Weng Tonghe was born in luoquan Hutong, Shima Street, Beijing on April 27th in the 10th year of Daoguang reign (1830). Weng's family lives in Changshu County, Suzhou (now Jiangsu Province). Weng Tonghe's father, Weng Xincun, is famous for two words and is a scholar. He used to be the minister of rites, the minister of housing and industry, the bachelor of imperial academy, the owner of Tijen Museum, and the master of the upper study, giving lectures to Prince Gong, Wang Chen, Wang Hui and Zhong. In his later years, he served as the director of Tongzhi Emperor, and was an important minister of Daoguang and Xianfeng Dynasties. Weng Tonghe's mother Xu was born in a bureaucratic family. Since childhood, she has been familiar with poetry and the Book of Changes, and knows the Five Classics like the back of her hand, especially reading history books. After Xu's marriage, Weng Xincun worked as an official in Beijing for a long time and didn't go home often. She did all the housework alone. Weng Tonghe has four brothers and sisters. Eldest brother is a fellow scholar, named Zu Geng, No.1 pharmacy, Daoguang Jinshi, official to Anhui Governor. The second brother, with the same rank, was once the governor of Shaanxi and Hubei and the governor of Huguang. Both brothers have certain knowledge, and Weng Tonghe is deeply influenced. The two sisters are also very clever, and the elder sister Zhu Shou is especially clever. Her poems and books are unforgettable. Weng Tonghe is the youngest of the brothers and sisters and is loved by them. Before Weng Tonghe was four years old, his father had been a student in Sichuan, Jiangxi and other provinces, and his family followed him, so his life was not very stable. During this period, his mother and elder sister taught him to read Sanzi Jing and thousands of poems, recited dozens of Tang and Song poems and Wu Meicun poems, and began his enlightenment education. At the age of six, his father returned to Beijing to work, and Weng Tonghe went to a private school. In the first two years of private school, his homework was tutored by his elder sister in the morning and evening, and the four books, five classics and Shi Mao were taught by her own elder sister.
When Weng Tonghe was eight years old, his father resigned and went back to his hometown to support his mother. He also went back to his hometown. In his hometown, he passed adolescence. Weng Tonghe has lived in his hometown for more than 10 years, taking advantage of the rich collection of books at home, and remembering Ren Wei Dong Yu's famous saying "study for more than three years" (in winter, it is sunny at night and sunny when it rains), he buried himself in reading all day. During the Qingming Festival, spring blossoms, and many children wear red and green clothes and travel abroad, but he has never left his study except with his father and brother. In summer, the temperature rises, and he is sweating like rain, but he still can't put it down; After four episodes of Mosquito, he put an empty urn in the case, put his foot in it and read more than one episode. In the severe winter, they held bronze stoves and chanted endlessly. He read and browsed more than 100 works of pre-Qin philosophers and eight masters in Tang and Song Dynasties, which laid a solid learning foundation. When Weng Tonghe was nine years old, he took a boy test and was admitted to the county Youwen Academy. His father was the keynote speaker. Here, he often gets together with his classmates and learns from each other. Weng Tonghe likes to talk about the laws and regulations of past dynasties, especially those of Zhou Li. He believes that the truth told by Duke Zhou and Confucius can also work today, and the scholars are determined to follow the example of Duke Zhou and Confucius. His comments are often criticized by his classmates. Weng Tonghe insists on his own opinions and often argues with them.
While studying in Youwen Academy, Weng Tonghe also made friends with calligraphers from Changshu and Zhaowen (in the second year of Yongzheng, Changshu County was established in 1724, and it was merged into Changshu in 19 12). The study of rubbings laid a certain foundation for his later calligraphy.
Weng Tonghe gradually became famous in the village because of his talent, hard work and family influence, as he himself said: "Young people are first-class."
During his stay in the countryside, Weng Tonghe, under the guidance of his father and brother, began to write eight-part essays, ready to take the road of studying and becoming an official. Just as he embarked on the road of official career, in May of the 20th year of Daoguang (1840), the first Opium War broke out between China and Britain. In the twenty-first year of Daoguang (184 1), in June, the British invading army broke into Wusongkou fortress, the gateway of the Yangtze River, which shocked Jiangnan, and the people moved away with their families. Weng Tonghe's family took refuge in Suzhou (now Jiangsu). In Suzhou, Weng Tonghe visited Duan Yuan, the former residence of Fan Zhongyan, a great statesman in the Song Dynasty, and Baiyun Temple, the ancestral temple, and engraved Fan Zhongyan's famous saying "Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later". Three months later, the whole family returned to Changshu and lived a quiet life for less than a year. In the 22nd year of Daoguang (1842), in May, the British invaded the Yangtze River, and the defenders scattered along the river, and the people fled for their lives. Weng Tonghe's family fled again and took refuge in Yujiabin, Diaozhu, South Township, Changshu City. Diaozhudu is not far from the former residence of Qu, an anti-Qing hero in the late Ming Dynasty, and only a few miles from the secluded Tang Yulian well. In Diaozhudu, his father once again told him the story of Qu He Gu's heroic resistance to the Qing Dynasty, which further sprouted his patriotic thoughts.
