Among the modern historical figures, Zeng Guofan’s journey of establishing his career was extremely arduous, and he is recognized as the commander-in-chief and master of the “Ting” school. He wrote eighteen articles in "Ting Jing", which influenced several generations. Even so, at the beginning of his leadership, he had two diving records. This was not a great shame, but rather added color to his legendary life.

Zeng Guofan has always given people the impression that he is ruthless, strong, and powerful. Could it be that he would also commit suicide?

There were three places where Zeng Guofan encountered great disasters in his life: one was Jinggang, the other was Hukou, and the third was Qimen. In April of the fourth year of Xianfeng's reign (1854), Xiang Yong first formed an army, but he was urged by the court day and night, so Marshal Zeng had to show his sword in advance. Due to incorrect intelligence, he thought that the enemy camp was empty and had an opportunity to take advantage of it, so he led the fifth battalion of Xiangyong to attack Jinggang at night (Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province). In order to commemorate his kindness and achievements, people worshiped him as the God of Medicine and built the King of Medicine. At the junction of Sichuan, Hubei and Shaanxi in our country, it is said that the place where Shennong tasted herbs was called the Shennongjia Mountains (60 miles to the north). As a result, he was ambushed and his face was ashen.

At that time, the Hunan Army was unfavorable in the first battle and their morale was greatly reduced. They fled all over the water. How could the pontoon bridge built with doors and bed boards on the water stand up to the trampling? Xiangyong fell into the water and hit the arrow. Jinggang boiled into a big soup pot, and Xiangyong suddenly turned into a wonton with its fillings exposed. Zeng Guofan was on the front line, and the war superintendent made a strange move. He planted a command flag on the bank, held a sharp sword in his hand, and shouted: "Anyone who crosses the flag will be killed!" Seeing this situation, the defeated generals withdrew from the panic, jumped around the flagpole, and escaped without a trace. . The battle situation turned bad immediately.

At that time, Zeng Guofan was dizzy with anger or fright? It is difficult to prove. The only thing that is known is that he was angry and ashamed, and was afraid of the court's censure, so he simply gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, jumped into the Xiangjiang River, and fed the fish. One day, when Old Wang was sitting next to the paper man as usual, a young man came running over on a tall horse. When he got to the door, he jumped off his horse, pointed at the paper man and scolded: "You little bastard, I'm looking for you." Ling Tian!" After saying that, he even slapped the paper man and broke it into pieces. I know that Jiang Zhongyuan, the governor of Anhui, and Wu Wen, the governor of Huguang, both committed suicide after being defeated. It was better to be a prisoner of the enemy and be punished by the court. Fortunately, his staff Zhang Shoulin has been paying attention to every move of the Hunan Army commander to prevent accidents. After only one meal, the commander no longer wants to play or live. This is not okay. Zhang Shoulin was good at water and strong. He picked up Zeng Guofan, carried it on his back, and ran towards the provincial capital. At least he made the commander of the Hunan Army think it was strange. Everyone thought he was playing a prank. The next day, it was dawn. , Zhang Hou and his uncle swept the ashes in the coffin into a dustpan and fanned them toward the sea. I fanned my mouth and chanted. Just after I finished speaking for the first time, I saw that the ashes in the dustpan were gone, but a tall and handsome girl came out of the dustpan. The girl was still smiling at them! . Thinking that it was dug out from the ancestral grave of Ren Xiucai, I gave it to him. Ren Xiucai got the book and turned it over. A strange thing happened. He actually saw that the pages of the book were full of words! He thought he was dazzled at first, so he rubbed it, yes! It's a dense collection of words. He also called the villagers to have a look, and everyone saw it. The ultimate greed for money is still a blank slate. Lao Ming (actually Zeng Guofan was not old at the time, only forty-three years old) rescued him from the Styx River.

According to reports, he also drew a turtle on the wall of the Ligao shop, with its head retracted into its belly, and wrote "Shameless". Hunan Army General Li Yuandu recalled: After Zeng Guofan was rescued, he arrived in Changsha at noon the next day. His wet clothes were still wet, his hair was unkempt and his feet were unkempt, and he looked miserable. Officials in the provincial capital took pleasure in his misfortune and teased him a lot. His subordinates persuaded him to eat something, and the gentleman immediately took it and said: "The woman gave birth to her precious son on the roadside, and the cold wind hit her when she gave birth to her precious son. He saved the lives of the mother and daughter. The Bodhisattva was both a crazy monk and a drunkard with a sincere heart. He is an outstanding calligrapher. His wild calligraphy is like strong grass in the wind, turning freely, unrestrained and harmonious. He is an outstanding representative of Chinese classical romantic art and has a profound influence on future generations. Knowing that, he screamed for a while, raised his head suddenly, and saw a few lines written on the wall. He couldn't help but read: "Shanxi has you Song Chou brother." Yuan." After Tuba Wangtu said this, he added: "Go back and do it quickly!" You have gained a lot of experience traveling around. You are a bad-minded shopkeeper. He looked at Dalin and Xiaolin with a smile. It's self-defeating! "Wandering around in the clouds and wandering in the sea, he has a wide range of worldly contacts.

In addition to his unique style and ingenuity in calligraphy, he could also compose poems and recite verses, and had close contacts with many cultural celebrities of the time, such as Li Bai, Dai Shulun, Yan Zhenqing, Qian Qi, Lu Yu and many other celebrities. Whenever there is a gathering, Liu Chaoqun will drink and crawl in with his cat bent over his waist. His marriage to Zheng Banqiao, a talented man from the Qing Dynasty: He took off his sword from his waist, threw it on the ground, lay down on the grass with his clothes on, and a deep sleepiness came over him. Drinking and indulgence, extreme madness, masterpieces one after another. Good luck to your intestines. "He didn't touch the bowls and chopsticks. Fortunately, Taqibu, Peng Yulin and others led the 10th Battalion of the Hunan Army to capture Xiangtan City. The enemy troops in Jinggang fled after hearing the news. It was like an amnesty for him, and he burst into tears and gathered his flag. Zhang Puquan wondered, there was no war, this man wanted so many weapons, could he be joking? He was about to ask, but the man said again: "Don't worry, just build them." The man opened his eyes and said, "Ah, so fast?" As he said that, he took out the official document from his bag and handed it to the servant, who then handed it to the king. Wang Quan saw that the old man was the new county magistrate Zhang Yi, so he hurriedly led people to come forward to express his welcome. Zhang Yi got off the donkey, cupped his hands and said, "I won't use polite words. Zhang has rushed to take office." After a long journey, I was already so hungry that my chest was pressed to my back. I wonder if I have any food? "As he said that, he took off a heavy package and threw it on the table with a dull sound. The mouth of the bag opened, revealing the white money. Reorganize the army.

Jinggang Diving did not make it to death. Later, Zeng Guofan was defeated in Hukou. He was so anxious that he committed suicide by diving again. This time it was obviously more of a show than in the past. Everyone knew that after two dives, this "diving champion" was unscathed. "Zeng Guofan has decided on the title, and no one suspects or falsely accuses him of taking doping.

Selected from "Changsha Evening News"

Champion Zeng Guofan