At that time, the late Qing Dynasty was a very special period. The corruption of the Manchu Dynasty, the impact of Chinese and Western ideas, and the eyeing of foreign powers can be said to be a mixed situation. At that time, not only ordinary people could not protect themselves, but even officials at that time were walking on thin ice. And some officials who know how to plan ahead, in order to protect themselves, began to study the theory left by Guiguzi, even Zeng Guofan was no exception.
At the same time, Zuo thought it was not appropriate to study the theory of Guiguzi at that time. Because today's times are very different, Guiguzi's lifestyle is no longer applicable, so Zuo refused to learn Guiguzi's skill of employing people. However, not learning doesn't mean that Zuo hasn't learned how to be a man, especially how to control "little people". Left is solved in only one way, and it is simple and easy to learn, which is better than Guiguzi's method. Next, let's take a look.
On one occasion, Zuo received an invitation from Hunan Governor Zhang to go to Hunan to help resist the Taiping Army. So Zuo took a few followers and rushed to Changsha. When he visited the city wall, he happened to meet a military commander who looked down on literati. This man is Hunan satrap Bao Qibao. In Bao Qibao's view, Zuo is just a scholar. He just pointed a few people at the wall, his psychology was unbalanced, and he didn't cooperate with the left.
In the late Qing dynasty, the prefect was actually a big official position, with a subordinate rank two levels higher than that of the governor, and was the military director of a province. Now, it is equivalent to what we call the commander-in-chief of the military region. Therefore, such a big person still has some capital to look down on Left, after all, Left was not so famous at that time.
At that time, Bao Qibao said to Zuo: If a scholar can also take the lead, what do our military commanders need? After hearing this, Zuo immediately broke out and was about to vent, but Zhang quickly stopped him. After all, the Taiping Army is about to go to Enemy at the Gates, and what we should consider is how to retreat from the enemy. Civil strife is not a good sign at this time.
Then left to suppress anger, began to discuss how to deal with the Taiping rebels, and begged Bao Qibao to pay attention to deployment. Finally, under the left's strategizing, the Taiping Army was defeated and fled. After winning the battle, it was natural to ask the imperial court for a reward, so Zuo began to write the memorial, but when he asked for a reward, he crossed out Bao Qibao's name.
Although Zhang Jiliang later added Qibao's name, it still reached Qibao's ears. Bao Qibao immediately flew into a rage and immediately asked him why he wanted to cross out his name. Zuo said decisively: As the governor of Hunan, guarding the city is his duty. Without the resources of Guangxi and Hubei and the support of ordinary people, how can Changsha defend itself? From then on, Bao Qibao hated the Left.
To this end, Zhang also deliberately advised Zuo that Bao Qibao had a big temper and treated a villain like him with guiguzi. However, Zuo replied: Guiguzi has only knowledge and no practical experience. To treat villains in real life, you don't need to teach them how to be a man, you just need to treat them by tough means. Stay if you are good, or leave if you are not. Don't spend so much time trying to figure out a villain's mind.
After Zuo finished speaking, Zhang spoke highly of him. In the end, Bao Qibao offended Zeng Guofan and dismissed him on the grounds of "incompetence".
Moreover, Zuo later left a famous saying: "Although the villain can be brilliant for a while, it will not last long, because the villain is narrow-minded and has no pattern, and it will come to an end sooner or later. For such people, the sooner you offend, the better. Don't get along with him, let alone break up with him, it will hurt yourself. "