Lin Zexu and Mu Zhang'a are definitely enemies. They are not political enemies at all. Zeng Guofan is Mu Zhang'a's disciple, but Zeng Guofan showed some respect for Lin Zexu in his words today.
"Actually, a big event happened during the year I became an official. You may not have thought of this... Queen Victoria also ascended the throne in 1838, the 18th year of Daoguang's reign!"
"Haha... there is indeed cause and effect. Many times these powerful figures are just enemies and creditors in the cycle of fate. It's not that enemies never meet!"
"The turbulent times of the times have driven the enemies of destiny to reincarnate one by one, dominate each other, and then get together to strangle them to death!"
"In that year, I became an official, Queen Victoria ascended the throne, and Lin Zexu was sent to Guangdong to ban smoking... The great changes that Xiao Letian said had not happened in China in three thousand years suddenly began!"
"In 1840, the 20th year of Daoguang, under the influence of Queen Victoria's intervention, the British Parliament passed a resolution on war with a slim majority. In the same year, Lin Zexu fought against a British warship in Guangdong!"
"What was I doing at that time?" Zeng Guofan's tone suddenly became a little excited. "I was a reviewer in the Hanlin Academy! Do you know what review is? It's just to check for typos in articles compiling history books and biographies!"
"I am just a low-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy who made typos!"
"Haha... I lived in Caishikou that year, and the house I lived in was even more remote than now! At that time, I only had a monthly salary of 4 taels and 5 taels, and the annual rent for four houses was 33 taels... I My salary throughout the year is spent on renting a house, and I need help from my family every year to survive!"
"You, Li Tuo, are also a small official, you should know this kind of hardship!"
Of course, Li Tuo knew how difficult it was to live in the capital. It was like breaking a piece of money into two halves. He sighed, "Yes... the court must be dignified, but officials are not allowed to rent large courtyards. It is said that there are Disgraceful!"
"The lack of money forced the officials to rent a single-family house! It was the same in the first few years of my life. I couldn't survive without support from my family!"
Isiha outside the door was dumbfounded. Even if he was a member of the Eight Banners, no matter how dilapidated he was, he would still have to be provided with a house by the Clan Mansion or the House of Internal Affairs. If the women in the family were more aggressive and dared to swear or lift their skirts, they might still be able to get a house. A good house.
This was the first time he had heard of the hardships suffered by these Han petty officials!
Zeng Guofan recalled his past with emotion, "That was a time that I will never forget in my life... The rankless sage in the Hanlin Academy, with the meager salary, did the most boring job, but what he saw was It’s a big deal in the world!”
"We are young! We are hot-blooded! The British invaded us, and we also wrote letters and jointly signed a petition to Long Live... We have to fight! We have to fight the British!"
"We are so majestic that the British have been bullied like this. We can't let go of the anger in our hearts..."
"But what is the use of all our blood? Our signature papers can't even be sent to Long Live... Even if we have some blood, we don't know where to pour it!"
Zeng Guofan beat his chest, as if he wanted to vent the resentment in his heart... It took him a long time to finally regain his breath!
"Later, in the 23rd year of Daoguang's reign, that is, in 1843... the war finally ended, the Humen Treaty was signed, the five-port trade became a foregone conclusion, and the British achieved a complete victory..."
"Haha...hahaha..." Zeng Guofan burst into laughter. "Just this year, another enemy jumped out! It was just this year that Hong Xiuquan started the God-worshipping cult!"
"Hahaha... It's not that enemies don't meet... This is fate! We were reborn in this era to kill each other. Killing each other, heads rolling in... Hahaha..."
After laughing for a long time, the commander gasped, "Since that year... I have understood one truth... People! You must be an official well, you must be a high official well!"
"Otherwise, all your hard work will be in vain, and you will have no use for it! No one wants you! No one will pay attention to you! If you want to do good things, if you want to accumulate virtue and do good, you have to be a high official!"
"It was that year that the imperial court ordered me to go to Sichuan to preside over the provincial examination! Haha... I could advance a thousand taels of travel expenses before departure!"
Zeng Guofan clicked on the fan, "You, Li Tuo, are indeed a smart man... Have you found out all these secret things? That's right, I bought this fan from Sichuan that year..."
"In other words... I didn't discover it on my own initiative... but this fan seemed to be waiting for me somewhere on purpose, actively letting me discover it..."
At this point, Zeng Guofan's face suddenly became extremely strange, and the smile on his lips had a very scary angle. He lowered his voice and said to Li Tuo, "Master Li... do you know? When I become the number one Marshal Zeng in the world... "
"I once sent someone to Sichuan... I want to find the boss who sold me this fan for only fifty taels of silver. I want to thank him properly!"
"By the way, let's take a look at that ignorant boss, and see if there are any leaks in his hands that can be picked up... Hahaha, guess what happened in the end?"
At this time, even Isiha was dumbfounded. His ears were propped up and his eyes were as wide as bells, listening intently!
"Haha... I was shocked by the servant's reply... It turns out... it turns out that the antique shop in my memory... never existed!"
Hiss... At that time, the hairs on Li Tuo and Isiha's bodies stood up. Isiha even exclaimed, "Huh? No more... a ghost shop?"
Zeng Guofan nodded, "I thought that the store had closed down over the years... But after my close servants inquired carefully, they discovered that all the old people of several generations living in the neighborhood..."
"None of them have heard of that store... In other words, that store only exists in my memory... No one in Chengdu knows that there is such a store!"
Good guy... Li Tuo clearly felt a chill running down his spine, and his legs were shaking involuntarily. "Big... Marshal... you... are you kidding me..."
Zeng Guofan relaxed and leaned his back on the chair and took a sip of tea. "At my age... are there any benefits to lying to you?"
Li Tuo no longer knew what to say. He wanted to take a sip of hot tea to calm himself down, but found that his hands were shaking badly.
Zeng Guofan looked at Li Tuo and smiled, "Oh... they say you serve tea to see off guests. Are you, Mr. Li, going to see off my guests?"
According to the rules of the officialdom in the Qing Dynasty, when a subordinate official visited his superior, he was not allowed to drink the tea brought by the subordinates. The subordinate officials could only obey the superior's instructions in a polite manner.
When the superior officer picks up the tea in front of him, the servants will know that the master is about to see off the guests, and this is where the phrase "bring tea to see off the guests" comes from.
When the subordinate sees the superior serving tea, he should say nothing and leave immediately!
Today, Li Tuo made Zeng Guofan completely lose his temper. He actually reached out to drink tea. This has become an official joke!
Zeng Guofan waved his hand and said with a smile, "Drink, I don't have such big rules... You are a young man, don't be so timid!"
"You also know what happened next. I gave the fan to the master...and then I started to get promoted! I was promoted to the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a proper second-grade official!"
"The Ministry of Personnel...are you good or not? The Hongyamen is in charge of the promotion of officials all over the world!"
