Zeng Guofan was the head of the late Qing Dynasty's zhongxing courtiers, and the first literati to be awarded the title of marquis by virtue of their military achievements since the founding of the Qing Dynasty. He can do all this without the vigorous promotion of a person.
This man's name was Mu Zhang'a.
How did Mu Zhang'a promote Zeng Guofan?
In 1838, Zeng Guofan entered Beijing for the second time and participated in the third examination. Fortunately, this time Zeng Guofan's gold list was titled. However, the results of the Zeng Guofan Hall Examination were not ideal, and he only passed the 42nd place in the third division, and was given the same jinshi origin. Zeng Guofan was disappointed. According to such achievements, it is almost impossible to enter the Hanlin Academy, at best, to serve as the chief of various ministries and to be a Beijing official for a lifetime; or to be sent to the local area as a zhi county, and to sink into the remote areas of the poor countryside for the rest of his life.
Zeng Guofan, who was arrogant and arrogant, of course, was not willing to accept the arrangement of fate and decided to make an effort. Therefore, through his Hunan hometown and inspector Yushi Lao sogo, he took Mu Zhang'a, a military minister who was hot in the imperial court.
Mu Zhang'a, a Manchurian blue flag man, was born in 1782. Among the Manchurian officials of the Qing Dynasty, Mu Zhang'a was one of the few people who entered the official field through the right way of entering the army, understood the heartache of the readers, and was quite a caring talent. Wang Shiduo, a historical geographer at the end of the Qing Dynasty, commented on Mu Zhang'a in the Diary of Wang Zhiweng Yibing: "After reigning for twenty years, he also loved talent, nor was he greedy, but he was skillful and cunning, and he took deception and deception as his business. Wang Shiduo, who has always hated Mu Zhang'a, also admitted that he had the advantage of cherishing talents.
At that time, Mu Zhang'a was the chief examiner of the examination. After listening to Lao Chongguang's introduction, he asked Zeng Guofan to send some poems to see. Zeng Guofan was overjoyed, and immediately cut off dozens of beards and wrote several poems to send to Mu Zhang'a. Mu Zhang'a looked at it and was very appetizing.
With Mu Zhang'a's appreciation, the next thing is logical.
After the temple examination, it is the imperial examination. Zeng Guofan's examination results ranked third in the first class, and the Hanlin Yuan Shu Jishi could not run away. When Mu Zhang'a sent Zeng Guofan's report card to the Daoguang Emperor, he praised Zeng Guofan again, saying that he not only had excellent poetry, but also had grandparents, parents, younger siblings, wives, and children in the family, which was a blessed home. The Daoguang Emperor looked at Zeng Guofan's article again and felt that it was really good, so he changed it to the second place of the first class.
Since then, Zeng Guofan's official road has become smoother and smoother. From 1838 to 1849, Zeng Guofan moved seven times in ten years, jumped ten levels in a row, from a Hanlin Academy review from Qipin to a rebbe right attendant from Erpin, creating a miracle of Han promotion.
All this is inseparable from Mu Zhang'a's promotion.
In 1850, the Daoguang Emperor died of illness and was succeeded by the Xianfeng Emperor. At the beginning of the Xianfeng Emperor's succession, he took a tough attitude toward the outside world, and the main war faction began to gain power in the imperial court. Mu Zhang'a belonged to the lord and faction in the imperial court, and was naturally excluded. Soon, the Xianfeng Emperor issued an edict recounting Mu Zhang'a's crimes:
"Mu Zhang'a, as a university scholar, suffered from the grace of the dynasty, protected his throne and was greedy, and hindered the virtuous and sick country. Xiao Zhong, xiao xin, feminine to sell his adultery; pseudo-learning and pseudo-talent, speculation to meet ideas. "My Emperor examined the Grand Duke as the most righteous, but treated others with sincerity, and Mu Zhang'ade (to be) unscrupulous." If the Holy One candles him in the morning, he will put it in a serious manner and will not tolerate it. Mu Zhang'a was generous and indulgent, and he was always unsatisfied. Since the beginning of his pro-government, he has been ambiguous and silent in the face of events. ”
Subsequently, Mu Zhang'a was dismissed from his post and never used.
Mu Zhang'a's later life was miserable. When he holds a lot of power, his family comes and goes, and it is as lively as the New Year. Nowadays, kurama is snubbed in front of the door, and the ghost shadow cannot see one. However, Zeng Guofan secretly visited Mu Zhang'a several times, which made Mu Zhang'a very moved.
At that time, Zeng Guofan's life was not very good. Mu Zhang'a had fallen, and the emperor had no one around to speak for him, and it became increasingly difficult to do things. For the embarrassment faced by the students, Mu Zhang'a knew it. In 1853, Mu Zhang'a wrote a letter to Zeng Guofan before his death. There are only 8 words on it: "A good man knocks his teeth and swallows blood.".
Zeng Guofan kept in mind the teachings of his teacher as his life's belief. Later, when he created the Xiang Army to fight against the Taiping Army, he adhered to the style of caution, forbearance, and low-key, and finally conquered Tianjing and embarked on the peak of his life.
[References: The Complete Biography of Zeng Guofan, Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, etc.]