Moreover, in order to save on grain transportation costs, merchants recruited a large number of farmers to open up wasteland and cultivate land near border towns, which also enriched the empire's borders and promoted the development of border areas.

However, any good policy will inevitably have problems after being implemented for a long time, and the same is true for "Tailing in Opening the Country".

Due to the huge profits from the salt trade, a large number of royal relatives, nobles and officials participated in it, using their power to seize salt permits. The royal family also played a bad role, using salt permits as a means of reward.

As a result, salt permits were overspent, and the salt fields did not have enough salt to withdraw, so fewer and fewer merchants engaged in the Kaizhong salt business, and the Kaizhong system was thus destroyed.

The rise of Shanxi businessmen was due to their first pot of gold coming from "taxing grain and opening up the market".

In addition to normal operations, they also used bribery and other means to spend a small amount of money and obtain salt permits without transporting grain, which was similar to the nature of the encroachment by the powerful.

Therefore, when the news of the border trade license spread, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu and others became restless, but the leader Fan Yongdou remained relatively calm.

In his view, policy is not about how it is formulated, but how it is implemented. Whether the original intention of the imperial court is implemented and carried out in the local areas, or whether it will deviate from the original intention, is a profound matter.

"But many of the border generals and local officials have been replaced now, so it may not be easy to establish a relationship with them." Wang Dengku shook his head slightly, not very optimistic about this.

Jin Liangyu laughed and said, "I don't believe that it can be strict for a while and can last for a long time."

Fan Yongdou nodded in agreement and said, "Your Majesty is young, so it's understandable that he's a bit impatient. Our current shortcoming is that we have no one in the court, or rather, no senior officials with enough weight to speak for us."

In the early Wanli period, those who supported Zhang Juzheng's reforms, such as Wang Chonggu, Zhang Siwei, Yang Bo, Wang Guoguang, Ma Ziqiang, etc., were all officials from Shanxi.

These people hold great power in the court, and Shanxi merchants have a protective umbrella, which allows them to grasp the court's trends at the first time and make the best choices and countermeasures.

When Zhang Juzheng died of illness and the reckoning with him began from top to bottom, Zhang Siwei quickly turned from a reformist to an anti-Zhang faction, and his businessman face was clearly revealed.

From this, it can be seen that there is no such thing as supporting reform. These bastards who are both officials and businessmen are all after official positions, power, and the accumulation of wealth for their families.

In today's court, Shanxi businessmen do lack representatives.

Originally, Jiangnan's merchants and gentry would have prospered thanks to the Donglin Party's dominance, but the emperor didn't give them this opportunity. With a series of fierce moves, the Donglin and the three factions were completely reduced to idiots without being noticed.

On the contrary, after being heavily fined, the Tongzhou merchant group has emerged as a new force. Not only has it gained the convenience of the canal, it also holds the exclusive right to sell domestic silver mirrors. Now it has also entered the logistics and border trade business.

Of course, the Tongzhou Merchants have now changed their name to the "Daming Chamber of Commerce." Judging from the new name, their thinly veiled ambitions are clear: they're going to dominate the world and conquer the south and the north!

Fan Yongdou looked around at everyone in the room, raised a finger, and emphasized in a deep voice, "Minjue, the most urgent thing is to obtain a Minjue, so that we can compete with the Tongzhou Merchants. Otherwise, we will be inferior to them face to face, so how can we compete?"

That’s right, Wu Dazhang finally got what he wanted. Before rushing to Zhangjiakou to carry out the “imperial mission”, he obtained the title of “civil noble”, the third in the Ming Dynasty, a few days earlier than Huang Cheng.

This widened the gap in status. No matter how powerful the Shanxi merchants once were, it was a thing of the past. Now, no high-ranking official dared to come out and support them.

"Now..." Jin Liangyu shook his head and sighed, "Isn't it too late?"

Huang Yunfa also frowned and said, "The titles of the people are all granted by His Majesty. Even if we want to, we have nothing to do with it!"

Fan Yongdou gave a wry smile and said, "I know it's difficult, but I have to try. Even if we can't get the license this year, what about next year? Are we just going to give up foreign trade?"

Glancing at the contemplative crowd again, Fan Yongdou continued, "If you carefully study the individuals bestowed upon them by His Majesty, you'll find some clues. First, they're wealthy, second, they're willing to help the court, and third, they're effective in their duties."

Huang Yunfa nodded slightly and said, "Is this the 'righteous businessman' mentioned in the newspaper?"

Fan Yongdou nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, it's Yishang. As far as I know, some wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan are also eyeing Minjue, but I don't know how they plan to do it."

"No matter what they do, we should first establish the rules." Jin Liangyu seemed to see hope and cheered up.

Wang Dengku scratched his head and said, "Alright. I think this is a solution. It's better than doing nothing."

Outside the Fan Mansion, several pairs of vigilant eyes were staring at the main door and the back door, paying attention to the people coming in and out.

"Fan Dafu, the elder of the Fan family, currently the housekeeper." A Jinyiwei pointed and reported to the leader, "The guy we just brought in is a Mongolian. He has been in and out of the border several times. He must be an enemy spy."

Luo Yangxing nodded and said solemnly, "We have received instructions from above to place an undercover agent in the Fan residence to obtain evidence of his treasonous activities and to wait for an opportunity to implement a counter-espionage plan. We need to investigate this Fan Dafu thoroughly first to see if he can be used for our purposes."

"I understand," the Imperial Guard agreed, a hint of a sneer on his face. "Fan Dafu's concubine just gave birth to a son, and he loves him like a treasure..."

Luo Yangxing laughed twice and patted the Jinyiwei on the shoulder to show encouragement and appreciation.

The East Factory was responsible for internal affairs, the Pacification Office was responsible for external affairs, and the Emperor's arrangement was very clear. Although there were times of overlap, the general direction would not change.

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