There was a custom of hiding in the countryside of Hunan.
October 12th was Zeng Guofan's 43rd birthday. Since the winter of the 19th year of Daoguang, he had been the 12th.
She did not celebrate her birthday at home. His father and sister-in-law were secretly preparing a lively birthday party for him. Friends and relatives far and near
He had been asking around for information for a long time. Some of them came to congratulate him sincerely, but most of them came to curry favor with him.
When Zeng Guofan was a child, his family was at its best. Later on, his younger siblings gradually increased, and his father's luck was often not good. After my uncle got married,
His aunt was ill and his medicine cost a lot. When he was in his teens, his family was not as good as before, so he became frugal since childhood.
A simple lifestyle. When he returned home, he was shocked to see that the house was so well-built, the courtyard was so big, and the extravagance was so extravagant.
Feng Yi was angry again. His mother's funeral banquet had more than 500 tables, shocking the neighbors, which Zeng Guofan did not expect. How many
His brother scolded them heavily, and decided not to have a birthday party to show his dissatisfaction with their ostentatious display.
He also went to his fifth uncle's house in Tongmu Chongnan, fifteen miles away from home, to hide.
Fifth Uncle Nan was very touched. In the two months since his nephew had returned home, countless rich relatives and friends had come to pick him up, but he had declined all of them.
He only thought highly of his poor uncle and stayed there for a few days, which added luster to his old uncle.
Zeng Guofan indeed respected this poor and untalented Fifth Uncle Nan. Fifth Uncle Nan was Guofan's mother's first cousin. He also reads
After a few years, he went to private school. Later, his father died and his family was in decline. He dropped out of school to farm at home and shouldered the burden of the family too early. Fifth Uncle Nan
He was honest and simple. He had been good to Guofan since he was young. People always said that Guofan would have a future. Guofan failed twice in the imperial examinations,
He was not feeling good. Fifth Uncle Nan had brought him to Tongmuchong and stayed there for half a month. He often encouraged him. The sharp edge of a sword is sharpened, plum blossoms
Fragrance comes from bitter cold. Don't be afraid of setbacks. If you practice a few more times, you will be able to do great things in the future.
In the winter of Ding You, Zeng Guofan entered Beijing for the third time. The family scraped together a total of 20,000 yuan. Borrowing money from others, 10,000 yuan.
Zeng Guofan felt terrible that he couldn't borrow a single copper. Suddenly, Fifth Uncle Nan ran over happily."Kuanyi, I have ten here.
Two thousand, if he added up the twenty thousand, he would have thirty-two thousand. If he used it sparingly, he could still reach the capital.”
Zeng Guofan was so happy that he cried. He accepted it without asking, How did Fifth Uncle Nan suddenly have so much money? Arriving in Beijing
Only then did the teacher remember that he had written a letter to ask his family and found out that Fifth Uncle Nan had sold his only little yellow cow!
Zeng Guofan always remembered the kindness of Fifth Uncle Nan. Cheng Yi, who had received three thousand taels of silver when she returned from the Sichuan examiners. He sends back
One thousand taels of silver from the family, and one hundred taels of silver was specially given to Fifth Uncle Nan. In the future, when he was promoted to assistant minister, he would give twenty yuan a year when his salary increased.
Two taels of silver as a New Year's gift.
In the past few days, he had talked to Fifth Uncle and Nan about the year. He knew that the people who farmed in Lotus Leaf Pond had had a hard time these years.
Many, but donations increased year after year. When they encountered natural disasters and man-made disasters, some even lost their families and lost their lives. In the past few years, more than ten families had been reduced. Since April
Later, he increased the donation of the regimental training. Every household donated 500 yuan, and the people complained. Fifth Uncle Nan also secretly told Guofan,
There were still people in the pond who hoped that Long Hair would succeed so that the new emperor could grant amnesty to the world and live a few good days. These all made Guofan great
Shocked.
There are few guests in the family of the fifth uncle in the south, so it is quiet. Early in the morning, Zeng Guofan followed his usual practice of writing an hour's worth of invitation cards and then began to send them to the capital.
A friend wrote a letter. Then, she wrote a long letter to her son. The eldest son, Ji Ze, is fourteen years old this year. He should be allowed to learn slowly.
