Weng Tonghe
Weng Tonghe (1830-1904), whose courtesy name was Shuping, Pingsheng, had a famous trumpet, and later his nickname was Songchan and Ping'an Jushi. A native of Changshu, Jiangsu. The son of the great scholar Weng Xincun. In the sixth year of Xianfeng's reign (1856), he was a Jinshi. He successively served as Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, Yushi Zuodu of the Duchayuan, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Hubu, Minister of Military Aircraft and Prime Minister of the Yamen. Weng Tonghe was Guangxu's master, and he "had to give advice when things happened." Guangxu "had to ask Tonghe about everything, and he relied heavily on him."
In the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, Weng Tonghe took the lead in the battle. On July 14, Li Hongzhang sent a telegram requesting to withdraw troops from Korea, but the Qing government refused. Weng Tonghe advocated adding more troops and "mobilizing troops from the three eastern provinces and Lushun to go to Korea quickly."
On August 1, China and Japan declared war at the same time. On the 17th, after Weng Tonghe read Li Hongzhang's "electric message saying that the Russians intend to raise troops to drive out the Japanese" at the military aircraft office, he "strongly stated that Russia cannot reject it, nor can it join forces. The main thing is that our troops can defeat the Japanese, and we should not wait for foreign aid and neglect it." On September 16th, Pyongyang fell. The next day Weng Tonghe criticized: "Hefei (Li Hongzhang) is lagging behind in everything, and it cannot be said to be a delay", prompting Emperor Guangxu to issue an edict to "pluck out the three-eyed feathers and remove the yellow mantle". The Battle of the Yellow Sea broke out on the 17th, and the Beiyang Fleet suffered heavy losses. Weng Tonghe felt that "the front line of the Yalu River is in danger, and even the Bohai Sea is in danger." On the 21st, he suggested that "it is better to mobilize troops from the three eastern provinces, urgently set up a large grain station, send high-level managers, and build earthen forts on the banks of the Yalu River, among other things. "On October 14, when Weng Tonghe learned that the British envoy Ogner proposed that the great powers should work together to promote Sino-Japanese peace talks, but Japan would have to ask for military expenses, he was extremely indignant. In front of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Weng Tonghe accused Chen Ougana of being disgusting. ”, urging continued fighting. On the 24th, the Japanese Second Army landed at Huayuankou. The next day, the First Army forcibly crossed the Yalu River and captured Jiulian City, Andong (today's Dandong), Fenghuang City and other places. On the 31st, when Weng Tonghe paid a visit to Emperor Guangxu, he "explained the critical situation in the capital, please do not delay for a moment." On November 3rd, Weng Tonghe was supplemented by the title of Minister of Military Aircraft.
On the 8th, Weng Tonghe learned that Jinzhou had been lost and Lushun was in urgent need. He immediately asked Tang Renlian to send reinforcements to Lushun and agreed. On the 22nd, Lushun fell, and Weng Tonghe was "filled with anger." When the Qing court sent envoys to Japan to negotiate peace, Weng Tonghe and others still advocated recruiting the Hunan army and using Liu Kunyi as its commander to avert the crisis. The Qing court adopted his suggestion and appointed Liu as the imperial envoy to control the armies inside and outside the pass.
At the beginning of the 21st year of Guangxu, the Japanese army stepped up their attacks, and Gaiping fell on January 10th. On the 14th, Weng Tonghe expressed his opinion on the peace proposal: "I dare not submit to the peace proposal, but this matter cannot be suspended. The envoy has been sent and is staying, for fear of Peter's excuse, and my peace proposal is just trying to get his greedy kiss." When you go out, make preparations first. Fortunately, few people pay attention." In order to encourage the officers and soldiers to fight bravely, Weng Tonghe proposed the suggestion of "offering extraordinary rewards and not being inferior to others to build morale for the officers and soldiers." After Rongcheng and Weihai Nanbang forts fell, Weng Tonghe felt that "the overall situation was corrupt, and he was anxious and angry, as if he was drowning in fire." On February 2, Weihai Acropolis and Beibang forts were lost, and Weng Tonghe cried out, "I am extremely angry and ashamed! Kou Shen "Yes, what if?" he sighed. At this time, he also learned that the negotiators sent by the Qing government to Japan were unreasonably driven to Nagasaki by the Japanese government, and he lamented that it was "almost humiliating." On the 13th, the Qing court reassigned Li Hongzhang as the plenipotentiary minister to Japan for peace talks. On the 22nd, when Guangxu met with Li Hongzhang, among the military ministers, Sun Yuwen believed that he "must cede territory as a matter of course", while Weng Tonghe said that he "cannot hold on". On March 2, Li Hongzhang again talked about ceding territory, but Weng Tonghe firmly opposed it, stating that "Taiwan has absolutely no reason to discuss it."
