Chapter 3 Talents from prominent families in Lu County

According to traditional customs, after the first day of the lunar calendar, the fifth day of the new year is the most important day in the new year, because the fifth day of the first month is the birthday of the God of Wealth, and people's wealth luck for a year seems to be determined by the God of Wealth.On the fifth day of the first lunar month of the third year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, that is, on February 15th, 1823 in the Gregorian calendar, when people were busy setting up banquets, receiving the God of Wealth, and celebrating the birthday of the God of Wealth, Modian Township (now known as Modian Township, Hefei County, Luzhou Prefecture, Anhui Province) Belonging to Feidong County) the Li clan laughed and laughed, immersed in the atmosphere of joy, because another little life was born.The baby who came to the world on the birthday of the God of Wealth was Li Hongzhang, who later became famous on the political stage in the late Qing Dynasty.

Li Hongzhang's original surname was Xu, and he moved to Hefei from Youhukou, Jiangxi.Hefei is located between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, on the north shore of the beautiful and rich Chaohu Lake. It belongs to the Chaohu Basin. Xu Yingxi, the eighth patriarch of Li Hongzhang, was both in-laws and good friends of Tongzhuang Li Xinzhuang. Xinzhuang had no children. He asked to adopt Yingxi's second son, Shensuo, as his heir. Yingxi readily agreed, and Shensuo's descendants took the surname of Li.Therefore, the ancestral rules of the Li family are: the two surnames Xu and Li are not allowed to intermarry, but intermarriage with Li surnames outside the clan is not prohibited.Similar to the traditional upper-middle-class peasant families in China, the Li family has been farming and studying for generations.

Li Shijun, Li Hongzhang's great-grandfather, developed from being poor and landless at first to owning more than 200 mu of land because of his family's respect and frugality.But because Li's family is rich and powerless, and lacks political backing, they are often bullied by others. Li Hongzhang's great-grandfather, Li Chun, whose courtesy name was Fengyi, was not afraid of the strong in dealing with things, and he could argue straight, which gradually changed the situation of the Li family being bullied. Li Hongzhang's grandfather, Li Dianhua, retired to the countryside to lead his children and grandchildren to farm and study after failing twice in the provincial examinations organized by the provincial government.Although Li Dianhua inherited part of the land property by virtue of the shadow of his ancestors, but because the Li clan has multiplied a lot, the family business is not too big, so the property he can share is not much.Therefore, in the existing literature, there are often contradictory records of Dianhua serving tenants, hired workers, and poor families.His son recalled: "When the fields are close to the tombs, Chun Geng (his father) must supervise the tenants to leave more space beside the tombs of the hired workers, and those who have no owners will also plant soil in the tombs so that there will be no collapse."Dianhua may have been a small landlord. In feudal society, this kind of small landlord family was a typical so-called farming and studying family.

Li Dianhua had four sons, namely Wenyu, Wenyu, Wenqiu and Wen'an.The family has a large population and the financial burden is heavy, but Li Dianhua insists on the foundation of farming and studying in the family, and does not relax for a moment in the supervision of his children. Li Wen'an was Li Hongzhang's father.Li Wen'an, named Shihe, named Yuquan, was born in 1802.After Li Wen'an's enlightenment, Li Dianhua personally supervised the class together with his elder brother. Whenever an essay was written, Li Dianhua would review it in detail and point out the areas that needed improvement.Because Li Wen'an was often ill when he was young, and his talent was mid-to-low, Li Dianhua asked him to study with his elder brother Li Wenyu.Under the strict supervision of his elder brother, Li Wen'an concentrated on his studies, initially laying the foundation for learning.

Li Wen'an's self-named Yuquan, a man of integrity, kindness and filial piety, had a profound influence on his children, creating a brilliant family background of two generations and three Jinshi, namely Li Wen'an himself, his eldest son Li Hanzhang, and his second son Li Hongzhang.Since 1822, Li Wen'an continued to study hard while setting up a library to teach students. Beginning in 1825, he participated in the Jiangnan provincial examinations several times. After falling out of Sun Shan many times, he finally passed the examination in 1834. Four years later, he became a Jinshi of the Reform Movement. To the governor of the arresting department, he was named Yushi.

