The Three Character Sutra has clouds: "The widow of man, Jin Manjing, my godson, the only scripture." "On the question of the education of our children and grandchildren, the saints of thousands of years ago have already given us the answer: it is better to stay rich than to stay in Germany. No matter how much wealth is left, if the descendants do not have good virtue, they will eventually be ruined.
Li Hongzhang's grandson Li Guoyao confirmed this to the world with bloody facts, as the grandson of Li Hongzhang, a major minister of the late Qing Dynasty, Li Guoyao could have at least had a relatively normal life, but the huge wealth left by his grandfather and the improper education of his parents ruined him.
When he was young, his parents neglected discipline, and Li Guoyao grew up to be a clumsy child
In fact, Li Guoyao's father, Li Jingfang, was not Li Hongzhang's biological son, but li Hongzhang's sixth brother.
In 1862, Li Hongzhang was already forty years old, and in that era, this age was already very old, and it seemed to be a sign of "absolute queen". Out of the idea of having a son to pass on the generations, Li Hongzhang decided to choose a boy in the family to inherit to his name.
After some screening, Li Jingfang became this "lucky one". Although Li Hongzhang gave birth to his true concubine after three years of succeeding Li Jingfang, Li Hongzhang has always been very fond of this "eldest son" and has taken him with him everywhere he goes. Even when Li Hongzhang later signed agreements on behalf of the Qing government and abroad, Li Jingfang was basically present.
When Li Hongzhang died, although Li Jingfang was not his biological son, he was quite favored and still shared a lot of property. As a feudal aristocrat, Li Jingfang still accepted the idea of "three wives and four concubines" in his bones, so he married a total of 8 wives in his lifetime.
Because he had represented the Qing government on envoys to Britain and other countries, and came into contact with many foreigners, Li Jingfang also asked for two foreign wives. One of the wives was from England and gave birth to a handsome mixed-race child for Li Jingfang, Li Guoyao, who also had an English name: George.
It may be a mixed-race relationship, Li Guoyao has looked very cute since he was a child, plus he is Li Jingfang's young son, so he is very pampered. Nourished by the huge wealth left by Li Hongzhang, Li Guoyao has lived a life of fine clothes and jade food since he was a child, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as "clothes to stretch out his hands and eat to open his mouth".
If it is only a simple high-level material enjoyment, Li Guoyan will not grow into a stupid child, and the problem is that his parents' education of him is also very problematic.
When Li Hongzhang was alive, the Qing government was already on the verge of exhaustion, and when Li Jingfang began to become an official, the Qing government was in a state of disintegration. As an official of the Qing court and the successor of Li Hongzhang in the hearts of hundreds of officials, Li Jingfang's burden has always been very heavy.
Li Jingfang, who was tired of running for the Qing court, was unable to take care of the education of his children at all, not only Li Guohuo, Li Jingfang almost did not interfere in the education of all his children, only raised by their mothers.
Li Guoyao's mother is from Britain, and Western-style thinking is more inclined to "free-range", plus Li Guoyao looks cute, and his mother is quite pampered and conniving. Under the doting of his mother, Li Guoyao can be said to be unscrupulous, and he is rich and handsome, and gradually becomes a regular visitor to the Qinglou.
Since his teenage years, Li Guohuo has been a clumsy boy who is proficient in eating, drinking, gambling, and gambling, and he always brings a large group of servants every time he goes out to show his status. These vices and pomp and circumstance cost a lot of money, which also laid the groundwork for his future downfall after sitting on the mountain.
Perennial indulged in looking for flowers and asking for willows, and even married a Qinglou woman
Among all the vices, Li Guoyao was most addicted to the matter of looking for flowers and asking for willows. There is such a saying among the people, from which we can see Li Guohuo's excessive attachment to the Qinglou: "Looking for Li Gongzi, as long as you go to the Third Street and Jiyili area of Wuhu on the day, you can find it." "Li Gongzi" naturally refers to Li Guokui, and "Three Streets, Jiyi" is the famous local "red light district".
Like Li Guokui, who stays in the Qinglou all year round, the cost is very large, even if the family gives him a lot of pocket money, but it is not enough for him to splurge so much. Over the years, Li Guoyao also realized that he should find some "way to make money".
