History live broadcast: My audience is the ancestors

Chapter 227 Bai Gui
My charming but short-lived ancestor: But it seems that this Tao Zhugong is the idol of many businessmen, right?

Lianlian: That’s not all. After all, he seems to be one of the Gods of Wealth, right?
You didn’t think about using this as your online name first, right:? ? ? Where is the God of Wealth? I want to worship the God of Wealth! ! !
I can't sleep at night (Guan): There seem to be many gods of wealth, the most famous one is Zhao Gongming, right?
He kicked the lame man's good leg wildly: Yes! Although I don't like Sanxiao, Zhao Gongming is really good! He is the God of Wealth!

Wuduyi: What would Zhao Gongming think if he knew that the little god he thought was so popular in later generations?

Pay attention, this woman’s name is Xiaomei: Hahahahaha! really!

Su Yue looked at the comment area and said, "Okay, now let's take a look at the next businessman. He is Bai Gui, a famous businessman during the Warring States Period!"

Bai Gui was a native of the Central Plains (Luoyang) during the Warring States Period. His name was Dan and his courtesy name was Gui.

He is known as the "Shang Ancestor".

He served as a minister under King Hui of Wei and was good at building dams and water conservancy projects.

"Han Shu" says that he is the originator of the theory of managing trade and developing production.

He advocated reducing land taxes and collecting one-twentieth of the products.

Put forward the theory of getting rich through trade.

It is advocated to implement the method of doing business according to the specific situation of good harvest and bad harvest, "I take when others give up, and I take when others take".

When the grains are ripe, the grain is harvested; when the cocoons are produced, the silk is harvested and the grain is sold.

Bai Gui also proposed the theory of agricultural economic cycle, believing that an agricultural cycle lasts 12 years.

He also believed that doing business should be done according to the timing, just like Sun Tzu Wu Qi used troops and Shang Yang practiced law.

It is said that Bai Gui, a water conservancy expert, and Bai Gui, who got rich from trade, are two people.

……

My charming but short-lived ancestor: So this one is from the same period as Lord Shang? Being a businessman at that time was really awesome!
Kirito: And this guy seems to be a very powerful businessman!
Pay attention, this woman’s name is Xiaomei: that is to say, he has already left his name in history, how can he not be great?
Lianlian: That makes sense!

I didn’t think about using this online name first: Yes, and he has really good vision, and the industry he chooses is forward-looking!
I can’t sleep at night (Guan): Agreed!
Su Yue looked at the comment area and said, "Then let's take a look at his deeds!"

Official in his early years
During the Warring States Period, society underwent tremendous changes, the reform of the social and economic system further deepened, and the emerging feudal landlord system was established in various countries.

Productivity has increased rapidly, the volume of goods on the market has increased dramatically, and people's purchasing power has also increased rapidly.

The long-term annexation war has changed the past situation of small countries, traffic jams and market fragmentation.

Driven by all these factors, the development of commerce has taken a leap forward. The world of industry and commerce has been occupied by free merchants who emerged in the late Spring and Autumn Period. During this period, a large number of giant merchants emerged, who were revered by later generations as merchants of all generations. Bai Gui, the ancestor of the Qing Dynasty, is the most famous one among them.

It is said that he once served as the prime minister of Wei in the early days of King Hui of Wei.

At that time, Daliang, the capital of Wei State, was close to the Yellow River and suffered frequent floods.

Bai Gui used his outstanding flood control skills to relieve the flood in Daliang.

Bai Gui claimed that his ability to control water was superior to that of Dayu. He said that the thousands-mile-long dike often collapsed due to small ant nests. So when he was controlling the water, he sent people to check along the dike and blocked all the water. An ant's nest, so the embankment was impregnable and the flood was eliminated.

Later, the politics of Wei State became more and more corrupt. When Bai Gui saw this situation, he resolutely left Wei State and traveled to Zhongshan State and Qi State.

The monarchs of these two countries wanted to keep Bai Gui to help them govern the country, but Bai Gui politely refused.

Someone asked him why, Bai Gui replied: "In these two countries, if there is no must-do, then credit has come to an end; if there is no emphasis on reputation, then reputation has come to an end; if there is no benevolence, then family ties have come to an end; if travel The people have no solid food, the people at home have no food, and the financial resources have been exhausted; if they can’t use people and can’t work hard on their own, the work has come to an end. If these five phenomena occur in a country, it will surely perish.”

After leaving Qi, Bai Gui once visited Qin, a powerful country in the west. It was at the time of Shang Yang's reform. Bai Gui was very opposed to Shang Yang's policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing business, so he did not serve as an official in Qin.

After Bai Gui traveled a lot, he had a more thorough understanding of the political situation in various vassal states, and developed a deep dislike for politics, so he gave up politics and turned to business.

