Zeng Guofan and Ceng Guoquan have totally different personalities and experiences. Zeng Guofan is self-serious, low-key and introverted. He considers everything from the perspective of risk, and subtracts when something goes wrong. Ceng Guoquan is outspoken, reckless and competitive, and everything is too simplistic, which makes things worse when things go wrong. Some people say that character determines fate. This also indicates that Ceng Guoquan's career will be full of ups and downs and twists and turns. As the eldest brother, Zeng Guofan was conscientious in educating his younger siblings, especially in Ceng Guoquan officialdom. He was well-intentioned, meticulous and tireless in teaching others, but his younger brother Ceng Guoquan contradicted him all his life and failed to live up to his 49-year teaching. Because he didn't listen to the sea, Ceng Guoquan's official career experienced relentless blows and pains again and again in real life. It was not until Tongzhi was retired to Hunan by Chao Yan for six years that he realized that Zeng Guofan's judgments were all right, and Zeng Guofan's platitudes were fulfilled.
Throughout Ceng Guoquan's official career, the following events made him deeply realize Zeng Guofan's foresight and his own shortcomings, which had a far-reaching impact on his later personality change and style of doing things:
1. Refused to attack Shanghai and missed the opportunity to make great achievements.
In October of the 11th year of Xianfeng, Taiping Army attacked Shanghai, and Shanghai gentlemen rescued Zeng Guofan, giving 100,000 taels of silver to help Xiang Army every month. Zeng Guofan intends to give this plum job to Ceng Guoquan to attack. Mainly based on three considerations: first, Shanghai has more money, and fighting is not bitter; Second, Shanghai has a vast world and many opportunities for meritorious service; Third, for Ceng Guoquan, if Shanghai makes meritorious service again, he can be promoted to the governor of Jiangsu smoothly. However, Ceng Guoquan did not understand Zeng Guofan's good intentions, narrow vision and stubborn forbearance, which made him fail to see the special strategic significance of Shanghai. He persisted in gnawing at the hard bone of "Nanjing", and finally missed the opportunity to achieve brilliant achievements easily, which was also a great failure of Ceng Guoquan's life.
2. build a luxury mansion and ask others to blame it.
? Since the Ji 'an and Anqing wars, Ceng Guoquan has accumulated a solid economic foundation and started to build a "land of great happiness" in Xiangxiang. And every gram is a famous city, win a battle and build a "blessed land" Zeng Guofan repeatedly discouraged Ceng Guoquan from saying that "the house is too magnificent and will be criticized by everyone, and it is especially inappropriate to live in a luxurious house in troubled times", and took Lin Zexu as an example to satirize it. However, Ceng Guoquan didn't listen, and went his own way, making the "land of great happiness" majestic and huge, just like a palace. This incident not only made Ceng Guoquan notorious for his greed for money, but also shocked the court, which was taboo for the incumbent. Later, it was revised, and finally, the "Great Blessed Land" did not trespass, so that Ceng Guoquan was able to save his life.
? There has been a saying since ancient times: being rich does not make you rich. Anything, anyone who is too ostentatious and flamboyant, will attract people's envy, criticism and fire. Low profile is king.
Repeatedly disobeying advice, the battle of Yuhuatai fell through.
? When attacking Nanking, Zeng Guofan ordered Ceng Guoquan not to act alone, but to cooperate with Duo Long, outflanking and other parties. But regardless of Zeng Guofan, Ceng Guoquan stormed all the way and went to Nanjing Yuhuatai alone. After a tour of the military situation, I realized that the overall situation was not good. The Nanjing City Wall is like the Great Wall of Wan Li, with a large scale and a solid foundation stone, which cannot be easily taken down. From then on, I began to regret the intrusion.
It never rains but pours. A severe temperature epidemic made Ceng Guoquan's troops worse, and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced. At the same time, the Taiping Army used foreign guns with super lethality, which made Ceng Guoquan's army in a dilapidated situation. Thanks to Zeng Guofan's sufficient salary, adequate ammunition supply and desperate dispatch, he escaped a bullet by sending distress messages everywhere. After the battle, Zeng Guofan analyzed the situation and advised him to retreat quickly, but he remained unmoved, forcing Zeng Guofan to make all preparations for Ceng Guoquan's occupation of Nanjing.
