As the saying goes, "the family has its own rules and the state has its own laws." Without rules, it is difficult to form a square. Rules exist to make people better.
Zeng Guofan has nine brothers and sisters. As the eldest son, Zeng Guofan took great care of his brothers, but he was not tolerant. He often said:' Brothers live in harmony, although small families will prosper, the people will be poor, and brothers will not live in harmony, although aristocratic families will decline. Therefore, whether he is an official in Beijing or in a military camp, he always takes time out of his busy schedule to write letters to teach his brothers to be human and urge them to study. He said, learning "means saying the word' filial piety' in daily life. If you do one point, you will learn one point, and if you do ten points, you will learn very much ... make sure that your grandparents, uncles, parents, brothers and wives are kind and orderly."
Perhaps influenced by his brother, four of Zeng Guofan's five brothers went to war. Ceng Guohua died in sanhe town, and once died in Tianjingwei, Zeng Guofan and his greatest achievements. Ceng Guoquan was brave and frivolous, so Zeng Guofan was happy and worried about him. In order to avoid suspicion, he taught his younger brother that if he wants to get off the pond, he must first know how to get ashore. Zeng Guofan once thought about voluntary sacrifice and quitting his official career for the development of Ceng Guoquan. Another brother, Zeng, has been in charge of family affairs for a long time, relieving the worries of the two brothers joining the army and politics.
The relatives of the Zeng family are honest with each other and help each other. Ceng Guoquan advised Zeng Guofan that his expression was too harsh, which often made people look down, and could not create a lively atmosphere when brothers and sisters asked. Zeng Guofan listened to his advice with an open mind.
Zeng Guofan educated his son to read only and understand, not to be an official and get rich, and to be diligent and proud at home.
Zeng Guofan's "teaching by example is more important than teaching by words" often points out his son's progress and deficiency in learning from his own personal experience and has achieved remarkable results.
Zeng Guofan once said: "The official family in the world has enjoyed more than one generation and will be exhausted. Its children and grandchildren, first arrogant and then swaying, and finally ravines, can celebrate the first or second generation, fresh. " The Zeng family became a special case: Zeng Guofan sealed his post and worshipped the prime minister. Among the two sons, he was an influential diplomat and a famous mathematician in the late Qing Dynasty. Its third and fourth generations are also full of talents, becoming a prosperous century-old family. The "harmony" of a group or team in Qi Xin's cooperation is the foundation of its success. Because once the collective forms a solidified interest relationship, it will be related to pain and honor.
In fact, a harmonious mentality is important not only in running a family, but also in running an army and starting a business. As the first governor of Hunan Department, Hu Linyi refused to replace Zeng Guofan as the spiritual leader of Hunan Department, but supported and helped Zeng Guofan to achieve great things everywhere. Hubei, under his jurisdiction, became Zeng Guofan's military grain depot, which was the basis for the rise of Xiang Army.
Li Hongzhang can be said to be the chief disciple of Zeng Guofan. When Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan were curtain guests together, he was "invisible" and learned a lot about being a man. In the Qimen incident, Li Hongzhang failed to remonstrate with Zeng Guofan, but refused to apply for a job, which shows Li's attachment to Zeng. Zeng Guofan sent someone to the screen to recall Li.
Later, Zeng Guofan directly ordered Li Hongzhang to imitate the Xiang army to establish paramilitary forces, went to the battlefield in Shanghai, and tirelessly taught Li Hongzhang the proverbs of dealing with interpersonal relationships and dealing with foreigners. Li Hongzhang obeyed Zeng Guofan's orders in Shanghai, trying to find out and do what Zeng meant. Zeng Guofan cut Hunan and stayed in Huai River after pacifying the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which means that he can rely on Li Hongzhang's loyalty. However, with Li Hongzhang's full-fledged, Zeng Guofan, who mainly relied on the Huai army in the struggle for suppression and twisting, was constantly disturbed. But the two always put the word "harmony" in the first place, and over time, some small unhappiness gradually faded away. Li Hongzhang pushed Zeng Guofan as the mainstay, and Zeng Guofan retaliated: "To show that Chinese and foreign people give priority to me, and servants really take Huai Army and your Excellency as the transfer. Your Excellency Huai is safe, and your servant is the pillar. The Huai army is dull, and the danger is tired. " The two depend on each other and make up.
Zeng Guofan is the most important person. He believes that the way to March is that people don't strive for merit, and the actual effect is not in name. Anyone who wants to achieve great things should not care about details, but should be good at discovering the advantages of others and learning from them. People who achieved something in ancient times were like this.
Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty, belonged to Liu Xuan before he proclaimed himself emperor. Because of jealousy, Liu Xuan murdered Liu Xiu's brother Liu Qing. After Liu Xiu's grief, considering that follwed has not been removed, once he breaks with Liu Xuan, his power will be dispersed, giving people an opportunity. So he fought back his grief and went to Wancheng to apologize to Liu Xuan. Liu Xuan felt ashamed, so he had to make Liu Xiu a general and marquis Wu Xin. Liu Xiu survived, and his army developed rapidly, eventually overthrowing Wang Mang, restoring the Han Dynasty and unifying the whole country.
Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, generals of Zhongxing in the Tang Dynasty, were both generals under the account of Ambassador An Si Shun of Shuofang, but their opinions were at odds for a long time. Later, Guo Ziyi was promoted to our time, and Li Guangbi was afraid of his personal vendetta and wanted to escape. While hesitating, An Shi Rebellion broke out. As a general, this is the time to serve the country. Li Guangbi went to Guo Ziyi and said, "We are enemies, but now that you are in power, you must live or die. It's up to you! " Unexpectedly, Guo Ziyi fell to the ground and bowed down and said, "How can we care about personal grievances when the national disaster is at hand? We should put the country first! " In the later days, the two men joined hands to fight against the rebels and made immortal contributions.
Similarly, in August of the first year of Tongzhi (1862), the Xiang army led by Zeng Guofan was in an extremely critical moment militarily, and southern Anhui and eastern Hubei were sparsely populated. At that time, Zeng Guofan had 70 thousand people, and he had to pay three or four million kilograms of grain every month. At this moment, Shen Baozhen, the governor of Jiangxi Province, intercepted fifty-two thousand pieces of silver from Cao Cao, who supplied Zeng Guofan's Yuhuatai camp, to ensure the pay of the Jiangxi army. Zeng Guofan "is constrained by everything in Jiangxi, and he can't bear to be disturbed." "The family is not harmonious and resentful." Nevertheless, when he wrote to Shen Baozhen, he was very tactful. In his diary, Zeng Guofan also reflected on himself. In such a chaotic world, a move like Shen is not very arrogant. He should not hold grudges, but should focus on harmony.
Li and Shen Baozhen are close friends. Once, Li recommended one of his nephews to apply for a job in Shenzhen. Shen Baozhen entertained him for a few days, and found it difficult to choose, so he called him in and asked him how many people there were in his family and how much money he needed to live every year. He replied that only one hundred gold was enough. Shen Baozhen immediately took out two pieces of silver to persuade him to go back, but he wouldn't send an errand. Shen Baozhen's handling in this way did not hurt friendship, but adhered to the principle. This is called "peace for peace's sake".
"Harmony" is not an expedient measure. You can't give up your principles for peace. Since you have chosen "harmony", you should let go of your heart and be consistent with your heart, otherwise you will not succeed. So: everything is about harmony. Think twice before you get angry.