Cao Can, a native of Pei County, served as a jail warden in Pei County during the Qin Dynasty. Xiao He was his superior and was known as a fearsome enforcer in the area. When Liu Bang rose in rebellion and became the Duke of Pei, Cao Can followed him as his right-hand man. He later participated in battles against Huling and Fangyu, routing the Qin army's defenses and achieving a great victory. He then continued to march to Xue County, capturing Xueguoxi, where the defending troops were stationed. He attacked Huling again, captured the city, and was appointed as the governor of Fangyu. When Fangyu rebelled and defected to the Wei Kingdom, Cao Can led his troops to fight against them. Feng County also defected to the Wei Kingdom, so Cao Can launched an attack there as well. Due to his military achievements, he was appointed as one of the Seven Great Officers. He later defeated the army of the Qin general Sima, occupying the areas of Deng, Hufu, and Qishan. He then marched north to rescue Axian and fought against Zhang Han's army, capturing Yuanqi and Kangfu, always at the forefront of the battles. As a result, he was promoted to one of the Five Great Officers. He then went north to rescue Chen County, fought against Zhang Han's army, captured Chen County, and pursued them to Puyang. He captured Dingtao, occupied Linji, and then went south to rescue Yongqiu. He fought against the army of Li You, defeated him, and captured a marquis of the Qin Kingdom. After Xiang Liang was defeated and killed by Zhang Han, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu retreated to the east. King Huai of Chu appointed Liu Bang as the magistrate of Cheng County, allowing him to command the county's army. At this time, Cao Can was appointed as the Keeper of the Silk, overseeing military affairs in Cheng County.
Next, Cao Can accompanied Liu Bang to attack the army of the Eastern Jun, defeating them south of Chengwu. He routed Wang Li's forces south of Chengyang and then crushed them again in Gangli. He chased them all the way to Kaifeng, where he defeated Zhao Ben's army and besieged him in the city. Then he moved west, defeating the army of Qin general Yang Xiong in Quyu and capturing one commander and one scribe from the Qin forces. As a result, Cao Can was promoted to Zhi Gui (a specific military rank). Later, he participated in the assault on Yangwu, capturing Huanyuan and Goushi, cutting off the Yellow River crossing, and then defeating the remaining remnants of Zhao Ben's army. He then marched south to attack Zhi, engaging the Nanyang Commandant Yi in battle east of Yangcheng, capturing Chen and Wancheng, taking Yi prisoner, and thus securing Nanyang County. Finally, he attacked Wu Pass and Yao Pass from the west, successfully capturing these two strategic points. Previously, he had also attacked the Qin army south of Lantian and launched a night raid from the north, leading to a crushing defeat for the Qin forces. Ultimately, his army marched straight to Xianyang and brought down the Qin Dynasty.
When Xiang Yu arrived, he appointed Liu Bang as the King of Han, who in turn designated Han Xin as the Marquis of Jiancheng. Han Xin followed Liu Bang to Hanzhong, where he was promoted to general. Together with Liu Bang, he subdued the Three Qins, initially capturing Xianbian, Gu Dao, Yong, and Li. He soundly defeated Zhang Ping's army south of Haozhi, besieging Haozhi and capturing Rangxiang. He also vanquished the forces of the Three Qins east of Rang and Gaolu. After besieging Zhang Ping, who fled from Haozhi, he then defeated the armies of Zhao Ben and Neishi Bao. He attacked Xianyang to the east and renamed it Xin Cheng. Han Xin led the army to defend Jingling for twenty days. The Three Qins sent Zhang Ping and others to assault Han Xin, but he launched a successful counterattack. Liu Bang rewarded Han Xin with a fief in Ningqin (a place name). As a general, Han Xin then besieged Zhang Ping in Feiqiu.
Han Xin was then appointed as a lieutenant and left Linjin Pass with King Han. Upon reaching Henei, they seized Xiuwu, crossed the Weijin River, and defeated Longju and Xiangta at Dingtao. They then captured Dang, Xiao, and Pengcheng to the east. The Han army was routed in a battle against Xiang Yu's forces. Han Xin, as a lieutenant, surrounded and captured Yongqiu. Wang Wu rebelled in Waihuang, and Cheng Chu in Yandi, and Han Xin went to suppress the rebellions, successfully pacifying them. Zhu Tianhou rebelled in Yanshi, and Han Xin went to attack and occupy Yanshi. They defeated Xiang Yu's general Ying at Kunyang and pursued him to Yexian, then attacked Wuqiang and arrived at Xingyang. Han Xin, who had been a general in Hanzhong, was now a lieutenant, following Liu Bang to fight against the various princes. Following Xiang Yu's defeat, they returned to Xingyang after two years of campaigning.