In feudal society, power was transformed into money, and political power was inseparable from economic prosperity.From then on, the Li family in Hefei, who had always been practicing martial arts in Litian, became a prominent family in Luzhou because of Li Wen'an's rise as a Kejia.Li Hongzhang's mother, Li Shi, is the daughter of Li Hongmo in Hefei.She had six sons and two daughters, and the financial burden was relatively heavy, but she overcame all kinds of difficulties, worked hard and thriftyly, and ran in financial constraints.Some people worried that her family had a large population and life was difficult, but she faced it frankly, claiming: I teach all the sons to study hard, and they are all well-off, so don't worry about being poor!She overcame all kinds of financial difficulties and made her sons study hard. Her only purpose was to find ways to create conditions for her sons, so that they could work hard on the road of learning and being excellent.She often teaches her son to serve the country, and her daughter to be diligent and thrifty to manage the family.After the Li brothers developed, the mother also always gave the admonition to be full.Li Wen'an has six sons and two daughters. Li Hongzhang is the second among his brothers: the eldest brother Hanzhang, the third brother Hezhang, the fourth brother Yunzhang, the fifth brother Fengzhang, and the sixth brother Zhaoqing.

Hanzhang's real name was Zhang Rui, his style name was Xiaoquan, and he was known as Koizumi. In his later years, he called himself Dusou.Because his father worked in Beijing, he, as the eldest son, shouldered the burden of the family, serving his grandfather and taking care of his younger siblings.He has a lot of money and pays a lot of money every day; he also adheres to the court training and specializes in career.Although he has made his own way, his wealth lies in his proficiency, but he did not go well in the examination field and suffered setbacks in the provincial examination.In 1848, Wen'an also wrote a poem expressing his affection, saying: "If you wish, you can follow the long-term ambitions and go out of the wind and dust quickly."Unexpectedly, in the second year, he won the tribute, the first class in the imperial examination, and distributed it to Hunan as the county magistrate.It is said that Yutai, governor of Huguang, was amazed when he saw Li Hanzhang, and said: Li Ling must be the one who succeeds me in the future.Because of his outstanding financial management ability, he was promoted by Zeng Guofan to be in charge of the Hunan Army's food and Taiwan affairs, and gradually became the governor of Huguang and Guangdong and Guangxi.When Li Hongzhang founded the Huai Army, Li Hanzhang purchased 3,000 foreign guns for him in Hong Kong.When Li Hongzhang went north to suppress Nian and suppress the uprising of Hui people in Shanxi and Gansu, Li Hanzhang raised military pay for him in many ways.Li Hanzhang can be said to be Li Hongzhang's most important political aid.

Hezhang ranks third, born in 1825 (the fifth year of Daoguang) with his real name Zhang Tan and his nickname Ji Quan.Ling Gongsheng was born.It is said that he was born with courage, studied since he was a child, was outstanding in his talents, and was well versed in classics and history. He intended to compete with his two elder brothers in the imperial examination career.However, he has a lot of ambition and talent, and has repeatedly failed in the local examinations.Facing the harsh reality, with the grief and indignation that his talents were not appreciated, he gave up his career, devoted himself to studying the practical knowledge of the world, and strived for fame.He finally squeezed into the ranks of the ruling class of the Qing Dynasty by organizing group exercises to suppress peasant uprisings.Although Li Hezhang himself was unsuccessful in his official career, his third son Li Jingxi became a prominent figure in the political arena in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.During the Revolution of 1911, Li Jingxi served as the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou.In the early years of the Republic of China, Li Jingxi, Xu Shichang, Zhao Erxun, and Zhang Jian became representatives of the Qing Dynasty's elders, and they were called the Four Friends of Songshan at that time;

Yunzhang ranked fourth. His real name was Zhang Jun, and his nickname was Hequan. He was born in 1829 (the ninth year of Daoguang).He stayed in his hometown because of blindness in one eye.In the 11th year of Guangxu (1885), Li Yunzhang presided over the compilation of "Continued Revision of Luzhou Fuzhi", which included 100 volumes of the main compilation and one volume of addendum.It is said that he is a filial friend, able to carry forward his will first, and won the favor of his parents.He stayed at home with a disabled body and took care of everything, which relieved the worries of his brothers who were officials outside.Of course, because he likes to talk about managing the world and managing money well, he also went out to be the helper of Hanzhang and Hongzhang.

