During the Qing Dynasty, there was such an official, who was once the governor of Sichuan, and after his death, the Guangxu Emperor also built ancestral halls for him in four places: Qinghuai, Xuzhou, Xuyi County, and Sanjie Town. Legend has it that this official was so honored because he had met a young woman by the river many years ago.
In 1853 (the third year of Xianfeng), an official named Wu Tang returned to Qinghe County, where he was previously located, to serve as a county commander after controlling the water in Pizhou. One day in July of the same year, Wu Tang was handling affairs in his room when a servant from home came to report that one of his friends had died of illness. However, wu Tang could not leave because of the affairs of the DPRK and China at this time, and could not go to mourn his friend. In order to express his condolences to the relatives of his deceased friend, he sent someone to send 300 taels of silver to his family.
Wu Tang's men went to find his friend's family with 300 taels of silver, and he quickly rushed to the riverside. But where does this servant recognize who is the orphan of Wu Tang's former friend? He shuttled through the boats to find them. Suddenly, he saw a white cloth hanging on a passenger ship, and the people on board looked sad, as if they were mourning the dead.
The subordinate immediately stepped forward and asked the people on the ship if they were mourning the deceased of the former officer to the deputy general. The man on the boat replied: Exactly. The subordinate then bowed to the coffin on the ship, then explained the intention of the trip, and handed Wu Tang's name and 300 taels of silver to the people on the ship.
The people on the boat were two young women, a woman and a man, and when they saw that the poster read, "Qinghe County Orders Wu Tang to Respect It," they gratefully accepted the silver and bid farewell to the men sent by Wu Tang.
The subordinate thought that he had completed what his master had told him, so he went back to his life. After Wu Tang listened to his subordinates describe the relatives of the deceased friend he saw, he had doubts in his heart: The deceased friend only has one son, when did he have two daughters? These 300 taels of silver are afraid to be given to the wrong person!
Looking at the three men on the boat, why did they accept the money with peace of mind? Are they not afraid that Wu Tang will write a letter to his deceased friend's descendants and find out about this matter?
Wu Tang sent people to the river immediately to inquire about the origin of these people. It just so happened that the boats on the riverside had not yet left, and they had to stay here for a while, so Wu Tang had time to sort out the reason for this. Wu Tang learned among the people he sent to inquire that these people were also his former friends! However, they were not the deceased friend that Wu Tang wanted to mourn, but another deceased friend Huizheng who had recently died of illness.
Wu Tang met Hui Zheng in his early years, and the two were very talkative because they both had the desire to serve the country, and later became close friends. Hui Zheng died of illness at the age of 48, just in his prime, which made Wu Tang sad. Because Wu Tang rarely had any contact with Hui Zheng after he was transferred to Qinghe County, he did not know why Hui Zheng died of illness at such a young age, and Wu Tang felt some remorse in his heart.
After the sadness, Wu Tang learned from the people who returned from the news that Hui Zheng had been dismissed from his post before his death, the situation in his family was much worse than before, and his second daughter, a son and his wife were now living a hard life.
Wu Tang decided to "make a mistake and make a mistake" and no longer ask Huizheng's family for the 300 taels of silver. At the same time, he also prepared another 300 taels of silver and rushed to the river with his men.
Wu Tang was saddened by the death of his two former friends, and he first went to the boat where Hui Zheng's coffin was located to pay respects and met with Hui Zheng's family. Seeing that Huizheng's wife and children could only afford to rent a small boat, that there were no servants around them, and that the furniture they carried was somewhat worn, he ordered his men to buy some necessities for them.
After that, Wu Tang went to the ship of another deceased friend, and he personally handed over 300 taels of silver to the hands of the deceased friend's son, and left after the worship.
What Wu Tang didn't know was that his trip had brought Huizheng's wife and children comfort they hadn't seen in years.
Huizheng, full name Yehenara Huizheng. He also served as an officer to a deputy general, but the Taiping Army attacked Anhui, and the threat was menacing, and Hui Zheng was confused, and he fled with his family to Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. Since Hui zheng fled without permission in defiance of the emperor's orders, he was also dismissed from his post. The situation of the Huizheng family has since plummeted.
Hui zheng had a daughter named Yehenara Xingzhen, who was the empress dowager Cixi, who later held power in the court. Since the Huizheng family accepted Wu Tang's silver money, Yehenara Xingzhen remembered Huizheng's kindness in her heart and secretly decided that she would have the opportunity to repay this kindness in the future.
This year, Yehenara Apricot was 18 years old.
After sending her father's coffin back to her hometown for burial, Yehenara Xingzhen also entered the palace, and she was also named Lan Gui for being deeply favored by the Xianfeng Emperor.
