2025-1-27

都說十年磨一劍，張戎的《慈禧太后》這本書，是繼《毛傳》之後的又一力作。總體感覺上是比毛傳寫得好，尤其是資料詳實，經得起推敲。比起《毛傳》多取自前蘇聯檔案和個人回憶等孤證更接近於歷史原貌。在第五章《現代化長征的第一步》（First Step on the Long Road to Modernity, 1861-1869)中，張戎詳細地描寫了繼美國人華爾（Ward）殉難之後的洋人常勝軍統帥英國人戈登，因為已經投降了的太平軍將領被中堂李鴻章集體屠殺的事情，和大清帝國鬧翻了的故事。張戎在這本小說中認為，國人不守信用出爾反爾忘恩負義，不值得信賴，視國人生命如草芥。想反，西方人則反而遵守規則，對普通中國人個人的生命，非常的重視。

• Towards the end of 1863, Earl Li and Gordon laid siege to the city of Suzhou, famed for its silks and gardens and canals (some called it China's Venice), and strategically situated near Nanjing, capital of the Taiping. They persuaded eight defending taiping chiefs to surrender the city, promising them safety and high office in return. In his camp outside the city gate, Earl Li gave a banquet for the chiefs, to which Gordon was not invited. Halfway through the drinking, eight officers came in, each carrying a mandarin's hat of honour, with a red button on top and a peacock feather sticking up. The officers moved on their knees to the chiefs and offered the hats to them. All at the banquet got to their feet and watched. The chiefs stood up, untied the yellow headcarves they were wearing and were about to take the hats and put them on when, in a split second, eight swards were drawn, and the eight heads were held by their hair in the grip of the officers. Earl Li, who had absented himself from the banquet just before the officers entered, in order not to be present at the killing, had the chiefs killed to prevent potential treachery, as had happened before. Afterwards, his army raced into Suzhou and massacred tens of thousands of Taiping troops who thought they were safe. 

正所謂兵不厭詐人心隔肚皮無毒不丈夫，這是中國人社會文化中最醜陋的一面和中國歷史上最醜陋的一幕，也是李鴻章簡歷上抹不去的個人污點。只是在後人編寫的清史稿《李鴻章傳》中，對此輕描淡寫不無洗地之嫌疑。說這不是李鴻章的本意，是他手底下人搞的鬼等等。

• 初，美人華爾所將兵名常勝軍，慈谿之役，歿於陣，其副白齊文懷異志，閉松江城索餉。鴻章裁其軍，易以英將戈登，常勝軍始復聽節制，命出海攻福山，不克而還。二年正月，兼署五口通商大臣。初，常熟守亳槆�謸u⒍�正钦攅城降，福山諸海口俱下。偽忠王李秀成悉眾圍常熟，江陰援俑聰莞Ｉ健ｘ櫿碼褐I國忠固守待援，而檄鼎新、銘傳攻福山，奪石城。國忠知援至，開城猛擊，俘斬殆盡，遂解常熟圍，進復太倉、崑山。因疏陳僨櫚貏藎�建三聭峂軍之策：學啟由崑山攻蘇州；鶴章、銘傳由江陰進無錫，淮、揚水軍輔之；太湖水軍將李朝斌由吳江進太湖，鼎新等分屯松江，常勝軍屯崑山為前軍援。李秀成糾合偽納王郜雲官等水陸十萬，偪大橋角而營，鶴章擊之，敗走，九月，復集，連營互進。鶴章立八營於大橋角，與之持。源章以冫幖�西铝P�竹x詒�無錫，援蘇州。乃令鶴章、銘傳守後路，抽銳卒會學啟合破僂停�蘇、錫之俳源罄АＹ陷江寧、蘇、杭為三大窟，而蘇則其脊膂也，故李秀成百計援之。譚紹光尤兇狡，誓死守，附城築長牆石壘，堅不可猝拔。十月，鴻章親視師，以砲毀之，城贍帣嘞嗖攏�址凑�，刺殺譚紹光，開門納軍。時降酋八人皆擁重兵，號十萬，歃血誓共生死，要顯秩。學啟言不殺八人，後必為患。鴻章意難之，學啟拂衣出，鴻章笑語為解。明日，八人出城受賞，留飲，即坐上數其罪，斬之。學啟入城諭定其眾，搜殺悍黨二千餘人。捷聞，賞太子太保銜、黃馬褂。十一月，鶴章等復無錫，進攻常州，以應江寧圍軍。學啟出太湖，圖嘉興，以應浙軍。鼎新等軍先入浙，收平湖、海鹽，贍帒�官軍，所謩Cm下。三年二月，學啟急攻嘉興，親搏戰，登城，克之，中彈死。四月，克常州，擒斬偽護王陳坤書，賞騎都尉世職。常勝軍慚無功，戈登辭歸國，乃撤其軍。

這時候四萬萬人加上滿朝文武沒有一個人敢說一個不字。戈登，也只有洋人戈登，對國人司空見慣見怪不怪出爾反爾不守信用屠殺自己同胞的惡行深惡痛絕出面反對，並大義凜然掛冠而去。慈禧皇太后賞賜他高官厚祿白銀萬兩皆不接受，後來還是在李鴻章的斡旋之下，賞了戈登一件只有皇上才能夠穿的黃馬褂，草草了事。

• Gordon, who had given the murdered chiefs his word and personally guaranteed their lives, was filled with a righteous wrath and resigned his conmmand of the Ever-victorious Army. Though he could, reluctantly, see Earl Li's point of view, he felt that as an English officer and Christian gentleman he had to disassociate his name from this act of Asiatic barbarity.... At Earl Li's recommendation, Cixi awarded him a singular honour: a mandarin jacket in the royal yellow colour, of a kind that only the emperor was allowed to wear. Gordon had given Cixi much food for thought about Westerners. 

可惜一向標榜全世界最勤勞勇敢也最愛好和平的國人，早把中國人民最早的老朋友戈登將軍給忘記了，只是在英國倫敦的的維多利亞廣場，仍然有他的一尊紀念銅像。

或許，被國人忘記，對戈登本人和他的家人來說，估計還是最好的結果，否則他或者他的後人，會被當作鎮壓太平天國運動的儈子手，文革期間，早被批倒批臭，掘墳鞭屍砸爛毀壞八百回了。