I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1065 The word "cause and effect" never forgives anyone.
The large number of Ming Dynasty people among the prisoners gave Luo Shangzhi a sense of absurdity.

When he went to attack Annam, most of the prisoners were not Annamese, which made Luo Shangzhi very suspicious. Where did these people come from? Who were they? What were their purpose and motive for attacking the Ming Dynasty's navy?

Of course, these doubts did not hinder Luo Shangzhi's attack. He imprisoned the prisoners on Gusu Island and continued to lead the vanguard in reconnaissance and probing attacks.

Some things are better left to the wise officials of the court to worry about. As a naval commander, his job is to understand how to win the battle.

Such things are not surprising at all. Just like the Japanese pirates in the southeast, the invasion of the barbarians was not only caused by the Japanese pirates, but also by the Ming people led by Zhao Quan and Qiu Fu, who helped Altan Khan to devise strategies and build Bansheng City, etc.

Zhu Yijun handed the report of victory to Li Yougong, who then circulated it before speaking, "Although Gao Panlong's miscellaneous articles did not cause any reaction, I still saw them."

"He is right. This military campaign against Annam is not only to undermine the Annamese people's will to resist, but also to prevent anyone from stealing the fruits of victory, and to prevent these Ming people from secretly colluding and inciting the Annamese people to rebel against the Ming."

"The high profits from maritime trade are indeed tempting."

Gao Panlong's article in the newspaper poured cold water on the prevailing public opinion that was celebrating victory before it even began. Then the emperor reprinted the official gazette and published it throughout the country, which stopped this kind of frenzy in public opinion. They were celebrating before the battle even started, and they weren't afraid of losing face even if they actually lost.

Gao Panlong's article came true; some thieves did indeed go to Annam to become thieves, and even became the main force on local battlefields, resisting the Ming Dynasty's conquests.

"Destroying the enemy's will to resist is not actually difficult; the difficulty lies in finding the traitor within." Qi Jiguang said with worry. The matter of waging war against Annam was more complicated than he had thought. He knew, of course, that many Ming people had fled to Annam, but he had not expected so many.

Swords and cannons are indiscriminate; if someone is willing to go to the battlefield, then their stance is one of irreconcilable enmity with the Ming Dynasty.

Throughout history, internal traitors have been the most difficult to deal with.

"I will send a memorial to the front lines to inquire how these people got to Annam." Zhu Yijun keenly noticed the complexity of the situation.

He did not interfere with the battles at the front, but hoped that the front could find out the background of these people. If, as Gao Panlong said, they had won a lot of battles and received many good news, but ended up with a mess, then it would have been a waste of effort.

Zhu Yijun's bottom line regarding war was that it should not turn into a disastrous war. When it was time to give up, he would not force the war to continue for his own ambition. The harm of exhausting the country with war has been clearly explained by history and by officials in the Ministry of Rites.

Soon, Zhu Yijun received memorials from Liu Jiwen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Wan Wenqing, the prefect of Guangzhou, and the situation became clearer.

The reasons why these people from the Ming Dynasty went to Annam were very complicated, but the majority were from Guangdong.

In the second year of the Longqing reign, Qi Jiguang was ordered to go to Guangdong to quell the Japanese pirates. However, before he could set off, he was transferred to the capital and appointed as the commander-in-chief of Jizhou to resist the Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirate problem in Guangdong was not completely quelled until Yin Zhengmao quelled the Japanese pirates at Dianbai Port.

These people from Guangdong either became pirates or went to Southeast Asia during the time when Japanese pirates were rampant.

The group that launched the attack on Gusu Island and the Ming Dynasty were either pirates or their descendants. For example, Lin Mao, the nephew of the pirate leader Lin Daoqian, was arrested this time.

When the Japanese pirates were rampant, Lin Daoqian became a pirate. As the pirate threat gradually subsided, in the second year of the Longqing reign, Lin Daoqian accepted the imperial court's offer of amnesty and was settled in Chenghai County, Shantou, Guangzhou.

Soon, Lin Daoqian rebelled again, captured Chenghai County, and killed the county magistrate. Yu Dayou was ordered to suppress the rebellion, but Lin Daoqian managed to escape.