At the same time, Wu Tang punished thieves and rectified the gambling trend in Qinghe County, and achieved remarkable results. He also cared for the people and cared about the war. While rectifying the unhealthy atmosphere of the people, Wu Tang also provided shelter and food for the people affected by the war, and he was deeply saddened to see that the children of ordinary people had no parents when they were just born. Therefore, Wu Tang also adopted more than 2,000 babies, which were deeply loved by the people.
Later, the Taiping Army successively attacked Xuzhou and Huai'an, and the people where the Taiping Army went were miserable, and there were often rumors that the Taiping Army slaughtered the city, the people fled one after another, and civil strife occurred frequently. In order to stabilize the people's hearts, Wu Tang had to tell the people that the Qing Dynasty army was already on the way to support. Only then did everyone stop fleeing, and life in the city returned to peace. But this is actually a white lie that Wu Tang said, although he deceived the people, but in exchange for the stability of the city.
But Wu Tang also knew that just deceiving the people and not thinking of countermeasures would undoubtedly make this city fall. In order to protect the people in the city, he organized donations from the squires to buy weapons and food for the upcoming war, and at the same time gathered young men in the city to join the army. At the same time, he reported the latest situation in the imperial court and asked the imperial court to send troops to help. In just a few months, Wu Tang had gathered an army of tens of thousands of people. And with a single blow, he repelled the Taiping Army that came to besiege the city.
Since then, Wu Tang has risen all the way, and he was also appointed governor of Sichuan in 1867 (the sixth year of Tongzhi). From the original Qinghe County Order to the later Governor of Sichuan, his official position was promoted by a total of 10 levels. Among them, in addition to Wu Tang's own efforts, it is also indispensable to the promotion of Yehenara Xingzhen.
Soon after Yehenara Xingzhen entered the palace, she was promoted from "Lan Guiren" to "Yi Concubine". Two years after becoming a concubine, she also gave birth to a crown prince, Zaichun, to the Xianfeng Emperor, who was also the only prince of the Xianfeng Emperor, and she was given the title of Concubine Yi. A year later, she was again given the title of Yi Guifei.
The Xianfeng Emperor was already frail and sickly, and he trusted the Yehenara clan very much, and the Yehenara clan was good at calligraphy, so the Xianfeng Emperor gradually began to let her approve the recital and tell her about the affairs of the dynasty. Although the courtiers were dissatisfied with the participation of the Yehenara clan in politics, they could not shake the Favor of the Xianfeng Emperor.
The desire for power in Yehenara Xingzhen's heart was also awakened when he repeatedly reviewed the major events in the DPRK and China.
In 1861, the Xianfeng Emperor died of illness, and before his death, he gave two seals representing imperial power to the Yehenara clan and the empress, hoping that they would jointly manage political affairs from then on. After Zaichun ascended the throne, he changed his era name to "Tongzhi", and the Yehenara clan finally gained power.
It was also in this year that Wu Tang was appointed as a political envoy of Jiangning Province, acting as the General Administration of Water Transport. His rank in this position was Cong'erpin, which was 9 levels higher than the original Qinghe County Order (正七品). However, this was only the beginning of his path to ascension.
In the following 6 years, he was first appointed as the General Administration of Caoyun, then as the Inspector of Jiangsu, and then as the Governor of Liangguang, and his position became more and more important. In 1867 (the sixth year of Tongzhi), Wu Tang was transferred from the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang to the governor of Sichuan.
In 1875 (the first year of Guangxu), Wu Tang played the Guangxu Emperor on the matter of illness and physical weakness, hoping to return to his hometown to recuperate, and the Guangxu Emperor valued his talent very much, so he did not agree, but gave him two months of vacation. The following year, Wu Tang played again, and the Guangxu Emperor agreed. On July 20, 1876, Wu Tang died of illness in his hometown of Anhui.
After Wu Tang's death, the courtesy name "Qinhui", the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi both wrote articles to mourn him.
Because of Wu Tang's countless achievements in life, in 1881 (the seventh year of Guangxu), a number of officials jointly signed a letter requesting the emperor to set up an ancestral hall for him in Wu Tang's hometown. Guangxu granted permission, and then ordered people to set up ancestral halls for Wu Tang in Qinghuai and Xuzhou, and then set up ancestral halls in Xuyi County and Sanjie Town, where Wu Tang had made meritorious contributions. Therefore, Wu Tang shared four shrines after his death.
Wu Tang's life was hung up after meeting Cixi's family from the riverside. Although his success was inseparable from his own wisdom, it was also because of a small act of kindness that sowed the seeds of gratitude in Cixi's heart.
Be kind to others and be blessed, that's what it says.