Zeng Guofan was unparalleled in official circles, and Du Yuesheng was astonished on the beach in Shanghai. They all wrote infinite legends for us with their limited lives. Although they seem to have nothing in common, they have the same realm of life in a certain way of doing things, which gives us inspiration and makes us think.
We say that times create heroes, and wise men are good at seizing opportunities, but opportunities favor those who are prepared.
State is the basis of all preparation. "If you want to achieve something, you must first be a good person." Since you want to stand out from the general public and be the leader in the future, you need to have the measure of giving first and taking later, the height of overall planning, and the strategy and momentum of strategizing.
Realm is the cultivation of pattern, and it is also the magnanimity of managing connections. Whether it's officialdom or gangsters, they are all about managing connections. As a person who controls things and controls people, you can engage in intrigues and deceit, or you can be brave and ruthless, but this kind of small wisdom and brutal force will never win the admiration and followers. The charm of the realm comes from your professional ethics. There are robbers and robbers as well as robbers and robbers. Whether it is the "poetry and etiquette heirloom" of the literati or the "bohemian" of the Jianghu hero! All ethics are nothing more than "being a human being"! This is the highest virtue for practitioners.
As a well-known scholar of etiquette, Zeng Guofan was a gentle man with a profound character. His self-denial and restoration of etiquette skills were top-notch. He was known as "the three immortals of virtue, meritorious service, and words. Being a teacher, general, and prime minister is a perfect man." ", is truly a role model for people; as the legendary godfather of Shanghai, Du Yuesheng is an iconic figure of Shanghai gangsters. He is domineering and gangster, willful and bold, true and frank, and also has his own natural character! It is known as "Three thousand guests of Chunshen Gate, five feet of sky south of Xiaodu City".
In China’s modern history, Zeng Guopan and Du Yuesheng respectively represent two distinct power groups. They had a profound impact on contemporary China with their different value propositions. Times have changed, and the social classes they serve have fallen away in the progress of society. The merits and demerits of right and wrong are left to history to comment. However, the realm and pattern of success that the two established in their lives are still remarkable to this day and are worth learning from for everyone who wants to achieve great things.
A single tree cannot make a forest. No matter whether it is an enterprise, a political system, or a social organization, choosing the right people and employing the right people is the key to success. Therefore, for economic entities, the core element of human resources is still Select people, educate people, employ people and retain people. All this starts with choosing the right person, and only knowing people well is the basis for choosing the right person.
Zeng Guofan believed that “you don’t need outsiders to do things, and you must predict people before you use them.” That is to say, employing people must have the ability to observe the essence of people. It was Zeng Guofan's talent for recognizing people that allowed him to recruit talents with regular imperial examination backgrounds such as Li Hongzhang, as well as opposition figures such as the discharger Yang Zaifu, the angry youth Bao Chao, and the master Zuo Zongtang, and he could also make people A disciple of the Eight Banners like Taqibu, who has a "good foundation and a bright future", obeys orders. This achievement is mainly due to his ability to judge a person's character and virtue from details, thereby forming a comprehensive judgment on talents. There was once a poor scholar who got a job under Zeng Guofan and finally had enough to eat. After that, before eating, he must carefully pick out the grains in the rice and throw them on the ground before eating. After seeing this, Zeng Guofan immediately informed the accountant to ask this person to settle the account and leave. Others were confused and asked him for advice. Zeng answered: This person suffered a lot before and didn’t have enough to eat. After a few days of eating, he forgot his roots and became so picky. What will happen if he becomes a powerful person in the future? He doesn't consider the interests of the people at all.
