Speaking of famous ministers at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang is definitely one, as a famous politician, diplomat, and military general in the late Qing Dynasty, he not only single-handedly founded the Beiyang Marine Division, but also led the foreign affairs movement of progressive significance.
Empress Dowager Cixi called her a person who "assisted Zhongxing and leveled the great responsibility" and "Kuang Ji was difficult, and reconciled With China and foreign countries".
From another point of view, as an old minister of the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang never crossed the barriers of traditional monarchical thinking; in order to maintain the rule of the Qing Dynasty, he brutally suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Twister Rebellion, acted as an agent in front of the foreigners of Empress Dowager Cixi, and signed a series of unequal treaties with Western countries that lost power and humiliated the country, and personally wrote down the history of the country's humiliation.
In addition, its own corruption problems and major decision-making mistakes have also been criticized.
From the perspective of the clan, Li Hongzhang's family did gradually prosper because of his power, he once married his young and beautiful daughter to a 44-year-old minister, which caused many people to criticize and accuse, the result is not only the daughter's married life is quite happy, but finally cultivated a well-known celebrity in China.
Those who can become important ministers of the imperial court are by no means idle people, such as Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, which one is not a ten-year cold window study, in order to become a humerus minister and become famous in the world. It is precisely because they are full of poetry and books, and their academic vision is higher than that of ordinary people, that they understand the importance of education and attach special importance to tutoring.
Li Hongzhang's only daughter, Li Julian, was 43 years old when she was born. Li Hongzhang was naturally overjoyed to have an elderly woman, loved this child like a treasure, and wanted to hold her in the palm of his hand at all times. Although in ancient times there were such nonsense as "a woman without talent is virtuous", Li Hongzhang understood that both men and women are required to study well, so the children in the family, whether male or female, are treated equally and are very strictly educated.
Therefore, in addition to pampering, Li Hongzhang also attaches great importance to his daughter's education, not only asking famous teachers to teach carefully, but also often inquiring about her homework. It was under such a strict education that Li Juling became a talented woman with elegant words and poetry.
At the age of waiting for the word, Li Jurong's beauty has become more and more outstanding, and she has become the object of everyone's competition. At this time, Li Hongzhang was the governor of Beiyang and the minister of trade and commerce in Beiyang, and his power was tilted to the opposition, and he was deeply trusted by Cixi, and the princes and nobles who wanted to seduce him and marry him were endless.
It is not difficult to choose a good son-in-law among these people, but Li Hongzhang wants to take the sword to the side, neither choosing a family prince with a prominent family, nor assigning his daughter to any country pillar with a frank career, but choosing a down-and-out official who is 18 years older than his daughter as a son-in-law.
Although it was an old man and a young wife, it was also a common thing in ancient times, but this man's career had just suffered a fatal blow, he was widowed twice in succession, he saw that the future was hopeless, and he was so poor that he didn't even have a place to stand, how could he still get into Li Hongzhang's eyes?
In fact, Li Hongzhang also has his own considerations.
This man was not useless as the outside world had been rumored to be, in fact, he was once a well-educated man in the capital, but it was only in the face of major changes that the situation became so unbearable. The lucky one who was selected by Li Hongzhang as the son-in-law of the East Bed is the famous Zhang Peilun in history.
Looking at the first half of Zhang Peilun's life alone, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a talent in a thousand miles.
Born in 1848, Zhang Peilun has shown his talent since childhood, not only has the ability to never forget, knowledgeable and strong memory, but also very diligent and hardworking, immersed in reading, never greedy for happiness.
At the age of 23, Zhang Peilun participated in the imperial examination and won the list in one fell swoop, which was amazing.
You know, people who can win the list in one fell swoop in their youth are absolutely rare, and it is the norm to study hard for half a life and lose repeatedly. Fan Jin was more than 40 years old before he was able to go to high school, and finally he was extremely happy and crazy. It can be seen how difficult it is to stand out among thousands of readers.
Even Li Hongzhang himself is 24 years old to win the list, one year older than Zhang Peilun's heavy age, which is enough to show that Zhang Peilun is talented and intelligent.
