Zeng Guofan emphasized: "Honesty opens the stone, and ghosts and gods avoid it." He simply regards "blood honesty" as the foundation and cornerstone of his achievements.
Zeng Guofan not only asked himself to "have a word of sincerity and firm determination", but also asked and bound his subordinates with "bloody sincerity" everywhere. He often tells himself: "The mistake of a bosom friend is the hardest. Heroes are heroes and sages are sages because they are aboveboard. Can pass this level, the heart will be extremely happy, save how many entanglements, save how many malice and ugliness. People who steal pseudonyms are in trouble; Negative concealment, accidents; If you have love, something will happen to you. Only forgetting the machine can destroy many machines in the world, and only being stupid can be ominous. The smartest person in the sky is stupid (sincere) and the quietest person in the world. "
"The clerk's heart is full of twists and turns, dishonest, and often incompatible with the military. I will try my best to distort my personal feelings, pour out everything, and make the rough people in the military calm. There is no doubt that this is also sincere. Be honest, be diligent and careful, and avoid great embarrassment and defeat. "
Zeng Guofan won the trust of the soldiers with sincerity, so he finally achieved great success.
In a word, "blood honesty" is an important principle of Zeng Guofan's life and a vital spiritual force. Zeng Guofan, headed by him, cooperated sincerely to achieve the final victory. Moreover, it is precisely because of this spirit that his Ministry will be more loyal and would rather die than surrender. No one has ever betrayed him. On the other hand, the lack of bloody sincerity within the leading group of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom led to intrigue, demoralization and chaos. In the later period, even many people, such as General Wei Jun, defected to the enemy one after another. Later, the Eight Kings rebelled against Tan Shaoguang and handed over the good Hangzhou City to their old enemies without moving a knife and a gun. It really made relatives and old enemies resent for ages.
Later, when editing the Quotations of Zeng Hubing, Cai E added a note that was enough to alert the people:
"The heart of our country is destroyed by the word" pseudo ". China people's inner hypocrisy is enough to ruin the country and the nation. The upper level is driven by falsehood, the lower level is served by falsehood, and the peers are friends with falsehood, so that they are used to falsehood and only know the benefits of falsehood and don't know the harm of falsehood. ..... from falsehood to doubt, from doubt to jealousy. When jealousy rises, countless evils arise, and the so-called ethics can be ignored. Oh! Fake things are harmful The use of the army depends on the unity of the people and the same robes, and there is no room for any bad feelings. This is especially true, because there is a word that runs through it and maintains it. Otherwise, the soldiers who break up and defeat others without fighting will surely set themselves on fire. The society is still false, and its disaster is slow; The army pays attention to falsehood, and its disaster is rapid and fierce. Since we are soldiers, we should spare no effort to reject the word "false" and uproot this sexual root completely. We can rule the soldiers by words, be generals and be soldiers. "
Zeng Guofan loves reading and aims to become famous. Fame is Zeng Guofan's persistent pursuit all his life. He believes that the ancients called virtue, merit and speech three immortals. In order to maintain his hard-won fame and fortune, he is cautious in everything and humble everywhere, insisting on the view that "flowers are not in full bloom and the moon is not round". Because the monthly surplus is a loss, the mid-term is the day of withering, and the flowers are fully open, which is a sign of withering. Therefore, he often tells his family that the blessings are endless and the strength is endless. He claimed that "the words' flowers are not in full bloom, the moon is not full' are the best words in the past, thinking it is a way to cherish happiness and protect Thailand." In addition, he "always keeps the heart of the cold abyss", and he must always walk on thin ice, like an abyss, and always be cautious, so as not to make a big mistake and bring disaster. He summed up his own experience and lessons, saying, "After eight years of tempering in Xianfeng, I learned to be afraid of my destiny, my words and my father." Also, he always thought: "Modesty between heaven and earth is the way to carry happiness." He profoundly pointed out: to go to the public, it is necessary to force correction; Strive for fame and gain, and then retire modestly. If a family business is opened, it must be forced to correct it; Being happy means being modest. If you answer the characters, you must force correction; If you enjoy it with your wife and slaves, you should retire modestly. If you make great achievements in the outside world, you are famous, and you ask for fields and homes at the same time. Both of them are objects, and you won't last long without retirement plans.
During the Daoguang period, Zeng Guofan was an official in Beijing. He is full of vigor and vitality. Besides, he had a pleasant journey and a lot of pride. "It's a good thing to be enemies with those famous and powerful people." In the early years of Xianfeng's reign in Changsha, he also criticized others frequently, especially his feud with green camp, which was inconsistent with Hunan officialdom. He remembers that when he was in Nanchang, he competed with Chen Heyun, and all this was done directly with Confucianism and Legalism. Although it seems to have won, it has actually buried more hidden dangers. Another example is the participation of Qing De, Chen and Bao Qibao, which are still emotional. When dealing with it, it was simply pleasing to the eye. I didn't expect it to be sharp-edged and too strong, which hurt these bureaucrats up and down, virtually setting up many obstacles for myself and burying many unexpected hidden dangers.
