In 1861, Zeng Guofan, the governor of Liangjiang, did something that will never be forgotten: the impeachment of Weng Tongshu, the governor of Anhui.
Why did Zeng Guofan impeach Weng Tongshu?
Weng Tongshu became the governor of Anhui in 1858. The Xianfeng Emperor appointed him as a military deputy to the Minister of Qincha, Shengbao, stationed in Dingyuan (定遠, in present-day Chuzhou, Anhui). In 1859, tens of thousands of twisters attacked Dingyuan, but Weng Tongshu could not resist and retreated to Shouzhou (寿州, in modern Huainan, Anhui Province).
After the fall of Dingyuan, the imperial court dismissed Weng Tongshu from his post and left him to make meritorious contributions.
In December 1860, there was a disturbance in Shouzhou: Miao Peilin, the leader of the Anhui regimental training, and Sun Jiatai, Meng Shizhong, Xu Lizhuang, and other leaders of the Shouzhou regiment, killed each other, causing Miao Peilin to rebel against the Qing court and lead his troops to besiege Shouzhou. Shouzhou was strongly defended, and since the Three Kingdoms and Two Jin Dynasties, it had the reputation of "iron Shouzhou", but Weng Tongshu had no intention of fighting, and not only did he write to the imperial court according to Miao Peilin's intentions, but also ordered the execution of Xu Lizhuang, who was originally regarded as a confidant and beloved general, and threw Sun Jiatai into prison. But Miao Peilin betrayed his faith and still attacked Shouzhou. Weng Tongshu fled Shouzhou and returned to the capital through hardships and obstacles.
Seeing this scene, Zeng Guofan could not sit still. Zeng Guofan was then the Governor of Liangjiang. In terms of hierarchy, the Viceroy of Liangjiang and the Governor of Anhui were of equal rank and had no subordination to each other. However, while Zeng Guofan was the governor of Liangjiang, he was also responsible for supervising the military affairs of the four provinces of Jiangsu (Jiangsu), Anhui (Anhui), Zhejiang (Zhejiang), and Gansu (Jiangxi), and the governors of the four provinces and the following towns. Therefore, Zeng Guofan had jurisdiction over The Inspector of Anhui, Weng Tongshu.
Zeng Guofan was very dissatisfied with Weng Tongshu's two escapes and the improper handling of the Miao Peilin incident, and if he did not punish such behavior, then he would not be able to be the governor of Liangjiang. However, Weng Tongshu is not so good at impeachment.
Weng Tongshu's father was named Weng Xincun, who was an official in the imperial court to the Bingbu Shangshu, a co-founder of the university, a scholar of Tirenge University, and a teacher of the Tongzhi Emperor. Weng Xincun's two sons, Weng Tongshu and Weng Tongjue, were both officials and inspectors, and belonged to the feudal governors who sat on an equal footing with Zeng Guofan. Weng Xincun's third son, Weng Tonggong, was born in Zhuangyuan and was a saint. It can be said that the Weng family is very powerful in the imperial court, and the disciples of the Weng Men are all over the government and the opposition. Zeng Guofan impeached Weng Tongshu, and if he was not careful, he would cause trouble.
Just when Zeng Guofan hesitated for a long time, Li Hongzhang, who was serving as an aide in Zeng Guofan's shogunate, took the initiative to ask for help and wrote a recital for him.
Li Hongzhang's writing is excellent, and when he entered Beijing to participate in the examination in his early years, he wrote that "my husband only held the Wu hook with his hand, and his spirit was higher than that of the hundred-foot building." Who has written history for ten thousand years, and three thousand miles away wants to be crowned a marquis" Such a heroic verse, writing an impeachment recital, is not a hand to hand?
Li Hongzhang wrote in this recital entitled "Sam Weng Tong Shu Piece": "Since the rise of the army, all those who have lost their guard and escaped have been severely reprimanded, and Weng Tong shu has lost his defense twice in Dingyuan and Shouzhou, which has caused the disaster of Miao Rebellion, so should he go unpunished?" He should be asked to dismiss Weng Tongshu from his post and ask him, and the minister of the imperial court Jiuqing would discuss the crime with the Punishment Department, so as to suppress military discipline and show his commandments. This is to point out weng Tongshu's sins, and it is recommended that Weng Tongshu be dismissed from his post and interrogated, and the guilt be discussed in order to solemnize military discipline.
This was not enough, in order to prevent someone in the imperial court from interceding for Weng Tongshu, Li Hongzhang added 24 words to the finishing touch: "Where the duties of the subjects are, they should be corrected." I did not dare to be at the peak of the door of Weng Tongshu and look forward to accommodation. This sentence is said with great righteousness and awe, standing on the commanding heights of morality, this writing, not only the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government can not protect, even the emperor can not be sympathetic - I Zeng Guofan "do not dare to because of the prosperity of the door of Weng Tongshu, and look at Gu accommodation", do you emperor mean to look at Gu and accommodate?
Soon, Zeng Guofan's impeachment of Weng Tongshu was sent to the imperial court. At this time, the Tongzhi Emperor had already succeeded him, and Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Ci'an were bowing to the government. At that time, the Xiang army under the command of Zeng Guofan was the main force resisting the Taiping Army, and Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Ci'an attached great importance to Zeng Guofan's performance, so they dismissed Weng Tongshu from his post and arrested him. After deliberation by The King's Ministers, a death penalty was drawn up.
When Weng Xincun learned that his son had been sentenced to death, he was anxious and angry and became seriously ill. Weng Tongshu was temporarily released to return home and serve his father at the bedside. Not long after, Weng xinxin was seriously ill and died. Taking these circumstances into account, the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces and the Tongzhi Emperor, in the name of remembering their master, changed the sentence of Weng Tongshu to the punishment of the army in Xinjiang. Later, Weng Tongshu changed his service to the Gansu military camp and died in Huamachi, Shaanxi 3 years later.
For Weng Tonggong, the sudden death of his father, the distribution of his brother to the frontier, and the fact that a good home made such a desolate situation were all caused by a letter from Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang. However, at that time, Weng Tonggong had just entered the career, only a LiupinJing official, and Zeng Guofan was the governor of Liangjiang, and he was also a heavy minister relied on by the imperial court, and it was purely self-defeating to compete with him, so he was angry with Li Hongzhang, who wrote on his ghostwriting.
Since then, Li Hongzhang has become Weng Tonggong's lifelong enemy.
[References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Sam Weng Tong Shu Piece, etc.]