Victory in foreign wars will win the emperor's favor, after all, it is a matter of great importance to the safety of the country.

Since the imperial guards were all close confidants of the emperor, they were bound to compete for credit.

Luo Yangxing was carrying out the imperial order, so he naturally knew how important the emperor was to this mission. How could he not put all his energy into it and strive to complete the task perfectly?

Moreover, his father is only a few years away from retirement, and if nothing unexpected happens, the next commander will be chosen between him and Liu Qiao.

This business trip was a perfect opportunity for him to perform well and surpass Liu Qiao.

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The wealthy merchants in Jiangnan and the Eight Great Merchants were two big targets that Zhu Youxiao had long aimed at.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards targeted the eight major locust merchants because their affairs involved military and national affairs, as well as foreign wars.

The wealthy merchants in Jiangnan were under the charge of the East Factory, and Wang Guozhong was sent to the Jiangning Weaving Factory to serve as an informant to monitor the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan.

The wealthy merchants in Jiangnan did not sell out their country, but they were blood-sucking worms attached to the body of the Ming Dynasty.

Their lawlessness and infiltration caused the Ming Dynasty to suffer financial hardship and political corruption. They were also the main culprits in the collapse of the Ming Dynasty from within.

Supporting the maritime merchant group headed by Li Dan and Yan Siqi and Wu Dazhang's Tongzhou merchant group was not only to increase the court's income, but also to block the financial paths of the locust merchants and the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, and weaken their economic strength.

The pie is so small, and competition in the business world is far more intense than it appears. The success or failure of a business group depends on the support of the upper echelons.

When Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, Zhang Siwei and others were in power, Shanxi merchants developed rapidly through border trade;

When Donglin officials occupied the court, the Jiangnan Merchant Corps grew in power, intervened in maritime trade, and successfully blocked the Shanxi merchants' attempts to interfere in maritime trade.

Zhu Youxiao brought the maritime merchant group under his control and made it relatively independent, which effectively cut off the financial resources of the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan. Although they could still sell their goods to the maritime merchants, how could they make as much profit as if they controlled the goods directly?

Even so, Zhu Youxiao would not stop. Because of the commercial tax, he was full of malice towards the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, and he hated officials who colluded with or joined the merchant group.

But after careful investigation and analysis, Zhu Youxiao had to express his admiration for the shrewdness of the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, and he also realized that in order to deepen the reform, he could not rush into it.