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When a regime was on the verge of collapse, there were those who surrendered and those who were recruited. Zuo Zongtang naturally knew this. The Liberation Army coming to recruit Zuo Zongtang was not beyond Zuo Zongtang's expectations. If the Liberation Army did not even try to recruit a talent like Zuo Zongtang, Zuo Zongtang would think that the Liberation Army was just an empty shell. However, it was out of Zuo Zongtang's expectations that the Liberation Army's recruiter would ask if he was late.
One could not blame Zuo Zongtang for being difficult to communicate with. Vézé had begun to popularize clocks and watches in the Liberation Army a long time ago. Even if they were not of high quality, they were at least better than nothing. With clocks, there would be a unified concept of time, and with a unified concept of time, there would be the problem of being late. From Zuo Zongtang's perspective, being late was actually related to putting on airs. Of course, the boss had to arrive late, and the subordinates had to arrive early. If a subordinate procrastinated, it was a serious disrespect to his superior. Being held a grudge by the boss would be a big problem.
Therefore, Zuo Zongtang tried his best to look at things from this perspective. It would be terrible if he was late because he was a subordinate. He asked, "What does this have to do with chance?"
Although Kurosawa Tsuyoshi did not understand why Zuo Zongtang did not react to his tardiness, he could tell that the topic he chose was inappropriate. He immediately changed the subject. "I'm not very good at war, and I'm not very clear about the principles of war. I can only use the words I heard in class to chat with Mr. Zuo. "
Zuo Zongtang knew that the Liberation Army was keen on running schools. Although they did not teach the Four Books and Five Classics, they still let the children go to school and help the people learn how to read. This was something he could reluctantly approve of the Liberation Army. However, when he heard that Kurosawa Tsuyoshi wanted to use war to reason things out, Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but despise Kurosawa Tsuyoshi. Trying to reason with Zuo Zongtang? He was obviously asking to be humiliated. On the surface, although Kurosawa Tsuyoshi's skin still had some luster, his tanned skin and rough palms showed that he had suffered a lot. It was impossible for such a person to be a scholar.
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said calmly, "His Majesty once told us that we shouldn't pursue an upper limit, but we should set a bottom line. Sun Tzu said that victory can be achieved, but it cannot be achieved. In Sun Tzu's Art of War, the entire book talks about how we will definitely make mistakes. Why do we have to follow the rules of war? The goal is to make us make as few mistakes as possible. At the very least, we need to know where we went wrong … "
After hearing this, Zuo Zongtang was stunned. Unknowingly, Zuo Zongtang's drooping eyelids lifted. He couldn't help but interrupt Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, "Who said this?"
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was a little surprised by Zuo Zongtang's shock, but he still replied politely, "This is what His Majesty, Comrade Vézé, taught in the military school."
Zuo Zongtang didn't say anything. The content of what Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said was already on a different level. Ordinary martial artists studied Sun Tzu's Art of War to learn how to win a war. Only a rare person like Zuo Zongtang could understand what Sun Tzu said about making fewer mistakes. Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was definitely not an important person. If he was, he wouldn't have put himself in danger. An ordinary general in the Liberation Army was able to learn the true meaning of Sun Tzu's Art of War in the military school. At the very least, he had learned the self-awareness of Sun Tzu's Art of War. This was a shocking thing.
Seeing that Zuo Zongtang didn't say anything, Kurosawa Tsuyoshi didn't care what Zuo Zongtang was thinking at the moment. Instead, he finished explaining his philosophy first. "We will inevitably make mistakes, so the direction we work hard is to make fewer mistakes. If no matter how hard we work, we keep losing battles, then it can only mean one thing. Maybe we have mistaken ourselves and done things that we don't want to do. Or maybe we have chosen the wrong profession. This profession is really not something we can do. Or maybe we have chosen the wrong path and embarked on a path that will definitely lead to defeat. "
As soon as these words came out, Zuo Zongtang's expression immediately turned ugly. He had been defeated in every battle. Of course, he could find accidental reasons from all angles. Just like a few days ago, when they were surrounded by the Nian Army, the troops had escaped, but they had lost Heze. Or the Liberation Army had suddenly sent troops to Xuzhou, and the Chu army's old nest had been destroyed. If it was about finding reasons, Zuo Zongtang could find countless reasons. It wasn't that he hadn't reflected. If the Qing Army had listened to his suggestion at the time and gathered a large force to destroy Vézé's army when Vézé broke away from the Taiping Rebellion … Even if the Taiping Rebellion had ravaged Jiangnan, he couldn't have allowed Vézé to grow. Then the current situation would be greatly different.
But after thinking about it, Zuo Zongtang found that Manchu Qing had actually made the most advantageous choice at the time to deal with the problem at the time. If he had to say that he had used the worst strategy at the time, then that would be an argument made in hindsight.
He had used the best choice at the time, and now he was at the end of the road. Then Kurosawa Tsuyoshi's words were not wrong. There could only be two reasons. The first was that Zuo Zongtang and his people really didn't want to save Manchu Qing. The second was that Zuo Zongtang and his people had done something they weren't suited for. The third was that Zuo Zongtang had defected to Manchu Qing, who would definitely be destroyed. Zuo Zongtang didn't believe the first reason. He didn't think that he and Jiang Zhongyuan were really incapable. Then the third reason was that Zuo Zongtang and his people had pledged their loyalty to the wrong person.
