In 1967, the 87-year-old Kong Xiangxi was living in the critical illness monitoring room of the hospital. Only Song Ailing was by his side. He cried sadly: "Is the incense of the Kong family going to end?"
Kong Xiangxi was also in the Republic of China. man of the hour.
Kong Xiangxi
He was once a passionate young man, a loyal follower of Sun Yat-sen, and assassinated Cixi. His original intention was to save the country through industry.
Why did he end up in such a state that he had few children and died alone?
01
Kong Xiangxi was born in the Kong family in Taigu County, Shanxi Province in 1880. His father Kong Fanci was a country squire. Although he wrote good articles, he was modest. Kong Xiangxi belongs to the Xiang generation, so his parents named him Kong Xiangxi. He also has the identity of being the 75th generation descendant of Confucius.
Kong Xiangxi’s childhood life was not happy. When he was 6 years old, his mother died of illness, and he and his father depended on each other. Fortunately, Kong Fanci was a passionate person. He had been depressed since his wife passed away. In order to help him get over the pain of losing his wife, his relatives and friends were busy introducing him to a new relationship, but he refused. Even in order to avoid being disturbed by relatives and friends, he took his son and moved out of Kong's house in Taigu and moved into Nanzhang Village , a place he was unfamiliar with. He even left the Kong family business behind.
Taigu Confucius family
Kong Fanci, who moved to Nanzhang Village, followed the example of his ancestor Confucius and opened a private school and became a teacher. At first, he enrolled eight or nine children, which later grew to thirty or forty students. Kong Xiangxi also studied in his father's private school. Generally, parents who are teachers are extremely harsh on their children. If Kong Xiangxi studied well, he would not be rewarded; if he did not study well, his father would serve him with a ruler.
Kong Fanci was a kind-hearted person. He had been running a private school for three or four years, and there was no shortage of tuition fees or students. Kong Fanci wanted to teach it himself, so he stopped running it. In this way, Kong Fanci once again took Kong Xiangxi back to his hometown in Taigu.
This year, in the 1880s, many foreign missionaries came to China to preach hard. Small counties like Taigu were also full of foreign churches, foreign schools and foreign hospitals. Kong Xiangxi suffered a serious illness and was admitted to a foreign hospital. Later, after he recovered, he developed a fondness for foreign hospitals. He visited foreigners from time to time and even proposed to study in foreign schools.
This incident set off a thousand waves in the Kong family. Before Kong Fanci agreed, the Kong family members came to the door and tried to persuade Kong Xiangxi not to enter a foreign school. But since the death of his wife, Kong Fanci felt very guilty for his son, so he loved him in every possible way. If his son wants to go to school, he also strongly supports it. In addition, after his son's illness was cured by foreign doctors, he trusted foreigners even more. In the end, despite the tribesmen's gossip, the father and son were not persuaded.
The two fathers and sons worked together to force the tribesmen to compromise. Later, the two parties agreed that Kong Xiangxi could enter foreign schools, but not foreign churches. In this way, Kong Xiangxi entered the foreign school with difficulty.
After graduating from a foreign school, Kong Xiangxi entered Luhe College under the introduction of a friend. This school was also a missionary school and was later renamed North China Union University. In 1920, North China Union Women's University was merged into it and became a famous university - Yenching University . Although this time, Kong Xiangxi's study behavior was opposed by the tribe, but Kong Xiangxi and his son still used their joint efforts to break the gold and once again forced the tribe back. In this way, Kong Xiangxi entered Luhe College again.
When he was studying at Luhe College, Kong Xiangxi first heard about Sun Yat-sen and the Xingzhong Society founded by Sun Yat-sen in Nanyang. When he learned that the Revive China Association was an organization that fought against the Qing Dynasty and saved the country, he eagerly wanted to join. However, the Xingzhong Association has a rule that branches of the Xingzhong Association can be organized. Branches can be established with 15 people or more. Relying on his influence in the school, Kong Xiangxi quickly held a small meeting with more than a dozen classmates and established the "Tongzhou Branch of the Xingzhong Association".
At this time, Kong Xiangxi was very active in book business and had an original intention of saving the country.
02
During this period, Kong Xiangxi also did a vigorous and major event-the assassination of Cixi.
In 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces captured Beijing, and a series of humiliating treaties were signed, including ceding territory and paying reparations. Many patriotic young people were filled with indignation and pointed their fingers at Cixi, including Kong Xiangxi.
He and his friend Li Jinfang agreed that until Cixi is removed, China will never have peace.
So the two passionate young men decided to secretly enter the Forbidden City, find Cixi's residence, and blow her up to death.
