In the winter of the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang (1849), Zuo Zongtang, a thirty-seven-year-old down-and-out man, was busy preparing for next spring in Liuzhuang, when suddenly a fast horse kicked up dust and galloped from the south. Zuo Zongtang looked at the past from afar, and vaguely felt that the fast horse was coming towards him.
Between heaven and earth, there is a spirit in the heart.
Sure enough, after a few moments, the fast horse stood in front of the gate of Liuzhuang. The messenger dismounted, politely asked the name of the owner, and after learning that the person in front of him was Zuo Zongtang, a person from Liuzhuang, the messenger respectfully handed over an urgent letter to him, and then said goodbye and left again.
Zuo Zongtang held the urgent letter sent by the fast horse messenger, and there was some surging in his heart.
Looking at the handwriting on the envelope, Zuo Zongtang vaguely felt something extraordinary.
When he opened it, Zuo Zongtang was stunned for a moment, and the person who sent him a letter inviting him to Changsha for a meeting turned out to be Lin Zexu, a generation of famous ministers who were famous all over the world.
Putting the letter away and returning to the house excitedly, Zuo Zongtang told Mrs. Zhou that he would immediately pack his luggage and go to Changsha to meet a great man he had been friends with for a long time.
A great man that God has befriended for a long time?
Just when Mrs. Zhou was a little confused, Zuo Zongtang told Mrs. Lin Zexu and Lin Gong to step down as the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and returned to their hometown after illness.
Hearing this news, Mrs. Zhou was a little surprised, Lin Zexu was a famous minister of the court, a great man admired by the world, how did he know that he was a cloth cloth of the Hanmen Zuo clan?
It turned out that there was a relationship between Zuo Zongtang and Lin Zexu that was not known to outsiders, and the mountains and rivers met their bosom friends.
At the age of 25, when Zuo Zongtang was disappointed and destitute, he once wrote a couplet with great ambition and hung it in his humble room-
There is no half an acre, and I am worried about the world;
Read through 10,000 volumes, and God handed over to the ancients.
Since ancient times, only outstanding characters can experience the rhyme of "divine friendship".
Zuo Zongtang heard some information about Lin Zexu from He Changling, He Xiling's brothers, Tao Shu, Hu Linyi and others as early as his youth, and later Zuo Zongtang was fortunate to read the correspondence between Tao Shu and Lin Zexu in Xiaoyantao's house.
In the 1839 Humen cigarette sales, when Lin Zexu lit the flame of destroying opium, Zuo Zongtang's heart also boiled; in the Opium War in 1840, when Lin Zexu vowed to bravely and fearlessly meet the invaders' strong ships and cannons, Zuo Zongtang's backbone also stood up.
Later, Lin Zexu was dismissed and repatriated, and this unfortunate encounter made Zuo Zongtang even more sad.
True love and worship means eight thousand miles of clouds and moons, and it means following across thousands of mountains and rivers.
When Lin Zexu encountered the ordeal of traveling thousands of miles, although Zuo Zongtang was in the countryside of Xiaoyan, his heart followed Lin Zexu all the way away, and he went all the way to the frontier where he later established great achievements.
Regarding this period of spiritual past, Zuo Zongtang once wrote to Hu Linyi, a confidant of life: "Shao Mu Gongbao suddenly went to the northwest, suddenly to the southeast, traveled tens of thousands of miles, crossed the sea, crossed the desert, he was a 'sinner', who wanted to follow him to wander? However, how could he know that there was also a man with withered mountains and forests, a poor scholar who had no official or position, but his heart was attached and he had been following his left and right!"
Zuo Zongtang is a typical late bloomer.
Thinking that back then, in the countryside of Xiaoyan, although his ambition was higher than the sky, but looking up at the endless sky, his heart was still inevitably melancholy.
However, in the unpredictable world, there is sincerity and spirit.
A few years after Lin Zexu was in Xinjiang, Emperor Daoguang was forced by the pressure of public opinion, and he also felt guilty about Lin Zexu in his heart, so he issued an edict to pardon his sins and restore his original official position.
In the twenty-eighth year of Daoguang, six or seven years had passed since the Opium War, and Emperor Daoguang reappointed Lin Zexu as the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou.
At that time, Hu Linyi served as the prefect of Anshun and happened to be Lin Zexu's subordinate.
In Zuo Zongtang's life, he has met many nobles in life, and the one he should be most grateful for is probably Hu Linyi. When he was unknown, Hu Linyi was the one who recommended him the most, and when he was in danger, it was Hu Linyi who rescued him the most.
Lin Zexu began to know Zuo Zongtang, which was due to Hu Linyi's unsparing recommendation.
In front of Lin Zexu, Hu Linyi praised Zuo Zongtang as "a talented person, and his character and learning are the first in the Hunan sergeant category." ”
Lin Zexu is not a vulgar and old-fashioned person, seeing Hu Linyi's evaluation of a down-and-out person, his love for talent suddenly rose, and he immediately asked Hu Linyi to invite Zuo Zongtang to serve in the yamen of the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou.
