Chapter 1056: The word

The large number of Ming people among the captives gave Luo Shangzhi a sense of absurdity.

He had gone to attack Annam, but the majority of those captured were not Annamese. This left Luo Shangzhi with genuine confusion: where did these people come from, who were they, and what were their purposes and motives for attacking the Ming navy?

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

Some matters were better left for the court's ministers to worry about; as a naval Regional Commander, fighting the war clearly was the proper course of action.

Such things were not rare at all. Just as the Japanese pirate scourge in the southeast was not merely Japanese pirates, the Hu Lu incursions were not merely the work of Hu people; there were also Ming people led by Zhao Quan, Qiu Fu, and others who helped Altan Khan devise strategies, build the Bansheng City, and so on.

Zhu Yi handed the victory report in his hand to Li Yougong, letting him pass it around for others to read before he spoke: "Although Gao Panlong's miscellaneous gazette article did not cause any repercussions, I still saw it."

"He is right. This military campaign against Annam is not only to dismantle the Annamese people's own will to resist, but also to prevent others from stealing the fruits of victory, and likewise to prevent these Ming people from colluding in secret to incite the Annamese to resist the Ming."

"The immense profits of maritime trade truly move people's hearts."

Gao Panlong's article had poured a bucket of cold water on the public opinion that was celebrating before victory was even won. Afterward, the Emperor reprinted it in the court gazette and published it throughout the world, which effectively stopped the frenzy of public opinion. Celebrating before the battle was even fought—if they really lost, they wouldn't even be afraid of losing face.

And Gao Panlong's article had been proven correct; there really were some scoundrels who had run off to Annam to act as bandits, even becoming the main force on local battlefields to resist the Ming conquest.

"Eliminating the enemy's will to resist is actually not difficult; the difficulty lies in finding the internal traitors." Qi Jiguang's face was filled with worry. This military campaign against Annam was more complex than he had imagined. He certainly knew that many Ming people had run to Annam, but he had not expected there to be so many.

Swords, guns, and cannons have no eyes; once they were willing to take the battlefield, their stance was already one of life-or-death opposition to the Ming.

Since ancient times, internal traitors have been the most difficult things to deal with.

"I will issue an order to the front lines to inquire how these people ended up in Annam." Zhu Yi keenly noticed the complexity of the situation.

He did not interfere with the operations at the front, but hoped that the front lines could clarify the ins and outs of these people. If it really was as Gao Panlong said, and they fought a bunch of victorious battles with reports of victory flying in, only to end up with a mess in the end, then it would truly have been fought in vain.

Not letting it turn into a disastrous war was Zhu Yi's bottom line for the conflict. When it was time to give up, he would not forcibly urge the war forward for the sake of his own desire for greatness. The dangers of exhausting the country's resources for military expansion had already been explained very clearly by history and the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

Soon, Zhu Yi received memorials from the Viceroy of Liangguang, Liu Jiwen, and the Prefect of Guangzhou, Wan Wenqing, one after another, and the situation became clear.

The reasons for these Ming people going to Annam were very complex, and the most numerous were people from Guangdong.

In the second year of Longqing, Qi Jiguang was ordered to go to Guangdong to suppress the Japanese pirates, but before he could depart, he was transferred to the capital to serve as Regional Commander at Jimen to resist the Hu. The Japanese pirate scourge in Guangdong was not completely quelled until Yin Zhengmao suppressed the pirates at Dianbai Port.

These Guangdong people were those who, when the Japanese pirate scourge was raging, either went out to sea to become sea bandits or went out to sea to the Nanyang.

And this group of people who launched attacks on Gusu Island and the Ming were those of sea bandit origin or their descendants. For example, this time, Lin Mao, the nephew of the pirate leader Lin Daoqian, was captured.

Lin Daoqian became a sea bandit when the Japanese pirate scourge was raging. As the scourge gradually subsided, in the second year of Longqing, Lin Daoqian accepted the court's amnesty and was settled in Chenghai County, Shantou, Guangzhou.

Soon, Lin Daoqian rebelled again, broke through Chenghai County, captured the County Magistrate alive, killed the official, and revolted. Yu Dayou was ordered to suppress him, but Lin Daoqian luckily escaped.

