Chapter 581: Killing Without a Blade

The Fan family primarily dealt in grain and various military supplies, with many of their enterprises located right in Zhangjiakou. Initially they mostly smuggled with the Mongols; later, as the Manchus rose, from the Jianzhou era to the Qing state, they used Zhangjiakou as one of their bases, carrying out trade and smuggling in an endless stream.

Trade with the Manchus and Mongols was extremely profitable — it could be called exorbitant gain. Those Manchus and Mongols had nothing, but they were never short of silver. This smuggling was also very safe, even less risky than maritime trade — after all, land routes have no storms, and frontier smuggling involved enormous interest groups; under the cover of all parties, it was hard for anything to go wrong.

Originally this business was a sure profit without loss, but the Qing state suffered a crushing defeat, and especially Wang Dou's demonstrated ability to campaign beyond the frontier left men like Fan Yongdou no choice but to fear.

The Eastern Circuit was a small place. At first when Wang Dou was slaughtering and hacking there, they suffered losses, but those were only superficial. Wang Dou banned merchant smuggling there, but on the whole, men like Fan Yongdou did not lose their trade routes and could still secretly transport goods. However, now Wang Dou was about to reach the Xuanfu Garrison headquarters, and Zhangjiakou still lay under his threat...

The merchants of the Great Ming had basically all studied and been steeped in the teachings of the sages since childhood, but evidently, when faced with a choice between family interests and national interests, they made their choice.

Considering only the family and not the state was their common nature — just as at the end of the Ming, wealthy households would rather die under the blades of roving bandits and Tatar raiders than pull out a single hair to contribute to the state treasury.

And the Grand Shopkeeper Kang whom Fan Sanba mentioned was from the Kang family, equally renowned as the Fans. They mainly dealt in salt and grain shops, on such a scale that in Pingyang Prefecture alone they had thousands of granaries. Outside Zhengyang Gate in the capital, they also ran the largest grain shop in all of Beijing, one that even the capital merchants — wealthy, arrogant, and contemptuous of all — had to bow before.

They were also well-capitalized pawnbrokers, famous for lending at usurious rates. Through all these operations, the Kang family had already subtly surpassed the Fan family, becoming the wealthiest in Shanxi, said to possess tens of millions in assets. In Pingyang, their mansions stretched like clouds, the Kang Garden extending ten li, with trees, rocks, ponds, and terraces so secluded and deep they seemed to lead into another realm.

Fan Sanba spoke of Wang Dou banning smuggling beyond the passes. That still could not move the Kang family head, but the official grain shops and banks opened in the Eastern Circuit struck at the Kang family's heart. Dealing in grain — where does the profit lie? In buying high and selling low. Where does the profit in usury lie? In interest compounding upon interest. The Eastern Circuit's measures were digging at their very roots.

Salt was still fine. But as Wang Dou's ambitions grew and his territory expanded, who knew whether such a day would come?

Seeing the Grand Shopkeeper Kang silent, his face so dark it seemed about to drip water, Fan Sanba smiled faintly and turned to the head of the Qu family: "Master Qu deals in banks. The Eastern Circuit now issues grain notes that sweep all before them — not just the Eastern Circuit merchants, but even Xuan Garrison merchants and merchants all over Shanxi find them convenient. Does Master Qu believe his banks can rival them? The Qu family's ancestor, the Duke Sanxin, labored painstakingly, at first walking the streets and alleys selling Luan hemp and Yali pears, enduring bitter hardship to build the present foundation. Can Master Qu bear to watch it destroyed in a single day?"

That portly merchant's face darkened at his words, and he shifted his buttocks uneasily in his seat.

Fan Sanba spoke on and on, pointing at each in turn, until the faces of every merchant in the hall turned paler and paler.

The Kang family head coughed once and said slowly: "Worthy nephew, what you say is not without reason. But what are we to do? Even the Tatars were routed by them — are we to muster our household guards and retainers and fight his Jingbian Army to the death, ending up with no burial place for our corpses?"

