Legend of the Magnate Episode 11 Recap
> Legend of the Magnate Recap
Li Qin, though facing ruin, decided to open his Taiping Bank's doors. To his surprise, the large crowd that had gathered had vanished, leaving only Gu Pingyuan standing alone. Li Qin questioned where everyone had gone. Gu Pingyuan smiled, explaining that in business, one should not push people to their absolute limit. He promised Li Qin time for a graceful exit from Shanxi.
Gu Pingyuan asked Li Qin how the six million taels owed to the Eight Families should be delivered—by cart or as banknotes. Li Qin relayed his father Li Wantang's decision to leave the money as a gesture of goodwill. Gu Pingyuan expressed admiration for his father's magnanimity, prompting Li Qin to ponder if it was praise for his father or a dig at him. He admitted he still did not understand where he had truly lost.
Gu Pingyuan deferred, promising to tell him in person when Li Qin returned to the capital. Meanwhile, at a gathering, the Eight Families managers celebrated Gu Pingyuan's success. First Madam Jin and other managers, including Manager Li and Manager Sun, offered him fine Da Hong Pao tea from the mother trees in Fujian. Though they addressed him as "Chief Manager," Gu Pingyuan politely declined the title, stating he was unworthy and merely "a monkey dressed in royal robes."
One manager commented on the difficulty of getting another to speak more than two words at a time, jokingly referring to him as a "cripple," to which the man retorted, "Piss off." First Madam Jin directly asked Gu Pingyuan if he genuinely wished to join the Eight Families. He confessed he did not. Gu Pingyuan then revealed his true identity as an exile who had escaped from Ningguta.
He explained that Wang Tiangui had captured his benefactor, Chang Si, and coerced him into working for him. Wang Tiangui's ultimate goal in trying to get Gu Pingyuan into the Eight Families was to uncover the secret of King Li's Treasure. Now that they knew he was a man without legal standing, he questioned his suitability to be their chief manager.
He expressed deep respect for the Eight Families, stating that merely knowing them was a great fortune, and he dared not hope for more. He offered to leave so they could discuss confidential matters without risk. The managers, however, were moved by his sincerity and insisted that a hero's worth was not determined by his origins, reminding him that even Emperor Taizu of Ming was once a beggar.
They expressed immense respect for his character and ideas, and one by one, they accepted him into their confidence, acknowledging the immense prosperity their businesses had seen since his involvement. They pressed him to accept the role of chief manager, which he eventually did. Manager Li then revealed his plan to deal with the Prince, showing Gu Pingyuan a military map. He disclosed that the Prince's troops had reached Caozhou, at the border of Shandong and Henan.
Gu Pingyuan questioned the plan to use unarmed Resistance Army against the Prince's formidable cavalry. Manager Li explained that they had funded the Resistance Army multiple times and maintained good relations with their leaders, emphasizing that "money is the whetstone" that sharpens the blade.
He revealed his strategy: acquiring 2,000 horses from the Horqin Grasslands via Hebei branches, shipping them down the Grand Canal to Shandong, and then using this cavalry to unite the entire Shandong Resistance Army to besiege the Prince. His single directive to them was to ensure the Prince did not leave alive. Manager Li later clarified that they had also bribed Ling San, the Prince's trusted general, who was deep in gambling debt.
Ling San had agreed to betray the Prince during battle, creating chaos from within while the Resistance Army attacked from without, ensuring the Prince's defeat. Indeed, the Prince's forces were ambushed at Caozhou. His troops scattered as his general Ling San turned against him, and the Prince was fatally struck by an arrow, dying on the spot. Back in Pingyao, Li Qin oversaw the packing of Taiping Bank's belongings.
As he prepared to return to the capital, he ordered the large silver gourd, a symbol of the bank, to be smashed and taken with them. He lamented that he had promised for it to stand for centuries, yet it was being shattered within months.
His servant tried to console him, reminding him that "victory and defeat are both part of warfare," but Li Qin insisted on breaking it himself, stating it would allow him to leave with peace of mind. Gu Pingyuan came to bid Li Qin farewell. Li Qin addressed him as Manager Gu, a prominent figure in Shanxi's banking world, and expressed envy, noting that he only had his status while Gu Pingyuan, despite his exile status, held immense influence.
Gu Pingyuan humbly responded that he was merely playing a role, still without a legal identity. He asked Li Qin not to hold a grudge against him, as they had both served their masters. Li Qin confessed he secretly wished for his father's defeat, as Li Wantang relied too much on power and connections, straying from proper business ethics. He expressed his own desire to be an honest merchant but felt stifled by his father's methods.
