Two Hundred Years of the Military Aircraft Division
Yuan Canxing / 68.00 yuan
ISBN：978-7-5538-1319-6
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A great god who is difficult to provide
Chinese New Year's Eve the sixth year of Guangxu, Shen Guifen died, and soon a new person was ushered in in the military aircraft department. This person is different, but also overwhelmed by everyone, he is Zuo Zongtang.
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Previously, Zuo Zongtang achieved a great victory in Xinjiang and was respected by the whole country. The Qing general Bao Ting suggested that Zuo Zongtang be introduced to the military aircraft. On the twenty-sixth day of the first month, Zuo Zongtang arrived in Beijing, and the official field of the Beijing Division began to boil, and many fans were looking forward to it. Gai Zuo Zongtang has been a foreign official for many years, with a prominent reputation, but he rarely set foot in the Beijing Division, and many legends about him have also cast a mysterious light on him.
Everyone says he's talented, he's full of talent, and he's blind to everything. When he was young, he and his fellow countryman Hu Linyi traveled with the Beijing Division, and they were all arrogant people who had no one in sight, and the two of them "talked about striding wide-paced and arrogant", so that the Jingshi children thought that the two were "pedantic". His vision was extremely high, and he once boasted: "Of the three good chapter players (Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guofan, and Hu Linyi) today, I am the first." ”
He acted strangely, writing to his wife Yun that "he was robbed in the boat, but he laughed and laughed", but in fact he met the thief in his dream. He is a good wine, and he often has a lot of fun after drinking. When he was serving as an aide at Luo Bingzhang, one day the Taiping Army killed him, looked around for him, sent servants to look around, found Zuo Zongtang, who was already drunk in the liquor store, and carried him back to midnight to sober up. When it comes to the military, the cloud has long been arranged. He not only drank heavily, but also ate a large amount of food, and he liked to eat meat. In the northwest, in the desert, I want to eat pork but can't eat it until after the triumph.
He had a great temper, no one in sight, and a flamboyant demeanor, and when he was an aide to Luo Bingzhang, Fan Xie, the chief soldier of Erpin, did not ask him for peace, and was scolded by Zuo Zongtang. Fan Xie was also anxious and said angrily, "Although the military attaché is light, I am also a second and third-grade official of the imperial court." I don't want Zuo Zongtang to fly up and kick, scolding while kicking: "Forget the bastard, get out." After Fan Xie was humiliated, he resigned and returned to his hometown, and got a tablet at home, which was engraved with the words "Forget the eight eggs and get out", and warned his son, Zuo Zongtang regards martial artists as dogs and horses, you must pass the examination to raise people and enter the army, snow I am humiliated. His son Fan Zengxiang worked hard to be strong, and sure enough, he passed the entrance examination and entered Hanlin before removing the tablet.
Portrait of Luo Bingzhang
Zeng Guofan was once "scolded as a pig" by Zuo Zongtang, and once vowed to "follow Wang Xiao'er's New Year's Eve and never speak". After becoming a feudal official, when the ministers of the dynasty such as Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang all tasted his scolding skills. He was always aggressive and unwilling to let people, and there was a lot of criticism about him in the official arena, but he didn't know how to restrain it.
The governor of Huguang, Guan Wen, was really unaccustomed to Zuo Zongtang's self-reliance, and he impeached him, seeing that it would be a disaster of killing himself, and did not want Pan Zuyin to protect Zuo Zongtang in front of Xianfeng, saying that "the country cannot be without Hunan for a day, and Hunan cannot be without Zuo Zongtang for a day."
Pan Zuyin and Zuo Zongtang had no friendship and had never even met each other. The reason why he contributed so much was because when he was in the South Study, his colleague Guo Songtao grew up with Zuo Zongtang and knew him very well. Pan Zuyin heard Guo Songtao say about Zuo Zongtang's deeds, and he has always been fascinated, and he is also happy to see righteousness and courage, regardless of misfortune and happiness, so he vigorously defends it.
