Background: In 1863, Li Hongzhang led an army to attack Suzhou, but the Taiping Army was strictly guarded under the command of Tan Shaoguang, the King of Mu, and Li Hongzhang, who was blocked by the fortified city, was helpless. At this time, Gordon, the captain of the Shanghai Ocean Gun Brigade, discovered that Tan Shaoguang, the king of Mu in Suzhou, was not in harmony with the eight generals including King Gao Yongkuan of Nawang, and he suggested that Li Hongzhang use the high-ranking official Houlu to lure Gao Yongkuan and others to kill Tan Shaoguang and surrender the city. Don't you say that this Gordon even uses the divergence meter, I don't know if he has taught sun tzu's art of war by himself?
Gordon, captain of the Shanghai Ocean Gunners
First, Li Hongzhang accepted Gordon's suggestion and quickly put it into practice.
Cheng Xueqi, a general in the Huai Army, was a general of the Taiping Army, and he had a good relationship with Nawang Gao Yongkuan and others, so he was sent by Li Hongzhang to contact Nawang Gao Yongkuan.
Gao Yongkuan and others asked Gordon to preside over the negotiations and guarantee that the results of the negotiations could be implemented.
During the negotiations, Gordon guaranteed the safety of the lives and property of the surrendered generals of the Taiping Army, and promised the two sides the oath of folding arrows as an alliance.
So Gao Yongkuan and the others killed Tan Shaoguang, the King of Mu, as agreed, and went out of the city to surrender and offer the first rank.
After Li Hongzhang accepted the surrender of the Taiping Army, but in his heart he did not trust them and feared that they would rebel again, so he secretly set up a Banquet at the Hongmen Gate, beheaded Gao Yongkuan and eight other people at the banquet, and then hunted down and killed more than a thousand of Gao Yongkuan's subordinates.
Li Hongzhang and Gordon were originally the executioners who slaughtered the Taiping Army together
There are also sources that Li Hongzhang killed about 8,000 generals in total
Second, Li Hongzhang's abandonment of his promise to kill Suzhou caused an uproar throughout the country, and the Western media even more verbally criticized and criticized the thousands of people, and even more annoyed Gordon, the guarantor of this abduction, who came to Li Hongzhang in front of the door to duel.
In the view of Gordon, the captain of the Yankees, Li Hongzhang's move is a great denigration of his personality and honor.
As a nobleman and gentleman, Gordon advocated "responsibility and honor are more important than life", and according to European practice, Gordon chose to maintain honor at the cost of his life.
Extremely angry, he single-handedly came to the Huai army camp and issued a duel invitation to Li Hongzhang.
Duels in the West, first with a sword, later with a pistol
Rare three-person duels
In fact, China also pays attention to the value of a promise, and the things promised to be implemented, you Li Hongzhang just suspect that Gao Yongkuan may be able to rebel again in the future, which is unjust first. If Gao Yongkuan really turned against them, I am afraid that no one would gossip about how you killed them.
Third, Li Hongzhang, who had no integrity, was supported by the scholars and doctors of the dynasty, including his teacher Zeng Guofan, who believed that what Li Hongzhang had done was righteous and gratifying.
After Li Hongzhang killed the general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, his mentor Zeng Guofan expressed his support and great praise for him.
Zeng Guofan said in a letter to Li Hongzhang: "Words must be believed, deeds must be fruitful, and the people are like villains." For the grown-ups, words do not have to be believed, deeds do not have to be fruitful, but righteousness is there. ”
I lean on, this really subverted my cognition, translate the meaning of this sentence, that is, honesty and trustworthiness are what small people have to do. As long as a big person like us acts in accordance with morality, no matter what he says, he will believe in what he does, and he does not have to care at all!
On the left is Zeng Guofan, and on the right is Li Hongzhang
This is similar to another Chinese saying, "The big husband does not have to pay attention to the subsection", which actually has the same effect.
Many of us Chinese don't understand the truth, Gordon, a Westerner, certainly doesn't understand, and he insists on a duel!
Gordon's dueling offer seemed even more childish and ridiculous in Li Hongzhang's eyes, just like a child's fight, and he certainly did not agree to or disdain to duel with people barbarically.
Gordon did not stop pestering Li Hongzhang for a duel until he reached his goal, and Li Hongzhang was overwhelmed with annoyance.
If it was a Chinese to find trouble like this, he would have let people pull out and kill him, but the foreigner Li Hongzhang did not want to provoke, so he asked the chief tax collector of the Qing Customs and the Englishman Hurd to promise Gordon seventy thousand oceans as a reward and a condition for concessions.
Li Hongzhang when he was the governor of Liangjiang
Gordon was not at all moved, and The Ocean didn't want one!
In desperation, Li Hongzhang moved out of Gordon's good friend Margaret as a peacemaker.
Margaret had lived in China for a long time and understood Chinese culture and British culture, and under his persuasion, Gordon finally understood that Li Hongzhang could not accept duels and would not bear any responsibility for killing and surrendering.
In desperation, Gordon had no choice but to make one last request: let Li Hongzhang write a letter to the British, French, American and other missions in Shanghai, explaining that the killing and surrender of Suzhou was the decision of the Chinese side (Li Hongzhang) and had nothing to do with him Gordon, in order to preserve Gordon's personality and honor.
Gordon in Chinese official clothes
Conclusion: Li Hongzhang quickly sent a letter to the British, French, American and other missions in Shanghai, and Gordon stopped making trouble, and the matter was finally concluded.
In this case, we also see the differences in the high-level cultures of China and the West. I don't know what everyone thinks about this matter?