Gu Pingyuan was pleased by Li Qin's sentiments and then shared his thoughts on the "Dao" of business. He explained that true commerce is built on "trust and integrity," which, when practiced to the extreme, allows businesses like the Eight Families to thrive with agile capital and widespread trust. He advised Li Qin that some truths seem simple but reveal their profundity only through practice.
Gu Pingyuan then revealed his intention to leave Shanxi once he had saved the people he needed to, likening his current situation to an opera that must eventually end. He promised Li Qin that he would seek him out in the capital once he gained his freedom after a general amnesty. Li Qin, remembering their past exploits in shaking Pingyao's banking world, wished him well.
At a celebratory dinner, First Madam Jin revealed the true secret of King Li's Treasure to Gu Pingyuan. It was not, as some believed, accidental findings, but a vast collection hidden deep within mountain strongholds, protected by high walls and intricate mechanisms, accessible only to the Eight Families. She clarified that King Li, knowing his mandate had passed, entrusted his accumulated wealth to eight loyal generals to serve as the foundation for restoring the Han Chinese homeland.
These generals became the ancestors of the Eight Families, who, under the guidance of scholars Gu Tinglin and Fu Qingzhu, established a rule to annually convert 10% of their business profits into gold and silver artifacts to be stored there. This ever-growing treasure was intended to be dispersed for the people in times of national crisis, embodying the "Great Way of commerce" – to serve the people and aid the world, as wealth truly belongs to all living beings.
Gu Pingyuan accepted this teaching with humility. Later, Wang Tiangui confronted Gu Pingyuan, questioning if he hated him for capturing Chang Si. Gu Pingyuan admitted to feeling only resignation. Wang Tiangui, impressed by Gu Pingyuan's ability to generate immense wealth for Taiyufeng in a few months, offered him a "real path forward": to become his adopted son, take the Wang surname, and guard all his wealth. He dismissed Chang Si as a mere mortal and Gu Pingyuan's conscience as irrelevant.
When Gu Pingyuan refused to be his "dog slave," Wang Tiangui became enraged. He revealed that he had Chang Si imprisoned and his daughter, Chang Yu'er, kidnapped, threatening to kill them both that very night. To manipulate Gu Pingyuan, he revealed he had already arranged for the blame to fall entirely on himself. In a desperate move, Gu Pingyuan offered to reveal the location of King Li's Treasure.
Wang Tiangui, initially skeptical, was quickly intrigued when Gu Pingyuan stated he had just visited it. Wang Tiangui immediately ordered Chang Si and Chang Yu'er to be released. Gu Pingyuan then led Wang Tiangui to the Pingding Temple, where a portion of the treasure was hidden. Disguised as a monk, Gu Pingyuan gained entry to the temple.
Wang Tiangui and his men, overcome with greed upon seeing rooms filled with golden Buddha statues, arhat figures, and countless treasures, began frantically grabbing artifacts. Seeing skeletons among the riches, Wang Tiangui gloated that the dead could not enjoy their treasure. Gu Pingyuan cryptically replied, asking why Wang Tiangui had come, if only to join them. Wang Tiangui then ordered his men to silence Gu Pingyuan, revealing his true murderous intentions.
As Wang Tiangui and his men were consumed by their avarice, stuffing their pockets with gold, Gu Pingyuan quietly slipped out of the vault. He activated the ancient mechanism, lowering the heavy "Dragon-breaking Stone" door, which had been built by imperial tomb craftsmen, permanently sealing Wang Tiangui and his men inside the treasure chamber. Outside, Wang Tiangui's manager anxiously awaited his master. Gu Pingyuan informed him that Wang Tiangui was now "guarding King Li's gate."
He advised the manager to take some gold and silver, flee Shanxi, and return to his hometown, warning him that Wang Tiangui would have also intended to kill him to keep the treasure a secret. Some time later, Chang Si informed Gu Pingyuan of the Xianfeng Emperor's passing and the impending general amnesty from the new Emperor, which would grant Gu Pingyuan his freedom. Gu Pingyuan, eager to return to his mother in Anhui, immediately wanted to buy a horse.
Chang Yu'er confirmed that the pardon had already been announced by the local magistrate. Chang Si tried to persuade Gu Pingyuan to stay longer, but Chang Yu'er noted his undeniable yearning for home. At their farewell, Gu Pingyuan invited Chang Si to recover from his injuries and then come to Anhui to establish a tea business. Chang Si eagerly accepted, mentioning his own family's tea mountains producing fine Silver Bud and Hou Kui teas.
Chang Yu'er asked about the Emperor's tea preferences, leading Chang Si to lament that by the time good green tea reached the capital, it would be stale and scented with jasmine, losing its original flavor. Gu Pingyuan expressed his anticipation for their reunion in Anhui. As Gu Pingyuan departed, Chang Yu'er, with visible reluctance to part, arranged for warriors from the Horqin Grasslands to escort him safely home.
