There has always been a saying that Zuo Zongtang once took the initiative to move closer in 1852 and wanted to join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and also had a conversation with Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Tso
Zuo Zongtang's theory that he wanted to join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was first seen in the historical novel "Hong XiuQuan Yanyi" written by Huang Shizhong, a Panyu man. "Hong Xiuquan Yanyi", also known as "The Biography of Hong Yang Haojie" and "The Complete Works of Hong Yang Haoxia", was published in 1905 and 1906 in newspapers and periodicals such as "Youyou Bao", "Hong Kong Juvenile Daily", "China Daily" and other newspapers and periodicals, and was later published and distributed by Shanghai Guangyi Book Company.
The Hong Xiuquan Yanyi records: "When King Hong Tianwang entered Wuchang, (Zuo Zongtang) wrote to the Heavenly King to persuade him not to follow foreign religions, and King Hong Tianwang saw that he did not know the race and did not know the truth of the unity of kings and people, so he did not pay much attention to him. He was full of hope to write to King Hong Tianwang and get a heavy use, so after many people had hired him, he did not want to come out. Imami Hong Tianwang did not have any meaning, and his heart was a little unhappy, secretly thinking that Liu Yin, who wanted to be Hu Yuan, could not endure it for a long time, and after thinking about The Jin Dynasty, Wang Meng, Zeng Zuojian, made up his mind. First, he was hired by Xiangfu Zhang Liangji and counselor Rong Mu. He was then hired by Xiangfu Luo Bingzhang. ”
Hong Xiuquan
This statement is widely spread in the folk and has even been adopted by some historical works.
In 1914, in the "Complete History of the Qing Dynasty" published in the "Complete History of the Qing Dynasty" published that year, the modern Japanese scholar and expert in qing history said: "According to the people of Changsha, when King Hong Tianwang besieged Changsha, there was a man who was clothed and single-handed, and discussed with the Heavenly King the strategy of attacking and defending and building the country. The king of heaven could not use it, and his men fled by night. The Hou Xiang people wanted to bind this devotee, but because they did not know his name, they went to bed. However, in the book printed at the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were those who knew "Zhi Na", who thought that this person was Zuo Zongtangye, and persuaded King Hong to abandon God Jesus and devote himself to Confucianism. ”
In 1955, the famous historian Fan Wenlan followed this saying in the "Modern History of China" published that year: "According to a more credible legend, when the Taiping Army besieged Changsha, Zuo Zongtang went to see Hong Xiuquan, discussed the strategy of attacking and defending and building the country, persuaded him to abandon God Jesus, and devoted himself to Confucianism. ”
In 1962, Jian Youwen, a contemporary Chinese historian and a well-known expert in the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, said in the "Complete History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" published that year: "According to legend: Zuo Zongtang did not meet with talent in the beginning, was depressed, tried to join the Taiping Army, advised not to advocate God's religion, and did not destroy Confucianism and interpretation, in order to win the hearts of the people. However, the source and basis of the founding of the country by Hong and Yang are in Protestantism, and they cannot be self-destructive and do not listen. Zuo Nai left and died in the service of the Qing court. ”
Taiping Army
In these historical works, the author believes that Zuo Zongtang's claim that he took the initiative to defect to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is credible.
However, we look back and see that there was a big problem at the time node.
In April 1862, the Taiping Army entered Hunan from Guangxi. On July 27, the Taiping Army arrived outside Changsha. During this period, Zuo Zongtang was not in Changsha, but had been living in his hometown of Xiangyin. Zuo Zongtang did not have any contact with the Taiping Army.
On August 19, Zhang Liangji, the governor of Hunan, on the strong recommendation of Hu Linyi, the prefect of Liping in Guizhou, wrote to Zuo Zongtang, asking him to go out of the mountains to serve as his staff and assist in the defense of Changsha. After much thought, Zuo Zongtang decided to go out of the mountain and enter changsha on August 24, braving artillery fire. After that, Zuo Zongtang "adjusted the army's food day and night, managed the documents", planned defensive matters, and was so busy flying, how could he run out and discuss with Hong Xiuquan of the enemy camp what "offensive and defensive, and nation-building strategies" were discussed?
Changsha City Wall
So, will the place where Zuo Zongtang and Hong Xiuquan meet is Wuchang? After all, in 1852, Hong Xiuquan once led the Taiping Army to conquer Wuchang, and Zuo Zongtang also lived in Wuchang for a while. However, the timing of this statement is still not correct.
Hong Xiuquan led the Taiping Army to conquer Wuchang on December 4, 1852. A month later, on January 2, 1853, Hong Xiuquan abandoned Wuchang, land and water, and marched eastward along the Yangtze River, "along the JiangzhouYi, no soldiers and no ships, no hope of being invincible." Ten days later, on January 12, Zuo Zongtang followed Zhang Liangji, who had been promoted to governor of Huguang, out of Changsha for Wuchang. On January 22, Zhang Liangji and Zuo Zongtang arrived in Wuchang.
Wuchang
At this time, Zuo Zongtang couldn't even see the back of the Taiping Army.
In fact, Zuo Zongtang did not have the subjective conditions to join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
The Taiping Rebellion was a peasant uprising. But for the Qing court, it was an unforgivable "rebellion." At that time, most intellectuals did not agree with the legitimacy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. If Zuo Zongtang was a poor student who was cornered, in the case of a hopeless future, he might have the idea of joining the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
However, Zuo Zongtang was not a desperate poor student. At the age of 20, he passed the examination and qualified to be an official. Although the three tests were all named Luosun Mountain, they were not disappointed. Many high-ranking officials and celebrities, including Lin Zexu, the governor of Yungui, Tao Shu, the governor of Liangjiang, He Changling, the governor of Yungui, and Yushi He Xiling, the inspector of the Metropolitan Inspection Bureau, admired his talents and devoted themselves to fellowship. Tao Shu and He Xiling even took the initiative to marry Zuo Zongtang as their children. What an honor is this?
Lin Zexu
Zuo Zongtang was deeply influenced by Confucian thought from an early age, believing in the concept of "loyalty, filial piety, festival, and righteousness", taking "loyalty to the king and serving the country" as his life goal, and as early as the age of 21, he wrote the verse "Shusheng has the idea of sealing the marquis, for the broadcast of the Heavenly Wei Zuo Taiping". How could such an ambitious and ambitious intellectual betray the Qing court and flee to a hostile camp?