In 205 BC, they made me Acting Left Prime Minister and stationed me in Guanzhong. Then, not long after, Wei King Bao kicked off a rebellion. As the Acting Left Prime Minister, I was ordered to join Han Xin in an eastern expedition, where we smashed Wei general Sun Suo. We then took Anyi and captured the Wei general Wang Xiang. Later, we overwhelmed King Wei in Quyang and pursued him to Wuyuan, capturing King Wei Bao alive. We also took Pingyang, capturing the mother, wife, and children of King Wei, completely pacifying the Wei Kingdom and seizing a total of fifty-two cities. The Emperor rewarded me with Pingyang as a fief, and that's where I settled.
Later, Han Xin and I defeated Xia Shuo, the Prime Minister of Zhao, in Wudong, and killed him. Han Xin, Zhang Er, the former King of Changshan, led troops to attack Jingxing, defeating Cheng Anjun. At the same time, I surrounded another general of Zhao, General Qi (Qi Jiangjun), who fled but was overtaken and killed. Then, I led troops to Ao Cang to meet the King of Han. Han Xin had already defeated Zhao and was appointed as Prime Minister, then went on to attack Qi. The Emperor made me his assistant prime minister to help Han Xin, and we conquered Qi's Li Xia army and occupied Linzi. Next, we pacified Jibei County and captured Zhe, Luoyin, Pingyuan, Ge, Lu, and other areas. Later, Han Xin and I defeated Long Qie's army in Shangjiami, achieving a great victory! Long Qie was killed, and his general Zhou Lan was captured. After pacifying Qi, we recovered more than seventy counties in total. We also captured Tian Guang, the former prime minister of King Tian Guang of Qi, Xu Zhang, Qi's acting prime minister, and Tian Ji, the former Jiaodong General of Qi. Han Xin was appointed as the King of Qi, led his troops to Chen, and together with the King of Han, defeated Xiang Yu. I stayed behind to pacify some disobedient areas of Qi. After Xiang Yu's death, peace finally came. The King of Han became Emperor, Han Xin was renamed the King of Chu, and Qi became a commandery. I returned the seal of the Prime Minister of Han to the Emperor. The Emperor appointed his eldest son, Liu Fei, as the King of Qi and appointed me as the Prime Minister of Qi. In 203 BC, the Emperor made me a Marquis and had a ceremony with the other nobles to ensure my title would be passed down for generations. I was granted a fief of 16,330 households in Pingyang, with my previous fiefdom not included.
As the premier of the State of Qi, I wiped out Chen Xi's general, Zhang Chun. Later, when Qing Bu rebelled, I followed King Dao Hui, led a hundred and twenty thousand troops, joined forces with Emperor Gaozu of Han, and we won a smashing victory! We headed south to Qi County, and then pacified Zhuyi, Xiang, Xiao, Liu, and other areas.
Now, Cao Can... he ruled over two countries and a hundred and twenty-two counties, along with two kings, three premiers, and a host of other high-ranking officials including six generals, a Grand Mo Ao, a county magistrate, a marshal, a marquis, and an imperial historian—big shots in their own right. In the first year of Emperor Xiaohui's reign, the court ended the practice of appointing premiers to the vassal states and appointed Cao Can as the premier of the State of Qi. After becoming the premier, Cao Can governed seventy cities. At that time, the world had just been pacified, and Emperor Hui was still quite young, so Cao Can called in many scholars and Confucian elders to consult them on how to stabilize the people. There were several hundred old Confucian scholars in the State of Qi, each had their own ideas, leaving Cao Can stumped. Later, he heard that there was a man named Gai Gong in Jiaoxi who was very skilled in the teachings of Huang-Lao, so Cao Can sent someone with generous gifts to invite him. When he met Gai Gong, Gai Gong told him that the most important thing in governing a country is to be quiet and inactive, and the people will naturally be stable, and he explained it in detail. Upon hearing this, Cao Can immediately gave his seat to Gai Gong and humbly learned from him. He governed Qi using Huang-Lao principles, and as a result, within nine years, Qi became stable and prosperous, and Cao Can became known as a wise premier.
This is a story from the early Han Dynasty, a time of great change in China. In the second year of Emperor Xiaohui's reign, Xiao He passed away. Upon hearing the news, Cao Can quickly ordered his subordinates to prepare for the journey, saying, "I am going to be the premier!" Sure enough, a messenger from the court arrived, summoning Cao Can to the capital. Before leaving, Cao Can instructed the Qi Kingdom premier who would replace him, saying, "Just leave the prisons and markets in Qi alone." The successor premier asked, "Is there anything more important than this?" Cao Can replied, "Of course! Prisons and markets are places where all sorts of people hang out. If you disturb them, where will the bad people hide? That's why I instructed you first."