Later, after the Japanese pirate scourge in Guangdong subsided, Lin Daoqian and these Guangdong water bandits gradually disappeared. They vanished from the Ming perspective and began to poison places like Annam and Siam, occupying fertile fields to secure themselves and carving out territories to act as tyrants.

And this Lin Daoqian even went to Siam and became the son-in-law of the Queen of Boni (Cambodia), Latu Biru, serving as the Water Envoy, dominating a region and plundering everywhere.

Lin Daoqian had always let his nephew, Lin Mao, manage his Annamese forces. This time, when the court moved to use force, Lin Mao volunteered to go and block the Ming imperial army.

The source of the ships and weapons also became clear. Lin Daoqian had two shipyards in the Boni Kingdom that could build two-masted small coastal vessels. Although they were small ships to the Ming, to the countries of the Nanyang, they were undoubtedly large ships.

This was where Zhu Yi's expression became complex. In the second year of Longqing, Qi Jiguang returned to the capital and did not go south to Guangdong to suppress the pirates, failing to finish the job cleanly, which led to endless future troubles. The Guangdong pirate scourge continued for several more years; today's fruit was yesterday's cause.

The word "karma" has always been unforgiving.

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

Now, in the Guangdong region, strict inspections have begun. Any merchant who has business dealings with Lin Daoqian must be checked one by one. Anyone who smuggles steel, gunpowder, or other contraband will have only one fate: beheading in public.

"Does this count as an inauspicious start? We haven't even started fighting yet, and we have to clear out internal traitors first." Zhu Yi looked at the memorial and said with a solemn expression.

"Your Majesty, how about this: I will take some agents and go to Guangzhou Prefecture." Li Yougong thought it over and said: "Guangzhou is a place of military danger; if I go, it will save the local officials from being put in a difficult position."

Li Yougong would take agents and also the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Whether it was the Eastern Depot or the Northern Internal Security Division, they were all part of the factory-guard system. They were professionally suited for handling this matter, whereas local officials lacked experience in these things and were easily interfered with by local powerful and wealthy families, making it difficult to accomplish.

After Zhu Yi pondered solemnly, he nodded and said: "You go."

Li Yougong going to Guangzhou Prefecture did not mean there was no one left to serve the Emperor; Zhang Hong could handle the emergency for a short time.

Other things aside, since the war had already begun, they would first win the battle before discussing anything else.

Now that the war had not yet fully unfolded, these things could still be done in time. If they took them seriously now, they could act with ease and composure. If they waited another two months to do these things, it would appear hurried and clumsy.

For the military campaign against Annam, Zhu Yi was stationed in Songjiang Prefecture, but he did not actually need to do much as Emperor. The Ming war machine was operating very well and had been tested by several major battles. Even if they lost, it would not be too ugly, and it would definitely not turn into a farce like Felipe's expedition to England.

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

The first matter was to promote the use of Ming Treasure Notes for trade in the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance; the second was the pricing of goods for the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance.

The first matter was very difficult to realize because, in the eyes of these Viceroyalty councilors, the Ming wanted to exchange their hard-earned silver and other goods for a thin piece of paper, which was truly wishful thinking.

The three Viceroyalties in the East Pacific were not like Japan, which was under the Ming's thumb. Why should they accept Huang Jinbao Notes as currency? The Ming Emperor was acting exactly like the Western Church, selling indulgences!

This matter was led by the Ministry of Rites, with Yao Guangming and Yan Shixuan responsible for pushing it forward. It was very difficult to promote. Although the Viceroyalties established by the Ming—Luzon, Jiugang, Gold Mountain, and Gold Pool—accepted this policy unconditionally, there was great opposition from Mexico, Peru, and Chile.

The situation of these three Viceroyalties was completely different from Luzon. The reason Luzon accepted Treasure Notes as currency was that all their copper was shipped to the Ming, leading to a severe lack of precious metal currency, and the Ming's influence in Luzon was extremely strong, which naturally could promote the circulation of Treasure Notes and ensure they would not be counterfeited, etc.

Mexico and Chile produced silver themselves. Mexico had three silver mine clusters, and Chile had the world's largest silver mountain, the Rich Bai Yin Mountain.

They were not lacking in silver to begin with, and because they acted as middlemen, selling goods to the West, a phenomenon of Western silver flowing back into the colonies was occurring. In the short term, these three Viceroyalties were truly not lacking in silver.

