I used to have a boss who said at a cadre meeting: "My life is one, the whole person must die, and the whole person must be saved." "Thirty years later, the words are still in the ears, and it really makes a lot of sense.
Zhao Fengchang originally had a solid family, but he fell because of the rise of the Taiping Army. Unable to study, and the family's plans were difficult, Zhao Fengchang had to go out early to earn a living. According to Yao Songling's "Small Biography of The Characters of the Republic of China", it is said that he was an apprentice at a local money house and was responsible for sending money to a rich family surnamed Zhu. Once, he embezzled the money of the money bank, was suspended by the treasurer, and dismissed.
The owner of the Zhu family has a lot of vision, seeing that he is not yet 20 years old, he said: "See that you are very smart, it is not a matter of doing such a guy, it is best to go to school, there is hope to go up." Zhao Fengchang replied: "I can't afford to read books, or please recommend a job for me to do, you have so many shops at home, I will go to the shop as a small guy." Boss Zhu was happy and said, "You are so young, how can you be willing to be a buddy, since you don't want to study, I simply send you a few more money, donate a petty official for you, and you will always be able to come out in the future." This Boss Zhu couldn't help but say that he really donated a county beggar for him and also sent a travel fund. In 1880, he went to Guangzhou with Yao Xiaoyuan, who had been promoted to envoy to Guangdong. Two years later, Yao was dismissed from his post and returned home, and Zhao Fengchang had to go around on a business trip, and his life was very embarrassing.
In August 1884, the noble man came, who, Zhang Zhidongbei, came to Guangzhou in 1884 as the governor of Liangguang, he was very appreciative, asked him to be the governor of Yamen copywriting, participate in all secrets, how to say it, equivalent to personal secretary. Why are the two of them so apostrophe? It has to do with personality. As we all know, Zhang Zhidong is very casual, there is no regular work and rest, and the books and documents are also thrown away. Sometimes I read official documents, write and write and fall asleep, and when I wake up, I suddenly want to read books again, read for a while, and then I have to consult documents.
And Zhao Fengchang has an amazing ability: never forget. You can be on call, you can also pick up on demand, and you have a special heart to catalog and archive all the documents, which is very convenient to retrieve. What's more, Zhao Fengchang originally did not like to read, and after following Zhang Zhidong, he was well versed in literature and science, and imitated Zhang's handwriting, almost with false and real, and later generally stylized official documents, simply entrusting him to act on his behalf. In the Officialdom of Wuhan, there is a popular saying: "Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, and Zhao Fengchang, the wife of Yipin." ”
At that time, Zhang Zhidong was engaged in the Hubei New Deal, building the Hanyang Arsenal, and so on, which attracted people's attention and also attracted jealousy. One year, Xu Zhixiang, the secretary of the Dali Temple, played the cave of Samzhang, involving many crimes, the imperial court instructed Liu Kun to investigate and deal with it, Liu finally lived in the mud, found a scapegoat, hey, it was Zhao Fengchang, because there was a charge of "power grabbing" in the fold, and as a result, Zhao Fengchang was dismissed from his post and never used. Afterwards, Lao Zhang felt that he was too unwilling to go, so he asked Sheng Xuanhuai to help, and gave Zhao Fengchang a name at the Wuchang Telegraph Office, in fact, he handled foreign affairs on behalf of Nanyang, procured ordnance, and collected intelligence.