As we all know, Tao Zhugong is Fan Li, who helped Gou Jian defeat the King of Wu and Fu Cha and made great contributions in politics. That's not all. Fan Li, who retired afterwards, successfully transferred from politics to business and became a respected "business saint" in ancient and modern times. Finally, he disappeared with the stone on Taihu Lake, which became a beautiful talk that people have been praising.
Hu Xueyan, which can be compared with Tao Zhugong Fan Li, is also called "Shang Sheng". So what kind of life does Hu Xueyan, one of the only two Shang Sheng in history, live? Born in poverty, how did he complete the counterattack in more than ten years and become the richest man in China at that time? What did he experience later to warn future generations before he died: "Don't go near the white tiger"?
Besides, what is this white tiger?
Next, let's analyze Hu Xueyan's bumpy experiences in his early years, exploits in his heyday and exploits in his later years.
Sad to death "don't go near the white tiger"
First of all, what is the "white tiger" that Hu Xueyan told later generations before he died? The white tiger is the fierce white tiger, which is the silver he often deals with businessman Hu Xueyan. Comparing silver to a fierce white tiger shows that Hu Xueyan seems to be a little secretive about money. Why is this happening?
We should get the answer by analyzing his old age.
Look at Hu Xueyan's heyday. He was called a "red-topped businessman" and could wear a yellow jacket given by the emperor. Hu Xueyan in his later years should be able to enjoy a comfortable state in his later years after arranging his successor.
But the fact is that in his later years, in a silk trade war with foreign countries, people were worse than heaven, and the situation was out of control. Hu Xueyan lost completely. He worked so hard to save his fortune for decades from scratch, and was stripped of it in just three years. After selling the family property and losing12 million taels of silver, the family property completely fell.
The tree fell behind, the wall fell, everyone pushed. Hu Xueyan became a dragon stranded in the shallows and was blackmailed by local officials in droves. At that time, Hu Xueyan was heavily in debt, and Hu Xueyan, as the former rich man, was worth more than the national treasury in his heyday, so he naturally lost power and influence in politics.
Shortly after the accident, the court arranged for someone to check his account. When Hu Xueyan was really in debt, he arranged for Zuo to seal all the pawn shops and businesses in Hu Xueyan and report to the official after handling them.
Poor Hu Xueyan never imagined this step. What makes him sad is that Zuo, who helped him recover Xinjiang in those days, was finally cleaned up by Zuo. In fact, both of them know that this is an order of the court, and everyone has to abide by it.
This blow completely plunged Hu Xueyan into a trough that could not be turned over. In September of the following year, Zuo died, and Hu Xueyan, who had been depressed for two months, also died in November. A generation of legends and business sages ended.
Here, we can understand why Hu Xueyan warned future generations not to approach the white tiger before he died. For Hu Xueyan, it was the white tigers that pushed him to the peak and enjoyed all the splendor, and it was these "white tigers" that pushed him to the abyss. After his death, it was these "white tigers" who were robbed of their property. The fierce white tiger clearly reflects people's hearts.
Therefore, Ma Yun also said that Hu Xueyan set a wrong example for Huizhou merchants-interfering in politics when doing business. Facing Hu Xueyan 150 years ago, the best we can do is to sigh.
Faced with such a sad ending of Hu Xueyan, we can't help wondering what his first half life was like. Let's take a look.
My childhood was miserable. I started from scratch.
It is such a great man who once became famous in business and politics and got along well, but his childhood situation was miserable. Originally, Hu Xueyan's family was poor when he was a child, and he had no education when he was young-he studied in a private school for two years and learned a few words, so he had to make a living by herding cattle, but the bigger disaster was when he was twelve years old-Hu Xueyan's father died that year.
This blow made the already difficult family completely desperate. There is no way out, books can't be read, and cows can't be released. At the age of thirteen, Hu Xueyan began to wander the rivers and lakes, working as a waiter in restaurants and shops. He did all this, and later went to a big bank to do odd jobs, such as sweeping the floor and emptying the urinal.