Abandon politics and join business
Bai Gui's birthplace, Luoyang, has been very prosperous in commerce since ancient times. Luoyang people are good merchants and are dedicated to commerce and handicrafts. The pursuit of profits is the tradition of Luoyang people.

Bai Gui, who was born here, had extremely high business talent and soon became the leading businessman during the Warring States Period.

During the Warring States Period, commerce developed rapidly, and the ranks of merchants were very large. Therefore, there was a mixture of good and bad, some were fair trades and legitimate operations, but there were also many merchants who hoarded and monopolized the market. Many big merchants also engaged in loan sharking and made huge profits.

Therefore, people at that time divided businessmen into two categories. One category was called "honest businessmen", "honest businessmen", and "good businessmen"; the other category was called "treacherous businessmen", "greedy businessmen", and "sycophantic businessmen". Bai Gui was a typical representative of good businessmen during the Warring States Period.

Most businessmen during the Warring States Period liked to run the jewelry business. The father of the great businessman Lu Buwei once said that you can make a hundredfold profit from selling pearls and jade.

However, Bai Gui did not choose this most profitable industry at the time. Instead, he found another way and opened up a new industry of agricultural and sideline products trading.

Bai Gui had outstanding intelligence and insight. He saw the rapid development of agricultural production at that time and was sensitive to the fact that the management of agricultural and sideline products would become a lucrative industry. He proposed the business strategy of "if you want to make money, take down the grain".

Bai Gui believes that although the profits of daily necessities such as "Xiagu" are low, the consumption elasticity is small and the transaction volume is large. If you win with more, you can still get big profits, so he resolutely chose bulk trade of agricultural products, rural handicraft raw materials and products. Main business direction.

Bai Gui has a unique set of business skills. He summed up his business principles in eight words: "I take when others give up, and I take when others take."

The specific method is to purchase grains at the right time during the harvest season or good years, when farmers sell large quantities of grains, and then sell silk, lacquerware and other daily necessities to farmers who are relatively well-off at that time; and when the year is bad or there is a lean period, the grains are purchased at the right time. Selling grain and purchasing unsalable handicraft raw materials and products.

Moreover, what Bai Gui said about "and" is to give people benefits. When certain goods are overstocked and unsalable, some profiteers wait for the price to drop even lower before buying in large quantities, but Bai Gui purchases them at a higher price than others; etc. When the market was short of food, profiteers would hoard it, but Bai Gui sold it in a timely manner at a lower price than others to meet the needs of the people.

Bai Gui's business method not only ensures that he can take the initiative in business and obtain huge profits, but also objectively regulates the supply, demand and price of commodities, and protects farmers, individual craftsmen and general consumers to a certain extent. Interests.

No wonder Bai Gui calls himself a "benevolent artist".

When Bai Gui manages the country's finances, he always looks at the big picture and sees the overall situation. He never dislikes small favors and small profits in business, and he never relies on tricks to commit fraud.

He linked the circulation of goods with the development of production, which can not only make money from business, but also make production beneficial to its development. He believed that only by filling up gaps with sufficient supplies, making up for missed harvests with abundant harvests, and allowing materials from all over the country to support each other can we not only assist the people and bring peace to the people, but also benefit the people. The country manages its finances to become rich.

The specific method is: if a place is rich in silkworm cocoons, purchase these products and exchange them for other things that are lacking in the local area, such as grains.

If a place has a good harvest of food, buy their food and exchange silk, paint and other necessities with them.

In this way, goods across the country can be circulated, which is beneficial to people's lives and can earn profits from it. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone, benefiting the country and benefiting the people.

Bai Gui also attached great importance to supporting farmers' production to ensure and expand the source of his own commodities.

He once supplied high-quality grain seeds to farmers, which not only made profits for himself, but also helped farmers increase their output, allowing him to have a more abundant supply of goods.

Bai Gui bases his business operations on the development of agricultural production, promotes agricultural production through commerce, and promotes commercial operations through the development of agricultural production.

This kind of business philosophy is unprecedented, and it is undoubtedly much smarter than the policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing business during Shang Yang's reform.

Business during the Warring States Period, especially jewelry business targeting the rich and powerful, was extremely profitable.

However, the operation of daily necessities such as "Xiagu" that Bai Gui chose is faced with the vast number of relatively poor common people. Therefore, Bai Gui pursues the business principle of small profits but quick turnover, and does not increase the price of goods, but speeds up the circulation of goods. , methods to expand sales to obtain more profits.

The management of agricultural and sideline products is greatly restricted by agricultural harvests. Therefore, it is extremely important to grasp the opportunity, especially the law of changes in prosperity and decline from year to year.