Preface
On the journey of life, Zeng Guofan is like a solid pearl, and his image of strict self-discipline and dedicated cultivation is awe-inspiring. However, when people learned that he broke his vows and took concubines at the age of 50, public opinion was in an uproar for a while, and the infamy spread everywhere. However, this seemingly contradictory scene hides Zeng Guofan's unknown great wisdom.
Let's explore the story behind this great general, why he broke his moral integrity, and reveal the profound wisdom within. What kind of wonderful chapters are hidden in Zeng Guofan's life scroll? Let us unlock the true face of this historical giant.
Why did he take concubines unusually when he was proud, and what kind of officialdom wisdom was contained in it?
In 1851, a large-scale peasant uprising broke out under the oppression of the Qing Dynasty, and with the help of countless Boxers, this peasant armed uprising lasted for more than ten years, spread to many provinces, and seriously threatened the foundation of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, the government was corrupt and chaotic, and food was scarce, and it was unable to cope with the rapid expansion of the rebellion. At this time of crisis, the Qing court was shocked by Zeng Guofan's great achievements in leading the Hunan army to quell the bandits many years ago, and had to use him to suppress it.
Zeng Guofan, who accepted the appointment, was very heavy in his heart, on the one hand, he saw that the rebels around him were eyeing him, and if he did not get rid of them today, he would become a big trouble. On the other hand, the predicament of the Qing court made him lose face, but he had to turn the tide. He led his carefully trained elite Hunan army all the way into the hinterland of Guangxi and Guangzhou, and for more than ten years, he trekked through mountains and rivers, traveled to many states and counties, and made every effort to suppress bandits. It was not until finally in 1861 that the Liangguang Uprising was basically put down.
However, at a time when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was basically destroyed and Zeng Guofan was choking the fruits of victory, this man made an unbelievable move at this time, he asked for an 18-year-old girl to be taken as a concubine! This caused an uproar in the government and the public.
Zeng Guofan's great achievements but unusually concubines, people don't understand the reason
For a while, everyone had great doubts. In the chaotic years of saving the situation and escaping death, Zeng Guofan was strict with himself and always fearful when he took charge of military power. He is an honest official, and his personal morality is more perfect. There is nothing to be taken in the face of the minimum comfort of food, clothing, shelter and transportation, let alone a little frolic.
Striving to keep himself sane, clear-minded, and calm in judgment, Zeng Guofan deeply felt that this was a necessary condition for shouldering the weight of time and situation. For a moment of pleasure for men and women, he categorically did not allow himself to produce it. So at that time, no one thought that such a righteous and gentleman-like person who worked hard would suddenly take a concubine when the victory was decided.
In history, Zeng Guofan himself only had one wife, and after middle age, he began to completely abstain from sex, living a life of hardship like a righteous man and a gentleman. When he occasionally indulges in thoughts, he will also strictly review them in his diary to imprison his inner delusions. This style of conduct and rigorous and self-contained attitude established an image for him that was comparable to that of a sage in the minds of people at that time. However, this sudden concubine took on a huge contrast with the high degree of self-control he had shown in the past, which shocked the government and the opposition. "Knowing that the body is weak, but not knowing moderation, it is not filial piety. "Zeng Guofan used to be so strict with himself.
Everyone also interpreted Zeng Guofan's move as a sign of debauchery for the first time. Isn't it hypocrisy for a courtier to set an example, and the lord is like a father, and just after his father died, he has the intention to add a girl to the courtier? How could a person like a true sage do such a contrary thing? How can a person who indulges in lust deserve the good name of "the sage of the world"? For a time, the voices of impeachment of Zeng Guofan rose one after another, and righteous indignation could hardly prevail.
In the face of such surging public opinion, normal people should also calm down and reflect cautiously. However, on the contrary, Zeng Guofan not only did not care about criticism, but also intensified his efforts to marry an 18-year-old concubine. The anger of the people was even greater, and they all scolded him for being clumsy and deceiving the world. However, Zeng Guofan's heart has his own intentions that only he knows.
Zeng Guofan turned things around with the power of one person and made great contributions, but he deliberately smeared himself at the peak of his life, which inevitably makes people puzzled. We have to guess that there must be some kind of officialdom wisdom that we have not yet understood.
Zeng Guofan was intent on reducing his influence in the court
Defeated the Zeng Guofan of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, shook the past and the present, mighty in the rivers and lakes, made great achievements, and was so powerful that he was enough to return to his hometown and become king. And he who lost his king, he could have taken advantage of the trend, accumulated power, and steadily ascended to the throne. However, in the midst of victory, he made a series of self-defeating actions.
