Hatton became a millionaire, became a British citizen (in fact, he was not a full British citizen, and got a similar temporary residence permit in Britain through connections), and changed his name to Ai Ou Hatton. Later, Harbin Tong made opium and land wealth in wartime, and the Shanghai Concession developed westward step by step as he expected (the French Concession was expanded twice on a large scale), and Harbin Tong's land was also rolling around at a price every day.
Ha Tong not only has a unique vision, but also is good at putting on a show. One year, he took out 600,000 taels of silver and paved Nanjing Road from the Bund to Tibet Road with iron quinoa. The tribulus is strong, cut into two-inch square pieces, dipped in asphalt, carefully coded into roads, and then sprayed with a layer of asphalt. This section of the road uses millions of pieces of iron quinoa wood, one worth 67 cents, which can buy three or four barrels of white rice and have a decent meal. Hartung Xiuda said that the album Chenopodium album was firm and elastic, and it was very comfortable to step on it, and it was soaked by rain at once. The news spread to other places, not only without embellishment, but also turned into mahogany. Since then, the price of Nanjing Road has soared. The beauty of the West Lake is world-famous, and "Autumn Moon in Pinghu" is the best among the ten old and new scenes of the West Lake. However, today, whether local citizens or foreign tourists are enjoying tea and enjoying the moon in the "Autumn Moon in Pinghu" scenic spot, have you ever thought that if time goes back more than 80 years, a large area of land by the lake, including the antique building of the current "Xileng Painting and Calligraphy Institute", is actually a private house surrounded by high walls-Luoyuan. Judging from the real estate contract at that time, the owner of this house was a man named Luo Youliang, but after in-depth research, he found that his aunt was a famous person. Luo Youliang's aunt was once accepted as her adopted daughter by Emperor Guangxu, the Empress Yulong, and was later named "Lady Luo Jialing of Qing Dynasty" by Emperor Xuan Tong. And most importantly, this Roche is the wife of a foreigner called "Diwang" by Shanghainese. "Luoyuan" was commonly known as "Harbin Garden" in the population of Hangzhou in that year. At the beginning, Hatong, a penniless Jewish boy, came to Shanghai to work as a clerk in a foreign firm. 1885 When overseas Chinese in the French Concession panicked after the defeat of France in the Sino-French War, he urged his boss to buy real estate at a low price. After the storm, the real estate really rebounded, making his boss rich. Harbin himself became famous and was elected as the director of public concession. After that, he engaged in opium trafficking and earned capital strength. From then on, he embarked on the road of land speculation and real estate management, and became a figure regarded as "three pillars" by Chinese and foreign personnel in the first 20 years of the 20th century.
Just like ordinary people, once you have fame and money, you must find yourself a comfortable nest to enjoy, and Harbin is no exception. It has its own luxury villas in Beijing and Shanghai. Especially in today's "base camp" at the intersection of Nanjing West Road (formerly known as Jing 'an Temple Road) and Tongren Road (formerly known as Hatong Road) in Jing 'an District, Shanghai, it is known as the "Grand View Garden". It is said that it covers an area of more than 200 mu and is full of celebrities. The mansion in Beijing is the residence of Zhang Xun, a warlord who failed in restoration.
Less well-known is this "Luoyuan" near the West Lake in Hangzhou. It may be because it has existed for less than 8 years, during which there were still unclear lawsuits, so the Harbin couple did not come to live permanently. "Luoyuan is on the lonely mountain road, and now it is merged into Pinghu Autumn Moon Scenic Area. Its name does not exist. " Volume 8 of "New Notes on West Lake" says: The autumn moon in Pinghu is on the right, with green pavilions and exquisite water color, which is the most suitable place for summer vacation. Xiyuan site is connected with the lake embankment, which is as long and narrow as a belt, so flowers and fungi can not be widely planted. Also known as' phantom building'. In the spring of the 6th year of the Republic of China (19 17), Hatong and his wife visited Hangzhou, personally surveyed the site and wanted to build a villa in Hangzhou. I went to Yuefen and Jinsha Port successively because I didn't face the West Lake and didn't meet each other. The following year, Ha Tong bribed officials of the local official property clearing office of Beiyang government with hundreds of taels of silver, and bought the common land next to the autumn moon in Pinghu today. He didn't want the people of Hangzhou to seize the legal provision that "foreigners are not allowed to own real estate in China" at that time and protest to the government, so Ha Tong, a crafty old scoundrel, immediately changed his strategy. Then, what we saw above appeared: the title deed became Luo Youliang from China, and the land was still in Harbin's hands. However, how can a large manor be built on a plot less than 200 feet long and only 20 feet wide? Naturally, we don't have to worry about this Jewish businessman. Later, he did the same thing and continued to bribe the local government. He successively occupied the Lotus Temple on the left and the