The Wang family head said: "Exactly."

Because Wang Pu was on good terms with Wang Dou, as a clan relative, the Wang family truly did not wish to make an enemy of Wang Dou.

In particular, Wang Dou's methods terrified them. The merchants of the late Ming were in fact official-merchants — many had clan sons serving as officials, and which family lacked the backing of great power? Men from merchant families had even risen to become Senior Grand Secretary.

They had also long grown accustomed to arrogance. Whether civil officials or military officers, if anyone sought trouble with them, in minor cases a single market strike would often cost those officials and officers their posts and titles; in major cases, their backers would mobilize, and impeachment memorials would swarm like clouds — those officials and officers would lose their posts and titles just the same.

After all, among the officials of the present Great Ming, who did not have a few stains? If one looked carefully, one could always find something. Even if he himself was just and incorruptible, what of his children? His family members? His clansmen? His servants? His steward?

Yet these tried-and-true methods had little effect on Wang Dou. He was ruthless of heart, prone to mass slaughter and butchery at the slightest provocation. Word was that this time in Liaodong he had again killed many Korean captives, which made people's blood run cold with fear.

Seeing many in the hall echo this, many hesitated. After all, Wang Dou was now only the Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison, still far from them. Some still clung to the notion of spending money to avert disaster — better one more matter than one less.

Fan Sanba sat down with a smile. Fan Yongdou coughed once, drawing everyone's gaze, and said in a quavering voice: "Gentlemen shopkeepers, prepare for a rainy day. A man without far-sighted worries will surely have near troubles. If you wish your family enterprises to endure, certain necessary precautions are required... Consider Wang Dou's rise. At first, when he was at Shunxiang Fort in Bao'an Department, he hacked down some merchants of Jingbian Fort and Shunxiang Fort — no one spoke for them. Then he hacked down the merchants of Bao'an Department — no one spoke for them. Then he hacked down the good and honest merchants of the entire Eastern Circuit — again no one spoke for them..."

His words made everyone's faces turn pale. Thinking it over, it was indeed so.

Fan Yongdou's piercing words continued: "...It is already evident that this Wang Dou, having gained Long, covets Shu — insatiably greedy. After he enters the Xuan Garrison headquarters, it is inevitable he will continue to act. And then? When his territory expands to the entire Xuan-Da region, he will act against us. After we suffer his murderous hand, who will speak for us?... Gentlemen, we must save ourselves!"

At this, even the Wang family head fell silent. The Kang family head's expression grew solemn: "How should we respond? I ask Elder Fan to devise a plan."

Fan Yongdou's expression was grim: "Hmph. We need not clash head-on with Wang Dou. You must understand, in this world, there are many ways to kill a man without using a blade..."

He let out a cold laugh, heh-heh-heh-heh, like a drake: "This Wang Dou, after all, comes from a small place — a bumpkin who rose from a fire beacon tower. What foundation does he have? What breadth of experience? He only knows how to hack and slash. But many times, hacking and slashing won't do. For instance, if his own clansmen break the law — will he hack or slash?"

Seeing everyone's keen interest, he did not reveal which of Wang Dou's clansmen might have broken the law, but merely said: "The Eastern Circuit is large compared to Shunxiang Fort or Bao'an Department, but compared to the entire Xuanfu Garrison, or even the Xuan Garrison headquarters, what is it? The tangled roots and knotted branches — can a small place like the Eastern Circuit compare?"

"In colluding with the lands beyond the frontier, the Eastern Circuit is mere child's play compared to the garrison headquarters. The various officials and officers there — even Prince Gu — would he dare move lightly against them? Wang Dou's eyes tolerate no grit, but what if the grit is beside him? To say nothing else, Yang Guozhu's new army farmland is eyed by no fewer than a hundred men, and among them are men from his father-in-law's family. When the time comes, will Wang Dou kill or not?"