In July of the 22nd year of Daoguang, the Qing government and the British invaders signed the Sino-British treaty of nanking, which humiliated the country, and the first Opium War between China and Britain ended. In August, the British troops withdrew from the Yangtze River, and Weng Tonghe's family returned to Changshu City. As soon as the days settled down, unfortunate things followed. Within a year, the whole family lost three lives. First, the eldest sister died in childbirth, then the second sister Yang died of illness, and soon the grandmother died. When the elder sister died, Weng Tonghe was taking a government exam in Suzhou. The bad news came that he abandoned his pen and left the examination room to go home for the funeral. The death of elder sister dealt a great blow to Weng Tongqing. He once stayed in bed for many days, and his personality became depressed and silent, but he still did not slack off in his studies. In the twenty-five years of Daoguang (1845), Weng Tonghe was a doctoral student in a middle school. The following year, Weng Tonghe took the official exam again to make up the students.
In the spring of the 30th year of Daoguang (1850), Weng Xinheng was recalled to work in Beijing, and Weng Tonghe accompanied his parents to Beijing. That year, just in time for the Tribute Examination and Tribute Examination held by the Ministry of Justice, Weng Tonghe took part in these two examinations, both of which won the first place, and was named as a seven-product Beijing official and worked in the Ministry of Punishment. Weng Tonghe is not satisfied with this, but continues to work hard. After serving, he devoted all his energy to studying classics, practicing regular script and writing eight-part essay. Xianfeng two years (1852), 22 years old, senior high school entrance examination. In the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), that is, when he was 26 years old, when the second Opium War broke out and the peasant revolutionary movement in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was surging, he took the Tingkao and took one in every exam.
Second, I have served as an examiner for many times to select talents for the country.
After winning the first prize, Weng Tonghe was awarded the title of book revision, worked in imperial academy and participated in the study in Jishi Shu.
In June of the eighth year of Xianfeng (1858), Weng Tong Jie, who was studying in Jishi Shu, was appointed as the deputy examiner by Emperor Xianfeng and was ordered to try Shaanxi. The examiner is Pan Zuyin, Weng Tonghe's good friend. This is a great honor for Weng Tonghe. But it didn't arouse much enthusiasm, because his beloved wife Tang died not long ago, and Weng Tonghe was still immersed in grief. However, the sacred order is inviolable, and according to the regulations, the examiner must arrive at the test center on time, allowing no delay.
At the end of July, Weng Tonghe tried his best to restrain himself, packed his bags, bid farewell to relatives and friends, and embarked on a journey to Shaanxi with Pan Zuyin.
Weng and Pan set out from Zhili, passed through Shaanxi, and arrived in Hui 'an, Shaanxi Province after nearly a month's journey.
In mid-August, when the exam began, Weng and Pan sat in the classroom as examiners and toured the whole examination room. The requirements are extremely strict.
Weng Tonghe fell ill, caught a cold and had a fever, and stayed up all night. But in order to repay the emperor's kindness, he endured the illness and insisted on reading the recommendation book until he finished the third trial.
When the list was published, it was reported that Zhang Peiji, the candidate who won the third place, plagiarized other people's papers. Weng and Pan were ordered by Qiu, and they wrote that Zhang should be removed from the list. Weng Tonghe was extremely indignant at what Zhang had done. He wanted to reprimand him severely, but later he learned that Zhang was over 60, more than 20 years older than himself, so he had to give up. Afterwards, Weng Tonghe deeply felt that stereotyped writing had its shortcomings, and at the same time expressed some sympathy for people trapped in Sun Shan.
At the end of August, the imperial examination in Shaanxi ended, and the examiner who was about to return appreciated Weng Tonghe's calligraphy and asked him to write an inscription as a souvenir. At this time, although Weng Tonghe's illness has not yet recovered, he has lived up to expectations and splashed ink. He wrote for a few days, which made his illness worse. After many nurseries, he can't get up until the end of September. At this time, an imperial edict flew to Xi 'an, and Weng Tonghe was appointed as the student government of Shaanxi Province to inspect the examinations of students in various provinces and counties in Shaanxi Province.
