The short-lived late Qing Dynasty zhongxing is known as the last "return to the light" of the behemoth of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, feudal rule was already "on the verge of extinction", and fortunately, the humerus ministers in the imperial court were still in control of the situation for the time being.
Hu Linyi, one of the famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty, was also one of the few important leaders of the Xiang Army who had the power to fight iron. At that time, zeng guofan, Zuo Zongtang and others were not as famous as others, but the attention and research that Hu Linyi received in later generations was far inferior to that of these two people. From 1980 to 2000, there were less than forty academic papers on Hu Linyi, and even the biography of hu Linyi was published in 1990, and there was only one "Biography of Hu Linyi" written by Dong Caishi and Wang Guoping.
In recent years, Hu Linyi has gradually received attention from the academic community, and has published books such as "The Patrol of Hu Linyi under the Heavens" (2006), "Hu Linyi and xiangjun" (2008) by Tao Haiyang, and "Commentary on Hu Linyi" by Liu Yijiang. However, as Liu Yijiang said in his book, "There is still no decent Hulin wing biography at home and abroad."
The biography of Hu Linyi is basically the same, there is no style to speak of, and this is related to the early death of Hu Linyi. Hu Linyi died of hemoptysis from lung disease at the age of 50. Before his death, he had been in charge of Hubei for seven years, and the suppression of the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising by major armies was also nearing its end, and civil unrest seemed to be nothing to fear. However, the foreign artillery ships that came from the sea "with great momentum" made Hu Linyi tremble with fear.
In the face of a powerful enemy, he never let go of his worries about the future of the Qing Dynasty until his death. After all, the time was not waiting, and his early death gave him no chance to be like Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang, from the commander of one army to the foreign affairs of the important minister. In the following years, the Qing Dynasty became more and more difficult, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and others were active in the political arena, and their every move was highly noticed by the people.
Hu Linyi, on the other hand, has gradually been "forgotten" by the world.
However, unlike the indifference of later generations to him, Hu Linyi's reputation in his time was extremely high, and many people sometimes believed: "Hu Linyi's wisdom and strategy are above Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and others." Li Ciming, a literary historian of the late Qing Dynasty, praised him for his "deep understanding of old strategists, untouched by candlelight, and the first-class person of Gu Zhongxing". The literary scholar Wang Minyun, also known as "the industry of Zhongxing, the real foundation is from Hu".
However, Shen Zhuoran summed up his life: the world knows the names of Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang, but they do not know the wisdom and knowledge of Hu Linyi, and above the two of them, he has learned everything in military, politics, economics, and articles, and knows all about his uses. Considering his life- "Not sitting alone in Wuchang, sticking to the ,...... Enough for the French style of future generations", he believes that Hu Linyi should be ranked first in the Tongzhi Zhongxing.
It can be seen from many evaluations and deeds that Hu Linyi has both humanities and martial arts, and is extremely extensive and knowledgeable, not only understands the economy, but also is good at government, and is a rare comprehensive talent.
As the world knows, the Manchu Qing Dynasty practiced eight strands of scholars, in order to obtain a meritorious name, the readers at that time, a mind only read eight strands, other learning was left behind. And this kind of behavior, invisibly, has reduced their ability to govern and their overall quality. Therefore, there is a "reader, the most unfortunate ... Teaching him to deceive high-ranking officials is also the obscurity of the people! This irony.
The overall situation was like this, Hu Lin's wing jinshi, dian Hanlin, naturally also familiar with the eight shares, but this did not have the slightest impact on him to become a capable official. The reason for this also has to mention Hu Linyi's family background and growth experience.
Hu Linyi was born in the family of official eunuchs, and his father was directly incorporated into the Hanlin Academy and given the post of editor and repairer as a scholar of the tanhua in that year. Subsequently, he was also a smooth career, and was promoted to the rank of Zhan ShiFu Shao Zhan Shi, and the official was appointed Sipin Jingtang.
Because of this, Hu Linyi has received a good education since he was a child and has experienced many strange things. At a young age, under the guidance of his grandfather, Hu Linyi began to read and read the Analects. When my grandfather was compiling the Xiuzhi book in the Xiuzhi Hall in Yiyang, he was often accompanied by the eight-year-old. At the right time, just when Tao Shu went to Renchuandong Bingbei Road and returned to his hometown of Yiyang to visit his relatives, he was shocked when he saw Hu Linyi, thinking that he would become a great instrument. At that moment, he decided to match his five-year-old daughter, Xiuzi, with him.
After Hu Linyi turned nineteen, he naturally married Tao Shu's daughter Xiao zi.
After marriage, Hu Linyi worshiped under the door of Tongli Cai Yongxi's predecessor. According to records, Cai Yongxi was a tribute from Jiaqing for eighteen years, and after failing the scientific expedition, he returned to his hometown to devote himself to educating people, and in his later years he was specially awarded the post of teaching in Shimen County. Cai used Xi Shan to rule as a military officer, and after the failure of the scientific expedition that year, he also used to make a living by traveling. During the period when Hu Linyi studied with Cai Yongxi, Hu Linyi was completely impressed by him, and Cai Yongxi's admiration of "doing things is useful learning, not focusing on literature and art, but studying in military strategy and official zhizhi", which shaped Hu Linyi's character of "reading everything in books".
