On his deathbed, Zeng Guofan entrusted the funeral to Li Hongzhang and decided that these five people would be pillars of the country in the future.

Since the "Tianjin religious plan", Zeng Guofan's mood has fallen to a low point. Not only the national public opinion criticized him constantly, but even the court complained bitterly. Obviously, Zeng Guofan was uncomfortable in the position of governor of Zhili. In the ninth year of Tongzhi (1868), Ma Xinyi, the governor of Liangjiang, was assassinated, and the court used this as an excuse to let him return to serve as the governor of Liangjiang. ? On the way back to the south, Zeng Guofan inspected the defense of the amphibious two battalions and arrived in Shanghai the following year. In November of the decade of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan returned to Jiangning and lived in his long-lost Liangjiang Governor's Office. During this time, he was thinking about his life all the time, from the establishment of the Xiang army to the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and then from the north to the supervision of Tianjin religious plans. This journey is full of hardships and tribulations, but what worries him more is that his health is getting worse and worse, and he has a premonition that his time is coming. To this end, Zeng Guofan wrote to Li Hongzhang, asking him to go to Jiangning at once. Li Hongzhang is his most proud disciple. In him, Zeng Guofan saw his hope as a pillar of a country. In those days, Li Hongzhang, if he still had such and such problems, is now shine on you and better than Blue after his teaching. Whenever Li Hongzhang was criticized, Zeng Guofan was always the first to stand up for him. Seeing that he was going to die, Zeng Guofan wanted to give his unfinished wish to Li Hongzhang. ? Li Hongzhang took over as a teacher in Zhili. When he received Zeng Guofan's letter, he immediately felt that something was wrong. Especially after reading that "after this visit, I will never forget it, and when I am guided by major events", Li Hongzhang, who has experienced officialdom, finally realized the teacher's ardent hope and deep affection for himself, and could not help but burst into tears. Li Hongzhang is afraid that something will happen to his teacher, and he will regret it all his life. After receiving the letter, he put down all government affairs and hurried from Baoding to Jiangning in the cold. Zeng Guofan was in high spirits after seeing Li Hongzhang. He was able to get out of bed and talk with Li Hongzhang about sending overseas students abroad. This scene, in the eyes of Zeng Guofan's family and Li Hongzhang, is even more sad, because they know that this is the so-called death ray. Later, Zeng Guofan talked about the past, Li Hongzhang's small faults and his own life lessons with great interest. At this point, Zeng Guofan is still thoughtful. He told Li Hongzhang two important things that he must remember. ? First, we must firmly grasp the military power. He thought that after the fall of Tianjing, he destroyed the Great Wall by abolishing his own 100,000 Xiang troops, which not only chilled the hearts of all the soldiers, but also made him taste the bitter fruit on the battlefield of suppression and twisting in the future. Today's Eight Banners green camp is useless, and the only thing we can rely on is the Huai Army. Therefore, he told Li Hongzhang that no matter how to resist the pressure, the Huai army could only be strengthened but not weakened to preserve national security and its own security. The second is to be upright and upright. He feels that it is difficult for him to do things for decades, and the difficulty lies in the unfairness of the people and the unfairness of the world. This important task used to be done by myself, but now it depends on Li Hongzhang. At the same time, it is also pointed out that it is also a top priority to cultivate future generations and link the past with the future. After listening to the teacher, Li Hongzhang burst into tears. He knows that the teacher has been very strict with him, but he is so painstaking. Li Hongzhang asked, who can be trained? Zeng Guofan is a gentleman, taking Confucian sages as the highest pursuit in life, and rarely commenting on people behind their backs. But he knew that if he didn't say it now, I'm afraid there would be no chance in the future, so he commented on today's talents. ? Zeng Guofan believes that the first person in the country is left. Li Hongzhang was puzzled because he knew that he had been at odds with Zuo for many years. How can you say that he is the first person in the country? Zeng Guofan saw the clue and said with a smile that his differences with Zuo were only on national affairs, and he admired Zuo's understanding and loyalty to the country. Next, Zeng Guofan thought that Peng Yulin ranked second. This man is aboveboard, detests evil as hatred, and is a strange man in the world in terms of fame and fortune; Ranked third is Guo Songtao, whose talent and knowledge are unparalleled in the world, and his broad vision will be reused; Further down, Zeng Guofan said that Liu Changyou and Shen Baozhen are very talented and will be the pillars of the country in the future. ? Originally, Li Hongzhang wanted to consult his teacher more, but as the year drew near, he had to bid farewell to his teacher and return to his post in Zhili. On the fourth day of February in the eleventh year of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan's father Zeng Linshu passed away. He got up early to sacrifice in front of his father's memorial tablet, so he couldn't kneel down because of illness. This afternoon, Zeng Guofan went into the drawing room and fell on his son Ceng Jize, because his feet were numb. That night, Zeng Guofan, a famous minister, finished his dazzling life at the age of 62. When the court heard the news, it shocked the court and ordered it to be a teacher and a righteous man, enter the Hall of Virtue in Beijing and declare it in the National History Museum.