On July 21, 1867 (June 20, the sixth year of Tongzhi), at night, the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion was heavily guarded.
Zeng Guofan was chatting with Zhao Liewen about the current social situation. Zeng Guofan was worried when he talked about the situation in the capital. In front of Zeng Guofan, an important minister of the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Liewen told the governor with unshakable words and shocking words that the Qing Dynasty only had a lifespan of 50 years at most. He also accurately predicted the entire process of the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, starting with the collapse of the imperial court. , then the local governors held great power and acted independently, falling into a situation of fragmented warlords fighting. After listening to his words, Zeng Guofan said painfully, I look forward to dying early day and night, and I can't bear to see this day. Who is Zhao Liewen? Why can you judge the situation so accurately? Why did you dare to say bluntly in front of the Governor of Liangjiang of the Qing Dynasty, "The Qing Dynasty is going to fall!"
The Governor of Liangjiang, Zeng Guofan, had a very large shogunate, and Zhao Liewen was an aide in the shogunate, and he was the most trusted aide by Zeng Guofan. . In fact, during the Han and Tang Dynasties or even earlier, Chinese officials had the habit of establishing a shogunate. For example, Gao Shi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, was born in the shogunate of Jiedushi. By the Qing Dynasty, this industry was even more developed and was almost monopolized by people from one place, that is, the famous "Shaoxing Master"!
However, Zeng Guofan's shogunate was different from the shogunate of all the governors and ministers of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. First of all, it was large, reaching about three to four hundred people. The general governor's shogunate only had more than ten people. Second, there are abundant talents. The number of talents is breathtaking. Many of the seven provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, from governors and governors to state officials, have served as staff in Zeng Guofan's shogunate.
Zeng Guofan’s shogunate was large because with the development of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, the Manchu Eight Banners and the Green Camp had long been decayed and vulnerable, and their true nature was exposed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The helpless Manchu Qing Dynasty could only rely on local Han officials to organize league exercises to maintain their rule. For example, Zeng Guofan, who had served as the imperial envoy and governor of Liangjiang in the 10th year of Xianfeng, had already held the position of the five imperial envoys, managing Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang. Provincial military. Of course, it requires the assistance of a large number of military and political talents.
Zeng Guofan’s shogunate had many talents because Zeng Guofan mastered a magical art, physiognomy! Don't get me wrong, the physiognomy here is not a trick used by feudal superstition to deceive people, but a method of selecting and judging talents derived from Zeng Guofan's lifelong experience in dealing with people. Zeng Guofan even wrote a strange book called "Bing Jian"!
First, observe words and colors: Zeng Guofan said in "Bingjian" that a whole body of spirit has two eyes. It means that a person’s energy and vitality are all reflected in his eyes. Whether a person is alert and capable or ignorant and dull, full of energy or decadent and confused, are all reflected in whether the eyes are bright and energetic or dim and muddy. Therefore, Zeng Guofan liked other people's eyes the most when looking at people, and he chose his staff in this way.
Second, hire based on talents: Zeng Guofan said in "Bingjian" that true greatness is born naturally. Such great talents can only be met but cannot be sought. Therefore, when selecting and employing people, we should pay attention to choosing middle-level talents. Talents at the left and right, such talents are the most and best to be cultivated. Every time someone comes to serve, Zeng Guofan will carefully examine and observe the person. Those who are timid and cautious will be asked to handle the food and salary; those with excellent literary talent will be asked to handle official documents; those who are knowledgeable will be asked to organize rare ancient books. Basically, we can put people in the right positions, so that the staff can also make good contributions in the right positions.
Thirdly, we are both teachers and friends, focusing on the cultivation of talents. No matter how busy Zeng Guofan was, he would spend a certain amount of time talking to his staff every day. On the one hand, he listened to their work experience, and on the other hand, he used his own experience to give them guidance. At the same time, he gave his staff a list of books to read, and he also He often talked to his staff about their reading and life experiences, and even held regular examinations to test their staff's homework. Zeng Guofan turned his shogunate into a school, and he himself was both a leader and a teacher.
Although Zeng Guofan was a feudal bureaucrat, he was very open-minded. In his Liangjiang Governor's Mansion, anyone could say anything, and the atmosphere of speech was very open. Zhao Liewen was the most trusted and talented among all Zeng Guofan's staff. After being with Zeng Guofan for a long time, he could judge the current situation so accurately, and he dared to say bluntly that "the Qing Dynasty is going to fall" in front of Zeng Guofan, the governor of Liangjiang and the important officials of the court.
Therefore, Zeng Guofan's shogunate was full of talents. There were 47 senior officials of third rank or above, including 33 governors. Even during the Guangxu period, 5 of the eight governors in the country came from Zeng Guofan's shogunate. All of this is inseparable from Zeng Guofan's knowledge, employment and training of people.