On November 17, the sixth year of Tongzhi (1867), Luo Bingzhang, a heavy minister of the late Qing Dynasty and the governor of Sichuan, died of illness in Chengdu at the age of seventy-five.
The corresponding Gregorian date for this day is December 12. This seemingly ordinary day, but because it became Luo Bingzhang's death day, it entered the annals of history and became extraordinary.
The "Foshan Zhongyi Township Chronicle" has a cloud: "Luo Wenzhong Bingzhang co-appointed the governor of Sichuan, and Xue was on the throne." Suddenly hearing the cracking sound in the air, Shucheng was surprised to be a heavenly collapse. Reported, the imperial court mourned. Sacrifices are given to funerals. ”
Coincidentally, the "Chengdu Street Chronicle" also records that heping Street was first named Zilongtang Street, because of the place where Zhao Zilong washed horses in the Three Kingdoms," "Zilongtang". On the night of Luo Bingzhang's death, there was a heavenly star with a dazzling white light falling into the Zilong Pond and causing a sensation in the whole city, so the Qing government decided to conform to the heavens, so it built the Luo Gong Ancestral Hall next to the pond to sacrifice Luo Bingzhang. The street was also once renamed Luo GongCi Street.
Heaven presents visions, whether auspicious, or outstanding figures, or important events in the country, although it is anecdote, it often writes legends, triggers sentiments, and shows public opinion...
Portrait of Luo Bingzhang
01
It was the third year of the same rule (1864).
Luo Bingzhang has passed the age of ancient rarity, but his career is still in an ascending period. Good news kept coming from the Forbidden City in Beijing to his governor's palace in Chengdu. First, in May, Jingcha (the performance of duties by Qing Dynasty officials, once every three years), the upper edict said: "Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Sichuan, has been a thief for many years, has been flattening huge shares, the whole Shu has gradually purged, and the military affairs and local rectification of various matters in neighboring provinces have been able to make proper preparations, be diligent and lax, and submit to the ministry from the merits of the discussion, and admire this." In June, with the fall of Tianjing (present-day Nanjing), the Qing government gave great rewards to the various generals who suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Luo Bingzhang was also rewarded for "recommending xian to enable him during his previous post as governor of Hunan, founding regimental training, and restoring the city pool, and sparing no effort in preparing for the work of The Chu Master." And promoted to the governor of Sichuan, the governor of Sichuan, the governor of the officers and soldiers to destroy Shi Dakai and other rebellious leaders, ask the old Cheng to hold the weight, and wear public loyalty" and was rewarded with the post of first-class light vehicle governor, and rewarded with dazzling eyes.
Under the emperor's might, Luo Bingzhang, on the one hand, strengthened the governance of Shuzhong, and on the other hand, he grasped the pacification of civil strife in the southwest, which can be described as "the old Ji Futuo, the ambition is in a thousand miles", who expected that the sky would have unpredictable storms, and people would have bad luck.
In the summer of that year, when reading the literature, Luo Bingzhang found that his eyesight was not as good as before, he did not think so at first, thinking that he was old, and aging eyesight was a common sentiment of people, who knew that in the autumn, the left eye was white, like a layer of film covering, and things were always blurred. After being treated by the doctors in the government, his eyesight did not improve, but became weaker and weaker.
Military affairs were tight, and the commander suffered from eye disease, which saddened the officials of Shuzhong and Shuzhong, including the Chengdu general Chongshi. So they visited famous doctors all over the place, and even offered a heavy reward to treat Lord Luo. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Ling Zhouquan of Huayang County recorded in the "Shuhai Cong Tan" that there was a folk acupuncture lang Zhongjin in Chengdu, who believed that the governor was suffering from cataracts, so he believed that he had the ancestral "golden needle barrier removal technique", so he volunteered to come to the door for treatment. The man in the gate asked him how to treat it? Jin Mou said: "The needle must be applied from the corner of the governor's eyes, and the needle is pierced into the eye for about five or six minutes." ”
Eye disease was a stubborn disease at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and Lady Ouyang of Zeng Guofan, the governor of Liangjiang, and Luo Bingzhang's former teacher, the university scholar Mu Zhang'a, suffered from eye diseases and had not been cured for a long time.
