Although Tianjing was recovered, the Taiping Army was not completely destroyed. Servant Wang Li Shixian, Wang Haiyang and Kang Wang entered Fujian from Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces and stationed in Zhangzhou and Tingzhou, claiming to be 200,000, which shook Fujian.
The imperial court took Zuo as the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and together with Xiang Bao Chao, Huai Army and Yang Dingxun, the Chu army was driven into Fujian.
Under the siege of many parties, Li Shixian and Wang Haiyang were successively breached, and the residual forces could not hold on in Fujian and fled to Guangdong.
At that time, the acting governors of Guangdong and Guangxi, Guo Songtao and Zuo Yes, were in-laws.
Guangdong's troops were weak, and Guo Songtao turned to the left for help, but was rejected. The two Huai armies were transferred back to Jiangsu, and Guangdong pursued them with the strength of a province, but there was no improvement for several months. So the court ordered Zuo to command the three provinces and lead the army into Guangdong.
Zuo was appointed as, before he entered Guangdong, he ascended the throne first. In addition to his consistent humility, he also turned the tide and even commented on Guangdong officialdom.
In the memorial, Zuo made it clear that the three generals recommended by the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhu Xing, were "arrogant and timid, but not brave enough", and the people in Guangdong and Guangxi were fierce and difficult to use troops. Finally, he even pointed out that there was no talent to run the army in Guangdong. If people like Li Hongzhang and Jiang Yili can serve as governors, Guangdong will naturally be pacified.
This is equivalent to suggesting a substitution of Guangdong officialdom, aiming at Guo Songtao, the in-laws.
Rui Lin, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was a standard bearer and a veteran of the three dynasties. He is irreplaceable, and Li Hongzhang certainly can't come to Guangdong. Only Jiang Yili, the object of Zuo's appreciation, provided logistical support for Zuo's army during his tenure as governor of Zhejiang and cooperated with it tacitly. At this time, he finished nursing the governor of Zhejiang and returned to Zhejiang, just being transferred to Guangdong.
The governor of Guangdong and Guangxi can't change. What can be changed is Guo Songtao and Jiang Yili.
Guo Songtao acted as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi during Tongzhi years, but he has not yet been appointed as a real official. Guangdong's military and political situation is unfavorable. Zuo has long denounced this, but this time he directly proposed Jiang Yili, threatening Guo Songtao's position.
Guo Songtao is not only Zuo's in-laws, but also a close friend of his hometown, and he is very kind to Zuo. In the last years of Xianfeng, Zuo had not yet made a fortune. Emperor Xianfeng summoned Guo Songtao, who strongly recommended Zuo. Since then, when Zuo worked as a lobbyist in Luo Mufu, the governor of Hunan Province, he was involved in an unjust case with Guan Wen and others. It is rare for Guo Songtao to run around for the Left and bribe Pan Zuyin to protect the Left.
Now Zuo is full-fledged. Although I don't expect to repay him, I never thought Zuo would attack myself. With mixed feelings, Guo Songtao had no other thoughts but to resign.
In addition to the left criticism, another important reason for Guo Songtao's resignation is the discord between the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi.
The governor and the governor are in the same city, and it is common for them to compete for control of this province. Rui Lin and Guo Songtao are both Manchu, so naturally there are many infighting. Guo Songtao invited the vacancy and directly disclosed it in the play:
(Zhuo Xing, Fang Yao and other illegal things) Rui Lin won't ask questions. Changle fell, Huizhou was under martial law, and Guo Songtao was stationed in Huizhou. Rui Lin rebuked the ministers for their way of consultation, and publicly declared that the Governor wanted to rectify, and Zhuo Xing and Fang Yao would oppose it.
The court received Guo Songtao's resignation and ordered him to "look around the road where Guo Songtao participated". Why don't the governors of this department cooperate, regardless of public or private? "
After several months' investigation, Zuo decided that Guo Songtao's crimes against Zhuo Xing were true, and confirmed them in the report. But at the same time, he also made his own evaluation of Guo Songtao's official service in Guangdong, thinking that Guo was "a little pedantic and had to blame himself".
Why should Zuo treat Guo Songtao, who is good to her in-laws and fellow villagers, like this? This is Zuo's integrity, which he also explained in his own report.
Guo Songtao is an official who is diligent and honest, but he lacks the ability to respond. Guo Songtao experienced two terms as governors of Guangdong and Guangxi: Mao Hongbin and Rui Lin. They don't get along well with Guo Songtao, but Guo's attitude of "being wronged to help each other", speaking politely and engaging in false unity, is really harmful to officialdom. He doesn't understand how princes get along with each other. It is not surprising that there are conflicts between the governors of the same city. As long as it's not for getting along, it's all for the public, so there's no need to avoid it. Telling the truth is more appropriate than being a good person.
Guo Songtao's way of getting along is not like this. He didn't think highly of what Mao Hongbin and Rui Lin had done, but he kept on forbearing that "difficulties are of equal value". When something happened, he realized that he was also responsible and explained it quickly, but he made a mistake. Pedantic people can't do great things. If he is not careful, good people will become pedantic and their eyes will become obscene. This is what Zuo called pedantry.
Compared with Hu Linyi in Hubei, Luo in Hunan, Shen Baozhen in Jiangxi, and Li Hongzhang in Jiangsu, Guo Songtao's talents are indeed somewhat inadequate. After two years in office, Guangdong has no improvement and financial difficulties. It is indeed an urgent task for the imperial court and Guangdong to replace Guo Songtao with a "talent who can help the poor and help the needy".
After receiving Zuo's report, the court sent Jiang Yili to Guangdong on the eighth day of the first month of the second year and recalled Guo Songtao to Beijing for another post.
Objectively speaking, Zuo's evaluation of Guo Songtao is true. Although Guo has rich qualifications, he lacks the means and determination to do things. It is reluctant to make him governor. Once he makes a big scene, he may even get into trouble and his reputation will be destroyed. It is good to step down as governor safely. Guo Songtao became famous as a westernization thinker and professional diplomat behind him. It was after he left Guangdong that he realized that not every dark cloud had a silver lining.
Guo Songtao is good at studying Taoism rather than gaining worldly fame, which Zeng Guofan has already seen. As early as twenty-five years in Daoguang, he slandered Guo. Now Guo Songtao was frustrated as soon as he succeeded, but he responded to Zeng Guofan's concerns.
Afterwards, Zuo wrote another letter to explain to Guo Songtao:
"You are trying to cheer up, but you don't like it. What's the point? I only know Zeng Hou and Li Bo in my life, so I want to be among Zeng and Li. I don't want to see anything in my life, even if my eyesight is strong, I can't reach it ... I am angry because of loyalty, and I speak my mind, and I know my guilt. "
Left impeaching Guo Songtao can be said to be dedicated to the public interest. He and Guo Songtao have never had a personal vendetta. No matter who thinks it's wrong, he dares to scold, not only Zeng Guofan, who is kind to him, but even his best friend Hu Linyi, who has also been called "a good man and a good cage".
Zuo's character is also a double-edged sword, and being too rigid is his offensive side. There is a famous saying on the left that "the heart should be straight and the feelings should be thick", and you should have inner integrity and frankness in treating your friends. Just being so selfless and heartless is not acceptable to everyone, so there are not a few friends who turn against the left in life.