However, Li Guokui's first thought of the "road to wealth" is not self-reliance, but "forcibly nibbling on the old". In 1927, after the northern expeditionary army won the victory in the Northern Expedition War, Li Guohuo proposed to let Li Jingfang hand over all his family property to achieve "republicanism" under the guise of the Northern Expeditionary Army.
Li Jingfang was angry and afraid that his beloved son would really lead the Northern Expeditionary Army over, and he quickly fled to Dalian. After his father left, Li Guoyao was even more unscrupulous, because he did not want to be bound by his mother, he simply moved to his mansion in Wuhu and truly lived a free life.
A few years later, Li Jingfang, who had just passed his eightieth birthday, passed away, although he was angry at Li Guohuang's persecution of his behavior, but after all, he was his own son, and Li Jingfang still left him a large amount of property.
"13,000 mu of rented land, a mountain field, a Hengfeng warehouse on the south bank of the Wuhu River, a three-story building at No. 42 Dingyi Village, Dingpan Road, Shanghai..." These are only some of the real estate that Can be checked by the outside world, even if he lives some luxurious days, these properties are actually enough to provide for his expenses.
But for Li Guoyao, the money is obviously not enough for him to squander for a long time, and the mother who raised him from childhood naturally can see this clearly, so she keeps all the movable property and cash in her hands, and only these real estate are for Li Guohuo's own disposal.
There is only real estate, and Li Guohuo is not a person who knows how to use real estate to make money, and obviously he cannot "live" on these real estate. In order to restrain Li Guoyao's lavish spending habits and give him some pocket money for daily expenses, the Li family will leave him 500 yuan at the bank every month, and he can receive this money with Li Guoyao's signature.
You know, at that time, the total income of a middle-class family every month was only a few dozen yuan, and Li Guohuang's monthly pocket money of 500 yuan was already a huge amount of money in the eyes of ordinary people. But compared with Li Guohuo's expenses, this 500 yuan seems to be a bit stretched.
In addition to entering and leaving the land of fireworks, Li Guohuo also married back a Qinglou woman surnamed Shen. In order to please this woman, Li Guohuo hired a maid, five male maids, and two cooks to serve her.
Li Guoyao himself was also accompanied by a large group of servants and "helpers" every day. The so-called "help idle" is actually some of Li Guoyao's fans. In addition to people, Li Guoyao also bought 6 dogs, all of which were led every time he went out, in order to show his pomp.
After being infected with syphilis, he could no longer indulge in female sex, and became obsessed with gambling
The reason why these fans followed Li Guoyao to please him was only because he had money and wanted to get some benefits from him, and later Li Guoyao's downfall was also inseparable from these people.
After staying in the land of fireworks for a long time, "often walking by the river, where there are shoes that are not wet", Li Guoyao, who has been unscrupulous for many years, was infected with syphilis not long ago. After being infected with syphilis, people's lower bodies will begin to rot, and Li Guohuo naturally can no longer splurge in the land of fireworks.
Originally, Li Guohuo could have closed his mind and taken good care of his own property, after all, so much real estate cannot be left there all the time. But because there are many fans around, these fans are rushing to help Li Guoyao deal with the problem of industry, and Li Guohuo, a brother who only cares about pleasure, is naturally happy.
Fans rushed to help, of course, because it was profitable. These people took the opportunity to help Li Guoyao deal with industrial problems and gained a lot of benefits, such as secretly leasing Li Guoyao's property, but the rent was left behind and did not tell Li Guoyao; helping Li Guoyao eat some kickbacks when buying and selling things, and so on.
There are so many "vampires" lying on the body, even if there is a big family business, Li Guoyao can't afford it, not to mention, Li Guoyao himself is a bigger "vampire".
Without having to deal with the family business himself, Li Guoyao, who was idle, had nothing to do, and then he found a second pleasure for himself: gambling.
Although Li Guokui also gambled before, because more of his mind was focused on the land of fireworks, he did not gamble too much. Ten bets and nine losses, now gamble more, naturally lose more, compared to the Qinglou, the casino is a more scattered and faster place.
The women in the Qinglou coaxed Li Guoyao, the son of a brother, to spend more money for himself, but the people in the casino came to Li Guohuo's full wealth. From ancient times to the present, there are many routines and traps in many casinos, especially "big rich people" like Li Guohuo, who are the focus of casinos.
