In Nanjing in 1864, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had come to an end. The turmoil that lasted for more than a decade finally came to an end in the hands of Zeng Guoquan (Quan). As the fourth brother of Zeng Guofan, he conquered the city of Nanjing and captured the number one war criminal, Hong Xiuquan. This battle not only avenged his brother's blood revenge, but also saved a glimmer of life for the Qing Dynasty.
But why did Zeng Guoquan, who was obviously victorious, suddenly look panicked and asked himself, "Life is over"?
The vault is empty and worried
As the founder of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan has great power and wealth in his hands. The Taiping army swept through Jiangsu and Zhejiang during the Xianfeng period, and seized countless gold and silver. In addition, Nanjing is the base of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and it has become a rich country for more than ten years. So the Qing court ordered that whoever could take Tianjing should allocate all the wealth to the military households, and even canonize the prince on the spot, and the hereditary will be permanent.
Zeng Guoquan is determined to win. He waved his army to Nanjing, fought to the death, and finally opened the door of Nanjing's treasury. But when the picture in front of him was revealed, he was dumbfounded, there was nothing in the treasure house, and he could not see anything that could be called a treasure. How can it not make Zeng Guoquan afraid. He trembled his lips and muttered, "It's bad, my life is dead!"
Eyeing the tiger and harboring ill intentions
Hearing this, all the soldiers present were terrified. Zeng Guoquan started small, known for being ruthless, and never soft on things. He finally took out the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but the treasury was empty, which made him not get the reward he deserved, but he might be accused of stealing the treasure by the Qing authorities, and thus be severely punished. With such a crisis, no one knows where he will go.
The vicissitudes of life will never be forgotten
At this time, Zeng Guoquan was already a veteran in his fifties. He has been fighting with his brother Zeng Guofan since his early 20s, and it took him almost a lifetime to wait for this opportunity once and for all. But at this last moment, all his hard work turned out to be completely in vain, and fate mocked his last hope like a trick.
The brothers who had fought side by side from the beginning were now left alone in front of this barren vault. Although the second brother Zeng Guohuang did not participate in the war that year, he had already passed away; The third brother Zeng Guohua died on the battlefield in Anhui, and once said that his dream of drinking with his brothers can never be realized; As for the fifth brother Zeng Guobao, he also died young in the smoke of the prairie fire. Even Hong Xiuquan now only has a dried corpse left. It turns out that in the end, fate is like this.
For Zeng Guoquan, although the Battle of Nanjing was a final victory, the ending was really not satisfactory. He pursued power and wealth all his life, but in the end he only got a vacant position, and did not get the heavy reward he expected. If he had been as far-sighted as his brother Zeng Guofan, diligent in government, and honest in his official duties, he would have been able to avoid many detours and win the final honor.
That being said, he had no choice but to seek power and wealth as his only pursuit. Sometimes we tend to get carried away by the greed of the moment, but through this story, perhaps we can learn to be content and happy.
After reading Zeng Guoquan's story, I believe everyone has some insights. Power and wealth are important, but if you blindly pursue them, you will often fall astray. In contrast, only by being indifferent to fame and fortune and fulfilling his duties can he win the ultimate respect and glory.
However, life is always full of helplessness and hardship, and it is difficult for us to completely deny Zeng Guoquan's blind pursuit of fame and fortune. After all, in that turbulent era, power was everything, and only by mastering real power could you save your family's life.
So, what do you think of Zeng Guoquan's approach? There are thousands of paths in life, but in the final analysis, the most important thing is to live your own life and leave no regrets as much as possible. Let's talk freely and exchange your unique insights! I look forward to colliding with your sparks of thought and starting a new journey of thinking together.
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