After the Japanese pirate raids in Guangdong were quelled, Lin Daoqian and his band of Guangdong pirates gradually disappeared. They vanished from the Ming Dynasty's view and began to wreak havoc on Annam, Siam, and other places, occupying fertile lands to secure their own safety and establishing their own independent regimes.

This Lin Daoqian even went to Siam and became the son-in-law of Queen Ratu Biru of Brunei (Cambodia), where he served as the water commander, dominating the region and plundering everywhere.

Lin Daoqian had always entrusted his nephew Lin Mao with managing the Annamite forces. When the court launched its military campaign this time, Lin Mao volunteered to go and stop the Ming army.

The source of the ships and weapons also became clear. Lin Daoqian had two shipyards in Brunei that could build small two-masted coastal ships. Although they were small ships for the Ming Dynasty, they were large ships for the countries of Southeast Asia.

This is why Zhu Yijun's expression was complicated. In the second year of the Longqing reign, Qi Jiguang returned to Beijing but did not go south to Guangdong to quell the Japanese pirates. He did not do a good job, which led to endless troubles. The Japanese pirate problem in Guangdong continued for several years. Today's result is the cause of yesterday's problem.

The concepts of cause and effect are never forgiving.

As for weapons, military equipment, armor, and other items, they all came from smuggling.

In Guangdong, a strict inspection has begun. Any merchant who does business with Lin Daoqian must pass through the checkpoint. Anyone who smuggles contraband such as steel and fire feathers will only face one fate: beheading.

"Wouldn't you call this a bad start? We haven't even started fighting yet, and we already have to investigate the traitors." Zhu Yijun said with a solemn expression as he looked at the memorial.

"Your Majesty, how about this? I will take the spies to Guangzhou Prefecture." Li Yougong said after thinking it over. "Guangzhou is a dangerous place to fight. If I go, it will save the local officials from having a hard time."

Li Yougong, along with his spies, also planned to bring his imperial guards. Both the Eastern Depot and the Northern Garrison were specializing in these matters, making them well-suited for the job. Local authorities, on the other hand, lacked experience in such matters and were easily influenced by powerful local figures, making it difficult to succeed.

After careful consideration, Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Go there."

Li Yougong's departure to Guangzhou Prefecture does not mean that there will be no one to serve the emperor. Zhang Hong can still manage to provide temporary assistance.

Leaving aside everything else, since the war has already begun, let's win first, and then talk about other things.

The war hasn't fully unfolded yet, so there's still time to do these things. If we take them seriously now and handle them calmly and skillfully, waiting another two months to do them will seem rushed and haphazard.

When waging war against Annam, Zhu Yijun was stationed in Songjiang Prefecture. In fact, he, as emperor, did not need to be used much. The Ming war machine was operating very well and had been tested by several major battles. Even if it lost, it would not be a bad defeat and would definitely not become a farce like Felipe's expedition to England.

Besides the military campaign against Annam, there were also state affairs that Emperor Zhu Yijun needed to handle personally.

The first thing was to promote the trading of Ming Dynasty banknotes within the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance; the second thing was to set prices for goods within the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance.

The first thing was extremely difficult to achieve, because in the eyes of these governors-general, it was wishful thinking for the Ming Dynasty to exchange the silver and other goods they had worked so hard to seize for a thin piece of paper.

The three governorates of the Eastern Pacific are not like Japan, which is being ridiculed by the Ming Dynasty. Why should they accept gold and paper money as currency? Your Ming emperor is acting like the Western Papacy, selling indulgences!

This matter was spearheaded by the Ministry of Rites, with Yao Guangqi and Yan Shixuan in charge of promoting it. It was extremely difficult to push forward. Although the governorates established by the Ming Dynasty in Luzon, Palembang, Gold Mountain, and Gold Pool accepted the policy unconditionally, Mexico, Peru, and Chile had strong opposition.

The situation in these three governorates was completely different from that in Luzon. Luzon accepted paper money as currency because all the copper was transported to the Ming Dynasty, resulting in a severe shortage of precious metal currency. The Ming Dynasty had a very strong influence in Luzon, which naturally promoted the circulation of paper money and ensured that it would not be counterfeited.

Mexico and Chile are both silver-producing countries. Mexico has three silver mining clusters, and Chile has the world's largest silver mountain, a rich silver mountain.