Because there is not much cash in his hand, Li Guohuo gambles directly with real estate vouchers such as the title deed. Seeing such a big hand of his, the casino people will naturally move some hands and feet in the process of gambling, and make some old money.
Whenever Li Guoyao lost, the fans around him had received the benefits of the casino, so they had been on the side to persuade him to continue gambling, calling it "the next one will be transferred". In this way, Li Guoyao often gambles more and more to lose, and the more he loses, the more he gambles, a vicious circle.
Li Guohuo, who originally had poor gambling luck, was pit by the casino again, which was even worse, and it was not long before he squandered the real estate he originally shared, and Li Guohuo, who did not have much industry left, began to ponder the "way to make money".
After the failure of the official, he still squandered and eventually died of hunger and cold
Li Guozhuo, who grew up in the Li family, traced back to his roots and thought that his family could accumulate such wealth, probably because his grandfather Li Hongzhang became a high official. Thinking of this, Li Guoyao decided to be an official himself, but at that time it was already the Republic of China, and there was no road to keju for a long time, and even if there was, Li Guoyao was not that material.
Thinking about it, Li Guoyan thought he could buy a high official to be a big official. With an official position, are you still afraid that the money you buy for an official will not be earned back? In this way, Li Guoyao exchanged the large garden of Li Fu and the uniform of a regiment for the official position of a regimental commander, and before he could sit firmly, his brother Li Houfu, who was far away in Shanghai, could not sit still.
Hearing that his brother had bought an official, Li Houfu immediately sent someone to stop Li Guohuo, and under Li Houfu's obstruction, the large garden of Li Mansion was returned, and Li Guohuo's road to buying officials ended in failure.
Li Guoyao, who failed to buy an official, once again fell into a state of idleness, he wanted to continue to go to the casino to splurge, but the syphilis on his body was really to the point of having to be cured, and Li Guoyao had to take the Qinglou woman surnamed Shen to Shanghai for treatment.
In Shanghai, Li Guoyao bought a three-story bungalow, one floor each for himself and a woman in the Qinglou building surnamed Shen, and the remaining floor was dedicated to servants. Even during his treatment in Shanghai, Li Guoyao's servants were still numerous, and the cost was enormous.
Before long, Li Guokui's own share of the inheritance was almost squandered. Li Guohuo, who had no money, went directly to his brother Li Houfu and asked him for money. Under the soft and hard bubble of his brother, Li Houfu gave him some properties.
After that, Li Guohuo had no money and went to his brother Li Houfu to ask for it, but Li Houfu himself was also a clumsy disciple, although not as outrageous as Li Guoyao, but he also squandered the family property very quickly. Soon, Li Houfu also had no money, and Li Guoyao completely lost all economic resources.
Li Guoyao's mother could not bear to see her son's life in difficulty, so she asked someone to find him a job as an interpreter. How to say that Li Guoyao has British blood and has spoken English for a long time under the influence of his mother, this job is actually very simple and easy for him.
Who would have thought that within a few days of working, Li Guohuo would directly leave his job on his own: "I can't serve others." After this incident, his mother was completely disappointed in him, and simply returned to England alone, never to take care of this indisputable son again. The Qinglou woman, surnamed Shen, also left Li Guohuo because he had no money to support himself.
The rich young master was suddenly so poor that he could not even afford to eat, and Li Guohuo was not accustomed to such a life at first, and he quickly thought of a person: Zuo Jusheng, the grandson of Zuo Zongtang.
Zuo Jusheng had borrowed ten stones of rice from Li Guohuo, and now Li Guohuo wanted to get this debt back, but unfortunately Zuo Jusheng's own experience was similar to Li Guoyao's, and he was also penniless.
However, Zuo Jusheng still has a house for him to live in, and it is better to have a house to live in than to live on the street, Li Guokui simply stayed in Zuo Jusheng's family, and the two of them lived a life of hunger and cold together. Soon after, Li Guoyao, who could not stand such a day, committed suicide by throwing himself into the river.
Not long after entering the water, Li Guoyao was rescued and sent back to Zuo Jusheng's residence. Because of the falling water, Li Guohuo launched a high fever, but Zuo Jusheng really had no money to buy medicine, and Li Guohuo died of illness.
If Li Hongzhang had left behind not a huge inheritance, but a good tutor, perhaps Li Guoyao's life would have been another result.