At the beginning of October, Weng Tonghe took office sick, covering 800 miles of Sichuan. After more than two months of hard work, he completed his studies in December of the eighth year of Xianfeng (1858). In view of his illness, he wrote to apply for a job vacancy.
In January of the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), the emperor gave Weng Tonghe the post and returned to Beijing to recuperate. In February, Weng Tonghe went to Beijing from Shaanxi. I returned to Beijing at the end of March.
In the third year after returning to Beijing, in the first year of Tongzhi (1862), Weng Tonghe was appointed as an examiner after obtaining the provincial examination. Since then, he has participated in Wenheng for many times and served as an examiner for many times. Therefore, his proteges have spread all over the government and selected a large number of talents for the Qing Dynasty.
Third, walking in Hongde Hall is trusted by the Empress Dowager.
On the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865) and 10/4, Empress Dowager Ci 'an and Empress Cixi ordered Weng Tonghe to walk for the Hongde Hall, and together with Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, Mr. imperial academy, and Xu Tong, deputy editor-in-chief of the Recording Hall, he was responsible for the treatment of people who were only 10 years old. Being an imperial envoy is the imperial court's esteem and trust for Weng Tonghe. Weng Tonghe was very happy and told the two queens that he would do his best to assist the emperor and repay his kindness.
1October 17, Weng Tonghe, Woren and Xu Tong went to the palace to give lectures for the first time. At dawn, Weng Tonghe came to Hongde Hall and waited for the driver, followed by Woren and Xu Tong. As soon as the Emperor Tongzhi arrived, Weng Tonghe and others immediately stepped forward to give gifts to the monarch and his subjects. Emperor Tongzhi shouted "Master", and then the monarch and his subjects hurried into the study. The emperor Tongzhi sat on both sides, and the master sat on things, and the day's teaching officially began.
On this day, the first batch of students were Woren and Xu Tong, who taught relevant chapters of Shangshu and Mencius. After dinner, Weng Tonghe went on to teach. What he said was "Learn from the Emperor's Picture". This book goes deeper, but with illustrations. In view of the young characteristics of Tongzhi emperor, Weng Tonghe gave a simple explanation, which made Tongzhi emperor listen with relish and deeply admired Weng Tonghe's knowledge. Weng Tonghe succeeded in teaching for the first time.
Weng Tonghe taught the Emperor Tongzhi the Instructions of the Sage, the Founding of the Qing Dynasty, Historical Records, Shi Mao and the Book of Filial Piety, and instructed the Emperor Tongzhi to study poetry.
Weng Tonghe knew that the students he taught were not ordinary people, but a generation of emperors. The success of classics is directly related to the rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty, which is no small matter. Therefore, he taught them very carefully. Go home at midnight (around 4 am) and at noon (around 5 pm) every day. All year round, except for being sick, I do this almost every day, and sometimes I even talk with my illness. Sometimes, in order to find out a problem, I find a book and go all over the bookstores in Beijing. In order to enable the emperor to learn to write poetry, he specially edited Selected Readings of Tang Poetry, copied it himself, and gave it to the Tongzhi emperor to take back to his palace for reading. When Emperor Tongzhi had difficulty in reading ancient Chinese, he recorded a collection of function words in classical Chinese and attached examples for Emperor Tongzhi to read. Due to the poor handwriting of Emperor Tongzhi, Weng Tonghe personally went to the pen shop and bought two excellent pens for Emperor Tongzhi. He is also very particular about educational methods. When he saw that the emperor was mentally exhausted, he stopped teaching and let the emperor take a walk in the palace to relieve fatigue. Emperor Tongzhi said it was too difficult to make a theory, so he suggested that the master should make a few paragraphs first, and Weng Tonghe did so. Weng Tonghe not only made great efforts in teaching reading, but also dared to call a spade a spade and dissuade all practices that hindered the Tongzhi emperor from reading, even those of the empress dowager. Therefore, Weng Tonghe's teaching was praised by Emperor Tongzhi and Empress Dowager, praising him for "teaching well" and "being diligent in value".
