History can't bear to look at the complete collection

Chapter 79 Military Diplomacy 5
The richest man in the Qing Dynasty was no match for opium
In 2001, the "Wall Street Journal" of the United States counted the 1000 richest people in the world in the past [-] years. Among them, six Chinese were selected, and Wu Bingjian in the late Qing Dynasty was one of them.When it comes to Wu Bingjian's selection, one has to mention the background at that time.

At the end of the 17th century, Emperor Kangxi no longer closed the country, and he temporarily relaxed the trade policy, which suddenly increased the number of foreign businessmen who came to China to do business.As the gateway city at that time, Guangdong was suddenly pushed to the cusp of trade, so in the spring of 1686, Li Shizhen, the governor of Guangdong, issued a notice in Guangzhou. With silver, it can be used as an official merchant to contract foreign trade."

This was originally just a move by Li Shizhen to promote trade activities. What he never imagined was that this regulation would actually give birth to a super rich man in China in the future.At that time, Guangzhou recruited 13 relatively powerful merchants, allowing them to conduct trade with foreign businessmen and collect tariffs for the government.

These Chinese businessmen were called "Guangzhou Thirteen Lines", and they were welcomed by foreign businessmen for their high efficiency and credibility. However, in 1757 (the 22nd year of Qianlong), the closed-door policy was implemented again, and only one place in Guangzhou was retained as a As a port for foreign trade, this policy made the "Guangzhou Thirteen Banks" the only legal foreign trade area in the country, which invisibly made Guangzhou a trade monopoly, thus bringing huge business opportunities to the merchants.

In the next 100 years, the Guangdong Thirteen Banks actually provided the Qing government with 40% of the national tariff revenue, so these merchants were undoubtedly the richest people in the world at that time.At that time, there was a famous saying that "foreign ships compete for government and merchants, and the cross gate opens to Eryang. Five silk and eight silk satin are good, and money is piled up in thirteen lines."

There was another story at that time. When a big fire broke out in Shisanhang Street, Guangdong in 1822, 4000 million taels of silver were melted by the fire. Strange sight.It can be seen how much wealth these thirteen lines have.

Among the thirteen houses in Guangdong, the most famous one should be Jardine House, and its owner Wu Bingjian also became famous all over the world at that time.

Wu Bingjian (1769～1843), native of Fujian, has been in business for generations. When Wu Bingjian's father, Wu Guoying, came to Wu Bingjian's father, Wu Guoying, the Wu family began to participate in foreign trade and established Jardine House.Until 1801, Wu Bingjian took over the business of Jardine House. He was 32 years old this year, just in his thirties.

Under Wu Bingjian's impetus, the Wu family's business developed rapidly.Wu Bingjian's business philosophy is very advanced. Not only has he established trade relations with European and American countries, but he is also the largest creditor of the British East India Company.And Wu Bingjian is also willing to help.

This allows Wu Bingjian to enjoy a good reputation and a high reputation in the world's business circles, and Wu Bingjian's industries are all over the world. He not only owns real estate, tea industry, shops, etc. in China, but also actively develops foreign industries. In the United States, he has railways, political power, etc. In terms of investment, Jardine House is like a multinational group.

Under Wu Bingjian's painstaking management, Jardine House became the leading firm in Guangzhou Shisanhang.According to 1834, the members of the Wu family estimated their wealth by themselves. Their property was 2600 million silver dollars, equivalent to 50 billion yuan, and they could be regarded as the richest man in the world at that time.But it is difficult to keep heroes in the last days, and Wu Bingjian's huge wealth is destined to be hard to keep for a long time.

In June 1840, the Opium War broke out. The outbreak of this war was the period when Wu Bingjian’s transnational consortium reached its peak. Although Wu Bingjian donated a huge sum of money to the Qing government in exchange for the third-rank Dingdai, he wanted to use his official position to protect his business fortune. .But it is a pity that his career is still inevitable, and it has fallen into a trough with the decline of the national fortune.

Wu Bingjian was fined by the Qing government many times because of his foreign trade. He was also reprimanded and warned by Lin Zexu many times. After the signing of the "Nanjing Treaty", the Qing government ordered all Guangzhou merchants to repay 1843 million silver dollars in 300. Wu Bingjian alone assumed 100 million silver dollars.Facing the oppression of a weak country and a strong enemy, Wu Bingjian died of illness in Guangzhou in the same year.

After his death, the once wealthy Guangdong Thirteen Banks also gradually declined. The Qing government was unable to resist foreign invaders, so it squeezed the merchants. Many merchants went bankrupt. Guangdong merchants with a history of more than 100 years were reduced to ashes along with the cannon fodder.

(End of this chapter)