If you want equality, then show sincerity. As for what sincerity means, watch what the Maritime Merchants Association and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce do and learn from them.

In the side hall of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Zhu Youxiao had already taken his seat, his face expressionless and majestic. Well, it was said that an emperor should be like this, although many emperors in history were not like this.

In Zhu Youxiao's view, no matter how absurd he was, he was still the emperor and no one dared to say anything. But sometimes it was okay to pretend.

Everyone entered the hall and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "Your humble servants (common people) pay their respects to our emperor. Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!"

"No need for formalities, please stand up." Zhu Youxiao's voice echoed in the hall. It was not as clear and crisp as that of a young man, as if he was deliberately holding his voice low.

"Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your great grace." After expressing gratitude, everyone stood up and bowed solemnly.

Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment and slowly said, "What is the purpose of a chamber of commerce? Why should it be established? I believe you have your own ideas, and others have their own answers. From my perspective, I want to explain it to you."

Everyone pretended to listen, but their hearts were restless. They were listening respectfully to the emperor's instructions, but they wondered what the emperor's wishes and conditions were.

"A single tree cannot make a forest, and fighting alone cannot achieve great things. The Chamber of Commerce, as an organization, can complement resources and achieve common development. Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce carries weight. If you encounter difficulties or unfair treatment, you can get help or appeal through the Chamber of Commerce. The difference between seeking help or appealing individually is obvious to you, even without me explaining it."

"I'm sure you all know what righteous business is. The Chamber of Commerce should provide more guidance and encouragement to encourage its members to contribute more, give back to society, and realize their own social value."

"A person's social value lies in their responsibility and contribution to society. Ask yourself: Besides making money and enjoying life, what have you done for the country and the people?"

Zhu Youxiao paused, glanced at the crowd, smiled faintly, and said, "If you don't understand, then read more books. Reading makes people wise. If a person does not make good arguments and leave behind a good cause, and spends the day eating, drinking, and wearing warm clothes with no purpose, how is he different from an animal? Do you know who said this?"

Some people knew the answer, but they didn't dare to answer rashly. Who knows if the emperor did it on purpose? They prepared to ask and answer their own questions, but they couldn't say anything careless.

Zhu Youxiao's gaze slowly shifted, resting on Tang Mo's face. Li Dan, Yan Siqi, and Wu Dazhang most likely didn't know. Jiangnan's literary style flourished. I wanted to test it out.

"Tang Mo, do you know?" This was the first time Zhu Youxiao had seen Tang Mo, and he could only judge him based on his clothes and positions, but his judgment was very accurate.

Being asked this question directly, Tang Mo hesitated for a moment, but seeing the look in Xia Zhongshi's eyes, he quickly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I remember it was said by Su Zhe, one of the Three Su brothers of the Song Dynasty."

Zhu Youxiao nodded slightly, a flicker of admiration crossing his face. Speaking of Su Shi, he must have known a great deal about his poetry and prose; while Su Zhe, while hailed as being as famous as his brother, was known for his prose works, few knew of them.

"That's exactly what Su Che said," Zhu Youxiao said. "You should think about it carefully. And the saying 'Wealth and honor last no more than three generations'—you should also ponder the meaning behind it. It's better to let your descendants suffer a little than to raise them into useless people."

This is really something I think about. The descendants of the current royal family are a living example. They are so happy to be raised as pigs, but they have become useless people who live their whole lives with nothing.

Even businessmen probably hope that their descendants will have a bright future. At least they hope to protect their family property and not squander it all.

Before arriving, officials from the Ministry of Rites had taught everyone basic etiquette. But as the emperor finished his lecture, everyone hurriedly bowed and said, "Your humble servants respectfully listen to your instructions."

Zhu Youxiao raised his hand, and the palace servants led everyone to bow and leave. However, Li Dan, Yan Siqi, Wu Dazhang, Shao Hanliang, Tang Mo, and Xia Zhongshi were left alone.

"Please take a seat." Zhu Youxiao's expression relaxed, and he was ready to give instructions to these business leaders in person.

Rectifying the administration of officials is a long-term task. Before Zhu Youxiao is satisfied, it is a relatively easy way to make merchants self-disciplined through supervision by the chamber of commerce.

Just as the General Chamber of Maritime Merchants has Wu Zheng in charge of supervision and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce has Yang Runmin, the supervisory official of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce is Zheng Zhilong.

The three major chambers of commerce were just the beginning. According to regional divisions, there were already organizations similar to chambers of commerce in the Ming Dynasty, such as the Shaanxi Chamber of Commerce, Shanxi Chamber of Commerce, Huizhou Chamber of Commerce, Jiangyou, Guangdong, etc.

Zhu Youxiao's plan was to start by monitoring the Chamber of Commerce and gradually separate the bureaucrats from the merchants. Officials were officials, and merchants were merchants; the two should not be confused.

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao hoped that industry and commerce could be combined, and hoped that more businessmen could invest their surplus funds in industrial development instead of just engaging in speculation.

Don’t say that there were too few industrial projects in ancient times. If you count anything involving production and manufacturing, including all walks of life, food, clothing, housing and transportation, there are still many things that allow merchants to participate.

The simplest and easiest of all was, of course, textiles. In places like Songjiang, not only were large numbers of people engaged in spinning and weaving, but there were also numerous workshops.

Others may not know the importance of developing industry and commerce, promoting employment, and increasing tax revenue, but Zhu Youxiao is very clear about it.

The traditional agricultural society has reached an era that requires change. To remain unchanged means backwardness, the inability to liberate productivity, and the bottleneck of national strength.

Of course, if we add the duration of the Qing Dynasty in history, if the Ming Dynasty succeeded in prolonging its life and did not perish, it could have survived for at least a hundred years.

But for Zhu Youxiao, this was unacceptable.

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