It was time to do something. Zeng Guofan wrote down the things that his family should do in the capital before leaving the capital and returning to the country. He wrote them down one by one and then carefully started from the beginning.
He looked at it once and counted. There were a total of 17. Just as he was about to seal it, he took out another piece of paper and added three things.
The first was to tell his son how to deal with the three carts and three mules at home, and how much money he had spent to buy the big and small mules. The second is home
All the furniture should be given to Mao Jiyun alone. Don't spread them out because there are few furniture. Giving one person would be a favor. Third, I want my son to make a new set of clothes
So that he could kowtow in front of his grandfather.
He folded this piece of paper and the six other pieces of paper he had just written, put them into the envelope, and carefully sealed them. Just as I was about to pick up my pen
After writing the cover, Jiang Gui came in." Sir, Governor Zhang has sent a letter. The Old Master invites you to go home."”
Zeng Guofan quickly bid farewell to Fifth Uncle Nan and went home with Jiang Gui. As soon as he entered the house, Fourth Brother said happily,"Brother, I heard it's Zhang.
A handwritten letter from Daren!"
As he spoke, he handed a foot-long letter cover to Guofan. Because of Zeng Guofan's identity and status, he was one of his younger brothers.
He had a high prestige. He respected his big brother and younger brothers like they were gods. Although the messenger said that the letter was about Lord Zhang asking Guofan to organize regimental training in Jin Province,
The chief of Hetyantang, Zeng Guohuang, was eager to know the details, but he did not dare to open his brother's letter.
Zeng Guofan opened the envelope. It was indeed Zhang Liangji's handwriting. The governor's letter was very affectionate. First, he expressed his sadness about Guofan's mother's death.
He mourned bitterly, saying that he was far away in Kunming at that time and could not come to mourn. Later, he came to Changsha in the midst of the war and could not get out. He felt very sad.
Feeling sorry, he could only come to the Lotus Pond to sweep the tomb next year. Then, he told her how he admired her. most
Later, he talked about the siege of Changsha this time and finally defeated Long Hair. He asked Guofan to think for the elders of Sangzi and come out of the mountain to Changsha to do regimental training.
At the end of the letter, it was written: "Liangji is not talented. He is really unable to bear this heavy responsibility." Your Excellency is a talent of Sanxiang, a pillar of the country.
The emperor relies heavily on him, and the people trust him. He hopes that he can move to Changsha, take charge of the regimental training, eliminate bandits and pacify the local area, stabilize the people and comfort the emperor's worries. Liangji
It is also good to obey orders day and night and help each other in times of difficulty.
Zeng Guofan read the letter carefully twice, then put it back into the envelope and locked it in the cabinet. I've been talking to Fifth Uncle Nan these days.
Often, the more he talked, the worse his impression of Hunan's official administration became. He had long heard of the corruption of Hunan officialdom. What he had seen and heard in the past two months was indeed as good as
Here. How could he work in such an environment? Moreover, Zhang Liangji, Pan Duo, and the others weren't familiar with him. When Lian Yong suppressed the rebellion of the White Lotus Society decades ago,
He had made a great contribution to the imperial court. After the White Lotus Society was done, Lian Yong left. In the past ten years, the Yunnan-Guizhou area has been in turmoil.
After that, he set up some regimental training in various states and counties, but there was little effect. Listening to Fifth Uncle Nan's tone, the people did not seem to support him. To verify the South Five
Uncle's words, Guofan called his fourth brother into the inner room.
Zeng Guohuang entered upon hearing his brother's call. Among the five Zeng brothers, Guohuang was the least talented, but he loved to show off the most.
Head. If Luo Zenan wanted him to be the head of the regiment, he would act as if he was a high-ranking official. He was proud of himself and pretended to be arrogant in front of the villagers.
He was arrogant. Zeng Guofan couldn't stand it. He had been back for so long, but he deliberately didn't ask him about the regimental training. I want to be in front of my brother
She had tried to show off before, but seeing that her brother was not interested in it, she swallowed her words a few times. Now I'm asking him about the Xiangxiang Regiment
This was exactly what tickled his itch. He excitedly told his brother,"In April this year, Long Hair broke into Yongan, Guangxi, and fled to the whole country."