Minting silver coins was not a particularly advanced technology.

The councilors of the Ryukyu Viceroyalty arrived in Songjiang Prefecture together with Yao Guangming and Yan Shixuan, waiting for an audience to inquire about the imperial will.

Zhu Yi did not quite understand this matter and specifically issued an order to the Ministry of Rites to inquire why they wanted to promote the overseas circulation of Huang Jinbao Notes. The answer given by the Ministry of Rites was also very clear: to increase the efficiency of plunder.

Gao Qiyu's meaning was that Huang Jinbao Notes were like water, and the five Maritime Trade Offices for foreign trade were the sluice gates. If there was too much water in the reservoir, they would open the gates to release the flood, rushing it overseas; if there was too little water, they could force the Treasure Notes to flow back by adjusting trade policies.

Between this ebb and flow, wealth would be obtained.

There were many operational tricks here, but they had to take the first step, letting the overseas world generally accept Huang Jinbao Notes as a circulating currency, before they could realize it.

Bai Yin would not work; the cost of silver was too high. Using silver to create tides would take too long, cause too much of a stir, and have too great an impact on the Ming, making it not easy to control. Paper money had no such concerns at all.

The purpose of the Ministry of Rites in doing this was to make Huang Jinbao Notes an important tool for the Ming to plunder overseas wealth.

The Ministry of Rites did not come up with this themselves; it was because Felipe had previously used gold bonds in this way to increase the speed of plunder in the colonies.

The next morning, Zhu Yi finished his morning study, and just as the sky was beginning to brighten, he got up and began to handle the memorials sent in that day. He summoned his ministers to discuss matters that had not been decided the day before. After handling the routine affairs clearly, he summoned Yao Guangming and Yan Shixuan.

"What are you recording?" Zhu Yi noticed Zhang Hong writing and drawing. Li Yougong had taken agents and boarded a ship to Guangzhou Prefecture yesterday afternoon, acting with lightning speed and quick reaction, leaving as soon as he said he would.

Zhang Hong handed the memorandum in his hand to the Emperor and said with a smile: "I am recording the number of times Your Majesty has summoned the ministers. When Feng Banban was still serving before the throne, he was already recording it. Whoever is summoned more often proves they are more qualified to enter the cabinet to listen to orders and handle affairs."

Matters that make the Emperor hesitate and require summoning ministers to discuss must be very thorny and difficult to weigh the pros and cons. This quantitative assessment of the number of times the Emperor summons them became a standard for whether a minister was a pillar of the state, that is, whether they could enter the cabinet.

What could a minister who had never been summoned once accomplish if they entered the cabinet?

Wang Jiaping, Hou Yuzhao, and Gao Qiyu were frequently summoned by the Emperor because many matters required consulting them and handing them over to be handled.

Canceling court discussions was conducive to the centralization of power and conducive to unitary dictatorship.

"This Gao Qiyu is in the Northern Yamen, yet he is still number one." Zhu Yi looked at the number of times, and what each summons was for was recorded above. This could also be considered a method of assessment for ministers.

Gao Qiyu was summoned many times. Even when the Emperor went on a southern tour for three months, Gao Qiyu was still number one. He was summoned a full 34 times, while even Shen Shixing could only rank second, with only 27 times.

Zhu Yi summoned Gao Qiyu mainly for the Dinghai School System. The Ming court's investment in education had already exceeded military spending and would soon even double it. This matter was of great importance, so naturally, he had to summon him many times to inquire in detail.

Before the Emperor's southern tour, the eighteen major academies launched a large-scale loyalty screening. As of June, it was basically completed. More than two hundred academic officials were investigated and dismissed, 129 were convicted, and they were exiled to Liaodong.

These scholar-officials were truly capable of eating the Emperor's rice while cursing the Sage.

And the strict exit policy formulated by the Ming also began to gradually tighten. In the Capital Academy alone, more than three hundred students could not graduate smoothly this year and had to repeat a year. If they failed the exam again, they would be expelled.

A small eunuch walked in and said: "Your Majesty, Councilor Yao and Councilor Yan have arrived."

"Proclaim them."

"We ministers pay our respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years in golden peace." Yao Guangming and Yan Shixuan walked into the Imperial Study and bowed in greeting.