? 4. It is too simple to see the problem, and the commemoration of the "first show" is not successful.
? After Ceng Guoquan was promoted to "Governor of Zhejiang", he really entered the highest level of power and had the right to play things by single name. Zeng Guofan was well aware of his younger brother's character, and warned him in advance to be steady and not to be too hasty, because this often determined the first impression of the central government on him. Taking Zuo as an example, Peng Yuling had not attended the lecture three months after he obtained the right to play with a single title. Ceng Guoquan listened to Zeng Guofan's teaching and waited patiently. Opportunities will appear soon. The yamen headed by Prince Gong V decided to entrust Horatia Nelson Lay, the General Taxation Department of the Customs, with purchasing several new warships from western countries to form a fleet, which is currently used to pacify the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and will be used in the "Imperial Navy" in the future. As a result, I not only bought warships, but also bought a group of foreigners who used warships. If foreigners are allowed to use warships, the sovereignty of the Qing Dynasty will be violated. If the warship is returned for sale, China's plan to build a navy will be aborted, and the warship will suffer huge losses at a discount. When the Prime Minister's yamen raised the flag, he asked for the opinions of Xiang officials at the front line of the battle. Ceng Guoquan is very excited to play for the first time. He carefully conceived and wrote a paper. On the grounds that "the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is just around the corner, there is no need for warships to assist", the memorial implies that it is harmless to return warships, and it is a pity to waste huge sums of money because of returning warships. We might as well use this warship to patrol the sea, arrest pirates and lay off the existing coastal navy to save money. Although this statement is sincere, it inadvertently offended the prime minister's yamen and accused him of making mistakes in decision-making and wasting huge sums of money. Ceng Guoquan's kindness is like a donkey's dry lung for the first time. Because he was not good at talking, he was delayed by the DPRK and was deprived of the right to a single championship.
Officialdom speech is sometimes right or wrong, and the key is whether it is timely. In officialdom, you have to be careful when you speak, depending on the occasion, the object and what the other person needs you to say. Where are we going? The throne of Ceng Guoquan's "first show" died because the question was too simple and his personality was too straightforward, and he didn't let his brother check it after writing it.
5. Put away the bad records of impeachment documents, leaving the trouble of being retaliated.
Two party and government leaders in the same unit often have different views and ideas, which leads to disharmony. If the spear pain intensifies, it often hurts on both sides.
After Ceng Guoquan became the governor of Hubei, he became the governor of Huguang. Although this official is mediocre and greedy, he was born in the internal affairs department of Han Junqi and is deeply rooted in North Korea. Even Hu Linyi, the former governor of Hubei Province, made good use of means, catered to the meaning of official documents, made friends with him, and attributed the credit to him. However, Ceng Guoquan, who was ill-advised and competitive, did not listen to Zeng Guofan's persuasion and obstruction, went his own way, was impeached for a while, and listed seven charges magnificently, which not only offended the Manchus in the DPRK, but also hurt the face of the court, leaving endless future troubles.
A stick was soon found to beat the dog. Later, because Ceng Guoquan led the troops to fight against the Nian Army, he was subjected to "severe punishment" by the imperial court. He not only took off his top hat, but also implicated Zeng Guofan and Hunan officials, making the official document "avenged" happily. This heavy blow made Ceng Guoquan thoroughly understand that he and Zeng Guofan were not on the same level, and he deeply repented.
Zeng Guofan didn't know that he was in the officialdom, but he should be flexible and flexible. Clear water means no fish, while pure water means no place to stand.
? After several setbacks, Ceng Guoquan finally matured, smoothed the edges and corners, and changed her way of life. Officialdom pays attention to compromise and is no longer sharp-edged. In his later years, he was more and more recognized by officials and the court. Finally, he joined hands with Zeng Guofan to enter the ranks of famous giants in the late Qing Dynasty.
? "How can you see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain?" . I think this sentence is the best interpretation of Zeng Guofan's life growth and success. There is a saying called "listen, you will forget;" Look, it will pass; I will understand when I do it. " Many times, it is useless to educate a person by some empty preaching. You have to let him practice, try, bump his head and feel the ups and downs, so that he can really grow and mature. As Mr. Jiang Yang once warned young people, one can get different levels of training and benefit from different courses. Like spices, the more broken and fine, the more fragrant.