When Weng Tonghe entered the Hongde Hall, he was also ordered to go to hall of mental cultivation to tell the Queen Mother about the relevant chapters of Zhiping Baojian. For Weng Tonghe, it is more glorious to speak to the queen mother, two officials who have real power in listening to politics, than to the young and ignorant Tongzhi emperor. But once a mistake is made, it will not only make people laugh, but also destroy the people and ruin their reputation. So on the eve of the first lecture to the Queen Mother, he went through what he wanted to say and stayed up almost all night. The topic of his first speech was "Song Xiaozong and Minister Chen Junqing's Acceptance of Emperor Taizong's Suggestions". In the lecture, Weng Tonghe repeatedly expounded the relationship between monarch and national interests, such as coachable, Li Xian and Corporal. The lecture was not only polite and generous, but also clear in thinking, fluent in language and accurate in analysis, which satisfied the Queen Mother and the princes present. Since then, he has also told the Empress Dowager of the two palaces 15 topics about the political deeds of the Emperor Song, Jin, Yuan and Ming Dynasties. When talking about these topics, he combined history and reality, according to what he saw and heard, truthfully stated, boldly criticized the shortcomings of the dynasty at that time, and put forward corresponding correction suggestions, many of which were later adopted. It is rare that he dares to speak frankly and make suggestions.
Ten years of Tongzhi (187 1), while Weng Tonghe was making further efforts to attend classes, his mother Xu died of illness. Weng Tonghe was allowed to go back to his hometown to attend the funeral service and leave the study room of Hongdetang until the funeral service expired in the thirteenth year of Tongzhi (1874), and returned to Beijing to resume his post.
When Weng Tonghe entered Hongdeyin, he was trusted by the emperor and queen mother because of his cleverness and ability, and was repeatedly used. Tongzhi for four years (1865), was ordered to read Wenzong record. Usually, only princes and college students are qualified to read the records of former emperors. Officially, Yu Zhongyun, the honorary official, took over the lecture, then toasted imperial academy, and in the 12th year of Tongzhi (1873), he was promoted to Zhengqing of Taibu Temple, and was rewarded with a top hat. It's really smooth sailing, climbing step by step.
Four or two Cao cases that were put into prison as criminals according to law.
In August of the first year of Guangxu (1875), Weng Tonghe was ordered to temporarily replace the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice. It was not until the beginning of the second year of Guangxu (1876) that he served as the master of Emperor Guangxu for four months. Although the time was short, Weng Tonghe insisted on handling cases according to law within a limited time and did a lot of work. Among them, the case of Yang Naiwu Pakchoi, one of the four major cases in the late Qing Dynasty, has the greatest influence.
This strange case is like this: Ge Pinlian, a waiter in a tofu shop in Yuhang County, Hangzhou (now Zhejiang Province), married Bi Xiuying in the spring of the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873). Bi is born beautiful and likes to wear green clothes and white aprons. People nicknamed him "Chinese cabbage". After Ge and Bi got married, they rented a house, became new family members and lived together. Shortly after Yang Naiwu's wife died, the two families had frequent contacts, and Yang Naiwu and Chinese cabbage also had separate contacts, but there was nothing immoral. Ge Pinlian died suddenly in the early winter of Tongzhi 13th year (1874). Ge's mother suspected that her daughter-in-law and her husband had conspired to kill her, and she was sent to Yuhang County for trial.
Liu Xitong, the magistrate of Yuhang County, took over the case and sent someone to lead three class officials to open the coffin for autopsy, confirming that Ge Pinlian died of poisoning. So Liu Xitong ordered the arrest of Chinese cabbage, and Chinese cabbage confessed that he didn't know. Liu Xitong ordered torture, Chinese cabbage or frankly don't know. Liu Haisheng, the son of Liu Xitong, idled and seduced Chinese cabbage. County magistrate He Chunfang also tried to rape Ge Bi, but failed. Liu Haisheng and He Chunfang were afraid that the confession of Pakchoi would implicate them, so they threatened Pakchoi that as long as she confessed to conspiring with Yang Naiwu to murder her husband, she would be exempted from the death penalty, otherwise the crime would be aggravated. However, Chinese cabbage was punished and had to admit that Ge Pinlian had conspired with Yang Naiwu to poison it, as Liu Haisheng and Chen Chun-Who specified. Liu Xitong ordered the arrest of Yang Naiwu to the court, but Yang Naiwu refused to admit it. In order to protect his son, Liu Xitong reported the forged autopsy records and interrogation records to the Hangzhou municipal government and demanded a "second trial". Chen Lu, the county magistrate, did not confirm this. According to the materials provided by Liu Xitong, Yang Naiwu was tortured, and Yang Naiwu was unbearable and had to confess. The government reported to the province again and planned to execute Chinese cabbage and Yang Naiwu.