There was no shortage of silver to begin with, and because they were middlemen selling goods to the West, silver from the West was flowing back to the colonies. In the short term, the three governorates really did not lack silver.

The process of rolling silver coins is not a particularly advanced technique.

The directors of the Ryukyu Governor's Office, along with Yao Guangqi and Yan Shixuan, arrived in Songjiang Prefecture to await an audience with the Emperor and inquire about his will.

Zhu Yijun didn't quite understand this matter, so he specifically sent a memorial to the Ministry of Rites to inquire why they wanted to promote the overseas circulation of gold and paper money. The Ministry of Rites' answer was very clear: to increase the efficiency of plundering.

Gao Qiyu meant that gold and paper money were like water, and the five maritime trade offices were like sluice gates. If there was too much water in the reservoir, the gates would be opened to release the floodwaters overseas. If there was too little water in the reservoir, trade policies could be adjusted to force the paper money to flow back.

In the ebb and flow of the tides, wealth is acquired.

There are many intricacies involved, but the first step is to go global and gain widespread acceptance of gold and paper money as circulating currency before this can be achieved.

Silver is not an option; its cost is too high. Using silver to control tides would take too long, cause too much disturbance, and have too great an impact on the Ming Dynasty, making it difficult to control. Paper money, on the other hand, completely eliminates these concerns.

The Ministry of Rites did this to make gold and paper money an important tool for the Ming Dynasty to plunder overseas wealth.

The Ministry of Rites did not come up with this idea on its own; it was based on Felipe's previous use of gold bonds to accelerate the plunder of the colonies.

The next morning, Zhu Yijun finished grinding grain. Just as dawn was breaking, he got up and began to process the memorials that had been sent that day. He summoned his ministers to discuss the unresolved matters from the previous day. After settling all the affairs of state, he summoned Yao Guangqi and Yan Shixuan.

"What are you writing down?" Zhu Yijun noticed Zhang Hong scribbling. Li Yougong had taken his spies by boat to Guangzhou yesterday afternoon. He was decisive, quick to react, and left as soon as he was told.

Zhang Hong handed the memorandum to His Majesty and said with a smile, "I'm keeping track of the number of times Your Majesty has summoned the ministers. I was already keeping track when Grand Eunuch Feng was still serving in the Emperor's court. Whoever is summoned the most times proves who is more qualified to enter the cabinet and serve."

The matters that make the emperor hesitate and summon his ministers for discussion must be extremely thorny and difficult to weigh the pros and cons. The number of times His Majesty summons ministers becomes a quantitative assessment of whether a minister is a pillar of the state, that is, whether he can be admitted to the cabinet.

What can a minister who has never been summoned to the cabinet accomplish?
Wang Jiaping, Hou Yuzhao, and Gao Qiyu were frequently summoned by His Majesty because His Majesty needed to consult them on many matters and entrust them with tasks.

Abolishing court deliberations would facilitate the centralization of power and the establishment of a single-party dictatorship.

"This Gao Qiyu is still ranked first in the Northern Court." Zhu Yijun looked at the number of times he was summoned. The purpose of each audience was recorded, which could be considered a way to evaluate the ministers.

Gao Qiyu was summoned many times. Even during the emperor's three-month southern tour, Gao Qiyu was still the first to be summoned, a total of 34 times. Even Shen Shixing could only rank second with 27 summons.

Zhu Yijun summoned Gao Qiyu mainly to discuss the Dinghai school system. The Ming Dynasty's financial investment in education had already exceeded military spending, and would soon double it. This was a matter of great importance, so naturally, he had to summon Gao Qiyu multiple times to inquire about the details.

Before the emperor's southern tour, a large-scale loyalty screening was carried out in the eighteen universities. By June, it was basically completed. More than 200 academicians were investigated and dismissed, and 129 people were punished and exiled to Liaodong.

These scholar-officials were truly capable of doing something as hypocritical as criticizing the emperor while holding his own bowl.

Meanwhile, the strict graduation policy established by the Ming Dynasty began to tighten gradually. More than 300 students at the Imperial University alone were unable to graduate this year and had to repeat a year. If they failed again, they would be expelled.

A young eunuch entered and said, "Your Majesty, Director Yao and Director Yan have arrived."

"Xuan."

