In China in the late nineteenth century, the Qing government was crumbling, state affairs were in mourning, the strong ships and cannons of the great powers brought cheaper and stronger industrial products, all kinds of foreign goods were rampant, the soldiers, peasants, industrialists and merchants were bankrupt, and the people were not happy.
However, the world's affairs are sometimes very strange, but also a cruel display: it is such an era, the era when wealth suddenly changes masters, and the poor boy who has nothing has the opportunity to be "rich and invincible" in an instant.
Thinking about it carefully, it is not surprising that the bankrupt is of course bankrupt, the wealth has not disappeared out of thin air, it is still flowing in the market, but the speed of the flow is faster and more turbulent, and what cannot be grasped is bankruptcy, flowing to who has the ability to stop the wealth, who is suddenly and rich!
There must be bankruptcy, there must be wealth, and there are always leeks that are cut.
In Shahe Town, Laizhou, Yantai, Shandong, formerly known as Shahe Town, Ye County, there were two big figures in the late Qing Dynasty.
The villages of the two great figures were only seven miles apart, one was born in Zhujia Village, Shahe Town in 1881, surnamed Zhang, zi xiaokun, named Zongchang, which was later the famous Shandong overseer, deputy commander-in-chief of the Zhilu Coalition Army, and general of the Five Poisons Zhang Zongchang. His father's profession was a low-ninth-rate drummer.
Another person was born in 1877 in Wantou Village, Shahe Town, surnamed Liu, the word Zishan, also known as Zishan, is the later famous big boss of Donglai Bank, known as "Liu Bancheng", Liu Zishan, who owns half of the wealth of Qingdao City. The origin of the Liu family is not good, and it is a small cargo man who picks up and sells goods.
At the beginning of life, these two people were poor boys.
The age difference between the two people was only four years, and later Zhang Zongchang saw Liu Zishan and said that he would be called the second brother, which sounded good and not affectionate, but in fact, it was not, just for the sake of borrowing money, one rushed, and one tried every means to hide.
Forced by food and clothing, Liu Zishan went to Qingdao at the age of 14 to work hard and sell straw hats and braids. This year was 1891, in order to resist the invasion of the great powers, the Qing government built fortifications in the area of Jiaozhou Bay, and for a time trade gathered, and the prototype of Qingdao City began.
At this time, 10-year-old Zhang Zongchang had just experienced a divorce from his parents, because he hated his family and was poor, and his mother "jumped to be widowed" and married a bare stick man surnamed Jia. Zhang Zongchang followed, but his family was still poor without overnight food. After staying up for six years, the mother and son ran to the guanwai to beg for a living.
The storms of the big times passed, Liu Zishan sold straw hats in Qingdao for seven years, still poor and poor, and was a small trader who went bankrupt at any time. And really went bankrupt, cheated of nothing, no money to pay off debts, and went to jail. Later, he was released from prison, and there was no money to do business, so he had to go to a German family to make a small tea house, that is, a male servant.
Taking advantage of this small professional convenience, Liu Zishan was able to enter a German school in the second year of the German invasion army's seizure of Qingdao, specializing in learning German.
In 1908, when Liu Zishan was 31 years old, he found a new job as a translator for a German architect who built the Jiaoji Railway, and is said to have traveled to Wuhan, Hubei Province, to work as a German translator for Zhang Zhidong for a while.
A person who has done business, you let him go to work in a disciplined manner, he can't do it for a long time, he won't be willing. Liu Zishan is this kind of person, the translator did not take long, he went to the sea to do business, doing a small business of groceries, buying straw hats and braids from Ye County to sell in Qingdao.
As long as the network is wide, the business is not afraid of small. At this time, Liu Zishan is no longer the Liu Zishan who was deceived and bankrupt ten years ago, and his connections ensure that only he let others go bankrupt and he made a fortune.
The Germans invested heavily in the development of Qingdao, and the wealth flowing during this period was immeasurable, and the effect on Liu Zishan's body was that by 1918, Liu Zishan had initiated a bank in Qingdao in this year, "Donglai Bank". In just ten years, the original small trader Liu Zishan has transformed into a banker and real estate giant, and now all the properties along the road on more than 70 streets in Qingdao, such as Tianjin Road, Feicheng Road, Wuding Road, Hunan Road, Hubei Road, Taiping Road, Guangzhou Road, Laiyang Road, Gansu Road, and Wudi 2nd Road, are his personal property. There is also Fuhe Yong Timber Line, and most of the timber needed for construction in Qingdao is provided by him. What other spinning mills, coal mines, passenger and freight transportation companies, import and export trade, power companies, even opium trade, etc., in a word, the whole Qingdao business is not what Liu Zishan does not do.
In terms of financial business, in addition to Liu Zishan's initiation of Donglai Bank, the famous large banks at that time, such as the Mainland Bank, the Bank of Communications, and the Bank of China, all had shares, especially the Mainland Bank, which accounted for 40% of the shares.
Only the wrong name, no wrong nickname, Liu Zishan is really "Liu Bancheng", half of Qingdao's wealth is surnamed Liu.
Ten years, such a speed of getting rich, can be described as a stone into gold.
Zhang Zongchang mixed well outside the Guanwai, and in the chaotic years, the hero did not ask the source. Zhang Zongchang, the commander of the cavalry regiment of the revolutionary party, entered the customs from bandits and soldiers, and in the year of Xinhai, he was very popular, and the contacts were all big figures of the times. Then there was the counter-revolutionary camp, which defected to the Beiyang warlord Feng Guozhang, and the official achieved the "president's bodyguard military attaché". Feng Guozhang died, and Wu Peifu, a warlord of direct lineage, called himself a reader and looked down on Zhang Zongchang's banditry. Enraged, Zhang Zongchang defected again and defected to the Fengzhi warlord Zhang Zuolin, who was also a bandit and felt sorry for each other, and gave money to the gun to let him fight the Jilin overseer Meng Enyuan.
