Although Zeng Guofan was the governor of the two rivers in the late Qing Dynasty, his official position was very high, but he was honest and would not accept gifts from his subordinates casually. Under normal circumstances, he will refuse other people's gifts. When Zeng Guofan gave gifts to himself, he needed to give gifts to others for the sake of interpersonal relationship in officialdom and to please relevant personnel.

Zeng Guofan, as a senior official, inevitably has some gratitude or purposeful flattery from Xiaguan. For example, the famous soldier of the Qing dynasty outflanked him. He was a vulgar man, but he was rich. Bao Chao once sent 16 treasures to Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan only took one of the hats, and all other valuable gifts were rejected. Baochao had no choice but to take the gift home again. Therefore, in accepting gifts from officials, Zeng Guofan basically won't accept their gifts, which shows that he is an honest official.

In terms of gifts, Zeng Guofan's position is so high that he has a lot of contacts with superiors and other personnel. In order to develop better in officialdom, Zeng Guofan must give gifts to others in personnel relations. The source of his money mainly depends on the anti-smuggling money issued by the salt transportation department. Because the salt industry was very profitable at that time, Zeng Guofan's fees were also very high. After all, in officialdom, it is impossible not to abide by the hidden rules of officialdom. In order to survive in officialdom, he must give others some benefits.

Therefore, on the whole, Zeng Guofan can almost say that he is clean in accepting gifts, but it is unrealistic to say that he is in officialdom and does not accept money. In terms of gifts, in order to adapt to the hidden rules of officialdom and work better in officialdom, it is necessary to give others some money when necessary.