Spring Teahouse on the right of the West Lake, expanding the garden site. With the help of Yang Shande, the governor of Zhejiang at that time, he filled the lake and piled 3,000 piles. The waterside pavilion by the lake extends more than three meters from the lake, occupying nearly one acre of the lake. At the same time, he did not forget to build more than twenty high walls along the road. After more than a year's design and construction, the villa was built, and Harbin was named Luoyuan after his wife Luo Jialing. The attached old photos let us see that "Luoyuan" looks at the green hills from a distance, the clear water from a close distance, the carved jade pavilions, and the blue waves are rippling and floating around, which is beautiful. Even today, you can feel Luoyuan's luxury and beautiful posture. Just when everything was thought to be in order, the trouble of this beautiful manor followed. First of all, its tall fence blocked the original road from the Xu Xilin Martyrs' Tomb (on the lonely mountain) to the West Lake. At the same time, dozens of hidden piles were laid on the lake a few meters away from Luoyuan, which prohibited cruise ships from approaching. At that time, the traditional custom of Hangzhou scenic spots was that tourists could visit public places, private gardens and villas, but only Luoyuan was hung with the sign of "Respect for Tour". Such behavior aroused greater indignation among people from all walks of life in Hangzhou. Celebrities in academic circles wrote poems and articles to reprimand Ha Tong. Some students wrote slogans on the fence, which was questioned by the son of Xu Xilin martyr. There are also dozens of people in the society who jointly protest against the government, but the bigger resistance team is citizens and tourists, who demand that the government take back Luoyuan. At that time, Zhejiang Daily, Zhejiang Gazette and Shanghai Times all published this news, but the government ignored it and the angered people resolutely fought to the end. In the Republic of China 16 (1927), the local gentry in Hangzhou made many representations on the grounds that the government at that time expressly stipulated that "foreigners were not allowed to buy real estate in the West Lake", forcing the Zhejiang Provincial Affairs Committee of the Kuomintang to make a resolution of "accepting public opinion and recovering Luoyuan" (before that, an Englishman, Mei Teng, even colluded with officials and businessmen to occupy Baoshishan to build a lung disease sanatorium, actually. 1956, Hangzhou Gardens and Cultural Relics Administration demolished the wall of Harbin Gardens, expanded and transformed the octagonal pavilion, the "Tianlan Garden Lake" building and the four-sided hall, which together formed today's Pinghu Autumn Moon Scenic Area, making it truly the property of the people. The strength of the people washed away the stain on the edge of the West Lake in those days, and the autumn moon in Pinghu restored the beautiful appearance of "the waves are as long as mirrors, and all seasons are autumn". Sun Yat-sen, Chen, Huang Xing, etc. I was warmly received by Harbin couple in Aili Garden. After the luncheon, Wu, the country's chief negotiator, invited him to discuss business together. In the afternoon, I went to the apartment of Changbao Road in the French Concession to meet with the reporter of CoCo Lee Daily, and talked about the situation after the Wuchang Uprising, pointing out that although the difficulties in the past were fortunately broken, the future was particularly difficult. Then he returned to Ai Liyuan and held a meeting of leaders of the League. Mr. and Mrs. Hatton held a banquet to celebrate and invited revolutionaries from Shanghai to attend. Unexpectedly, shortly after the opening ceremony, Li Fangxing, an actor who claimed to be a Beijinger, came to Shanghai to meet Sun Yat-sen ... Ji Dangmi took him into the hall. As soon as he entered the door, Yin and his two female generals standing behind him became alert. At this time, they jumped out quickly and lightly, one to protect Sun Yat-sen, and the other to jump in front of the singer and say that you arrested the wrong person. They shot down the pistol pulled out of each other's sleeves with one hand, and turned his hand over with the other hand and pushed it out of the hall. This thrilling assassination scene was ended by the quick and agile actions of two female Xia. As if nothing had happened, Sun Yat-sen still openly argued with Song about the system. After the banquet, monks in Wumushan and other places felt that the Elysee Garden was not safe, so they invited Sun Yat-sen to settle at No.408 Changbao Road. Both inside and outside the house are guarded and patrolled by Xipao and Annan.
Three days later, representatives from all provinces unanimously elected Sun Yat-sen as interim president in Nanjing. On June 1 91265438+10/day, the five-color national flag symbolizing national unity was raised in various parts of Shanghai to celebrate the establishment of the Nanjing Interim Government and send Sun Yat-sen away from Shanghai to become the interim president. The Shanghainese cheered, and the Harbin couple respectfully sent them straight to the gate of Aili Garden.
In the process of receiving Sun Yat-sen, Harbin was deeply impressed by the majestic and amiable demeanor of the revolutionary leader and his ambitious and responsible macro theory. He praised his wife, Luo Jialing, many times, saying: This Mr. Sun is really a great man in China!