Fengzhang is ranked fifth. His real name is Zhangquan, and his nickname is Zhiquan.He devoted himself to useful books on managing the world, helped his father run regiment training, served as prime minister in military camp affairs, and worked in the Jiangnan General Manufacturing Bureau.He later retired by begging for leave, lived in Wuhu, concentrated on land, commerce and usury business, and became the richest man among the Hongzhang brothers. Zhaoqing was ranked sixth. His real name was Zhang Zhao, and his nickname was Youquan. He was born in 1835 (the fifteenth year of Daoguang), twelve years younger than Li Hongzhang, and was extremely intelligent since childhood.Born as a supervisor.It is said that he was seldom familiar with classics and history, was erudite and capable of writing, held his bow upright, and his writing was upright, but he was not very proud of his career in the imperial examination, so he had to spend money to buy the title of Yuanwailang in order to get promoted.Later, he emerged in politics because he took refuge in Zeng Guofan, emphasized the art of war, and galloped through the army.

When Zeng Guofan supervised the suppression of Nian, he once said to Li Hongzhang: "Nian bandits cannot be wiped out without Huai Yong, and Huai Yong cannot be supervised without the monarch's family."Therefore, Zeng Guofan specially promoted Li Zhaoqing to be in charge of the defense of the Jinan Canal.However, Zhaoqing couldn't bear the suffering of the army, so he slipped back home privately.Li Zhaoqing's official career was not smooth, and he died of depression at the age of thirty-nine. Li Hongzhang's real name was Zhang Tong, but his father later changed his name to Hongzhang in the hope that he would be able to make great achievements when he became an adult, and his articles would be famous for the country.Li Hongzhang lived up to his father's high expectations. He passed the imperial examinations at the age of 21 and Jinshi at the age of 24, becoming the youngest Hanlin in Anhui at that time. Li Hongzhang had three wives successively.Li Hongzhang's first teacher, Zhou Juchu's niece and granddaughter, Zhou Shi, is his first wife, who is two years older than Li Hongzhang.The two got married before Li Hongzhang went to Beijing for the exam.After Li Hongzhang passed the Jinshi examination, the two separated from each other, and Hongyan passed on the letter.When Li Hongzhang was working in Beijing, the Zhou family stayed in his hometown in Anhui.Zhou died of illness in the camp of the Hunan Army in Nanchang in 1861.After the original wife Zhou died of illness, Zhao Xiaolian became Li Hongzhang's stepwife.This stepwife's family background is prominent, and all four generations have high school Jinshi.Zhao Xiaolian's grandfather, Zhao Wenkai, was the No. 1 scholar in the first year of Jiaqing, and once served as the envoy of the canonized Ryukyu King.His father, Zhao Yi, was a Jinshi in the Daoguang Dynasty, and he was an accompanying student of Emperor Xianfeng.His elder brother Zhao Jiyuan was a Jinshi of the Tongzhi Dynasty, and his nephew Zhao Zengzhong was a Jinshi of the Guangxu Dynasty.One year after Mrs. Zhou's death, Li Hongzhang became the governor of Jiangsu, and soon married the 24-year-old Zhao Xiaolian.In addition, when Li Hongzhang was 50 years old, he took a woman surnamed Mo who was more than 30 years younger than him as his concubine.After Zhao Xiaolian's death, Mo's family was strengthened and granted the title of Mrs. Yipin. In short, Li Hongzhang was born in such a typical farming and studying family. Many factors such as family economic status, political status, and cultural quality have left a deep imprint on him. Even his choice of life path is deeply imprinted. Deeply marked with the brand of the family.First of all, this family belongs to the bureaucratic landlord class, but the financial situation is difficult, which prompted Li Hongzhang to know the hardships of life, hard work and self-motivation, and strive to make progress; this family has little political power, and has a relatively strong desire to improve the family's political and economic status. Has a strong sense of participation in politics.Secondly, this family advocates Confucian ethics and morality and the idea that those who are good at learning will be officials, and hope that their descendants will be far-sighted and become loyal guards of the ruling class of the Qing Dynasty. This specific family environment and conditions pushed Li Hongzhang to take one step at a time in accordance with the traditional feudal scholar-official life model of self-cultivation, family harmony, governance, and peace in the world. This event had an impact that cannot be underestimated, and it also determined his basic life interest and destination.