When many people mention Zeng Guofan, they will associate it with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement. Not only because Zeng Guofan personally formed the Xiang Army to suppress the Heavenly Kingdom Movement, but also because the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was a positive movement that greatly accelerated the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the rise of the Chinese nation.
After the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was suppressed, there was actually an army in the northern realm that opposed the Qing court, the Twist Army (known as the Beard).
In fact, for the fall of the Qing Dynasty, in the eyes of Zeng Guofan after suppressing the "beard" to return to Beijing, it is clear.
The Great Qing Dynasty was like a century-old Jia Mansion
Zeng Guofan's beloved disciple, Li Hongzhang, led the Huai army to defeat the Twist army and wiped out the last of the Twist army in Shandong.
The good news reached Jiang Ning, and Zeng Guofan was proud of Li Hongzhang. On the reward of merit in the imperial court, Li Hongzhang awarded him the title of assistant university scholar, Zeng Guofan rewarded Yiyun with the merits of decision-making and the hard work of turning to war for more than a year, and Jia En rewarded Yiyun with the post of lieutenant, appointed as the viceroy directly subordinate to him, and his majesty in Jinjing.
Zeng Guofan, who received the edict, burst into tears, and the past of these years appeared one by one: the Green Camp was corrupt and overwhelmed. He was young and crazy, and in a fit of anger, he left the Beijing Division to form the Xiang Army.
The Xiang army had many talents and employed people on its own, and the Xiang army was able to expand step by step, recapturing the lost land of the imperial court day by day, until its prestige was in the government and the opposition, and it became a major weapon for itself.
Zeng Guofan was quite capable of looking at each other, and all talented young people stayed behind to serve as his staff. One of these people was named Zhao Liewen, the most favored young man of Zeng Guofan.
The night before entering Beijing, Zhao Liewen was working in Zengfu. Afterwards, invited by Zeng Guofan to eat at home, Zhao Liewen was flattered and rushed to answer the promise.
Before eating, Zhao Liewen inadvertently glimpsed a stack of "Dream of the Red Chamber" on the bookshelf, so he smiled: "I didn't think that the Governor of Liangjiang also had private salt, and today I held it!" "Say it, and walk toward the bookshelf."
Zeng Guofan was stunned at first, and then suddenly realized, saying: "A few days ago, the Royal Shiwang Dajing played a forbidden book, and "Dream of the Red Chamber" was the first, which was really ridiculous. It's a strange book, have you read it? ”
"I read it in a hurry five years ago, and it was really well written, and I really wanted to read it again."
Before he could finish speaking, the aroma of rice wafted in. Zeng Guofan then turned and walked to the table. While eating, Zeng Guofan wanted to know the views of this in-depth staff on the government, so he smiled and said:
"This dynasty is in charge of the cadres, and there is nothing in the past life." Where there is no twist, there is no big or small, and there is no shyness in reaching the front of the imperial court. That is, if the Yuanfu counselor Xiu Feng folded to the throne, the empress dowager wore Hu Jiayu's face and asked, only a compromise and a look, not to see the full text. Later, Tan Yanxiang and Mian sen were released to Hubei to investigate, and the Military Aircraft Department did not know the beginning and end. It is rare for a female protagonist to threaten to do so in ancient times. Liewen, there are no outsiders here, you say. ”
Zhao Liewen was encouraged, and thinking that this was a rare opportunity to express himself, his courage became bigger. So he said: "Today's empress dowager is indeed as the adult said, and the degree of secrecy is unknown even to the minister of military aircraft, and the empress dowager is also proud of this skill." However, after all, the female generation does not understand, and the power is broken, and it is deceived in the future. In person, they only promise to do so, and when they go out, they are arrogant and unscrupulous. A "Dream of the Red Chamber" has written this kind of face to the extreme. Beizhi sometimes thinks that the Great Qing Dynasty is like a century-old Jia Mansion, although the outer shelf has not fallen, the inner bag has also been exhausted. Soon there will be a day when 'the building is falling like a trumpet, and the darkness is like the lights will be exhausted'. (Translated in vernacular)
Zhao Liewen's words were so clear and terrible that Zeng Guofan was deeply disturbed. He did his best to consolidate the Qing court, but in the eyes of the people of the world, was it such a country?
Originally a happy farewell feast, but therefore did not eat happily, until Zeng Guofan came to the Beijing Division to alleviate all.
Cixi: Don't ask the heavens to ask the ghosts and gods
The car drove into the Beijing Division, and Zeng Guofan had a lot of thoughts. After all, his departure was seventeen years of bloody storms.
"Seventeen years, seventeen years. How did you survive these ten years? Zeng Guofan, who was sitting in the car, thought casually.
The car entered zhengyangmen avenue, and the palace with bright yellow colors shining in the sun looked incomparably magnificent in the eyes of Zeng Guofan.
"Is it Houlu, a high-ranking official under this palace in front of you?" Was it the ambition of youth? Is it the cultivation of science in your own heart? Zeng Guofan did not have a clear answer in his heart.
