Fortune telling yellow jacket

Hu Xueyan was born in Huli Village, Jixi County, Huizhou City, Anhui Province in the third year of Qing Daoguang (1823). When he was a child, his family was very poor and he lived by helping people herd cattle.

In the 16th year of Qing Daoguang (1836), Hu Xueyan, aged 13, began to travel alone. Worked as a clerk in Hangzhou Miscellaneous Grains Store and Jinhua Ham Firm, and served as an apprentice in Hangzhou Xinhe Qianzhuang. From sweeping the floor, emptying the urinal and other chores, after three years of teaching, I became a formal employee of the bank because of my diligence and sureness.

In the 22nd year of Qing Daoguang (1842), 19-year-old Hu Xueyan was accepted as an apprentice by the shopkeeper of Hangzhou Fukang Bankhouse, and there were no descendants, so he took flexible Hu Xueyan as his son. Before he died, the shopkeeper entrusted all the money houses to Hu Xueyan. This bank, worth 5,200 silver, is the first bucket of gold for Hu Xueyan to do business.

The following is the beginning of Hu Xueyan's becoming an official and businessman.

In the 28th year of Daoguang reign (1848), 26-year-old Hu Xueyan met Wang Youling, the "alternate ambassador of Zhejiang Salt", and borrowed 500 taels of silver from the bank to help Wang Youling fill the post (this story comes from Levin's novel, and some experts pointed out that in history, Wang Youling didn't start from Hu Xueyan's 520 taels of silver, but was invented by a novelist, which needs to be verified). He was kicked out of the bank after the incident.

In the 16th year of Qing Daoguang (185 1), Wang Youling was appointed as the magistrate of Huzhou, and was soon transferred to the magistrate of Hangzhou. Wang Youling is also a kind person. At this point, he arranged for Hu Xueyan to act as the agent of Huzhou public library and set up a silk store in Huzhou. Through the silk business, Hu Xueyan made the first bucket of gold in his life.

Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang, became one of the richest people in Zhejiang. Hu Xueyan's life began to hang in the balance.

In the 16th year of Qing Daoguang (186 1), the Taiping Army invaded Hangzhou, and Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang, hanged himself. The Qing court appointed Zuo as the governor of Zhejiang. Zuo and Hu Xueyan fell in love at first sight, and since then, their fates have crossed, opening a life of knowing each other and helping each other for more than 20 years.

At that time, there were three leaders in the late Qing Dynasty, namely Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo. These three men were very energetic at the court at that time. Why did Li Hongzhang have a hard time with a businessman to bring down Hu Xueyan? All this is because of another person-Zuo. Zuo made great achievements in his life, including Hu Xueyan's shadow. As a leftist, Hu Xueyan naturally plays a very important role. He is simply the left "God of Wealth"!

Hu Xueyan's help to Zuo mainly includes three aspects: first, raising the salary; Through his personal connections, Hu Xueyan borrowed high-interest loans from foreign banks to pay for the left army. Left to Shaanxi and Gansu, and went to Xinjiang. Tens of thousands of troops are paid by Hu Xueyan. Second, co-organize westernization; Left is the mainstay of the Westernization Movement. Hu responded positively and helped Zuo carry out the Westernization Movement. Fuzhou Shipping Administration and Fuzhou Shipping Administration School were both established under the auspices of Hu Xueyan. Third, revitalize the economy; Hu Xueyan integrates commercial activities into social welfare and state affairs. Hu founded the "Huqingyutang" pharmacy, opened porridge shops for disaster relief, and actively engaged in foreign trade. He founded "Huqingyutang" Chinese medicine shop in Hangzhou, and made "Wuwen Pill", "Xingjun Powder" and "Babao Pill" according to the needs of the military and civilians. Drugstores have spread to this day and won the reputation of "Jiangnan drug king". He helped Zuo promote social welfare and the development of national economy with his personal business behavior.