Xianfeng stayed at home for seven years. After a year of profound reflection, Zeng Guofan began to realize the reasons why he often did things badly. After this introspection, Zeng Guofan further realized some ways of being a man in officialdom: "Being arrogant and talkative has two disadvantages. Looking back on the rise and fall of great doctors in their last lives and the causes of recent official disasters, we have to regard them as cardinals. " "Li Guan's fame and wealth led to the loss of his family because of his long-term pride and talkativeness. The world's talents, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, all lost to a proud word; All the mediocrities in the world, ancient and modern, were defeated by a lazy word. " After summing up these experiences and lessons, he painstakingly studied the Taoist classics of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and devoted himself to studying the Tao Te Ching and the South China Classic. Chewing silently and savoring carefully, he finally realized the mystery of being a man. These seemingly born books are actually stories about China's entry into WTO. It's just that Confucius and Mencius are direct, while Laozi advocates using circuitous ways to achieve their goals; Shen Hanchong still insists on coercion, while Laozi thinks that "softness wins, weakness wins"; "The world is the softest and the world is the strongest"; Water is the softest, water is good, and the sea becomes below. Only the wise can be kind in the world, and only the good can never flatter and bully, never be arrogant, but always be humble and free to become a climate. Water can bend and stretch, and it often seeps into many mysterious corners quietly, leisurely and slowly. Looking at the mighty river, rushing eastward, heading straight to the sea, without tumbling, roaring or surging, leisurely detouring on the vast plain. Its rationality, self-restraint, depth and generosity, like a living Tao Te Ching, nourish the wisdom of the Chinese nation. Throughout the ages, I have learned wisdom. Lao Tzu is really a great wisdom who thinks the most about the art of competition in the world! Zeng Guofan was fascinated by his study. Many difficult things in the world, since the direct and strong-to-strong method sometimes doesn't work, but the indirect and weak method can also achieve the goal and defeat the strong without leaving hidden dangers, why not adopt it? After reading Laozi and Zhuangzi, I was deeply impressed by his profound philosophy and vast wisdom, and my heart resonated inexpressibly. At this point, Zeng Guofan finally realized that Zhuangzi and Confucius and Mencius were not diametrically opposed. The combination of the two can not only achieve great things, but also take it calmly and maintain a quiet and modest mentality.
In the first year of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan was promoted to the governor of Liangjiang, with a river surface of 3,000 miles. The banners fluttering in the wind are all handsome words with the word "Zeng". As the commander-in-chief of the Xiang army who is advancing 300,000-400,000 troops, he is not complacent at all. Instead, be cautious everywhere. Please read his letter to his younger brother, and you will know his mentality at that time. He earnestly warned:
Our family is in its heyday at present, and I am in the position of a leader. There are fifty thousand people in Yuan Di (Ceng Guoquan) and six thousand in Ji Di (Zeng). How many people have been like this recently? In the past six months, Brother Yuan has paid homage to you seven times. How many people like him are there these days? After the sun rises to the highest point, it will drift to the west, and our home is now the highest and most fulfilling time. The pipe says that if the bucket is too full, people will generalize, and if people are too full, the sky will generalize. I think heaven is invisible, so we still have to pretend to be adults. There are many people in Huo Guang's family, so Wei Xiang came to destroy him, and Xuan Di, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, also came to destroy him. Zhuge Ke is full, come and destroy him, and the king of Wu will also destroy him. It's too late to wait until someone else calms it down and repent. Our family is in the heyday, so we don't have to wait for the weather. Your brothers and I should try our best to come first. What is the method of self-generalization? I think it is nothing more than "sincerity (sincerity), prudence (modesty) and diligence (labor)". In the past, Yuan Di didn't think much about the choice of money, and the root of his friends' criticism was actually here. Last winter I bought Likou and Lishan (both in Heye Township, Shuangfeng County, Hunan Province). I don't agree. Don't take a penny in the future, send money home and give more gifts to relatives and friends. This is the word "cheap". Internal modesty is invisible, and external manifestations are mainly: face, words, letters, servants and subordinates. In the future, we should make great efforts in these four aspects, that is, the word "modesty". Before going to bed every day, I silently count how many things I have to worry about today and how many things I have to work hard. I feel that I have not done much for my country and should serve it more wholeheartedly. This is the word "labor".
As the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, he is not an idle generation. Zeng Guofan is so prudent and so humble that he can always be in an invincible position.
After Zeng Guofan became famous, he planned to build a rich and heavy hall in the hometown of Lotus Leaf as the "place of old nymphs". Later, I heard that the project was huge and costly, which scared him from entering the gate of Fuguitang. After that, he lived in the government house for more than ten years until he died in the office. He wrote to reprimand his brother and son for spending too much money. "I have no face to buy a big official's house in my life, but my family actually did it." ..... spending too much money is not what I want. And take it as a "deep sigh." "And wrote a letter to warn Ji Zeer: The new house at home is rich and thick, so don't think about wealth for generations." You can't write' Hou Fu' and' Xiang Fu' on the plaque outside the door. "Between the valleys that stretch for hundreds of miles, the people are low huts, unique halls of wealth, and more magnificent than the palace. Therefore, Zeng Guofan thought twice and insisted on not returning to his former residence, leaving it to his wife, son, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter.
After Zeng Guofan was appointed Governor of Liangjiang River, he became more stable and treated his colleagues and subordinates with humility everywhere. Power between rivals is often given up. Since Xianfeng awarded the governor of Liangjiang and an imperial envoy in June ten years ago, Zeng Guofan knew that his status was getting higher and higher and his reputation was getting wider and wider, so he wrote many times to reduce part of his power, or asked the court to send another minister to Jiangnan to do it. After conquering Nanking, he immediately beheaded Xiang, and asked his younger brother Ceng Guoquan to stop and reflect on himself after returning home. "Bow your head and worship the sheep and say everything is too empty." "The people who have lived for a long time have returned to life and returned to the five lakes for spring fishing." In the extremely happy days, Zeng Guofan never forgot to knock a wake-up call for himself and his brothers, eliminating hidden worries seamlessly, showing his extraordinary sobriety and talent. In the first month of the sixth year of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan repeatedly warned his younger brother Quan Guo: "The merits of Di and Fu provinces are indelible and the foundation is extremely deep ... Since then, he has always settled down in a calm place without thinking about the sky." The purpose is to retire with an open mind and always keep the trend of "flowers are not fully open and the moon is not full".