This anecdote about politics and business 65,438+00 years ago tells the profound friendship between Zuo and Hu Xueyan, which began with their exploration in Xinjiang that year. As we all know, Zuo was a rare general in modern China who really thought about the country. As an army general, he loves soldiers like a son, and often takes out his salary to subsidize soldiers' living needs.
In the face of foreign enemies in modern times, the Qing government often adopted a compromise attitude, but during the war, it often paid little attention to it and its military supply was insufficient. In this case, every time the left fights, the first concern is military resources. In 186 1 year, the shortage of military assets became more serious, which worried Zuo Tang Zong.
In military operations, food and grass are the first. The war is just around the corner, and Zuo has nothing at this time. Fortunately, God never shuts one door but he opens another. Hu Xueyan sent military resources such as money and food, which eased the urgent need of Zuo Tang Zong.
With the help of Hu Xueyan, Zuo pulled through. After this incident, Zuo and Hu Xueyan became bosom friends. In order to express his gratitude to Hu Xueyan, Zuo Tang Zong also specially told the court about Hu Xueyan's selfless contribution to the army, greatly praised his loyalty to the court, and arranged for Hu Xueyan to work in his own military camp.
Working in a military camp under Zuo's jurisdiction means that Hu Xueyan can participate in Zhejiang's money, grain and military pay affairs. No matter which transaction, for a businessman, the business opportunities inside are huge, and the profit space is unimaginable. This is also the beginning of military and commercial cooperation between the two peoples. Since then, Hu Xueyan has changed from a civil and commercial company to an official and businessman serving the imperial court, enjoying numerous benefits from the imperial court.
Zuo, with the support of Hu Xueyan, killed all sides and led soldiers to recover Xinjiang successfully. He was awarded the title of "Jin Wengong" by the imperial court, and admired others by shining the lintel, which greatly reduced the prestige of the peace faction. The two men benefited from each other, and Hu Xueyan was awarded the title of Minister of State by the court for his contribution to the reinforcements. He became the first and only businessman in history of qing dynasty who enjoyed the honor of yellow jacket as a businessman.
In the late Qing dynasty, the telegraph office was constantly in turmoil and the court was filled with smoke. The contradiction between the main peace faction and the main war faction is very sharp. Seeing that Zuo Tangzong became more and more popular with the emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi, the main peace faction headed by Li Hongzhang became more and more sleepless for fear that the hawk faction would control the imperial court. Therefore, they decided to undermine the political and business cooperation between Zuo and Hu Xueyan from the inside.
Their battle plan is to "get rid of the left first, and then get rid of Hu." Surprisingly, before Li Hongzhang laid hands on him, Hu Xueyan dug his own grave and cheated Zuo Tang Zong privately, thus laying a hidden danger.
With the increase of contacts between the Qing Dynasty and the West, Western affairs were introduced into the Qing Dynasty, and the telegraph was one of them. Since the telegraph appeared in the west, it has developed more and more rapidly, but it was not introduced in the Qing Dynasty. At this point, Hu Xueyan and Sheng Xuanhuai eyes diabolical, see at a glance after this thing was introduced into the Qing dynasty will bring much influence to the Qing dynasty! Therefore, they both want to introduce telegrams first and take the lead. To everyone's surprise, Hu Xueyan first introduced the telegram to Cixi, but was hindered by her ministers without their consent, and the result was in vain.
When Sheng Xuanhuai saw Hu Xueyan's failure, he conspired with Li Hongzhang to act before acting, secretly set up a telegraph line under the direct jurisdiction of Li Hongzhang, and then let the princes and ministers experience a fresh convenience and air, which directly made them happy. As a result, the ministers directly stood on Sheng Xuanhuai's side, which made Sheng Xuanhuai finally win the telegraph game and appointed Sheng Xuanhuai as the director of the telegraph office.
No one expected that the failure of the telegraph office directly affected the outcome of the decisive battle between Zuo and Li Hongzhang. After the Qing court showed its positive attitude towards telegrams, telegrams quickly spread in the Qing dynasty, and ordinary nobles used telegrams more or less in their daily lives.
People send messages by telegraph, including family affairs and business secrets. At this time, the telegraph was not as developed as it is now, and the protection of information was not as strict as that of modern society. As the director of the telegraph office, Sheng Xuanhuai can easily understand the contents of all telegrams. At this time, the telegraph office was more like an intelligence bureau established for conservatives headed by Li Hongzhang.
Later, when Hu Xueyan competed with foreign businessmen, the cash flow was poor, so he borrowed money from major banks by telegraph. The news was clearly known by Sheng Xuanhuai, who used various means to force Hu Xueyan not to live.
Finally, Sheng Xuanhuai also learned by telegram that Hu Xueyan had concealed the imperial court, falsely reported the loan interest, and reported him to Cixi. Cixi's rage directly made Zuo copy Hu Xueyan's home.