In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), Zeng Guofan was in his hometown to guard filial piety for his mother, and an edict from the imperial court disrupted his peaceful life. The Xianfeng Emperor asked him to organize regimental training in Hunan to fight against the mighty Taiping Army.
Zeng Guofan was originally a scholar, never had a career in horse racing, what he relied on was nothing more than the false title of Erpin Shilang, and the hainei people who left in the capital at that time, if it is really about strength, Zeng Guofan is almost a blank piece of paper. At first, Zeng Guofan was also very hesitant, whether to continue to guard filial piety for his mother or to throw pens from Rong? At this time, the appearance of a person changed his destiny.
This person is Luo Zenan, and anyone who talks about Zeng Guofan will inevitably mention Luo Zenan. The fundamental reason why Zeng Guofan had a crush on Luo Zenan was that At this time, Luo Zenan had an armed force of more than a thousand people. The most important reason why Zeng Guofan, who is good at knowing people, is because of Luo Zenan.
Unlike many other Hunan scholars, Luo Zenan's family was the worst. The history books use three words to describe "family cool poverty". At the age of nineteen, his mother died, his grandfather and brother-in-law died the following year, and at the age of twenty-nine, the eldest son, second son, and third son died one after another. He was repeatedly hit by bereavement, killing eleven relatives in ten years.
From the age of nineteen, Luo Zenan began to earn a living on his own, lecturing in various parts of the prefecture. The content and methods he taught were different from those of other private schools, in addition to teaching people to read and take the exam, he also taught people to meditate and cultivate their minds, practice high jump and boxing sticks. This kind of teaching method, such as giving lectures in the morning and practicing in the afternoon, unexpectedly attracted many students, such as Li Xubin, Li Xuyi, Wang Xin, and other famous generals of the Xiang Army who later charged into the Xiang Army, and these people were all disciples of Luo Zenan.
In the second year of Xianfeng, the Taiping Army penetrated deep into Hunan, and Luo Zenan started a regimental training with a scribe and led more than a thousand of his disciples to form a team. The reason why he wanted to pull up the team was that Luo Zenan wanted to turn what he had learned in his life into the merits of Kuangfu Sheji. It is precisely because of this team that Zeng Guofan has added confidence in making meritorious achievements.
After Zeng Guofan came out of the mountains, his appreciation and promotion of Luo Zenan also provided him with a platform to carry forward what he had learned in his life, so in the later conquests, Luo Zenan became Zeng Guofan's most staunch assistant and pioneer on the battlefield.
In the later years, Luo Zenan and Zeng Guofan established a deep relationship, and also followed Zeng Guofan's left and right, together with another fierce general, Taqibu, became Zeng Guofan's right and left arm, which was the concubine of the Xiangjun concubine, and later the Zeng and Luo families also formed a children's family, which shows that their relationship is extraordinary.
In the fifth year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan went out to Jiangxi and confronted the Taiping Army for several days in Jiujiang, and the ai general Taqibu vomited blood and died. The Taiping Army was attacking Wuchang again. At this time, Luo Zenan suggested to Zeng Guofan to abandon Jiujiang and return to the upper reaches of the division to occupy Wuchang, opening up the passage between Jiangxi and Hubei.
Zeng Guofan accepted Luo Zenan's suggestion, but he loved Cai, afraid that Luo Zenan would have any mistakes, and considered it again and again, so he sent him to lead an army to aid Wuchang, and also sent his good friend Liu Rong to be his assistant. At that time, Hu Linyi was the governor of Hubei, and Luo Zenan and Hu Linyi fought together to attack Wuchang and defeat the Taiping Army and win the victory.
Unfortunately, when Wuchang was about to be captured, Luo Zenan had Zeng Guofan in mind, so he stepped up his offensive in an attempt to take Wuchang City in one fell swoop, and then returned to assist Zeng Guofan in Jiangxi. In the sixth year of Xianfeng, Luo Zenan was shot in the forehead during the siege battle, but still insisted on fighting, and died of serious wounds five days later.
After Zeng Guofan learned of Luo Zenan's death, he was heartbroken and wrote a poem that read, "If you smell the wrath of the spring wind, your heart will be broken." Hubei Inspector Hu Linyi also expressed deep sorrow for the sacrifice of this comrade-in-arms, and immediately wrote a pair of elegies:
Kill thieves on horseback, write books on horseback, fight vigorously, really show talent, real general, truth science;
The former cousin is a teacher, the latter is sworn, the soul is bitter, there are widows, there are orphans, there are mourning relatives.
Two years ago, Zeng Guofan's beloved general Jiang Zhongyuan died in the battlefield, and two years later, another aijian died in Wuchang, which made Zeng Guofan sad, although many excellent generals were born in the Xiang army, but in Zeng Guofan's heart, Luo Zenan's position was irreplaceable.