The surviving Luo Bingzhang Wenzha
Chongshi was worried that if such a jianghu lang lost his hand, it would hurt Lord Luo, so he could not make a decision. Did you know that Jin Mou swore an oath and wrote a letter of guarantee: "If you have a specific situation, you have mistakenly wished to be sentenced to death; the more you are, you will ask for ten thousand gold!" As a result, Jin Mou "healed with two stitches." (Luo) Reading and writing pipe (reading and writing) as usual, (Jin Mou) was actually paid to go..." Even Zhou Inquiry praised Jin Mou: "The technique is also divine!" ”
Echoing what Zhou Xiang said, Luo Bingzhang wrote in a letter with zhu Xueqin, a friend of the Military Aircraft Department, at the same time: "After asking a doctor to use a needle to pluck the phoenix, according to Yun must rest for one or two months to regain his sight, it is to play the two-month recuperation on September 20, if the eyes are still dim after the expiration of the leave, the love stack will cause delays, and this matter has to be opened (dismissed) according to the facts." From this point of view, Jin Mou's implementation of acupuncture is indeed a thing, but the effect is far less magical than recorded.
On October 17, the Emperor arrived in Chengdu and rewarded Luo Bingzhang with two months of vacation and peace of mind. However, the two-month holiday was full, and Luo Bingzhang's eye disease was not cured. In order not to delay official business, on November 23, Luo Bingzhang folded up and asked for a vacancy and returned to his hometown in Guangdong to recuperate.
02
Tongzhi 4th year (1865).
On the twenty-sixth day of the first month, Luo Bingzhang received an edict issued on December 21 of the previous year: "Formerly, because luo Bingzhang, the governor of Sichuan, was suffering from eye disease, when he was treated for two months of reward and leave, according to the governor, the holiday was full and had not yet been cured, and he implored to open the vacancy to return to the home for adjustment, etc. Luo Bingzhang said that he would reward the vacancy for two months, and he would be relieved to adjust the situation. ”
The country is in danger, and it will be difficult to find. Faced with the complicated military situation in central sichuan and southwest China, the reason why Empress Dowager Cixi and the Tongzhi Emperor did not allow Luo Bingzhang to open vacancies was because they could not find a more suitable candidate than him.
In June of the Xianfeng Decade (1860), Luo Bingzhang was appointed by the Governor of Hunan to supervise the military affairs of Shangchuan, first with the concentration of superior forces, each breaking strategy to quell the rebellion of more than 300,000 people in Sichuan Li Yonghe and Lan Chaoding, and then using the means of the Xiang army led by the Xiang army to unite with the local Sichuan army and the Tusi Yi army to suppress the remnants of the Taiping Army entering the River by means of the Dadu River, more than 100,000 people, capturing the Heavenly Kingdom general, Yi Wang Shi Dakai, and executing him.
At the same time as winning victories in the military, he also straightened out the administration of officials, investigated and punished a number of lawless officials such as the staff general Yin Shichao and the Sichuan envoy Xiang Kui, promoted a number of generals such as Hu Zhonghe and Zhou Dawu, and at the same time asked the imperial court to reduce taxes and appease the people's livelihood, enjoying a very high reputation in Sichuan.
At that time, the nursery rhyme in Shuzhong said: "If you want to enjoy the people of Sichuan, unless you have a horse horn", the word "Luo" is composed of "horse" and "each", and in Cantonese it is homophonous, which means that to make the people of Sichuan happy, you can only rely on Luo Bingzhang.