After learning the art of the world, he also practiced it and put what he learned into practice. In the eleventh year of Daoguang, floods broke out in Yuanxiang and other places, and Yiyang was the most seriously affected, and the people were displaced and complained. At this time, Hu Linyi, who was still studying, was worried that the hungry people would not be able to feed enough, and it would be difficult for their livelihood to evolve into chaotic people, and he sighed in his heart. So he decided to volunteer and petition for the refugees.
Hu Linyi went to see the county order and proposed his own method: reorganize the household registration according to the disaster area, and call on the rich people from all sides to donate money and grain to the disaster relief. At the same time, it is required that all local baojia divide the people in the disaster areas into upper, middle, lower, and third levels according to the difference between rich and poor, and the upper households do not need the help of the imperial court, and the middle households buy rice at a reduced price, and if the next household is free, the rice will be sent for free for a period of one month.
In order to prevent Baojia from stealing from stealing and committing fraud for personal gain, Hu Linyi also proposed that the matter should be handled by the local gentry together with Baojia. The division of the hierarchy was relatively smooth, but the collection of grain and silver was resisted by the rich people. For ten consecutive days, the major rich people did not react at all, which made Hu Linyi feel helpless and angry about this, and had no choice but to resort to the method of "changing in one place."
He first asked his father-in-law Tao Shu to donate two thousand taels of silver as an example, and then he persuaded the rich people to move with affection and understand it. Under the repeated persuasion, Hu Linyi finally impressed the rich people, and everyone began to donate enthusiastically, and finally received tens of thousands of gold. At this point, all the food was distributed according to the previously established upper, middle and lower regulations, and all the victims were able to survive.
At the time of this incident, Hu Linyi was only a double decade old, but he was able to shoulder heavy responsibilities bravely, and his practice was sophisticated, flexible and witty far beyond his peers. And Hu Linyi is not the usual, and the style of acting decisively is also the first sign. Later, the twenty-one-year-old Hu Linyi and his wife escorted their mother-in-law, Lady He, all the way to the governor of Nanjing Liangjiang, where Tao Shu was located.
Hu Linyi's father-in-law, Tao Shu, was also a rare pillar of the country, and during the Jia Dao years, he urged the revival of the study of the classics, and his sophistication and ability, and his political reputation was excellent. After Hu Linyi arrived in Nanjing, he stayed at the Liangjiang Governor's Office for a year. During Tao Shu's handling of government affairs, he was often on the side, personally saw Tao Shu's various measures to promote the advantages and eliminate the disadvantages, and was deeply influenced by his influence, which can be described as "a change in spirit", and the whole person has changed greatly.
In a letter from Hu Linyi to his father, he wrote: "In his spare time, he talked with his son at length. My father-in-law already had hills in his heart, and coupled with decades of official experience, it can be said that he has integrated ancient and modern times. Whenever a matter is discussed, circumstantial evidence is distorted and cut off. This time has benefited my son a lot..."
It was when he was dressed in fresh clothes and angry horses, as the children of official eunuchs, he was born to be pampered and superior, and Hu Linyi, in addition to being good at learning, also had a small problem at this age - a prostitute.
When he first arrived in Nanjing, Hu Linyi often indulged in the landscape and lingered on the banks of the Qinhuai River and in the fishing alleys. Seeing this, some people secretly informed Tao Shu of this matter, who had thought, but Tao Shu said: "Those who can work more." With The talent of Runzhi, he will be ten times more diligent than me every day, and I am afraid that I will not have time to have fun in the future, now, let it go. "Not only did I not blame, but I was heartbroken."
Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, but the existence of scholars, officials, and prostitutes was very common in the Qing Dynasty. In addition, during the Republic of China period, the published "Memories of the Sacred Nunnery of Hua Suiren" also recorded a story of Hu Linyi's affair. The record says: "After the point of Hanlin, Hu Linyi often looked for flowers and asked for willows with Zhou Shouchang, a shanhua person..."
One evening, the two of them went to a prostitute's house together, who knows, the pawn quietly arrived, and Zhou Shouchang was a vigilant person, and even escaped a disaster. However, Hu Linyi and the rest of the people were not so lucky and were forcibly taken away. During the interrogation, Hu Linyi was insulted because he did not dare to reveal his identity. After being released and returning home, because Zhou Shouchang was in difficulty and abandoned him, he was not righteous enough, and Hu Linyi broke off relations with him from then on.
Subsequently, even more the management of the army and the recruitment of courage are reluctant to use good people, and Hu Linyi biasedly believes that the good people's will is insufficient. Of course, these are all idle things, and now it is difficult to distinguish between true and false, but it is talked about by the world. The side of the fireworks and the moon in the Hulin wing is talked about in a colorful way, and even some people use their imagination to completely shape it into a prodigal prince.
Although there are many stories, hu Linyi in the early years may have the dignity of a brother in law, but he is by no means a prodigal son.