On April 3, Weng Tong and Li Hongzhang read the ten terms of the peace treaty in Li Hongzhang’s phone call, and they felt more and more that “the lump in their chests has not yet been settled.” The next day, Weng learned that Emperor Guangxu hoped that the peace talks could be concluded quickly and that he would "strengthen the platform and not lose it." He pointed out that if the platform was removed, "I might lose the hearts of the world from now on." After the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Weng Tonghe "strongly stated that ratification cannot be hastened." On the 19th, Weng Tonghe received a call from Taiwan such as Qiu Fengjia, "full of blood and tears". Weng Tonghe felt guilty and felt like he was "standing in the world without a face." Once again, "Strongly urge that approval should be delayed" in order to seek emergency solutions. At this time, there were many petitioners, among whom "Dashu said that the peace treaty should be destroyed." Although Weng Tonghe disagreed, he still believed that "the public opinion cannot be falsely accused, and the human heart cannot be lost." On May 2, Emperor Guangxu approved the Treaty of Shimonoseki. On the 8th, representatives from China and Japan exchanged contracts in Yantai. The Qing government decided to cut off Taiwan within a time limit. On the 17th, Weng Tonghe "went to tears when he saw the Taiwanese people's public telegram."
In the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), Weng Tonghe co-organized the bachelor's degree as the Minister of Household Affairs and advocated reform. On June 16, Cixi ordered Guangxu to issue an edict to Weng Kaique to return home.
After the 1898 Coup, on December 4, according to Zhu's edict, Weng was dismissed from his post, never to be reused, and "handled over to local officials for strict control." He died at home in 1904. In the first year of Xuantong's reign, he was reinstated and given the posthumous title of "Wen Gong".
On April 27, 1830, the tenth year of Daoguang reign in the Qing Dynasty, Weng Tonghe was born in Luoquan Hutong, Shihuma Street, Beijing. The Weng family has lived in Changshu County, Suzhou Prefecture (today's Jiangsu Province). Weng Tonghe's father, Weng Xincun, had a courtesy name of Erming, a nickname of Suichong, and was a Daoguang Jinshi. He once served as the Minister of Rites, the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Industry, the Master of the Hanlin Academy, and the Bachelor of Tiren Pavilion. He served as the chief master of the upper study room and taught Prince Gong, Prince Chen, Prince Hui, and Prince Zhong. In his later years, he served as the master of Emperor Tongzhi and was an important minister in Daoguang and Xianfeng dynasties. Weng Tonghe's mother, Xu, was born in a bureaucratic family. She was familiar with "Poetry" and "Yi" since childhood, and was familiar with the Five Classics. She was especially good at reading history books. After Xu's marriage, because Weng Xinchun had been an official in Beijing for a long time and did not go home often, she took care of all the housework alone. Weng Tonghe has four brothers and sisters. The eldest brother has the same book, his courtesy name is Zugeng, his name is Pharmacy, he was a Daoguang Jinshi, and he was appointed as the governor of Anhui. The second brother, who has the same title, once served as governor of Shaanxi and Hubei, and acted as governor of Huguang. The two brothers both had certain knowledge and skills, and Weng Tonghe was deeply influenced by them. The two sisters are also very smart. The eldest sister Shouzhu is especially smart and can never forget her poems and books. Weng Tonghe is the youngest among the siblings and is loved by his siblings. Before Weng Tonghe was four years old, his father served as academic administrator in Sichuan, Jiangxi and other provinces. The whole family followed him, and their life was not stable. During this period, his mother and eldest sister taught him to read the "Three Character Classic" and "Poetry of a Thousand Families", and recite dozens of Tang and Song poems as well as poems by Wu Meicun, a recent person, and began his enlightenment education. When he was six years old, his father returned to Beijing to take up a post, so Weng Tonghe entered a private school. In the first two years of the private school, his homework was tutored by his eldest sister in the morning and evening. His "Four Books", "Five Classics" and "Mao Shi" were all taught by his eldest sister herself.
When Weng Tonghe was eight years old, his father resigned and returned to his hometown to support his elderly mother, and he also returned to his hometown. He spent his youth in his hometown. After living in the countryside for more than 10 years, Weng Tonghe took advantage of the large collection of books in his home and kept in mind the famous saying of Dong Yu from the Wei Dynasty that "in order to learn, you should have more than three years" (winter means more years, night means more days, and rain means more sunshine). , immersed in reading all day long. During the Qingming Festival, the spring was warm and the flowers were blooming. Many children of other families wore red and green clothes and went on outings. However, except for visiting the tombs of his father and brother, he never left the study. In summer, when the temperature rose and he was sweating profusely, he still couldn't let go of the book. When mosquitoes started to appear, he put an empty jar under his desk, put his feet in it, and kept reading. In the severe winter, he would hold a copper stove and chant non-stop. He has read and browsed more than a hundred kinds of works by the pre-Qin scholars, the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and others, thus laying a solid intellectual foundation. When Weng Tonghe was nine years old, he took the Boy's Examination and was admitted to the County Travel Academy, where his father was the speaker. Here, he often gathered with his classmates to discuss knowledge. Weng Tonghe talked about the laws and regulations of the past dynasties, especially the "Li" of Zhou. He believed that the principles taught by Zhou Gong and Confucius could also be applied today, and the scholar-bureaucrats were determined to follow Zhou Gong and Confucius as examples. His comments were often criticized by his classmates. Weng Tonghe insisted on his own opinions and often argued with them red-faced.
