Zeng Guofan was a well-known figure in the late Qing Dynasty. Not only was he knowledgeable and talented, he also established the Hunan Army and destroyed the arrogant Taiping Army. He was the biggest contributor to the continuation of the Qing Dynasty, so he left his name in history.
However, there is great controversy among later generations as to whether Zeng Guofan was an upright or corrupt official. Why did this happen? The reason is simple: the Zeng family is too wealthy.
According to historical records, the Tseng family owned 10 luxury villas, including: Fuhoutang, Baiyutang, Huanghuangtang, Dafudi (, Wanyitang, Xiushantang, Youhengtang, Huazhutang) Hall, Wenji Hall, etc., the most luxurious of which is Dafudi, covering an area of ??130,000 square meters, including parks, pools and various buildings. Because this mansion is so spacious, many people even mistakenly think it is a local temple.
In addition to owning super real estate, the Zeng family also has 10,000 acres of fertile land. You must know that although Zeng Guofan’s grandfather and father were also wealthy landowners, their fields were only more than 100 acres. However, Zeng Guofan actually owned tens of thousands of acres. Mu, it shows that the family's financial resources are strong.
It is not surprising that the Zeng family has so many "unknown sources" of property, and later generations suspect that Zeng Guofan used his power for corruption.
However, this is not the case. Zeng Guofan was an upright and honest man. When he was an official in Beijing, his salary was only 125 taels, which is equivalent to our current RMB 25,000. Such a salary is not suitable for a "department-level" cadre. Said that it was obviously pitifully low.
Because he was living in Beijing, it was difficult for him to live on such a salary. Therefore, Zeng Guofan had to borrow money from relatives and friends to survive. "For his merits", he received a bonus of 1,600 taels of silver, so he had to pay off his debts and survive. Two years later, when the money ran out, he had to borrow money again to survive.
Zeng Guofan served as an official in the capital for 12 years. When he finally left, he was not only penniless, but also owed more than 1,000 taels of silver. These debts were not paid off until he became the governor of Liangjiang.
Zeng Guofan. After serving as the governor of Liangjiang, his income increased significantly, and he could earn 200,000 taels of silver a year. However, Zeng Guofan's expenses for managing his Hunan army were more than 60,000 taels, and various entertainment costs tens of thousands, so there was not much left.
During his tenure, Zeng Guofan did not collude with others and had no "grey income" at all.
Zeng Guofan was able to behave openly and cleanly, but his younger brother Zeng Guoquan did not. It was completely the opposite.
After Zeng Guofan established the Hunan Army, he called Zeng Guoquan and his two other brothers Zeng Guohua and Zeng Guobao to manage the Hunan Army as junior officers, leaving only his second brother Zeng Guohuang to "guard the family".
However, the war was ruthless. In several years of battle, only Zeng Guoquan became a "survivor". Zeng Guoquan's personality was completely opposite to Zeng Guofan's. Zeng Guofan was sensitive and cautious, while Zeng Guoquan was bold and unrestrained. High-profile.
When Zeng Guoquan first joined the Hunan Army and led the Hunan Army to its first victory, he went into the city with his subordinates to rob property, and was severely criticized by Zeng Guofan.