Chapter 49: What Defines Officials and Bandits?

(Seeking 80 follow-reads, thank you very much.)

Li You felt smug, naturally because in his view, the most dangerous thing about human nature is the arising of a thought; once a thought arises, it is difficult to cut it off. Besides, he did not believe that Wu Zhuge did not have this same thought!

The corners of Wu Zhuge’s mouth pulled up, and his tone seemed to carry a hint of mockery: "You probably haven't figured out the ways of our Second Manager, have you?"

"The Cao family of Mianxian?" Li You asked uncertainly.

"Mm, Cao Er is a bondservant of the Cao family, not favored, and was sent out to be a shopkeeper... And this Mianxian Cao family cannot be considered some behemoth; at most, they are connected by marriage to the An family of the Fucheng... But his main family is the Cao family of Qin and Jin!"

Wu Zhuge stared at Li You after mentioning the Cao family.

Li You had a blank look on his face; how would he know who the Cao family of Qin and Jin were? The only famous Caos he knew were Cao Cao and Cao Zhengchun.

Of course, Li You understood worldly wisdom, so he immediately put on a look of shock and feigned, "Could it be... Could it possibly be... How is that possible..."

"Right! It is precisely the Cao family known for the saying: 'First came the Cao family shop, then came Chaoyang County.'"

"Chaoyang County? Isn't that in Rehe, Liaodong?"

Li You couldn't help but be puzzled; these things were worlds apart!

"Cao Sanxi was a man of Qin and Jin who moved to Liaodong, but that doesn't mean all 106 people of the 'San' generation of the Cao family went to Rehe. Their family’s trade was equally prosperous, spreading throughout the lands of Qin and Jin!"

In fact, since Cao Bangyan in the early years of the Hongwu era, after 200 years and 14 generations of accumulation, the Cao family had become a wealthy, well-connected, and famous household. Moreover, their family line was extremely prosperous; just in the 'San' generation at the end of the Wanli era, there were 107 people, operating pawnshops, timber, raw silk, cloth, salt, coal, and iron mines.

Among them, one person who was squeezed out by the family left home, venturing alone into the Northeast to Sazuota Village in Rehe Province. He started by grinding tofu, then branched out into brewing and pawnbroking. During the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties, Cao Sanxi became a meritorious official of the Qing government for serving the army, and he made a huge fortune from it.

The Cao family's business also expanded from outside the pass to inside. They first returned to Taigu to set up a firm, using Taigu as a center to radiate to major cities in the Central Plains, dominating more than half of China. Not only that, the Cao family also stepped out of the country and headed toward the world, from as near as Tokyo, Japan, and Pyongyang, Korea, to as far as Berlin, Germany, Paris, France, New Delhi, India, and even across the English Channel to London.

The Cao family spanned the two continents of Europe and Asia, traversing tens of thousands of miles, creating immortal brilliance not only in the history of Shanxi merchants but in the history of Chinese commerce as a whole.

By the Daoguang and Xianfeng eras of the Qing dynasty, the Cao family's business reached its peak. Their firms were spread across half of China, numbering over 640, with assets reaching over ten million taels of silver and a total of 37,000 employees.

The Cao family flourished for four hundred years, enjoying wealth and honor for ten generations. Afterward, they wanted to continue their prosperity, but unfortunately, after the Japanese army invaded Taigu, they were far more unscrupulous than the Manchus. They spent two days looting the Cao family, using over forty large trucks to strip it clean, causing the Cao family to go completely bankrupt.

In this Chongzhen era, the Cao family did not have any high-ranking officials in the Great Ming, nor were they that rich.

The An family at least had An Xifan, who once served as a Director in the Ministry of Rites and was one of the Eight Gentlemen of the Fushe. Hui merchants were known as Confucian merchants, such as Hu Xueyan, Bao Zhidao, Hu Kaiwen, Jiang Chun, and Wang Kuanye. At the same time, this place also produced cultural celebrities like Zhu Xi, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, Cheng Dawei, Dai Zhen, Wang Shishen, and Bao Tingbo.