At that time, the children of poor families were taken care of early, and Hu Xueyan Jr. was very diligent, especially diligent-this was appreciated by the boss, and it was this quality that led to a great turning point in his fate.
Later, Hu Xueyan worked in a bank for three years, and when he was appreciated, he was promoted to a regular employee. It is said that yes-men are accidental and inevitable. The owner of the bank has no children and daughters, and the incense broke the money of the bank, so there is no way to deal with it. He was anxious to find an heir and took a fancy to Hu Xueyan. I think everyone knows why Hu Xueyan can endure hardship for three years. He works hard.
In this way, the young Hu Xueyan ushered in the first opportunity of his life, which he deserved. /kloc-When he was 0/9 years old, he became a shopkeeper's apprentice in a big bank in Hangzhou. Shopkeepers who have no sons regard Hu Xueyan as their own son, take care of him in life and teach him business skills.
Finally, on his deathbed, the shopkeeper gave Hu Xueyan the bank he had worked hard for all his life. This bank with a value of 5,200 silver became the beginning of Hu Xueyan's dream.
If you are famous, you will also be an official and do business.
At this time, Hu Xueyan, who had the capital, became stronger with the help of Wang Youling, who had helped him. During the Gengshen Rebellion, there were a lot of military expenditures in Hu Xueyan's banks, while Hu Xueyan only mastered half of the wartime funds!
This was a big springboard for Hu Xueyan's finance-later, many military funds entered his bank one after another, and he even personally managed the commissary and arms expenses needed by the left army, which also marked the beginning of his career as an official and businessman.
At the beginning, we mentioned "Hu Xueyan today". Why "today"? Hu Xueyan has been dead for more than 150 years, and we in China have a habit of evaluating historical figures. This man has not been surpassed, so it can be understood that this man is still alive in the present-yes, the reason is that Hu Xueyan has not been surpassed by any businessman in the next 150 years, because he has an insurmountable achievement, that is, helping Zuo recover Xinjiang.
At that time, Xinjiang was always pegged by a chief named Agubo in Central Asia. With the support of foreign forces, he wanted to separate Xinjiang from China and become an independent country. Of course, the Qing court didn't want to do this, and neither did Zuo.
However, their biggest problem is that they have no money. The Qing court shouted: Go to war and recover lost ground. In the Qing dynasty, you can't lose an inch of land, and you won't give a penny to the left. How can you fight? Fighting costs a lot of money, weapons need to be bought and maintained, soldiers need to eat and pay, horses need to eat food and eat grass, and they can't fight without money.
At this moment, Hu Xueyan stood up and said, I'll pay the money. He borrowed money from foreign banks, but the Qing court couldn't borrow a penny. He borrowed more than10 million. With money, Zuo regained Xinjiang. Afterwards, Zuo said: "The beauty of the snow was really true for a while."
After this war, Zuo went down in history, and Hu Xueyan became a merchant of red-crowned cranes, and all his wishes were realized.
summary
So what are the internal factors of Hu Xueyan's success? Let's sum up:
The first point is that you can be a man. A saying that has been circulated in the mansion door is that Hu Xueyan "heirlooms are only thick, and everything is straightforward." This is enough to see Hu Xueyan's purpose in life, and it is not surprising that he can make so many amazing people.
The second point is that Hu Xueyan is good at emergency rescue, which is also the reason why he can meet many people and get their strong support, such as the help at the beginning of his career and the left help later. They helped Hu Xueyan so much because Hu Xueyan tried his best to help them when they were in trouble. They are all worthy of help.
Third, Hu Xueyan is hardworking and willing to bear hardships. Without this, Hu Xueyan would not have achieved great success later. He is probably an ordinary person in the village, rather than a great evil in the business world.
I hope the readers who read this article can learn some truth about being a man from Hu Xueyan. His vision, timing and excellent personal qualities are all worth learning.