Shanxi and Shaanxi are the consular residence, and closer to Beijing, in 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance approached, Empress Dowager Cixi fled west with the Guangxu Emperor, did not bring enough silver on her body, fled to the early stage of Xi'an, Shaanxi, Empress Dowager Cixi also enjoyed the general specifications of the court, so the silver two were soon squandered, and had to stay up for a period of hard life, at this time, Cixi could not take care of decency and decency.
After arriving in Shanxi, Cixi received the financial support of Qiao Zhiyong, the richest man in Shanxi, and the Qiao family compound allowed Cixi to live, and served Cixi happily, and finally did not need to endure hunger and hunger, the wind and rain beat, Cixi was happy in her heart, let people accept the 400,000 taels of silver handed over by the Qiao family, and then asked Qiao Zhiyong what he wanted.
Qiao Zhiyong only said that he only needed Cixi's four big characters, which was not difficult, Cixi wrote down the "Blessing Seed Lang Ring" with a stroke of his pen, and after Cixi returned to Beijing, he also provided many conveniences for the Qiao family's business, and with the Cixi Royal Gift Plaque, the influence of the Qiao family was even greater.
In fact, the Qiao family will not only do business, but also be a person, in addition to funding Cixi, when Zuo Zongtang was the minister of Qincha, his military supplies were mostly deposited and exchanged by the Qiao family ticket number, and when Zuo Zongtang returned to Beijing as the minister of military aircraft, the road expenses were managed by the Qiao family ticket number, and when passing through the Qiao family, Zuo Zongtang also specially visited Qiao Zhiyong.
In addition, when Li Hongzhang formed the Beiyang Fleet, he asked Shanxi merchants to collect donations, and Qiao Zhiyong's Dadetong and Dadeheng ticket numbers pledged 100,000 taels of silver, which left a deep impression on Li Hongzhang.
Speaking of Cixi's westward escape route, after getting 400,000 silver taels from Qiao Zhiyong, Cixi went to Shaanxi with a lot of ease, and then Zhou Ying, the richest woman in Shaanxi, funded Cixi, and still funded Cixi the most.
Zhou Ying was responsible for all of Cixi's expenses in Xi'an, and when Cixi returned to Beijing, she also funded 100,000 taels of silver, so what did Zhou Ying get later?
When Zhou Ying funded Cixi, her husband Wu Ping had passed away, and the Wu family business was still guarded and carried forward by Zhou Ying, Zhou Ying did not remarry, Cixi got his support, and her heart rose up with a good feeling for Zhou Ying, so she adopted Zhou Ying as a righteous daughter and gave her a plaque "Lady Protector", relying on the name of Cixi, the Wu family business reached a peak again.
In addition, after the signing of the "Xinugi Treaty", Zhou Ying also handed over silver to Cixi, and was thus named "Lady of a Pint of Commandments", but these were all external things for Zhou Ying, even if she did many good deeds, honest management, opened warehouses and released grain, set up porridge factories, and helped disaster victims, enjoying a high reputation in the local area, and Cixi, the righteous mother.
However, because Zhou Ying did not give birth to a son and a half daughter, after the exhaustion of death at the age of 42, the Wu family did not let Zhou Ying be buried in the Wu cemetery on the grounds that Zhou Ying had no queen.
Of course, Zhou Ying had been buried because of Cixi's scenery, and Cixi may not have been concerned, taking her as a righteous daughter and making her a lady of the commandments, but also a reputation, telling everyone that Zhou Ying had helped herself, and he later returned to her.
After all, Cixi was a person who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, reaching out and clutching power, and there was little warmth in her heart, so it was impossible to make decisions for Zhou Ying. However, it is said that when Zhou Ying came out of the funeral, more than 80,000 neighboring villagers spontaneously sent her a funeral, but after Zhou Ying's death, she was buried in the mass burial post, and the ending was still lamentable.