Li Hongzhang was the youngest scholar in Anhui Province at the age of 24. I have invested in famous teachers in Beijing, and I have been instructed by experts. I have high attainments in poetry and calligraphy. Later, he entered the shogunate of Zeng Guofan, and he honed his official prose.
Li Hongzhang was a great figure in the late Qing Dynasty. He inherited his teacher Zeng Guofan's career and opened China's eyes to see the world. He was a real scholar and official in China.
the relationship between Zeng and Li can be traced back to the association between Li Wenan, Li Hongzhang's father, and Zeng Guofan. Li Wenan and Zeng Guofan were both scholars in 1838, so they had the friendship of "the same year". Li Hongzhang, together with his brother Li Hanzhang, had taken refuge in Zeng Guofan's school as "sons of the year" before he entered the imperial examination, worshiping Zeng as a teacher, learning eight-part essay, trying to post poems and "the study of righteousness, reason and pragmatism". In 1845, Li Hongzhang took part in the Enke Examination, and Zeng Guofan served as the examiner for the undergraduate examination. Although Li Hongzhang failed in the exam, his poems were appreciated by Zeng, and he felt that Li Hongzhang's talents could be put to great use. Later, Li Hongzhang often asked Zeng for advice during his study in the Hanlin Academy. In 1853, Li Hanzhang, the brother of Li Hongzhang, entered Zeng Guofan's shogunate to help run the grain table of the Xiang army, while Li Hongzhang returned to his hometown in Anhui to help with group training and suppress the Taiping Army.
a few years later, Li Hongzhang, who wanted to make a big difference, was defeated by the Taiping Army. When he was down and out, he laughed at himself as an "old drunkard with a fallen sword". In a desperate situation, he came to Zeng Guofan Camp in Jiangxi at the end of 1858 and wanted to enter the curtain. I had long known about Li Hongzhang's talents, but I thought he was unstable and conceited, so I deliberately didn't see him. More than a month later, Li Hongzhang asked someone to intercede. Zeng Guofan said: Li Hongzhang is also an academician. He is ambitious and talented. My situation here is narrow and narrow, just a shallow ditch, and he can't accommodate this big ship. Why doesn't he go back to Beijing to work? After repeated intercession, Li Hongzhang finally entered Zeng Guofan's curtain in January 1859 and became Zeng's curtain guest. In fact, Zeng Guofan didn't want him, just wanted to beat his pride and make him more restrained and calm.
In Zeng Guofan's curtain, Li Hongzhang handled writing, reviewed official documents, drafted letters and memorialized the throne. Zeng Guofan's most famous participation in "The Story of a Fellow Weng" was written by Li Hongzhang. Weng Tongshu, the governor of Anhui Province, was the teacher of Emperor Xianfeng and Prince Gong, and served as the eldest son of Weng Xincun, a senior minister of the Ministry of Industry and Household Affairs. This participation accuses Weng Tongshu of improper measures, ineffective guarding of the city, and deserting the city, which should be severely punished. With the power of Weng's family, it was hard to bring it down. Therefore, Zeng Guofan attached great importance to it and asked the copywriting room to draw up several drafts. Among several drafts, he selected Li Hongzhang's draft. Such an important fold, but only less than 6 words, can be said that every word is fateful and every sentence is bloody. This chapter recounts Weng Tongshu's crimes of being loyal to traitors, misusing villains, mishandling, fearing death, and losing two cities in succession, and then points out the contradictions in Weng's several memorials, refuting his various self-excuses, leaving him no room for further defense. At the end of this fold, it reads: "Why should Weng Tongshu get away with this behavior?" We should ask the order that Weng Tongshu should be dismissed from his post, so as to remind him of the military discipline. Where the official position is, the case should be corrected, and I dare not pay attention to it because of the prosperity of Weng Tongshu's family. " The phrase "I dare not give in to Weng Tongshu's family prosperity" means that the court blocked the "back road" that was lenient because of Weng Tongshu's "family prosperity". The court had to reluctantly sentence Weng Tongshu to "quasi-beheading and waiting in prison" according to the regulations. Therefore, Zeng Guofan praised: "Shao Quan's talent is the closest to that of the public, and all the proposed letters of consultation have great advantages, and they will make extraordinary achievements in the future, or even shine on you."
