"How many of the barbarian ships in Ningbo are manned by foreigners, Japanese, and how many by coastal scholars and local tyrants?"
Upon hearing such queries from the governor, Shi Wende trembled uncontrollably, overwhelmed with fear. As a member of the maritime merchants, he actually knew the answer to this question. It was "Out of ten pirate ships, seven are fake Ming ships," "Out of ten sea ships, nine use unverifiable validations!"
Yet behind the distribution of the Ningbo Port sea trade profits, thirty percent goes to the Middle Officer managing the Market Department, forty percent to the local aristocratic families, twenty percent to the sea lords managing transportation, and ten percent to the Japanese merchants providing validation, without even a fraction handed over to the court!