For this kindness of Pan Zuyin, Zuo Zongtang has always remembered it, and later returned it to him vigorously, which led to a legendary story that lasted for a hundred years. In the 29th year of Daoguang, he excavated the Western Zhou Dynasty In Qishan, Shaanxi Province, and was bought by a local man named Song Jinjian. Song Jinjian collected it for a long time, and was taken away by the local county order Zhou Gengsheng. After some years, Zhou Gengsheng once again took the shot and transported the big luding to the Beijing Liuli Factory for sale, not wanting to buy it back at a high price after Song Jin became an official in Beijing after he saw his favorite things. After Song Jinjian's death, Da Luding was transferred to Yuan Baoheng by his son at a low price of 700 taels. Yuan Baoheng was serving as an aide to Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, at this time, and he forwarded this ding to Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang got the priceless treasure Da Lu Ding, and knowing that Pan Zuyin loved Jin Shi the most, he gave him the Da Lu Ding to repay his kindness, which made Weng Tonggong, who also liked Jin Shi, envious.
On the fourth day of February in the seventh year of Guangxu, Weng Tonggong saw Zuo Zongtang for the first time and praised him: "His heroic spirit looks down on the first life." The next day, Zuo Zongtang had a proposal to ban Russian arms and grain, but Prince Gong opposed it for fear of affecting the peace situation. Zuo Zongtang talked a lot and spoke a lot, and in Weng Tonggong's view, "all empty words" were also empty. Zuo Zongtang concurrently held the post of prime minister, but he had no concept of diplomacy, and when he saw foreigners, he laughed and scolded. Prime Minister Yamen was worried that he would provoke diplomatic rights and wrongs, and his relatives and friends also advised him to raise his prestige.
During the same light year, ZTE's heavy ministers such as Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang were prominent for a while, but the only one who entered the military plane was Zuo Zongtang. There are many reasons why the left is in the center. In the Ili frontier crisis, the government and the public felt the pressure of the Russians, and Qingliu was even more indignant and wanted to be tough on the outside world. By retaking Xinjiang and making outstanding achievements in battle, Zuo Zongtang could not only appease Qingliu, but also express his determination to the outside world, and at the same time use Zuo Zongtang, who was old in the military, as an adviser to the Military Aircraft Department, which could make up for the shortage of people in the Military Aircraft Department.
Portrait of Zeng Guofan
Zuo Zongtang entered the capital and was greatly honored, and when Ci'an summoned him, he talked about his years of hard work, and he burst into tears. Zhang Peilun and other Qingliu were full of expectations for him to enter Beijing, "I hope that the group of workers will work together to break the habit of Shen Xiang (Gui Fen) for ten years."
Yi Zhen, the Prince of Alcohol, who had always been the main warrior, even worshipped Zuo Zongtang as an idol, believing that "Zuo is better than Li". When entering the DPRK, Yi Zhen met Zuo Zongtang outside the Donghua Gate and was overjoyed, "Xiao Li held the conversation, and the viewer was like a block", just like a fan chasing the stars. Subsequently, Yi Zhen invited Zuo Zongtang to the palace as a guest and took photos together. For his great love for prince, Zuo Zongtang also gave back a small gift, sending him salted radish tassels, pickled leeks, and cakes. Prince Alcohol, who has always attached great importance to fame and dignity, gave back to Zuo Zongtang's own vegetables grown in his own home, and created a so-called good story with each other.
After joining the Military Aircraft Department, as usual, they were to discuss official business together, and the military aircraft ministers had special respect for Zuo Zongtang, a meritorious man, and all the official documents of the Military Aircraft Department were asked zuo Zongtang to read first, and then consulted.
