Zeng Guofan was clumsy and not very smart.

A person with mediocre qualifications, if he sincerely devotes himself to self-improvement, can become an extraordinary sage and hero!

He began to take the scientific examination at the age of 16 and took it 7 times before passing the exam. The scholar is still the second to last. Compared with the celebrities of his generation, his stupidity is obvious at a glance. But once Zeng Guofan got the idea, he immediately became a blockbuster! In the second year of being a scholar, he was admitted to the imperial examination, and in the fourth year he was admitted to the imperial examination. However, none of his classmates who passed the scholar examination early in the exam were even successful in the examination!

Because I am clumsy, I don’t know how to use tricks. When I encounter problems, I just know how to drill hard, so I don’t leave any blind spots.

Three words that I believe in throughout my life:

1. Get up early - "Rise at dawn and never fall in love with bed"

2. Patience - "One sentence does not make sense , If you don’t read the next sentence, you will not understand today, so you will read it tomorrow. If you are not good this year, you will read it next year.” Don’t be greedy for more, and never give up until you understand it.

3. Persistence - “Practice with perseverance is actually life.” The first important thing is to get up early and study, and never stop. "You must read a few pages every day. Fill in a few entries in the diary and practice one calligraphy." If you don't make progress every day, you will retreat.

Fighting also relies on clumsy energy to build a stronghold. , fight stupidly. He trapped the city with trenches one after another, like a giant stick entangling people. The siege was not done in a day or two, but in a year or two. When the war was over, the landscape outside the city had been completely changed by the Hunan Army. He used this stupidest method. , defeated the smartest Taiping Army.

Only the most soft in the world can defeat the most strong in the world.

I once touched other people's cheese and failed to raise food and wages, so I "filled up the river with tears"

After reading Zhuangzi, my temperament changed drastically, and I gradually realized that I was running into obstacles in officialdom. , because they think they are upright and aboveboard, but feel that others are living their lives in confusion, so they speak very bluntly and sharply, like a cone like a ray, piercing into people's pain points, and they act headstrongly, disdainfully dismissing other people's opinions. After two years of studying at Laozi and Zhuangzi, I finally saw clearly my own fatal weaknesses: those who are too proud, too eager, blindly reckless, too rigid, and act too rigidly appear to be strong, but are actually weak. Those who know how to be soft and give in are the ones. The truly strong man is the softest in the world who can defeat the strongest in the world.

Therefore, his behavior changed drastically after his comeback. First of all, he no longer spoke harshly to officials from various places, nor did he assume a self-centered attitude; secondly, he was no longer cautious in recommending others and was complicit in "luring them". Only with fame and profit can we recruit the world's talents." So all the soldiers from all over the world defected to Zeng Guofan; again, he became diplomatic in dealing with the emperor and the "central ministries".

When the water is clear, there will be no fish. A person who is independent will be rejected by everyone. Hai Rui is an example. Although the water is as clear as water, everyone ostracizes him, so that he can't do anything.

The second time he came back, he entered the realm of life of an inner saint and an outer king. Inner sage means being a human being according to your true nature: being upright, adhering to your own principles as a human being, not being changed by external temptations, adhering to your own conscience and beliefs, and allowing yourself to become a sage in your heart. The so-called foreign king means acting according to roles. Everyone plays a different role at work, so there shouldn't be too many edges and corners. You must know how to compromise and give in, so that you can mobilize all the forces that can help you to help you succeed in this role. career,

Therefore, he adheres to the eight characters in his actions: round on the outside and square on the inside, turbid on the outside and clear on the inside. On the one hand, he sticks to his conscience, and on the other hand, he is in harmony with the light. Integrity, on the one hand, tolerates unspoken rules, and is willing to join in with others when necessary.

"Profits can be used to win over others, but not alone." Accepting small gifts from others means disrespecting others, while refusing large gifts means adhering to principles. , and it is justice and wealth.

When wealth gathers people disperse, when wealth disperses people gather together.

"Discipline of oneself is enough to convince others"

"Being generous is enough to win people"

There are two famous sayings by Zeng Guofan, no kindness is greater than forgiveness.

"Let the merit be enough to lead the people"

"The merit should not be kept alone, and the fault should not be shied away"

A boss will always give the benefits to his subordinates , when given a responsibility, he always takes it upon himself. How can subordinates not be moved by such a leader? He once said to his younger brother Zeng Guoquan: You don't have to earn your own merit, and you don't have to achieve your own fame. < /p>

Therefore, he is known as: a perfect man who has established moral integrity and meritorious service and is immortal. He is a teacher, general and prime minister.