In ancient times, women's marriages were almost always based on the fate of their parents, and it can be said that they had no right to choose. It is not uncommon for families like old husbands and young wives to be combined, but such a situation generally occurs under the conditions that the man's family background is strong and the woman is a victim of "marriage", but there is an exception where Li Hongzhang is.
As one of the four famous ministers of Wanqing, Li Hongzhang can be said to have a heavy position in the political arena of Wanqing. First of all, from his resume, Li Hongzhang entered the family library Dihua Bookstore at the age of six to study. In the twentieth year of Daoguang (1840), Zhongxiucai, three years later, he was admitted to the Jinshi. In the twenty-third year of Daoguang (1843), Li Hongzhang was again elected as a yougong at Luzhou Fuxue.
Entering the Beijing examination, as a son of the Nian family, he worshiped under Zeng Guofan, but Li Hongzhang can be said to be better than blue in politics. Zeng Guofan formed the Xiang Army, and Li Hongzhang formed the Huai Army. During the Pacification of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Li Hongzhang's Huai army played a huge role, and was appreciated by Empress Dowager Cixi and became a red man in front of him.
Under Li Hongzhang's knees, there were five children. With the status and fame of Li Hongzhang, the wives married by the three sons are all thousands of gold of the governor's family, and the two daughters are the pearls in the palm of their hands. Logically speaking, the family that will not be casual, no matter how to say, must also recruit a handsome-looking, extraordinary dragon-riding son-in-law.
But what is strange is that Li Hongzhang's eldest daughter, at the age of prosperity, is married to an official who is fully older than twenty years older. Logically, with Li Hongzhang's position, there is no need to pull on anyone in this way. After all, the three sons were married to the daughters of high-ranking officials. So what is so special about this official?
The eldest son-in-law was named Zhang Peilun, and his father, Zhang Yintang, was once close friends with Li Hongzhang. Before Li Hongzhang could make his mark, he fought side by side in Hefei and Chaoxian. However, Zhang Peilun's official path was not very smooth, and during the Sino-French War, Zhang Peilun's leading soldiers were defeated and impeached, and they were thrown into Li Hongzhang's account several times.
Unfortunately, his original wife died of illness, so Li Hongzhang married his young daughter Li Jujun to Zhang Peilun, who was 44 years old, and the family naturally held opposition. I don't understand the reason for this arrangement, in fact, Li Hongzhang did not have much intention of interests in this marriage, a large part of which was to appreciate Zhang Peilun's talent, and Zhang Peilun was also his own person in the official field.
Li Hongzhang did not look away, and after marriage, Zhang Peilun treated Li Jujun very well. Soon after their marriage, the two had a son, named Zhang Zhiyi, who inherited his father's talent, and he was also handsome, and he had Li Hongzhang, the grandfather as the background. Since the age of teenagers, there has been an endless stream of people who have come to ask for relatives. In the end, he chose a big girl named Huang Yifan and gave birth to a daughter named Zhang Xuan. Many people may or may be a little unfamiliar with this name. But another name for her must have been a household name in advance.
The familiar name is the famous writer Zhang Ailing, whose novels such as "Love in the City" and "Red Roses and White Roses" have long been popular. Perhaps even Li Hongzhang did not expect that he had inadvertently formed a good marriage and raised a well-known descendant.