Unfortunately, that year, when Zuo Zongtang's sister-in-law was about to consummate the marriage for her son Shiyan, he himself had accepted the offer of the Tao family to teach, and finally had to reply politely.
Just imagine, if Zuo Zongtang went out of the mountain and cooperated with Lin Zexu, what kind of scene would the later history be?
Someone once commented with the following sentence: Two masterpieces together, there must be a majestic cause.
History is sometimes hateful, and sometimes it is comforting.
The real Lin Zuo's friendship, although there is a moment of regret, but with the surging of the times, in the end it is extremely thick and has no regrets.
During his tenure as governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Lin Zexu had to return to his hometown after a year of hard work because of his old illness, and returned to his hometown of Fujian from Yunnan.
Because the return journey has to pass through Hunan, in this way, history ushered in the beginning of this article, November 21, the 29th year of Daoguang, Lin Zexu's official ship arrived in Changsha and docked on the bank of the Xiangjiang River.
When the civil and military officials of Hunan learned of the news, they came to pay a visit to this generation of famous ministers who returned with honor. However, what Lin Zexu wanted to see most at this time was the farmer of Xiangxiang who had been friends for a long time, the down-and-out man Zuo Zongtang.
This is a precious moment when the mountains and rivers meet their soulmates.
When the sedan chairs and horses on the river bank were crowded, Lin Zexu saw that the servant handed over a big red greeting post, with the book "Hunan Zuo Zongtang", and hurriedly shouted "Please", and at the same time ordered all other visitors to block the car, and then personally went to the bow of the boat to greet him.
Zuo Zongtang has a wise side, and when he met Lin Zexu this time, he left a scene that future generations will talk about.
Maybe it was because he was in an unusually nervous mood when he saw Lin Zexu, or maybe he finally met after a long time of friendship, and he felt that he was still in the clouds, Zuo Zongtang hurriedly got on the boat, and when he walked across the gangplank, he stepped on the air and fell into the river. When the servants scooped him up and helped him into the cabin, Lin Zexu saw that he was soaking wet, and he was cute, so he could only smile.
Falling into the water before talking, this unexpected episode swept away all possible restraints.
Zuo Zongtang is essentially an agitated person, after washing and changing clothes, the two began to talk freely, and they had a sense of agitation of mountains and flowing water. There was a storm in the sky, there was wine on the table, the two talked while drinking, the time passed quickly, Lin Zexu saw that it was late, and there was no intention of ending, and then he simply ordered the official ship to take the Xiangjiang River turbulence, sailed to a secluded place under Yuelu Mountain on the west bank and anchored, and then asked his two sons to listen on the side.
Regarding this sleepless conversation, Zuo Zongtang later recalled with deep affection: "That night, the breeze on the river surface blew up gusts of waves, hitting the tower, creaking all night, it seemed to be a beautiful accompaniment, and the sound of conversation echoed each other. We sat under the window of the boat and talked about the whiteness of the east and the frequent beating of the dawn drum before saying goodbye to each other. ”
In the historical picture scroll of the late Qing Dynasty, this "Xiangjiang Night Talk Map" painted by Lin Zuogong has extraordinary and heavy historical significance, it is not only the ideological collision and confrontation between the two famous ministers, but also a precious responsibility inheritance full of family and country feelings, and a crucial handover from predecessors to younger generations.
Friends who are interested in this period of history have a strong wish, Lin Zuo Xiangjiang night talk, what did the two famous ministers talk about?
In this regard, Zuo Zongtang later had a special memory-
They talked about a lot of issues, the first of which was the general trend of the world.
Lin Zexu told Zuo Zongtang that Britain and France were not yet afraid, and that his defeat was due to the surrender policy of the imperial court, and that the real enemy of China in the future would be the Russians.
Zuo Zongtang was born with a broad strategic vision, and he not only paid close attention to the invasion of the southeast coast by the foreign powers, but also had the same strategic understanding as Lin Zexu, that is, the defense of the northwest was as important as the defense of the southeast coast.
Zuo Zongtang said to Lin Zexu that what Lin Gong said was extremely true, the general trend of the world, and in the future, we should determine the shift of focus according to the development of the situation.
Lin Zexu listened to Zuo Zongtang's high opinion, and said with great satisfaction, looking at the world, it is rare to have such an acquaintance. In the future, when the situation is difficult, you must have the courage to take responsibility, and even if there are thousands of difficulties, you must not back down.
Lin Zexu's words are a kind of deep understanding and a kind of prophecy.
Later, as expected, there was a fierce conflict between the fortress defense and the coastal defense, and when Zuo Zongtang was waging a fierce struggle with the coastal defense faction headed by Li Hongzhang, Lin Zexu's encouragement and encouragement on the edge of the Xiangjiang River were of extraordinary significance to him.