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi wasn't arrogant or unreasonable. He was just stating facts. However, this kind of attitude pointed to the root of the matter, which made Zuo Zongtang feel unprecedented humiliation. Zuo Zongtang had a lion's nose and a wide mouth. At this time, because the muscles on his face were twisted, his expression was ferocious like a furious lion.
Desperately suppressing his anger, Zuo Zongtang forced himself to say in a normal tone, "Mr. Hei is very eloquent!"
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi shook his head. "Mr. Zuo, I defected to God 16 years ago. I was 14 years old that year. Before I was 14, I could only remember one thing. I was hungry. I was starving every day. Occasionally, when I could eat my fill, I would wonder when I would not be hungry. Mr. Zuo, I don't know if you can imagine how hungry I was at that time. After I became a soldier, I could eat. At that time, I thought I was hungry because I didn't fight. After so many years of fighting, I now understand that there are too many people in the world who are hungry like me. When our Liberation Army arrived at a place, we divided the land so that everyone could farm with peace of mind and have food to eat. Not only did everyone have to have land to farm, but they also had to work during the slack season. With a job, they could earn money and buy more things. Our Liberation Army is together with these starving and poor people, and that's why we're getting stronger the more we fight. Then Mr. Zuo, I want to ask you, who are you standing with? "
Zuo Zongtang could see that although Kurosawa Tsuyoshi's tone was flat, he was speaking from the bottom of his heart. In fact, Zuo Zongtang was also very clear that the people were starving. As a person who prided himself on Jin Liang, it was really impossible for Zuo Zongtang to really ignore this reality. But Zuo Zongtang was unwilling to admit this reality. Because admitting the justice of the Liberation Army was admitting the injustice of Zuo Zongtang. His Adam's apple moved up and down for a while, Zuo Zongtang choked out a sentence, "When two countries fight, each side has its own master."
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi continued, "Mr. Zuo, I heard that you compared yourself to Jin Liang. I think you admire Zhuge Liang very much. Zhuge Liang is the Prime Minister and can pacify the people. I think you also take it upon yourself to pacify the people. Let's go back to the previous question of chance and necessity. If the people don't have food to eat, even if they don't starve to death this year, they will starve to death next year. In short, if they don't die from natural disasters, they will die from man-made disasters. Then there is a problem with the world. If there is a problem with the world, we have to change it. Otherwise, all of us will have no other way out but to die. Then, Mr. Zuo, I would like to ask, do you think the Liberation Army can lead the people to live, or the Manchu Qing can lead the people to live? "
Zuo Zongtang was still trying hard to resist. He tried to calm down and said, "I have never seen what it is like under the rule of the Restoration Party. How do I know who can lead the people to live?"
After hearing this, Kurosawa Tsuyoshi nodded happily. "In that case, why don't you come to the liberated areas of our Restoration Party now? You will see clearly when you go there. "
Zuo Zongtang was stunned by such an invitation. At least from Kurosawa Tsuyoshi's mouth, going to the Liberation Army to visit was as easy as going on a study tour. What kind of joke was this?! Zuo Zongtang sneered and said, "Is this also considered a way to persuade them to surrender?"
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi shook his head. "Mr. Zuo, I said before that a person with a backbone like you can't be persuaded to surrender. At most, people will die. I think you are not afraid of death. Even if we threaten you with your family in Hunan, I believe that Mr. Zuo still values your reputation very much. "
"Humph!" Zuo Zongtang sneered. At this time, Hunan had fallen into the hands of the Liberation Army. If the Liberation Army really threatened Zuo Zongtang's family, of course, Zuo Zongtang would not surrender. However, it was inevitable that his heart would be shaken. The Liberation Army said that they would not use Zuo Zongtang's family as a threat. In his heart, Zuo Zongtang did not know whether he should think that the Liberation Army had a bottom line, or that the Liberation Army was another kind of threat.
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi continued, "Surrender means that one side is unwilling to use force to resist the other side, but not daring to resist in action does not necessarily mean that one agrees in the heart. So now we hope that Mr. Zuo can agree with our philosophy and join the side of those who have no food to eat and are hungry. Together, we will let the people all over the world have food to eat, clothes to wear, and money to use. "
To ask Zuo Zongtang to publicly say that the people should die, he really could not say it. Therefore, facing the representative of the Liberation Army who occupied the position that Zuo Zongtang also agreed with, Zuo Zongtang could only say resentfully, "If you have such thoughts, why don't you serve the imperial court?"
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said with a smile, "This is still a question of chance and necessity. The system of the Manchu Qing, in the current world, does not exist to solve the problem that the people have no food to eat, clothes to wear, and money to use. The Manchu Qing actually does not know what has happened. Even if they do know, their level of understanding is very shallow. The system of the Manchu Qing exists to protect the banner group. Mr. Zuo, you have been a high-ranking official on the side of the Manchu Qing, so you must be very clear about this. "
In terms of military affairs, the level of understanding of people, and even the level of understanding of politics, to be completely overwhelmed by the logic of a person from a poor background was something that Zuo Zongtang had never encountered before. When Kurosawa Tsuyoshi calmly pointed out the nature of the Manchu Qing regime, Zuo Zongtang felt speechless.
However, this kind of disadvantage made Zuo Zongtang unable to help but want to defend himself. Although he knew that it was very embarrassing, Zuo Zongtang still sneered and said, "Could it be that Vézé is standing with the people?"
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi calmly said, "That's right! The people in our Restoration Party are all poor people, so of course we will stand with the poor! "
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