Hearing this, the expressions of those in the hall relaxed. If someone among Wang Dou's in-laws had broken the law, that made things easy. Wang Dou took such pleasure in killing others — let us see what he does when it comes time to kill his own family.

Fan Yongdou continued his drake-like cold laugh: "After all, he's a bumpkin from the countryside — his thinking is simple. Hmph. As for trading beyond the passes, at the very beginning, it was the frontier military men who wanted to collude with the Mongols. It was inconvenient for them to show their faces, so they sent us merchants out!"

"And then? Seeing money to be made, the garrison eunuchs, the provincial governors, the officers at every level, even the princedoms — all joined in. Then they saw that trading with the Manchu Tatars was even more lucrative, their eyes burned hot, and they swarmed in. Otherwise, with every pass heavily guarded by troops, how could our merchant caravans go beyond the frontier?"

He rambled on, somewhat short of breath, yet his aged face was so excited that his wrinkles smoothed out: "He hasn't even looked — what kind of place is the garrison headquarters? What kind of place is Zhangjiakou? What kind of places are Datong and Taiyuan? Can a small place like the Eastern Circuit compare? Is he going to carry out a great slaughter every time he expands his territory, making enemies of all the military men, merchants, literati, eunuchs, and imperial clansmen under heaven?"

"He can kill others, but can he kill his own family, kill his own father-in-law? And Prince Gu — does he dare move against him?"

Everyone in the hall set their minds at ease, and cheerful talk and laughter resumed. Fan Sanba also smiled and added: "Just as my father says, gentlemen shopkeepers need not worry. Moreover... this junior has received word that Wang Dou has campaigned beyond the frontier without authorization, recklessly provoked border hostilities, and wantonly killed captives... with all this arrogance, His Majesty can no longer endure it. Think about it — in this situation, what would His Majesty think? What would the various lords at court think?... One can imagine that his good days will soon come to an end!"

He lowered his voice: "Also... word is that Wang Dou has been exchanging ambiguous glances with the Tatar caitiffs. Otherwise, how could the grain and fodder at Yizhou have been received completely intact? Many supervising censors act on hearsay."

Everyone in the hall murmured in surprise. The Wang family head frowned: "That cannot be — doesn't Wang Dou hate the Tatars most of all?"

Fan Sanba leaned back comfortably in his chair: "Who knows? As the saying goes, you know a man's face but not his heart. The filth behind the scenes — unless the truth comes to light, who can understand it? Back then, Yuan Chonghuan was also considered a great loyal minister."

The Kang family head tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said thoughtfully: "If so, perhaps we can throw Wang the traitor into chaos and confusion, bog him down in the mire. But is this the strategy Elder Fan spoke of — adding fuel to the waves and sitting on the mountain to watch the tigers fight?"

Fan Yongdou shook his head: "Of course not. With all you gentlemen before me, how could we not contribute our humble efforts?"

He fumbled in his bosom and quickly pulled out an item — it was a one-dou grain note from the Eastern Circuit.

He gazed at the grain note for a long while, flicked it with his finger, and gave a cold laugh, his expression utterly grim: "Wang Dou is, after all, a military brute. Apart from fighting and killing, what else does he understand? As the saying goes, before the three armies move, grain and fodder go first. We shall disrupt the very foundation of his grain supply and see what he uses to feed his troops!"

The Kang family head slapped the table forcefully: "Brilliant! Elder Fan, this is the stratagem of pulling the firewood from under the cauldron."

The merchants in the hall also looked delighted, their discussion buzzing. Fan Yongdou's move had touched the deepest part of their hearts. As merchants, they were no good at drilling troops and fighting battles, but in competitive business, they had a natural, keen advantage.

Just like the Kang family back then — to crush a local competitor, they had for three consecutive months brought ninety golden arhat statues to pawn at that rival's pawnshop, pressing him until he was forced to close his pawnshop and flee far from home. Once Fan Yongdou broke through the window paper, in an instant, a chain of stratagems using such tactics had already surfaced in the Kang family head's mind.

