History is the memory of things that have been said and done. —Carl Baker
Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang are considered to be the relationship between master and apprentice. First, when Li Hongzhang was young, he studied under Zeng Guofan and was a disciple of the graduates; second, after Zeng Guofan retired to the second line in his later years, it was also Li Hongzhang who inherited Zeng's political legacy. In our impression, Li Hongzhang has great respect for his teacher.
According to the recollections of Wu Yong, the granddaughter-in-law of Zeng Guofan, when Li Hongzhang mentioned Zeng Gong to him in his later years, he would be called "my teacher", and his face was full of reverence and admiration.
Moreover, Li Hongzhang's evaluation of Zeng Guofan was very high, and he said bluntly: "My teacher Wen Zhenggong, that is really Mr. Adult." Now these adults and gentlemen are simply chaff! I swept it away. ”
However, when Li Hongzhang was young, he was not so kind to Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan's evaluation of Li Hongzhang when he was young was "ambitious and talented". On the one hand, although there is the meaning of affirming Li Hongzhang's talent, on the other hand, it also implies that Li Hongzhang is somewhat arrogant.
In fact, when Li Hongzhang first joined the Xiang Army, he was far from respecting Zeng Guofan as he did later. Li Hongzhang also confronted Zeng Guofan in person because of his different military opinions.
In the Battle of Huizhou, Li Yuandu, who was defending the city, did not listen to zeng guofan's orders and went out of the city to engage the Taiping army without permission, resulting in the defeat of Huizhou falling. Zeng Guofan advocated impeaching Li Yuandu, but Li Hongzhang believed that Li Yuandu and Zeng Guofan had suffered together and did not want to participate in his impeachment.
Li Hongzhang said that if he must participate in the impeachment of Li Yuandu, the protégé resigned and would no longer stay in the army. Zeng Guofan replied, if you want to go, you can go and listen to the convenience of the king.
Because of this incident, Li Hongzhang left the Xiang army camp for the first time and went to join his brother Li Hanzhang in Jiangxi. The young Li Hongzhang was frustrated by this, and what he thought was not that he should obey the orders of the grand marshal in the army, but that he was stubborn and felt that Zeng Guofan had done something wrong.
While passing through Hubei, Li Hongzhang passed by the official office of Inspector Hu Linyi. Hu Linyi persuaded Li Hongzhang to return to the Xiang Army, and Li Hongzhang replied: "I have always regarded gong as a heroic man, and those who have prospered without treating others are now aware of their wrongs." "The implication is that I initially thought Zeng Guofan was a hero, but now it seems that this is nothing more than that.
After Li Hongzhang left the Xiang Army, he lived idly for a year, doing nothing. After Zeng Guofan conquered Anqing, Li Hongzhang wrote a letter to congratulate him, and Zeng Guofan sent a letter to invite Li Hongzhang back, which was a great courtesy. From this, it can be seen that Zeng Guofan is magnanimous.
Li Hongzhang said bad things about Zeng Guofan before, but it was because everyone's views were different and it was a public affair, so Zeng Guofan did not pay much attention to it, or entrusted Li Hongzhang with a heavy responsibility, and also fully recommended him to become the inspector of Jiangsu.
After Li Hongzhang's official position was enlarged, he began to be a little fluttery, and he could not live forever. After the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Qing court believed that the war in the south was basically settled, so it sent Zeng Guofan to the north to suppress the twist. Because the Twist army was good at guerrilla warfare, and unlike the Taiping Army's tactics, the Xiang Army was not adaptable for a while, and at the beginning it fought several defeats.
At that time, Li Hongzhang was the governor of Jiangsu and the governor of Liangjiang, and became the boss in the Liangjiang area, and began to ridicule the Xiang army behind his back. Zeng Guofan really couldn't stand it this time, and in the letter to the imperial court, in addition to stating the war report, he also added such a sentence: "The subject did not dare to use the merits of the first battle, so he forgot his ugliness." ”
It can be seen that Zeng Guofan's cultivation is excellent, although he is dissatisfied with Li Hongzhang, he does not explicitly indicate it, but alludes to it, hoping that Li Hongzhang will not be complacent after making a little merit. Li Hongzhang took a look at Zeng Guofan's folded manuscript, sweated in horror, and felt ashamed of himself, and never dared to ridicule Zeng Guofan behind his back again.
Being young and vigorous and despising elders is a mistake that many young people have made, and Li Hongzhang is not inevitable. However, as the teeth grow older and the experience increases, they can gradually appreciate the good intentions of the elders. Therefore, the older Li Hongzhang is and the higher his official rank, the more he respects Zeng Guofan, which is the truth.