Zeng Guofan's "Eight Characters" Employment Secret

Zeng Guofan is very powerful, everyone said so.

But why is he so fierce?

The key is to use people.

How to use people?

Please see the "Eight Characters" secret of employment-------

In an era of collapse of belief and diversification of values in the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan almost captured all the talents in the world, including Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Shen Baozhen and Guo Songtao in politics, Xue Fucheng, Feng Guifen and Rong Hong in westernization, and Xu Shou, Hua Hengfang and Li Shanlan in science. These talents gathered together, which shows that he has two unique brushes in employing people.

Zeng Guofan divided talents into two types: one is those with official spirit, and the other is those with local spirit.

People with high official status are characterized by learning to look like, speaking official language and being unrealistic. They are more thoughtful and tactful. The most important thing is that people with high official status can't rely on them at critical times and can't deeply understand the situation. All documents are waiting for the secretary to write. As a military officer, when dealing with problems, you must be able to see from the mouth, especially from the body, but people with high official spirit often cannot do this. People who have a strong sense of country spirit also have problems. They care about their heads and tails, like to make public, and try things they are not sure of.

In view of this, Zeng Guofan formulated his criteria for employment: integrity, knowledge and talent. He believed that "virtue is the essence and talent is the function". Morality is like water to nourish all living beings, and talent is like water to carry things and irrigate fields.

Zeng Guofan said in his letter that the fear in the world is not that there are no talents, but that those who use talents cannot use them correctly.

Zeng Guofan once summed up his experience in eight words:

It is indispensable to be broad, careful, diligent and strict.

The Hunan army founded by Zeng Guofan also has its own unique style, which is quite different from the regular army of the Qing Dynasty at that time.

The first difference is that it is a team with spirit. This kind of team with spirit is also called China's first socialist army by many foreign scholars. Zeng Guofan believed that "to build an army, the first thing is to select the general, and to select the general, we must seek the people with profound wisdom, and we must be strict in order to be able to work hard, and all three are the best choice." As for the ability to govern the army, he believed that it is nothing more than "justice, fairness, and diligence". If the work is not fair and the rewards and punishments are unclear, the soldiers will not be convinced; If you are not diligent in your duties, the big and small affairs in the barracks will be piled up and difficult to deal with. At the same time, don't be afraid of death. Only when you face the enemy can you take the lead, and the soldiers can be used by you. At the same time, Zeng Guofan believed that "the way to run the army is to be able to fight first". If you attack the city for half a year, and are accidentally broken by the enemy, unable to resist or suffer minor setbacks, your reputation will be destroyed.

The second important thing is to love the people.

The third important thing is to make all the officials and gentry live in harmony. The most telling event of the "capable war" was the Battle of Tianjing in 1862. In that year, Zeng Guofan mobilized more than 70000 troops from the Hunan and Huai armies to encircle Tianjing. During the period, Zeng Guofan implemented strategies such as strengthening the wall and clearing the field, digging tunnels, closing the encirclement, and breaking through each other. It took more than a year to conquer Tianjing, which showed that his "executive power" was very strong.

Zeng Guofan did not have a special array and tactics, and he did not have many plans of Sun Wu and Zhuge in his chest. He relies on "rules" to win the general situation, and on fighting hard battles and building hard strongholds. The most important thing is the word "harmony". This is also the most important point that distinguishes the Eight Banners Green Camp. In fact, Zeng Guofan was not so smooth in running the Hunan army. When they began to fight and trade with the Taiping Army, they were defeated repeatedly, and even committed suicide in despair more than once. Wang Kaiyun said in his "Records of the Xiang Army" that Zeng Guofan "won with his generals, and lost with his own generals", pointing out that he was not brilliant in command of the campaign, or even inferior to his generals. Zeng Guofan is also outspoken in this point. He believes that the key to his success is that he is a successful "introspective". At any time, he has always formulated specific implementation policies for specific situations. His success is mainly based on the success of his staff. He believes that a person's ideas are limited after all. Therefore, in the new and old system, how to transition, where to put yourself and what to do, that is to say, management by objectives needs to be very clear.

In the game between Zeng Guofan and the Qing government, he always believed that he belonged to the category of clumsy people. How did clumsy people succeed? He said that the most important thing was "honesty".

