Zuo Zongtang was very excited. When he returned home, he immediately asked his concubine to cook for him and prepared to drink a few cups of wine.
As a surrendered general, it was the tradition for him to lead his troops to serve his new superior and accumulate merits to be recognized. Zuo Zongtang initially thought that this path was impossible. Now that there was a sudden turn of events, this path was once again opened to Zuo Zongtang. Moreover, killing natives was not a dirty job according to the morals of this era. Naturally, Zuo Zongtang would gladly follow the order.
Recalling Vézé's tormented expression, Zuo Zongtang felt a little puzzled. Eliminating uncivilized barbarians in China's territory was the norm, not an isolated case. Needless to say, in the previous dynasties, Manchu Qing had never been lenient in suppressing the natives. Even though Zuo Zongtang believed that Manchu Qing was incompetent, he still supported this policy.
As for Vézé, he actually softened at this moment and felt uneasy. Of course, this could be used as evidence that Vézé had a compassionate and loving heart. However, Zuo Zongtang had personally witnessed how sinister and far-reaching Vézé's policy was. Even a thousand-year-old ghost could not compare to it. Wasn't Vézé the one who killed the natives first? Seeing that these effective policies would cause a storm of carnage, Vézé felt uneasy … A disrespectful thought arose in Zuo Zongtang's mind. "Vézé, stop pretending!"
Since ancient times, heroes had never been kind. Zuo Zongtang believed that Vézé's start was not so spotless. Yes, all of Vézé's choices could be said to prove that Vézé had given up on killing each other. However, with Zuo Zongtang's intelligence, he could tell that Vézé's seemingly more difficult path was actually more beneficial. If Vézé used the excuse of "taking revenge for the King Of The East" to kill his way into Tianjing City and kill Hong Xiuquan, what would happen next would be an all-out internal strife within the Taiping Rebellion. Not only would Vézé have to fight the other factions, but he would also have to destroy the King Of The East's faction first. After a few years, Vézé mercilessly drove the Taiping army to the northwest because there was no longer a need for the Taiping Rebellion to stand at the front. How much trouble had he saved the Liberation Army with the reputation of "benevolence and righteousness" that he had accumulated back then?
Of course, even after understanding all this, Zuo Zongtang didn't think that Vézé's soft-heartedness was a flaw. As a monarch, having a conscience was by no means a weakness. This was a good thing for the country, and it was also a good thing for the officials. A king who showed no mercy to slaughter was a tyrant that was not worth supporting. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang had a very positive opinion of Vézé.
"Third Brother seems to be in a good mood." Zuo Zongtang's second brother, Zuo Zongzhi, walked into Zuo Zongtang's back hall. Seeing canned fruits, canned fish, and a few canned vegetables on the table, especially a bottle of unsealed rum, he could not help but laugh. "It seems like I'm going to drink it."
Zuo Zongtang had always admired his second brother. Zuo Zongzhi had been studying with his father since he was a child and entered the county school at the age of 13. At the age of 24, he was a student who had been receiving grain subsidies. In the fifth year of the Daoguang era (1825), he was selected as a scholar and went to the capital to take part in the imperial examination the following year. He was listed as a second-class scholar and was selected to teach in Xinhua County. In 1832, he and Zuo Zongtang both took part in the provincial examinations in Hunan and became the top scorer. After that, he went to the capital many times to participate in the imperial examinations, but failed. Later, he was appointed as the lecturer of Guidong County. He left his job and returned to his hometown. He lived in Changsha Prefecture and taught his own students. In the 12th year, he was hired to lecture at Liyang Academy in Lizhou (now Lixian).