At the age of 34, Zhang Peilun was again appointed as a Hanlin attendant, and was appointed as the left deputy capital of the Imperial Household bureau, and the official Ju Zheng Sanpin. These achievements he has made, casually picked up one out, are difficult for others to achieve for a lifetime. During this period, Zhang Peilun's career path can be described as smooth sailing, the future is very good, and everyone does not envy his achievements.
Unlike the officials who generally expect to revitalize their families by passing the examination for meritorious fame and glory, Zhang Peilun is a person who truly cherishes his family and country and is upright and clean. He has always lived a simple life, until he won the fame, he is also a clean wind in both sleeves, never likes to be arrogant, and he is even more dismissive of corruption.
Therefore, even if he has taken on an important position, the economy of Zhang Peilun's family has not improved at all, and his life has once reached an unsustainable point.
Once, in order to celebrate Zhang Peilun's teaching of the Hanlin Academy's bachelor's degree, my friend took the initiative to come to the door to congratulate him, but as soon as he entered the house, he was frightened, looking at the deserted courtyard and the empty inner house, if he did not know that Zhang Peilun had always been frugal, he would suspect that this was caused by thieves.
Seeing his friends visiting, Zhang Peilun naturally wanted to treat each other warmly, and immediately ordered the next person to prepare wine and dishes. The servant showed a look of embarrassment on the side, and Zhang Peilun knew that there was no rice in the house to be cooked, so he had to ask someone to take his robe to the pawn shop to exchange for silver, so as to buy some rice and vegetables to come back to entertain the guests.
For the sake of being an official and a disciple, Zhang Peilun is probably unique in Chinese history.
Even Yang John, the minister in China at the time, had a very high evaluation of Zhang Peilun: "The minister I saw in China, the center, has no qi, and the practitioner is Pei Lun alone." It can be seen that Zhang Peilun is a righteous person, and he is by no means a person with a moral appearance.
Zhang Peilun, who was a young man, did not know how to hide his sharp edge at all, and was deeply ashamed of the flattery and sleek worldliness that prevailed in the official arena. He regards himself as a "clear stream", he is upright by nature, arrogant and arrogant, and unwilling to be willing to meet others, and this loneliness makes him the target of everyone.
In the impeachment and participation of colleagues, Zhang Peilun is even more full of firepower.
No matter who it was, as long as his behavior was wrong, he would relentlessly participate in a book, and even a big member of the Yipin clan like Hubu Shangshu Wang Wenshao was also dismissed because he was impeached. Because he dared to speak out, Zhang Peilun was called the "Four Counselors of Hanlin" along with Huang Tifang, Bao Ting, and Zhang Zhidong.
His upright and loyal personality made him famous, but it also laid the foundation for him. When France and Vietnam went to war, Zhang Peilun had asserted that there would be a war between China and France, so he repeatedly wrote to advocate declaring war on France.
In 1884, the Sino-French War broke out, which proved that Zhang Peilun's prediction was not false. Empress Dowager Cixi has always been jealous of foreigners, and in the face of the menacing French Navy, she has always hesitated, not knowing whether to "fight" or "peace".
Only Zhang Peilun stood firmly and went to the ground one after another, advocating a battle.
After some deliberation, Cixi agreed with Zhang Peilun's opinion.
Who should be sent to direct this battle?
Cixi thought to herself, since Zhang Peilun insisted on fighting, then send him to go, so she gave Zhang Peilun the title of secretary of state to hold the Fujian Sea Frontier Affairs, concurrently served as the minister of shipping administration, and ordered him to fight well. Before leaving, Cixi, who was very frightened, repeatedly explained to Zhang Peilun: "If the enemy does not move, I will not send a shot, and if there is disobedience, although the victory is still cut, the decision will be decided!" ”
Sending a civilian officer who had never had military command experience to the battlefield was undoubtedly a trick, and Cixi used her cowardice and timidity to personally write down the outcome of the battle.