In reality, their financial power at this time might not even compare to the "Eight Families of Shanxi," who were "known for having tens of millions of taels and being the wealthiest." [Note]

Wu Zhuge’s voice continued to chatter on...

"...Cao Sanqing of Mianxian is the president of the Salt and Iron Association... and he has several nephews in the yamen. With such a large family and vast property... so you think he only colluded with our Longmen Shanzhai?"

From Yangxian to the north and east, where are there not as many blade-wielding bandits as there are hairs on an ox?

Yet in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, they were still able to sell salt and iron all the way to the Shangluo Mountains where Li Chuang was lying in wait.

In this twelfth year of Chongzhen, they were likewise able to sell salt, iron, ox sinew, tung oil, black lacquer, ox horns... to Gucheng where Zhang Xianzhong had surrendered. Otherwise, why would Zhang Xianzhong dare to rebel again now?"

"Selling to the rebels??" Li You was truly shocked!

"If not to the rebels, should they sell to the government? The government is dirt poor, and those sitting behind high thresholds are all evil dogs who eat bones and leave no scraps. Selling to the roving bandits is much more convenient; they have plenty of money in their hands and will never be insatiably greedy with their extortions!!"

"You think only he sells? Didn't Zhu Changhao of the Prince Rui estate participate? Didn't the An family branch of Hanzhong Prefecture participate? The Chen family of Baocheng, the Wang family of Chenggu, the Li family of Nanzheng..."

Li You pursed his lips for a moment and said nothing.

"These wealthy households have grain, money, and men, so we might not be able to touch Cao Er. In the end, I am just a dog working for the Cao family. Any dirty or rotten business is dumped on me by Cao Er to handle... Hehe, but the pay is indeed good!

Of course, there are also business matters, such as suppressing competitors, trafficking in indentured servants, forced pawning, and usury...

Even last year, when I slaughtered the Luo family in the west of the city, people all said my Longmen Shanzhai was vicious and evil, but the problem is, aren't the Police Inspector and the Garrison Commander of Nanzheng the younger brothers of the Cao family?

If they don't open the gates, can I, his mother, get in?

I took all the blame for the infamy, while they collected all the Luo family's farmland, warehouses, and shops that very night. Although I got a lot of gold, silver, and grain, they took the egg-laying hen, and they even brought out the mountains of wheat and millet piled up in the Luo family estate.

Afterward, they used some stale rice and rotten grain to set up a porridge shed at the gate of the Nanzheng County Yamen for three days. A bunch of simple-minded refugees were all grateful, kowtowing three times and knocking their heads nine times to thank the Cao family for their great kindness!"

"Ah..."

Li You couldn't keep his mouth pursed anymore, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say. These words from Wu Zhuge had a significant impact on his mind.

[Note]: The Eight Banner Imperial Merchants: "The eight merchant families all came from Shanxi. At the end of the Ming dynasty, they traded at Zhangjiakou, namely: Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Fan Yongdou, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, and Huang Yunfa. Our dynasty rose in Liaodong and sent people to trade at the pass, all managed by these eight families. After the capital was established, they were summoned to the capital, feasted in the side hall, and bestowed with imperial clothing and food." ------- "Wanquan County Annals" [Subject to debate]

The Eight Great Shanxi Merchants: The Fan family of Jiexiu, the Qiao family of Qixian, the Cao family of Taigu, the Kang family of Linfen, the Kong family of Taigu, the Qu family of Qixian, the Hou family of Jiexiu, and the Chang family of Yuci. (Listed in no particular order)

The two are different in terms of both time and scope; not all Shanxi merchants were "red-topped" merchants.

The uprising of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom completely crushed the Manchu, Han, and Mongol Eight Banners, representing the failure of Northern capital in the struggle at court. Southern capital, represented by Hu Xueyan and Sheng Dehuai, supported the Xiang and Huai military groups, which had replaced the Shanxi merchants at court to become the new red-topped merchants.

War never ends, capital never sleeps?

Or

Capital never sleeps, war never ends?