Du Yuesheng's ability to recognize people is also very high. His relationship with Dai Li is a good example of Du Yuesheng's ability to "read people". Around 1921, Dai Li was just a gangster in a casino in Shanghai. Once, he was throwing dice in Du Yuesheng's casino. His skill was so good that the casino lost a lot of money. The spectators wanted to punish him. As a result, Dai Li wanted to see Du Yuesheng by name. Du Yuesheng met Dai Li and asked him to perform. After taking a look at it, he was full of praise for Dai Li's stunts and thought that this man's flexibility in mind and skills was unparalleled. So they became sworn brothers on the spot. Dai Li, who later became the chief of the military secret agents, was Chiang Kai-shek's most trusted confidant. Du Yuesheng's development and growth was largely due to his special relationship with Dai Li.
Morality can appeal to people, but it may not necessarily win them over. If you are good at sharing, you can "gather everyone's private interests and make one person public."
Zeng Guofan founded the Hunan Army and suppressed the Taiping Army during his 11-year military career.
At that time, the Qing army was popular in using quotas, deducting soldiers' pay, selling vacancies, and setting up gambling and charging fees in the military camps. For Zeng Guofan, if he follows the example, he will definitely get a huge sum of money. For example, Li Hongzhang led the Huai army for decades, and accumulated a huge amount of Jie Kuang and Kuo Jian. He kept part of the silver in the Zhili vassal treasury as his "little treasury", and there were still 8 million taels left after his death. But Zeng Guofan's eunuchs were not enriched by this. When he first came out of the army, Zeng Guofan said: "No money, no fear of death." After commanding the army, although he had a lot of money at his disposal, he spent most of the income he received to "show wind to his subordinates" and "answer to the Holy Lord" He rewarded his subordinates or donated them to the victims. On the contrary, the money he sent home was less than before.
If it is just rewarding employees, it is not enough to show Zeng Guofan's brilliance. He also dared to recommend his subordinates to take on important tasks, even on an equal footing with himself. Since ancient times, few people have been able to do this. Zuo Zongtang once served as military counselor under him, and Li Hongzhang was his student. When Zeng Guofan felt that both of them had unique talents, he strongly recommended them to the imperial court as governors. When Li Hongzhang left on his recommendation, Zeng Guofan assigned one of his elite troops to him to help him quickly open up the situation in a different place. After his recommendation, Zuo Zongtang was promoted to governor of Fujian and Zhejiang within two years, becoming his equal.
Among the three tycoons in Shanghai, it is said that "Huang Jinrong is greedy for money, Zhang Xiaolin is good at fighting, and Du Yuesheng is good at being a good person". As a gangster, Du Yuesheng gained a good reputation mainly due to his demeanor of giving first and taking later. For many years, he continued to buy potions to prevent infectious diseases and sent them to his hometown in Pudong, distributing them free of charge to each household. Whenever disasters occurred in Shanghai and nearby areas, he would come forward to organize relief. He was compassionate and compassionate, often safeguarding the interests of workers, and mediating labor disputes. wait. He has never been stingy with money when coordinating the forces of various underworld factions and handling relations with various warlords. He made money in many ways and dissipated it in many ways, so he attracted all kinds of people in society, from political dignitaries, literati to gang backbones. The great scholar Zhang Taiyan, the famous scholar Yang Du, and the famous lawyer Qin Liankui were all his guests. As a result, Du Yuesheng's social status continued to improve.
A clear goal is the direction of our life, but aiming at the goal and persisting in the simplest way is the most effective strategy in life.
Zeng Guofan was not very talented when he was a child, but later he became one of the most influential figures in Chinese history. Why is this? Because diligence can make up for clumsiness. Zeng Guofan was not discouraged by his natural shortcomings, but instead studied harder. When I was young, I memorized a very simple article at home and could not memorize it until late at night. The thief on the beam could blurt it out, which shows his clumsiness; but he worked tirelessly and finally became a great success.
