When it comes to Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang loses his temper. Although he calls each other brothers and seems to be very disrespectful to the commander, deep down Zuo Zongtang admires Zeng Guofan very much.
First of all, Zeng Guofan was born in the imperial examination, unlike him who came out from the wild. Zeng Guofan was a member of the elite in the capital and worked in the court.
Perhaps it was this asymmetry in status that caused Zuo Zongtang to always have a sense of inferiority when facing imperial examination officials such as Li Hongzhang, and the external manifestation of his inferiority complex was a strong offensiveness.
So Li Hongzhang would call him Teacher Zeng Guofan, but Zuo Zongtang just couldn't do it.
But Zuo Zongtang admired Marshal Zeng's abilities from the bottom of his heart, especially his ability to cultivate his energy, calm his mind and speak carefully, which he couldn't learn, but he still admired him.
When Zeng Guofan was running the army, he didn't use his words or official power to suppress you. He was a simple person, but he could make even the most unruly generals dare not disobey in the slightest.
This is the big picture, this is the real ability, Zuo Zongtang has always admired him!
Today, King Shangtai came out with Zeng Guofan's remarks, which can be said to be a lifeline. King Shangtai took the initiative in the entire negotiation.
"Of course I can't compare to Zeng Shuai, who in the world can compare to him..." Zuo Zongtang sat back in his chair with a lonely look on his face.
King Shangtai filled a glass of wine for Zuo Zongtang, "Actually, the commander-in-chief has already given a clear answer as to why he didn't rebel... The commander-in-chief doesn't really want to be a slave of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he just has scruples!"
"What are you worried about? What the commander is worried about is these more than 10 million square kilometers of land. These territories will be lost by then!"
"Haha... The earliest Han family in the world was just a small tribe on the edge of the Yellow River. At that time, there was no concept of Han people, and they called themselves Huaxia!"
"How did this expanded land come from over the past thousands of years? It wasn't just conquered, a lot of it was created through suffering!"
"It's been two hundred years since the Manchus entered the country, two hundred years of fish and meat for the common people, and two hundred years of eating the offerings of the Han people all over the world... It's time for them to return their capital and profits!"
"What should we pay in return? We have to pay back with their ancestors' property!"
"The land of the White Mountains and Black Water outside the Pass and the vast grasslands north of the Great Wall, including Xinjiang and Tibetan areas...these territories that do not belong to the Ming Dynasty will all belong to the Han family from now on!"
"If you eat ours, spit it out; if you take ours, give it back to us!"
"Not only that, you have to pay me enough interest!"
"Haha, the Ming Dynasty is considered dead, but the next Chinese orthodoxy must have a wider territory than the Ming Dynasty..."
"This is the reason why Marshal Zeng didn't rebel. It's obvious that you are a smart man... If he doesn't rebel now, it's because he has discovered that he doesn't have the strength to take all the extra territory at this moment!"
"As long as we are sure, as long as we can ensure that the Qing Dynasty's more than 10 million square kilometers of land will not be lost, then you see, there are many people in the world waiting for rebellion!"
King Shangtai stretched out his hand and pointed at Zuo Zongtang, "Actually, that includes you. Carefully touch your heart and ask yourself! Are you trying your best to take back the Western Regions? Are you doing it for the Manchus? Or for the Han?" The descendants of the family?”
"You don't need to answer this question, just ask yourself in the dark night! Answer yourself..."
Zuo Zongtang almost collapsed in his chair as if he had been struck by lightning. This set of hidden dragon theories were the most secret scaly claws in his spiritual world, hidden in his subconscious.
He usually doesn't dare to think about these things. If he has the slightest thought, he will quickly reflect on himself for fear of falling into evil ways.
This can be said to be a common problem among Chinese literati who study history carefully. On the surface, they are controlled by the Confucian ideology of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, but don't forget that China has a long history.
Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and after the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, and there were countless eras of division and separatism in between!
Who should this loyal and patriotic person love? Loyal to whom?
Cynics claim that the Qing Dynasty has a destiny of destiny, but no one in the previous dynasties did so? Do you really think that you have been in power for thousands of years? The iron-clad historical rules are in front of us, and there is no way to avoid them.
As long as ancient Chinese literati studied history intensively, they would definitely not be able to avoid this issue. However, it would be too scary to study this issue in depth. The ruling court did not want literati to study this.
Especially the Manchu Qing Dynasty who love to engage in literary inquisition. If they find any signs of it, they will definitely kill the Nine Tribes!
Therefore, the humanities of the Qing Dynasty were a bit schizophrenic. On one side, they had the idea of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and on the other side, they studied the change of dynasties. It was really difficult to choose.
Zuo Zongtang is such a troubled person. He is not a confused cynic, but he also doesn't want to be rebellious and bear the reputation of a traitor!
Then you can just act like an ostrich and pretend that the problem doesn’t exist!
But he never expected that the Zeng Guofan he followed, although he was usually taciturn, had already begun to study these sensitive and sharp issues in his heart.
Not only did he research, he even reached a theoretical world of hidden dragons with Xiao Letian!
"It's too scary! You are too scary! Are you here just to tell me that Marshal Zeng and Xiao Letian have joined forces? Are they going to rebel?"
"Hey, hey, hey... stop it, stop it... your idea is really dangerous..." King Shang Tai quickly served Zuo Zongtang, and a large piece of soft beef cloth was placed on the plate.
"What are you thinking about? How old is the Marshal this year? He is currently sitting in the Zhili Governor's Mansion, helping the court to intimidate Xiao Xiao. The stability of the country depends on him!"
"I am telling you this not to rebel... but to tell you how huge the world of real hidden dragons is. Those hidden dragons are planning a big chess game for three generations to come!"
"Many of their inferences and talent arrangements have already been moved closer to a hundred years in the future!"
"It will definitely not work to rebel against the Qing Dynasty at the moment, but it will definitely succeed one day in the future... What I, the descendants of China, have to do is lay a solid foundation for the great changes in the future!"
"Now do you understand the painstaking efforts of the head of state? Take care of this million, there is no hook in the money... To put it more clearly, this million is an investment by the head of state for future generations, a super long-term investment! "
Zuo Zongtang stopped talking. His heart was churning. He wanted to refute but all the words he said felt so weak.
In fact, Zuo Zongtang knew very well that there was always a China in his heart and subconscious, and that was the true spiritual home of Chinese literati!
"Hey... let's talk about your other things first. Didn't you come with three tasks? This is just the first one!"
Note: Thanks to book friends on WeChat for their red envelope support!
Liu Siyuan, Johnny, Jia Hou Chun, Lin Shaowei, Wang Minzhen, Always Can't Wake Up, Steppenwolf, Quasimodo, Sloppy, Ran, Hao, Peerless Good Guy, Jasmine, Xiao Qiang, Bai Ding, Avon, Qiao Xiaoyanxi, Xin , LP, Zenmen, JackIu, Teddy Bear...
The second update is here, and there will be another update in the afternoon!
