Behind these three red-topped businessmen, there stood a court official. They used their relationship with court officials to build a huge business empire for themselves, and then in turn supported these court officials. Hu Xueyan, for example, is left behind him. With the support of Zuo, Hu Xueyan quickly accumulated huge wealth by using the official silver he handled, and became the richest man in the Qing Dynasty. Living god of wealth? .
Hu Xueyan's family background is closely related to the Left. As early as 186 1, Hu Xueyan was appreciated by the left for helping the Qing army transport grain and ammunition. Hu Xueyan has done a lot for Zuo since he got on the boat. For example, come forward to help Zuo and jointly form a foreign gun team? Often? To resist the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Many things that are inconvenient for the left to come forward are handled by Hu Xueyan.
Hu Xueyan's greatest help to Zuo was during the Western Expedition. When Zuo was ordered to recover Xinjiang, Hu Xueyan gave him considerable help. At that time, the treasury of the Qing dynasty was already turned upside down, and it was impossible to get the salary that Zuo needed. In order to support Zuo's action, Hu Xueyan borrowed 1 1.95 million silver in Shanghai for five times to support Zuo's action to recover Xinjiang.
Of course, Hu Xueyan took this huge sum of money, not only to support the Left, but also to gain huge benefits from it. Twelve million silver is a huge sum of money at any time. But if you leave it there, it will be used up sooner or later. So Hu Xueyan used these government-run banks to set up private banks? Fukang? Banks, and set up semicolons all over the country.
Besides setting up a bank, Hu Xueyan also set up? Hu Qingyutang? Drugstore, got it? Jiangnan Wang Yao? The reputation of. Hu Xueyan's shrewdness can also be seen from here. Banks and pharmacies are the most profitable industries at any time.
Shopping malls, like officialdom, always have struggles. And if there is a connection between the two, then this struggle will undoubtedly become more bloody. As we all know, Zuo and Li Hongzhang, an important official in the late Qing Dynasty, were incompatible, and Li Hongzhang was the patron of Sheng Xuanhuai, another red-topped businessman in the late Qing Dynasty, so the competition between Hu Xueyan and Sheng Xuanhuai was inevitable. By today's standards, the commercial struggle between Hu and Sheng is very cruel. The final result was that Hu Xueyan was removed from his post and his property was confiscated. The richest man in the Qing Dynasty ended in bankruptcy in his later years.
Hu Xueyan left it to his children before he died? Away from the white tiger? Four words, as his warning to future generations. Hu Xueyan said? White tiger? What do you mean? There have been many sayings, each of which is quite reasonable.
The first statement,? White tiger? In ancient times, it may refer to silver, which is a symbol of wealth. What Hu Xueyan said to his descendants before he died was to warn them not to be blinded by greed and end up like him. The second statement,? White tiger? These two words may also refer to foreigners, because foreigners have white skin. Hu Xueyan warned his descendants not to do business with foreigners, because Hu Xueyan went bankrupt indirectly because of resisting foreigners' raw silk.
The last statement is,? White tiger? It refers to the white road, because there has been a saying that it is black and white since ancient times, and the white road refers to the court at that time. Hu Xueyan was a red-crowned crane merchant in the imperial court at first, but in the end he became a victim of bureaucratic struggle. Although he once gained huge benefits, he ended up in such a miserable fate, so his sentence may also be a warning to his descendants not to have anything to do with the court in business.
Hu Xueyan said these four words before he died, no matter from which aspects, can be said to be very reasonable. He made a lot of money by using his status as a businessman with red top. Although he was once addicted to money, he is a very admirable person, and his bones are full of national flavor. In particular, his support for General Zuo's recovery of Xinjiang can be said to be indispensable and has been admired by future generations.