One of the most controversial is the sudden taking of a concubine when the monarch has just died. It is not difficult for us to find that this will inevitably attract great criticism in the field of public opinion. This act was so unusual that it far exceeded the cognitive limits of his contemporaries, and everyone would overwhelmingly consider it a sign of debauchery and vulgarity, thus stigmatizing him. And it is hard for us to believe that the battle-hardened and well-informed Zeng Guofan could not have foreseen this inevitable result. There must have been his own intentions in this.
It turned out later that Zeng Guofan's actions were intentional. He took the initiative to apply for a reduction in the military strength of the Hunan army under his command. The rebellion in the north has yet to be quelled, and it is a good time for the Hunan army to rise up and win higher feats. This is tantamount to ruining the promotion opportunities of many henchmen, and naturally attracts a lot of complaints. Later, he transferred his younger brother and henchman Zeng Guoquan from important positions in the army.
Zeng Guofan's series of actions to weaken his own power was not accidental or reckless, but a deliberate and inevitable choice. We can imagine that with the foresight of his statesman, he must have seen clearly that these actions would inevitably arouse the public outrage of the government and the public. Yet he did not hesitate to take these steps. This can be shown that he is deliberately using various means to dispel the suspicions of the government and the opposition about him, and to show the court that he has no ambition to usurp.
Empress Dowager Cixi, a scheming woman, really understood the hints behind Zeng Guofan's actions. She immediately realized that he actually wanted to retire smoothly as soon as possible and save the glory of the door. Therefore, instead of pursuing Zeng Guofan, he praised Zeng Guofan and rewarded Zeng Guofan as a reward, and placed high hopes on him to serve faithfully in the future.
However, he is cautious and proper, such as Zeng Guofan, and is still not satisfied with this. He was still worried that some people in the court suspected him of usurping power. So he wrote again to ask his younger brother to leave the military and return to his hometown. This further cut off any possibility of his own seizure of the throne, and finally completely dispelled Cixi's concerns.
The evening scene was weakened, and Zeng Guofan still stepped forward to resolve the crisis of the teaching plan
After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was devastated, the crisis of the Qing court was temporarily lifted and the national strength was restored. However, at this time, the Tianjin teaching case of 1866 caused another turmoil in a foreign land. The cause was the death of dozens of Western clergy in the siege of Tianjin. As a result, China's foreign relations were enormous, foreign warships came to suppress and retaliate, and the nationalist sentiment of the Chinese people also increased. This made the situation sensitive for a time, and the slightest carelessness could lead to a new catastrophe of war.
At this critical juncture, the imperial capital urgently needed a powerful and important minister to mediate negotiations. However, many officials in the DPRK and China do not have the courage to provoke it, and this is bound to become an important task to break the situation. For a while, no one dared to do it. At this time, Zeng Guofan was already dying and old, and he could have immediately dismissed the matter on the grounds of poor health. However, he judged that the Empress Dowager Cixi's move was likely to be a last consideration of whether she was loyal, and if she shirked it, she might not escape the disaster.
Therefore, although he was full of gray hair, joint pain, and had difficulty moving, he gladly accepted the order to go north to negotiate. He complained indignantly to the foreign envoys about the tragedy of the people in Tianjin, and through a conciliatory compromise, he made a huge amount of economic compensation to the foreign warship. These actions immediately calmed the diplomatic crisis, but provoked even greater anger and complaints from the country, who regarded him as synonymous with a nest. Zeng Guofan didn't care much about these whispers, he had done his best to defuse the crisis, and now he only wanted to retire in peace.
Within a year, he died of heat stroke on the front line in Tianjin. Although he was slandered for no reason, as the first hero of the late Qing Dynasty, he still stood up to carry out a fatal task at the last moment of his life. It was his officialdom philosophy of calmly weighing the general trend and being good at adjudicating advance and retreat that allowed him to retire and preserve the glory and wealth of several generations for his family.
epilogue
After reading this magnificent history, we cannot help but ponder: Did Master Zeng Guofan's ups and downs in his life and his eventual success really benefit from his outstanding officialdom wisdom? History has no ifs, but if he had seized the throne and established his own dynasty, would later generations have a higher evaluation of him? We cannot know.
However, it is undeniable that Zeng Guofan's choice has preserved the glory and wealth of several generations. He did not covet power, but he gained an immortal reputation. As Lao Tzu said: "Those who do it lose, and those who hold it lose." People in the world often lead to tragedy because of their momentary blindness in power, while those who are sober look down on fame and fortune and enjoy long-term stability.
Today, Zeng Gong, who leans towards the government and the opposition, is still able to give up his authority and pursue retirement, but what shame do we have to demand for no reason to thrive? The officialdom is ups and downs, and who has not been frustrated? But only those who are always sober and know how to advance and retreat can finally control the situation and laugh proudly!