"Sit, sit, sit. You two have worked hard." Zhu Yi motioned for the two to be seated. The scar on Yao Guangming's face was still very conspicuous, but it was not ugly; on the contrary, he was full of integrity.

Yao Guangming and Yan Shixuan were of the same rank, both fourth-rank, but in the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance General Council, Yao Guangming was the chief official and Yan Shixuan was the deputy. Yao Guangming was Yan Shixuan's direct superior, but Yan Shixuan's passive-aggressive nature toward superiors had never been activated against Yao Guangming, or rather, it had never been successfully activated.

The gold content of Yao Guangming as a Great Merit Scholar was still rising.

"Your Majesty, Viceroy Peito has paid off all of this year's loan repayments." After sitting down, Yao Guangming spoke of Viceroy Peito of the Mexico Viceroyalty.

Peito owed the Ming war loans with interest as high as 24%. With such terrifying interest hanging over his head, Peito took this matter very seriously.

Otherwise, for Peito himself and for the Mexico Viceroyalty, it would truly be an endless debt of gratitude to the Ming.

According to the agreement with the Ming, once Viceroy Peito actually controlled two of the three silver mine clusters, the Ming would recognize that Viceroy Peito controlled the situation in Mexico, the state of war would end, and the annual interest rate would be reduced from 24% to 4%. Therefore, after Peito received the five-masted ocean-crossing ships, he began to actively promote the matter of retaking the mine clusters.

Paying back the money that should be repaid this year, including principal and interest, was Peito proving his repayment ability.

"Cabinet Minister Shen told me that debt turns people into slaves, and sure enough, Viceroy Peito was at most a pirate leader in the past, but now that the pressure is on, he has started to look the part." Zhu Yi sighed with emotion at Peito's change.

Peito's dress, temperament, and behavior were all full of pirate flavor, but now Peito finally looked a bit like a Viceroy. He began to actively recover the mine clusters and even encouraged farming and mulberry cultivation in Mexico, building water conservancy projects. He actually listened to suggestions and built a small 60-li canal that could irrigate hundreds of thousands of mu of fertile land.

Behind this, of course, there were Han people giving guidance. Peito had a strategist under his command, a Han person named Zhang Haitian, a native of Shaoxing. This person had a very famous teacher, the Viceroy of the Nagasaki Viceroyalty, Xu Wei.

Xu Wei could be considered the founder of the strategist profession. Zhang Haitian, who had studied under a famous master, arrived at the Mexico Viceroyalty and actively offered suggestions, which actually made Peito look more and more like a Viceroy.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Haitian is the former Maritime Defense Inspector of the Nagasaki Viceroyalty. He went to Mexico under the orders of Viceroy Xu Wei." Yao Guangming said very solemnly. Zhang Haitian was indeed a strategist for Viceroy Peito, but he was still a registered "Duntai Yuan Hou" (Beacon Tower Marquis) of the Ming.

He went to Mexico mainly to collect intelligence.

As for reclaiming wasteland, opening fields, building water conservancy, connecting villages and stockades, repairing bridges and roads, encouraging the foundation of farming and mulberry, communicating with Ming merchants, introducing the "Simple Prescriptions," and opening Han study halls—these were all things done along the way.

Zhang Haitian suggested that Viceroy Peito build an observatory in Yangcheng to observe the stars, but the purpose behind it was to collect Mexico's hydrology, geography, and celestial phenomena.

Peito was not stupid; there was no warmth on the sea, and a fool could not live this long. But Peito still accepted Zhang Haitian's suggestion and built the Yangcheng Observatory.

Peito could not afford the price of being at odds with the Ming, and Mexico could not afford it either. Although the Ming was far away, the Gold Mountain Kingdom was really very close.

"Viceroy Peito promises that 3 million silver will flow into the Ming this year, 500,000 silver more than last year." Yan Shixuan added the promise made to the Ming by the councilor appointed by Peito. 500,000 silver was really not a small amount; it could build an imperial mausoleum for a late emperor. This growth was still because they were backed by the Ming.

Peito only had half a mine cluster in his hands. He had already fought for the ones that were easy to fight, and the rest were all hard nuts to crack. It would definitely not be accomplished overnight for him to get hold of these three mine clusters.

