A month's prosperous weather forecast

In today's Taigu County, Shanxi Province, there is a very famous museum called Sanduotang Museum. Covering an area of 10638 square meters, with a building area of 6348 square meters. It preserved several generations of architecture in Ming, Qing and Republic of China, and displayed countless treasures. This is a very famous cultural tourist attraction of Shanxi merchants. ?

More than three halls, that is, more children and more happiness and longevity. It used to be a longevity building of the Cao family of Shanxi merchants. Its appearance is majestic and tall, like a castle. Cao Bangyan, the ancestor of Cao Shi, was born in Huata Village, Jinci, Taiyuan. He sells casserole for a living. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, his family moved to Huang Bei Village in Taigu. By the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, Cao Jia was already one of the most famous billionaires in China, with assets as high as 654.38+0.22 million silver.

It is said that where there are sparrows flying around, there is Cao's business, which shows that their family is very rich. By the time Cixi came to power, the Cao family had declined, but it was still the richest man in Shanxi after the Qiao family, and the Sanduotang of the Cao family was also the mansion behind the Qiao family courtyard.

In the anti-Japanese drama "Bright Sword", the 358th Regiment of Chu Yunfei of Jin Sui Army is located here? Sanduotang? After the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC), Sanduo Hall was transformed into the Shanxi Merchants Museum by the government. In this museum, there is a treasure of the town hall, called the golden locomotive clock, the national treasure of the Qing palace, which is the collateral given to the Cao family by Empress Dowager Cixi.

This is 1900, when Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing. In desperation, Cixi fled to Jehol with Emperor Guangxu on the second day after the city was broken. I didn't bring enough followers and money because I fled in a hurry. So it didn't take long for Cixi and her party to be ashamed and miserable. The daily consumption of food and drink is really incomparable with that of the palace. ?

This situation continued until Cixi arrived in Huailai County, when Wu Yong, the county magistrate of Huailai County, had been waiting outside the city gate for a long time. Wu Yong prepared four sedan chairs, one for Cixi, Guangxu, Empress and Big Brother. At the same time, Wu Yong also provided a lot of food for Cixi, which finally made Cixi's life not so bad.

As a result, Cixi immediately promoted Wu Yong to be the magistrate. Later, after Cixi returned to Beijing, Wu Yong was promoted to Guangdong Daotai, and Wu Yong also won the grand prize.

Later, Cen Chunxuan, the minister in charge of Gansu, led troops to escort Cixi, who was in a much better mood. Then she fled for almost a month, and Cixi and her party came to Shanxi. At that time, Shanxi was rich in Shanxi merchants, and the Qiao's family, Cao Shi's family and Wang's family in Shanxi were well-known wealthy businessmen in China. These wealthy businessmen can't curry favor with Lafayette at ordinary times. When they heard that Cixi Feng had arrived in Shanxi, they tried to find a way to visit him.

As the richest man in Shanxi, Qiao Zhiyong, the head of the Qiao family, has already prepared100,000 taels of silver for Cixi. Cixi, of course, can't take other people's money for nothing and ask Qiao Zhiyong what she needs in return. Qiao Zhiyong kowtowed and said? It is my blessing to contribute a little money to the Qing Dynasty, and I don't need anything in return! I just heard that Lafayette's calligraphy is a must. I wonder if I can give it to Mo Bao. ?

Cixi naturally agreed happily, and the inscription was a piece of cake for Cixi, so she happily wrote four words for Qiao Zhiyong:? Fu zhong lang Huan? Qiao Zhiyong immediately hung the framed plaque at the door of the jstars compound. Now, when we visit the Qiao Family Courtyard, we can still see this plaque.

Since the jstars paid for it, Cao Jia, the second richest man in Shanxi, naturally cannot lag behind. They directly presented Cixi with 300,000 taels of silver and 1000 bags of grain. Cixi was moved to tears and even said? Shang Yi? Immediately say that this amount is a loan and it will be repaid in full after going back and forth to Beijing.

Cao Cao's father listened to the queen mother's words and couldn't help kneeling on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly and saying? Dare not? . Cixi was particularly moved to see that Cao Jia was so loyal and patriotic. For her, the money and food given by the Cao family are more than three times that of the Qiao family because of their generosity and their own Mo Bao. No matter how hard it is, you can't go home empty-handed, otherwise it really doesn't make sense.

So Cixi sent someone to send an object as collateral to Cao's family. Cao's family didn't care at that time, thinking it might just be an ordinary little thing to deal with. However, when the object was taken out, the Cao family couldn't help but sweat. Because this object is not an ordinary object, but a French tribute to the golden locomotive clock.

This treasure was originally a precious object in France. It is in the shape of a small train, made of gold, black gold and platinum, and weighs 84.5 Jin. A white bell that automatically tells the time is installed on the roof, and a barometer that automatically predicts the weather changes is installed in the middle. The front of the car will move back and forth regularly on the tracks made of Wujin, just like a pendulum. When the time comes, the white bell on the roof will ring by itself and be accurate.

During the Qianlong period, it was presented to Qianlong as a tribute by French envoys. The original intention was to conduct trade exchanges with the Qing Dynasty, but it was rejected by Qianlong. Later, this treasure was treasured in the palace, and it was also one of Cixi's favorite rare treasures. It is no exaggeration to say that this thing is a national treasure and its value is immeasurable. So when Cao's family saw this baby, they couldn't hide their inner excitement and trembled and said two words:? Is it worth it? .

Later, after Cixi returned to Beijing, the Qing government needed to compensate foreigners for the principal and interest of 980 million taels of silver because of the signing of the "Xin Chou Treaty", so it was unable to repay the Cao family's debt, so this treasure fell in the Cao family's yard. But for the Cao family, the deal did not suffer, not only was it worth it, but even made huge profits.

Later, this treasure was regarded as a family heirloom by the Cao family and preserved from generation to generation. However, twenty years after the Republic of China (193 1), the clock of the gold locomotive was damaged and could not be timed. Now this treasure is placed in Sanduotang Museum in Shanxi, which is the treasure of the town hall in the museum. If you have a chance to go to Shanxi, you can witness this legendary treasure.