But happiness is not so easy to come by. The southwestern provinces, including Sichuan, are still in turmoil, with complicated military situations and many problems. The most important thing is that Gansu Jizhou is still in the hands of Cai Xianling and Liang Chengzhang's rebel army, and has not yet been restored; while the border defenses in Yunnan and Guizhou are tight, and at this time, the change of generals is not only unfavorable to the overall command, but also fears that the army will be scattered.
The Qing government's worries were actually luo Bingzhang's troubles. On April 11, Luo Bingzhang, considering the military intelligence priorities, generously played when the two-month leave had expired and the eye disease had not yet been cured, saying that because "because the state was in rebellion, it was only a powerful way to see things." On April 27, the Emperor stated that Luo "had the vision of being loyal and loyal, taking state affairs as his own responsibility, and all important military affairs were properly organized by the governor, and his daily affairs were still entrusted to the clan division to dismantle and act on his behalf, while quickly adjusting and curing them." ”
Luo Wenzhong Gong Codex
However, in July, Luo Bingzhang's eye disease worsened, and he could no longer see, so he had to apply for a vacancy for the second time and asked to return to Guangdong for conditioning and treatment. At the beginning of September, the reply to the edict was still not allowed to open vacancies, and then four months of rest, temporarily presided over by Chongshi, and in the event of an emergency, it was still necessary to handle it after Luo Xiangshang consulted. After receiving the order, Luo Bingzhang handed over the Seal of the Governor to Chongshi. In the event of a major event, an emergency, Chongshi also came to the government to discuss with him.
Although Chongshi specifically presided over the work, Luo Bingzhang could not be at ease at all, and even Chongshi said in the compromise: "Luo Bingzhang is complaining about it due to illness, and whenever there is a border defense matter, he carefully plans with his subjects, lives and returns to business, until the third." If you don't think about it, you will find it difficult to sleep and eat. ”
In the torment and suffering of eye diseases, in the blink of an eye, four months of vacation passed. On December 17, Luo Bingzhang applied for the third time to open a vacancy and return to his hometown.
03
Tongzhi five years (1866).
In the first month, the Lord's Decree has arrived. In the edict, luo Bingzhang was appointed governor of Sichuan, "he was very compromised in the handling of military affairs by officials, and he saw that the atmosphere of thieves in the neighboring territories was not quiet, and the raising of salaries and troops was very important, and he was not allowed to open vacancy requests without hesitation as requested" and at the same time, he also took a four-month leave of absence, and the daily work was still presided over by Chongshi, but he still stressed that major matters and important matters must be discussed with Luo Bingzhang.
The three times of resignation show that the Qing government was worried about the military affairs of the southwest and relied heavily on Luo. Empress Dowager Cixi was even more en-wei, and sent the ink crystal glasses given to her by the West, and ordered the guards to travel non-stop, day and night, and galloped into Sichuan to give Luo Bingzhang, and brought the words: "Sichuan is difficult and dangerous, and the person who is safe is replaced?" "Meaning, the situation in Sichuan is grim and there are many problems, where to find someone to replace you?" Lafayette's words have come to this point, and Luo Bingzhang has since dispelled the idea of opening vacancies and worked with illness.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the "Different Dictionaries" recorded, "When Luo Wenzhonggong was supervising The River, the Shu people saw him destroying the Qing Dynasty and using his soldiers to speed up, which was called Zhuge Fusheng. Then he is blind in both eyes, and his subordinates come to him, or put his face on his face with his hand, or listen to his voice with his ear, and identify him as someone, and talk about business with him. Although this statement is somewhat legendary, Luo Bingzhang's work on holding illness is slightly evident from this.
After entering the spring, Luo Bingzhang's eye disease further worsened. In another letter to Zhu Xueqin, he wrote: "... Wear a pair of glasses to see the words slightly, but can not look at it for a long time, if you take off the glasses, the opposite person is not very clear. The white dot of the right eye has not gone, the god of the left eye has not been enough, and the glasses are also floating, so it is so trance. From what he said, it can be seen that after his left eye was removed, his right eye unfortunately followed the cataract.