One stormy night, the French took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the Fujian Marine Division, which was caught off guard and had to rush to battle. After a fierce battle, the Fujian Marine Division was completely destroyed due to the unfavorable battle, all the warships were blown up, and the Mawei Shipyard, which had been operating hard for many years, was instantly razed to the ground under the fierce attack of foreign guns and cannons.
As a commander, Zhang Peilun really saw the cruelty of war, and had to flee in a hurry under the leadership of his subordinates in a copper basin, running wildly for twenty miles in one breath, and his appearance was terrible, and he lost all his face in the past.
When the news of the defeat reached Cixi's ears, she was furious and blamed All the reasons for the defeat on Zhang Peilun, not only taking off his red hat, but also assigning him to Zhangjiakou to herd sheep. The original great future was destroyed by this battle, and Zhang Peilun, who had become a prisoner of the ranks, also lost the flying spirit of the past, and was deeply depressed and depressed all day long.
It was not until 1988 that Zhang Peilun was pardoned and returned to Beijing from Zhangjiakou.
But his misfortune did not end because of this, originally thought that if he could not return to the capital, even if he could not be reinstated as an official, at least Zhang Peilun, who could have a family reunion, did not expect that his wife Bian Puyu had already died of illness when he was imprisoned, which made the sorrow in Zhang Peilun's heart become deeper.
The rich have no distant relatives in the mountains, and the poor are no one in the downtown area.
At this time, Zhang Peilun was already extremely depressed, and the friends who had once surrounded him were also alienated from him, he was like a floating ping on the sea, he could only bear all the sorrows and loneliness alone, even if there were thousands of emotions and helplessness in his heart, no one could say.
But fortunately, there is another person who is willing to help him, and this person is Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang appreciated him very much, not only hired him as a staff member, tried his best to promote him, and later gave him his beloved daughter Xu.
Knowing that Zhang Peilun would be pardoned and returned to Beijing, Li Hongzhang even communicated with him early and invited him to conspire with him in state affairs. Therefore, as soon as he stepped into the capital, Zhang Peilun entered Li Hongzhang's mansion without delay, and plunged into the signing room where he usually worked, and the two discussed current affairs and talked very speculatively.
One winter day, Zhang Peilun came to the signing room as usual, and as soon as he stepped into the room, he found that the person sitting inside was not Li Hongzhang, but a handsome little girl.
Take a closer look, this girl was born with a gentle willow eyebrow, her eyes were as dark and translucent as two plump purple grapes, the clear eyes were slightly feminine, and the slender and dexterous nose bridge and cherry-like delicate lips complemented each other perfectly, living off a unique beauty.
So beautiful, Zhang Peilun was a little flustered to see it, just when he was cramped and uneasy, overwhelmed, Li Hongzhang strode in, smiled and introduced: "Brother Xian, don't worry, this is the little girl Li Ju lotus." "I have long heard that Li Hongzhang's beloved daughter Looks Like Bixishi, and when I saw it today, it was true, Zhang Peilun secretly thought in his heart.
As for Li Ju lotus, the shyness of the boudoir daughter was unmistakable in her body, and she said "Ten Thousand Blessings" to Zhang Peilun with a red face, and then turned around and entered the inner chamber. After that, Zhang Peilun seemed to have lost his soul, and when he talked to Li Hongzhang, he was also a little absent-minded, and when he saw a poetry collection on the table, he was curious to look at it.
The handwriting on the top is beautiful and fresh, and at a glance, it is from the hand of the young girl who was just now, and then carefully the content of this fill-in, it is even more talented, zhang Peilun secretly cried out in his heart. Li Hongzhang saw the situation and was also very proud in his heart, it turned out that the "encounter" just now was arranged by him, and the purpose was to let his daughter and Zhang Peilun look at each other and match this marriage.
He smiled and said, "This is the little girl's graffiti work, and The wise brother Hugh wants to see the laughter." ”
How clever Zhang Peilun was, of course, he understood Li Hongzhang's thoughts, and it didn't take long for him to go to Li Mansion to ask for a dowry to marry Li Jurong. Li Hongzhang's wife, Zhao Jilian, almost fainted after learning about this marriage. She couldn't figure out how her husband had chosen so many things that he had chosen to pick for his daughter who had just been released from prison, who was exactly eighteen years older than her daughter, and who didn't even have a place to stand.
