At the beginning of the 19th century, Wu Bingjian, the richest man in the world in the Qing Dynasty, was known as "the richest man at that time". But at the last moment of his life, he was ruthlessly plundered by the Jewish British plutocracy, and the kingdom of the merchant kingdom collapsed, and finally died in grief and anger. Wu Bingjian was born in a family of officials and merchants, and his family ran the first of the thirteen lines in Guangzhou, "Yihe Xing", for generations, and became rich with the oriental tea trade.
As its commercial empire grew stronger, the East India Company and the Jewish-British consortium began to impose opium on China to supplement the trade deficit. Wu Bingjian took risks and chose to act as an intermediary agent after weighing the pros and cons. On the one hand, this will increase the family's profits, and on the other hand, it will keep the business at home and abroad.
Unexpectedly, with the spread of opium, Lin Zexu ordered a ban on smoking. Wu Bingjian was in a dilemma, so he had to pretend to persuade the British merchants to hand over some of the opium in an attempt to temporarily defuse the wrath of the Qing court. Unmoved, the East India Company then launched the Opium War. After the war, the West constantly demanded reparations from the Qing court. Faced with the country's predicament, Wu Bingjian's family was once again alone, so they could only fund and plan.
However, such sacrifices did not win the trust of the Qing court, but instead attracted misunderstandings and accusations. In 1858, the British government nationalized the East India Company in the name of "safeguarding national interests" and forcibly expropriated a large number of shares held by Wu Bingjian in the company for a long time, which undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to his family business.
Since the Qing court also regarded him as a traitor, the family business had lost its advantage, and he had no way out. After years of harassment and blows, the richest man in the world, Wu Bingjian's family officially entered a decline, and the business empire collapsed. Wu Bingjian was old, grief and anger, and finally died of illness a year later. It can be said that he descended from the high, fought hard to maintain difficulties, and finally died tragically.
As a businessman, he was responsible for paying the country's reparations, but he could not get any sincere support from both domestic and foreign countries, but became the object of criticism from all sides, and finally declared failure. Wu Bingjian's defeat also exposed the ideological inferiority of the Qing court, even if he contributed extraordinarily to the country, but once he was suspected of being a traitor, the Qing court still did not hesitate to squeeze out the discord.
Britain did not hesitate to plunder the wealth he had accumulated over the years by force, which was embarrassing. As it turns out, maximizing benefits alone is not the answer. A firm stance and solidarity are the secret of the ups and downs of the business sea.
Today, Chinese companies are facing the same challenges when they go global. Only by standing on the same road with the people of all countries with great love and seeking common well-being can we tide over the difficulties and achieve an immortal cause in the midst of ups and downs.