"Success is Xiao He, failure is Xiao He", in just 8 words, it covers the life of Han Xin . And during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the relationship between "red-topped businessman" Hu Xueyan and famous officials in the late Qing Dynasty Zuo Zongtang was the same.
On September 5, 1885, Zuo Zongtang died in Fuzhou. Just two months later, Hu Xueyan also died of depression on the sickbed and died of sorrow and anger.
But before Hu Xueyan died, he solemnly warned his descendants to stay away from "White Tiger" . What exactly is the "White Tiger" that Hu Xueyan mentioned?
"White Tiger"
This "White Tiger" is not the "White Tiger" (animal). The word "White Tiger" here needs to be separated and understood.
"White" refers to silver , while " tiger" refers to power , which can also be understood as official , political . Together, we understand that should not do business, do not get close to the officialdom, and stay away from the political whirlpool .
Because this is the lesson Hu Xueyan has gained through his life. His ending in his later years was also because he was harmed by money, power, fame and fortune.
Although the ending is not good, looking back at Hu Xueyan's life and his business journey, he is definitely a legendary figure.
Hu Xueyan was born in a turbulent era like the late Qing Dynasty. His family was poor when he was a child. Like the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang , he was a cowherd since he was a child.
Because his father passed away early, Hu Xueyan has been alone since he was 13 years old, traveling alone, from a shop boy to a money shop as an apprentice, a sweeper, and pouring urinals. He has experienced all the hardships of this world at such a young age.
Until , the manager Yu of Fukang Money House passed away, Hu Xueyan's life ushered in a turning point. Because Manager Yu had no descendants, before his death, he left all his money house worth ,000 taels of silver to Hu Xueyan, who was an apprentice.
And it is this money that became Hu Xueyanโs first pot of gold for making a fortune.
Climbing to the powerful - Wang Youling
Hu Xueyan has no background, no backer, no relationship. Even with this capital to make a fortune, how can he get rich as soon as possible?
Hu Xueyan was able to rise rapidly in that turbulent era and become a wealthy businessman in the customer empire not only because of his mind, but also because he is good at dealing with people , and he is more aware of the importance of connections . After all, "there is someone above to do things."
So Hu Xueyan not only did he get along well in business, but he was also committed to making friends with various imperial powerful people.
For example, in order to make friends with Wang Youling, the "scheduled Zhejiang Salt Ambassador" at the time, Hu Xueyan did not hesitate to embezzle 500 taels of silver in the bank to replenish Wang Youling's official position.
With this favor, Wang Youling was later promoted to Huzhou prefecture, and allowed Hu Xueyan to run a silk shop in Huzhou, acquire Hu silk , and ship it to Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places to cash in , and Hu Xueyan does not need to pay any interest during this period.
Wang Youling later served as the governor of Zhejiang and also tried his best to help Hu Xueyan's "Fukang Money House" .
As Wang Youling's career progressed, the two of them colluded with officials and businessmen, Hu Xueyan's business grew bigger and bigger, and his business territory continued to expand. Not only the money shop, but also developed pharmaceutical supply business and opened many stores. Therefore, Hu Xueyan is also known as the "King of Jiangnan Medicine" .
Because the government's large amount of military funds were stored in Hu Xueyan's money house, he secretly hooked up with people from the military. This is also why Hu Xueyan was so calm and composed in Gengshen change .
clinging to the powerful and powerful - Zuo Zongtang
But Hu Xueyan was obviously not satisfied. What he valued most was Zuo Zongtang , who was the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang at that time, so he began to find ways to get to know Zuo Zongtang and gain his trust.
coincided with Zuo Zongtang's concern about the emptiness of the national treasury, insufficient military expenditure, lack of food, grass, arms and other supplies.
Hu Xueyan seized this rare opportunity to climb. Without saying a word, he helped Zuo Zongtang to raise 20,000 taels of silver and 100,000 stones of grain , and even used his own business money to help Zuo Zongtang purchase arms and weapons.
So Zuo Zongtang was able to successfully recover Xinjiang in the end, and there was actually Hu Xueyan's "contribution" behind his back. Zuo Zongtang even praised: "Xueyan's achievements are indeed no different at the moment."
In order to thank Hu Xueyan for his help, Zuo Zongtang also gave Hu Xueyan a report of his merit to the actual ruler of the late Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager Cixi .
Hu Xueyan was also named as Gi Xi by Greatius , official to second-rank, becoming a second-rank "red-top businessman" (both both an official and a businessman).
With the blessing of power, Hu Xueyan freely wandered in both the official and the business world, and was proud of his youth, and reached a new peak in his life.
Success and failure are Xiao He, Xiao He,
Hu Xueyan, with his back to Zuo Zongtang, became the richest man in the late Qing Dynasty at that time, but at the same time, he was defeated by Zuo Zongtang, and the building was about to collapse in a flash. The higher you climbed, the worse you fell in the end.
1882, after Hu Xueyan opened a silk factory in Shanghai, he tried to monopolize the entire silk cocoon industry, which affected the interests of others and would inevitably be jealous of others.
So Hu Xueyan was boycotted by foreign businessmen, and even triggered a trade war between Chinese and foreign businessmen .
Perhaps it was the sky that he was about to die. Hu Xueyan happened to be in Sino-French War . The outbreak of the financial crisis caused Hu Xueyan to be helpless in selling millions of burses of new silk that he had acquired at high prices at . The losses were serious. Overnight, his assets were halved. Bureaucrats from all over the country also came to the bank to withdraw money and extorted .
In 1883, Hu Xueyan was dismissed from office and the court ordered Zuo Zongtang to recover Hu Xueyan's debt. Hu Xueyan's pawn shops, shops, etc. were all sealed off by Zuo Zongtang.
The tree falls and the wall falls and everyone pushes it. Hu Xueyan instantly changed from a wealthy country to a pauper with a barren family. All of this seemed to be just a dream.
Hu Xueyan finally took the market indifferently and saw through the officialdom. In that cold November of 1885, he died of grief and anger, and before his death, he warned his descendants that "White Tiger" stayed away from the officialdom.