Yang Changrui, the governor of Zhejiang Province, personally tried the case, but it was difficult for Pakchoi and Yang Naiwu to reverse their conviction and retract their confessions. Yang Changrui once sent officials to Yuhang County to investigate, but because his officials were bribed by Liu Xitong, Yang Changrui listened to empty talk and reported to the punishments according to the charges raised by Hangzhou government. At this point, Yang Naiwu wrote a handwritten confession in prison, exposing the misdeeds of Liu Haisheng, son of Yuhang county magistrate Liu Xitong, and He Chunfang, the county magistrate, on Chinese cabbage, and tried to give this handwritten confession to his sister Ye Shi Yang. Ye and his later wife, Yang Zhanshi, went to Beijing to sue with a "yellow list" (unjust list). After Ye and Yang Zhanshi went to Beijing, they suffered a lot. The punishments accepted the case and considered it suspicious. The imperial edict was handed over to the Governor of Zhejiang for personal examination. During the review, both Yang Naiwu and Pakchoi retracted their confessions, and the Governor of Zhejiang found the case difficult, so he shelved it. It was not until the first year of Guangxu (1875) that Yang Zhanshi and Ye repeatedly went to Beijing to redress their grievances, and the official department raised an objection to Wang Shurui, a Zhejiang-born Beijing official, and asked for another interrogation. Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the punishments to examine it as soon as possible.
At this time, among the six officials of the Ministry of Justice, for various reasons, only Weng Tonghe was in power. Weng Tonghe read the relevant materials about the case of Yang Naiwu and Chinese cabbage in detail, and found many doubts, so he decided not to perform for the time being.
In order to thoroughly find out the ins and outs of the case, Weng Tonghe conducted an in-depth and detailed investigation. He visited many colleagues familiar with case law and Zhejiang officials in Beijing to discuss the case with them and ask their opinions on the case. After investigation, Weng Tonghe became more and more convinced of his skeptical views on the case, saying that as long as the case is unknown, he would never make a hasty decision. Later, fearing that his judgment was wrong, he further investigated and verified and played the Queen Mother of the West. After the Western Pacific, Weng Tonghe's opinion was adopted, and all prisoners and witnesses were ordered to be escorted to the punishments for interrogation, and the coffins were opened again for autopsy. As a result, witness material evidence proved that Ge Pinlian died of sudden illness, not poisoning. Chinese cabbage and Yang Naiwu didn't collude to harm people. They were acquitted and the case was made public.
Since the case was made public, Weng Tonghe and several of his colleagues made it clear that Empress Dowager Cixi should punish the offenders in this case. In order to buy people's hearts and show their purity, Empress Dowager Cixi adopted the opinions of Weng Tonghe and others, and dismissed and exiled more than 100 officials of Zhejiang Governor Yang Changrui. At this point, the case of Yang Naiwu and Chinese Cabbage, which lasted for three years, has come to light.
In January of the fifth year of Guangxu (1879), Weng Tonghe was appointed as the minister of punishments, and his term of office lasted until May this year.
This time, Weng Tonghe reorganized the punishments department and replaced some incompetent officials. Laws and regulations are vague and easy to steal, and the definition is clear; Personally check the materials of major doubtful cases, and insist on handling cases and punishing them according to law.
Weng Tonghe served as a criminal Cao twice, and the total time before and after taking office was only 10 months. Although the time was short, he was highly praised by Empress Dowager Cixi and ministers of princes during his tenure.
Five, for the emperor Guangxu of Yuqing Palace.
On December 1st, the first year of Guangxu (1875), the Empress Dowager of the two palaces ordered Weng Tonghe and assistant minister Xia Tongshan to walk in Yuqing Palace as masters of Guangxu, who had just acceded to the throne and was only four years old.
Weng Tonghe was both happy and worried after receiving the order. I'm glad that the Empress Dowager has repeatedly used herself as an imperial envoy. What worries me is that it is a great responsibility to mold a four-year-old child into a generation of saints. He thought twice and refused again and again, but he was not allowed in the end. Moreover, Empress Dowager Cixi repeatedly asked him to "do his best to help this difficult situation", so Weng Tonghe had to obey hard.
March 21st, the second year of Guangxu (1876), was the first day when Weng Tonghe spoke to Emperor Guangxu. Weng Tonghe first taught Emperor Guangxu to write the words "peace in the world" and "aboveboard". Then, he taught Emperor Guangxu to recite the words "emperor" and "virtue". Finally, I talked about the first article, Three Emperors and Five Emperors. From this day on, until January of the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), Yuqing Palace's study was removed, and Weng Tonghe served as the master of Guangxu emperor for more than 20 years. For more than 20 years, Weng Tonghe tried his best to seduce Emperor Guangxu and forged a deep affection for each other.