Kong Xiangxi also asked for hundreds of taels of silver from his own ticket shop for this purpose. He and Li Jinfang entered the Forbidden City, intending to find an honest eunuch, give him a few taels of silver, and draw the eunuch into his own camp, so they could kill Cixi together.
However, the two of them wandered around outside the Forbidden City for several days without encountering a single eunuch. Because the two of them ran out secretly without asking for leave from the school, they were finally caught by the teacher and brought back to school. This vigorous assassination of Cixi was aborted in this way.
In the same year, the Boxer Rebellion broke out. The goal of the Boxer Rebellion was not to overthrow the Qing court, but to kill all the foreigners. The Luhe school where Kong Xiangxi was studying was also hit. The foreign teachers in the school ran away as fast as they could, and Kong Xiangxi also ran back to his hometown in Taigu.
But Kong Xiangxi did not stay peacefully in his hometown in Taigu. Instead, he asked his father for some money, bribed the villagers who guarded the foreigners, and helped 9 foreign teachers escape. Therefore, Kong Xiangxi was on the boxer's blacklist, and the Kong family spent a lot of money to save Kong Xiangxi.
After escaping the pursuit of the Boxers, Luhe College resumed classes, and Kong Xiangxi returned to the school again. Because of his meritorious service in saving the teacher, he once became a man of the hour in the school.
At this time, Kong Xiangxi was full of enthusiasm and would go to pieces for what he insisted on.
Kong Xiangxi graduated from Luhe School with the top score in the school and was recommended to the United States to continue his studies. Li Hongzhang also specially approved a student aid fund for him.
Therefore, Kong Xiangxi’s funds for studying abroad are very sufficient. First, there are the fees provided by Luhe College; second, there are Li Hongzhang’s student aid funds; third, there is the support of his own family.
Li Hongzhang also gave Kong Xiangxi the title of "Attachment of the Plenipotentiary Minister of Peacemaking". Even his passport had the title of "Minister of Peacemaking".
At this time, Kong Xiangxi can be said to be young and promising, in his twenties, wearing a suit, speaking fluent English, and looking like a handsome gentleman.
After he entered Oberlin University with great fame, he was not impetuous at all. He studied very diligently, fearing that he would be looked down upon for falling behind. Because I have a foundation in English in my early years, learning English is not a problem. But he struggled with studying physics and chemistry, so he gave up all extracurricular activities and focused on physics and chemistry.
During the four years Kong Xiangxi studied at Oberlin University, he studied physics and chemistry in the first two years and social sciences in the last two years. His original intention was to learn industry and wanted to save the country and make the country prosperous and strong through building industry.
Kong Xiangxi and Song Ailing
htmlAfter graduating in 2014, Kong Xiangxi was not satisfied with this. He was admitted to Yale University Graduate School to study minerals. It took him two years to obtain a master's degree in physics and chemistry.
After completing his studies and returning to China, Kong Xiangxi went straight to his hometown in Taigu and founded Mingxian School in Taigu. Kong Xiangxi served as the principal and chairman of the school. He also invited his father to the school as a Chinese teacher. He sometimes also served as a physical education and history teacher. He also made up a set of gymnastics, which was a bit like military exercises. Even the president of the Taigu Chamber of Commerce asked him to help the chamber of commerce. Train and command an armed force.
Kong Xiangxi was more prestigious in Taigu than the county magistrate of Taigu. The label that accompanies him is: young and promising, with a formidable future.
03
In 11911, it officially entered the "Republic of China". Many officials of the Qing court, big and small, had already fled, but a group of Qing soldiers fled from Taiyuan and headed straight for Taigu.
They know that there are ticket numbers in Taigu, and there are wealthy households. They are ready to make a fortune and then break up and go back to their hometown to live a steady life.
Faced with this situation, Kong Xiangxi mobilized the armed forces of the business groups and young students to form an armed force to guard the four city gates. But Kong Xiangxi is also very self-aware and knows that these weapons of his own have no resistance. If he meets someone head-on, his death will be ugly. He also knew that those people came here to ask for money, so he spent money directly to eliminate the disaster and gave the other party 3,000 yuan, which saved Taigu from a fight.
After this incident, Kong Xiangxi learned from his experience and lessons and began to publicize the importance of establishing local armed forces in Taigu. So he led the squires of Taigu to establish a self-defense armed force in Taigu. There are more than a thousand people, large and small, as well as 4 cannons and some basic weapons. He served as leader himself and provided the troops with military uniforms and insignia.
Under the influence of Kong Xiangxi, Xugou, Jiaocheng, Pingyao and other counties in Shanxi have established their own armed self-defense forces and invited Kong Xiangxi to serve as the boss.
