Preface
We all know that China has an area of 9.6 million square kilometers today, which is inseparable from the merits of emperors or generals of various dynasties in history, but the most important person is Zuo Zongtang.
If it weren't for Zuo Zongtang's recovery of Xinjiang, China's territory might be less than 8 million today, which shows that Zuo Zongtang has made great contributions to safeguarding the territory of the motherland.
Behind this, Zuo Zongtang did make a lot of efforts, even on the way to recover Xinjiang, the military salary was not enough, he paid out of his own pocket to fill the military salary, but behind this, there is also a person's efforts.
This person is Hu Xueyan, one of the richest people in the Qing Dynasty, and it can be said that it is with the support of Hu Xueyan that Zuo Zongtang can set foot on the road to Xinjiang with peace of mind.
But no one ever thought that the richest man was finally raided by Cixi, and the person who went to raid the house was Zuo Zongtang, what happened in the middle?
1. The rise of the richest man in the Qing Dynasty
There is a reason why Hu Xueyan can become the richest man in the Qing Dynasty, which stems from the fate he formed with silver money when he was a child. When he was a child, Hu Xueyan's family background was not good.
In order to support the family, as the eldest son in the family, he entered the money bank as an apprentice on the recommendation of relatives, and since then he has formed an indissoluble bond with Yinqian.
At the beginning, Hu Xueyan started as an apprentice from the most basic work, and even used him as a servant, letting him pour urinals, or sweeping the floor and other rough work, from this point of view, it almost has nothing to do with money.
But Hu Xueyan is not tired of being dirty, but very diligent and hardworking, and meticulous in every job, it is his correct attitude that allowed him to pass the three-year apprenticeship.
At the same time, because of his diligence and steadfastness, he became a partner in Qianzhuang, and he was able to stay in Qianzhuang to do chores and have some income, which is a good thing for Hu Xueyan.
The place itself is the easiest place to meet nobles, and Hu Xueyan also met the nobles in his life here, which changed the fate of his life.
This person is Wang Youling, a marquis of Fujian, who held the position of Zhejiang salt transport envoy during the Daoguang period, but due to the lack of some funds, there was no way to go to Beijing.
However, Hu Xueyan could see that this person would definitely make a difference in the future, so he generously donated 500 taels of silver to Wang Youling, and encouraged him to go to Beijing as soon as possible.
If you want to say that Hu Xueyan is a guy in a money bank, why is he suddenly so rich, it turns out that the shopkeeper of this money bank has no heirs, and Hu Xueyan died when he was twelve years old, so he regarded Hu Xueyan, who was clever in the money bank, as his own son.
It can be said that the shopkeeper Yu is Hu Xueyan's "regeneration parents", and Hu Xueyan suddenly has a strong support, and the shopkeeper Yu entrusted the money bank to Hu Xueyan, and this money bank is worth 5,000 taels of silver, which can be regarded as Hu Xueyan's start-up capital in the business world.
That's why Hu Xueyan was able to take out five hundred taels at once to fund Wang Youling. Speaking of which, Hu Xueyan's vision for distinguishing people is really good, when Wang Youling was in Tianjin, he met his friend He Guiqing.
Wang Youling entered the Zhejiang Governor's Door under the recommendation of He Guiqing and served as the general office of the grain station, Wang Youling has been working hard there for many years, and he also has some family background, he has not forgotten Hu Xueyan's kindness to him back then.
After all, Wang Youling was poor at that time, and Hu Xueyan's five hundred taels of silver were tantamount to "sending charcoal in the snow", which solved his urgent need. ”
So he funded Hu Xueyan to open his own money bank, named "Fukang", and later Wang Youling made steady progress in his career, Hu Xueyan's business became bigger and bigger, in addition to the money village, he also got involved in many fields, opened various shops, and the income was very good.
The cooperation between the two people has also become a legend between businesses, and it is also a side of each other's achievements, which is the power of gratitude and feedback.
2. Red-capped businessmen
But when it comes to what really made Hu Xueyan rise and make a name for himself in the last session, it was in the Kangshen Change, in this turmoil, I not only saw Hu Xueyan's wisdom and wisdom, but also saw Hu Xueyan's calmness and calmness.
At that time, Hu Xueyan had already established close ties with the military circles, and a large amount of funds for recruiting troops were deposited in his bank, which gave him a lot of financial resources.
In the process, Hu Xueyan mastered almost half of Zhejiang's wartime financial resources, which was a very fortunate thing for him, and also laid the foundation and contacts for his later business empire.
In the fifth year of Tongzhi, the imperial court approved Zuo Zongtang to preside over the establishment of a shipyard in Mawei, Fujian, mainly responsible for supervising the task of building ships, and it was also the intersection between Hu Xueyan and Zuo Zongtang from then on.
With the help of Hu Xueyan, he soon found a French builder and began to build a shipyard. But just when the shipyard was just about to start, the imperial court issued another decree to transfer Zuo Zongtang to serve as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.
