How did Cao Xueqin's family offend Yongzheng and finally fall to the point of raiding the house?
In "Dream of Red Mansions", Cao Xueqin vividly shows the process of Jiafu from prosperity to decline through the changing characters.
Many people may not realize that the decline of Jiafu is strikingly similar to the decline of the Cao family. The Cao family once ruled Jiangning weaving for 58 years for three generations and four people, and its family power was unrivaled in the Jiangnan region.
However, after Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, the Cao family was regarded as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh. In the end, Emperor Yongzheng confiscated all the property of the Cao family, making this grand family that had been inherited for a hundred years disappear in an instant.
How did the Cao family offend Emperor Yongzheng, causing the emperor to not remember the old feelings and finally take the move of raiding the family?
The history of the Cao family can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. With the Manchu people coming to dominate the Central Plains, the Cao family chose to be vassals of the Qing Dynasty and became a close confidant of the Qing emperor.
From the reign of Emperor Shunzhi, Cao Xueqin's great-grandfather Cao Xi became a second-class guard with a knife and was loved by Emperor Shunzhi. The formal establishment of the Cao family's connection with the imperial family can be traced back to Cao Xi's wife, Sun, becoming the nurse of Emperor Kangxi. Cao Xueqin's grandfather, Cao Yin, thus became the brother of Emperor Kangxi.
As we all know, Emperor Kangxi was a monk when Emperor Shunzhi was a child, and his mother also died early, so Kangxi lacked parental love since he was a child. Sun filled his regrets and always stayed by his side, teaching him to read and be reasonable, and teaching him the principles of life.
This nurse was highly respected by Emperor Kangxi, and every festival or birthday of the nurse, Emperor Kangxi personally came to express his cordial congratulations.
For Cao Yin, the milk brother who grew up with him, Emperor Kangxi attached great importance to it. With Kangxi in power, he began to think about future arrangements for the Cao family. Jiangning weaving attracted his attention, because this location was geographically superior, and it had always been the emperor's trusted minister. After careful consideration, Kangxi believed that Cao Yin's loyal father Cao Xi was an ideal candidate, although he was young, the family friendship behind the Cao family also made him trust.
However, despite the power of Jiangning Weaving, its own official rank is not high. In order to protect the nursing mother's family from bullying, Emperor Kangxi not only gave Cao Xi other official positions, but also generously gifted the Cao family many gardens, laying the foundation for the Cao family to gain a firm foothold in the south of the Yangtze River.
With the full support of the emperor, Cao Xi quickly consolidated his control over Jiangning weaving. However, Cao Xi was not a business genius, and his business proposals failed many times, but fortunately, the emperor never criticized him for his mistakes.
The emperor's favor not only benefited the Cao family a lot, but also inspired the ministers of the court and China to follow suit. In a short period of time, there is no family in the Jiangnan area that can be compared with the Cao family.
Received many times, mobilized**.
Emperor Kangxi set foot in the south of the Yangtze River six times for the southern tour, and the emperor needed a suitable place to stay during the tour. Out of trust in Cao Yin, Kangxi would maintain close contact with Cao Yin every time he toured the south, and even four receptions were taken care of by the Cao family.
The cost of receiving the emperor must have been huge, and Cao Yin himself was only a military general, and like his father, he knew nothing about business. Coupled with the need to maintain the face of the huge family, the Cao family faced heavy financial pressure.
Once or twice, he could barely support it, but Kangxi's many visits made Cao Yin helpless, so he had to entertain Kangxi by embezzling the ** of the imperial court. If that's all, it may be acceptable, after all, it's for the emperor's use.
However, Cao Yin's courage is even greater, and he actually pins his family expenses entirely on **. The Cao family was originally arrogant because they were favored, and their daily expenses were almost astronomical. As a result, Jiangnan's finances suffered a great impact.
Kangxi was not unaware of all this. Although there were other **ha** incidents, out of old feelings, Kangxi chose to relax the treatment. even privately found Cao Yin and advised him: "I heard that there is a shortage of finances in Jiangnan, so I won't pursue it for the time being, but you must take the initiative to make up for the previous deficit." ”
When the emperor gave Cao Yin a layer of face, Cao Yin was deeply grateful and solemnly promised: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my best to make up for this deficit." ”
However, despite Cao Yin's assurances to the emperor, it was a pity that his abilities were limited. Until his death, there was still a deficit of two million taels that could not be filled.
However, this misappropriation incident occurred in the Kangxi Dynasty, and what is the entanglement with the subsequent Yongzheng Dynasty?Why did Yongzheng get to the bottom of it so much after ascending the throne and mercilessly take down the Cao family?
The ninth son competed for the throne and mistakenly chose the eighth. In the later years of Emperor Kangxi, in order to succeed to the throne, an incident broke out in which nine sons competed for the throne. The ** in the court have joined the competition camp, and the Cao family is naturally no exception.
