After Zeng Guofan destroyed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he owned half of the Jiangnan River, and at that time, some people did suggest that he take advantage of the victory to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and proclaim himself emperor. However, Tsang did not take this suggestion.
After Zeng Guofan eliminated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, why didn't he oppose the Qing Dynasty and Cixi?
On the one hand, Zeng Guofan has the idea of gratitude. In terms of suppressing the selection of commanders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the imperial court trusted Zeng Guofan very much, and was grateful to let him form a Hunan army, let him raise money and food, and not interfere with any in the process of suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
On the other hand, Zeng Guofan had the idea of loyalty to the monarch. His Hunan army was formed on the basis of "loyalty and bravery", and he also took "loyalty and bravery" as the first step in training soldiers in peacetime. If he rebelled against the Qing Dynasty after the destruction of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he would have violated the principle of "loyalty", and in this regard, he would not be able to face his own soldiers, nor could he explain it to his own soldiers, let alone call on his soldiers to rebel.
In addition, although Zuo Zongtang was a subordinate and student of Zeng Guofan, the Qing Dynasty had already done a good job of dividing and disintegrating, and if Zeng Guofan rebelled, he could not raise his arms and make other Han troops rebel with him. He doesn't have that strength. Therefore, the second reason is that Zeng Guofan expected that the cost of rebellion was too great, if the rebellion failed, the loyal ministers could not succeed, and the previous achievements were also written off, but they became chaotic ministers and thieves. Wang Mang is actually a clear example, if Wang Mang did not seek to usurp the throne, he may be a big man like the Duke of Zhou in history. Zeng Guofan's character has always been cautious, and he will not take this risk.
Also, Zeng Guofan was a benevolent man, and he couldn't bear to rebel again after extinguishing the war of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and once again put the common people in the flames of war.
Based on the above reasons, Zeng Guofan could not oppose the Qing court and Cixi.
Summary: Zeng Guofan is already a great minister, why take any more risks?
After the pacification of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Zeng Guofan was rewarded by the crown prince, the first-class Yiyong Marquis, and the double-eyed dazzle, and at the same time served as the governor of Liangjiang, and his title could still be hereditary. This is already the extreme among ministers.
Moreover, Zeng Guofan's younger brother and son have been rewarded by the imperial court to varying degrees, do you think it is necessary for Zeng Guofan to take the risk of raising troops? The vast majority of people will be satisfied, are you willing to raise troops in your place?
Of course, there will also be people who morally condemn Zeng Guofan: Haven't you lost the national righteousness?
I'm sorry, but this trick was really bad in those days. People with national righteousness have disappeared in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and that kind of thinking has not been passed down, so how can we use this kind of thinking to demand a person 200 years later?