In the fifth year of Tongzhi reign in Qing Dynasty (1866), Hu Xueyan assisted Zuo to set up the "Fuzhou Shipping Bureau" in Fuzhou, and founded the first new shipyard in the history of China. Shortly after the shipyard started construction, when things in the northwest began, the court suddenly ordered that Zuo be transferred to the post of governor of Shaanxi but Gansu. Before Zuo took office, on the one hand, he recommended Shen Baozhen, the governor of Jiangxi Province, to the court as the minister of ship administration, on the other hand, he strongly recommended Hu Xueyan to assist in handling all the specific affairs of ship administration.

In the eighth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1869), the first ship of Wannian Qingqiu Shipyard was successfully launched. The ship has been sailing from Mawei Port to Tianjin Port. When people first saw the ship made in China, it was full of jubilation and unprecedented pomp, and even foreigners were deeply surprised.

At the beginning of the decade of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (187 1), the warship Zhenhai was successfully launched again. Zuo, who was far away from the border, wrote to Hu Xueyan after learning these news: "Everything in Fujian Bureau is getting better and better, and ships don't need foreign craftsmen. This is good news ... your initiative is very good. Seeing that the apprentice is getting better and better, he is beautiful and the driver is easy to choose. Going to the ocean and reaping the benefits of the ocean is a great turning point for China, and it is also based on this.

In the seventh year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (188 1), Hu Xueyan was awarded the title of minister in charge (third prize) for helping Zuo recover Xinjiang. He could wear a yellow jacket and a magenta top hat, and also managed the "four provincial public coffers".

In the eighth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1882), Hu Xueyan opened a silk factory in Shanghai, which cost 20 million taels of silver. The price of raw silk fell day by day, trying to monopolize the silk cocoon trade, but it caused resistance from foreign businessmen. In the century-old enterprise history, the first big commercial war between China and foreign countries began. At first, Hu collected millions of tons of domestic new silk at a high price and gained the upper hand. Both China and foreign countries have reached the limit of patience, and when they see the result, they will be tried. Who knows that the "astronomical phenomena" suddenly changed. The sudden harvest of raw silk in Europe and Italy was followed by the outbreak of the Sino-French war, the drastic changes in the market and the sudden outbreak of the financial crisis. The truth is, there is nothing Hu Xueyan can do.

All this was seen by Li Hongzhang, who kept a close eye on Hu Xueyan. He's ready to do something to Hu! Hu Weizong's 802,000 military expenses borrowed from foreign banks are about to expire. As a rule, the money should be paid by the local government in Shanghai. Li Hongzhang's cable channel in Shanghai can pay 800,000 yuan, but it must be postponed for 20 days, which will kill Hu Xueyan! Shanghai Daotai said he couldn't get sick, but Wang Huqian couldn't wait to be reimbursed. In desperation, he decided to misappropriate the funds of Fukang Bank under his name to repay the military expenses. All this was learned by Li Hongzhang. Li immediately spread the rumor that "Hu Xueyan silk business was severely punished and Fukang Bank was facing bankruptcy", which set off a run storm. At that time, people who listened to rumors and hurried to withdraw money gathered at the bank gate. In the face of the storm of bank runs in various places, Hu sold his assets and hoped to tide over the difficulties, but the general trend was gone and the bank eventually went bankrupt. At this time, the great Li Hongzhang duly delivered the last dose of death warrant poison. He played Empress Dowager Cixi, saying that Hu Xueyan took kickbacks in the process of helping Zuo borrow money from foreign banks to raise military expenses. Empress Dowager Cixi flew into a rage, making people property Hu Xueyan.

Sheng Xuanhuai (see the introduction of Sheng Xuanhuai at the end of the article) has Li Hongzhang in the background. At that time, Zuo, another important official in the late Qing Dynasty, also had the endorsement of a businessman. That's Hu Xueyan, who is known as the "Red Top Merchant" in the history of Hu Xueyan. He raised military funds for the left's war and won the trust of the left. The contest between Li Hongzhang and Zuo is the contest between Sheng Xuanhuai and Hu Xueyan. Hu Xueyan's main business is traditional industries, such as money houses, while Sheng Xuanhuai is mainly emerging industries, such as shipping. Judging from the historical development of the industry, Sheng Xuanhuai made the right choice, but he did play tricks on Hu Xueyan. He tried his best to break the capital chain in Hu Xueyan's raw silk business, spread rumors to make people run on Hu Xueyan's banks, and finally let Hu Xueyan go bankrupt. His victory is Li Hongzhang's victory.