Lord Luo's illness did not make the Governor's Palace worry all the time. Chongshi remembered that in the last year, Luo Ren's old friend, Panyu liang Tanpu came to Chengdu, talking about eye diseases, said that there was a foreigner-run Hui'ai Medical Center in eastern Guangdong, and there was a famous doctor named Guan Zhuxi who was good at acupuncture, specializing in cataracts, often needled to the doctor, and enjoyed a reputation. Originally, I thought that if I could return to my hometown, I could cure it. Now the only thing is to ask Dr. Guan to enter the river. Although the road is far away, from Guangdong to Sichuan for about half a year, no matter how difficult it is, you have to ask Dr. Guan to go back.
Considering that Guan Zhuxi was going to come to Chengdu for treatment, Luo Bingzhang went to the imperial court and took another four-month leave, and said that if he could be cured this time, he would immediately cancel the leave and go to work. On June 15, the edict again approved Luo Bingzhang to take four months off to recuperate.
On September 11, GuanZhuxi traveled thousands of miles to Sichuan. Considering that it was the local weather was humid and hot, and it was impossible to operate immediately, he waited until October 15 to do eye removal surgery for Luo Bingzhang, and told him that he must rest for two or three months before his eyes could gradually regain his vision. Since the holiday expired again, Luo Bingzhang had to play the operation according to the facts and apply for a renewal of the leave.
04
Tongzhi 6th year (1867).
In March, the triennial Kyocha arrived again. In view of the fact that Luo Bingzhang attached great importance to state affairs and insisted on working with illness, the assessment conclusion given by the Qing government this time was that "Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Sichuan, has become a great hope, xuanli mi diligence, and the ministry has been discussed from the good, and admired this." After Dr. Guan's right eye surgery, Luo Bingzhang adjusted for several months, and although his gaze did not return to the old, he greatly improved. In order not to "hold a vacant position in vain and be ashamed", Luo Bingzhang officially went to work on leave under the condition that "it is still readable and public".
Hearing that Luo Bingzhang's eye disease had improved and had begun to work, Tongzhi and Cixi, who had long regarded Luo Bingzhang as the pillar of the country, were relieved. On the ninth day of May, Luo Bingzhang was immediately awarded the title of co-founder, giving him greater authority and responsibility. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Xue Fucheng's "Notes on Yong'an" Yun: "When it was time, Zeng Wenzheng oversaw liangjiang, and the deposed officials of the provinces of Huguang, Liangyue, Fujian, and Zhejiang, and all major policies, and the imperial court would consult them; Luo Gong oversaw Sichuan, and the deposed officials of the provinces of Dian, Qian, Shaanxi, and Gansu, and all major policies, and the imperial court would consult them." The two princes look at each other, and the world depends on them.
”
However, the good times did not last long, and after entering the autumn, Luo Bingzhang's spirit was much worse than before. In September, he suffered from a wind chill, and in early November he suffered from phlegm, asthma, night restlessness, and difficulty. And the gaze is also bright and dark, the approval of the text is really reluctant, sometimes friends come and go, have to ask the nephew Luo Zhaoquan to draft it.
Luo Bingzhang, who was plagued by illness, felt that the day of his death was not far away. One day, looking back on the ups and downs of his life, he wrote a self-help link, which reads: "Ten years of Qing Class, from Han Zhan Ke Dao to Jingqing, sent all over Qi Prefecture Wuzhou Bian Prefecture, looking back at the eunuch road like a dream; twenty years of foreign appointments, the history of Dian Qian'e Xiang to Shu Bashu, the governor Pingshi against Li against Cai rebellion, the heart of the difficulty of understanding the times." And confessed that Luo Zhaoquan hung in front of the spirit after his death.