In the first two years of teaching, Weng Tonghe mainly taught Emperor Guangxu to read, read and recite. Weng Tonghe stipulated that raw books should be read 20 times a day and mature books 50 times a day. At that time, the text was very short, but because Emperor Guangxu was young, inexperienced and sickly, he often stopped reading in the middle. The master urged me to be the wind in my ear. Whenever I see this scene, Weng Tonghe is a little anxious, and sometimes he can't help but reprimand a few words in the breeze and drizzle. Emperor Guangxu roared and simply stopped reading for a few days. Weng Tonghe saw that hard work was not good, so he came to the soft side and slowly advised the right side. However, Emperor Guangxu refused to eat hard or soft, so Weng Tonghe had to personally play the role of the Empress Dowager. After hearing this, the Western Empress Dowager was extremely dissatisfied and decided to severely punish him and prevent him from eating more food. Weng Tonghe could not bear it, so he gave birth to another plan. Why didn't he turn to Emperor Guangxu's father, Prince Yi Huan? Huan Yi came to the study, first severely reprimanded, and then coaxed. Emperor Guangxu had some scruples about his father's shock, but over time this method also lost its effectiveness.
Weng Tonghe thought it was always bad to go on like this for a long time, so he agreed with other masters to reduce the number of readings relatively, and the master wrote it down in front of Emperor Guangxu every time he finished reading. After adopting this method, Emperor Guangxu recovered for a period of time, but after a long time, his old illness recurred, and he argued with the masters that the number of times of reading should be based on proficiency. However, teachers and students have different opinions on the standard of "proficiency" and are arguing endlessly. When the masters failed to make plans, they made rules. If Emperor Guangxu didn't read the prescribed number of times, he was asked to sit still in his seat for a long time. But how can a four or five-year-old child sit still? For this reason, Emperor Guangxu often cried endlessly. Weng Tonghe disagreed with the plan. Seeing that Guangxu was so noisy, he announced the cancellation and the dust settled.
From the second year of Guangxu (1876) to the fourth year of Guangxu (1878), I attended classes in Yuqing Palace study room for half a day. With the growth of emperor Guangxu's age, classes began in the fourth year of Guangxu (1878) and changed to full-time classes. There were more and more books to read, and Emperor Guangxu, who was already afraid, became more and more afraid of difficulties. Weng Tonghe saw that Emperor Guangxu was getting older, and not urging him to read good books would delay the life of Emperor Guangxu and endanger the whole Qing Dynasty, so he agreed with other masters to adopt the penalty reading method, and the penalty for reading less increased by two times. At the beginning of adopting this method, Emperor Guangxu resisted by keeping silent and not reading, and then cried loudly, completely ignoring Weng Tonghe and other masters, recording what Emperor Guangxu did and playing it on the queen mother. On one occasion, Emperor Guangxu left his study in a rage and returned to the palace. Weng Tonghe and other masters had to play Empress Dowager Cixi. After the persuasion of Empress Dowager Cixi, the masters also admitted that their actions were a little extreme, and Emperor Guangxu agreed to return to the study. In this way, the storm that sensationalized Sydney Palace subsided.
After Emperor Guangxu's strike, Weng Tonghe and his masters learned a lesson and thought that the penalty reading method was not a good way to persuade students to study. So, at Weng Tonghe's suggestion, the masters decided to use the praise method instead, praising every time they read it and educating them positively. After adopting the praise method, Emperor Guangxu felt very comfortable, greatly increased his enthusiasm for learning, changed the bad style of study in the past, and made continuous progress in his study.
Weng Tonghe is not only a mentor of Emperor Guangxu in school, but also a good friend of Emperor Guangxu in life. Emperor Guangxu was sickly and timid since childhood, and he was particularly afraid when it thundered in rainy days. At this time, Weng Tonghe always held Emperor Guangxu in his arms to comfort him from fear. Emperor Guangxu left his parents to enter the palace in his early years and was served by eunuchs. Eunuchs knew that the emperor was a child and often blackmailed him. He was not satisfied, so he snubbed Emperor Guangxu. When Weng Tonghe learned about it, he sometimes reprimanded the unruly eunuch in person, and sometimes beat two queens to punish him. To this end, Emperor Guangxu regarded Weng Tonghe as a confidant and was willing to talk about any joy with Weng Tonghe.