While studying at Youwen Yuan, Weng Tonghe also interacted with calligraphers from Changshu and Zhaowen (divided into Changshu County in 1724, the second year of Yongzheng's reign, and merged into Changshu in 1912), and became friends with them. friend. Studying and studying the inscriptions on inscriptions laid a certain foundation for his later success in calligraphy.
Due to his intelligence, hard work in study, and the influence of his family, Weng Tonghe gradually became famous in the countryside. As he himself said: "The young and talented are the best."
< p>While living in the countryside, under the guidance of his father and brother, Weng Tonghe began to practice eight-part essay, preparing to study and become an official. Just as he was making progress in his official career, the first Opium War between China and Britain broke out in May of the 20th year of Daoguang (1840). In June of the 21st year of Daoguang's reign (1841), the British invading army marched north from the coast of Guangdong and invaded Wusongkou Fortress, the gateway to the Yangtze River. The south of the Yangtze River was shocked, and people in the south of the Yangtze River moved away with their families. Weng Tonghe and his family took refuge in Suzhou (now Jiangsu). In Suzhou, Weng Tonghe visited Duanyuan, the former residence of Fan Zhongyan, a great statesman in the Song Dynasty, and the ancestral temple Baiyun Temple. He engraved Fan Zhongyan's famous saying of "worry before the world's worries, and rejoice after the world's happiness". Three months later, the family returned to Changshu and lived a peaceful life for less than a year. In May of the 22nd year of Daoguang (1842), the British invading army invaded the Yangtze River. The defenders along the river collapsed and the people fled for their lives. Weng Tong and his family fled again and took refuge in Nanxiang, Changshu, Diaozhu and crossed to Weijiabin.Diaozhu Ferry is not far from the former residence of Qu Shixiang, the anti-Qing hero in the late Ming Dynasty, and only a few miles away from Yulianjing in Tang City where Gu Yanwu lived in seclusion. At Diaozhudu, his father once again told him the story of Qu Shixiang and Gu Yanwu's heroic resistance to the Qing Dynasty, which further germinated his patriotic thoughts.
In July of the 22nd year of Daoguang, the Qing government and the British invaders signed the Sino-British Treaty of Nanjing, which was humiliating and humiliating, and the first Opium War between China and Britain ended. In August, the British army withdrew from the Yangtze River, and Weng Tong and his family returned to Changshu. The days had just settled down, and unfortunate things happened one after another. Within one year, the whole family suffered three deaths. First, the eldest sister died of dystocia, then the second sister-in-law Yang died of illness, and soon the elderly grandmother died of illness. When his eldest sister passed away, Weng Tonghe was taking the imperial examination in Suzhou. When the bad news came, he abandoned his pen and left the examination room to go home to mourn. The death of his eldest sister was a heavy blow to Weng Tongqing. He was bedridden for many days and his character became depressed and taciturn. However, he still did not slack off in his studies. In the twenty-fifth year of Daoguang's reign (1845), Weng Tonghe passed the examination as a doctoral student. The next year, Weng Tonghe took the government examination again and made up for his studies.
In the spring of the 30th year of Daoguang's reign (1850), Weng Xinhe was recalled to Beijing to serve. Weng Tonghe accompanied his parents to Beijing. That year, the Ministry of Rites held the tribute examination and the tribute examination. Weng Tonghe took part in these two examinations and got first place in both examinations. He was named a seventh-grade Beijing official and served in the Ministry of Punishment. Weng Tonghe was not satisfied with this, but continued to work hard. After serving, he devoted all his energy to studying classics and history, practicing regular script and writing eight-legged essays. In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), when he was 22 years old, he passed the imperial examination. In the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), that is, when he was 26 years old, when the Second Opium War broke out and the peasant revolutionary movement of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was surging, he took part in the imperial examination and passed the first grade in one fell swoop.
2. He served as an examiner many times to select talents for the country
After Weng Tonghe won the first prize, he was awarded the title of editor, served in the Hanlin Academy, and participated in the study of Shujishi.
In June of the eighth year of Xianfeng (1858), Weng Tongjie, who was studying as a Shujishi, was unusually appointed as a deputy examiner by Emperor Xianfeng and was ordered to take the Shaanxi examination. The main examiner was Weng Tonghe's good friend Pan Zuyin. This is an honor for Weng Tonghe. But it did not arouse much enthusiasm in him, because his beloved wife Tang Mengshu died of illness not long ago. At this time, Weng Tonghe was still immersed in grief. However, the sacred order cannot be violated, and according to regulations, examiners must arrive at the examination center on time and cannot tolerate any delay.
At the end of July, Weng Tonghe tried his best to restrain himself, packed his bags, said goodbye to his relatives and friends, and embarked on a journey west to Shaanxi with Pan Zuyin.
