It's no wonder that Joo Yoon-young is so domineering; it's simply because he wants to maximize his profits—it's that simple.

Tea, silk, and ironware from the Ming Dynasty were incredibly popular and sought-after overseas, naturally commanding high prices. If the court hadn't imposed so many restrictions, many people would have flocked to this field.

These people also know that some not-so-precious items can generate dozens of times the profit once shipped overseas. They don't care about scarcity marketing or price protection. They only see the profits and are even willing to wage price wars.

They don't care if others lose money or the imperial court doesn't make any.

Zhu Yunying cared about these things; he didn't want the good things of the Ming Dynasty to be sold cheaply. The higher the price, the better; the more sought-after, the better. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty's products were of high quality and lacked market competition, so they could naturally do exclusive business.

Whether a merchant is unscrupulous or not, Zhu Yunying truly didn't care, nor did he need to concern himself with such details. All he needed was to maximize profits and ensure the court could better control things.

"As I said before, all goods entering and leaving the Maritime Trade Office are supplied and sold by merchants," Zhu Yunying said calmly, adding, "Don't bring up the matter of competing with the people for profit again. If the court truly wanted to compete with the people for profit, it wouldn't allow merchants to do these things. Don't be too greedy; that's not a good thing!"

Regardless of the dissatisfaction of his civil and military officials, Zhu Yunying would not compromise on certain matters, nor would he be swayed by a few words from some people.

Ultimately, what Zhu Yunying demanded was the maximization of benefits, not the benefit being obtained by a very small number of people, which was clearly something Zhu Yunying could not tolerate.

Xu Huizu stepped forward at this moment and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. Although maritime trade is very profitable, it is also extremely dangerous. The sea is extremely rough, and large ships often capsize. Furthermore, there are still pirates and Japanese pirates who harass us. If the court cannot send out its navy, the money and goods will be difficult to keep safe."

This has prompted some to criticize, arguing that Xu Huizu is clearly pandering to the emperor. Of course, other business ventures also involve risks, but it's not like they can't survive without a naval force.

Zhu Yunwen didn't care about any of that and simply said, "I think you people have lost your conscience! The Maritime Trade Office is a property of the imperial treasury and the imperial family. You previously said that the imperial family was treated too well. If the Maritime Trade Office is taken away, how will the imperial family live? Do you want His Majesty to bear the reputation of mistreating the imperial family?"

This is yet another case of sophistry. These people say that the emperor is competing with the people for profit, and Zhu Yunwen says that these people are trying to tarnish the emperor's reputation.

In reality, Zhu Yunwen's actions weren't entirely problematic; taking care of the imperial clan was something an emperor should do. The treatment of the Ming dynasty's imperial clan had declined considerably compared to 'before,' which many civil officials considered a victory.

After all, during the reign of the retired emperor, the Ming Dynasty's imperial family received unprecedented preferential treatment. Their 'struggle' resulted in a victory—a victory over the imperial family and a forced concession from the imperial power.

But if they start clamoring to seize the Maritime Trade Office at this time, do they really think the imperial clan has no power at all?

Moreover, the Maritime Trade Office also has a considerable number of military officers, who look down on civil officials. If things really escalate, the military officer group will definitely fight back with all their might.

When that time comes, many civil officials will likely suffer serious losses. Inevitably, fierce clashes will erupt in the imperial court.

In reality, while the senior civil officials remained silent, those who did speak out did not voice much opposition. Moreover, many people were likely already aware of the true nature of the Maritime Trade Office.

This wasn't just the property of the imperial family, nor was it solely the domain of military merit; the imperial court also held a significant share. At most, it simply meant that merchants and powerful families were squeezed out, preventing them from monopolizing the lion's share of the profits.

Forget about any opposition, because these people simply don't have the power to deal with these behemoths.

Since the civil service group is not powerful enough right now, they should not have any messy thoughts and should focus on doing things well. That is what they should be doing.