People all over the world say that Zeng Guofan can read fortune-teller, and he can judge people by meeting them. For this reason, he specially wrote a book called Bing Jian, which systematically discussed the method of knowing people and understanding people's hearts. Relying on this special skill, Zeng Guofan almost won all the talents at that time and used them for him. According to the book Bing Jian, later scholars summarized Zeng Guofan's way of knowing people and employing people into eight words: "Wide acceptance, careful use, diligent teaching and strict rope." It is said that Li Hongzhang once brought three people to Zeng Guofan to arrange work.
As Zeng Guofan was walking, the three men had to stand respectfully and wait patiently. After Zeng Guofan's walk, Li Hongzhang leaned forward again and asked him to meet these men. Zeng Guofan gave a hand and said that he didn't have to see them. His heart was already clear. It turned out that Zeng Guofan had carefully observed these three people while walking. He said to Li Hongzhang: "One of these three people stood with his head down from beginning to end and didn't dare to look up at me. This man is loyal and can give him a job.
There is another person who is respectful on the surface, but when I turn my back on him, he looks around casually. He must be a man who is disobedient and useless. The last person has always been very calm, always humble, and has a degree of advancement and retreat. In the future, he will have a fame and can be reused. " Sure enough, the last man became famous, and he was Liu Mingchuan, the first governor of Taiwan Province. This is Zeng Guofan's way of knowing people. However, it is such a discerning Bole who has lost his eye on choosing a husband, leaving his daughters in a dilemma of bumpy marriage and ill-fated.
So, who are Zeng Guofan's son-in-law? What is their character and ability? Zeng Guofan has five daughters, namely the eldest daughter Zeng Jijing, the second daughter Zeng Jiyao, the third daughter Zeng Jichen, the fourth daughter Zeng Jichun and the fifth daughter Ceng Jifen. Zeng Jijing married Yuan Bingzhen, the son of Yuan Fangying, a good friend of Zeng Guofan's Imperial Academy. This Yuan Fangying is not simple. He is a scholar of Daoguang for 25 years. Li Shengduo, a famous bibliophile and scholar in Qing Dynasty, called Yuan's collection of books "unprecedented in 2 years". Zeng Guofan also loves collecting books, and often tastes ancient books with Yuan Fangying. They are like-minded. When Yuan Bingzhen was just seven years old, Zeng Guofan thought that "like father, like son" and eagerly proposed to Yuan Fangying, so the two families decided on young marriage.
unexpectedly, this Yuan Bingzhen, when he grew up, was completely ignorant of his father's erudition. On the contrary, he "disliked old books and elegant notes", only knew how to be bold and good at drinking, and did not obey Yuan Fangying's discipline at all. When Yuan Fangying died, Yuan Bingzhen was even more bohemian, completely reduced to a dude, and sold all his father's precious books in his life to satisfy his decadent life. However, Zeng Guofan thought that Yuan Bingzhen had just gone astray for a while, or stubbornly married Zeng Jijing six years after Yuan Fangying's death.
When Zeng Jijing married Yuan Jia, he was surprised to find that Yuan Bingzhen had not only married a concubine, but also just got married and was philandering outside, going in and out of the fireworks alley. When Zeng Guofan knew the situation, he also tried to save it, such as letting him study, giving him an official position, and arranging him to become a grain platform in Xuzhou. Unexpectedly, the first thing Yuan Bingzhen did after he took office was to bully the governor's son-in-law and recruit prostitutes until he embezzled 6 taels of grain. The unbearable Zeng Guofan decided to break off the relationship with this disappointing son-in-law, but stubbornly sent Zeng Jijing back to Yuan Jia, and finally caused his daughter to die of depression in Yuan Jia at the age of 29.
Compared with the elder sister Zeng Jijing, the second sister Zeng Jiyao is slightly happier. Zeng Jiyao's husband named Chen Yuanji is the son of Zeng Guofan's fellow countryman friend Chen Yuan Yan. Chen Yuan Yan is Zeng Guofan's fellow scholar and Jishi Shu of the Imperial Academy. They are like-minded, and have close contacts. They are "like a family". Chen Yuanji grew up in Zengfu, and made a marriage with Zeng Jiyao at an early age. In 1862, Chen Yuanji and Zeng Jiyao got married, and the couple were still harmonious, but Chen Yuanji was stubborn and hot-tempered, and often said nothing at home.
Even the virtuous and gentle Zeng Jiyao can't stand his moodiness. Crucially, Zeng Jiyao didn't give birth, which made Chen Yuanji more irritable. Since then, Zeng Jiyao has completely lost the joy of life, "making people feel sad" and unhappy, and finally died at the age of 39. The fate of Zeng Jichen, the third son, is very similar to that of the boss. His husband is Luo Zhaosheng, the son of Luo Zenan, a famous Hunan soldier. Luo Zenan was born in poverty, and later joined the ranks. He repeatedly made outstanding achievements in the battle to pacify the Taiping Army, and served as a magistrate, a fellow magistrate, a Taoist priest, etc. Later, he was hit by a shell in the battle of Wuchang and died of injuries.
shortly thereafter, Zeng Guofan married Zeng Jichen to Luo Zhaosheng. Because of his father's outstanding achievements, this Luo Zhaosheng was given a jury by the court at an early age to enjoy the flowers. As a result, shortly after the marriage, Zeng Jichen found that her husband was not only "ignorant" but also "shallow". If something goes wrong, he will break into a furious rage and scold Zeng Jichen. The most unbearable thing is that Zeng Jichen's mother-in-law is "very aggressive", not only conniving at her maid's abuse of her daughter-in-law, but also letting this family brush the toilet for her. Zeng Jichen was educated by three obedience and four virtues since he was a child, so he had to submit to humiliation and try his best to be patient.
Later, Zeng Jichen gave birth to a child, but unfortunately died at three months. Since then, she has no children, and her position in the Luo family has gone from bad to worse. Finally, she had to agree to Luo Zhaosheng's concubinage. Later, Luo Zhaosheng died while taking a concubine out to work, and Zeng Jichen stayed at home until he died. Zeng Jichun, the fourth daughter, married Guo Yiyong, the son of Guo Songtao. Guo Songtao was the first ambassador to China in modern history, and his son Guo Yiyong was also excellent, not only with a soft personality, but also full of talent and literary talent.
Zeng Guofan was very appreciative of him and had great expectations. He once praised his poem "Cragginess and bleak, like the sound of autumn at night, which makes thousands of people feel sad". But what I didn't expect was that Zeng Jichun married Guo only three years ago, and Guo Yiyong died young, but he was only 21 years old when he died. Zeng Jichun was widowed and raised two sons alone until he died at the age of 36. The marriage of the youngest daughter Ceng Jifen was decided by Zeng Guofan's wife, Ouyang Shi, who married her to Nie Jijun, the son of Nie Yifeng, a magistrate. This 19-year-old boy works in Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau. Although he failed in several scientific examinations, he has an extraordinary speech, is honest and honest, is considerate and has a good personality.
The later ending also proved that Ouyang's is the real discerning person. The youngest son-in-law, who was not the right person, not only rose to the post of general manager of Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau, but also entered the local officialdom until he was the governor. The couple lived in harmony with each other, citing Qi Mei as an example, and their children and grandchildren were full, and Ceng Jifen eventually died of old age. It can be seen that although Zeng Guofan is good at knowing people and employing people, he is too persistent in choosing a husband. Rather than choosing a husband, he is choosing his in-laws. In this sense, Zeng Guofan's choice of husband is undoubtedly a loser. (
References: Biography of Zeng Guofan, Draft of Qing History, etc.)