Zhang Zongchang's fighting among the warlords was still remarkable, and as soon as he was angry, he beat away the Jilin overseers, and Zhang Zuolin made him the defender of Suining Town, so that he finally had a piece of his own territory. In this way, although his reputation is a bit bad, Zhang Zongchang is famous for not knowing how much money he has, how many wives he has, and how many soldiers he has. But a poor boy, who has not read a single soldier's book, and who has become a great general who commands thousands of troops and horses, is not simple.
If you mix well, you will return home. Zhang Zongchang decided to return to his hometown, passing through Qingdao, and Qingdao's Ye County fellow villagers would set up a banquet to entertain. Liu Zishan, such a rich man, is also the leading figure in Qingdao, the god of wealth, of course, to attend, he took his son Liu Shaoshan and went.
Everyone talked about the wine, and under the conversation, not only the fellow villagers, but also the township party, had heard each other's names for a long time.
What warlord doesn't love bankers? Warlords often need to borrow money to spend, Zhang Zongchang immediately changed his mouth, turning Mr. Liu into the second brother, "Second brother, I have long admired your name." ”
Then he saw Liu Shaoshan again, "Xian Nephew, what do you want to do when you grow up?" Zhang Zongchang asked Liu Shaoshan.
Liu Shaoshan said: "I want to go to Japan to study medicine. At this time, Liu Shaoshan was only eleven or twelve years old, and it was not simple to have such an idea.
Zhang Zongchang laughed, "Good! Good! Good boy! However, he did not say whether the child was good-looking or whether the child was studying medicine. The words turned sharply, "You make me a son-in-law!" ”
Drinking alcohol adults chatting and teasing children! Liu Zishan did not take it seriously, and the banquet dispersed.
Who knew that Zhang Zongchang was not a wine talker, and soon after he returned to the northeast, the matchmaker came to the door.
Liu Zishan directly refused, "The child is still young, wait and see." ”
In fact, Liu Zishan looked down on Zhang Zongchang. This is not surprising, Zhang Zongchang's reputation is really not good, not only Zhang Zongchang's reputation is not good, since it is a township party, Zhang Zongchang's mother "jumped to live widow" to remarry, Liu Zishan is well aware. With Liu Zishan's experience and ability, he was also a businessman, and he understood that Zhang Zongchang had come for profit, so how could he be willing to have an in-law relationship with Zhang Zongchang, who was born of banditry!
Zhang Zongchang persevered, and in just two years, Zhang Zongchang entered Jinan Province, Shandong, became the governor of Shandong, and sent someone to Qingdao: "Second brother, the children are older, let's get things done!" ”
"Yikes! It is really unfortunate that the dog is already married, and it is a pity that he will get married soon, and he has not been able to climb high. Liu Zishan pushed out again.
The Republic of China is the world of warlords, Shandong is the world of Zhang Zongchang, Liu Zishan said false words, and what is false must become true. Liu Zishan had to hurry to give his son Zhang Luo a kiss, and Liu Shaoshan soon got married, and the child was only fourteen years old.
One day Zhang Zongchang called Liu Zishan to Jinan, "The second brother has made the director of the Finance Department a minister!" The president of the Bank of Shandong Province is also OK, and the second brother you choose one. ”
Liu Zishan did not choose a single one.
When Zhang Zongchang was the richest and most powerful, Liu Zishan respected him and stayed away, and I have to say that it is no accident that Liu Zishan was able to make a fortune, he had a political vision.
It is not surprising that it is impossible to earn half of Qingdao City in ten years without understanding politics.
Later it turned out how correct his vision was.
In 1937, when the Japanese army invaded China, Liu Zishan took out his political attitude, withdrew all his business from Qingdao, went to the French Concession in Tianjin to avoid living, and refused to cooperate with the Japanese and puppets.
Before that, the headquarters of Donglai Bank had long been moved to Shanghai.
We don't know if he was paying attention to national integrity or foresaw that Japan would be defeated, probably both!
Zhang Zongchang lacked this vision, neither political vision nor national integrity. Originally, many of the Beiyang warlords failed to go to the wilderness, and if they failed, they would fail, and if they went to Yugong, no one would be embarrassed for them. The government of Zhang Xun, who was engaged in restoration, let him go, and his former political enemies and he also became good friends, not to mention Zhang Zongchang!
However, Zhang Zongchang was not willing to fail, and even ran to Japan to circle around.
At that time, there was a consensus in all walks of life in China that there would be a war between China and Japan, and China's greatest enemy must be Japan. Zhang Zongchang finally provoked public anger and was assassinated at the railway station, only 51 years old. The "murderer" Zheng Jicheng was instead regarded as a hero by the whole country.
Liu Zishan lived for 71 years and died.
Justice is in the hearts of the people, and the mansions they built in YeXian County at that time were also two kinds of treatment.
Zhang Zongchang's overseer's mansion in Zhujia Village is now full of barren grass and few remain, a small stone road, and a few small houses occupied by the village committee. At that time, he made great efforts, only the back garden has more than 20 acres, imitating the architectural style of the Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City in Beijing, and there is a family temple covering an area of 4 acres, which is also built compared to the Taihe Hall, and now only a pile of triad soil remains.
Liu Zishan's former residence in Wantou Village is now a listed provincial cultural relics protection unit in Shandong Province, which is well preserved.