Zuo Zongtang took a few lines in his hand and suddenly thought of his "great deeds" in the northwest, so he lifted his hair and talked about how he managed the northwest military and boasted that he was a god. He didn't allow others to interject when he bragged, and when he was proud, he slapped the table and laughed wildly, and the sound shook the room. At the end of the day, not a single page was read, not a single matter was discussed, and the ministers of the military plane were dizzy by his boasting. The next day, Zuo Zongtang was like this again, laughing and boasting as usual.
The next morning, as soon as Prince Gong Yishi arrived at the military plane, he said to Li Hongzao: "This honestly makes people unbearable, put this bird matter aside, don't let him see it." On the same day, Zuo Zongtang came and did not ask again, but after many days, he suddenly remembered and asked everyone: "Why is that piece of Chen, why is it missing?" Li Hongzao replied, "Wang Ye let it go." Zuo Zongtang was unhappy after hearing this, and asked why he let it be shelved. Li Hongzao prevaricated: "Wang Ye is the foreman of the military plane, and we have always followed Wang Ye in the matter here." Zuo Zongtang did not say a word after listening, and this day Yi Bi went to the toilet at the military plane, and Zuo Zongtang also followed him to the toilet. Yi Bi came out sweating profusely and secretly asked Li Hongzao, "Is this old and sick?" When I went to the bathroom, he also went to the toilet, but he didn't see him undressing and urinating, just standing behind me, and when I came back, he followed me back. What's going on? Li Hongzao didn't understand either, so he asked Zuo Zongtang if he was unwell. Zuo Zongtang slapped his palm and laughed wildly, "Didn't you say that we were going to follow Wang Ye?" The old man followed the prince. The ministers of the military plane had seen this kind of behavior, and they were stunned and speechless.
Initially, the military ministers still let Zuo Zongtang, and after a long time, they were all bored by him, and began to arrange various oil poems to ridicule Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang was complacent and indifferent to everything.
When Zuo Zongtang was at the military plane, he boasted to everyone: "My concubine is good at pickling small dishes, although the taste of the countryside is quite delicious, I will give you some points on another day." "As a result, I sent it, but I only sent a little bit, so it became a natural material for oil poetry."
After returning home, Zuo Zongtang did not forget to brag to the old concubine: "Wang Ye and the Lords of the Zhongtang All call the dried tofu you make a unique master." After Li Hongzao learned about it, he preached this matter everywhere as a joke.
After entering Beijing, zuo Zongtang was exhausted and could only reluctantly support him. Every day in the military aircraft, he sat like a needle felt, and from time to time encouraged his colleagues: "After sitting for a long time, you can disperse." Compared with the work of the superintendents, the work of the Military Aircraft Department is fast-paced and efficient, and it is "anxious to spark." Today's twist and turn, tomorrow will be prepared to deal with the opinions to send, fast-paced life so that Zuo Zongtang can not adapt at all, want to make a difference can not keep up with this pace.
When Cixi received Zuo Zongtang, she specifically asked him: "Ru has been away for a long time, and now that he is in Beijing, he must get up early, and it is inconvenient for him to think about it." Zuo Zongtang replied in a thick rural voice: "The subject is in the army, and he must get up when he is five changes." "Get" people, Hunan slang, habitual meaning, others listen to all laugh. Cixi was still considerate of Zuo Zongtang, and let him go to the court later, which was also a special concern.
At this time, Zuo Zongtang found that there were various difficulties in living in the Beijing Division, and from time to time he sighed that "Chang'an is not easy to live in." When he first entered Beijing, after inquiring from li hongzao and Wang Wenshao, the ministers of military aviation, he was amazed at the huge cost of living in Beijing, and the annual use of at least 6,000 taels of silver was required, while he only brought 12,000 taels to Beijing this time.
In March of that year, Ci'an died, Zuo Zongtang cried for several days, and Gai Ci'an was always a good gift to him. Ci'an's death heralded the fall of power to Cixi. During Ci'an's lifetime, he was able to form a constraint on Cixi and give assistance to Prince Gong. Once she died, no one could restrain Cixi, and the contradiction with Prince Gong would soon be detonated.
