Chapter 537 The Butterfly Boy

It is really a pity for Hu Xueyan. He is the victim of the struggle between Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang. This is not only his personal tragedy, but also the tragedy of the entire Chinese businessman group.

Even a "red-top businessman" like Hu Xueyan still cannot get rid of his dependence on the government, and ordinary people quickly hate the collusion between government and business, and think it is the source of corruption.

Without Hu Xueyan, Zuo Zongtang would not be able to make up the military expenses for the Western Regions. There is such a proverb in the West, a soldier, he met a bishop, a king and a rich businessman, they all asked the soldier to kill the other two, and then gave the soldier A unique reward, who will the soldiers listen to at this time?

Prospect theory is a classic theory of behavioral finance. It introduces the research results of psychology into traditional finance, and tries to understand financial phenomena from the perspective of human psychological bias, that is, irrationality.

Loss aversion will make people more inclined to invest in assets that they think are safer. Real estate will not move when it is placed there. You don’t have to worry about being stolen like gold and jewelry, and it is not as risky as the stock market. In the eyes of ordinary people, this is a stable investment without loss.

Such investors certainly don’t know how derivative currencies and hedge funds work. Ordinary people with low risk tolerance generally cannot and are not allowed to enter hedge funds. As an ordinary person, if he invests blindly, he will end up The ending will inevitably become "leeks". In the trading market, retail investors have always been eaten by big investors, and it is rare to hear that big investors are eaten by retail investors. People will become cautious when facing losses, and become impulsive when facing gains. Everyone has greed. The monopoly of raw silk is the incentive that led to Hu Xueyan's bankruptcy. What really kills him is the lack of liquidity. A run occurred with a loss of 10 million taels of silver.

In the beginning, it might be the officials acting. Their savings were limited, and even if they had a lot of money, they could transfer it. But when the common people heard the news, "Hu Xueyan is going bankrupt, the bank is going to close, and everyone's money can't be withdrawn." The money saved may not be much, but there are a lot of people. There is nothing to do when this happens. There is no one who can stop the avalanche. If the financial tsunami comes, it will not work to cry, hang oneself and jump off the building, even if you die. Leaving a pile of bad debts, no one will "evaluate" at all.

Before Japan's real estate bubble burst, the total value of Tokyo's real estate could buy Canada. Would Canada sell its land to the Japanese and live in Tokyo Bay by itself, constantly threatened by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions?

Russia used to sell Alaska to the Americans with conditions. Russia was defeated in the Crimean War. After the war, Russia began a vigorous reform of serfdom.

For Tsarist Russia, which has a vast area, Alaska is very tasteless. Russia offered to sell it to the United States for 12 million U.S. dollars. After many delays in negotiations, it finally couldn’t wait and agreed to sell it for 7.2 million U.S. dollars. The gold fee is only a small part.

However, with the gold rush, more and more people came to Alaska to pan for gold, and Alaska suddenly became lively, with an increasing population. These unauthentic gold diggers at the time became the first pioneers in Alaska. That piece of land become valuable.

After the outbreak of the Cold War, Soviet scientist Peter Mikhailovich proposed a project to change the climate of the Northern Hemisphere by building a dam on the Bering Strait that would block the flow of Pacific waters to the North Pole, thereby cooling Mexico Gulf Stream and avoid its flow to the east. As a result, the northern coast will become a tropical area, which is conducive to the cultivation of citrus fruits, sea transportation will be easier, and the cold climate in Canada and Alaska in the United States will be greatly improved.

A madman has no logic at all, or he lives in his own logic. After the Bering Strait dam is repaired, the Russians will be able to follow the dam to Alaska. Are Americans so stupid to agree?

The Japanese were stunned by the real estate boom and the group consumption of the whole society. The real estate market collapsed immediately, and the housing prices plummeted. worse.

At that time, people blamed the Japanese government, and few people thought that it was too much derivative currency caused by the entry of foreign funds. The premise of the Bank of Japan’s “window guidance” to lower-level banks to control the total amount of money is that if the lower-level banks do not listen to the central bank, they will not be able to obtain the base currency issued by the central bank. No bank dares not deposit cash. After foreign funds enter, these Lower-level banks can obtain base currency from foreign capital, so that they don't need to listen to "window guidance", and they also have the need for base currency to maintain business.

Doing business with foreigners is not so easy. Most ordinary people come into contact with ordinary foreigners and think they are stupid and naive. Those people are different from the elite.

Education is one of the accomplices of class solidification. In the United States, it is almost impossible for a child who does not go to remedial classes to make up lessons, and does not spend a lot of money to learn talents and participate in social activities to enrich his resume. It is almost impossible for a child to enter a prestigious university. The situation in Europe is better, because the local social welfare is higher, and many students can easily enter good universities, but this does not mean that they can graduate without a good foundation in public middle schools.

Most of the common people's children were naturally precipitated in this process of boiling frogs in warm water.

The difference between Chinese education and Western education is not only the difference in method, but the difference in the orientation of educational functions. China's education is a ladder for the bottom to climb up. If the children of ordinary people want to become elites, they must suffer hardships.