When Cao Can was young, he had a good relationship with Xiao He, but as they both became high-ranking officials, their relationship became more distant. However, before Xiao He passed away, he recommended only Cao Can as his successor. Cao Can took over as the premier of the Han Dynasty after Xiao He and continued to handle state affairs without any changes, strictly following Xiao He's rules.
When selecting county and district officials, Cao Can preferred decent, reliable blokes who were not good at rhetoric, and then promoted them as his subordinates. Those blokes who just liked to yap and chase after glory were directly dismissed by Cao Can. He drank good wine every day. Lower-ranking officials and guests often came to him with suggestions, but Cao Can rarely dealt with state affairs. He'd ply them with drinks, then ply them with more drinks when they tried to talk, sending them home only when they were good and drunk. In the end, no one could present their opinions to him, and this became his daily routine.
Cao Can's official residence was adjacent to the dwellings of his subordinates, who would drink and sing loudly every day. The subordinates disliked this situation but had no choice, so they invited Cao Can to take a walk in the garden. Hearing the drunken singing of his subordinates, they even hoped that the premier would gather people to deal with them. Unexpectedly, Cao Can instead brought out wine and joined the party.
Cao Can discovered that his subordinates made minor mistakes but always tried to conceal and cover them up, so things ran smoothly in his administration. Cao Can became a mid-level official. Emperor Hui felt that Prime Minister Cao Can was not very responsible and thought to himself, "Could it be that I do not value him enough?" So he said to Cao Can's son Cao Zhu, "When you go back, find an opportunity to quietly ask your father: 'Emperor Gaozu has just passed away, and now the young emperor is in power. As the Prime Minister, you spend your days drinking and not attending to matters of state. How are you worrying about the world?' Remember, don't say that I told you." After Cao Zhu finished washing up and returned home, he took the opportunity to advise Cao Can according to Emperor Hui's wishes while serving his father. Cao Can was furious and severely punished Cao Zhu, saying, "Hurry back to serve the emperor. The major affairs of the world are not your concern!" When attending court, Emperor Hui asked Cao Can, "What did you say to Cao Zhu? I asked him to advise you!" Cao Can took off his hat and apologized, saying, "Your Majesty, think for yourself, can your literary and martial achievements compare to Emperor Gaozu?" Emperor Hui said, "How dare I compare myself to the late emperor!" Cao Can continued, "Do you think my abilities can compare to Xiao He?" Emperor Hui said, "You seem to fall short." Cao Can said, "Your Majesty is right. Emperor Gaozu and Xiao He established order in the world; the laws and systems are already very well-established. Now, Your Majesty only needs to let things run their course, and we ministers need to fulfill our duties, stick to the rules, and act in accordance with the laws. Isn't this also good?" Emperor Hui said, "Good! Rest well!" Cao Can served as the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty for three years. After his death, he was posthumously honored as Marquis Yi. His son Cao Zhu inherited the marquis title. People used to say, "Xiao He laid down the law, straight as a ruler; Cao Can followed it, never changing a thing. He kept things calm, and the people lived easy."
Marquis Pingyang Cao Zhuo served as the Chief Inspector during Empress Dowager Lü's regency. After Emperor Xiaowen became emperor, Cao Zhuo was dismissed from his position and restored to his marquisate. He held the marquisate for twenty-nine years and was posthumously given the title Marquis Jinghou. His son Cao Qi succeeded him, served for seven years, and was posthumously honored as Marquis Jianhou. His son then inherited the marquisate. He married Princess Pingyang and had a son named Cao Xiang. During a plague outbreak, Cao Qi returned home to escape the disaster. He served as marquis for twenty-three years and was posthumously honored as Marquis Yihou. His son Cao Xiang succeeded him. Cao Xiang married Princess Weichang and had a son named Cao Zong. He held the marquisate for sixteen years and was posthumously honored as Marquis Gonghou. His son Cao Zong inherited the marquisate. In the second year of Emperor Han Wu's reign, Cao Zong was implicated in an incident involving the Crown Prince and had his title abolished.
Historian Sima Qian said: Prime Minister Cao Can was able to achieve so many military victories in sieges and battles because he was similar to Marquis Huaiyin Han Xin. After Han Xin was eliminated, the other marquises also contributed to victories, but only Cao Can enjoyed great fame. Cao Can served as the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, was quiet and inactive, and his actions were in line with the Mandate of Heaven. However, the people had just escaped the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty, and Cao Can adopted a policy of recuperation, so everyone praised him.