The following year, Sun Yat-sen happened to come to Taiyuan for inspection. Kong Xiangxi was very excited when he heard about it, and even rushed to Taiyuan to meet Sun Yat-sen. This was the second meeting between Kong Xiangxi and Sun Yat-sen. Intimate connection.
What became even more intimate was that Kong Xiangxi later married Soong Ailing, and Sun Yat-sen married Soong Ailing's sister Soong Qingling . Kong Xiangxi and Sun Yat-sen became brothers-in-law.
Since he was one of his own, Sun Yat-sen also showed Kong Xiangxi the completed " Outline of the Founding of the People's Republic of China" and asked Kong Xiangxi to contact some big warlords.
Because Kong Xiangxi ran education and industry, he was famous. Fengtian warlord leader Zhang Zuolin sent a special envoy to invite him to Fengtian to serve as a counselor, and also presented valuable items such as fox fur and ginseng. Shanxi warlord Yan Xi also came to invite him. With Sun Yat-sen's consent, Kong Xiangxi became a counselor at Yan Xishan . Later, he became friends with Wu Peifu .
Later, during the struggle between Sun Yat-sen and the Fengtian faction under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, Kong Xiangxi was secretly assigned by Sun Yat-sen to enter the Northeast and contact Zhang Zuolin and his son to strengthen the cooperative relationship between the south and the Fengtian clique. From then on, Kong Xiangxi also entered the political circle. In those years, Kong Xiangxi was in trouble, but his original intention remained unchanged.
However, since the death of Sun Yat-sen, Kong Xiangxi has been left out in the cold, and he has only held some false positions. It was not until Chiang Kai-shek took over that Kong Xiangxi defected to Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek recognized Kong Xiangxi very much and rewarded him with the position of Minister of Finance of Guangdong. Under Chiang Kai-shek's guidance step by step, Kong Xiangxi was promoted all the way, and from then on he embarked on a path of corruption.
At the crossroads of desire and original intention, Kong Xiangxi chose the former.
Kong Xiangxi ushered in the highlight moment of his life. After convincing Song Meiling to marry Chiang Kai-shek, he and Chiang Kai-shek became brothers-in-law again. From then on, Kong Xiangxi rose step by step, occupying lucrative positions. Finally, he helped Chiang Kai-shek negotiate the arms trade and took over as the president of the Central Bank of China.
In the process of helping Chiang Kai-shek with military expenditures, Kong Xiangxi also made a lot of money. Kong Xiangxi, who tasted the benefits, was completely corrupted. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he began to enrich the country.
He served as the president of the Central Bank for 12 years and almost monopolized the country's financial power. While he was busy getting money for Chiang Kai-shek, he was also busy making money for himself.
Kong Xiangxi has six ways to make money:
The first trick is to use the tax authorities of the Ministry of Finance to allocate some lucrative positions to his cronies. Let these cronies make money under his protection, and then give him most of it.
The second trick: Earn large commissions from arms transactions. Get huge commissions by buying arms.
The third trick: engage in foreign exchange speculation. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, Song Ailing made 8 million pounds by arbitraging foreign exchange.
The fourth trick is rampant smuggling. This was his usual way of making a fortune, by selling scarce goods on the market at double the price.
The fifth trick: Use public bonds to engage in speculation. Cash out by issuing public bonds.
The sixth trick: issuing banknotes indiscriminately and profiting from them. At that time, due to the excessive issuance of banknotes, inflation was caused. When things go to extremes, they must turn against each other. In the end, the ship capsized because of the US dollar public debt. Even Chiang Kai-shek could not protect him, and he had to take the blame and resign.
In his later years, Kong Xiangxi lived in exile in a foreign country. Although he had no shortage of food and clothing, lived a wealthy life, and had a fortune of over 100 million, his children were all worried. The eldest daughter Kong Lingyi married a poor boy and left no heirs in her life. The eldest son Kong Lingkan married a prostitute who was more than ten years older than him and left no children. The younger daughter Kong Lingwei even dislikes the opposite sex and falls in love with the same sex.
Kong Xiangxi had many children, but the heirs were few and far between. He cried bitterly: "Is the incense of the Kong family going to be cut off?" Later, it was Kong Lingjie who gave birth to a single seedling, Kong Deji.
Kong Xiangxi was once a passionate young man who wanted to save the country through industry, but later he was immersed in the desire for power and wealth and became a greedy money-maker.
In his later years, he went into exile overseas. Although he ate delicacies from all over the world, he never tasted his favorite Shanxi pancakes and Shanxi noodles until his death. He left behind hundreds of millions of assets and passed away empty-handed. It is very sad to have accumulated so much money but not live the life you want!