In the first year of Xianfeng (1851), he was ordered to go to the capital and was appointed as the secretary of the cabinet. At that time, the Taiping army rose up. Because he was worried about his family, he returned home in the second year and gave up on his career. Other than being a lecturer at Shigu Academy in Hengyang, he mostly lived in seclusion in the mountain village, reading and writing, making friends with gentlemen and scholars, managing the family affairs, and teaching his children. Successively, he lectured at Liyang Academy in Lizhou (now Lixian) and Shigu Academy in Hengyang. He was good at poetry and literature, and also studied astronomy. He was proud of his poetry and literature. Together with Wei Yuan of Shaoyang, Tang Peng of Yiyang, and Chen Qishi of Chenzhou, they were known as the "Four Heroes of Hunan".
When the Liberation Army carried out land reform in Hunan, this famous scholar's life became difficult. It just so happened that Zuo Zongtang came to Vézé's place, so he asked his second brother to "escort" his family to Nanjing. Zuo Zongtang's second brother, Zuo Zongzhi, was not a pedantic person. Seeing that the world had changed, he simply brought his family and Zuo Zongtang's family to Nanjing.
Seeing that his second brother, Zuo Zongzhi, was gradually dispelling the depression he felt when he first arrived, Zuo Zongtang hurriedly poured wine for his second brother and asked, "Second brother, how is your work at the Museum of Literature and History?"
As a demoted general, Zuo Zongtang was only a secretary, but his real treatment was actually not bad. He lived in a large courtyard. Not only could it accommodate Zuo Zongtang's family, but it could also easily accommodate his second brother's family. This in itself could prove that Vézé valued Zuo Zongtang. Moreover, Zuo Zongzhi also got a job at the Museum of Literature and History and was now involved in the translation and editing of historical documents. It was not a problem for him to support himself.
Zuo Zongzhi smiled bitterly and said, "Some time ago, I took out the first draft of the 'Three Enclosures, Twenty-eight Constellations and Foreign Officials General Atlas'. The Astronomy Institute gave me an order to work there. In addition, I donated some ancient books to the National Library and received a bonus … "
Before Zuo Zongzhi finished speaking, Zuo Zongtang hurriedly interrupted, "Second brother, us brothers should live together. We are already at this age, why are you still looking for a house? "
Zuo Zongtang was fifty-three years old this year, and Zuo Zongzhi was sixty-one years old. People at this age were really half buried in their chests. Zuo Zongtang didn't want his brother to work too hard.
Zuo Zongzhi didn't want to brush away his brother's good intentions when his brother directly pointed it out. But he still said, "Third brother, I heard that Nanjing is also going to do some urban construction and prepare to build a lot of houses. You have given a lot of money to the family over the years. Your nephews also need a place to live. "
The Zuo family didn't lack money. Even if the Chu army wasn't as ruthless as the Xiang Army, they had accumulated enough money. Most of this money was lost due to the destruction of the Chu army, but the money sent home was enough for the Zuo family to become rich.
Zuo Zongtang shook his head. "Second brother, I may have to send troops soon. At that time, someone will need to manage the family. If we split up, I won't be at ease. "
"Send troops? To the north? "Zuo Zongzhi asked in surprise.
Zuo Zongtang shook his head. "To the south overseas. The new dynasty has occupied many large islands in the south and will need to fight. "
Zuo Zongzhi couldn't help but shake his head at the mention of the new dynasty. "The new dynasty is too harsh on scholars!"
"Isn't it always like this when a dynasty changes? Why would the new dynasty use people from the previous dynasty?" Zuo Zongtang said vaguely.
Seeing that Zuo Zongtang was evasive, Zuo Zongzhi couldn't help but say, "Third Brother, I'm saying that the division of land is too ruthless. It's reasonable for the new dynasty to take care of the common people, but to forcibly seize the land of the gentry and landlords, which dynasty or generation has ever seen such an approach? Some of the gentry have gone north to fight the new dynasty to the death. Even those who haven't left have lost hope and won't be close to the new dynasty. There's no sign of a new dynasty here. "
If it had been a few days ago, Zuo Zongtang would have agreed with his brother's point of view. But after doing the civil service exam, Zuo Zongtang didn't have such arrogance anymore. He went back to the study and took out the exam questions to give to his brother. He said solemnly, "If you want to be an official of the new dynasty, you have to answer these questions."
