When it comes to Li Hongzhang and Zuo, everyone will think that they are the most dazzling figures in the late Qing Dynasty. Both of them were important ministers in the late Qing Dynasty and one of the representatives of Westernization School. Together with Zhang Zhidong and Zeng Guofan, they are called "four famous ministers of ZTE". Without these people, I'm afraid the turbulent Qing Dynasty would have perished long ago. It was they who kept the Qing Dynasty alive for several years. So who is the better of these two people? In fact, the two men once competed, and one of them went bankrupt and died of depression because of the entanglement between them. This man is Hu Xueyan. Hu Xueyan came from a humble background, and his family was very poor when he was a child. When he was young, he helped people herd cattle. At the age of twelve, his father died of illness. As a last resort, 13-year-old Hu Xueyan had to travel outside. He worked as a clerk in many shops, and finally worked as an apprentice in Hangzhou Xinhe Bank, starting with chores such as sweeping the floor and emptying urinals. After three years of service, Hu Xueyan became a regular employee. At the age of 19, he was accepted as an apprentice by the shopkeeper of Hangzhou Fukang Bank, and Hu Xueyan was brilliant. The shopkeeper who has no children treats him like his own son. Before he died, he gave the bank to Hu Xueyan, which was his first bucket of gold in business. Hu Xueyan is young and incompetent, and the business of banks is not good. Even though business was bleak, he appropriated five hundred and twenty pieces of silver from the bank to Wang Youling. Who's Wang Youling? He is the son of a government official. His family once donated the position of "alternate salt ambassador" for him. But later, because the family was poor and there was no extra money to dredge the relationship in officialdom, it has always been a backup. After he made friends with Hu Xueyan, Hu Xueyan gave him a lot of money to help his friends realize their desire to serve their country. Wang Youling lived up to his expectations. With five hundred and twenty pieces of silver, he entered the DPRK as an official. He was capable and clean, and soon made achievements in his post, and then he was transferred to the governor of Zhejiang. After he became a big official, he never forgot his good friend Hu Xueyan and strongly supported his bank. They all developed their own careers and helped each other. The Taiping Army attacked Hangzhou, and Hu Xueyan's money houses played a great role in it. He runs a comprador such as drugstore, tea, cloth and commissary, and is quite famous in Jiangsu and Zhejiang business circles. But he, a businessman, still can't resist the Taiping Army's offensive. Although he has been buying weapons from Shanghai and Ningbo to support Wang Youling's Anti-Japanese War, Hangzhou is isolated and Wang Youling can't change the outcome. Finally, he despaired and died. After Hu Xueyan lost his good friend, the business went on. He still intends to cooperate with government and business, so that his business can develop for a long time. At that time, under Zeng Guofan's recommendation, Xiang General Zuo was appointed as the governor of Zhejiang Province, responsible for supervising the military. So Hu Xueyan intends to cooperate with him for a long time, raise a lot of food and grass, and go out in person to show his sincerity. His generosity made Zuo exert a profound influence on him. Since then, the two have often cooperated. Zuo gained local support by virtue of Hu Xueyan's local influence. For a long time, the two have forged a profound friendship. After Zuo recovered Hangzhou, Hu Xueyan was appointed as the general manager, responsible for some post-war reconstruction work, and all the money and food were kept in his bank. Hu Xueyan's business is booming because of Zuo's help, and he will reciprocate. In the process of dealing with foreign businessmen, he recruited foreign military experts, trained an army with advanced weapons and equipment, and helped Zuo fight against the Taiping Army. Zuo recovered the lost land nearby and was rewarded by the court. And Hu Xueyan also relied on Xiang's influence to monopolize Jiangsu and Zhejiang businesses, expand banks, and became the richest man in the late Qing Dynasty, worth more than 20 million yuan. Hu Xueyan often does good deeds in the local area and helps the poor as much as possible. Despite frequent wars in various places, people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang seldom make trouble, which saves Zuo a lot of trouble. He was very grateful to Hu Xueyan for everything he had done, and he also showed his achievements to Cixi. When Cixi learned of this man, she praised him, asked the businessman to learn from Hu Xueyan, and refused to give him an official position and a yellow jacket after Jiangxi, so Hu Xueyan became. Li Hongzhang and Zuo had a lot of conflicts in the court. Although they were Zeng Guofan's aides and recommended by Zeng Guofan, they often disagreed on political affairs and were unwilling to compromise. Now, Zuo got help from Hu Xueyan, such as some expensive drugs, and his army got support on the way, and finally recovered Xinjiang. Zuo became a red man around Cixi, and got an official position and a reward. Hu Xueyan also helped the army. In order to suppress the Left, Li Hongzhang thought that Hu Xueyan should be suppressed first, so that the Left would lose its economic support. Hu Xueyan suffered a disastrous trade war because of the outbreak of the Sino-French War, and the purchased raw silk depreciated instantly. Li Hongzhang took the opportunity to stop his own factory from starting, so Hu Xueyan could only sell raw silk at a low price, losing more than 10 million yuan. At that time, Hu Xueyan's capital turnover was ineffective. Then Li Hongzhang also found that Hu Xueyan had a bank loan of 800,000 yuan, which was actually borrowed by the Qing court and borrowed from the bank in Hu Xueyan's personal name. However, Li Hongzhang withheld the money, and Hu Xueyan, who could not get the repayment, could only sell some industries at a low price, so he made up the loan. At this time, Li Hongzhang had the news of Hu Xueyan's bankruptcy spread, and many depositors went to the bank to withdraw money. Hu Xueyan can only sell the rest of the estate at the Grange. At this time, he really went bankrupt. Li Hongzhang reported to the court that Hu Xueyan took kickbacks and fees from the court. Empress Dowager Cixi was so angry that Hu Xueyan's home was copied, and Zuo was responsible for reminding Hu Xueyan of the arrears. Soon, Zuo died of illness in Fuzhou. At this time, Hu Xueyan was poor and unhappy, and finally he was ill in bed. 1885165438+10 month, before he died, he made three wills: first, future generations should not do business; Second, future generations are not allowed to go into politics; Third, Hu Li doesn't get married. "Visible Hu Xueyan is very hate li hongzhang, he let future generations don't forget the painful lesson.