"Peito can be considered to know how to repay kindness." Zhu Yi nodded, affirming the work results of the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance Council. Being able to guarantee an inflow of about 3 million silver every year meant that even if Peito stopped paying back the money, the Ming would not lose anything at all. Every cent he repaid was considered profit for the Ming.

Zhu Yi chatted with Yao Guangming and Yan Shixuan for a long time about the situation of the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance. The most common thing for the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance was to regulate various trade disputes. In these trade disputes, actually, most were plundering and redeeming ships. The Ming's "Maritime Trade Law" was rapidly being perfected.

Plundering behavior was absolutely not allowed. The punitive measure was for the three Viceroyalties to join forces with the Gold Mountain Navy to clear out these sea bandits.

There were also some difficult cases that needed to be dealt with.

The Luzon Viceroyalty had detained three ships from the Chile Viceroyalty for as long as a year. The Chile councilor demanded the release of the ships and compensation for losses, but Luzon insisted on not releasing the ships and even wanted to execute seven of the Chile crew members because there were a full 7,000 jin of opium balls on these three ships.

If it were a quantity of a few jin, it could still be said that the crew members were smuggling private goods, but a full 7,000 jin showed it was a collective act of the ships.

After the Maritime Court belonging to the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance tried this case, it finally determined that Luzon's handling was just, which aroused strong opposition from the Chile councilor.

"Regarding this case, Wang Qian reported it. He did the right thing. Daring to sell opium in Ming territorial waters is just asking for death. For this, the Ming even executed dozens of maritime defense inspectors. These barbarians have arrived in Ming territory, so they must abide by Ming law!" Zhu Yi expressed his attitude as Emperor.

The ships were detained by the maritime defense inspectors, and the people were killed on Wang Qian's insistence.

This judgment made the Chile side very dissatisfied, believing that the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance Council had lost its neutral stance in the council, was completely biased toward the Ming-affiliated Viceroyalties, and discriminated against them, these overseas barbarians, which was why they made such a judgment.

Yao Guangming was a ruthless person; he didn't indulge this Chile councilor at all. He threw all the cases previously judged by the Ming into the councilor's face, telling him that the Maritime Trade Law was stipulated exactly like this.

For merchant ships smuggling opium, one jin meant beheading, and fifty jin meant collective punishment. The Luzon Viceroyalty detaining the ships and beheading the involved crew members was all in compliance with the Maritime Trade Law.

This Chile councilor also wanted to unite with the Mexico councilor and the Peru councilor to resist this bias and injustice, but the Mexico councilor and the Peru councilor ignored him.

Last time, the Spanish envoy Solon was beheaded by the Ming for selling opium, and even Felipe did not entangle it excessively, instead brushing it off as an individual act.

Barbarians are just like this; they will never be reasonable if they can avoid it, but whenever they are reasonable, it is because they have been forced into a corner with no other way.

"Your Majesty, there is one matter where the council has great disagreement. Xiong Tingbi has established Edo City on the Kanto Plain in Japan and wants to join the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance." Yao Guangming spoke of a difficult matter. The difficulty of this matter lay in the fact that Xiong Tingbi had not established effective rule over the Kanto Plain and could not be counted as a Viceroyalty.

There were also standards for Viceroyalties. Without establishing effective rule, he could at most be considered a pioneer. If they approved Edo City joining today, and Xiong Tingbi was driven into the sea by the Japanese tomorrow, would they drive Edo City out? This looked a bit too much like child's play.

The Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance was a very serious diplomatic office of the Ming. Such morning orders and evening changes would only make colleagues laugh.

"That is also true." Zhu Yi thought for a moment and said: "Let him join as an observer for the time being, with a three-year limit. If after three years, Xiong Tingbi is still as stable as Mount Tai on the Kanto Plain, I will establish a new Edo Viceroyalty for him. In this way, he will be justified."

This was a compromise—if he didn't meet the conditions, they could lower the standards a bit and go through the process first.

Edo City joined the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance as an observer, relying on the Emperor's recommendation and credibility. Once Xiong Tingbi failed, it wouldn't be his own face he lost; the Emperor would lose face along with him.

"Regarding the overseas promotion of Huang Jinbao Notes, what do you two think?" Zhu Yi asked about the overseas promotion of Huang Jinbao Notes.

