In his later years, Zeng Guofan confessed in his diary, saying that he could not stand this person the most in his life. Why? Because this man saved his life several times at the most frustrated time in his life, the two later had a conflict due to the unfavorable war. Zeng Guofan disregarded the love of teachers and students, and repeatedly impeached and persecuted this life-saving benefactor. Even Zuo Zongtang scolded Zeng Guofan's behavior as a "communiqué of personal vendettas." The person who was almost killed by Zeng Guofan was Li Yuandu, the envoy of Guizhou in the late Qing Dynasty.
There are many articles on the Internet praising Zeng Guofan and even touting him as the most perfect person in China. I don't know if these scholars have seriously studied Zeng Guofan's biography and the descriptions of Zeng Guofan by his contemporaries and friends about Zeng Guofan. In my impression, there are at least a few people who are quite critical of Zeng Guofan's character, one is Zuo Zongtang, one is Hu Linyi, and the other is Wang Youling. All three of them had spoken out for Zeng Guofan's impeachment of Li Yuandu, and did not hesitate to offend Zeng Guofan, who had once been in power, to save Li Yuandu's life. Then, Zeng Guofan, who is called a saint by many scholars, in the matter of impeaching his former student Li Yuandu, is it a great righteousness to destroy his relatives or a personal vendetta?
Zeng Guofan impeached Li Yuandu three times in his lifetime. The first time was in August 1860, when Li Yuandu was ordered to defend (present-day Anhui), but due to a mistake in Zeng Guofan's strategic deployment, many cities were breached by the Taiping Army, and Li Yuandu's defense of Huizhou was no exception. In order to shirk the responsibility for the defeat, Zeng Guofan threw the black cauldron to the student who had saved his life several times without consulting Li Yuandu. This impeachment led to Li Yuandu's removal.
Zeng Guofan's second impeachment was in November 1860. After Li Yuandu was dismissed, his heart was uneven, and at the invitation of Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang, he planned to go to Zhejiang to seek another high position. Li Yuandu told his old friend his thoughts, Hubei Inspector Hu Linyi. Hu Linyi was taken aback and reminded Li Yuandu that this move was absolutely impossible, and it would inevitably lead to revenge from Zeng Guofan (at this time, Zeng Guofan was narrow-minded, far less broad-minded than in the later period), and if Li Yuandu really wanted to leave the Xiang Army, he could serve under his command. Li Yuandu refused Hu Linyi's kindness on the grounds that he had an appointment with Wang Youling earlier and could not lose faith in people. As a result, when Zeng Guofan learned of this news, he regarded Li Yuandu as a traitor to the Xiang army and wanted to get rid of him quickly. In particular, Li Yuandu returned to Hunan to recruit 8,000 new soldiers, named "An Yue Army", and went to Zhejiang to serve Wang Youling.
Zeng Guofan believed that Li Yuandu was digging his own corner and deliberately could not get along with himself, and impeached Li Yuandu, along with Chen Youli and Zheng Kuishi, who had left the Xiang Army to seek him. If it were not for Wang Youling, Hu Linyi, Zuo Zongtang, Luo Bingzhang, and others playing to defend him, Li Yuandu would undoubtedly die. After a court discussion, Li Yuandu was dismissed from his post and retained in office, pending the crime of meritorious service.
On December 29, 1861, the Taiping Army captured Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, and Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang, committed suicide in defeat. Originally, the Zhejiang battlefield was not directly related to Zeng Guofan, but Zeng Guofan hated Li Yuandu and once again impeached Li Yuandu for lying about military merit and rescuing Wang Youling. At this time, Hubei Inspector Hu Linyi had died of illness, and Zhejiang Governor Wang Youling was killed in battle, leaving two fewer people to speak for Li Yuandu. Zeng Guofan originally thought that this time he could put Li Yuandu to death. What surprised him was that the Xiang Army generals Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Peng Yulin, Bao Chao, and others unexpectedly defended Li Yuandu in unison (there was also the charm of rabbit death and fox sorrow in it, and if those who left Zeng Guofan would be retaliated against, then this fate would sooner or later turn on their heads), and Zuo Zongtang even publicly scolded Zeng Guofan for declaring a personal vendetta, ignoring the interests of the state. Under the mediation of everyone, Li Yuandu was only punished with a fine.
In 1862, Li Yuandu followed Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Zhejiang, to defeat Li Shixian, the attendant of the Taiping Army, and was given the title of Zhejiang and promoted to envoy. Later, he was promoted to the position of Guizhou Buzheng, and from then on he devoted himself to the development of local construction in Guizhou until his death in Office in November 1887.
After the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, probably around 1865, Zeng Guofan, who had achieved fame, suddenly found his conscience and deeply reflected on his mistakes in impeaching Li Yuandu three times. At this point, I still admire Zeng Guofan's courage and heart, and Grand Marshal Zeng took the initiative to put down his body and apologize to Li Yuandu, hoping that Li Yuandu could forgive him for his previous mistakes. At that time, Li Yuandu must have been confused, and it was a very painful thing to reconcile with an ungrateful person. But Li Yuandu finally let go, forgave Zeng Guofan's mistakes, and formed a family with him. Combined with the fact that Zeng Guofan impeached Li Yuandu three times, the leader of the Xiang Army, who had always flaunted himself as a reader and a theoretician, was not a gentleman, but a pragmatic warlord. In contrast, Li Yuandu is better at moral character.