It has always been Sheng Xuanhuai's life creed to do great things with great men and seek high positions for himself, which is also the meaning of his life.

Sheng Xuanhuai was able to dominate the officialdom, mainly with the support of Li Hongzhang. His role is the official spokesman. With the instigation of Li Hongzhang and the financial support of the state, he established China Merchants Bureau for Shipping and Westernization School, which developed in telegraph, mining, banking and textile, and played a certain role in the industrialization development of China at that time. But behind his career, Sheng Xuanhuai also ransacked and embezzled a lot of money. Finally, the Qing Dynasty perished, and the Sheng family turned state-owned assets into private property, becoming the richest big family in Shanghai during the Republic of China.

Sheng Xuanhuai has three wives. After the death of his first two wives, he married a good girl, that is, Mrs. Zhuang. Mrs. Zhuang's son, Sheng, is the most favored son. As the most important heir of the Sheng family, his talent is not outstanding. He also likes gambling. He lost a street property overnight, and he is a famous broken son. He grew up in a honeypot, and he bought his first Mercedes in Shanghai. Also deliberately chose "4444" as the license plate number. When all Shanghainese saw this license plate, they knew that the four sons of Shengjia had come.

The other children of the Sheng family have nothing to do. They all live with the wealth accumulated by Sheng Xuanhuai and live a carefree life. They are very popular in Shanghai. Sheng Xuanhuai once met a fortune teller who thought that the children of the Sheng family would do nothing, but his descendants would achieve something. Sheng Xuanhuai doesn't think so. Whether the story is true or not, history proves that the conclusion is correct. After his death, his children separated and his property became less and less. Many of their possessions were also lost by their incompetent sons, and three generations were not rich. After he became a servant girl, he married the Zhao family, gave birth to a daughter and fell in love with Zhang Xueliang. The foster mother he hired for his children married Song Jiashu and gave birth to a daughter, the Soong sisters. I have to say, how mysterious fate is.

Sheng Xuanhuai was born in Longxi, Wujin County, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province in the late Qing Dynasty (now Shengjiawan Village, Wuxing Township, Zhonglou District, Changzhou City).

In February of the tenth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1860), the Taiping Army came to Changzhou, and Sheng Xuanhuai fled to Changjing Town, Jiangyin with his parents, and then to Yancheng. At that time, Shengkang was appointed as the route for providing foodstuff in Hubei and sent people to Hubei.

In the first year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1862), Sheng Xuanhuai married Dong Shi. Shengkang was appointed as Hubei Salt Road, and Sichuan and Huaibei competed for land, which was deadlocked for a long time. Sheng Xuanhuai suggested that Sichuan and Huaibei should be parallel, and the problem was solved. Sheng Kangyi encourages beneficial learning. Hu Linyi and Yan Shusen successively served as the Governor of Hubei, both of whom were famous statesmen at that time. Strict military management, strict official management, famous all over the world. Sheng Xuanhuai was impressed by everything, and he generously saved the world by rectifying the current situation. "His life and achievements are based on this."

In the fifth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1866), Sheng Xuanhuai and his second brother returned to Wujin County to take an examination of the boy, and both of them went to Pan Pan to make up for the students in the county.

In the sixth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1867), his grandfather Sheng Long died and Kang Sheng helped the coffin to return to his hometown. Sheng Xuanhuai came last in the provincial examination. Shengkang family management system means caring for clans, setting up a righteous village, increasing the field of sacrifice, establishing a righteous school and revising the genealogy. Sheng Xuanhuai also participated in the planning.