State, close to the Chu territory, Zhu Ming Fu in our county held Baojia, and ordered the practice of clan training group, mutual protection. The clan agreed on the clan leader, Fang
The eldest, or four tribes, or five tribes into a group. The regiment agreed on the commander and the commander. Men of all households above 15 and below 50
All of them will enter the regimental training. Each person made a coat and a piece of equipment. In the morning and evening, they practiced at home. When they encountered thieves and police, the regiment commander, the training leader,
The chief and the chief of the house took him to the place where something happened. There is nothing to do on weekdays, and everyone is content with their own business. The regiment commander and the drill master would meet twice a month.”
"How do we get the funds?" Zeng Guofan asked.
"All the training expenses will be borne by each family.”
"I need some money! The regiment commander and the training master would meet twice a month.”
"Of course, it's for the funds. Each clan had their own rules. Some would pay according to the population, with each person paying 100 wen, 200 wen, and some would pay according to the population.
A few well-off families will pay for it."
"You said that each of them will pay 1200 yuan, but Fifth Uncle Nan said that each of them will pay 500 yuan.”
"Some clan leaders are black-hearted and want to take advantage of this opportunity to make a profit.”
"Marquis Cheng, it seems like there are flaws in this regiment training. Not long after it was built, someone wanted to profit from it. I'll do more when I'm done
How bad."
"Yes, some of them even took the opportunity to do bad things. For example, gambling is prohibited for extortion, and night adultery is investigated. I heard that it happened in Tianziping
A few times."
"You said that you're going to practice sooner or later. I've been back for two months, why haven't I seen you guys practice?”
"When it was first established, I practiced a few times. Later on, I gradually became lazy. In addition, Long Hair didn't come, so I haven't practiced for two to three months.
It was a rule written on a piece of paper that they had to practice sooner or later.”
"Are there any who are good at acting?"
"Yes. The few cities near the county were personally commanded by Luo Shan, Pushan, and the Xi'an brothers. It was said that they were quite decent.”
"Marquis Cheng, do you think the regimental training will be done well or not?”
"I think we should do it well. At least we can deal with small groups of bandits and rob kings. However, if things continued like this, he might be afraid.
If they were only proud of a few long names, the people would not get much benefits, and everyone would not be united. If things go wrong, it will disperse in a few months.
Buddy."
"How can it really work?”
"In my opinion, to be effective, we have to train a team and eat food and pay. Only then can we train well and not worry about two things.
Boss."
"Where will the rations come from?"
"It's precisely because there's no way out for food and pay that we can't do it!”
The two brothers talked about the regiment training for most of the night. After Guo Huang left, Guofan shook his head and thought," Looks like this regiment doesn't have
Get the head. Besides, he was a second-grade assistant minister in the court and was very filial. If he was invited by a governor, he would go out of the mountain to do it.
Things, not only lose their own identity, but also incur the ridicule of scholars. How could this be done!
Zeng Guofan wrote a reply to Zhang Liangji. There were many reasons he couldn't write, but the only reason he could come up with was to stay at home and guard.
The emperor issued an edict. After a long speech of politeness, he wrote:
It has been a century since Guofan left his hometown. He misses his parents day by day. He almost wants to leave the capital for a long time to serve his parents and be a filial son.
A virtuous grandson will live his life. Unexpectedly, today's wandering son returned, the king's father and mother, the tomb has the old grass; His loving mother abandoned him and drove the crane far away. For a hundred days,
Worry is endless, every inch has been confused, think of the deep guilt, even a hundred deaths can not atone for. Ming Gong's words are very sincere, Guo Guofan kowtowed twice to thank him. But
Is it the truth to do official business when your mother is dead and has not been buried? If you accept the order, not only will you be ridiculed by the literati, but you will also be deeply ashamed. Guofan at this time
I have no other request, but I am willing to build a house beside the tomb and accompany my mother for three years to fulfill the responsibility of a son and reduce the crime of unfilial piety. I hope you will be able to help me
Emperor Jianliang.
The late Zeng Guofan kowtowed
(1) Snatching the King: Hunan dialect. It refers to a small group of people who rob in broad daylight.
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