The car stopped at the Xianliang Temple outside dong'an Gate. During this period, there were already officials from the official department who reported to the empress dowager of the two palaces. In the evening, an official attendant came to the Xianliang Temple to preach the message: "Enjoy the horseback riding in the Forbidden City of Zeng Guofan, and summon you tomorrow at the Yangxin Hall." ”
This night, Zeng Guofan stayed up all night. Enjoying the Forbidden City on horseback, this is a very high courtesy given by the royal family to the young ministers of Gao Deshao, and as soon as they enter the city, they are summoned, which shows the longing of the empress dowager of the two palaces.
Zeng Guofan's unpleasant mood when he entered the city had disappeared, and the hardships and grievances of the past seventeen years seemed to have made this holy will reward.
After Daoguang had dispersed the museum for twenty years, he had seen the heavenly face, and was now the third generation of the Holy Lord. The emperor is not yet 14 years old, what does the young Tianzi look like? The empresses of the two palaces were also young, and the Western Empress was very clever, and it was said that there was a style of the heavenly empress, and how talented she was in handling state affairs, Zeng Guofan wanted to personally weigh it.
When summoned tomorrow, what will the Emperor and the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces ask? Zeng Guofan imagined the questions that might be asked in his mind, and then answered them separately.
Unconsciously, it was already four days later, Zeng Guofan got up to wash and eat, and entered the military aircraft under the greeting of wenxiang, Shen Guifen, and Li Hongzao, the military aircraft ministers. These ministers, who were usually on high, were very humble in front of Zeng Guofan.
Near noon, a clear and beautiful woman's voice came from the Yangxin Hall: "Tell him to come in!" ”
Zeng Guofan knew that this was the golden mouth opened by the empress, and subconsciously straightened his clothes, bent down to enter the door, took two steps forward, knelt down on his knees, and shouted: "Minister Zeng Guofan respectfully invites Saint Ann." ”
"Zeng Guofan is exempt from etiquette." This is an authentic Beijing dialect, the first sentence should be the absolute of Empress Dowager Cixi, this sentence should be Empress Dowager Ci'an, Zeng Guofan secretly thought to himself.
"How many years have you been out of Beijing?" Empress Dowager Ci'an asked.
"It has been seventeen years since the subject left Beijing."
"Have you been quiet all the way?"
"It's quiet on the road."
"Zeng Guoquan is your brother?"
"He is the brother of the minister."
Empress Dowager Ci'an and I started to pull up the family, Zeng Guofan thought to herself. When answering the first question, Zeng Guofan looked up and saw the emperor clearly. The emperor sat on the dragon chair, his figure seemed to be thinner, his face was pale, his face was childish, and his eyes were looking straight out the window, not looking at him. Zeng Guofan was a little disappointed, but did not show the slightest performance.
"Is Yongdu finished?" The interrogator became Empress Dowager Cixi.
"Soon after the kuko was extinguished, they were all withdrawn." Zeng Guofan looked nervous, and his back was gradually getting hot.
"How many braves have you withdrawn?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked again.
"Twenty thousand were withdrawn, thirty thousand were retained." As soon as the words came out, Zeng Guofan regretted it endlessly, originally the shangqu was completely removed, and now there are more than those who have been withdrawn. Zeng Guofan was anxious in his heart, and the heat on his back immediately turned into sweat.
"Do you know why you were transferred to Zhili?" It was Empress Dowager Cixi who spoke.
Seeing that Empress Dowager Cixi did not embarrass him, he secretly rejoiced and said, "The subject does not know." ”
"Direct subordination is very empty, you must train well."
Zeng Guofan understood this time, and it turned out that he had let himself train his troops. I know that I can't get rid of it, and I can only face the difficulties.
In fact, Zeng Guofan received a total of three summonses. These three summons made Zeng Guofan feel a lot of emotions.
The emperor was silent from beginning to end, although he was young and had a mother and queen to be the master, but he had been emperor for eight years, could not say a single polite word? What is needed in this situation is an emperor who can turn things around, and he is obviously not this piece of material.
Empress Dowager Ci'an asked about the homely conversations of the boudoir women, which were dispensable and innocuous.
Empress Dowager Cixi claimed to be powerful, and she was the only one who asked questions about major matters. However, Zeng Guofan He Xuren also, he concerned three things that Empress Dowager Cixi was concerned about: first, Jiangnan withdrew yong; second, the generals of the Xiang Army; and third, directly subordinate troops were trained, and through them he saw through Cixi's thoughts: he withdrew all the brave generals who could fight and brought them to zhili for training.
Zeng Guofan thought that she did not ask anything about the local provinces, nor did she mention anything about the Machinery Bureau, but did she only have the little power and Jiangshan in her hands?
At this time, a poem by Li Shangyin came to mind by Zeng Guofan: "The Xuanfu Room asked for a sage to visit and chase the courtiers, and Jia Sheng was even more ruthless. Poor night half empty front seat, do not ask the heavens to ask the ghosts and gods. ”
Although Cixi did not ask about ghosts and gods, she also did not ask about Cangsheng. The country is in the hands of such an empress dowager and emperor, can it be counted on to be prosperous in the world and the fortunes of the country? He shook his head secretly.