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長槍隊統帥英國人戈登（Charles George Gordon，1833-1885），於1863年因為在蘇州已經投降了的太平軍將領被李鴻章集體謀殺了的事件，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，也是李鴻章個人簡歷和頂戴花翎上抹不去的污點。只是在後人編寫的清史稿《李鴻章傳》中，對此事件輕描淡寫不無洗地之嫌疑。說這不是李鴻章的本意，是他手底下人程學啟（1829-1864）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，常熟守賊駱國忠、董正勤舉城降，福山諸海口俱下。偽忠王李秀成悉眾圍常熟，江陰援賊復陷福山。鴻章牒諭國忠固守待援，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。因疏陳賊情地勢，建三路進軍之策：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。源章以賊麕集西路，志在保無錫，援蘇州。乃令鶴章、銘傳守後路，抽銳卒會學啟合破賊屯，蘇、錫之賊皆大困。賊陷江寧、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，城賊爭權相猜，謀反正，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，賊爭應官軍，所至輒下。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。

而在《清史稿》《程學啟傳》中，則更為詳細，雖然程學啟是主刀之人，李鴻章也難辭其咎：

• 十月，李秀成糾李侍賢同踞無錫以為援，為劉銘傳、李鶴章所綴，學啟督戰益急，連破賊於蠡口、黃埭，攻破滸墅關及十里亭、虎丘賊壘，於是蘇州之圍遂合。賊自盤門至婁門連壘十餘里，號曰長城，亦悉破。秀成知不可為，又江寧被圍急，遂以城守付其黨譚紹光，自出走。賊酋郜雲官與副將鄭國魁舊識，密介通款，學啟與國魁及戈登單舸見雲官於洋澄湖，令斬紹光為信。秀成行三日，紹光會諸酋議事，雲官即座上殺之，開齊門降。明日，學啟入城，賊酋列名者八人，雲官外，曰伍貴文、汪安均、周文佳、范啟發、張大洲、汪懷武、汪有為，皆歃血為誓，然未薙髮，乞總兵副將官職，署其眾為二十營，劃半城為屯。學啟佯許，密請李鴻章誅之。鴻章謂殺降不祥，且堅他賊死拒心，未決。學啟曰：今賊眾尚不下二十萬，多吾軍數倍，徒以戰敗畏死乞降，心故未服。分城而處，變在肘腋，何以善其後？鴻章乃許之。次日，諸酋出城謁鴻章，留宴軍中。酒半，健卒百餘挺矛入，刺八人皆死。學啟嚴陣入城，以雲官等首示眾眾曰：八人反側，已伏誅矣！賊黨驚擾，殺其悍者數百人，餘不問，分別遣留，皆帖服，蘇州平。

這時候大清國四萬萬人加上滿朝文武都讚賞擊節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。

穿黃馬褂外號“中國戈登”的戈登

• Gordon, who had given the murdered chiefs his word and personally guaranteed their lives, was filled with a righteous wrath and resigned his command 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，只是在英國倫敦的維多利亞公園，仍然立有他的一尊紀念銅像。

• 戈登接手常勝軍後一改華爾和白齊文的地痞作風，對部下要求極嚴，戈登統領的常勝軍是一個既令人恐懼也令人尊敬的對手。在崑山之戰中，常勝軍還對俘獲的八百太平軍極盡優待，八百太平軍彼等大喜，皆乃投於常勝軍，反向敵軍而誓戰。

或許，被國人忘記，對戈登本人和他的家人來說，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，被國人批倒批臭，掘墳鞭屍，砸爛毀壞八百回了。