Year after year, in the seventh year of Guangxu (188 1), Emperor Guangxu was a handsome boy and began to understand. At this time, the invasion of western powers has started from the coastal areas to Chinese mainland, and China is facing a crisis. Therefore, Weng Tonghe decided to strengthen the education of Emperor Guangxu. While retaining more than 20 courses of feudal ethics, such as the Four Books and Five Classics, courses such as Chinese and foreign history, Westernization Movement and early reformist works have also been added.
When Weng Tonghe taught the new course to Emperor Guangxu, he actively guided Emperor Guangxu to think about practical problems in combination with the major political, military and diplomatic events that occurred at that time, thus linking Yuqing Palace's study with the whole society. Emperor Guangxu listened to these newly added courses and felt that he benefited a lot. This had a certain influence on his early political maturity, especially when he later launched the Reform Movement.
Weng Tonghe not only taught Emperor Guangxu academically, but also paid attention to strengthening the education of Emperor Guangxu's moral cultivation. When Weng Tonghe gave a lecture to Emperor Guangxu for the first time, he taught Emperor Guangxu the truth that "the emperor's virtue is like the sky". In the course of teaching and reading for the next 22 years, Weng Tonghe often advised Emperor Guangxu to be solemn and generous in his words and deeds and not pedantic.
After careful teaching by Weng Tonghe and others, Emperor Guangxu became more and more sensible with his age and determined to be a generation of saints like Kangxi, so he studied very hard and went to his study every day before dawn, almost every day all year round. Every Spring Festival holiday, he still insists on studying in the study. In order to satisfy his desire for learning, he often asks his masters for new books, and the scope of reading is getting wider and wider. Before he took office in the 15th year of Guangxu (1889), he read eighty or ninety kinds of books. This knowledge laid a solid foundation for his personal management.
After Emperor Guangxu ascended the throne in the 15th year of Guangxu (1889), Weng Tonghe went to Yuqing Palace's study as usual to give lessons to Emperor Guangxu. In order to satisfy Emperor Guangxu's pursuit of western learning, he continued to present books on western learning to Emperor Guangxu, and often discussed current politics with Emperor Guangxu in his study. All this aroused the suspicion of Empress Dowager Cixi and imperial party bureaucrats. In January of the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the abolition of Emperor Guangxu's study in Yuqing Palace. At this point, Weng Tonghe ended his 22-year career as a professor in Yuqing Palace.
6. Being the minister of military affairs for the first time was removed from his post and retained.
In October of the eighth year of Guangxu (1882), the court appointed Weng Tonghe as the military affairs minister, and Weng Tonghe became the military affairs minister for the first time.
As a minister of military affairs, Weng Tonghe mainly participated in two major political activities. First, participate in handling the fraud case of reimbursement of Yunnan military personnel; The second is to participate in the Sino-French-Vietnamese negotiations.
In the fifth year of Guangxu (1879), Du Ruilian, the governor of Yunnan, sent Cui Zunyi and Pan Yingzhang to Beijing with huge sums of money to get through the joints. After entering Beijing, Cui and Pan moved to the military department and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Finally, they paid 82,000 yuan to Zhou Ruiqing, Wang Wenshao, Jing Lian, the military ministers, and the department managers and bookkeepers of the housing department, and settled the reimbursement.
In June of the seventh year of Guangxu (188 1), the case was reported and the Western Empress Dowager ordered the punishments to hear it. The punishments finally found out the use of fifty-two thousand pieces of silver, and another thirty-two thousand bribed Jing Wang. Soon, Jiangxi knives and scissors played loudly, impeaching Wang and Jing for taking bribes and perverting the law. The queen mother ordered the prince and Weng Tonghe to ask Hong Liangpin. It turned out that what Hong Liangpin said was just catching shadows, and there was no evidence of one person. After the Western Empress Dowager, Huang and Weng Tonghe were ordered to summon Cui and Pan to the case and confront Zhou Ruiqing, the secretary and bookkeeper in charge of the household department. Wang and Jing, when they saw that the matter was exposed, allowed their words. However, the case has not been finalized, and the Western Empress Dowager ordered a thorough investigation.
In further investigation, Weng Tonghe and others found that the 32,200 pieces of silver that Wang and Jing were suspected of accepting were still in the bank, and the remaining 52,200 pieces were "farewell", "offering respect" and "saving gifts", involving many officials. Prince Chen insisted on strict pursuit, while Weng Tonghe thought it was difficult to close the case because of the large number of officials involved. Beijing official's salary is meager, and Xiaguan gives it. This case cannot be considered as a crime of accepting bribes. For this reason, Weng Tonghe had a disagreement with Prince Chen, and the case was shelved for three months.
