A cannon blasted open the gates of Beijing, followed by the roar of torn horses and the clamor of the great powers.
On that day, the Yuanmingyuan learned to cry silently, the treasures of the emperors fell into the demon caves of the great powers, and the heads of the twelve beasts no longer flowed out of the clear water, but the smelly blood.
In the process of burning and scrambling, the Yuanmingyuan watched its body change from gorgeous to ruined.
After a night, Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang had diametrically opposed attitudes to the matter, the former being called the greatest official of the late Qing Dynasty, and the latter being called the light of the motherland at that time.
Why do two high-ranking officials who are also seeking the light of China's progress have such a contrasting understanding of this matter, and which of them is really patriotic? Do you really understand the very different attitudes of the two?
1. The Burning of a Fire: The Last Lament of the Old Summer Palace
The Yuanmingyuan is the treasure of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, which embodies the value of several generations of emperors and can even be regarded as the microscopic world of the late Qing Dynasty.
Down to the carpet, up to the national treasure, every bit embodies the feelings of generations of Chinese craftsmen.
If there must be something in this world called a priceless treasure, the Yuanmingyuan before it was burned down can afford such an assessment.
Since its birth, the Yuanmingyuan has absorbed the essence of China and has greatly undertaken the responsibility of the essence of brilliant China with its own strength. If it is conscious, believe that it does not admit that it will one day be abandoned.
However, a cannon shot from the great powers opened the gates of China, but in four years, they were forced from Guangzhou to the gate of Beijing, and the palace was empty at this time, and the emperor took Cixi and a large number of people, and even crawled to the summer resort to take refuge.
Before the Yuanmingyuan could react, the grunting words of the Chinese accompanied by the cries of the palace maidens and the hissing of horses broke into its place.
After a night of washing, the Yuanmingyuan lost its beauty and glory, and only the ruins and unbearable walls were further broken into its new face.
The Yuanmingyuan was "violated" throughout the land of China, and also broke into the ears of Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guofan, but at this time, the two of them showed different attitudes and faces, and Zeng Guofan's face did not change, but he looked at the clouds in the sky more and more heavily. Zuo Zongtang did not, when he heard about the Yuanmingyuan incident, he slapped one hand on the table: "Fool me and no one in China?" ”
Second, Zeng Guofan's meditation: Will foreigners be salvation?
Since that day, Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guofan have become representatives of the two forces in China at that time.
Zeng Guofan openly expressed a cover-up attitude toward the foreigners' behavior, in his view, although the foreigners' behavior was barbaric, it did not damage the fundamentals in the end, so it could be big things and small things.
As a Chinese, Zeng Guofan was justifying the actions of foreigners when The French Hugo pointed at his compatriots and scolded him for robbing the Yuanmingyuan as a bandit.
For a moment, people could not tell who was Chinese and who was a foreigner. As soon as this move came out, it attracted insults from the world, and Zeng Guofan, who was born in Hunan, was even kicked out of his ancestral home by his fellow villagers.
Zeng Guofan's so-called "immovable roots" refers to the fact that foreigners did not damage ancestral temples and other places.
Although it is an excuse for foreigners, it actually shows zeng guofan's purpose of hoping to win over foreigners.
At that time, the degree of internal and external troubles in the Qing Dynasty was self-evident, and in his heart, he also pinned his hopes on the ancients' saying that "eating people's mouths is short, taking people's hands is short", hoping that these people can help the Qing Dynasty in turn.
Unfortunately, this is obviously the illusion of Zeng Guofan, and there is an attitude of rushing to the doctor after going deep into the desperate situation.
If China gives hope to others, it can only be pulled in the quagmire of internal and external troubles, and this conjecture has been reversed in Zuo Zongtang's body.
3. Zuo Zongtang: The land of China does not allow outsiders to be reckless
From the day the Yuanmingyuan was destroyed, Zuo Zongtang's mind could not let go of the idea of teaching foreigners.
He swore that he would be tamed in front of him in the future, and after sitting in the position of governor of Liangguang with such an idea, Zuo Zongtang also ushered in the opportunity to teach the foreigners a lesson.
According to the Holy Will, Zuo Zongtang came to Shanghai, and at this time, Shanghai's red lights and green wines did not look like in the past.
Zuo Zongtang frowned and went ashore, scanning his eyes, the foreigners wore well-tailored suits for a long time, but their compatriots were still paying tears for the progress of life.
Such a scene deeply stung Zuo Zongtang's heart, but his every move now did not only represent an individual. As the guards led the ship off the ship, several foreigners blocked in front of them and refused to leave, and Zuo Zong's brow frowned.
It turned out that the few foreigners who were blocking the eyes were people from the British Concession in Shanghai, and one of them, who seemed to be quite a leader, arrogantly refused to allow Zuo Zongtang to enter the country, because Zuo Zongtang borrowed a knife and was armed.
The word "sword and armed" used to describe the gathering of rabble-rousers rested on the head of Zuo Zongtang, a major courtier of the imperial court, which was tantamount to a direct humiliation.
Zuo Zongtang understood the intention and immediately ordered all the soldiers to point all their weapons at these foreigners. Before several foreigners could react, they heard Zuo Zongtang's angry rebuke:
"Shanghai is the land of China, and the leased place is still not under China's control, so you have to decide the behavior of Chinese soldiers."
Zuo Zongtang's words were a stimulant for the Chinese soldiers, and they appeared on the soldiers without anger and arrogance, and silently made the foreigners mute
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Zuo Zongtang inspected Shanghai four times, each time shocking the foreigners more than the last.
At Zuo Zongtang's request, the welcome of the cannon or the basic respect were all placed in front of Zuo Zongtang without exception.
In the eyes of foreigners, the Chinese at that time could be cheap labor of capital or slaves who wantonly oppressed, but this must not include Zuo Zongtang.
In the eyes of foreigners, Zuo Zongtang is China's last strongman, and the world believes that "the world cannot be without Hunan for a day, and Hunan cannot be without Zuo Zongtang for a day." ”
Carrying such a heavy burden, Zuo Zongtang showed amazing talent in the chaotic world, and he warned his friends why foreigners were afraid of him, afraid of fighting.
This sentence is an abbreviation of China's later century-old history of struggle, and there is no respect to be sought, only opponents who cannot be defeated.
Even when Zeng Guofan himself talked about Zuo Zongtang, he would think that Zuo Zongtang was lucky for Daqing. It is precisely because of the presence of Zuo Zongtang that China's chaos has won a chance to breathe.
Patriotism itself requires a strong sense of national identity, and when Zeng Guofan pinned his hopes on the great powers, he also showed that he did not recognize the traces of the motherland in his heart, so he could not stand up so straight like Zuo Zongtang, and dared to say no in front of the enemy.
Zuo Zongtang's "dare" came from the bottom of his heart, and in the last period, he radiated the power of this heart into a belief that illuminated the indomitable people of the whole of China.