Chongshi witnessed the last days of Luo Bingzhang, and in the compromise to the Tongzhi Emperor, Chongshi played: "At the time of death, only the neighbors were not quiet, the environment was voyeuristic, the border guards were heavy, and it was urgent to be cautious with Tuwei, knowing that it was difficult to start, first make a will, instruct the slaves to enter, and hand over the governor's letter to the slaves to be concurrently signed, so as not to be delayed, and the governor died in a hurry. The same record is recorded in his self-written Ti'an Annals: "... On the seventh day of the first month of winter, Luo Laoyu came to me to discuss the defense of the north and the south, and asked the twelfth acting lord eagle to raise a feast (one of the four feasts of the imperial examination), and he knew that he would not be able to get up when he returned. On the twelfth day, he looked forward and could not speak clearly. There are no dependents in the attendants. ...... As far as the old man could not bear it, he ordered the governor to return the guard to the place. To maintain the overall situation, we cannot but take over first. It was about to be played, and the old man died day by day, and only the nephew and grandson of the clan were on the side, which really made the onlookers unbearable..."
When Yao Yongpu's "Essays on Old News" recounted Bingzhang's death, what stood out was his official integrity. "When the public is in the room, a cloth tent is suspended, and a hundred gold is deposited. The accountant of the inquirer is a person who knows that the public is in the house, and most of them are poor and needy. There are honest officials who cannot survive on their own, for Zhang Luo Qianjin, the crowd does not know where it comes from, and even if it is known that all the pockets are out of the clouds. ”
On November 17 (December 12 of the Gregorian calendar) in the sixth year of Tongzhi (1867), the sky was visionary and the giant star fell. Luo Bingzhang, a late Qing dynasty minister, died of illness in Chengdu. He was seventy-five years old.
On December 25, the Qing government received a report of Luo Bingzhang's death, "Passing away." Cloak the posthumous seal. At the same time, the edict called him "loyal and straight, clean and diligent", and posthumously awarded Luo Bingzhang the title of Prince Taifu, gave him the title of Wen Zhong, and gave him a pension according to the specifications of a scholar, and at the same time entered the Ancestral Hall of the Jingshi Xianliang. And in Sichuan and Hunan provinces to build special shrines to commemorate.
Grateful for Luo Bingzhang's great achievements in his life for the country, the Qing government gave him a great favor to his descendants. The eldest son, Luo Tianbao, was assigned to six ministries after the completion of the mourning period; the second son, Luo Tianbao, was given a position to directly participate in the temple examination after the mourning period expired; Sun Luo Maoxiang, Luo Maoqin, Luo Maoren, and Luo Maoxun were all arranged by the six ministries. The nephew Luo Zhaoquan was himself a candidate county clerk, and the official shengzhi county was waiting for office.
Later generations commented: "Luo Wenzhong's public honor was sealed, and he did not bring his dependents, but his nephew Zhaoquan accompanied him." After the death, Wen Shuyi, two sons and four grandchildren, were all rewarded with the rank of Kedi, and Zhaoquan was also favored to know the county to choose. As the final Maodian, Rong and his grandson, he did not taste it. ”
The Luo Gong Ancestral Hall of that year
05
After Luo Bingzhang's death, Chengdu went on strike. The common people are all weeping in the alley, and each family hangs a white cloth in front of the door, or a book is linked to mourn.