Weng and Pan set out from Zhili via Shanxi. After nearly a month of hard work, they arrived at Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province.
The exam began in mid-August. Weng and Pan sat in charge of the examination and inspected the entire examination room. The requirements were extremely strict.
Due to the unsuitable climate and acclimatization, Weng Tonghe fell ill on the day of the examination. He suffered from chills and fever and could not sleep all night. However, in order to repay the emperor's favor, he endured the pain and persisted in reviewing the recommended papers until the three trials were completed.
When the results were released, someone reported that the test paper answered by Zhang Piji, who won third place, was plagiarized from someone else's work. Weng and Pan, two fellow supervisors, petitioned and removed Zhang after approval. Weng Tonghe was extremely indignant at what Zhang did and wanted to severely reprimand him, but later learned that Zhang was already over 60 years old and was more than two decades older than himself, so he had no choice but to give up. Afterwards, Weng Tong and Zeng were deeply moved, thinking that there were shortcomings in the eight-part essay selection of scholars, and at the same time they expressed a certain degree of sympathy for those who had lost their names.
At the end of August, the Shaanxi Dictionary Examination ended. The examiners who were about to return admired Weng Tonghe's calligraphy and asked him to write inscriptions as a souvenir. Although Weng Tonghe had not fully recovered from his illness at this time, he lived up to expectations and wrote with his brush and ink for several days. As a result, his condition worsened. After many treatments, he could not get out of bed and walk until the end of September. At this time, an imperial edict flew to Xi'an, and Weng Tonghe was appointed as the academic administrator of Shaanxi Province, inspecting the examination of children and students in all prefectures and counties in Shaanxi Province.
In early October, Weng Tonghe took office even though he was ill, and traveled all over 800 miles of Sichuan. After more than two months of hard work, he completed the inspection in December of the eighth year of Xianfeng (1858). In view of his illness, he wrote to ask for a vacancy.
In January of the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), the emperor allowed Weng Tonghe to open his vacancy and return to Beijing for recuperation. In February, Weng Tonghe set off from Shaanxi and returned to Beijing. At the end of March, I returned to Beijing.
In the third year after returning to Beijing, in the first year of Tongzhi (1862), Weng Tonghe was appointed as the chief examiner of the rural examination and took the Shanxi examination. Since then, he has been involved with Wen Heng many times and served as an examiner many times. Therefore, his disciples' old friends are spread throughout the government and the public, and he has selected a large number of talents for the Qing Dynasty.
3. Entering the Hongde Palace and walking around is highly trusted by the emperor and the empress
On October 14, the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), the two empress dowagers Ci'an and Cixi "listened to politics behind the curtain" Weng Tonghe was ordered to walk for the Hongde Hall, while Wo Ren, the Minister of Tonggongbu, Li Hongzao, editor of the Hanlin Academy, and Xu Tong, associate editor of the Record Hall, were responsible for educating the 10-year-old Emperor Tongzhi. Serving as the emperor's tutor was a sign of the court's high regard and trust in Weng Tonghe. Weng Tonghe was very happy and expressed to the two queen mothers that he would do his best to tutor the emperor and repay the emperor's kindness.
On October 17, Weng Tonghe, Wo Ren and Xu Tong went to the palace to teach for the first time. Just after dawn, Weng Tonghe came to Hongde Hall to wait, and Wo Ren and Xu Tong also arrived soon after. When Emperor Tongzhi arrived, Weng Tonghe and others immediately went forward to salute the emperor and his ministers. Emperor Tongzhi called "Master", and then the emperor and his ministers entered the study. Emperor Tongzhi sat facing east, the masters sat facing east, and the day's teaching officially began.
The first people to read on this day were Wo Ren and Xu Tong, who taught relevant chapters of "Shangshu" and "Mencius". After the meal, Weng Tonghe continued his lecture. He was talking about "The Legend of Emperor Jian Tu Shuo". This book is deeper in content but rich in pictures and texts. Weng Tonghe explained the characteristics of Emperor Tongzhi in a simple and profound way, which made Emperor Tongzhi listen with interest. He deeply admired Weng Tonghe's knowledge, and Weng Tonghe successfully taught it for the first time.
After Weng Tonghe finished teaching "Emperor's Illustrations", he also taught Emperor Tongzhi "Aphorisms of the Holy Ancestor's Teachings", "Foundation of the Qing Dynasty", "Quotations from Classics and History", "Mao's Poems", "Filial Piety" Classics" and other courses, and guided Emperor Tongzhi in his study of poetry and composition.