Attacking her heart, she scolded At Li Hongzhang: "You are an old fool, your daughter who is like a flower and a jade has chosen thousands of choices, and now you have to give a prisoner in your 40s, you are confused!" I understand, you don't think about it! ”
Madame's quarrel made Li Hongzhang cry and laugh, and he quickly laughed: "Don't underestimate Pei Lun, his talent will definitely beat me ten times in the future, and my son will be his in the future." Zhao Jilian couldn't listen to Li Hongzhang's words, and only blamed him for delaying his daughter's lifelong event.
Seeing that the lady did not let go, Li Hongzhang had no choice but to ask his daughter what he thought, and Li Jurong admired Zhang Peilun's talent for a long time, so he bowed his head and replied shyly: "Daddy's eyesight must not be bad, I listen to Daddy as the master." Seeing that her daughter was very willing to marry herself, Zhao Jilian had no choice but to agree, even though there were thousands of people who were not satisfied.
The opposition in the family gradually extinguished, and the sarcasm among the court began to emerge again. Many people ridiculed Zhang Peilun for climbing the magnate, and Huang Shaoji, the son of his friend Huang Tifang, had bluntly said in his family letter to his father that Zhang Peilun must have another purpose in marrying the daughter of Li Hongzhang.
There are also people who write a poem about the sarcasm of Zhang Peilun: old-age daughter, marrying young trees, Li Hongzhang is not divided into old and young; Resign from the west seat, just the east bed, Zhang Peilun is not a thing.
For a time, Zhang Peilun's only remaining high reputation was also destroyed by these sharp rumors, and the once Qingliu celebrities soon became speculators who were bent on climbing the dragon and attaching to the phoenix and seeing the wind and making the rudder. In the face of rumors, Zhang Peilun was quite frank, explaining in a letter to a friend:
"If you are not married, you can still hope that Hefei will help you, but now you are in the ranks of avoiding relatives, and the road to Hefei is broken."
This means that unlike Li Hongzhang, you can still expect him to be able to promote himself, but now he can only raise his talents to avoid relatives, and he does not dare to expect Li Hongzhang to help him anymore. In other words, Zhang Peilun's way back to the imperial court by relying on Li Hongzhang was basically cut off.
The fact is indeed as he said, after getting married, although Li Hongzhang also wanted to promote Zhang Peilun many times, Zhang Peilun never really agreed, nor did he rely on Yue Zhang to seek an official and a half-job.
In 1901, in order to promote Zhang Peilun, Li Hongzhang invited him to participate in the negotiation of the Treaty of Xinugu. After the negotiations, Li Hongzhang, citing Zhang Peilun's contribution to this matter, took this opportunity to protect Zhang Peilun and let the imperial court use him as a sipin Jingtang, but Zhang Peilun resigned very firmly.
Therefore, until his death, Zhang Peilun never returned to the official field and was a flat-headed commoner all his life.
Speaking of the marriage between Li Juling and Zhang Peilun, it was harmonious and harmonious that surprised everyone. Although the age gap between the two is very large, they are a model couple who can raise eyebrows.
Although Zhang Peilun has never been able to regain his glory in the official arena, the life of the two people who live on the dowry after marriage is also quite moist and comfortable. After getting married, the two settled in Nanjing, living in three finished glyph distribution garden houses, Zhang Peilun loved Li Ju lotus very much, and specially named the east building "Embroidery Louzhuang" for Li Ju Lotus to live in, and later generations also called it "Miss Building".
Both of them are proficient in poetry and song, and often taste poems and fill in words in the Miss Jinling Building, play the piano and play chess, like a pair of happy immortals who do not ask about the world. Later, a son and Qianjin were added to the family, named Zhang Zhiyi and Zhang Maoyuan respectively, and the family has been living in a very harmonious and happy life, envying others.
But most of the things in the world cannot be completed, and the consummation of love and family cannot make up for the regret that Zhang Peilun's ambition is difficult to reward. Zhang Peilun's hometown of serving the country has always been hidden in his heart, but his talent has nowhere to show, and he has always been a little depressed, and Li Hongzhang's death has given him a great blow.
