The Nine Families of Zhaowu referred to the Suites and their descendants who came to the Central Plains from China during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty. Their kings all had the surname Zhaowu.
The Nine Families of Zhaowu were originally from the Yue Family. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu destroyed the Yuezhi and forced them to move west. The Yuezhi tribe, which used to live in Zhaowu, Gansu, as their old home, fled west and entered the Sute region of Central Asia. They conquered the local natives and formed a number of city-states. Later on, under the rule of Kuda, they were forced to change their surname to Wen (Wennasha).
After the decline of Da Da, the various city-states regained their independence. Their surname was Zhaowu, forming the Zhaote city-states headed by the Kang Kingdom. Among them were An, Cao, Shi, Mi, He, Shi, Mu, Bi, and so on. They were collectively known as the "Nine Surnames of Zhaowu". In the Tang Dynasty, they were also known as the "Nine Surnames of Hu" or simply "Hu". In the West, they were known as "Sogdians".
Later on, some of the Nine Families of Zhaowu accepted the rule of the Turks and the Tang Dynasty. In the 8th century, the country fell to the Arabian Empire. After that, most of the people gradually became Turks and Muslims, becoming one of the modern Uzbeks of Central Asia. A small portion of them scattered among the Tajiks.
Although the Nine Families of Zhaowu were far weaker than the Turks in terms of fighting ability, their 'business attribute' was much higher than that of any nomadic people in the north. As the Suite region was the throat of the Silk Road, the Nine Families of Zhaowu naturally became a people with a business tradition. To put it bluntly, they became hereditary 'middlemen', selling China's silk to the west and western gems and wine to the Tang Dynasty.
After all, they started as nomads but couldn't beat the Tang Dynasty. They could only rely on their mobility to become merchants. Even the technology of making paper was passed to Central Asia by the Kang Kingdom. In fact, since the Han and Wei Dynasties, this group of Suites had entered the Central Plains to do business along the Silk Road. However, because the West Jin Dynasty was short-lived, the Central Plains was in chaos and they couldn't even take care of themselves.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasty, the Silk Road gained a new lease of life thanks to the Tang Dynasty's open and inclusive policies. This attracted a large number of people from the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu to come to the east. According to the Old Book of Tang, "The journey of Xinghu, the years follow."
After the founding of the Great Tang, many of the Nine Families of Zhaowu came to China. Many of them had become wealthy through business. They envied the splendid culture of the Tang Empire and married and had children in the interior. Gradually, they became Chinese, and some of them even formed considerable political forces.
For example, the An brothers. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and Li Gui occupied Liangzhou. In order to recover Liangzhou, An Xinggui submitted a memorial to Li Yuan, hoping to persuade Li Gui to surrender and submit to the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan did not agree, so the two of them once again offered a plan and ultimately helped the Tang Army to flatten Prince Liang, Li Gui, who occupied Hexi. Because of the outstanding contributions of the An brothers, An Xinggui was conferred the title of Right Marquis Great General, the title of Liang Guo Duke of Shang Zhu State, the title of Liang Guo Duke, the title of six hundred households, and ten thousand pieces of silk. An Xiu Ren was also conferred the title of Great General of the Left Martial Marquis, conferred the title of Duke Shen, bestowed upon the Tian Residence, and conferred upon six hundred households.
However, this' peace 'had nothing to do with An Lushan's' peace '. Although they were all Socrites and had the surname 'An', this' An 'was like our Liu, Wang, and Li surnames. There were many Socrites with this surname. Not only that, the descendant of the An family, An Baoyu, was later placed in an important position by the famous general Li Guangbi. He contributed a lot in the fight against the An Lushan rebellion, and the Imperial Court gave him the surname of Li.
Li Baoyu's cousin, Li Baozhen, became the Ze Road Jiedushi. In the fight against the rebellion of the Hesuo towns, he contributed a lot and was promoted to the position of Inspector of the Prefectures. The An family could be considered a 'family of martyrs'. In truth, during the An Lushan rebellion, there were many Hu who sacrificed their lives for the sake of 'bringing sugar'. For example, Li Guangbi was a Khitan, a standard Hu. Due to the Tang Dynasty's policy of opening up, many foreigners became officials in the Imperial Court, forming the unique 'foreign soldiers and generals' in the history of the Tang Dynasty. The Nine Families of Zhaowu were a power that could not be ignored.
In general, the biggest characteristic of the Nine Families of Zhaowu was that they were rich, very rich. Once a person had money, they would think of ways to obtain a certain political position. The Nine Families of Zhaowu were no exception!
Other than those who entered the Imperial Court as officials by chance, a large number of the Nine Families of Zhaowu were doing business in the Tang Dynasty while using money to attach themselves to some powerful local forces. Moreover, the Nine Families of Zhaowu were like branches of the same tree. The Nine Families of Zhaowu who were doing business outside the Tang Dynasty were surprisingly united. It was not an exaggeration to say that 'when one side is in trouble, all sides will help'. Therefore, the influence of the Nine Families of Zhaowu in the Tang Dynasty could not be underestimated!
Not to mention that Kang Changan was from the Kang Kingdom, the sovereign country of the Nine Families of Zhaowu. Coincidentally, this guy had connections with the royal family of the Kang Kingdom. In this way, Kang Changan's death was not just a murder case. It could very well turn into a 'diplomatic dispute'!
If the authorities of Taiyuan City could not give a reasonable explanation or explanation for Kang Changan's death, not only would the Kang Kingdom not leave the matter at that, the Kang Kingdom or the Nine Families of Zhaowu in the Tang Dynasty would probably not rest. They might cause endless trouble for the authorities of Taiyuan City!
After all, whether it was modern society or feudal society, although money was not omnipotent, it could solve most problems, such as hiring assassins, monopolizing the market, disrupting the prices of goods in the city, and so on!
No matter what methods they used, Wang Liaoyuan and the others would not have it easy!
When a group of people was extremely wealthy, even if they didn't have any official position, the influence they had was incomparable to that of ordinary people!
Kang Changan and Kang Qu were the same!
But was the Tang Dynasty afraid of the Nine Families of Zhaowu? Obviously not! In terms of overall national strength, even if the Nine Families of Zhaowu were multiplied by ten, they might not be able to defeat the Tang Dynasty at its peak. The strength of the Nine Families of Zhaowu did not lie in national strength, but in the 'soft power' of the economy!
Not only did they monopolize the trade between the Tang Dynasty and the western countries, but they also controlled the commercial and economic lifelines of many provinces and counties in the Tang Dynasty! As the saying goes, pull one hair and the whole body will be affected. If the Tang Dynasty made a move against the Nine Families of Zhaowu, although it could win, it would also suffer great losses!
"This one was shocked to hear that Brother Kang's ironware shop was suddenly closed down and that Brother Kang himself had met with an accident. Therefore, I came to the Provincial Governor's Office to ask the Provincial Governor to uphold justice for Brother Kang and find out who killed Brother Kang."
In the back hall of the government office in Taiyuan, Kang Qu naturally saw the shock of Wang Liaoyuan, Wang Yu, and Li Tai, but he did not make a fuss about it. Instead, he calmly cupped his hands and said to Wang Liaoyuan.
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