is more important than anything else.
Because he had lost his womb and had his bones replaced, this time Zeng Guofan almost took the order and set off without any worries at all.
Returning to Changsha, Zeng Guofan was very ruthless when he came up. Without any detours, he directly used Zuo Zongtang to test his level after rebirth.
Didn’t I say before that I would never talk to Zuo Zongtang! Now I not only say it, but also take the initiative to come to the door and say it with sincerity and a very low posture!
This is to overcome the most difficult hurdle in your heart, and you will never have another hurdle again!
However, Zuo Zongtang was not someone who could just show his kindness and he would buy it. If things went wrong, the number one assassin in the late Qing Dynasty might not even let Zeng Guofan in.
In fact, Zeng Guofan almost encountered this kind of embarrassment. Fortunately, his stature was low enough that Zuo Zongtang had nothing to say.
What exactly is the figure? Zeng Guofan didn't have any official records. He came in a sedan in casual clothes. Before he arrived at Zuofan, he got off the sedan early and came to the door alone on foot.
But even so, Zuo Zongtang just reluctantly opened a side door to let Zeng Guofan in.
Zeng Guofan was already calm about this.
After entering Zuo Mansion and meeting Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guofan's attitude was extremely sincere and sincere. When he came up, he expressed several thoughts. First, what you said before were very reasonable and serious, but they were all well-intentioned. Second, I regretted not taking your advice at that time. Otherwise, I would have done it sooner. It's done; thirdly, your handwriting is very good. I have a couplet here and I would like to ask you to write it for me so that I can hang it up when I'm done.
After talking about the first two points, Zuo Zongtang would definitely ask Zhuge Liang. After talking about the third point, Zuo Zongtang would naturally ask, which sentences do you want to write?
At this time, it was Zeng Guofan’s turn to show his ambition——
The first couplet: Respect overcomes laziness, righteousness conquers desire;
The second couplet: Know the hero and guard it. Its female.
When Zuo Zongtang heard this, he realized that it was Lao Tzu who was passively withdrawing from the world. He immediately sneered at Zeng Guofan. A couplet was written, which was certainly not the twelve characters Zeng Guofan had in mind.
The first couplet: Gathering everyone's thoughts, spreading loyalty and benefit;
The second couplet: Leniency and minor faults, general outline.
Faced with Zuo Zongtang, who was taller than the eaves, what was Zeng Guofan's reaction?
It makes sense! Makes sense! In my heart I said, why argue! His hands respectfully accepted Zuo Zongtang's teachings.
Speak up for yourself, respect others, do not argue or argue, let others stand on the opposite heights, and have your own mountain in your heart - from the moment he takes action, Zeng Guofan's way of guarding his female side can be said to be played with perfection.
Sure enough, after Zuo Zongtang’s very useful visit, the central door of Zuo’s mansion opened wide and Zeng Guofan was sent off respectfully.
This is the unspeakable victory under weakness.
Since then, Zeng Guofan has been completely alive in Changsha officialdom!