鄭觀應與盛宣懷均將對方視為最大知己。他們彼此交誼與晚清洋務實業之關係，集中 體現在接手辦理張之洞的漢陽鐵廠之中。聯合整頓鐵廠過程中的新舊重重阻力，兼併聯營的理念 與張之洞相左以及鄭觀應由此產生對實業專門教育的格外重視。通過三者內在關係考察，不僅可 以進一步深化相關問題的研究，而且可窺洋務運動中思想家、實業家和地方實力派領袖三大群體 之間的互動、交集和博弈，並藉此以突破歷史人物研究方法上的某些窠臼。

Zheng Guanying and Sheng Xuanhuai regard each other as the closest bosom friends. They established friendship in the Westernization drive in the late Qing dynasty, mainly reflected in the takeover of the Hanyang ironworks from Zhang Zhidong. Old and new challenges and difficulties in the process of reorganizing the ironworks and the different ideas from Zhang Zhidong on the concept of incorporating and cooperative management made Zheng Guanying pay special attention to exclusive education on industries. Through the observation of the relationship between the three, research on relevant issues can be furthered and interactivity, intersection and competition between the three major groups of thinkers, industrialists and leaders of local strength can be observed, through which some stereotypes and patterns of the research methods on the historical figures can be broken.