On March 19, Zuo Zongtang consulted with the minister in charge of the Divine Machine Battalion on the matter of practicing the Divine Machine Battalion, and did not go to worship Empress Dowager Ci'an at night. That night, Bao Zheng couldn't bear it, venting his dissatisfaction with this Hunan man, and he scolded Zuo Zongtang as "a clump of grass" in front of all the military ministers. Bao Zheng and Zuo Zongtang had a long-standing grudge, and Bao Xun's brother Bao Sen had visited Zuo Zongtang with the name of his brother in Shaanxi, but he was reprimanded by a sharp voice, so he was resentful.
However, on the surface, Bao Zheng and Zuo Zongtang are still harmonious, and the two sing and praise each other in poetry. In the military aircraft, the two would collide with some sparks from time to time. Zuo Zongtang boasted to Bao Zheng: "I am out swinging flat hair twisting, all seventy-three-year-old thieves, those who have been killed by me, I don't know how many." Bao Zheng said, "Does the public know that he is seventy-three years old?" Or is it only seventy years old? "At this year, BaoXun was seventy-three years old, and Zuo Zongtang was seventy years old, which could be described as two old thieves.
Zuo Zongtang was obese, and after every tea and meal, he held his big belly and laughed wildly: "The general does not bear the belly, and the abdomen does not bear the general." "After entering the military aircraft, the general's belly became a burden, not only was he breathless when he walked, but he could not stand up after kneeling. Every time the Military Aircraft Minister summoned him, he had to help Bao Zheng and Li Hongzao to help him stand up. Wang Wenshao was very dissatisfied with this, believing that Zuo Zongtang was putting up a shelf and was used to it.
Zuo Zongtang was uncomfortable at the military plane, so he turned to looking for other things to pass the time. When he first joined the military aircraft department, he proposed to use the old Xiang Army under his command to conduct military training for the Eight Banner soldiers. Because the old Xiang army had been in war for a long time, they used them to train the Eight Banners, which was conducive to improving combat effectiveness, so five thousand soldiers of the Eight Banners were dispatched to let Zuo Zongtang train. In April, Zuo Zongtang calculated that the training of flag soldiers would cost 200,000 taels of silver per year, and it was impossible to raise this money, so he asked for a suspension of military training, and the matter was not resolved.
When Weng Tonggong met Zuo Zongtang, the two of them discussed the major events of the world, believing that "the river must be repaired, the foreign medicine must be broken, and the foreign must be cheered up." Repairing the Yellow River, banning opium, and handling foreign affairs were the consensus of the government and the public on that day.
On the fifth day of the first month of May, Zuo Zongtang played a song and requested that the import tax of opium be raised, and an additional 150 taels per box should be levied. The British minister, Wittema, thought that the price was too high, and at first only agreed to add five taels per box, and finally agreed to increase it to fifteen taels per box.
As soon as the opium incident was over, Zuo Zongtang slipped out of Beijing under the pretext of building a direct water conservancy. In Tianjin, he met Li Hongzhang. This time, he did not scold this enemy family, but gave Li Hongzhang face, and the two were very happy to see each other. Li Hongzhang's letter to Zhang Peilun said: "It is not as exaggerated as before. ”
Zuo Zongtang also recounted to Li Hongzhang his predicament in the military plane, and his series of political views, such as training troops, borrowing foreign debts, running water conservancy projects, and raising taxes, were incompatible with Prince Gong and others, and the two sides were constantly at odds with each other and depressed, saying that they would return to their hometowns in the coming spring. In the early years of Guangxu, when Zuo Zongtang was using troops in Xinjiang, his military salary was insufficient, so he borrowed foreign debts to cope, which was the beginning of the Qing court's foreign debt. Therefore, for borrowing foreign debts, Zuo Zongtang did not reject it at all.
