What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Mr. Lu Xun commented on Hu Xueyan: the last businessman in China's feudal society. And a sentence that makes us more familiar is: "For the officials must see Zeng Guofan, for the merchants must read Hu Xueyan." ”
Hu Xueyan is not only rigorous in his work, but also good at being flexible, and often can find another way when others are helpless. He is not only beautiful, but also reliable in his work, in his words, "be beautiful, do things authentically." He is good at both business and managing his own network, and his shrewdness lies in his ability to grasp the characteristics of different people and do what they like.
In the eleventh year of Qing Xianfeng (1861), when the Taiping Army attacked Hangzhou, Hu Xueyan transported arms and grain and rice from Shanghai to help the Qing army and was appreciated by Zuo Zongtang, and later helped Zuo Zongtang organize the "Changjie Army" and found the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau. When Zuo Zongtang went west to quell the rebellion against Agubai, he presided over the affairs of the Shanghai Procurement and Transportation Bureau for him, borrowed foreign funds in Shanghai five times, up to 11.95 million taels, collected military salaries, ordered arms, and did intelligence work, often reporting important news from all walks of life in Shanghai at home and abroad to Zuo Zongtang. When it is popular, the official residence is second and wears a yellow coat. Hu Xueyan made Zuo Zongtang famous in history, and Zuo Zongtang also made Hu Xueyan realize the dream of a "red-top businessman".
In order to establish relations with Zuo Zongtang, Hu Xueyan took a lot of thought, and when he first met Zuo Zongtang, Zuo Zongtang heard some rumors about Hu Xueyan's relationship with the Taiping Army, and he was quite wary, and even did not give him a seat, "cooling" him. Hu Xueyan eventually gained zuo Zongtang's trust and was even cited as a confidant. As a result, Zuo Zongtang became Hu Xueyan's more powerful patron in the official arena.
Hu Xueyan gained Zuo Zongtang's trust and only did two things:
First, donate rice and money. Hu Xueyan returned to Hangzhou and brought 10,000 stones of rice and 100,000 taels of silver. Originally, this 10,000 stone of rice had a name, that is, when Hangzhou was besieged, Hu Xueyan consulted with the prefect Wang Youling, and Hu Xueyan risked death to go out of the city and go to Shanghai to purchase rice to save Hangzhou's urgent need for grain. Hu Xueyan bought 10,000 stones of rice and transported it to Hangzhou, but could not enter the city, so he had to transfer the rice to Ningbo, and now, Hangzhou is recovered, Hu Xueyan transported the 10,000 stones of rice to Hangzhou, and handed over the original purchase of rice 20,000 taels of silver to Zuo Zongtang. He not only replied to official affairs to prove that he did not flee with money, but also donated 10,000 stones of rice to Zuo Zongtang free of charge. The 100,000 taels of silver was a silver that Hu Xueyan voluntarily donated to urge the officers and soldiers who captured Hangzhou to restrain themselves from disturbing the people.
In order to boost morale, the Qing army fought a war, and there was an unwritten rule that as long as the siege troops captured a city, within 3 days, they did not have to abide by the military rules prohibiting robbery and adultery. Hu Xueyan sacrificed 100,000 taels of silver in exchange for the officers and soldiers abiding by the law.
Second, take the initiative to undertake the heavy responsibility of raising salaries. Zuo Zongtang's hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses went on a crusade to suppress the Taiping Army, and the monthly salary required was 260,000 taels, and at that time, the imperial court used soldiers to fight wars and adopted the method of "cooperative salary", that is, the provinces took out money for the army's food and remuneration. Hearing Zuo Zongtang talk about raising wages, Hu Xueyan did not hesitate to say that he was willing to do his part.
The two things that Hu Xueyan did did indeed "medicine" on the "symptom", and it was also a "medicine" to a "disease" at once.
The so-called symptomatic, because grain and military salaries are the most anxious and difficult things for Zuo Zongtang to do at this time. Hangzhou has just been recovered, and the aftermath is a major event, and to achieve results, we must first have grain. At that time, the suppression of the Taiping Army was actually carried out in concert with Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, the defeat of the Taiping Army had been decided, Zuo Zongtang naturally wanted to compete for the first merit, at this time, the grain and grass military salary was also a top priority. Without food and wages, it is impossible to launch a further offensive, and once the "salary" is "disturbed" and the troops cannot be restrained, chaos will be brewed.
Hu Xueyan solved the problem that caused Zuo Zongtang a headache, where did Zuo Zongtang still have a reason not to appreciate! In zuo Zongtang's words, solving these two problems will not only save Hangzhou and wipe out the whole territory of Zhejiang, but he is also sure. No wonder that when Hu Xueyan went to see him, Zuo Zongtang not only gave up his seat, but also when it came to raising wages, he immediately ordered him to keep the meal.
The right medicine, in the final analysis, is to adhere to the principle of the premise of doing what is good. Just like giving gifts, one of the important principles of giving is to make the other party like.
And if you want the other party to like it, you must give the other party something that you urgently need and don't have for a while. For example, Zuo Zongtang asked for merit, and Hu Xueyan just sent something that could make him accomplish his deeds, sending unexpected results.
Hu Xueyan said: "Gift-giving always means giving things that others can't ask for." It can be seen that he is well versed in this way.