Author: Insight Yimo
Destiny stands on its own, and blessed itself.
Zeng Guofan said that people have four kinds of blessings, and they must be cultivated.
In the eighth year of Xianfeng, he wrote in his diary:
Dignified and thick is your face,
Humility is noble,
Things are rich,
To be rich is to be rich.
A person who is calm and thick, humble and tolerant, has a beginning and an end, and has a kind heart is the true appearance of wealth.
01
Dignified and heavy
Lao Tzu said, "The weight is the light root, and the quiet is the restless king." ”
Dignified and thick people do not behave frivolously, and do things calmly and not impetuously.
Such a person as a leader makes people trusted, and as a friend makes people feel at ease.
The "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty" records that Zeng Guofan was "a man of great prestige and less speech", walking slowly and heavily, and speaking less and calmly.
He was very majestic in front of his subordinates, and his calm temperament made people admire him and respect him unconsciously.
Zeng Guofan said to his son in his family letter:
"Behaving too lightly is a major drawback, and in the future, we must always pay attention to it, no matter what we sit, we must be heavy and thick."
External modesty is a person's inner composure.
It is precisely because of this calmness that Zeng Guofan was able to avoid disasters and repeatedly make achievements.
In 1862, the Xiang army attacked Anqing, and Tianjing was within easy reach, and his men advocated a single blow.
However, Zeng Guofan repeatedly insisted on "stopping one step and stabilizing a little", reorganizing the soldiers and horses, and waiting for reinforcements from all four sides.
His younger brother Zeng Guoquan did not obey the general's orders and led his troops directly to Tianjing, and Zeng Guofan constantly wrote letters to warn him that it was too risky for light soldiers to take advantage of, so that he could stop at a moderate pace.
Zeng Guoquan ignored it and was bent on taking the lead.
Sure enough, reinforcements from the Taiping Army arrived, and Zeng Guoquan was soon besieged under the Tianjing City and fell into a desperate situation.
If it were not for Zeng Guofan's full support, Zeng Guoquan would most likely have died under the Tianjing City.
Zeng Guofan said:
Be calm, but be a big deal
。 ”
Only when a person does things steadily and does not be greedy and aggressive can he finally achieve something big.
Deep and thick, it is the first class qualification in life.
Only when a person behaves calmly and does not panic in the face of things, can he bear the burden and go far and take on a big responsibility.
02
Humility and humility
Zeng Guofan said: The biggest enemy of life, one is laziness, the other is arrogance.
Arrogant people are ignorant and rude, do not know the height of the sky, and do not know how to respect others.
No one like such a person wants to associate with him, and sooner or later he will suffer a big loss.
Being humble and tolerant of others is the way to be good.
Zeng Guofan led troops in Changsha in the early days, and he had a very high self-esteem and looked down on his colleagues.
So when doing things, the attitude is arrogant and does not respect others at all.
Training water division, he was worried that Luo Bingzhang, the inspector of Hunan, would interfere with him, so he wrote a letter in advance.
Tell him that he can do it alone, and don't send someone to mix it up.
Wuchang was in a hurry, and he asked Luo Bingzhang for help, still with the face of a great uncle.
"Between the interests of lips and teeth, do not wait for the wise to know."
Tell Inspector Luo to send troops as soon as possible, and not to wait for others to remind you.
Arrogant people have a hard time facing up to their own problems, but prefer to be critical of others and will not tolerate others.
Luo Bingzhang wrote back to criticize him for being self-conscious, but he complained that Luo Bingzhang was mean.
Even his younger brother Zeng Guohua could not look down, saying that he "embarrassed people every time" and often made people unable to get off the stage.
In the long run, Zeng Guofan slowly offended the entire Hunan officialdom, and was finally deposed by the Xianfeng Emperor and returned home.
Painfully, Zeng Guofan, who came out of the mountain for the second time, began to learn to restrain his pride and became humble little by little.
The first thing he did after he left the mountains was to write to officials at all levels in Hunan to ask them for advice and learning.
Passing through Changsha County, he even visited the Changsha County Order at that time and humbly learned the way of being an official.
Zeng Guofan began to be accepted by the Hunan officialdom little by little, and was slowly trusted by the imperial court.
This led to Zeng Guofan's later quelling of the rebellion and his title of Marquis of Worship.
If good is like water, a person must be like water, humble and tolerant of all things, so that he can truly approach the Dao.
Zeng Guofan said: "A gentleman is greater than a man, only in an open mind." ”
Too arrogant, can only attract a momentary noise.
Only by curbing pride and knowing how to respect and tolerate can we achieve something.
03
It's a matter of course
A person can accomplish one thing in an orderly manner, that is, the matter has returned.
No matter how good a person's mentality is, no matter how kind his heart is, if he does not do things in tune, it is difficult to win the favor of others.
Willing to do things, able to do things, is a rare noble appearance of a person.
The ancients said that those who walk a hundred miles are half ninety.
There is no easy thing in the world, and the vast majority of people have fallen before the end.
If a person wants to achieve something, the most important point is patience.
Li Shuchang, a disciple of Zeng Guofan, encountered many difficulties when he was making county orders in Jiangsu.
The local bandits were rampant, the people's customs were fierce, and the previous county officials owed too much money and grain, so Li Shuchang exhausted all his methods and could not do anything.
So he wrote to Zeng Guofan, wanting to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.
Zeng Guofan advised him: "Keep a word of patience, and perform your duties for a long time." ”
When encountering difficulties, being patient and hardworking, things will slowly turn around.
Sure enough, it was not long, and Inspector Zhang Zhiwan of Jiangsu came forward to solve the matter.
And Li Shuchang was also valued by the imperial court because of his endurance and hard work, and the officials became bigger and bigger.
The ancients said, "There is nothing in the world that does not come from hardship, but it can be long and great." ”
Nothing is easy, and something easy is hard to last.
Reliable people, no matter what they do, will inevitably be orderly and implement things one by one.
04
Keep in mind
Confucius said, "If you want to stand up for yourself, you want to reach and reach people." ”
One person is willing to give kindness, and others are willing to return kindness.
With good intentions and helping each other, the road of life will naturally go smoother.
During the Xianfeng period, the Xiang army fought unfavorably, Zeng Guofan engaged the Taiping army in Jiangxi, and the general Taqibu vomited blood and died.
The only thing he could rely on was The southern part of Luo Ze, and under such circumstances, he still transferred Luo Zenan to Hu Linyi in Hubei.
Hu Linyi relied on this elite to gain a firm foothold in Hubei and make meritorious achievements, but Zeng Guofan was becoming more and more difficult.
Later, Zeng Guofan was deposed, and the Xianfeng Emperor intended to put Hu Linyi in charge of the Xiang army, but Hu Linyi insisted on refusing.
Through various channels, he tried to make Zeng Guofan recover.
He knew how much Zeng Guofan had paid for him, and if others pulled him, he would also pull someone else.
It is precisely because of Hu Linyi's persistence that Zeng Guofan has a second chance to go out of the mountain.
The ancients said: "
Those who treat others well also tend to be good
A person is willing to treat others with kindness, and others are willing to reciprocate him with kindness.
Everything has cause and effect, and everything has reincarnation.
The flow of goodwill will eventually return to oneself.
A long life, every kindness, is a blessing for yourself.
▽
The Four Precepts of the Mortals says, "Destiny is self-reliant, and blessing is self-seeking." ”
The wealth of a person's life is never predestined, but he cultivates it himself.
Humble and thick, down-to-earth and kind, such a person, heaven will not fail.