Weng Tonghe knew very well that the students he taught were not ordinary people, but emperors of a generation, and whether their success in classical studies was directly related to the rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty was of no small importance, so he taught readings very seriously. Every day, I enter the temple at Yin Shi (around four o'clock in the morning) and go home at Shen Shi (around five o'clock in the afternoon). This is the case almost every day, all year round, except when I am sick, and sometimes I even attend lectures when I am sick. Sometimes, in order to find out a question or find a book, I would visit all the bookstores in Beijing. In order to enable the emperor to learn to compose poetry, he specially edited "Selected Readings of Tang Poems", copied it himself and submitted it to Emperor Tongzhi to take back to the palace for reading. Emperor Tongzhi had difficulty reading ancient texts, so he compiled a collection of commonly used classical Chinese function words and attached notes on examples for Emperor Tongzhi to read. Because the pen didn't fit his hand and Emperor Tongzhi's calligraphy was poor, Weng Tonghe personally went to the pen shop and bought two high-quality pens for Emperor Tongzhi. He is also very particular about educational methods. When he saw that the emperor was mentally tired, he stopped teaching and asked the emperor to take a walk in the court to relieve his fatigue. When Emperor Tongzhi expressed that it was too difficult to write an essay and suggested that his master might write a few paragraphs first, Weng Tonghe did so. Weng Tonghe not only worked hard on teaching, but he also dared to directly discourage any practices that hindered Emperor Tongzhi's learning, even if they were done by the Queen Mother. Therefore, Weng Tonghe's teaching was highly praised by Emperor Tongzhi and the Queen Mother, who praised him for "teaching well" and "being very diligent in his duties."
While on duty at the Hongde Hall, Weng Tonghe was also ordered to go to the Yangxin Hall to lecture the empress dowagers of the two palaces on relevant chapters of the book "Zhi Ping Bao Jian". For Weng Tonghe, it was more honorable to give lectures to the Empress Dowager, who was in charge of the real power behind the curtain, than to lecture to the young and ignorant Tongzhi Emperor. However, if he made a mistake, he would not only make the scholars laugh, but he might also be dismissed from his post to serve the people. Disgraced. Therefore, on the eve of his first lecture to the empress dowagers of the two palaces, he reviewed the content of the lecture over and over again and almost stayed up all night. The title of his first lecture was "Song Xiaozong and Minister Chen Junqing discuss whether Tang Taizong can accept loyal advice". During the lecture, Weng Tonghe repeatedly elaborated on the relationship between the monarch's humility in accepting advice, courtesy and virtuous officials, and national interests. His speech was not only polite and generous, but also clear in thinking, fluent in language, and precise in analysis. All the empress dowagers of the two palaces and the princes and ministers present felt that satisfy. After that, he also gave 15 special topics on the political deeds of the emperors of the Song, Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties to the empress dowagers of the two palaces. When talking about these topics, he combined history with reality, and used the questions of the two queen mothers to truthfully state what he saw and heard based on what he personally saw and heard, boldly criticizing the current bad government, and put forward corrective suggestions accordingly, many of which were later adopted. . He has the courage to speak out and give advice, which is very rare among the current officials.
In the tenth year of Tongzhi (1871), just when Weng Tonghe was making further efforts to advance his teachings, his mother Xu died of illness. Weng Tonghe was allowed to return home to attend the funeral, and left Hongde Hall to study. It was not until the thirteenth year of Tongzhi ( In 1874), he returned to Beijing and resumed his duties after the mourning period was over. He once again entered the Hongde Hall and served as the master of Emperor Tongzhi until the death of Emperor Tongzhi in December of the 13th year of Tongzhi.
When Weng Tonghe entered the Hongde Yin Dynasty, he received many awards because of his intelligence and ability, and was highly trusted by the emperor and the queen mother.
In the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), he was ordered to read the actual records of Wenzong. As a rule, only princes and bachelors were qualified to read the actual records of the previous emperor. In his official career, he was succeeded by Youzhong Yunte of the Yushi Mansion, and was promoted to the Imperial Academy to offer sacrifices, and was promoted to the Chief Minister of Taipu Temple. In the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), Emperor Tongzhi came to power and rewarded him with a rank. If you wear it, everything will be smooth sailing and you will climb higher step by step.
4. Twice served as the Criminal Cao to handle cases in accordance with the law
In August of the first year of Guangxu (1875), Weng Tonghe was ordered to temporarily act as the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment until the second year of Guangxu (1876) ) initially served as a clerk in Yuqing Palace and served as the master of Emperor Guangxu for only four months. Although the time was short, Weng Tonghe insisted on handling the case according to the law and did a lot of work in the limited time. The most influential of these was the settlement of the Yang Naiwu and Xiaobaicai case, one of the four most mysterious cases in the late Qing Dynasty.
This strange case is as follows: Ge Pinlian, a tofu shop clerk in Chengxiang Town, Yuhang County, Hangzhou Prefecture (now part of Zhejiang), married Bi Xiuying in the spring of the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873). Bi was born beautiful and liked to wear green clothes and a white apron, so she was nicknamed "Little Baicai". After Ge and Bi got married, they rented a house from Yang Naiwu, a new imperial examination candidate, and lived next to each other. Yang Naiwu had recently lost his wife, and the two families had frequent contacts. Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai had also been alone, but there was nothing inappropriate about it. Ge Pinlian suddenly died of a sudden illness in the early winter of the 13th year of Tongzhi (1874). Ge's mother suspected that her daughter-in-law Xiao Baicai might have conspired with Yang Naiwu to murder her husband, and she filed a complaint with the magistrate of Yuhang County to plead grievances.