In the ninth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1870), he entered Li Hongzhang's door and assisted Li Hongzhang in his westernization. Appreciated by Li, he was promoted to magistrate the following year.

1875, Li Youwei entrusted Sheng to handle the coal and iron ore affairs in Hubei, and Sheng began to handle mining again.

In the second year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1876), Sheng Xuanhuai set up "Hubei Coal and Iron Mining Bureau" in Pantang, Guangji, Hubei Province, and hired British miner Guo Shidun to survey Hubei coal and iron deposits.

In July of Guangxu 3rd year (1877), Guo Shidun and others discovered Daye Iron Mine. 1 1 month, Sheng Xuanhuai and Daye county ordered Zuo Lin to go to Huangshi port and made a detailed investigation on the land property right of Tieshan. He also bought some Tieshan land property rights from private hands, and plans to build an ironmaking plant near Wudongwang Temple (now Shenjiaying) in Huangshi Port. Later, due to fund-raising difficulties, Li Hongzhang did not approve it.

In the fifth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1879), he lived in Hejian, Tianjin.

In the tenth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1884), he went to Guangdong to deal with Shamian incident and was sent to Tianjin Customs Road.

In the 11th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1885), it was supervised by China Merchants.

In the 12th year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty (1886), he was appointed as the garrison station of Denglaiqing, Shandong Province and the customs supervisor of East China Sea.

In the 13th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1887), the company operated passenger and cargo shipping in Yantai, and the shipping scope not only expanded to the whole of Shandong, but also opened a route from Yantai to Lushun.

In the 15th year of Guangxu (1August 889), Zhang Zhidong decided to move the ironmaking plant originally planned to be built in Guangdong to Hubei. When Sheng Xuanhuai talked about steelmaking, Zhang mentioned that there was no iron ore, and Sheng Xuanhuai immediately expressed his willingness to hand over the Tieshan mine originally purchased in Daye. At the end of the year, Sheng talked to Zhang about opening an iron mine and made four useful suggestions to Zhang. Zhang Zhidong then built Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant and opened Daye Iron Mine. Daye Iron Mine became the first large-scale mine mined by machinery in the history of China.

In the 17th year of Guangxu reign (189 1 spring), Guangrentang Charity Association No.1 in Jiaodong was established in Yantai.

In the 18th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1892), he was appointed as the customs supervisor of Jinhaiguan Road in Zhili.

In the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Beiyang University Hall (predecessor of Tianjin University) was established in Tianjin. After the treaty of shimonoseki was signed, Sheng Xuanhuai repeatedly asked to remove him from his post, but he was repeatedly refused.

In the 22nd year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1896), Si Pinjingtang was appointed as an alternate to supervise the affairs of the railway head office, and was granted the "special privilege" to take over Hanyang Iron Works and Daye Iron Mine, and set up Nanyang Public School (predecessor of Jiaotong University) in Shanghai. Awarded the title of Shao Qing of Taichang Temple.

In the 23rd year of Guangxu (1May 27th, 897), China Commercial Bank was established on the Bund, and signed draft contracts for railway loan with Belgium, Britain and the United States. In February 65438, he was awarded the title of Shao Qing in Dali Temple.

In the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (190 1 year1month), he was awarded the title of Prince Shaobao for his meritorious service in protecting the southeast.

In February of the 28th year of Guangxu (1902), he was appointed as Zuo Assistant Minister of the Second Product Industry Department.

In the 31st year of Guangxu (1905), Sheng Xuanhuai founded the China Red Cross Society in Shanghai. In the same year, he ceded the railway rights to Tang, which was the beginning of the transportation department headed by Tang in the early days of Beiyang government. In July, I was ordered to ride a horse in the Forbidden City.

In the thirty-third year of Guangxu (1907), Sheng Xuanhuai was called to Beijing, and the following year he was appointed as the right assistant minister of the post office.