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years and be well." Yao Guangqi and Yan Shixuan entered the Imperial Study and bowed in greeting. "Sit, sit, sit. You two have worked hard." Zhu Yijun gestured for them to sit. The scar on Yao Guangqi's face was still very noticeable, but it was not ugly. On the contrary, it gave him an air of righteousness.

Yao Guangqi and Yan Shixuan were of the same rank, both holding the fourth rank. However, in the General Council of the Pan-Pacific Business Alliance, Yao Guangqi was the chief official, while Yan Shixuan was the assistant official. Yao Guangqi was Yan Shixuan's superior, but Yan Shixuan's passive ability to overthrow his superiors never affected Yao Guangqi, or rather, he was never able to successfully initiate such an action.

The prestige of Yao Guangqi as a great benefactor is still rising.

"Your Majesty, Governor Peto has paid off all the loans due this year," Yao Guangqi said after settling down, referring to Governor Peto of the Mexican Viceroyal Palace.

Governor Peto owed the Ming Dynasty a war loan with an interest rate as high as 24%. With such a terrifying interest rate weighing on his head, Peto was still very concerned about this matter.

Otherwise, for Peto himself and for the Mexican Viceroyalty, the debt of gratitude owed to the Ming Dynasty would truly be insurmountable.

According to the agreement with the Ming Dynasty, once Governor Peto actually controlled two of the three silver mining groups, the Ming Dynasty would consider Governor Peto to have control of the situation in Mexico, the state of war would end, and the annual interest rate would be reduced from 24% to 4%. Therefore, after Peto obtained the five-masted transoceanic ship, he began to actively promote the recapture of the mining groups.

By paying back all the money owed this year, including principal and interest, Peto is proving his ability to repay.

"Grand Secretary Shen told me that debt can turn people into slaves, and sure enough, Governor Peto used to be nothing more than a pirate captain. But with this pressure, he's become quite something," Zhu Yijun remarked, marveling at Peto's transformation.

Peto, from his attire and demeanor to his behavior, was the epitome of a pirate. But now Peto was finally starting to resemble a governor. He began to actively reclaim the mining areas and even encouraged agriculture and sericulture in Mexico, as well as the construction of irrigation systems. He actually followed advice and built a 60-mile-long canal that could irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land.

Of course, there were Han Chinese guiding this. Peto had an advisor, a Han Chinese named Zhang Haitian, who was from Shaoxing. This man had a very famous teacher, Xu Wei, the governor of Nagasaki.

Xu Wei can be considered the patriarch of the profession of advisor. Zhang Haitian, who came from a prestigious school, actively offered advice and suggestions when he arrived at the Governor General's Palace in Mexico, which made Peto more and more like a governor.

“Your Majesty, Zhang Haitian was originally the coastal defense inspector of the Nagasaki Governor’s Office. He went to Mexico on the orders of Governor Xu Wei.” Yao Guangqi said very solemnly. Zhang Haitian did indeed serve as an advisor to Governor Peto, but he was still a registered Marquis of Duntai in the Ming Dynasty.

He went to Mexico primarily to gather intelligence.

As for reclaiming wasteland, building water conservancy projects, merging villages and hamlets, repairing bridges and roads, promoting agriculture and sericulture, communicating with merchants from the Ming Dynasty, introducing the "Simple Prescriptions," and establishing Han studies schools, these were all done incidentally.

Zhang Haitan suggested that Governor Peto build an observatory in Sun City for stargazing, but the underlying purpose was to collect information on Mexico's hydrological, geographical, and astronomical phenomena.

Peto wasn't stupid. There's no warmth at sea, and a fool wouldn't survive that long. But Peto still accepted Zhang Haitan's suggestion and built the Solar City Observatory.

Peto simply couldn't afford the cost of antagonizing the Ming Dynasty, nor could Mexico. Although the Ming Dynasty was far away, the Kingdom of Gold was very close.

“Governor Peto promised that 3 million taels of silver would flow into the Ming Dynasty this year, 500,000 taels more than last year.” Yan Shixuan added that Peto’s appointed councilor made a promise to the Ming Dynasty. 500,000 taels of silver is really not a small amount. It can be used to build the mausoleum of the late emperor. The fact that it can have this amount of growth is because it is backed by the Ming Dynasty.

Peto only has half of the mining clusters under his control. He has already taken down the easy ones, and the rest are all tough nuts to crack. It will be a long time before he can take down these three mining clusters.

