The court knew about his involvement in the Self Strengthening Movement, but what about him travelling all over the globe, fighting for legalising Chinese immigration to the USA, commanding his own army, etc. I'm just wondering. Did he keep the court informed? I confess the defeat was pretty late in his career, but it seems like he had a lot of power while not being exactly trustworthy. Furthermore, is it accurate to call him the Bismarck of China (and Bismarck the Li Hongzhang of Germany, for that matter)? Thanks and all the best,
In the aftermath of the Taiping Rebellion and Second Opium War, the court in Beijing suffered a massive loss of power and prestige, while Zeng, Zuo, and Li were the great heroes of the empire; during the war, Zeng Guofan was the one who built his armies, without the court's involvement, and repeatedly ignored the orders coming from Beijing, and his proteges followed his example. Real power had devolved into the hands of the scholar gentry that manned the provincial armies, and Hunan Army viceroys picked their officers through personal loyalty; Beijing had lost its leverage with them, so they couldn't actually depose Li even if they wanted to.
As far as being the Bismarck of China, there isn't a ton of ground there, outside of them both being cunning politicians. Talleyrand perhaps?