On the issue of how to break through the restrictions of the policy, the key is to strive for concessions. From December 1853 to 1854, Emperor Xianfeng issued four consecutive imperial edicts, asking Zeng Guofan to send troops to assist Wuhan, Huangzhou and Luzhou in Anhui Province. When there was a crisis in each place, he asked Zeng Guofan to send troops. However, Zeng Guofan did have his own set of policies. He was determined not to relax and resisted the imperial edict four times. In a compromise written to the Qing Dynasty, he explained why he was late in sending troops, because he now bears a lot of notoriety and wears filial piety. If he sent troops now, he would be laughed at by others under the powerful attack of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Since various local forces in the Qing Dynasty were gradually rising, Zeng Guofan was very careful.

On the one hand, Zeng Guofan treated the court properly, on the other hand, Zeng Guofan had his own four criteria for choosing martial arts.

First, we must be able to govern the people.

Second, we are not afraid of death, because the military officials are going to fight, regardless of their own lives, regardless of their own gains and losses. Scholars have a heavy mind, but martial ministers are not the same. Martial ministers can only command their subordinates when they fight. They are afraid of his generals, just as they are afraid of the law. Let soldiers charge when they charge, and fall into battle when they are trapped.

Third, we should not be active in fame and wealth. Once we are active in fame and wealth, we will often be linked with our own political achievements and the merits of war, and will compete with others. If we recommend him or promote him a little later, we will feel resentment. You will also resent when you meet with adversity. There are people who can't compete with others.

Fourth, we should endure hardship and ridicule. People who are not in good health cannot use it. People who are not in good health lose their spirit as they use it. Zeng Guofan had a wise choice in these four aspects for Wu Chen.

    曾国藩“八字”用人秘诀 

  曾国藩非常厉害，大家都这么说。

     可是他为什么厉害？

     关键是会用人。

     怎么用人呢？

     请看“八字”用人秘诀-------
     在晚清那样一个信仰崩溃、价值趋向多元化的时代，曾国藩几乎揽尽天下英才，在政治上有李鸿章、左宗棠、沈葆桢、郭嵩涛，在洋务上有薛福成、冯桂芬、容闳等，在科学上有徐寿、华蘅芳、李善兰等，这些英才齐聚幕下，足见他用人是有独到的两大把刷子。

    曾国藩将人才分为两种：一种是属于有官气的人，一种是属于有乡气的人。

    官气重的人，特点是学样子、讲官话、不实际，是心窍比较重的，而且圆滑取巧，最重要的是官气重的人关键的时候靠不住，不能深刻体会到下情，所有的文件都等着秘书写。作为一个武官，在处理问题上，必须做到口到眼到，尤其要做到身到，但官气重的人，往往不能做到这一点。而乡气重的人也有毛病，顾头不顾尾，喜欢张扬，没有把握的事情就去尝试。

   鉴于此，曾国藩制定了他的用人标准：操守、学识、才具，他认为“德为本质、才为功能”，德如水之养育众生，才如水之载物溉田。
   曾国藩家书中说过：世上怕的不是没有人才，而是用才的人不能正确使用人才。

   曾国藩曾经用八个字非常精辟地总结其经验：

   广揽、慎用、勤教、严绳，缺一不可。

    曾国藩创建的湘军也有他自己独特的风格，与当时清朝的正规军队迥然不同。

  第一个不同，它首先是有精神的团队，这种有精神的团队也被许多国外的学者称之为中国第一支有主义的军队。曾国藩认为，“打造军队，首在拣选将才，而拣选将才，必求智略深远之人，又须号令严明能耐劳苦，三者兼全，乃为上选。”对于治兵的才能，他认为不外乎“公、明、勤”这三个方面，如果办事不公正，赏罚不明，士兵就不会心悦诚服；如果不勤于职责，军营里的大小事务便会堆积，难以处理。同时，要不怕死，与敌人对阵时，才会身先士卒，士兵才能为你所用。同时曾国藩认为“治军之道，以能战为第一义”，假如攻城攻了半年，不小心被敌人突围，无法抵御或受了小的挫折，自己的名望就会毁于一旦。