However, like the Cao family's ability in business, there are also differences in how they see people. The Cao family pinned their high hopes on Yongzheng's younger brother Lao Bayinyu and kept running for him.
However, to their surprise, the final winner of the battle for the throne in the Nine Sons turned out to be the fourth child, the later Emperor Yongzheng!
This Yongzheng Emperor is a person who holds grudges, how can he give up in the face of obstacles on his way to the throne. Especially the Cao family, who have provided wealth to the eighth child many times, which is undoubtedly intolerable to Yongzheng.
After Yongzheng ascended the throne, the first task was to clean up the court and rectify it. Overnight, hundreds** were sent to prison and exiled.
In the process of the inventory, Yongzheng stumbled upon the misappropriation of ** by the Cao family. Although Emperor Kangxi once understated it, Yongzheng was unrelenting. When today's son is not the minister of the past, Yongzheng is merciless and kills the Cao family.
After revealing the facts, the head of the Cao family, Cao Qian, had to admit the family's financial difficulties in the early years. What is shocking is that after a thorough investigation, the Cao family actually owed a huge debt of more than one million taels of silver to the state treasury.
Emperor Yongzheng could not tolerate it, and he believed that these scum within the court dared to infringe on the interests of the imperial family. I wanted to wipe out the Cao family, but at this moment, the thirteenth elder brother stepped forward.
The thirteenth elder brother said to Yongzheng: "When my father and emperor toured the south, I accompanied him, and I have some relationship with the Cao family. Please ask the emperor to give the Cao family a chance to mend their ways. ”
Yongzheng attaches great importance to this younger brother, because since he took the throne, the thirteenth elder brother has always silently supported him and offered advice to him.
Yongzheng had no choice but to say: "If the Cao family can pay off the deficit within three years, I will spare them." ”
Cao is incompetent, and the family is in danger. With the assistance of the Thirteenth Elder Brother, the Cao family seemed to have escaped by chance, but this was only a superficial phenomenon.
Cao Zhuan, the head of the family, appeared to be extremely incompetent, and he did not have the ability of his ancestors to accumulate wealth. His only merit may be that his rhetoric is ornate and his writing is excellent.
Despite such a predicament, the Cao family did not restrain in the slightest. They still live in luxury, as if they don't care about the huge debts they owe.
This made Yongzheng, who paid attention to frugality, deeply dissatisfied, and Cao Zhuo had no achievements in politics. Under his leadership, the Jiangnan side almost did not raise anything about **, which was contrary to its responsibilities and caused great dissatisfaction with Yongzheng.
The contradictions between the Cao family and the emperor have long been deeply buried, just waiting for the time to come, and Emperor Yongzheng will have the opportunity to get rid of the burden of this country.
Soon after, the long-awaited opportunity of the Yongzheng Emperor finally came. At the beginning, the emperor asked the Cao family to make up for the financial deficit within three years, but the Cao family did not take this matter to heart at all. Therefore, after three years, the Cao family not only failed to repay the old debts, but even created greater problems in the financial problems, making the burden on the state treasury even heavier.
Imperial power cannot be challenged, and the treasury cannot be coveted by others. Emperor Yongzheng could not bear it and officially dismissed Cao Zhuo from his post and returned all the property of the Cao family to the treasury.
Originally, Emperor Yongzheng thought that the confiscation of the Cao family's property would enrich the treasury, but in the process of investigation, he found that the most was not gold, silver and jewelry, but countless pawn tickets!
This is enough to prove that even without the emperor's will, the Cao family has long been inconsistent and vulnerable. The only ending they were waiting for was a dead end.
Fortunately, the emperor still missed the old love of the Kangxi period and kept their real estate in the capital for the Cao family, so the Cao family moved to the capital, including the young Cao Xueqin.
The Cao family began to sell off various properties, seeking support from all sides, and trying to pay off the financial deficit to the imperial court with all their might. However, faced with huge debts, they are stuck in a predicament that they cannot get out of.
At this time, Cao Qian had been decadent, and all the pressure was transferred to the young Cao Xueqin. Although Cao Xueqin worked very hard, he was only a half-grown child after all, how could he face such a huge disaster.
Until the death of Emperor Yongzheng, the Cao family still failed to fully pay off the financial deficit of the imperial court. It was not until after Qianlong ascended the throne that the Cao family was spared and the burden of debt was relieved, considering the face of his grandfather.
Later, Cao Xueqin relied on teaching to support her family's livelihood, and her life was extremely poor, and she often had to rely on the generosity of family and friends.
The decline of the Cao family stemmed from many reasons, such as the extravagance of the family members, the frequent spending of huge sums of money to entertain the emperor, and the most important thing was that they took the wrong position in the process of fighting for the inheritance of the family. This directly led to a conflict with Emperor Yongzheng, and eventually went into decline.
If the Cao family had chosen a wise position in the battle for inheritance, it might have been possible to continue the glory of the Kangxi Dynasty and continue to make a name for itself in the Jiangnan region.