876. Zeng Guofan: He is prepared for danger in times of peace, afraid of caution, and always wants to cultivate self-cultivation.

Although Zeng Guofan and Ceng Guoquan are brothers, their personalities are quite different. Zeng Guofan was modest and prepared for danger in times of peace, while Ceng Guoquan loved to be bureaucratic and put on airs.

Ceng Guoquan was highly valued by the imperial court for his meritorious military service, and was promoted by the imperial court many times, which is also the reason why Ceng Guoquan loves to put on airs.

Zeng Guofan is well aware of these problems of his younger brother, so he often writes to persuade his younger brother to be cautious and always reflect on himself.

186 1 year, Ceng Guoquan, Duolong 'a and Bao Chao defeated the Taiping Army reinforcements. Because of their achievements, they were registered as provincial judges, awarded the title of political envoy, awarded the yellow jacket, and awarded the title of Wei Yong Batulu, entitled "Chasing Thieves".

In A.D. 165438+ 10, the imperial court appointed Zeng Guofan as the commander-in-chief of military affairs in Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces, and all the civil and military officials below the governor (equivalent to the governor) and prefect (equivalent to the commander of the provincial military region) in these four provinces were under Zeng Guofan's control.

Since the Qing dynasty, the Han people have gained bureaucratic power, that is, at most, governing two or three provinces, so Zeng Guofan has become the most powerful person of the Han people since the Qing dynasty.

1862, Ceng Guoquan was appointed by Zhejiang court and moved to Jiangsu province. The Tseng brothers had a good time. However, Zeng Guofan was not complacent and did not dare to be too happy.

In his letter to his ninth brother, Ceng Guoquan, he said, "Since ancient times, how many people have you had power and fame? Those who can do their best must always find a way to give up their word rights and subtract a few percent, so that the party can gradually end. "

In his view, from ancient times to the present, few people who hold high positions and are famous can finish from beginning to end. In order to keep the festival, we must give up a little power properly.

It can be seen that Zeng Guofan's mind is very clear, and he is always alert to the situation and keeps a low profile.

On the sixth day of October in the eleventh year of Xianfeng, Ceng Guoquan returned to Hunan to recruit soldiers, never to return. Zeng Guofan repeatedly urged him to return to Shanghai as soon as possible, but Ceng Guoquan, who took the credit for putting on airs, stayed at home and refused to lead troops to reinforce Shanghai.

Zeng Guofan had no choice but to write to Ceng Guoquan again.

In the letter, Zeng Guofan once again told Ceng Guoquan to come early by canoe alone, and it is best to come to the camp day and night, so as to raise everything after the camp, but Ceng Guoquan didn't leave until the 28th of the first month.

Ceng Guoquan dragged on and on, while Zeng Guofan was a family over there. He was favored by the imperial court one after another and held high positions. Feeling guilty and afraid, he vowed to "serve the country desperately and practice horizontally." It can be seen that the nature of the two people is indeed different, and their lifestyles are also very different.

As the saying goes, "The nine sons of the dragon are all different", and Zeng Guofan and Ceng Guoquan are typical of this sentence.

/kloc-in the spring of 0/863, Zeng Guofan personally went to Yuhuatai to inspect the army. Seeing that the encirclement was solid, he decided to give up the idea of withdrawing troops. Ceng Guoquan was promoted to the governor of Zhejiang, and still controlled the former enemy, besieging Nanjing.

, Yang,,, etc. Coordinated the situation, fought fiercely for many days, and took control of Jiuzhou River, then successively captured Shangqiao, Jiangdong Bridge and Zhonghe Bridge, Shuangqiaomen, Qiwen Bridge, Fangshan, Tushan, Shangfangmen, Gao Qiao Gate, Molingguan and Wang Bo Town on the periphery of Nanjing.

In a letter on the seventh day of the first month of the second year of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan once advised his ninth brother, Ceng Guoquan, "It would be great if you could give up a few percent of the word' right', but dismiss one of the two seats.".

Later, Ceng Guoquan was appointed as the governor of Zhejiang, so Zeng Guofan told Ceng Guoquan: "If you change your new title, you don't have to politely decline."

For Zeng Guofan, being an official should be cautious and cautious. The first is to take the square inch as a strict teacher. Followed by familiar people, such as scouts, ghoshha, shogunate copywriters and subordinates. Once again, I am afraid of literati's comments.

It is precisely because of fear, caution, constant fear and constant introspection that Zeng Guofan can be immortal and invincible.

Pay attention to promotion and protect talents.

Zeng Guofan compared recommending talents to irrigation of crops. In view of the disadvantages of social officials protecting each other and talents not outstanding at that time, he attached great importance to recommending talents.

In daily business, if a talented person is found, he will always be promoted and recommended to the court.

However, Zeng Guofan was very disgusted with bribery and excessive recommendation in officialdom, which he thought was one of the reasons leading to official corruption.

Therefore, he believes that the recommendation should not be too much, and he should always reflect on it. "A very high position, always looking at it with trepidation and thinking about what I have done, but I recommend it too much, which is more chaotic than chaos."

Zeng Guofan is such a cautious person who never forgets to cultivate himself all his life. Especially when he was in a high position, he was cautious and allowed Zeng Guofan to avoid the tragic ending of the rise and fall of many powerful ministers, and he did a good job from the beginning.