Therefore, two years after Li Hongzhang's death, Zhang Peilun also finally became depressed and died at the age of 56. After her husband's death, Li Juling raised two children alone, lacking the protection of her husband, worried about her son's future, she set up a family affair for her son Zhang Zhiyi early, and wanted to find a guarantee for her son's future.
Speaking of Zhang Zhiyi, most people may not be familiar with him, but when it comes to his daughter, everyone in China knows and no one knows. This woman was named Zhang Ying when she was a child, and later changed her mother's name to Zhang Ailing, and is one of the most famous female writers in modern China.
Zhang Ailing's novels all have a desolate and desolate background, which has a lot to do with her family.
His father, Zhang Zhiyi, had his back to a prominent family lineage, but he was an incomplete person, he only knew how to eat, drink, gamble, gamble, and learn nothing all day, and after marrying his wife, he still did not restrain himself, he still lived absurdly, and he also beat his wife and children, making the whole family a miasma and fragmented.
Zhang Ailing recalled her mother, saying that she had gritted her teeth more than once and said that she had buried her life for mendi.
Speaking of Zhang Ailing's mother, Huang Yifan, it is also a famous bridesmaid from a family family. Her grandfather, Huang Jisheng, who led the army under Zeng Guofan and later gradually became the admiral of the seven provinces of the Yangtze River, and her father Huang Zongyan was a Yanfa Province in Guangxi, but unfortunately died at the age of 30.
In 1995, under the arrangement of her mother-in-law, she married Zhang Zhiyi, although she wrapped a pair of small feet, but because of the influence of Western culture, her thoughts had already broken through the shackles of the traditional eunuch family, and it was difficult to tolerate the traditional feudal marriage. But the Zhang family is also a family family, the old customs are strong, she can only live with difficulty and stoicism, in order to escape the deep shackles of etiquette, she often goes home to live.
It was not easy to get to the Zhang family to separate the family, and the evil customs and bad habits of her husband Zhang Zhiyi were exposed again, making her unbearable. Unruly, he used the family's former prominence and rich family wealth savings, lived happily outside, slept in flowers and willows, smoked opium and gambled on family wealth, which made Huang Yifan deeply disgusted.
Disheartened, she left her two young children, Zhang Ailing, and her younger brother Zhang Zijing, and went to Europe to study with her sister-in-law Zhang Maoyuan. Although she had also given her husband a chance under the persuasion of relatives and friends, tolerance only fueled his arrogance, and the quarrel between the husband and wife escalated into physical violence, which eventually caused the marriage to break up completely.
The father's cold treatment, violentness, and stepmother's meanness and cunning have caused an indelible psychological shadow to the young Zhang Ailing, who has briefly pinned her hopes in her life on the beautiful and noble mother, but the mother's love is alienated and limited, and she cannot get a trace of real family warmth.
Under the consummation of the marriage of grandparents Qinser and Ming, the marriage of the parents is like a diseased tumor, and I am the complication of this tumor, a strange and deformed product.
She once wrote in the "Book of Contrasts": "It is desolate, only the marriage of my grandparents, the marriage is colorful, which gives me great satisfaction." Perhaps it is under this strong contrast that Zhang Ailing will become extremely sensitive, both eager for love and always vigilant about feelings, even if she looks at everything with a pair of cold and indifferent eyes, maintaining detachment, but unable to really get rid of pain.
For her, loving and being loved is a luxury ability.
Zhang Ailing's life is full of contradictions, both lonely and proud, but also willing to be driven by her lover, perhaps her persistence comes from a desire to confirm the love that once existed in the family, but silently disappeared. Zhang Ailing, who struggled with family affection and love for half a life, finally made the same choice as her mother and ran away.
In the end, like her mother, she died in a miserable and helpless place.
It is difficult to say whether this similar fate is a coincidence or a cycle of fate, but such a bumpy and bumpy life has indeed sent Zhang Ailing to a literary height that is difficult for future generations to reach, creating a legend in the history of modern Chinese literature!