  第二重要的是能爱民。

  第三重要的是让上下官绅都和睦。最说明“能战”的事件就是1862年的天京之战，当年，曾国藩调动湘、淮军7万余人分兵十路，包围天京。期间，曾国藩实施坚壁清野、挖地道、合围、各个击破等策略，历时一年多，攻克天京，可见其“执行力”非常强。
   曾国藩并没有特殊的阵战兵法，他的胸中也没有装下多少孙武诸葛之计。他靠的是“规”取大势，靠的是打硬仗，扎硬寨，而最重要的是一个“和”字。这也正是区别八旗绿营的最重要的一点。其实，曾国藩在经营湘军中，并不是那么一帆风顺。开始与太平军作战交易，就屡战屡败，甚至不止一次绝望自杀。王闿运《湘军志》中说，曾国藩“用将则胜，自将则败”，指出他在战役指挥方面并不高明，甚至不如其部将。这一点，曾国藩也直言不讳，他认为：他的成功的关键在于，他是一个成功的“自省”者。他在任何一个时期，都始终针对具体情况制定具体的实施方针。他的成功，主要是借助于幕僚成功，他认为，一个人的思路毕竟是有限的。因此，在新旧体制中如何转轨，将自己放在怎样的位置上，自己要做什么，也就是说目标管理需要非常明确。
    曾国藩和清朝政府的博弈中，他始终认为，他是属于笨拙的这一类，笨拙的人怎么成功了，他说很重要一点就是“诚”。

  在怎样突破政策的限制这个问题上，关键是要做到争让有度。咸丰皇帝在1853年12月到1854年，连续下了四次诏书，让曾国藩出兵援助武汉、黄州、安徽庐州，每一个地方出现危急的时候就让曾国藩出兵。但是曾国藩确实有自己一套，咬定牙根坚决不放松，四次抗圣旨。他在给清朝写的奏折中，讲自己为什么迟迟不出兵，因为自己现在担着很多骂名，自己还戴着孝，如果现在出兵了，在太平天国强大的攻势下以卵击石，别人会笑话他。由于当时清朝的各个地方势力正逐渐兴起，所以曾国藩分寸拿捏的非常好。

  一方面曾国藩对于朝廷应酬得当，另一方面曾国藩对于自己选择武才有着自己的四条标准。

   第一条，要才堪治民，才能要能够治理人民。

   第二条，不怕死，因为武臣是要打仗的，不顾及自己的身家性命，不顾及自己的得失。文人心窍重，而武臣不一样，武臣打仗时一往无前才能号令自己的手下，手下畏惧他的将才，就象畏惧法令一样，让士兵冲锋就冲锋，陷阵就陷阵。

   第三条，要不积极于名利，一旦积极于名利往往就和自己的政绩、打仗的优劣挂钩起来，会和别人相互攀比，如果举荐他、提拔他稍微迟一些，就会心生怨恨。遇到不如意也会怨恨。还有跟别人争毫厘的人也不行。

    第四条，要耐受辛苦，受得冷嘲热讽，身体不好的人不能用，身体不好的人精神越用越散。曾国藩对武臣在这四个方面有着明智的选择。

(This article is an original article by Zhuge Changqing, and the pictures are selected from the Internet. Welcome to forward it, and please indicate the source for forwarding)

Introduction to Zhuge Changqing: Zhuge Changqing, the inheritor and promoter of traditional Chinese culture, is willing to "learn from sages, promote virtue, revitalize China and benefit the world" together with people with the same ideals in the world.

(Zhuge Changqing: zhuge8031@163.com ）

Zhuge Changqing mailbox：

zhuge8031@163.com

Zhuge Changqing's Chinese Dream

Learn from sages and carry forward virtue

Revitalizing China for the benefit of the world

 （本文是诸葛长青原创文章，图片选自网络。欢迎转发，转发引用请注明出处）

诸葛长青简介：诸葛长青，中国国学传统文化传承弘扬者，愿与天下志同道合者一起“学习圣贤、弘扬善德、振兴中华、造福世界”。

（诸葛长青：zhuge8031@163.com）

Zhuge Changqing mailbox：

zhuge8031@163.com

  诸葛长青中国梦  

学习圣贤 弘扬善德

振兴中华 造福世界

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