Why did Zeng Guofan befriend Zuo?

Wang Hu, a native of Xiangxiang, is a pushy person. This man is a chicken, quick-thinking, articulate, articulate and loud, and always surpasses others in arguments. At any time, he wants to be the focus of people's attention and attract people's attention with endless words. Of all the generals, he is the most striking one. Steady Lu Changyou and taciturn Li don't have to compare with him. Even the two princes, Zuo and Hu Linyi, who are famous for their eloquence, can't compare with his excitement. No wonder, in the third year of Xianfeng, when the Xiang army rose, Wang Jing was only a 28-year-old boy, much younger than other Xiang veterans, and it was difficult to have their hidden self-restraint.

Jing Wong is not only talkative, but also conceited and clever. His boasting and conceit will certainly arouse the dissatisfaction of China scholars who are self-modest. Some people in Xiang Group are dissatisfied with him, and what annoys him most is probably Prince Zeng Guofan. But Wang Hu's conceit does not belong to the grandiose category that Zeng Guofan said. Wang Jing is really capable and extraordinary. He has profound martial arts attainments. He is not only good at military training, but also proficient in strategy and tactics. This is not only because of the teacher's teaching, but also because of Wang's talent. Among his disciples in Luo Zenan, he has the strongest temperament and the most diligent martial arts. Luo Zenan once asserted that only Jing Wong could become a celebrity. Although it turns out that this statement is too modest, it also shows that Luo Zenan has the strongest confidence in Wang Bi.

Jing Wong is not only talented, but also a doer. Although he is young, Ying Yong Xiang Yong is older than Zeng Guofan. In Xiangxiang County, in terms of qualifications, Li should rank first, and Wang Hu can be tied for second place. Zeng Guofan came into contact with the Yong Yong Tuan when he was the deputy minister of Hunan Yong Yong Tuan, and Wang Jing was a famous Yong Yong Tuan expert in Xiangxiang County at that time.

In April of the second year of Xianfeng, the Taiping Army entered Hunan, and Zhu Ji was transferred to this county. Wang Wei took the initiative to plead with him and volunteered to be responsible for resisting the northern Taiping Army forever. He said that Hong Xiuquan's army was unstoppable and could only be blocked by Xiang Yong. If the magistrate of a county can give him 1000 heroes, he is willing to take the boys from his hometown to southern Hunan to kill the enemy. Wang Wei and Zhu hit it off and organized together. At this time, Hunan Governor Luo was actively deploying defenses in various places and issued instructions to Xiangxiang County, demanding that Zhu surrender. With the support of governments at all levels, Wang Jing immediately went to the door of the county government in the city to summon up courage. Wang Wei is just a scholar, but he works harder than the military attache, mobilizing everywhere and calling on the people to arm themselves and prepare for war. Everyone thinks the young man is hot-headed. Wang Yun later recalled: "At that time, those smart people didn't laugh at Wang!"

This time, although the formation of Xiang Yong was carried out under the direct leadership of the government, it was still quite difficult. At the beginning of the army, money was needed, and the government did not allocate funds. The item has neither rations nor weapons. Where does the silver come from? It all depends on mobilizing the squire to pay. Jing Wong had to give full play to his eloquence to argue with the rich.

Wang Wei raised money everywhere and worked hard to formulate the army-building system and order. Every day, he and Luo Zenan formed a team, called friends and other disciples to lead the training respectively, and Wang Luo sometimes personally guided them. It is very difficult to train farmers into soldiers. Jing Wong taught dance steps and techniques one after another. After teaching a person well, let him stand in a row with an abacus bead in his mouth. Then invite someone to come over and teach from the beginning. After all the teaching, Jing Wong put on his military uniform and took to the stage. Chen said he was loyal, filial and generous, which inspired the audience.

With Zhu's support, he and Wang Wei formed two battalions. Then, they went to various towns and villages to choose Ding from house to house as the armed force to defend the county seat for training. There are eight regiments in the county, and each regiment has a regiment.

Sun Yi, Luo Zenan and Wang Wei set off the climax of collective practice in Xiangxiang. Soon after, the number of village soldiers and people familiar with tactics on all fronts increased to more than 65,438+10,000. In Xiangxiang, the ethos that the masses should be eternal has been inherited by all parts of Hunan, and Baoqing, Liuyang, Chenzhou, Luxi and other counties have also established Yingyong.

At the end of the second year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan was appointed as the vice minister of Yingyong, Hunan. As a native of Xiangxiang, his first thought is to rely on Xiangxiang Yong as his basic strength. But as the leader of Xiangxiang Yong, Wang Hu was dissatisfied with Zeng Guofan from the beginning. When the backbone of the regiment was discussing Mr. Zeng, Wang Jing said, "This man has been an official in Beijing for a long time. He always sends official documents and talks like an official. I really don't like it! There is still more than half a sentence to tell him. " Zeng Guofan can feel that Wang Bo doesn't like himself. He offered to take Wang Bo as an apprentice, but Wang Bo said, "My teacher is only Luoshan!" Seeing Zeng Guofan and worrying about his poor leadership, I don't want him to lead troops. So the relationship between the two people is very stiff. General manager Wang Jing, with his own brave team, was ordered by Governor Luo of Hunan Province.