Western education is a stratified mechanism. Its mass education only provides basic and limited education. If you want to become an elite, you must purchase education from the market separately, and those who cannot afford it will be eliminated naturally.

Not only Japan, but even China has the spirit of "the next conquers the upper".

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the powerful families were married in the way of "pairs of families" to achieve class solidification, and the nine-rank Zhongzheng system was adopted for the selection of employers. The evaluation mainly has three contents: 1. Family background. That is, family origin and background. Refers to the seniority and official status of the father and grandparents and the rank of title. These materials are called boshi or bofan, and they must be mastered by Zhongzheng officials in detail. 2. Job status. That is, the general evaluation of personal conduct and ability, 3, fixed product. That is to determine the grade. In principle, the final product is based on the job description, and the family background is only for reference. But after the Jin Dynasty, the rank was determined entirely by family background. Those from a poor family can only be ranked in the lower rank no matter how high their career evaluation is; So it became the situation of "the upper class has no disadvantaged family, and the lower class has no powerful family" at that time.

During the period of the Five Husbands, the rich and nobles traveled to the south in full clothes. The Eastern Jin Dynasty moved to the south of the Yangtze River, and the north was reduced to a piece of scorched earth. The people were not only displaced but also massacred.

In the four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties, how many towers were in the mist and rain.

Those temples are evidence that the gentry did not think about making progress and only cared about their own interests. If the common people did not rely on self-help, the northern Han people would be extinct.

At this time, the children of poor families began to shoulder the responsibility of saving the nation from the dead. Aristocratic families have hereditary privileges, and they are linked together by the continuation of blood; powerful families are bound together by disciples and old officials because of interests, they are not necessarily hereditary but they enjoy privileges; Those who gained fame and fame by relying on the army are called warlords. Yuan Shao was a nobleman in the early stage, and he became a warlord later.

The concept of family status is to marry according to family status, which is also a barrier of class solidification. Why should a person with real ability give allegiance to a waste who can't get on the horse or pull the bow?

The destiny is impermanent, only the virtuous live in it.

Even the legendary Zhou Wenwang and Wuwang were rebellious officials who usurped power, but their actions were beautified by Confucian scholars.

The monarchs of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasties were all Wuchuan warlords, and they were considered poor. At that time, the five surnames and seven families were very proud, and they still maintained the tradition of internal marriage, and they were not even willing to marry the emperor Li's family.

At that time, it was a very honorable thing to be able to marry a woman with five surnames. It was like a poor boy who suddenly won the lottery. He could only wear 200 sneakers, but suddenly he became a pair of 20,000 shoes. He also became a "nobility".

When Li Yuan raised his army, there was a businessman named Wu Shiyu, who was the father of Wu Zetian, and made a fortune by doing timber business.

He was optimistic about Li Yuan and funded him to fight. There are many such examples in Chinese history, such as Yiren and Lu Buwei. Lu Zhi's father liked Liu Bang. It is an opportunity for businessmen to get rid of their existing class and be promoted to nobility. This is different from the Western bourgeois revolution. It tests people's eyesight.

Hu Xueyan had spotted Wang Youling, but the problem was that Wang Youling didn't have that life, and was killed by Zuo Zongtang. Except for the word "unlucky", it is really indescribable.

In 1861, the Yellow River was diverted, and this diversion of great rivers is often directly related to the National Games.

Chiang Kai-shek dug up the Yellow River at Huayuankou and artificially changed the direction of the Yellow River. For him, "unlucky" things began to happen one after another.

The imperial examination is the only relatively fair way for poor families to change their class. As long as they can be admitted to Jinshi, there will be many rich people looking for a "sister-in-law". They also hope to improve their social status through marriage.

Relatively speaking, the social status of warriors is not as high as that of literati. They go through life and death for the country but are not recognized.

After Li Hongzhang's death, he became Li's successor with his achievements during the Gengzi period and his strong military strength. Many influential figures in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China were in this army.

The army of the Qing Dynasty, from the earliest Eight Banners and Green Battalion, to the Hunan Army and Huai Army in modern times, all belong to the army of the old era. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1895, these armies would collapse at the first touch, and even if there were some who fought bloody battles, they were obviously not suitable for modern warfare.

These Beiyang warlords had their own factions, and the separatist side was basically divided according to this faction.

The power of division is like a plate of loose sand, and there is no way to organize effective resistance. Before the internationalization of the yen, the Bank of Japan’s control of funds was like commanding the army, basically referring to where to fight. This effective and precise support method not only supported several large enterprises, but also brought their downstream suppliers to life. Foreign capital After the influx, these small banks fought on their own, investing in any industry as long as it was profitable, like a group of skirmishers.

Although the Beiyang warlords fought chaotically, they were united in one thing, that is, they would never give in when national interests and the country were in danger. Even warriors, they could still distinguish right from wrong. This is what Western countries do. No, the Germans fought against France, and they used such good equipment to resist for 38 days before the French surrendered. Justin’s grandfather was a British veteran of World War II, and it was the French who forced him to retreat from Dunkirk. He still can't forget it to this day, and he even hates the French more than the German who broke his leg.