Hu Linyi was intelligent since he was a child, and his family also believed that he would become a great instrument, so he was particularly strict in education, and at the age of nine, he was given the book of sexual theory, and sooner or later he was supervised and refused to relax. Therefore, Hu Linyi has been talented since childhood, making articles and thinking like a fountain, lifting the pen immediately, bypassing the music smoothly, and reaching his own ambitions. Twenty-five years old jinshi and the first, point Hanlin in two years, twice sent to the examination, is a well-deserved red Hanlin, should have a bright future.
Unfortunately, bad luck was implicated and his career was not smooth for a while, but this did not stop him from succeeding. Later, he became a feudal official one step ahead of Zeng Guofan. When it comes to being an official, the real starting point of Hu Linyi is actually in Guizhou. At first, in the land to which Guizhou belonged, there were many bandits gathered, and there were often robbery incidents, at the same time, they were very cunning and scattered everywhere, and the officers and soldiers had no countermeasures against them.
Just in time, Hu Linyi went to Qian to serve as an official, and the new official took office with three fires, and he had always been well versed in military strategy, and he just showed his skills here. While going deep into the people, he consulted the gentry of the gentry; at the same time, he wore short clothes and shoes and secretly visited the bandits' dens; at the same time, he also trained the militia. In the end, he finally arrested Ju Xi and brought him to justice, which made Hu Linyi famous and became famous as a soldier.
At that time, the Taiping Army was coming menacingly, and the momentum was like a bamboo, and Hunan, Hubei, and even the entire Qing Dynasty hall were shaking up and down. At this time, Hu Linyi's reputation as a bandit was in front of him, and The Royal Emperor Fa Gui recommended Hu Linyi to stay in Hubei and lead the troops to break the chaos. After the emperor's permission, Hu Linyi took over the Xiang army and entered the battlefield of the Two Lakes, officially beginning his life of fighting horses.
Therefore, Guizhou is the starting point of Hu Linyi and its base point.
How could Hu Linyi, who is a Beijing official, go to the poor and remote land of Guizhou?
There is another twist and turn.
At that time, Hu Linyi was in the midst of a period of anxiety and recovery, and if he was a candidate in Beijing, the development space was really limited, and his students believed that with his talents, he might be able to make more achievements as a local official. Therefore, he privately pooled money to donate the post of prefect to him. As a rule, donor officials are free to choose their place, and Hu Linyi can choose a rich place. But he felt that he was born on the right path, for the official Qing, and now that it was a disgrace to donate to the official, how could he go to that developed place?
In order to distinguish himself from those who rely on money to buy officials, he will choose to be in the remote and barren Qian. In order to protect his own innocence, before going to office, Hu Linyi also said: "Repeat the ancestors, and vow not to take a single piece of money from the officials to enrich themselves in order to shame the predecessors." And he did it, and he was incorruptible all his life. The incorruptibility here does not mean that Hu Linyi really has no money.
On the contrary, Hu Linyi was very good at managing money, but during his time in power, the money he earned was used for the major affairs of the army, not on his own family. When he first served as the governor of Hubei, the Tianping Army was rampant, causing most of Hubei to fall one after another, and the treasury was empty. However, after Hu Linyi took office, he achieved a revenue of four million silver through a series of means such as changing the Cao Zhang and Tongshu salt.
As Zeng Guofan praised: "Raising 60,000 soldiers in the barren areas of Hubei, the monthly fee is as much as 400,000 ... It is also due to its careful and silent operation. "The silver money that Hu Linyi received was mainly used as a salary for the Xiang army; in addition, some of the silver money was used to aid the neighboring provinces and plan Jianghuai; some of it was used as a backup to provide for his subordinates, and if there were battalion officers and sentry officers who came to attach themselves, their expenses also depended on this.
Regarding the third point, if the general's family is in Hubei, each person can receive no less than three hundred taels of silver per year; important generals such as Duolong'a, Li Xuyi, Bao Chao, etc., receive more than a thousand and two months of money every month; coupled with various rewards on weekdays, the consumption of silver money can be described as huge. Hu Linyi did this out of love for his subordinates, and it was also his means of raising people to be wide.
Therefore, his subordinates are willing to drive him, and the guests are willing to attach themselves to him.
And this is also another major advantage of Hu Linyi's knowledge of soldiers and good financial management - good cage people's hearts. At the same time, Hu Linyi also knew people and made good use of them, and the famous Seven Recommended Zuo Zongtang was once rumored to be a good story.
In the seven years that Hubei was in power, Hu Linyi was in the wilderness, and in the season of successive disasters, Hubei, which was ruined and abandoned by everyone, was built into a rich and powerful place, and even turned Hubei into an important military base for suppressing the Taiping Army. As commented in the Draft History of the Qing Dynasty: "Chinese and foreign commentators can only hope to serve the public and govern the country... You said that there was a qing zhongxing karma, and the foundation was self-righteous. ”
Resources:
["Hu Wenzhong's Relics", "ZTE First Class: Hu Linyi", "Hu Linyi and the Rise of Xiang Forces", "Hu Linyi Commentary"]