Du Yuesheng is more willing to put down his attitude towards his goals and can persevere for many years. In his early years, when he was still running a fruit stall, he was often bullied by gangsters. So through the network, I met Chen Shichang from the Qinggang. Through the introduction of Chen Shichang, he joined the Youth Gang and became a member of the underworld. At the beginning, Huang Jinrong, the leader of the Youth Gang, regarded Du Yuesheng as an ordinary follower. When he went to the teahouse, the theater, and the bathroom, he asked him to follow him to carry his bag, pour tea, light cigarettes, and pass towels. Later, Huang Jinrong saw that this young man did things without any complaints, was down-to-earth, hard-working, and smart, so he made Du Yuesheng his follower. Du Yuesheng is a thoughtful person who is good at learning. He secretly observes and remembers the living habits and temperament of his subordinates from Huang Huangrong to others, and uses this as his guideline for dealing with contacts. The few years he spent working as a handyman also laid the foundation for his future success.
Go your own way, but also let others have a way to go. Not doing anything absolutely and leaving room for success is the best way to behave and do things.
Zeng Guofan understood very well the official principles of overflowing when the water is full, and taboos when the people are full. Zeng Guofan once said that he had "three fears": fear of destiny, fear of people's words, and fear of the king and father. Zeng Guofan spent his whole life in a state of mind like walking on thin ice and facing an abyss. In May of the 25th year of Daoguang's reign, Zeng Guofan was promoted. In a letter home to his younger brother, he expressed that not only did he not dare to be happy, but he felt trembling with fear. He said: "This promotion is really beyond my expectation. I am terrified and self-reflecting day and night. I am really unscrupulous enough to bear it. Thousands of miles away, you must correct my mistakes and send letters to point them out from time to time. My shortcomings must prevent my accumulated virtues from degenerating here.
Younger brothers should also always be in awe. Don't think that someone in the family is an official, so you dare to bully others; don't think that you have some knowledge, so you dare to be arrogant. The way to cherish blessings is to always have a sense of reverence. ”
“If anything is too late, fate will inevitably end early” is also Du Yuesheng’s life principle. Shanghai Bund Wang Tieqiao is famously “not easy to mess with”. Once, Wang Tieqiao had a dispute with Shanghai Security Commander Yang Hu Wang Yaqiao slapped Yang Hu in public, but the commander with a gun in his hand did not dare to fight back. One day, Li Guojie, chairman of the Shanghai China Merchants Steamship Bureau, found Wang Yaqiao and asked him to assassinate Zhao Tieqiao, the director of the Steamship Bureau, and promised: Give you the freighter "Jiang'an". Before that, he had promised the "Jiang'an" to Zhang Xiaolin. After Wang Yaqiao assassinated Zhao Tieqiao, he sent people to take over the "Jiang'an", but his men were beaten up by Zhang Xiaolin. After a while, Li Guojie quickly proposed to hand over the other "Jianghua" to Wang Yaqiao. Wang Yaqiao disagreed: "The ship is a small matter, but face is a big deal. I must take over the Jiang'an." "He led five hundred of his men and went straight to the dock with knives and guns. When Zhang Xiaolin heard the news, he immediately went to Du Yuesheng to discuss it. Zhang Xiaolin said: "Let's make peace with Wang Yaqiao first, as a temporary delay, and then send people to kill him. Du Yuesheng disagreed: "Don't do anything absolutely, but leave room for it." Otherwise, there will be no end to the killing. Du Yuesheng immediately rushed to the dock and said as soon as he saw Wang Yaqiao: "This is a misunderstanding. Li Guojie first promised the ship to the prince and then to Brother Zhang. The people below did not understand it clearly. Today I am willing to hand over the Jiang'an number to the prince. Wang Yaqiao knew very well that Li Guojie had promised the ship to Zhang Xiaolin first. Seeing that Du Yuesheng was giving him face, he said: "That's all. It's not easy for you and me to make a living in Shanghai. We hope we can support each other." Du Yuesheng, who "does nothing absolutely and leaves room for success" in everything, won the praise of both black and white in Shanghai.
What is the root that supports this legend? Zeng Guofan's contribution and Du Yuesheng's victory are not in doing things. , and in life. Character is not only a person’s best feng shui, but also a person’s strongest trump card.