In the middle of the 19th century, the disastrous defeat of the Opium War plunged the Qing Dynasty into an existential crisis, embattled with internal and external troubles. The imperial court urgently needed to reform its armaments in order to protect itself.
In the context of this changing era, two famous politicians and military strategists, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, stood out and became the main leaders of the Westernization Movement, also known as the key contributors to the revival of the late Qing Dynasty.
Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, two contemporaries, each have their own leads, but they are also full of open and secret battles. So, what kind of contradictions and grievances exist between these two characters?
What valuable footprints did they leave in history? Today, let's explore the legendary story of this history.
Li Hongzhang's calm and introverted and Zuo Zongtang's upright are two completely different character traits, which also determines that it is difficult for them to appreciate each other. In Zuo Zongtang's eyes, Li Hongzhang's way of leading troops is like a "ruffian", relying on tricks to win, which makes people feel very disdainful.
He also criticized Li Hongzhang's Huai Army, believing that they were only pursuing temporary results and had no real benefit to the country and the people.
Zuo Zongtang was born in poverty, and he has achieved today's status with his diligence and hard work. He looked down on the children of families like Li Hongzhang, who used their family background and means to gain fame.
Li Hongzhang thought that Zuo Zongtang was too straightforward and rigid, called him "too rushing", and thought that he was not tactful enough in the court. He prefers to use tactics and diplomacy to achieve his goals, and Zuo Zongtang's straightforward and hard-line style is not suitable for the court in his opinion.
Zuo Zongtang emphasized the right path, advocated a head-on decisive battle, and tried his best to reduce the harm of civilians. He believes that the responsibility of a soldier is to relieve the people from fire and water, and not to let the people suffer. Li Hongzhang is good at flexibility, and even does not hesitate to use stratagem and foreign forces, as long as he can achieve the goal of victory.
He believes that as long as you can win, the means do not matter. Zuo Zongtang believes that Li Hongzhang's approach may leave hidden dangers and treat the symptoms rather than the root cause. However, Li Hongzhang believes that sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice the small for the big, and the goal can be done at any cost.
These philosophical differences became the fuse of their controversy. Their styles are so different that they are destined to not agree.
In 1864, Zeng Guoquan besieged the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Nanjing, and the Qing court sent Li Hongzhang to meet him. Li Hongzhang was afraid that his work would be robbed, so he prevaricated and pretended to be sick, and it was not until the imperial court urged him to go to Zhejiang to help Zuo Zongtang suppress the bandits.
This history records the contradictions between Li Zuo.
When Li Hongzhang arrived, he not only did not consult with Zuo Zongtang, but instead sent troops to occupy several cities, killed all the prisoners, and plundered the city's property on a large scale.
In this regard, Zuo Zongtang was angry, believing that Li Hongzhang did not cooperate sincerely, but only to snatch military merits and interests. Therefore, he complained directly to the imperial court, accusing Li Hongzhang of "overstepping his authority and stealing merit" and requesting that he be transferred out of Zhejiang.
Since then, the contradiction between the two has deepened, and a competitive situation has formed.
In the process of exterminating the Twist Army, Li Hongzhang easily solved the problem of the Eastern Front, while Zuo Zongtang encountered difficulties in the operation of the Western Front. Both were punished for their exploits.
Zuo Zongtang believed that Li Hongzhang did not do his best to deal with the Eastern Front issue, which led to the Twist army fleeing to Beijing, so he should bear greater responsibility. However, Li Hongzhang argued that it was the defeat of Zuo Zongtang's western front that led to the escape of the Twist army.
The mutual accusations between the two made the conflict public.
The competition between Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang became increasingly fierce after the promotion of official positions. In the eighth year of Tongzhi, Zuo Zongtang served as the governor of Liangjiang and was responsible for pacifying the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He adopted a policy of Huairou, personally went to the grassroots level to recruit peace, and set up schools to train talents, and finally succeeded in suppressing the Susong Taiping Army.
At the same time, Li Hongzhang also established his own power in Jiangsu. He used diplomacy to unite British and French forces to force the Taiping army to surrender through the threat of force. The competition between the two became more and more fierce, and they even wrote to the court to expose each other.
Li Hongzhang repeatedly repeated Zuo Zongtang's mistakes in twisting the chaos, trying to weaken Zuo Zongtang's prestige.
In a letter to his son, Zuo Zongtang alluded to Li Hongzhang's cunning methods, believing that he relied too much on external forces to obtain results, which would do more harm than good in the long run.
The competition between the two is getting fiercer, blaming each other for their faults. Two years later, Zeng Guofan died, and Li Hongzhang, who had lost his mentor, recommended Zuo Zongtang to take over as Zeng Guofan's Minister of Military Aircraft in order to stabilize his position in the court.
He hoped that by winning over Zuo Zongtang, he would resolve the contradictions between them and jointly control the overall situation of the government. After Zuo Zongtang took office, he really did not embarrass Li Hongzhang, and even recommended him to be the minister of Beiyang.