After receiving the complaint, Liu Xitong, the magistrate of Yuhang County, sent the three squads of government officials to open the coffin for an autopsy and determined that Ge Pinlian died of poisoning. Therefore, Liu Xitong ordered the arrest of Xiao Baicai and interrogated her severely. Xiao Baicai confessed that she had no knowledge. Liu Xitong ordered the torture, but Xiao Baicai still confessed that she had no knowledge. Liu Xitong's son Liu Haisheng was an idle man who once seduced Xiao Baicai; county government servant He Chunfang also attempted to rape Gebi, but failed. Liu Haisheng and He Chunfang were afraid that Xiao Baicai's confession would implicate them, so they threatened Xiao Baicai: As long as she confessed that she collaborated with Yang Naiwu to murder her husband, she would be exempted from the death penalty, otherwise the crime would be increased. Xiao Baicai couldn't survive the punishment, so she had to follow Liu Haisheng and He Chunfang's instructions and admit that Ge Pinlian was poisoned by himself and Yang Naiwu. Liu Xitong ordered Yang Naiwu to be arrested and brought to court, but Yang Naiwu refused to admit it. In order to protect his son, Liu Xitong reported the false autopsy records and interrogation records to the Hangzhou government and requested a "second trial". Chen Lu, the prefect of Hangzhou, did not verify it. According to the information provided by Liu Xitong, Yang Naiwu was tortured severely. Yang Naiwu could not bear the pain of his flesh and skin, so he had to endure the torture. The government reported to the province and planned to execute Xiao Baicai and Yang Naiwu.
Zhejiang Governor Yang Changrui personally interrogated Xiao Baicai and Yang Naiwu. Yang Changrui once sent a government official to Yuhang County to investigate, but because the official he sent accepted heavy bribes from Liu Xitong and did not investigate further, Yang Changrui believed the lies and still reported the charges to the Ministry of Punishment according to the charges proposed by the Hangzhou Prefecture. At this time, Yang Naiwu wrote an autographed confession in prison, exposing Liu Haisheng, the son of Liu Xitong, the county magistrate of Yuhang, and He Chunfang, the county yamen officer, who had done evil to Xiao Baicai, and managed to send the autographed confession to his sister Ye Yang's. Then Ye Yang and Yang Zhan, Yang Naiwu's later wife, went to Beijing to file a lawsuit with the "Huang Bang" (unjust list) on their backs. Ye Yang and Yang Zhan suffered a lot after arriving in Beijing. The Ministry of Punishment accepted the case and considered the case suspicious. The court ordered that the case be handed over to the governor of Zhejiang for personal review. During the re-examination, both Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai recanted their confessions. The Zhejiang governor felt that the case was difficult, so the case was shelved. It was not until the first year of Guangxu (1875) that because Yang Zhan and Ye Yang went to Beijing several times to complain about their grievances, the Li Ke wrote to Wang Shurui to raise objections, and Zhejiang officials from the capital jointly submitted a petition asking for another interrogation. Only then did the Empress Dowager Cixi order the Ministry of Punishment Review as soon as possible.
At this time, among the six officials of the Ministry of Punishment, due to various reasons, only Weng Tonghe was in charge. After receiving the order, Weng Tonghe read the relevant materials about the case of Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai in detail, and found many doubts, so he decided not to enter the memorial for the time being.
In order to thoroughly find out the ins and outs of the case, Weng Tonghe conducted an in-depth and detailed investigation. He successively visited many of his colleagues who were familiar with the case and Zhejiang officials in Beijing, discussed the case with them and asked for their opinions on the case. After investigation, Weng Tonghe became more and more firm in his view of the case as suspicious, saying that if the facts of the case remain unclear, he will never hastily conclude the case. Later, fearing that his judgment was wrong, he further investigated and verified it and reported it to the Queen Mother of the West. The Queen Mother of the West adopted Weng Tonghe's opinion and ordered that all prisoners and witnesses be escorted to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation, and Ge Pinlian was opened for another autopsy.
As a result, witness and physical evidence proved that Ge Pinlian did not die of poisoning, but died of a sudden illness. Xiao Baicai and Yang Naiwu did not collude to harm others. The two were released without charge, and the case became clear to the world.
Now that the facts of the case have become known to the world, Weng Tonghe and several of his colleagues reported to the Empress Dowager Cixi that those who violated the law in this case should be punished according to the law. In order to win over people's hearts and show her innocence, the Empress Dowager Cixi adopted the opinions of Weng Tonghe and others and dismissed more than 100 officials below the governor of Zhejiang Yang Changrui and sent them into the army. At this point, the three-year-old case of Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai was understood.
In January of the fifth year of Guangxu's reign (1879), Weng Tonghe was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, which he held until May of that year.
