The tycoon said he donated 30 million to save the country.
In 1932, a man named Liang Zuoyou in Huang County, Shandong Province, wrote a letter to Han Fuju, then provincial chairman, falsely claiming that he had 60 or 70 million yuan of property, and that he was willing to donate half of his family's wealth to the government in a time of national crisis. Han Fuju believed him and immediately asked Jiang Bocheng, the representative of the central government in Jinan, to notify Nanjing and buy a first-class sleeper ticket to send Liang Zuoyou to Nanjing, where he stayed at the Central Hotel.
An old photo of Han Fu-ju
Later, senior officials and dignitaries of the Kuomintang went to the hotel to get a glimpse of "Liang Zuoyou". When Chen Lifu, head of the Central Organization Department, met with Liang Zuoyou, the C*** Propaganda Department also sent a photographer to take a group photo of Chen Liang.
Liang Zuoyou's donation to Nanjing shocked the press, with a large number of reporters gathering in front of the Central Hotel. The British news agency Reuters also reported it under the title "China's Wonderful Man".
Song Ziwen personally received it.
On the morning of the third day, Li Cheng, vice minister of finance, sent a car to fetch Liang Zuoyou to the Ministry of Finance to discuss specific ways of making donations. Liang was holding a small leather box, and his hand never left the box, his movements were mysterious. It was speculated that the box was a huge sum of 30 million dollars for government services. During the talks, Liang Zuoyou said the donation was not an empty word. "But I can't publish it without meeting Minister Song."
Old photo of Song Ziwen
The next day, Song met with Liang Zuoyou at his private home in Arctic Pavilion. For Song Ziwen, it was a condescending move. The negotiations settled on three points: first, the state would allow citizens to donate money to save the country; second, the money should be used for public **** purposes; and 3. Liang Zuoyou had the right to distribute the funds, but the government could assist in personal use. These three items were agreed upon by both parties. Liang Zuoyou also said that 30 million yuan could be remitted to Nanjing within two months after the way of distribution of the money was agreed upon. After the meeting, Soong accompanied Liang Zuoyou on a visit to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and took a photo with him.
Chiang put up 10 million yuan.
"Liang compensation to save the country" spread throughout Nanjing, but at all times "only the stairs ring, no one down". Outside the discussion slowly spread. A comment from the Shanghai "Declaration" even suspected that the donation is a scam: "30 million yuan is a huge sum of money, Liang Jun today more bold. This amount is not enough, although it would not be difficult to raise the same amount again. It seems to be close to quacking the birthday. If you are a gentleman with a small heart, I suspect Liang Jun is a bit mentally ill."
Portrait of Chiang Kai-shek
That's when the God of Fortune also borrowed money from the Central Hotel's treasury. The first time he borrowed 50 yuan, saying he had run out of his 300 yuan charity. But the waiter said there were people who borrowed money from him, but he never saw him give $1 to anyone.
Chiang Kai-shek was in Wuhan at the time. When he heard about this, he also wanted to meet the "God of Wealth Liang". So the KMT government bought a boat ticket for Liang and sent him to Hankou.
At the gathering, the president instructed: first of all, take out 10 million yuan to relieve the victims and meet the urgent military needs. Liang Zuoyou promised to remit the money from Tianjin in seven days, and the seven days expired with nothing. Chen Xizeng, Director of the Special Municipal Public Security Bureau in Hankou, ascertained that what Liang Zuoyou had said was completely false. According to the governor of Huang County, Liang was not a rich businessman in Huang County, and his family had only a few acres of farmland.
Republic of China's biggest fraud case
The same day, the Hankou Public Security Bureau issued an announcement: "The case of Liang Zuoyou, who posed as a rich man and committed fraud, should have been severely punished, and once it is confirmed, he will be expelled from the country
But it didn't end there. Liang Zuoyou, the fake god of wealth who was expelled from the luxury hotel, suddenly ran to the Hankou police station that night to turn himself in and refused to leave on the grounds that he was staying at the station. After interrogation, Liang said he was willing to be sentenced to jail because the hotel demanded money from him for his room and meals. He was broke and could not afford not only the hotel fee, but also the car and the boat ticket back to Shandong. Liang Zuoyou, full of Shandong dialect, cried and made a scene, making Chen Xizeng, the glaring and beard-blowing public security director, helpless. Finally, in order to avoid a big deal, Chen had to send people to escort him to the boat, and gave 20 yuan to send him back to Shandong.