In other words, it was that Xiangjiang night talk that gave Zuo Zongtang the power of justice in history.
Some people even say that Zuo Zongtang's ambition to go west was rooted in his heart as early as the 29th year of Daoguang's night talk on the Xiangjiang River.
Lin Zuo Xiangjiang talked at night, there are too many heroes who see the same thing, and after talking about the general trend of the world, they invariably talked about Xinjiang.
When Lin Zexu was dispatching Xinjiang, he found that Xinjiang was a great country of rivers and mountains, but the system was wrong. Before him, Wei Yuan and Gong Zizhen had proposed the establishment of Xinjiang as a province, and after Lin Zexu returned to the court, he spoke out even more.
Compared with his predecessors, Zuo Zongtang put forward the proposal of establishing a province in Xinjiang in his "Yantai Miscellaneous Feelings" as early as the thirteenth year of Daoguang when he was 23 years old. Later, Zuo Zongtang carried the coffin to the west and recovered Xinjiang, which was by no means a temporary strategy, but a majestic consensus of several generations of famous ministers.
In the late Qing Dynasty, there were too many speculative people and speculative things.
Because of this, Lin Zuo Xiangjiang's night talk is deeply admirable.
That night, when talking about the proposal to establish a province in Xinjiang, Lin Zexu told Zuo Zongtang many questions about Xinjiang's construction. Lin Zexu said: Xinjiang is a vast and fertile land, but the government is not repaired, and the geographical advantages are not exhausted, so that the fertile land cannot be rich and strong. If water conservancy is built in the eight southern cities and rice fields are planted extensively, Xinjiang's prosperity will not be reduced in the southeast.
After Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang, he practiced what Lin Zexu wanted to think back then, he not only set up a large number of water conservancy projects in Xinjiang, planted mulberry hemp, advocated silkworm raising, and transplanted Jiangnan vegetables to the northwest.
Because of the promotion of several generations of famous ministers, Xinjiang was finally established as a province in 1884.
Lin Zexu didn't see this scene, but his long-cherished heir, Zuo Zongtang, did.
In addition to talking about macro issues such as the general trend of the world, the national security strategy, and the establishment of Xinjiang Province, Lin Zuo also talked about "mastering the skills of the master to control the country" and how to handle foreign affairs.
Zuo Zongtang later set up a factory in Lanzhou to manufacture guns and weaving, and in Fuzhou, he founded the first modern shipyard in the mainland.
This time in the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang, Lin Zuo Xiangjiang's night talk has made people feel a lot of emotion, but what makes the hearts of future generations surging the most is their farewell.
When the East turned white and said goodbye, Lin Zexu sent Zuo Zongtang all the information he had accumulated in Xinjiang over the years, including geography, border defense and Russian dynamics.
Lin Zexu said to Zuo Zongtang: "I am old, and seeing Russia eyeing the tiger, I will eventually suffer from the northwest border." Although I have the desire to resist Russia, I can't do it anymore. Over the years, we have paid attention to talents, and in the future, we can only hope for you to settle Xinjiang in the west and resist Russian aggression. ”
Before parting, Lin Zexu wrote a couplet and presented it to Zuo Zongtang:
There are lofty mountains and mountains here, lush forests and bamboos;
It is to be able to read three tombs and five classics, eight ropes and nine mounds.
It is said that this couplet was inscribed by the famous literati Yuan Mei of the Qianlong Dynasty for his Suiyuan, and later because he was ridiculed, he touted it too much, and had no choice but to withdraw this couplet.
Lin Zexu presented it to Zuo Zongtang, which shows how deeply he appreciates the 37-year-old Zuo Zongtang!
Lin Zuo Xiangjiang's night talk was the first and only time Zuo Zongtang met Lin Zexu in his life.
After Lin Zexu returned to Fujian, he did not recuperate for long.
In the second year, in the thirtieth year of Daoguang, Guangxi Tiandihui rebelled and occupied several counties, with great momentum.
The Qing court urgently appointed Lin Zexu as the minister of the Qin mission and went to Guangxi to suppress it.
When he first arrived in Chaozhou, Guangdong, he suddenly fell ill and died of hatred.
When he was dying, Lin Zexu still did not forget Zuo Zongtang, and in the testament written by his second son Cong Yi, he repeatedly recommended Zuo Zongtang as a rare talent.
A month after Lin Zexu's death, the bad news spread to Changsha, Hunan, and Zuo Zongtang couldn't help crying.
He wrote a passionate letter of condolence to the eldest prince Jingfeng, and also wrote a couplet that was recited for a while:
Those who attach to the public are not all gentlemen, and those who are intermittent must be villains, worried about the country like home, and have been there for more than 200 years;
庙堂倚之为长城,草野望之若时雨,出师未捷,八千里路大星颓.
Later, Zuo Zongtang was named the marquis and paid homage to the prime minister, but he always believed that meeting Lin Zexu that year was the "first honor" in his life.