China is a rich and beautiful country, and many sons and daughters have given their lives to build it. Even in the decadent and backward era of the late Qing Dynasty, there were still countless benevolent people who would help the building to fall. Among them, the most famous is the "four famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty". Compared with Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong was the youngest and did not rise by military merit. His ability was to do good things, to be good, to be honest and honest, and to be extremely good in that era.
When Zhang Zhidong was the governor of Huguang, he was the peak of his life and the peak of his career. As the leader of the reformist faction, he put forward politically that "the middle school is the body, and the Western learning is the use", avoiding the controversy of the war of words and words, and uniting forces to the greatest extent possible for social reform. He founded the Hanyang Iron Works, Daye Iron Ore, Hubei Gun Factory, etc., leaving valuable wealth. Chairman Mao also once said that there are two people in China's national industry that cannot be forgotten, light industry cannot forget Zhang Xiao, and heavy industry cannot forget Zhang Zhidong.
The business he carried out in Wuhan was all large-scale, and Zhang Zhidong also said that "where the officials go, there will be prosperity." Be ambitious, don't ask how much you spend." To put it bluntly, this sentence is not afraid of extravagance and waste, coupled with lack of experience, many detours, and a lot of unjust money spent in vain, so that it was attacked. However, in any case, this money is spent on the national economy and people's livelihood, and not a single penny has fallen into his own pocket.
According to the Biography of the Great Qing Dynasty, when Zhang Zhidong died in the first year of Xuantong, "the family had no money, but tens of thousands of books." This was not easy at that time, like Li Hongzhang, the bureaucrats who filled their own pockets while doing things could already make the Qing court turn a blind eye.
In the case of Nian Guan, this should have been a good opportunity for officials to take advantage of the opportunity to amass wealth. Silver of various names poured into the houses of officials, and the more important the officials, the more so. However, in the area under the jurisdiction of Zhang Zhidong, no one dared to give him gifts. Because no one will be bored and obscure. However, at this time, Zhang Zhidong's life was very difficult.
In fact, as the governor of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong's silver was 180 taels, Lu Rice was 180 huo, plus the key annual 16,000 taels of silver, there was no problem in coping with ordinary expenses. However, at the time of each New Year, the expenditure of men, women and children in the family has increased significantly, and there is also the obligation to help relatives in the hometown, which is obviously stretched.
Zhang Zhidong also had Zhang Zhidong's method, and every time at this time, he asked his staff to prepare a few suitcases and send them to the pawnshop in Wuchang in exchange for some silver to survive the urgent need. Among them, there are also shrewd pawnshop owners who have a very tacit understanding with Zhang Zhidong.
For example, the owner of the "Restoration" pawnshop once told his men that as long as it was a suitcase sent by the Governor's Palace, they would not open the inspection, nor ask what was inside, let alone sell it. The pawnshop delivered it to the visitor at the equivalent price of 200 taels of silver per suitcase. Because the boss also knew that Zhang Zhidong did not want to sell these suitcases, but waited until the end of the New Year, he had a little more money on hand, and then redeemed them.
This kind of thing has experienced a lot, so it has been quoted as a beautiful talk in the local area, and even a post-break saying has been circulated: Zhang Zhidong is used as a suitcase for the New Year - it is taken for granted. Later, this matter even reached the ears of the Guangxu Emperor, who personally inquired about the truth when summoning Zhang Zhidong. One is that he is afraid of losing face, and the other is that he is afraid that the emperor will increase his qilu, and Zhang Zhidong insists: "This is a rumor, there is no such thing!" ”
As a heavy minister in the late Qing Dynasty, holding great power, and in the autumn of many events in the country, Zhang Zhidong did receive a lot of criticism. Moreover, because of his feudal bureaucratic background, he also did many unsatisfactory things and even resisted the tide of history. However, in his time, that position, at least in terms of honesty and honesty, Zhang Zhidong had nothing to blame.