In addition to his own hard work and maintenance, the emperor's Jiangshan in China's feudal period also has the capable courtiers around him, who will be very favored by the emperor at the beginning and have a higher and higher status. But with the development of the dynasty, it will become more and more the person that the emperor is jealous of, that is, the lord of the gong gao zhen that people say.
In ancient China, there were many famous courtiers who mostly had the phenomenon of high merit and high shock, but as the same famous Zeng Guofan, he got the best results, which can be said to be a good beginning and a good end. Also a meritorious minister of the dynasty, Zeng Guofan was able to get a good beginning and a good end only because he did these three things well.
The reason why Zeng Guofan said that he had the ability to perform meritorious service and high zhen lord was that his greatest credit was in his contribution to Jinling. At that time, after the fall of Jinling, Cixi was helpless to rely on only Zeng Guofan's Xiang army, and he desperately resisted as a courtier of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Zeng Guofan was an active member of the foreign affairs movement, and he had a very strong Xiang army in his hands.
Almost all the efforts made at the time of the reconquest of Jinling were done by the Xiang army, and after the reconquest of Jinling, Zeng Guofan was rewarded by the Cixi Emperor for a while and became a powerful vassal of the opposition. At this time, Zeng Guofan did not smugly express his merits with Cixi and constantly recruited his own forces, but began to dismantle the Xiang army he had established with his own hands.
This act done by Zeng Guofan was a great blow to the Xiang Army, and Zeng Guofan came out to oppose his brother as soon as he first took action. In his opinion, he had no opinion on the dismantling of the Xiang Army, but in Zeng Guofan's way, the soldiers of the Xiang Army no longer had any ideas to follow them, but Zeng Guofan did not think so.
For Zeng Guofan, this move should not only be done, but also fast, only in this way can Cixi be assured that there will be no idea of moving him. He understood that as a courtier, he could only ensure his existing life by letting the emperor see that he had no power to use, and at that time he not only dismissed the Xiang army he had built with his own hands, but also removed his brother from his official position.
After that, Zeng Guofan began to do another very important thing, that is, to give Empress Dowager Cixi a fold. At this time, although Zeng Guofan did not have an army to rely on, he was still a powerful courtier in the dynasty, and he was famous for the reconquest of Jinling. Once Zeng Guofan has different intentions, then many people are bound to respond.
Before Zeng Guofan's performance arrived at the palace, Cixi was worried about this matter. However, after seeing the recital sent by Zeng Guofan, Cixi began to smile because he took the initiative to solve this important matter in his heart. Zeng Guofan claimed in the recital that he was ill and could not share the worries of the imperial court for the time being.
Then he focused on the very serious symptoms of his illness, saying that he could no longer continue to contribute to the imperial court, and asked to return to his hometown. For such a meritorious man, if Empress Dowager Cixi directly allowed him to tell the old man to return to his hometown, the imperial court was too ruthless. Therefore, Cixi used Zeng Guofan's illness as an excuse to greatly reduce his previous jurisdiction.
In this way, Zeng Guofan had changed from a general who had previously been in power to a local official who could only manage Jiangsu, and even if he had any ideas, he was unable to do it. Zeng Guofan took the initiative to demand the removal of his power, and Cixi naturally admired him very much. In addition to these two major events, Zeng Guofan also did one thing to protect himself.
After Zeng Guofan led the Xiang army to retake Jinling, he began to move from a literati to the official field, at this time many began to say that Zeng Guofan had great power and power. Zeng Guofan's only idea was to reassure the imperial court and reassure Cixi that he realized that he was a courtier, and even if he was powerful, he could not change this reality.
Therefore, after he had power, he did not rely on his own merits to look down on the imperial court, but as far as possible, he focused on the imperial court and gave the imperial court the opportunity to reduce his power. At any time, he can clearly realize his current situation and the wind direction of the imperial court, and will never run counter to the thinking of the imperial court.
After the reconquest of Jinling, Cixi intended to let the soldiers of the Eight Banners stationed, and zeng Guofan knew this meaning and played it to Cixi, and he was ready to let the eight banner generals stationed. After the General of the Eight Banners entered Jinling, he mainly focused on the Eight Banners, but snubbed the Xiang Army he had established with his own hands. In order not to let the soldiers of the Eight Banners be wronged, he made the Xiang Army dare not speak.
Such a high-ranking meritorious man who has always been sober in his thinking not only allowed himself to have a high prestige in the whole country, but also allowed himself to maintain this prestige well all his life. This was incomparable to many ministers who had devoted their lives to their sons, and even Ao bai was overthrown by Kangxi in the end, but Zeng Guofan received a good death.
As one of the heroes of our country who was able to die well, Zeng Guofan thought and did things that many people could not imagine. At any time, what he can see in his eyes is the interests of the country and the interests of the nation, and his own interests are always in the invisible distance, and such a Zeng Guofan is destined to be appreciated by everyone.
The reason why Zeng Guofan's life can end well lies in his thoughts, and these ideas of his are recorded in detail in the Complete Works of Zeng Guofan. No matter what position a person is in, his thinking is correct, and there is no problem with his behavior. "The Complete Works of Zeng Guofan" is not only his deeds, but also the orientation of everyone's life.