"Peto does have some sense of gratitude." Zhu Yijun nodded, affirming the achievements of the Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance Council. It can guarantee an inflow of about three million taels of silver every year. Even if Peto doesn't repay the money, the Ming Dynasty will not lose anything. Every tael of silver he repays is considered a profit for the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yijun, Yao Guangqi, and Yan Shixuan talked for a long time about the situation of the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance. The Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance's main task was to mediate various trade disputes. Most of these trade disputes involved plundering and redeeming ships. The Ming Dynasty's "Maritime Trade Law" was being rapidly improved.

The act of plundering was absolutely forbidden, and the punishment was for the three governorates to join forces with the Jinshan Navy to wipe out these pirates.

There are also some difficult cases that need to be dealt with.

The Governor-General's Office of Luzon has detained three ships belonging to the Chilean Governor-General for a year. The Chilean council demanded the release of the ships and compensation for the losses, but Luzon refused to release them and even threatened to execute seven of the Chilean crew members because there were a total of 7,000 kilograms of opium on the three ships.

If it were just a few kilograms, one could say it was smuggled goods by the crew. But with a full 7,000 kilograms, it's clear it was a collective act by the crew.

After hearing the case, the Maritime Tribunal, affiliated with the Pacific Rim Business Council, ultimately ruled that the Luzon ruling was just, which drew strong opposition from the Chilean council.

"I have heard about this case from Wang Qian. He did the right thing. Daring to sell opium in the territorial waters of the Ming Dynasty is courting death. For this, the Ming Dynasty even executed dozens of coastal patrol inspectors. When these barbarians come to the territory of the Ming Dynasty, they must abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty!" Zhu Yijun stated his attitude as emperor.

The ship was seized by the coastal defense patrol, and it was Wang Qian who advocated for the execution of the people.

This ruling greatly displeased the Chilean side, who believed that the Pacific Rim Business Council had lost its neutral stance, completely favored the Ming Dynasty Governor-General's Office, and discriminated against them, these overseas foreigners, which was why they were given such a ruling.

Yao Guangqi was a ruthless man. He didn't tolerate the Chilean councilor at all. He threw all the previous cases of the Ming Dynasty in the councilor's face and told him that this was how the maritime trade law was stipulated.

Merchant ships smuggling opium were punished with execution for every pound of opium smuggled, and those smuggling fifty pounds were held jointly liable. The Governor-General of Luzon seized ships and executed the crew members involved, all in accordance with the Maritime Trade Law.

The Chilean council member also wanted to join forces with the Mexican and Peruvian council members to resist this favoritism and injustice, but the Mexican and Peruvian council members ignored him.

The last time, the Spanish envoy Soren was beheaded by the Ming Dynasty for selling opium, and even Felipe did not pursue the matter too much, but instead dismissed it as a personal matter.

That's how barbarians are; they'll never reason if they can avoid it, and if they do try to reason with anyone, it's only because they've been forced into a corner.

"Your Majesty, there is a matter that the council is also very divided on. Xiong Tingbi has established Edo Castle in the Kanto Plain of Japan and wants to join the Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance." Yao Guangqi brought up a difficult matter. The difficulty of this matter is that Xiong Tingbi has not established an effective rule in the Kanto Plain and cannot be considered a governor-general's office.

The Governor-General's Office also has standards. Without establishing effective rule, it can only be considered a pioneer at best. Today, it approves Edo Castle's entry, but the next day, Xiong Tingbi is driven into the sea by the Japanese and Edo Castle is driven out? This seems a bit too frivolous.

The Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance is a very serious diplomatic agency of the Ming Dynasty. Changing its orders so frequently will only make it a laughing stock among its colleagues.

“That’s true.” Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, “Let him join as an observer for the time being, with a three-year period. If Xiong Tingbi remains as stable as Mount Tai in the Kanto Plain after three years, I will establish a new Edo Governor’s Office for him. In this way, he will be officially recognized.”

This is a compromise; if the conditions are not met, the standards can be lowered, and the process can proceed as planned.

Edo Castle, as a single city, awaits those who wish to join the Pan-Pacific Merchant Alliance, relying on the emperor's recommendation and credibility. If Xiong Tingbi fails, he will not only lose face, but the emperor will also be disgraced.