"This..." Yao Guangming and Yan Shixuan looked at each other, their eyes full of difficulty.

Yao Guangming felt that this was a decision made by those big shots in the Ministry of Rites on a whim. Places that had no money to use and were short of money, such as the Ming hinterland, Luzon, and Jiugang, could only use Treasure Notes. Even the Gold Pool Viceroyalty, which was not very short of precious metals, did not use Huang Jinbao Notes.

Wanting to promote Huang Jinbao Notes—if this wasn't wishful thinking by the meat-eaters, what was it?

This was not a problem that two people could solve by thinking of a way; there was simply no way to start.

"Very difficult?" Zhu Yi asked suspiciously.

Yao Guangming nodded and said: "Very difficult. It is wood without roots and water without a source. Viceroyalties like Mexico and Peru simply do not need Treasure Notes. Their silver still has to be sent to the Ming."

Money is something that exists in reliance on goods.

The Ming's productivity caused the scale of goods to be very large, and coupled with the almost non-existent production of precious metals, they had to launch Huang Jinbao Notes for use.

In places with more precious metals and a smaller scale of goods, precious metal currency fully satisfied the needs of use. Promoting paper money was truly, truly very difficult.

"I will tell the Ministry of Rites to suspend the promotion." Zhu Yi realized that the matter could not be accomplished and let the Ministry of Rites suspend the promotion of Huang Jinbao Notes.

Without the conditions for implementation, the result of forced promotion would only be that it would be left unsettled.

Zhu Yi learned in detail from Yao Guangming about the second major event of the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance, regarding the issue of commodity pricing.

Previous trade had always been based on market prices, purchasing at the general market price, but this pricing method had caused the Ming to actually lose money.

The reason was also very simple: the time the great sailing ships arrived at port was exactly when the prices of tea, silk, cotton cloth, wool, etc., were at their lowest. For example, silk: the time when silkworms spun silk in spring and raw silk turned into silk and hit the market was exactly the time when the great sailing ships arrived at port.

Great sailing ship trade was an important export means for the Ming. Once this season arrived, a large amount of goods would continuously pour into the several Maritime Trade Offices, especially pouring into Songjiang Prefecture, piling up in the warehouses at the port, which led to mutual competition and price suppression, resulting in lower prices.

Foreign trade could exchange for real gold and silver, while selling locally in the Ming, the price of goods was not high, and the profit was not large. Sometimes, what they received was still Huang Jinbao Notes. It was no surprise that goods gathered in Songjiang Prefecture.

Everyone likes real gold and silver.

Various reasons led the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance Council to decide to adopt a method of annual average pricing.

"The Songjiang Ocean Trading Firm supports it strongly, but small merchants refuse to agree." Yao Guangming explained the dilemma. It was not just the three Viceroyalties in the East Pacific that opposed it; even small Ming merchants strongly opposed it.

Once annual average pricing was adopted, merchants with small asset scales would have no chance at all.

Why didn't Western merchants order goods from large firms like the Ocean Trading Firm? The price was the same, and the quality was guaranteed. Merchants with smaller scales could only rely on lowering prices and reducing profits a little to exchange for orders.

"In terms of cost, the costs of small merchants are inevitably higher than those of large firms. If they really compete on price, small merchants are even more powerless to resist." Zhu Yi said immediately.

There was a behemoth hidden under the water in Songjiang Prefecture, and that was that monopoly capital was forming.

Taking Sun Kehong's Ocean Trading Firm as an example, as long as they sold cotton cloth at the cost line, they could completely kill off these small merchants who only thought about going to sea and foreign trade as their main focus in just three years, thereby completing a monopoly and obtaining complete pricing power.

For such a long time, the reason the Songjiang Ocean Trading Firm had not done so, and dared not do so, was that it was afraid the court would think this pig was already fat and could be slaughtered.

Sometimes, the Songjiang Ocean Trading Firm had to use the excuse of having no goods to give up some goods to prevent being viewed by the Songjiang Prefect as an unrighteous merchant who ate alone and annexed and monopolized.

Ever since the Wanli Reform began, Zhang Juzheng repeatedly emphasized that the world was plagued by annexation, and a new political correctness had long since formed: in the fields of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, annexation and monopoly must be suppressed.