This sudden order gave him no time to prepare, so he recommended Xu Baozhen, the governor of Jiangxi, to the imperial court as the minister of shipping, and on the other hand, he strongly recommended Hu Xueyan to assist in handling the affairs of the shipping administration.
The first steamship - "Wannian Qing" was successfully manufactured, and the launch was successful, and the first ship had the second - the "Zhenhai" military ship, which was also successfully launched.
Zuo Zongtang, who was far away on the border, was very happy when he learned the news, and wrote a letter to Hu Xueyan excitedly, showing his excitement and Hu Xueyan's contributions.
Until 1880, Hu Qingyutang's capital had reached 2.8 million taels, comparable to the Tongrentang Pharmacy in Beijing, but Hu Xueyan, as the founder of Hu Qingyutang, went from a guy in a money bank to today's achievements, and his reputation has also grown.
In addition to founding Huqing Yutang to benefit the society, Hu Xueyan also helped Zuo Zongtang successfully raise foreign funds and made great contributions to the recovery of Xinjiang.
When Zuo Zongtang served as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, due to the shortage of military spending during the Western Expedition, Zuo Zongtang was forced to borrow money from foreigners, but this burden also fell on Hu Xueyan's shoulders.
Because Hu Xueyan has always had business dealings with the British in banks, Zuo Zongtang found Hu Xueyan and Hu Xueyan came forward to take out a loan, but due to the sensitive problems of the borrower, Hu Xueyan also expressed his attitude.
He said: "If the negotiation can be successful, then I represent the Qing government, if the negotiation is not successful, then I only represent myself." It can be seen that Hu Xueyan has great love in his heart.
In the end, Hu Xueyan lived up to expectations, and after day and night negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement on the details such as interest and term, and Hu Xueyan finally borrowed a loan of 2 million taels for the Western Expedition with the customs tax of Jiangsu and other places as a guarantee.
Later, with the reputation he had only saved in Shanghai, he borrowed 15.95 million taels of silver from the British consortium four times to solve the problem of funds, which helped Zuo Zongtang solve the problem of funds for the Western Expedition.
Zuo Zongtang also spoke highly of Hu Xueyan: "Hu Xueyan's contributions are not measured by money. Zuo Zongtang did not forget Hu Xueyan's contributions, but played to the court and asked for credit for Hu Xueyan.
The court did not forget Hu Xueyan's merits, so he gave Hu Xueyan a yellow coat and allowed him to wear a poinsettia crown on his official hat, which is the famous "red-capped merchant." ”
This is a symbol of honor, proving that this businessman has great ability, he is not a businessman, but he is not an ordinary businessman, but a businessman who has a great reputation in officialdom and shopping malls, and for a time it can be described as a spring breeze.
3. Hu Xueyan was raided
But Hu Xueyan can be so successful, on the one hand, because of his own accumulated reputation, and on the other hand, it is the mutual help between him and Zuo Zongtang.
However, this made Zuo Zongtang's long-term political enemy, Li Hongzhang, dissatisfied, so Li Hongzhang wronged Zuo Zongtang for greedy military salaries after recovering Xinjiang and returning triumphantly.
The reason why Li Hongzhang did this, one is that he has always looked at Zuo Zongtang at the same time, and the other reason is that because of the land reparation treaty signed by the Qing government, a large amount of silver needs to be compensated.
However, at this time, the treasury of the Qing government was empty, and Hu Xueyan had always been Zuo Zongtang's money bag, so he could only bring down Zuo Zongtang, but later found that Zuo Gong was not only not corrupt, but also paid out of his own pocket in the Western Expedition.
So Cixi could only order that Zuo Zongtang should not be impeached, and if it wasn't for Zuo Gong, he would not be able to help Cixi resist the pressure of the country, so the blade turned to Hu Xueyan.
If the country wants to lose money, it can only use the money of the richest man at that time to make up for it, and this crime is naturally made out of nothing, Hu Xueyan raided his house, Hu Xueyan called the 12 concubines around him into the room overnight, and one of them gave them 500 taels of silver, and took the children to the countryside to avoid the trouble.
Someone came to Hu Xueyan's house that night to raid the house, and this person was Zuo Zongtang, why Zuo Zongtang came, this is Cixi's trade-off, after all, in order to protect Zuo Gong and avoid Li Hongzhang thinking that Hu Xueyan and Zuo Zongtang have a close relationship, Zuo Zongtang is charged with corruption.
In order to clear up Zuo Zongtang's relationship and prove his innocence, he could only let him copy Hu Xueyan's home, but Zuo Zongtang naturally showed mercy to his former partner, not only making Hu Xueyan less than millions of taels in arrears.
Later, he also left 100,000 yuan of silver for Hu Xueyan to use to support his family, until Zuo Zongtang died in Fuzhou in 1885, and Hu Xueyan also died.
epilogue
Hu Xueyan's life is actually doing practical things for the country and the people, and he was able to become a qualified businessman from an apprentice in a money bank, which is inseparable from his business talent and vision.
He and Zuo Zongtang can come together, and they complement each other because they both have a patriotic heart and a benevolent heart, and it is precisely because of this that the two can help each other when they are in trouble.