Hu Xueyan: the Game of Wealth and Power

Summary of the story of "Hu Xueyan" (198 words) Hu Xueyan, an apprentice at a bank in the late Qing Dynasty, helped his down-and-out son Wang Youling enter officialdom because of his savvy, and he took advantage of the situation to become a giant businessman who monopolized finance, taxation, and military supplies. He assisted Zuo Zongtang in his western expedition, founded the Shipping Administration Bureau and Hu Qingyutang, and was awarded the "Red Top" as the supreme official and businessman. However, he used his financial hegemony to control raw silk and foreign debt, and was deeply involved in the party dispute between Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang. When he spent 20 million taels of silver to monopolize raw silk, he was jointly attacked by foreign businessmen, his beloved Yuhan died in love, and his political enemy Sheng Xuanhuai launched a bank run, and the capital chain collapsed overnight. When the house raider was in ruins, only the wooden sign "True No Two Prices" from Jie Ji Tang accompanied him. A generation of the God of Wealth died alone in poverty and illness, leaving behind the tragic song of the imperial business soul that "those who rely on power will eventually be eaten by power", reflecting the inevitable fate of the death of feudal capital.