Moreover, this kind of commercial competition, not face-to-face slaughter, suited the merchants' tastes perfectly, and the danger was low. Even the Wang family head clapped and cheered.

"A brilliant plan, a brilliant plan!"

"Elder Fan's blade has not aged..."

"The older the ginger, the hotter..."

"Wang Dou is invincible in battle, but to contend with us in business and commerce — that is seeking death!"

"Just like the treasure notes, we'll turn his grain notes into waste paper..."

"This humble one cannot but submit to Elder Fan..."

Amid the tide of praise, Fan Yongdou was also smug. He narrowed his eyes and basked for a moment, then waved his hand: "Enough, enough, gentlemen shopkeepers, spare the old man your flattery."

He looked at the excited crowd, then his expression turned grim again: "Hmph. Those profit-driven scoundrels of the Eastern Circuit are cut from the same cloth as that man surnamed Wang. They ship in vast quantities of shoddy goods — how many shopkeepers' livelihoods have they destroyed? How many clerks in how many trading firms have lost their wages? How many people have been left without food or clothing, their families ruined?"

He abruptly tore off the black fox fur coat he was wearing and threw it into the brazier, then took a fur coat handed to him by a maidservant — one originally made by the merchant surnamed Zhao — and put it on. He declared sternly: "From this day forward, no goods from the Eastern Circuit — starting with this old man!"

The merchant surnamed Zhao, once plump and round but now gaunt as a stick, sprang to his feet and shouted, waving his arm: "Boycott Circuit goods, give us back our livelihood!"

He himself wore no Eastern Circuit furs. Looking left and right, he tore the black fox fur coat off a merchant to his right and threw it into the brazier.

Fan Sanba did the same, following closely behind his father with a solemn expression.

The Kang family head thought for a moment, then also tore off his Eastern Circuit fur coat and burned it.

The remaining merchants — some willing, acting swiftly, some unwilling, dragging their feet — in the end all tore off their Eastern Circuit fur coats.

They had no choice. Everyone was the same — if they tried to stand out and do differently, they would instantly become traitors, and from then on, nowhere in Shanxi would tolerate them.

In a short while, a great quantity of furs and pelts were thrown into the fire pans and burned. A pungent, acrid stench billowed through the hall. The serving maids and matrons covered their noses, but in their hearts they all felt it was a pity — such fine material, burned for nothing, while outside so many people were freezing and starving to death.

But they were all household slaves, and in these times the crime of a slave betraying the master was extremely severe. Moreover, their interests were tied to the family, so they were utterly loyal to the master. Though they thought it a pity, they said nothing. Watching the rising indignation, they too felt a sense of shared hatred for a common enemy.

Once the outer garments were removed, even with the heated partition walls and fire pans in the hall, everyone felt a chill creeping in. Fortunately, Fan Yongdou had anticipated this, and a large supply of leather coats was brought in again for the various shopkeepers to put on.

The head of the Wang family took one and looked — wasn't this the sable and fox fur coat from Shopkeeper Zhao's establishment? Damn it, they'd used nothing but dog skin to pass it off as the real thing!

Fan Yongdou swept his gaze over the assembly. "This is the second step — a small probe. I hope the Loyal and Brave Count can come to his senses and see that the great tide is what it is, and it is not something he can stem by his strength alone. He should understand: cutting off a man's wealth is like killing his parents. And the people whose wealth he wants to cut off — are they not numbered in the thousands upon thousands?"

He sat down, slowly drank a few sips of hot tea, and then continued, "The third step: in places like Datong, Taiyuan, Qingyuan, there are quite a few people on friendly terms with that villain Wang. Take, for example, the Li family or the Chu family. They could just sell their soy sauce and vinegar in peace — why must they get mixed up in all this? Let's give them a little taste of what's coming first!"