Zeng Guofan lived a very regular life. He got up early every day to inspect the camp, and then had breakfast with his staff at dawn, or talked about the day's work arrangements or chatted casually. When he first arrived at Zeng Guofan's curtain, Li Hongzhang, who was lazy, was very uncomfortable with this regular and rigid life and felt deeply bitter. One morning, he wanted to sleep for a while in the name of headache, but Zeng Guofan knew that he was pretending to be sick and sleeping more, so he sent someone to invite Li Hongzhang to have dinner together several times. Finally, he told Li that all his staff must be here before dinner, and Li Hongzhang hurriedly put on his clothes and "stumbled." Zeng Guofan didn't say a word at dinner. After dinner, he seriously taught him: "Shao Quan, since you have entered my curtain, I have something to tell you. Here, the only word is" sincerity "." After saying that he left angrily, Li Hongzhang was "horrified". Zeng Guofan always knew that Li Hongzhang was "brilliant and unruly", so he was extremely strict with him, trying his best to carve, cultivate his temperament and cultivate his morality. Many years later, Li Hongzhang recalled to people: "In the camp, my teacher always had to wait for my generation to eat at the same time;" After dinner, I sat around and talked, proved classics and discussed history, and talked tirelessly, all of which were useful and practical words for learning economy. A meal is better than the last class. "
Go away in a huff
In Zeng Mu, Li Hongzhang not only drafted documents, but also participated in important military aircraft. For example, in September, 186, the British and French allied forces captured Tianjin, which was close to the gates of Beijing. On the way to Rehe, Emperor Xianfeng ordered Zeng Guofan, who was alone in Qimen, to send Bao Chao, an elite Xiang army, to the north for rescue. After receiving the order, Zeng Guofan was in a dilemma and indecisive. It is the duty of the diligent king to go north. If he does not go north to protect the Lord, he will be blamed as a sinner in the world. However, this is the critical moment to wipe out the Taiping Army. Once the elite is removed, it will have a great impact on the war situation, and it is at the time when Huizhou is lost and Qimen is in danger. Zeng Guofan was so anxious that he couldn't sleep for several nights, so he made his subordinates propose a plan. As a result, almost all of them advocated going north to be a "diligent king", but only Li Hongzhang pushed through the crowd and disagreed with the transfer of troops to the north. Li Hongzhang believes that the British and French allied forces are already at the gates of Beijing, and it is only a matter of morning and evening to break into the city. It is meaningless to dispatch troops to the north to defend the capital. Moreover, the invasion of the British and French Coalition forces will eventually settle the matter, and it is the Taiping Army that really threatens the Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang saw this earlier than the Qing court, and his vision was really unusual. He further discussed that the suppression of Taiping Army by Xiang Army was related to "the safety of the whole world", and he should "follow the instructions of the soldiers" and wait and see the changes of the situation. After careful weighing, I thought that what Li said was really reasonable, so I adopted this proposal. As expected, I soon received an order that the "peace talks" had been completed and there was no need for northern aid. This incident made Zeng think more highly of Li.
Li Hongzhang treated Zeng as a teacher, but after all, he was a very opinionated person. He often had conflicts because of his opinionated opinions, and he wanted to leave Zeng several times. In 186, when Zeng Guofan was promoted to the position of Governor of Liangjiang and decided to move the camp to Qimen, Anhui Province, Li Hongzhang thought that the terrain of Qimen was like the bottom of the kettle, and there was no room for retreat. From a strategic point of view, it was very dangerous to move the camp here. Under the attack of Taiping Army, the danger was really constant, and Li Hongzhang and others repeatedly asked to move to other places. Zeng Guofan insisted on his own opinions and even said to Li Hongzhang and others: "If you are timid, you can disperse separately." Soon, the contradiction between the two sides resurfaced and became more acute because of the Li Yuandu incident, which eventually led to Li Hongzhang's departure in anger.