In 2006, with the explosion of a TV series of the same name,"Qiao's Compound".Instantly famous all over the country, about the development process of this family, old stories, and anecdotes, have gradually attracted attention and are often mentioned.
During the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese also heard that Shanxi Qiaojia was rich and rivaled the country, so they wanted to rely on tough means to make a fortuneAs a result, when they walked to the gate and saw something hanging on it, they suddenly turned around and left, and never disturbed the Qiao family again, why is this?
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the rapid development of the commodity economy and the acceleration of social population flow, the merchant group has been significantly improved, and even large-scale "merchant gangs" have appeared, such as the famous one"Jin Merchants", "Hui Merchants".
The Qiao family is the representative of the Jin merchants, ancestral home in Qiaojiabao, Qi County, Shanxi, the first generation of the head of the family is namedQiao Guifa, is the grandfather of the "bright rich man" Qiao Zhiyong.
Originally, Qiao Guifa was just a poor egg in the Qianlong period, his parents died early, he was lonely, he had no food to eat, he was not clothed, and he could only barely survive by being a servant for other families.
But as the saying goes: there is no way to heaven and man, and there is a virtue of good life on earthAt that time, the Qing Dynasty had begun to go downhill, and the Central Plains region was suffering from disasters year after year, and various civil uprisings were also emerging one after another.
So people began to move away from their hometowns and look outward for opportunities in the Hebei region"Break through the Kanto"., coastal"Down to the South Seas"., Shanxi, Shaanxi is the same"Go to the West Exit".
Qiao Guifa and a few fellow villagers also had the attitude of giving it a try, and embarked on the journey to Inner Mongolia, with the beautiful words and sophistication accumulated in the poor life, they successfully entered a pawnshop as a partner.
Life finally stabilized, and there was a surplus in his hands, Qiao Guifa began to have the idea of becoming his own boss, and he co-opened a grocery store with his partner, mainly selling forage and taking care of various soy products.
And not long after,Bigger opportunities are coming.
In the Central Plains, because of the drought for many years, the grain in the fields has not been harvested, and the people's lives have become more direHe took the opportunity to dump it and made a fortune.
Although he encountered twists and turns later and occasionally suffered losses, he was still able to accept Qiao Guifa, who already had a solid family property. Years passed, and Qiao Guifa, who was gradually maturing, lost so much momentum, and he decided to return to his hometown.
Qiao Guifa, who returned to Shanxi, used his savings to buy land and build a house, marry a wife and have children, and his small life is also nourishingThe Qiao family compound also began to be expanded and built from generation to generation.
Qiao Guifa has three sons, the youngest of whom is the youngestJoe All-AmericanThe most business-minded, under his leadership, the Qiao family has re-made the industry bigger and stronger.
But God did not fulfill people's wishes, and just when Qiao Quanmei was full of ambition and wanted to go further, a vicious disease took his life, and the personalities of his two sons were also very different.
The eldest son Qiao Zhiguang is determined to forge ahead and dare to break through, while the younger son Qiao Zhiyong has no intention of shopping malls, I just want to gain fame through studying, and exchange real talent for family prosperity.
But as the saying goes: blessing is incomparable, disaster is not a single line, who expected that the eldest brother took over the family business not long ago, because of a failure in the competition, his heart was broken, depression became a disease, and finally died of hatred.
Catching ducks on the shelves is a helpless move, facing a bleak future for a large familyQiao Zhiyong had no choice but to let go of his dream and inherited the legacy of his father and brother.
The family never thought that Qiao Zhiyong, who usually "only reads sage books", even has a higher talent in businessnot only quickly brought the Qiao family out of the trough, but also further expanded the scale of the family business.
It is precisely because of reading the books of sages that Qiao Zhiyong has a good reputation in the business world, and he does not engage in intriguesWith a sincere heart, honest business, and credibility, he also won the title of "Confucian businessman".
Qiao Zhiyong has gradually become the most dazzling "star" in the Qiao family compound for two hundred years.
Under his leadership, the Qiao family's industry involved the north and south of the country, and even had dealings with Tsarist Russian merchants, according to statistics, before the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation AllianceThere must be at least 200 shops and money houses under the name of the Qiao family, and the total assets may reach tens of millions of taels**, can be called a rich country.
The spear shoots the first bird, and the knife cuts the head snake on the groundA big family and a big business will inevitably be targeted by people with bad intentions, so Qiao Zhiyong began to build the Qiao family compound again.
Finally, a super-large courtyard shaped like "Xi" was formedThere are 20 small courtyards interlaced in the middle of the 6 compounds, with a total of 313 houses and a total area of 1060,000 square meters.
With a sturdy courtyard, Qiao Zhiyong also spent money to hire many nursing teams to ensure that his family was not harmed as much as possible, but no matter how big the family was,In the face of historical changes, we will inevitably be powerless.
The Qiao family barely survived the warlord melee and the vigorous revolutionBut in the face of the ferocious Japanese invaders, they also had to seek support from all sides.
After the Lugou Bridge Incident, the curtain of the National War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was opened, and the wolf ambitions of the Japanese invaders were completely exposedshouted the arrogant slogan of "three months of destruction" China.
In the face of the enemy's fierce offensive, although the Kuomintang army resisted, it had little effectIn September 1937, with the collapse of the Great Wall defense, Shanxi became the first area to bear the brunt.
The result is also a similar plot, after the Battle of Xinkou, Fu Zuoyi led the troops to retreat to Taiyuan to organize defense, and then within a month of the trail, Niangzi Pass was lost and Yuci was occupiedTaiyuan fell, the Japanese army took advantage of the situation to move south, and Qi County was in front of them.
The enemy has long heard that there is a Qi family compound in the local area, and the wealth is too many to countIf it can be looted, it will be a great addition to military spending.
However, when the heavily armed Japanese army came to the closed gate of Qiao's house, they never took a step forwardJust because on the lintel of the compound, an eye-catching Italian flag is hanging.
Friends who are familiar with history should know that during World War II,The fascist camp consisted mainly of Germany, Japan, and Italy, which were friendly forces with each other, so when they saw that there was an Italian shelter in the Qiao family's compound, they just wanted to try, and they couldn't risk offending their "comrades-in-arms" to try.
But problems also ariseWhere did the Qiao family get this national flag?
It turned out that at the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Boxer Rebellion was rising, many foreigners who had settled in China to preach were killed by the anger of the peopleWhen Qiao Zhiyong was leading people to check the goods, he happened to meet 7 fleeing nuns.
Qiao Zhiyong has always distinguished right from wrong, he did not maliciously make things difficult, nor did he ignore themInstead, they hid them in their car and then took them to the local church.
The church priest was very grateful for the kindness and fraternity of the Qiao family, and visited the family many times, and the two sides formed a friendship. Until the arrival of the Japanese army, the Qiao family sent people to the church for help.
Without saying a word, the priest sent an Italian flag to the Qiao family's compoundAnd also personally wrote a proclamation: "They are my people, and they can't mess around." ”
In this way, the Qiao family's compound was completely preserved, and the kindness of the past was finally rewarded.