Li
Zuo Zongtang threw his hands out of Beijing, and did not report the situation to the Military Aircraft Department, and he was happy to return outside. Prince Gong was greatly dissatisfied with this, believing that it was disrespectful to him. After two months of inspection, Zuo Zongtang gave a report on the treatment of the river, which was again an exaggeration and boasting, thinking that "decades of accumulated shortcomings have been swept away." Qing Liu was also very disappointed in him at this time, believing that he was impetuous and exaggerated, and that the river control plan he was directly subordinate to was not as thorough and feasible as Li Hongzhang's river control proposal.
In July, after Zuo Zongtang returned to Beijing, he said that he had taken ten days off in sick, and then continued to take twenty days of leave. In August, I took another two months off. At this time, Zuo Zongtang's discord with Prince Gong, Bao Zheng and others began to be made public. Old friend Liu Kunyi complained about Zuo Zongtang, should not have listened to the words of a few scholars, thinking that entering Beijing would be able to sensationalize the world and revitalize the government. Thinking that he was sitting on one side in Lanzhou was enough to deter China and foreign countries, how happy he was, and how uncomfortable he was at the entrance plane, it was really self-inflicted.
In the face of outside discussion, the Military Aircraft Department also felt that continuing to let Zuo Zongtang stay in the Military Aircraft Department would cause more trouble, so it was decided to let him be transferred to the frontier to be a feudal official. At this time, Liu Kunyi resigned from the post of Viceroy of Liangjiang, and on the third day of September, the imperial court appointed Zuo Zongtang as the Viceroy of Liangjiang.
Zuo Zongtang was like a big god who was difficult to provide for at the military plane, and when he saw him leave, his colleagues in the military plane department were all happy and forgot their unhappiness with him. Take turns to feast, back and forth to do the east, for the staggered, not lively, before leaving, is Zuo Zongtang's happiest time, wine booming, from time to time drunk. Prince Shuo was as full of affection for Zuo Zongtang as ever, and after the banquet, it was a group photo and a gift. On October 17, Zuo Zongtang left Beijing, and Li Hongzao and Wang Wenshao sent him off.
Zuo Zongtang went south and suffered from the officials of Jiangsu. Pan Jiyu, a gentleman in Jiangsu, went to see Zuo Zongtang because of local official affairs and learned his strength. "When I first saw Zuo Xiang (Zuo Zongtang), I said a few words, and Zuo Xiang said that he had described his western exploits, and the stabs were endless, so that people had no interjection. He scolded Zeng Wenzheng (Zeng Guofan), and his words were not yet smooth. At this time, the sky was already dark, and Zuo Zongtang was reminded to send guests, so he stopped. The next day, Zuo Zongtang invited Pan Jiyu to dinner, and as soon as he entered the table, he began to scold Zeng Guofan and did not stop for a moment. A few days later, Pan Jiyu went to bid farewell, and Zuo Zongtang began to scold Zeng Guofan again, and after scolding for a while, he bragged about his exploits in the northwest, and finally ended with a scolding of Li Xiang (Li Hongzhang) and Shen Wensugong (Shen Baozhen) in Hefei.
Zuo Zongtang's son-in-law was the son of Tao Shu, the former governor of Liangjiang, and after his arrival, his son-in-law invited him to dinner. Zuo Zongtang said triumphantly at the banquet: "The famous governor of Liangjiang, there are three people from Hunan, one is Tao Wenyi, the father of Ru, one is Zeng Wenzheng, and the other is Zuo Zongtang." Then he talked again, bragging that the other two were inferior to me, and the son-in-law could only promise when he listened. Zuo Zongtang blew for half a day, and finally suddenly said, "I still have one thing that is not as good as the two of them." When the son-in-law listened, he thought that you still had something inferior to others, so he listened closely, but heard Zuo Zongtang sigh, "My beard is not as long as these two people." As soon as this word came out, the seat was raised to spray rice.
This article is excerpted from Yuelu Book Society's "Two Hundred Years of military aircraft", originally titled "A Great God Who Is Difficult to Provide", written by Yuan Canxing.
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