Just as Zuo Zongtang expected, his brother's expression changed after reading a few questions. After flipping through two pages, his brother frowned and fell into deep thought. He was stunned. When Zuo Zongtang's concubine finished cooking, Zuo Zongzhi stopped trying to answer the questions and looked at them page by page.
Zuo Zongtang said, "Second brother, there's no hurry to look at these questions. Let's eat first. "
Zuo Zongzhi didn't hear anything until Zuo Zongtang said it twice in a row. He finally moved his eyes away from the exam papers. Zuo Zongzhi asked in confusion, "Is this the new dynasty's exam?"
Zuo Zongtang sighed, "The new dynasty has schools that teach people this knowledge from a young age. Scholars study hard for ten years, and the new dynasty's schools are the same. Second brother, it's not unreasonable for the new dynasty to look down on the scholars of the past. "
Zuo Zongzhi didn't expect his brother to praise the new dynasty so much. He was a little unhappy, "Are the scholars of the world going to be abandoned like old shoes?"
Zuo Zongtang laughed, "If the scholars don't follow the new dynasty, why can't they be abandoned like old shoes? The scholars they teach are more considerate. "
This was what Zuo Zongtang heard from Vézé. Thinking of Vézé's viciousness, Zuo Zongtang felt that Vézé was really interesting. He could use such a vicious method to dig out the roots of all the scholars of the past, but he still felt pity for the natives of the big southern island. Wasn't this not distinguishing between close and distant relatives? The scholars understood that the general situation of the world had been decided. They knelt before Vézé and obediently listened to the new dynasty's words. These people were still China's people. Those natives weren't civilized, so it wouldn't be a pity to kill them.
This was what Zuo Zongtang thought, but his second brother Zuo Zongzhi didn't think so at all. This sixty-year-old old man understood the Restoration Party's personnel policy and shouted angrily, "This … this doesn't respect the Way of the Sage, this is going against the grain!"
"The Way of the Sage?" Zuo Zongtang heard his brother's angry shout and immediately remembered Vézé's words. Vézé said in a mocking tone, "If Confucius knew that the later generations of people with braids were using his name to make use of his reputation, he would probably have beaten them to death. How dare people with braids call themselves disciples of Confucius? "
These words were vicious enough that Zuo Zongtang couldn't bear to say it to his brother.
Seeing that his brother wasn't moved at all, Zuo Zongzhi became even angrier. "I heard that Vézé never respected the Sage, and now he doesn't even mention the Sage's words when selecting scholars. This is digging up the roots of the Sage's knowledge. No dynasty or generation has ever seen such a thing! "
Zuo Zongtang didn't want his second brother to speak so wantonly, so he advised, "Second brother, the new dynasty said that the Manchu Qing are barbarians, how can the scholars criticize the new dynasty?"
Zuo Zongzhi was startled, and his expression immediately turned ugly. The old man regained his spirit after a moment, and said seriously, "The Manchu Qing are barbarians, and the scholars of the world have indeed worshipped the Manchu Qing as their master. If the new dynasty says so, the scholars of the world can only accept it. There's no way to quibble about this. They worshipped the barbarians as their masters and became their dogs, so there's no way to refute the humiliation! But the Manchu Qing are barbarians, but the Sage is not one. If the new dynasty wants to set things right and reestablish the Sage's legal system, then they won't need the people of the previous dynasty. At most, this old man will feel that it's a pity for the scholars of the previous dynasty. But the new dynasty doesn't mention the Way of Confucius and Mencius at all, and it's all about astronomy and geography. This isn't right! "
Zuo Zongtang didn't expect his second brother to have such a temper, and at this moment, the biggest feeling in his heart was regret. He was completely looking for trouble!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