In the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1908), Hanyang Iron Works was still unable to make profits due to Japanese control, so it was necessary to expand its production scale. Sheng Xuanhuai merged Hanyang Iron Works, Daye Iron Mine and Pingxiang Coal Mine to form Hanyeping Coal and Iron Works and Mines Co., Ltd., and changed "official supervision and commercial office" into a fully commercial company, and was recommended as the general manager of the company. Set up general offices in metallurgical mine and Pingping mine, and take Hanyang Iron Works as the leader to attract more shares to solve the problem of expanding production.

In the year of Tong Yuan in the Qing Dynasty (1909), in view of the fact that "to revitalize business, we must rely on the shipping industry, which is developed and depends on talents", Sheng Xuanhuai set up a navigation course in Nanyang Public College, and later became Wusong Merchant Marine College independently on 19 12, which was the predecessor of Dalian Maritime University and Shanghai Maritime University.

In the third year of Xuantong in Qing Dynasty (19 1 1), after Yuan Shikai dismissed from office, Sheng Xuanhuai was reused and promoted to post and telecommunications minister. He suggested that the railways and postal services established in various provinces should be turned into central leadership. This measure has been opposed by many places, and road protection movements have taken place in Sichuan, Guangdong, Hunan and Hubei. Sheng Xuanhuai ordered repression everywhere.

1911010/010. After the Wuchang Uprising broke out, Sheng Xuanhuai invited Yuan Shikai out of the mountain, which was condemned by all parties at the same time. Many people blamed the unrest on his road closure policy. Sheng Xuanhuai was removed from his post and moved to Dalian, where he never used it again. Sheng fled to Kobe, Japan.

At the beginning of the first year of the Republic of China (19 12), Sheng Xuanhuai saw that the government of the Republic of China needed funds for its military expenditure in Japan, so he obtained a Japanese loan through the Sino-Japanese "joint venture" Hanyeping Company, and made contact with the government of the Republic of China in order to save his unfavorable situation. So it secretly planned with Japanese monopoly financial resources, and the government of the Republic of China signed two similar Sino-Japanese "joint" draft agreements with Mitsui and Zheng Jin consortium in Kobe and Nanjing respectively. /kloc-in February, Sheng Xuanhuai borrowed 3,000,000,000 yen from Japan's Zhengjinyin Bank, and transferred part of the money to Mitsui Foreign Firm, which transferred about 2,500,000 yen to Nanjing Government. When the news came out, the whole country was in an uproar. Under the strong pressure of the people, Sheng Xuanhuai was forced to agree to terminate the contract and resign as the general manager of Hanyeping Company. Folding was invited back to China.

1912165438+After the founding of the Republic of China,1October 30th, Sheng Xuanhuai returned to Shanghai from Japan at the invitation of Sun Yat-sen, and continued to preside over China Merchants and Hanyeping Company in the Shanghai Concession.

In the second year of the Republic of China (1965438+May 2003), Sheng Xuanhuai once again became the chairman of Hanyeping Company, and regained the power of Hanyeping Company. According to the resolution of the first shareholders' meeting in Xuantongyuan, he began to build Daye Iron Works and expand the production scale of the company. In order to solve the capital construction funds, on February 2, the same year, 65438, five contracts were signed with Japan Steel Works and Yokohama Zhengyin Bank. Taking all the property of Hanyeping Company as collateral, the loan was 6,543,805,000 yen, of which 9 million yen was used to build Daye Iron Works and 6 million yen was used to repay Japan's old debts. It is agreed to provide150,000 tons of first-class ore and 8 million tons of pig iron to Japan for repayment for a period of 40 years. And employ Japanese as the highest engineering consultant and the highest accounting consultant. These contracts made the Japanese Steel Works completely control the management right of Hanyeping Company, and made Hanyeping Company gradually decline.

In the fifth year of the Republic of China (1965438+April 27th, 2006), Sheng Xuanhuai died in Shanghai, and he will donate half of his property to charity. Mrs. Zhuang held an extremely grand funeral for him, which caused a sensation in Shanghai and cost 302,000 silver. The funeral procession went from Xie Qiao Lane (Wujiang Road) to the Bund, so the concession authorities conducted traffic control.