"What are your views on the overseas promotion of the Gold Treasure Note?" Zhu Yijun asked about the overseas promotion of the Gold Treasure Note.

“This…” Yao Guangqi and Yan Shixuan exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with difficulty.

Yao Guangqi felt that this was a decision made on a whim by the officials of the Ministry of Rites. In places where money was scarce, such as the heartland of the Ming Dynasty, Luzon, and Palembang, only paper money could be used. Even the Governor-General's Office of Jinchi, which did not lack precious metals, did not use gold paper money.

The idea of ​​implementing a gold-backed paper currency is nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of those in power.
This is not a problem that two people can solve by thinking of a solution; it's a problem that's simply impossible to solve.

"Is it very difficult?" Zhu Yijun asked doubtfully.

Yao Guangqi nodded and said, "It is extremely difficult. It is like a tree without roots or water without a source. The governorates of Mexico and Peru do not need paper money at all. Their silver still needs to be sent to the Ming Dynasty."

Money exists in relation to goods.

The Ming Dynasty's productivity resulted in an enormous volume of goods, and coupled with the near-absence of precious metal production, it was forced to introduce gold notes for use.

In places where precious metals are plentiful but the scale of goods is relatively small, precious metal currency fully meets the needs of use, making it extremely difficult to promote paper money.

"I will inform the Ministry of Rites to postpone the implementation," Zhu Yijun said, realizing that things were not going to work out and ordering the Ministry of Rites to suspend the implementation of the gold ingots.

Without the necessary conditions for implementation, forcibly pushing forward will only result in nothing coming to fruition.

Zhu Yijun and Yao Guangqi learned in detail about the second major issue of the Pan-Pacific Business Alliance: the issue of commodity pricing.

Previous trade had always followed market prices, but this pricing method resulted in the Ming Dynasty actually losing money.

The reason is simple: the arrival of the large sailing ships coincided with the lowest prices for tea, silk, cotton, wool, and other commodities. For example, the arrival of the large sailing ships coincided with the springtime when silkworms spun raw silk and it was ready for market.

The large sailing ship trade was an important means of export for the Ming Dynasty. During this season, a large amount of goods would continuously flow into the several maritime trade offices, especially into Songjiang Prefecture, piling up in the port's warehouses. This led to competition and price wars, resulting in relatively low prices.

Foreign trade can earn real gold and silver, but selling goods locally in the Ming Dynasty results in low prices and small profits. Sometimes, what is received is gold and paper money. It is not surprising that goods are concentrated in Songjiang Prefecture.

Everyone likes real money.

For various reasons, the Council of the Pacific Rim Business Alliance decided to adopt an average pricing method throughout the year.

"The Songjiang Ocean Merchants Firm is fully supportive, but the small merchants are unwilling to agree." Yao Guangqi explained the predicament: not only the three governor-general offices of the Eastern Pacific were against it, but even the small merchants and peddlers of the Ming Dynasty were strongly opposed.

If an average price is set throughout the year, then merchants with small assets will have no chance at all.

Why don't Western merchants order from large trading companies like the Ocean Shipping Company? The price is the same, and the quality is guaranteed. Smaller merchants can only lower prices and reduce their profits to secure orders.

“In terms of cost, small businesses will inevitably have higher costs than large businesses. If it comes to a real bidding war, small businesses will be even less able to resist,” Zhu Yijun said immediately.

A behemoth was lurking beneath the surface of Songjiang Prefecture: monopoly capital was taking shape.

Taking Sun Kehong's ocean trading company as an example, as long as they sell cotton cloth at cost price, they can completely kill these small merchants who only think about going overseas and foreign trade within three years, thereby achieving a monopoly and obtaining complete pricing power.

The reason why Songjiang Ocean Merchant Guild did not do so for so long, or dared not do so, was that the imperial court was afraid that it had become too big for its own good and could be slaughtered.

Sometimes, Songjiang Ocean Merchants had to give up some of their goods on the grounds of having no stock, in order to avoid being regarded by the Songjiang prefect as an unjust merchant who was hoarding and monopolizing goods.

Since the Wanli Reforms, Zhang Juzheng had repeatedly emphasized that the country was plagued by land annexation, which had long formed a new political correctness. In the fields of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, land annexation and monopoly should be suppressed.

(End of this chapter)