Three months later, the Western Empress Dowager ordered Weng Tonghe to close the case quickly, and Weng Tonghe made further investigation. It is believed that although Wang and Jing took bribes intentionally, they did not take bribes and should be given a lighter punishment according to law. The remaining 52,000 yuan is mostly a gift, which is not convenient to find out. In this regard, Prince Yu is still opposed. Weng Tonghe calmly and repeatedly stated to Prince Chen the truth that "law is not expensive" and "what is expensive is the same law", saying that the case should be finalized according to law. After the prince agreed to fight according to Weng Tonghe's wishes, the Western Empress Dowager punished the criminals in the case in August of the ninth year of Guangxu (1883). At this point, the three-year reimbursement fraud case of Yunnan military personnel ended.
The second thing Weng Tonghe, the first minister of military affairs, participated in was to directly participate in the negotiation and decision-making between France and Vietnam.
After the French government basically controlled Vietnam in 1980s, it began to invade China. Weng Tonghe argued against Li Hongzhang's policy of compromise and concession and supported Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army in Vietnam. However, the main peace faction represented by Li Hongzhang blindly compromised, which caused the French invaders to burn the war to Zhennanguan area in February of Guangxu Decade (1884). The Sino-Vietnamese border crisis caused the Western Empress Dowager to replace the entire military team in April, and Weng Tonghe was not spared. He was dismissed and left the army.
Seven, barely served as Minister of Commerce, and the two parties gradually formed.
In the 11th year of Guangxu (1885), on November 29th, the court appointed Weng Tonghe as the minister of the household department. Weng Tonghe was extremely panicked after receiving the order. Because Weng Tonghe knew that the Qing Dynasty was full of crises and financial difficulties at this time, it was a very difficult job to become the minister of finance, responsible for all expenses, and a layman, from being accused to being dismissed and losing his official position. However, I thought that my dismissal and retention in the Sino-French war had just been revoked, and it was inconvenient to push it again, so I had to bite the bullet and reluctantly take office.
In the 13th year of Guangxu (1887), on August 23rd, the Yellow River burst and the Western Empress Dowager ordered the Ministry to allocate two million and two thousand yuan for relief. Weng Tonghe was surprised when he received the order. At this time, the state treasury is empty. Where did he get 2 million taels of silver for disaster relief and river repair? So I called the officials of the Ministry of Housing and discussed the fundraising for a few days. In the end, most of them agreed to open a donation case to raise money. The so-called wide donation means selling officials and titles. Weng Tonghe believes that a large number of corrupt officials will be created by opening a donation case, which will harm the country and the people, so he strongly opposes opening a donation case to raise funds. Later, because the Western Empress Dowager agreed to this law, Weng Tonghe had to obey orders and deal with it wholeheartedly, but it was not until the end of the 14th year of Guangxu (1888) that he received a donation of 802,000 yuan, which was far from enough to repair the river for relief. Soon, the Ministry of Internal Affairs Guangxu Emperor's Wedding Preparation Office asked the Ministry to invest another 6.5438+0 million yuan. Weng Tonghe failed to cope and had to borrow foreign debts. Since then, the Qing government began to make a living by borrowing money.
In the same year, Li Hongzhang privately set up the East-West Bank in partnership with American businessmen. In order to raise huge sums of money, organize the navy, build railways, build the Summer Palace, and please the Western Empress Dowager, Li Hongzhang sent people to contact American businessmen frequently to open this bank, among which American businessmen contributed the most, which was actually a kind of containment to American businessmen.
In July of the 13th year of Guangxu (1887), Weng Tonghe was shocked to learn that the bank was a major state policy, and foreigners' control of the bank seriously damaged the state sovereignty. I strongly advise the Western Empress Dowager not to approve it. In September, Weng Tonghe instigated more than 80 censors to play again, impeaching Li Hongzhang for opening the east and west coasts was deceiving the monarch and betraying the country. In addition, Weng Tonghe also took advantage of the conflict between Prince Yihuan and Li Hongzhang, and repeatedly lobbied Prince Yihuan to work for the Western Empress Dowager and stopped Li Hongzhang's actions.
After Li Hongzhang's plan to open the East-West Bank was made public, it aroused opposition from Britain, America and other countries, because once the East-West Bank was opened, it would affect their existence in China.