115 years ago, on september 27, the 27th year of the Qing Dynasty (November 7, 1901), Li Hongzhang, a regent of the exhausted generation, passed away unexpectedly. On that day, only two months had passed since the signing of the Treaty of Xinugu with the representatives of the great powers, which was regarded as a great shame and humiliation Chinese the sick body of the strong and the brave.
Soon, Liang Qichao, who was still in exile overseas, wrote a biography for Li Hongzhang, saying that Li Hongzhang's life was able to develop, thanks to Zeng Guofan, and the sharp rise in his political status was related to the Tianjin teaching case in the ninth year of Tongzhi. Zeng taught Li Hongzhang "the spirit of perseverance and perseverance in his life to stand up for himself and endure grievances, and the strategy of unity and morale of his military commanders" to Li Hongzhang, and the Tianjin teaching case was "an abuse of Li Hongzhang's diplomatic balance". In the face of the precarious endeavor of the Great Qing Dynasty, the Xianghuai and Huai clans led by Zeng and Li were successively successive, and once turned the tide of the tide. So, how did this pair of capable ministers, who had the honor of teachers and students, complete the intergenerational change of military power in a lesson plan that occurred at a treaty port?
The relationship between Zeng and Li can be said to be very early. In the twenty-fifth year of Daoguang (1845), Li Hongzhang first participated in the examination and fell to the first time, and paid homage to the elderly Zeng's disciples, "known to Zeng Fuzi with poetry", and his father Li Wen'an and Zeng Guofan were the same year. Two years later, Li Hongzhang, the thirteenth member of the second class of Li Hongzhang High School, entered the Hanlin Academy to teach. Among the people on the same list, there were Zhang Zhiwan and Shen Guifen, who later became military ministers, Li Zongxi, He Jing, Ma Xinyi, Shen Baozhen, Guo Songtao, and other high-ranking officials who also achieved the level of local governors.
During the several years that He continued his studies in The Beijing Division, Li Hongzhang and his teacher Zeng Guofan "lived day and night, emphasizing the study of righteousness and the scriptures", and it was precisely because of their appreciation that Zeng and Guo Songtao, Chen Nai, and Shuai Yuanyi were praised as "the four gentlemen of Ding Wei" (they were also the middle jinshi of the lunar calendar Ding Weinian or 1847), believing that they could be "of great use". However, Li Hongzhang's temperament and interest are different from those of the teacher. In his later years, he once lamented: My teacher's moral deeds are unspeakable, that is, the study of articles, and he is also outstanding; But I was ashamed that I could not teach a point, regretted that I had not studied in my prime years, and was full of arrogance and arbitrariness, but in fact, there was no foundation. Now that the real learning has been exhausted, I have to look at the "General Classic", know a little about the success or failure of the ancients, and confirm each other with their own life and deeds, so as to mirror their gains and losses, and still feel a little interesting.
Zeng Guofan has a well-known comment: "Li Shaoquan struggled to become an official, and Yu Yinfu struggled to write books." Shaoquan is the name of Li Hongzhang, Yu Yinfu or Yu Fan, is the great-grandfather of Yu Pingbo, a famous scholar of the late Qing Dynasty, modern poet and red scholar. The differences in the philosophy and personal pursuits of the two sides are quite different, which is the first layer of the delicate relationship between the teacher and the student. Li Hongzhang was only 24 years old when he was admitted to the Jinshi, and if he were in the Chengping era, as long as he had been in the official arena for decades, he could at least achieve a provincial governor or a Shangshu. But in the chaotic world, he was not allowed to take the usual path. Soon, the Taiping Army flourished, and the hometown of Anhui soon became the hardest hit area of "long hair" everywhere. In the third year of Xianfeng (1853), Li Hongzhang threw himself into the pen and followed the attendant Lü Xianji (a native of Jingde, Anhui) back to his hometown to handle regimental training.