When he took office this time in the Ministry of Punishment, Weng Tonghe reorganized the Ministry of Punishment and replaced some incompetent officials; he made clear definitions of vague laws and regulations that were easy to be stolen and replaced; he personally inspected major cases. , case materials of suspicious cases, insist on handling cases in accordance with the law, and punishing crimes in accordance with the law.
Weng Tonghe served as the prison officer twice, and the total time in office was only 10 months. Although the time was short, because he could handle cases according to the law, he was favored by the Empress Dowager Cixi and the princes and ministers during his tenure. of appreciation.
5. Serving as the Yuqing Palace to seduce Emperor Guangxu
On December 1, the first year of Guangxu (1875), the empress dowagers of the two palaces issued decrees for Weng Tonghe and the minister Xia Tongshan to serve as the Yuqing Palace. Walking, he served as the master of Emperor Guangxu, who had just ascended the throne and was only four years old.
After receiving the order, Weng Tonghe felt both joy and sorrow. What I am happy about is that the empress dowagers of the two palaces have repeatedly used me as the emperor's mentor. What is worrying is that it is a heavy responsibility to mold a child who is only four years old into a generation of holy masters. He thought repeatedly and declined again and again, but in the end he was not allowed. Moreover, the Empress Dowager Cixi repeatedly asked him to "do his best to help this difficult situation", so Weng Tonghe had no choice but to comply.
March 21, the second year of Guangxu (1876), was the first day that Weng Tonghe lectured to Emperor Guangxu. Weng Tonghe first taught Emperor Guangxu to write the eight words "peace in the world" and "justice". Then, Emperor Guangxu was taught to recite the words "emperor" and "virtue". Finally, Jin talked about "Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors", the first chapter of "The Legend of Emperor Jian Tu Shuo". From this day until January of the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897) when the Yuqing Palace study room was removed, Weng Tonghe served as the master of Emperor Guangxu for more than 20 years. For more than 20 years, Weng Tonghe worked hard to seduce Emperor Guangxu, and they formed a deep relationship with each other.
In the first two years of Weng Tonghe's teaching, he mainly taught Emperor Guangxu how to read, read and memorize familiar books. Weng Tonghe stipulated that raw books should be read 20 times a day and familiar books 50 times a day. Although the text was short at that time, because Emperor Guangxu was young and inexperienced in worldly affairs and was frail and sick, he often stopped reading halfway through. The master urged, but Quan ignored the wind. Every time he saw this scene, Weng Tonghe would be very anxious. Sometimes he would reprimand Genfeng Xiaoyu for a few words, while Emperor Guangxu would burst into tears and simply not open his mouth to read for many days. When Weng Tonghe saw that the hard one was not working, he started to be soft, and slowly persuaded him left and right, but Emperor Guangxu refused to accept it, so Weng Tonghe had to go to the empress dowagers of the two palaces. After hearing this, the empress dowager of the West was very dissatisfied and decided to impose strict restrictions on eating more food. Add punishment. Weng Tonghe couldn't bear it and came up with another plan. Why not ask Emperor Guangxu's biological father, Prince Chun Yihuan, for help. Yi Huan came to the study, first scolded him harshly, and then gave him kind words. Emperor Guangxu was somewhat wary of his father's power, but over time this method lost its effectiveness.
Weng Tonghe thought that this was not an option in the long run, so he agreed with other masters to reduce the number of readings. After each reading, the master would write it down in front of Emperor Guangxu until he finished reading. After adopting this method, Emperor Guangxu recovered for a while, but as time went by, his old illness relapsed. He argued with his masters, believing that proficiency should be the criterion instead of the number of times he read. However, teachers and students have different understandings of the standard of "proficiency" and are arguing with each other. When the master's plan failed, they tried another one and stipulated that if Emperor Guangxu did not finish reading the prescribed number of times, he would be asked to sit in his seat for a long time and not move. But how could a four or five-year-old child sit still? Emperor Guangxu often cried endlessly for this reason. Weng Tonghe originally disagreed with this plan. Seeing that Guangxu was so noisy, he announced the cancellation and the matter calmed down.
From the second year of Guangxu (1876) to the fourth year of Guangxu (1878), the Yuqing Palace study held half-day classes. As Emperor Guangxu grew older, it was changed to full-day classes from the fourth year of Guangxu (1878). The more and more books he read, the originally fearful Emperor Guangxu became more and more afraid of difficulties. Weng Tonghe saw that Emperor Guangxu was getting older and that not urging him to read well would delay Emperor Guangxu's life and bring disaster to the entire Qing Dynasty, so he agreed with other masters to adopt a penalty reading method, and read once less and twice as a penalty.
At the beginning of this method, Emperor Guangxu resisted by keeping quiet and not reading, and then cried loudly. Weng Tonghe and other masters ignored this completely, and recorded what Emperor Guangxu did and reported it to the Queen Mother of the West. Once, Emperor Guangxu left his study in anger, stopped studying and returned to the palace. Weng Tonghe and other masters had no choice but to appeal to the Empress Dowager Cixi for help. After the Empress Dowager Cixi's kind words and the fact that his masters admitted that his behavior was extreme, Emperor Guangxu agreed to return to his study. In this way, the turmoil in the school that shocked the palace subsided.
