"Stupid" Zeng Guofan

When Zeng Guofan is mentioned, many people will think that he pacified the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, saved the Qing Dynasty, launched the Westernization Movement, and modernized China. In modern society, we can't repeat history. If we can learn anything from Zeng Guofan, it is that Zeng Guofan has proved to us what a person with average qualifications can achieve under the impetus of willpower, and all this can not be separated from Zeng Guofan's "stupidity."

It is said that Zeng Guofan was very diligent when he was a teenager and often stayed up late to study. It is said that on one occasion, he recited an ancient prose, and he still faltered late at night. It turned out that there was a thief in the house, hiding in the beams and waiting for him to sleep for some benefits, but after waiting for a long time, I saw Zeng Guofan tossing and turning on his back. The thief was furious, jumped off the beam and began to laugh: "What books are you reading with such a stupid memory?" The next scene surprised Zeng Guofan. The thief recited the ancient prose fluently and then walked away. Of course, this is just a joke circulated among the people, but it is true that Zeng Guofan took seven subjects and was only admitted to the Jinshi at the age of 23. However, compared with his father's exam 17, it is much better to be a scholar at the age of 43. However, the road of fate has since opened the door for him. After another year, he won another prize, and after another four years, he became a scholar and an academician, and he has made great achievements since then.

Not only did he study at a young age, but Zeng Guofan also adopted the most stupid method in self-study and introspection. He keeps a diary every day, records every little thing he does, checks his words and deeds, and finds anything that does not meet the requirements of saints, so he must identify, reflect and correct it. This is the habit of keeping a diary, and he has persisted all his life. In learning, he also gave full play to the advantage of "clumsiness". When he met one thing, his first thought was not to find cleverness, but to look at it from both positive and negative aspects and ponder and analyze it repeatedly. It is this clumsiness that he can grasp the degree of things and complete the leap from knowledge to knowledge.

Zeng Guofan, as the commander-in-chief of Xiang army, fought by stupid kung fu. His strategy is summed up in six words: "hard camp, boring battle." Every time the Xiang army attacked the city, it always built walls first, then dug trenches and then built flower fences. These triple defenses completely blocked the attack of infantry, cavalry and even artillery, and the whole city was deprived of food and water, which made the heroic Taiping Army retreat again and again. This stupid method has been used for a year or two. When the war ended, the terrain outside the city was changed. Results During the period of 13, Xiang Army and Taiping Army fought. In addition to several attacks on Wuchang, the number of casualties exceeded 3000. At other times, they won with almost minimal casualties. Some people say that Zeng Guofan can play boring games because he has enough effort, but who can deny that Zeng Guofan knew that this kind of game focused on consuming resources and made full preparations accordingly?

? On the surface, it's a simple play, but it's steady, just like Guo Jing's eighteen palms, but rich and invincible. It was Zeng Guofan who chewed up the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom step by step with this stupid kung fu.

Zeng Guofan has a twelve-character standard for employing people, that is, "morality, bureaucracy, multi-organization, and less talking." He values stupidity over cleverness and generally chooses talents. He is often willing to choose people who are witty and flexible, but Zeng Guofan is willing to use people who look clumsy and serious. Most people are willing to choose talents with good eloquence, but Zeng Guofan likes people who are "not good at talking". Officers use fools, and soldiers use fools more. Zeng Guofan's principle of "selecting scholars" is "leading Shan Nong". He never accepts veterans, only simple farmers, wears simple clothes and can bear hardships.

Is to treat subordinates, dealing with internal relations, he is also based on "honesty". Li Hongzhang has a kind of "ruffian spirit", and when he opens his mouth, he lies. Zeng Guofan's camp has a rule that everyone should get up early every day to have breakfast together. Li Hongzhang loves to sleep late, so he lied that he had a headache and couldn't get out of bed. Zeng Guofan sent someone to tell Li Hongzhang that if you didn't come, everyone wouldn't eat, so Li Hongzhang had to come to breakfast in a panic. After dinner, Zeng Guofan said to Li Hongzhang: What I value most here is the word "sincerity", and no one should lie. Li Hongzhang has developed the habit of getting up early all his life.

Zeng Guofan used to be an "idiot". Because of his honesty and frankness, he suffered a lot from being outspoken. For example, after Emperor Xianfeng ascended the throne, he made a show of "seeking words", which was once "a great joy in the world" and made a support in the ruling and opposition circles. Zeng Guofan has pointed out many problems in the bureaucratic system through various channels and called on the emperor to reform thoroughly, but Xianfeng glanced at it and threw it into the wastebasket. Without the following, Zeng Guofan thought that if he wanted to save the Qing empire, he had to wake up the confused emperor, so he actually wrote a letter pointing to Xianfeng's three shortcomings: 1, small things are smart, big things are confused; 2, literature and art are still not practical; 3, headstrong, reneging, Xianfeng flew into a rage and almost put Zeng Guofan in prison. In the era of Xiang army, this "peer" spirit also made him suffer greatly. When the Xiang army was just established, he set up a "judicial bureau" to grasp the power of officials in his own hands and try cases personally. Although the efficiency is extremely high, the people praised it in unison, but it moved the interests of the local government and caused official hatred. Later, because of his kindness, he caused a mutiny of green camp Army, a regular army, and almost lost his life. The humiliation of Changsha forced Zeng Guofan to start a new stove and go to Hengyang to rebuild the Xiang army. Because he had no money and no power, Zeng Guofan had to find a way to collect taxes and raise his salary, but it attracted local officials to take a tit for tat and share a piece of it. Zeng Guofan had to write a letter and disintegrated, so the history of Changsha repeated itself. Zeng Guofan was besieged on all sides and made countless enemies, which was extremely painful.

Clumsy makes it difficult for Zeng Guofan to come into contact with the hidden rules of officialdom, but such people are not proud and will not go all the way to the dark. Because of his clumsiness, he began to learn to sharpen his mind and broaden his tolerance. Three years after Zeng Guofan's father died and went home to be in mourning, he realized through introspection that those who act too rigidly seem to be strong on the surface, but in fact they are weak.

So Zeng Guofan became amiable, modest and thoughtful after his comeback. In the past, he was straightforward and didn't pay much attention to empty talk and rhetoric, but now he is as polite and ostentatious as those mediocre officials and vulgar officials; In the past, he always had the mentality of "everyone is drunk and I wake up alone", but now he tries to tolerate those ugly officialdom survivors and understand their difficulties. He used to be strict in running the army, but now he is combining leniency with severity.

Successful people are not necessarily smart, but they are willing to work hard. I hope we can all be like Zeng Guofan, with the spirit and wisdom that seems to be "stupid" but actually stupid, slow and steady.