Men don’t want to be women, and if anyone tells those warriors that you look like a woman, they will definitely not be polite. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, that kind of handsome man with indistinguishable appearance was popular, but King Lanling was so beautiful that he went to the battlefield. Still wearing a mask.

Scholars seem to be weak, and they are useless in troubled times. If they are timid and timid, they will be ridiculed.

Sun Yat-sen was a bourgeois scholar. With the support of overseas Chinese, he raised an army in the south, launched the National Defense and Law Protection Movement, and carried out the Northern Expedition to conquer the Beiyang warlords, giving Chiang Kai-shek a chance to reach the pinnacle of power.

Chiang Kai-shek was also considered a child of a poor family. In 1894, when an epidemic broke out in Xikou, Chiang Kai-shek's father also contracted the disease, and died soon after he became ill. Chiang Kai-shek crawled on the body of his dead father and cried to death. He was not only sad for his father, but also for himself.

A boy without a father has to rely on himself for everything.

A poor family is not abject poverty. If you don’t have any money, you can only beg for food. You don’t have time and resources to study. It’s just that you are far worse than someone who was born a nobleman. Chiang Kai-shek in his early years can’t compare with Zhang Xueliang, but the one who became a prisoner in the end is Zhang Shaoshuai.

Exam-oriented education is very problematic, but if they don’t pay attention to grades and rankings like the loose generations in Japan’s Heisei years, then they will teach a bunch of waste.

The industrialization of education is very profitable, but if public schools only teach basic knowledge, and other useful knowledge must be supplemented by supplementary lessons, then it will follow the old path of Western class solidification.

In the rat utopia experiment, there were such rats in the first stage of social struggle and the rapid growth period. They fought for territory and attracted opposite sexes to mate and reproduce.

Although water and food can fully satisfy the survival of each mouse, these mice will still be relatively concentrated in areas with more resources.

There were 14 brooding groups of mice, and the 14 groups had a clear hierarchical order. The higher the class, the higher the scope and frequency of activities, the more abundant resources they got, the faster the reproduction, and the whole group was full of vitality.

When the ability of the dominant male rat to defend the territory declines, the whole society begins to be distorted, and the behavior of the rat begins to be somewhat different, even very weird.

There was mating, or homosexuality, between the males, with the adult males attempting to mount the young for copulation. The fertility rate of female rats decreases, and even absorbs their own fertilized eggs, so that they do not reproduce.

Young mice are prematurely kicked out of the nest by their mothers and live on their own with weakened social bonds. Female mice tend to choose a young male mouse as a mate to breed the next generation, and the phenomenon of adult mice eating mice also occurs.

In other words, if a group of normal male rats were put in at this time, it is possible that this social structure will be disrupted, and the new rats can defeat the male rats who cannot defend their territory, and they will rejuvenate the society. .

Therefore, if the poor families want their children to suffer less and live a life of superiority, they must oppose the industrialization of education and supplementary lessons.

The rich must be unwilling. Their children will be able to compete with the children of the poor who do not make up lessons. Why should they be on the same starting line as those who are not enterprising?

This is the most common misunderstanding that Chinese people make. The children of elites should be compared with the children of foreign elites. How can they beat the elites of foreign private schools who study hard every day without making up lessons.

If the class is solidified and China's own elites cannot beat the foreign elites, then these children will be blamed as "children of the Eight Banners", kicked down from the top class by the children of poor families, and start over from the beginning just like their parents.

It is difficult to reproduce large-scale military conflicts after World War II, and finance has replaced hot wars as the number one driving force in the world pattern.

Businessmen are no longer businessmen, they are another form of soldiers, their money is their weapons, and the battlefield is the major financial markets and investment fields.

There are many reasons for the collapse of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but from the point of view of the tea trade, 8 tea farmers were poached and went to their own happy lives, but the secrets of tea were leaked, and the entire tea industry in the Manchu Qing Dynasty was lost. Without their core competitiveness, they are like ant nests on a thousand-mile embankment. What's worse, they don't realize how much trouble they have caused.

Even if someone said that he made a mistake, he still would not admit it. He is just a small person, how could he bring down a country.

Guiguzi said that the world will be divided for a long time, and it will be divided for a long time. If everyone thinks about their own interests, there will be endless infighting during the self-improvement movement, and Beiyang warlords will fight for the world. Gentlemen are harmonious but different, and villains are united. Disharmony, when the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were cooperating, the two parties had such a deep hatred, and it was not because they stopped the civil war for the sake of unanimous resistance to Japan.

During the Tang Dynasty, so many races lived together in Tang Chang'an, and everyone lived in a different way.

A gentleman has the capacity to tolerate others, but a villain has a heart of jealousy.

Being a manager is not about giving orders from above, or showing off your power to attract envy and hatred, but you need to think about how to retain talents and keep secrets.

Otherwise, the eight tea farmers and Indian monks who stole the silkworm eggs would still happen. The ancestors ate up all their money and left nothing for future generations. It is rumored that they are just lying down and collecting money now.

It's a pity that money is hard to buy and we knew it earlier, so people in the future still have to continue to rack their brains and think about how to open up a new source of income. Maybe someone will change the pattern of the entire world like the inventor of Greek fire.