After the turmoil of Emperor Guangxu's strike from school, Weng Tonghe and his masters learned a lesson and believed that punishing reading was not a good way to encourage students to learn. Therefore, after Weng Tonghe's suggestion, the masters decided to use the praise method instead, praising each time after reading, and educating them from the front. After the praise method was adopted, Emperor Guangxu felt very comfortable and his enthusiasm for learning greatly increased. He changed his bad study style in the past and continued to improve his studies.
Weng Tonghe was not only a good teacher of Emperor Guangxu academically, but also a helpful friend of Emperor Guangxu in life. Emperor Guangxu had been frail and timid since he was a child. He was particularly afraid of lightning and thunder on rainy days. At this time, Weng Tonghe always held Emperor Guangxu in his arms and comforted him not to be afraid; Emperor Guangxu left his parents and entered the palace since he was a child, and was served by eunuchs. The eunuchs knew that the emperor was a child and often blackmailed him when he was not satisfied. , so he neglected Emperor Guangxu. After Weng Tonghe learned about it, he sometimes reprimanded the irregular eunuchs in person, and sometimes reported them to the two queen mothers for punishment. For this reason, Emperor Guangxu regarded Weng Tonghe as his confidant and was willing to talk to Weng Tonghe about any joy he had.
Year after year, by the seventh year of Guangxu (1881), Emperor Guangxu was already an 11-year-old handsome boy and began to understand things and etiquette. At this time, the aggression of Western powers had begun to penetrate deep into the interior of China from the coastal areas, and China was facing a crisis. Therefore, Weng Tonghe decided to strengthen the education of Emperor Guangxu. While retaining more than 20 courses on feudal ethics and morals such as the Four Books and the Five Classics, he also added courses on Chinese and foreign history and geography, the Westernization Movement and the works of early reformists. course.
When Weng Tonghe taught the newly added courses to Emperor Guangxu, he actively guided Emperor Guangxu to think about practical issues based on the major political, military, and diplomatic events that occurred at that time, thereby connecting the Yuqing Palace Study Room with the entire society. stand up. Emperor Guangxu felt greatly benefited from these newly added courses. This had a certain impact on his early political maturity, especially in his later launch of the reform movement.
In addition to teaching Emperor Guangxu academically, Weng Tonghe also paid attention to strengthening the education of Emperor Guangxu in moral cultivation. When Weng Tonghe gave a lecture to Emperor Guangxu for the first time, he taught him the principle of "the emperor's virtue is like heaven". During the 22-year teaching process, Weng Tonghe often advised Emperor Guangxu to be solemn and generous in his words, deeds, and dealings with others, and not to be pedantic.
After careful instruction from Weng Tonghe and others, Emperor Guangxu became more and more sensible as he grew older, and determined to be a holy master like Kangxi. Therefore, he studied very diligently and read every day before dawn. Just go into the study and study, almost every day, all year round. Every Spring Festival holiday, he still insists on studying in the study room. In order to satisfy his desire to learn, he often asked his masters for new books, and the range of books he read became wider and wider. Before he took office in the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889), he read eighty or ninety kinds of books in total. This knowledge laid a solid foundation for him to govern.
After Emperor Guangxu came to power in the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889), Weng Tonghe still went to the study room of Yuqing Palace to teach Emperor Guangxu as usual. In order to satisfy Emperor Guangxu's pursuit of Western learning, he continued to submit works on Western learning to Emperor Guangxu, and often discussed current affairs with Emperor Guangxu in his study. All this aroused the suspicion of the Western Empress Dowager Cixi and the imperial party bureaucrats. In January of the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), the Western Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the abolition of Emperor Guangxu's Yuqing Palace study. At this point, Weng Tonghe ended his 22-year career as a professor at Yuqing Palace.
6. The first time he served as Minister of Military Aircraft and was punished by dismissal and retention
In October of the eighth year of Guangxu (1882), the court ordered Weng Tonghe to serve as Minister of Military Aircraft, and Weng Tonghe served as Minister of Military Aircraft for the first time.
Weng Tonghe became Minister of Military and Aircraft this time and was mainly involved in two major political activities. The first is to participate in the Yunnan military expense reimbursement fraud case; the second is to participate in the negotiations between China, France and Vietnam.
In the fifth year of Guangxu's reign (1879), Du Ruilian, the governor of Yunnan, sent Cui Zunyi and Pan Yingzhang to Beijing with a huge sum of money to resolve the issue of Yunnan's reimbursement of French military expenses.
After arriving in Beijing, Cui and Pan moved around in the Military Aircraft Department and the Ministry of Household Affairs. Finally, they paid 80,000 taels in bribes to the Ministers of Military Aircraft Zhou Ruiqing, Wang Wenshao, Jing Lian, and the clerks and clerks of the Ministry of Household Affairs to settle the reimbursement.
The seventh year of Guangxu