However, Wang Wei was unlucky. 1February, 854, Xianfeng sent troops to fight the Taiping Army for the first time and was defeated. It's not bad luck to be frustrated on the battlefield. Most unfortunately, he invaded with Zeng Guofan's Xiang army, and Zeng Guofan got off to a bad start. On the surface, it seems that Wang Hu's failure influenced Zeng Guofan and made Xiang lose his image in his first expedition. This brought Zeng Guofan's anger to Wang Wei.

At that time, the Taiping Army besieged Wuchang, sent troops south to attack Yuezhou, then south to Xiangyin, sent troops to land and captured Ningxiang. Zeng Guofan personally led seventeen thousand people from Hengzhou to the north, and Luo Ze led the troops to Xiangyin. When the Taiping Army saw the loyalist going north, it automatically withdrew from Xiangyin and Yuezhou. After Wang Wei defeated the local party in Xiangyin, he immediately entered Yuezhou. Because of underestimating the enemy, he continued to advance northward, intending to recover Chongyang and Tongcheng in Hubei in one breath. The striker he sent met the Taiping rebels who attacked south in Yang Lou Temple. After the battle, I retreated a little. Wang Jing led the main force to arrive, repelled the Taiping Army and rescued the striker. But at this time it was getting late, the item was hungry and exhausted, and the main force of Taiping Army came from all directions, which caused heavy losses. The Taiping Army immediately boarded the ship and sailed into Yuezhou in the north wind. Wang Jing hurried back to guarding city. Zeng Guofan's Ministry, Zou Shouzhang, warned Wang Wei that Yuezhou was an empty city with no food and no defense. Wang Wei refused to listen and insisted on keeping it. The next day, the main force of Taiping Army began to attack the city. Wang Wei went to war and was defeated by the Taiping Army.

Taiping rebels stepped up their siege and cut off the contact between Wang Jing and Ceng Jun. Xiang Junyong didn't eat for a day and fought fiercely with Wang Wei in the city. There is no chance of winning. Wang Wei sent messengers to Zeng Guofan's navy and asked them to land and attack. However, Ceng Jun's naval division was damaged by strong winds, lost half of its troops, and retreated from the south, so it was unable to come to reinforce. A tired and hungry, it is hard to resist. Zeng Guofan sent a boat to pick them up and withdrew. Wang Hu was ashamed and resentful, and planned to commit suicide. He was surrounded by various ministries to break through. This battle killed more than a dozen people, such as camp officials Zhong Jinlian and Liu, all of whom were scholars and friends of the army. Wang Wei wrote to Luo, demanding that he be punished, and asked him to collect scattered foot soldiers and continue fighting. Luo reported to the court and was approved: "Wang Wei was dismissed immediately after his defeat. The subordinates are still diligent in suppressing thieves and let them be brave and atone. "

Although Zeng Guofan saved Wang Wei, because his own defeat coincided with Wang Wei's defeat, he took this defeat very seriously and severely reprimanded Wang Wei, so he should be severely punished. Due to Luo and Zuo's deep sympathy and support for the frustrated young man, they became

Shortly after the defeat of Yuezhou, Zeng Guofan was defeated again, but this time Wang Hu was not involved. On April 2, four years in Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan attacked Jinggang, resulting in heavy losses. In sharp contrast, on the same day, Taqibu reinforced Xiangtan from Ningxiang and won a great victory in World War I. At this time, Wang Jing was near Xiangtan and had been incorporated into hundreds of people in this department. When he saw the Taiping Army retreating from Xiangtan and fleeing upstream, he immediately led the troops to intercept and annihilate a part of the Taiping Army. 10 days later, in the joint letter of Luo and Zeng Guofan, they mentioned the two armistice, which wrote:

Guan Zeng and Tongzhi were promoted to chasing thieves under the bridge and killing 42 thieves. At the beginning of the 6th, he was ambushed in Lujiaba, killing more than 300 thieves and capturing more than 20 people.

The ultimate finisher of this memorial is Zuo. It is said that this passage about Wang Jing's exploits is much higher than Zeng Guofan's manuscript, and it is suspected of exaggerating a small victory. It should be noted that Zeng Guofan's defeat in Jinggang was reported in this memorial, but Wang Jing, whom Zeng Guofan hated, appeared in it as a winner, which made Zeng Guofan very unhappy. He complained that Zuo changed the throne without authorization, because Zuo was only Luo's apple polisher and had no right to play the name of the emperor. The purpose of his revision of the manuscript is undoubtedly out of sympathy and love for Wang Wei, and he is suspected of deliberately being an enemy of Zeng Guofan. Many people think that this is the original source of the discord between Zeng Guofan and the left.

From then on, Wang Wei was independent of Zeng Guofan's department and obeyed Luo's command. He and Zuo became good friends. As the saying goes, everything has its vanquisher. Proud as he is, he is willing to follow the instructions of the left. According to the command of this tout, the two of them always cooperate tacitly. After Wang Hu's death, Zuo has been obsessed with him. In the tenth year of Xianfeng, Zuo relied heavily on Wang Jing's brothers and men, and started with the military legacy "Old Xiang Army" left by Wang Jing, and was able to make great achievements. Wang Hu died young and lived only 32 years old. Left extended the meaning of his life and made his influence spread throughout the 40-year history of Xiang Army.