There is a description in the "Shu Hai Cong Tan" that is very touching: "There are more than a thousand people who want to enter the department and cry, but they are hindered by the material officials." The next day, Nagisa set up a shed under the wall and offered the throne of the gods. All day long, hundreds of people wrapped their heads in white cloth and prostrated themselves to the ground. The people of the city have removed the red paper door link, and it is easy to use white paper and write words of mourning. The prefectural and county officials thought with trepidation that this was no different from the state secret, and the head of the street advised along the door, and began to unveil the white union, but still did not repeat the red union to show sorrow. He was rewarded with 5,000 taels of silver for mourning, but was returned. Coffins return to Guangdong from the waterway. The towns through which the boat travels, people pass through The Rowai, and the cigarettes are endless. When they arrived at the Fu Province (Fengjie), the boat suddenly stagnated in the shoal, and the gentlemen scrambled to remove their shoes and socks, waded into the water to help the boat, and sent it into the depths. ”
Wang Minyun's "XiangJun Zhi • Chuan-Shaanxi Chapter" also said: "Bingzhang Xue, the people of the provincial city are like bereaved private relatives, crying for the alley and going to the market." His mourning returns, the number of weeping admirers is tens of millions, from Hu Linyi, Zeng Guofan and Unable to reach out. ”
There are many similar records, most of which refer to Luo Bingzhang and Zhuge Liang of the Han Dynasty and Wei Gao of the Tang Dynasty as shuzhong xianxiang, and then built the Luo Gong ancestral hall, "Shu people also called it the ancestral hall of Xiang Xiang." Although a three-foot boy enters his temple, he who robs the ground with his head. ”
The people of the city did so, and the officials and celebrities mourned Luo Bingzhang's death in the form of a link.
Zuo Zongtang, a famous general of the Xiang Army, served as an aide to Luo Bingzhang's mansion for six years, and quickly rose in the official arena because of Luo Zhiba. He wrote: "Gong is zhuge first-class, bows to the best of his ability, and after death; I have served Wen Zhong for several years, grateful to my confidant, and I cannot forget in life"; the second is "I have left love in Chuanhu, and the initiative has long been the head of the world; zhongxing generals, pushing sincerity and saltiness to know the heart of the old minister", while expressing his appreciation for the merits of his mentor and admiration for his personality.
Although the Chengdu general Chongshi was a Manchu, as a subordinate and colleague of Luo Bingzhang, he had always been in love with Luo Tui and got along with him, and he wrote: "Repay the country Ya Danchen, the ancient name of the minister of sheji, who is worthy of being a thousand autumns; riding a ji to the blue fall, the qi leads the stars up, and the eyes are all over the world. He spoke highly of Luo Bingzhang's life, and expressed his mourning, regret and helplessness for Luo Bingzhang's death.
Jiang Yilan, the governor of Guangdong, was once a general of Luo Bingzhang's love, and he wrote: "Wenlu's national position is the same, looking up to the prestige of the seven provinces, blessing me xiangjiang to rebuild; Marquis Jinglun of Wuxiang is not finished, and the elders of the three dynasties are painful, such as Gonglinghai." "The grief is beyond words.
The great calligrapher and poet He Shaoji wrote: "Taiguan Rao Qingtan, a lifelong scholar and only vain self; Jiang Ji is rich and promising, and Gai Shixun does not love money." Commenting on Luo's two recognized virtues: Qu has been subordinate to people and honest and honest, which can be described as one word.
The rest of the memorial leagues are enumerated one by one, and all the redemptions are collected by Chen Xingcheng, a staff member of Luo Bingzhang, into a volume of "Elegy".
It is not known when Luo Bingzhang's coffin arrived in Guangdong, but only that his son Luo Tianbao and Luo Tianbao asked Tianbao's father-in-law, The fifteenth year of Daoguang, and Su Tingkui, the governor of the Donghe River, to write a Shinto monument, burying Luo Bingzhang and his original wife Chen in the ancestral tomb of Shakeng Township, Nanhai Luo village town, Foshan (now Yasan Village, Lutang Village Committee, east of Yasan Village).
The reconstructed Locke Cemetery
Luo Bingzhang spent his life fighting horses, fighting outside for many years, gathering less and more with his family, and only his nephew and grandson died of illness. Now he can stay with his family. In the seven years of Governor Chuan, although he had outstanding military merit and prominent status, what he wanted most in his heart was to return to his hometown to recuperate his body and raise his life, but even this ordinary wish had never been realized. Now he no longer needed the approval of Emperor Tongzhi and Empress Dowager Cixi.
Finally, the vacancy is open.