Zeng Guofan: People are not fierce and unstable, they must be fierce, and the days become more and more stable
Being able to achieve the first minister of the late Qing Dynasty and Zeng Guofan, who is known as "half a saint", can be described as a real "fierce character". Zeng Guofan was even called "Zeng Shaved Head" because of his fierce behavior.
After the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the foundation of the Qing government was damaged, because of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement in Hunan, peasant uprisings were very frequent, Zeng Guofan was ordered to suppress the uprising, form a legion, recruit troops and buy horses, exterminate the people of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and once turned the southern Jiangsu area into a no-man's land, and the fertile fields became barren land.
Zeng Guofan opened a trial bureau in Changsha and killed many so-called "bandits" and got the nickname "Zeng Shaved Head". Because of the principle of preferring to kill a hundred by mistake and never let go of one, Zeng Guofan's life was even criticized because of this matter. But it is undeniable that if you are kind to your enemies, you are cruel to yourself.
Comrade Lei Feng once said: "We must treat comrades like the warmth of spring, and treat our enemies as cruelly and mercilessly as a harsh winter." ”
Throughout the ages, those who have achieved great things have all been fierce people. Throughout Zeng Guofan's life, he vividly explained the truth that "people are not ruthless and unstable". This kind of cruelty is not only ruthless to the enemy, but also cruel to oneself and one's children.
Be yourself
Zeng Guofan We all know that his road to the imperial examination is very tortuous, his good friend Zuo Zongtang, when he was fourteen years old, he took the second place in the government examination, and at the age of twenty, he was the first in the second time during his study in the academy, and Zeng Guofan took the exam seven times when he was young, and after the sixth examination, he was also posted with an announcement saying: "The arts and sciences are too shallow."
Such humiliation made Zeng Guofan keep in mind, and after returning, Zeng Guofan summed up the experience, repeatedly read and summarized the examination papers of all the candidates, and finally in the seventh time, he won the xiucai examination.
Since then, Zeng Guofan's examination has been smooth, and at the age of 28, he was admitted to the jinshi. Zeng Guofan after the examination often gathered with friends, when the literati gathered, it was inevitable to bring some beautiful concubines, Zeng Guofan could not control himself after drinking, often flirted with these women, and when he woke up, he regretted it very much, in order to make himself not focus on the female color, restrain himself, Zeng Guofan thought of a cruel move, he wrote a diary every day to criticize himself, step by step to correct his own behavior.
In addition to these, Zeng Guofan also set strict demands on himself and set eight principles for himself: reading is based on exhortation, composing poems is based on tone, relatives are based on being happy, health is based on guarding against anger, standing up is based on not speaking in vain, staying at home is based on not getting up, being an official is based on not wanting money, and marching is based on not disturbing the people.
Zeng Guofan has done each of these eight principles, can such a ruthless person not achieve great achievements?
Be cruel to children
Zeng Guofan had nine children, three sons and six daughters, one son and one daughter who died prematurely, and had two sons and five daughters.
Zeng Guofan's method of educating his children is regarded by countless people as the truth of governing the family. One family letter after another reflects the importance that Zeng Guofan attaches to his children.
The Zeng family's family training is that the family is thrifty and prosperous, the people are diligent and healthy, they can be diligent and thrifty, and they will never be poor. Even though he was already a generation of famous courtiers, Zeng Guofan still lived a very simple life, not only being diligent and thrifty himself, but also requiring his children to abstain from extravagance.
The younger daughter followed her mother to the Governor's Palace to see her father, dressed in some luxury, and Zeng Guofan said to her daughter, "You should not wear it like this, hurry home and change it." ”
Another time was when eating, there was unhulled grain in the rice, Zeng Guofan could not bear to waste, knocked the shell of the grain open, took out the grain inside and ate it.
Zeng Guofan's family lived in a small courtyard without any carved beams and paintings, and there was no flashy decoration in the house.
When a family travels, they can walk and walk, and they are not allowed to be palanquins and servants, so that "all the children of the family, the food, clothing, and living are the same as the Han soldiers, and the few can become great instruments." ”
Because of his father's words and deeds, Zeng Jize, the eldest son of Zeng Guofan, became a famous diplomat of the Qing Dynasty and the second ambassador of the Qing Dynasty to foreign countries, proficient in Western studies and good at English.
The second son, Zeng Jihong, was passionate about mathematics, and was fluent in astronomy, geography, and public opinion maps, and after estimating the decimal point of pi to more than one hundred, it far exceeded the international records at that time.
epilogue
Zeng Guofan's fierceness was to be cruel to the enemy, to himself, and to his children, and only then was he able to achieve the prosperity of the Zeng family.