After reading this title, some people may laugh: Zeng Guofan is from the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Ju is from the Ming Dynasty, and the age is far apart, what is the comparison between the two?
Although the two are people of different dynasties, the former was born more than two hundred years later than the latter, but as people who also do the best, the two still have many similarities:
Both of them have been smart and studious people since childhood. Zeng Guofan was diligent and studious since childhood, entered a private school at the age of six, could read four books and recite the Five Classics at the age of eight, and could read "Zhou Li" and "Historical Records" at the age of fourteen; Zhang Juzheng was literate at the age of five, could pass the Six Classics at the age of seven, was admitted to Xiucai at the age of twelve, participated in the township examination at the age of thirteen, and was promoted at the age of sixteen. (Editor's note: Zhang Juzheng has indeed been a prodigy since he was a child and is famous everywhere; But Zeng Guofan is an out-and-out "stupid child", and his success is all due to diligence and studiousness. ）
Both of them have made great achievements after stepping into their careers.
Zeng Guofan was a modern Chinese politician, physicist, and writer. Together with Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, and Zhang Zhidong, he was called the "Four Famous Ministers" of the late Qing Dynasty. He had a profound impact on the politics, military, culture, and economy of the late Qing Dynasty.
At the initiative of Zeng Guofan, the Qing Dynasty built China's first steamship, established the first military engineering school, printed and translated the first batch of Western books, and arranged for the first batch of students to study in the United States. It can be said that Zeng Guofan was a pioneer in China's modernization.
And Zhang Ju was a politician and reformer in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and the first assistant of the cabinet in the Wanli period. He assisted the Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun to create the "Wanli New Deal". During his 10-year tenure as Cabinet Minister, he implemented a series of reforms. The implementation of the "one whip law", the general endowment, service, are paid in silver, so that the imperial court "Taicang Su can support ten years, Zhou Temple accumulation gold, to more than four million".
Militarily, he appointed famous generals such as Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang to the north of the town, and used Ling Yunyi and Yin Zhengmao to quell the rebellion in the southwest. In the administration of officials, he adopted the "examination method" to assess officials at all levels, so that the imperial court decrees "although thousands of miles away, they will be pursued from the bottom to the bottom."
However, the endings of the two are very different. Zeng Guofan cultivated himself all his life, sought officials with virtue, and achieved success in being a man and an official. He was the governor of Liangjiang, the governor of Zhili, and a scholar of Wuyingdian University, and was named a first-class marquis of Yiyong, nicknamed "Wenzheng", and later called "Zeng Wenzheng".
And Zhang Juzheng was admitted to the Jinshi at the age of 23. In the first year of Longqing (1567), he served as the left attendant of the Ministry of Officials and a scholar of Dongkaku University. Later, he was transferred to the second assistant of the cabinet and served as the secretary of the ministry. In the sixth year of Longqing (1572), after Emperor Wanli ascended the throne, Zhang Juzheng served as the first assistant on behalf of Gao Gong. At that time, Mingshenzong Zhu Yijun was young, and all major military and political affairs were presided over by Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng died in the tenth year of Wanli (1582), only fifty-eight years old, after his death, his home was raided, and he was almost exhumed and whipped, which can be described as a tragic ending.
Why do two people have such different endings? I think it has something to do with the attitude of two people in the face of power. In front of ** Houlu, Zeng Guofan is always sober-minded. He is not only cautious, low-key, and serious in his work, but also requires his family to be low-key.
Zeng Guofan's father is called Zeng Linshu, and he is honest, but after his son became a big official in the capital, more and more relatives and friends came to his hometown due to various appeals. The old man is a little vanity, and the second is that he is in love, and he is inevitably a little eager to try.
After Zeng Guofan found out, he wrote a letter to persuade his father, saying that you are a decent squire, and you should not have too much contact with the petty officials and officials in your hometown, and do not often run into the yamen. Be low-key, don't be casual, and as soon as this door opens, people who ask for you will come one after another, how can you take care of it? It's better to decline them all.
The father accepted his son's persuasion, and Dumen thanked him. And Zhang Juzheng is different. As the first assistant in power, he is stubborn and self-serving, has many enemies, and is also laissez-faire to his family. He knew that his father was acting recklessly in his hometown and was tyrannical, but he still defended his father unprincipledly, "the son is hidden from the father".
Zhang Juzheng's father's name is Zhang Wenming, because his son became a big official, he was angry in his hometown. He was a very high-profile person, oppressing the people, interfering in the judiciary, and doing all kinds of illegal and undisciplined things. Let whoever you want go to jail, and you can get whomever you want.
What's even more outrageous is that in order to curry favor with Zhang Juzheng, the local ** took the initiative to build a mansion for the Zhang family, and actually let the royal ** of the Ming Dynasty - Jinyiwei be a construction worker. This is a big taboo, but Zhang Wenming feels good about himself.
As a result, "if you do too much injustice, you will kill yourself", Zhang Juzheng was in power for a while during his lifetime, but after his death, he was robbed of his home, and even almost was exhumed and whipped. Of course, this is related to Zhang Juzheng's being too rigid and self-serving and making too many enemies during his lifetime, but it is also inseparable from his unruly father.
As the old saying goes: "With copper as a mirror, you can be dressed properly; With the ancient as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall; With people as a mirror, you can see the gains and losses. ”Zeng Guofan was just a feudal official, but he cultivated himself all his life and sought officials with virtue, and his father could also listen to the admonition to be a low-key person, which is very worthy of learning from today's people.
Manuscript** Selected Essays