In 1963, Zeng Yunong, a great-grandson of Zeng Guofan in Taiwan, did something by photocopying and publishing the "Confession of Li Xiucheng" (i.e., the confession) that he had treasured for a hundred years. At this time, more than 90 years have passed since Zeng Guofan's death, what secrets are in this confession, and why Did Zeng Guofan dare not publish it at that time.
Historians said that Zeng Guofan did not dare to publish it at all, otherwise he would be connected to the Nine Tribes by the Qing court. Why? Everything should start from the capture of Li Xiucheng, the loyal king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. On July 23, 1864, Li Xiucheng was captured at Fangshan, Jianxi Village, Jiangning District, Nanjing, and sent to Zeng Guofan five days later.
From capture to murder, Lee spent 16 days in prison. Li Xiucheng wrote a 50,000-word confession in prison, covering all aspects of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After Zeng Guofan finished reading this confession, he deleted and revised it so that the confession was left with about 30,000 words. Later, Zeng Guofan reproduced the 30,000-word confession and submitted it to the Qing court, while the original manuscript was hidden in the family secret.
What are the untold secrets in the confession? This secret is that Li Xiucheng carefully analyzed Zeng Guofan's situation at that time, and he suggested that Zeng Guofan, who had a heavy army, be declared emperor. At that time, Zeng Guofan and Li Xiucheng talked secretly for a long time, and as for the content, it is impossible to know, and it is speculated that Li Xiucheng must have persuaded Zeng Guofan to be emperor.
One thing that is suspicious is that after Zeng Guofan and Li Xiucheng talked, Li Xiucheng's attitude immediately changed greatly, and he had a strong desire to survive. Zeng Guofan also wrote in his diary that he had an impression of Li Xiucheng, "Offering mercy and begging is nothing more than a life of Yan Danxi." Zhao Liewen, a confidant of Zeng Guofan, also sensed the change in Li Xiucheng's mentality after he was captured," he said with the intention of begging for life. ”
It is said that Zeng Guofan took advantage of this and induced Li Xiucheng to write a confession. In Li Xiucheng's confession, there is such a sentence, "I have voluntarily submitted this book today, and I am deeply willing to see the kindness and righteousness of zhongtang, the grace of Zhongcheng (referring to Zeng Guoquan), and the admiration of good plans." The confession of the book made must have been handed over by the ranked master, for fear of violating the words, it is annoying to clean up the heart and change the can also. In the end, no one knows what "grace" Zeng Guofan has for Li Xiucheng.
As we all know, in ancient times, rebellion was a major sin of the Nine Tribes, and Zeng Guofan was well aware of this. When Zeng Guofan saw the confession, he immediately found Zhao Liewen for secret consultation, and the two unanimously decided to execute Li Xiucheng as soon as possible. Zhao Liewen said: "It has been more than ten days since the capture, and everyone has seen it, and the confession has been recorded by the middle hall, when no one doubts it, and this thief is very cunning, and it is not appropriate to enter the capital." ”
Therefore, Zeng Guofan did not dare to present the original manuscript of Li Xiucheng's confession to the imperial court. In fact, not only Li Xiucheng persuaded Zeng Guofan to be emperor, but even Zeng Guoquan, Peng Yulin and other Generals of the Xiang Army also persuaded him to be emperor. No matter who persuaded him to be emperor, zeng guofan refused to do so, and the fundamental reason was that he had never had the ambition to be emperor.
Zeng Guofan went to the Qing court to be loyal, and he was a representative of Confucianism. As early as when he participated in the encirclement and suppression of the Taiping Army, he revealed his true thoughts in "Asking for Cantonese Bandits", "Citing thousands of years of etiquette and humanity in China, the "Poetry" and "Book" canons, once swept away. This is the change of the Great Qing Dynasty, but the strange change of famous religions since the opening of the world, I Confucius and Mencius wept bitterly in jiuyuan, and all those who read and read can sit with their hands in their hands and do not think about anything. ”
References: "Zeng Wenzheng's Collected Writings, Discussion of Cantonese Bandits", "Confessions of Li Xiucheng"