Zeng Guofan's success was not achieved overnight, but the result of his long-term preparation.
Before getting up, Zeng Guofan had been hiding his own strength, and he dared not easily show his true strength in front of people. He made a compromise, did not hesitate to give in to others temporarily, and was always ready to wait for the opportunity.
In order to make himself successful and not be calculated by others, Zeng Guofan paid great attention to preserving his strength. In order to win the trust of his superiors, he would rather give the credit to others; When dealing with people, try not to make enemies even in times of crisis. Because of this, he won the support of all, and it is not surprising that he moved to a high position.
Zeng Guofan is not afraid of heaven, and he is not afraid of death. What he fears is the suspicion, gossip and slander of others. He and Ceng Guoquan led an army together, which is a very special relationship, one glory, one loss, so Zeng Guofan was particularly cautious. When the official position was prominent, he still maintained a consistent cautious and reserved style.
Zeng Guofan often stressed: to do great things, we should give priority to distant knowledge, which can be supplemented; Anyone who wants to achieve great things, human strategy accounts for half, and providence accounts for the other half.
Then he elaborated this view in detail by taking the imperial examination as an example.
For example, in the examination room, the wisdom of people can determine whether the articles are written reasonably and wonderfully, and the poems are written evenly and correctly. How the officials in charge of the examination are admitted and when they get fame are all decided by God's will.
If you are worried that God is unreliable, ask God to worship Buddha and bribe people to take exams. If you are worried about people's lack of wisdom, find another way, or make a silk dress to carry it, or steam ginseng to grind ink. These are the actions of people without brains.
Therefore, to do anything, we must plan ahead, pay attention to strategy and try our best to complete it. As for success, it depends on providence.
Zeng Guofan often wrote to his younger brothers, telling them the truth of being a man and the rules of doing things. Will point out some of their mistakes in time and put forward their own suggestions for improvement.
For Zeng Guofan's exhortation, his younger brothers, especially Ceng Guoquan, did not buy it, which made Zeng Guofan very upset. "My brother refused to experience my persuasion with an open mind every time, and always argued. This is the most undesirable practice. "
Zeng Guofan believes that their brothers' status is so high that ten thousand people pay attention to it. But high status is not a good thing, and I am afraid it will become the object of discussion, criticism and slander by others. Anyone who thinks he is right and others are wrong becomes complacent.
The difference between a gentleman and a mortal lies in his modesty. It is very important for a person's growth to listen to other people's opinions, especially different opinions.
He advised his younger brother not only to think carefully about what he said, but also to study what he heard outside. If it's not nice, you can find it anytime and anywhere. It's nice to say that Nanjing will be conquered. It is unfriendly to say that Nanjing can't be conquered by Fu Yuan. Therefore, the ancients thought it was difficult to be in a high position without being proud, but it also needed to be learned and done.
Zeng Guofan believes that anyone who is good at leading troops warns generals and trains soldiers every day. When dealing with major issues and teaching soldiers in military camps, we should give priority to persuasion, and it is not appropriate to preach to everyone in a commanding tone.
If you encounter a little setback in the war, you should blame and persuade the generals, even kill them, or cry and train all day. These are precisely to care for the subordinates and protect the facade and reputation of this camp.
People who are not good at leading troops do not blame the soldiers in their own battalions, but are jealous that other troops are better than themselves and do not want their subordinates to strive for self-improvement. It is wrong to just compliment their superiors and socialize with friends to gain fame.
Zeng Guofan nagged at his two younger brothers, like blaming and admonishing the generals, crying and training, which shows his good intentions.
Zeng Bao Guo said: "A good person can never do it with his heart." Zeng Guofan believes that this sentence is a wise saying and cannot be changed.
In Zeng Guofan's view, the size of a position is determined by fate, not by people. However, the teaching of fathers and brothers, the training of generals and the training of soldiers, whether successful or not, must work hard to gain something and finally succeed.