Su Jingyuan was a newly wealthy businessman in the south of the Yangtze River, mainly engaged in silk and porcelain trade. He suffered heavy losses due to repeated plunder by Japanese pirates and restrictions on overseas trade by the imperial court. He knew that it would be difficult to achieve a breakthrough through land-based business alone, and that the people along the coast were suffering from Japanese pirates, so he was determined to break through the predicament. Su Jingyuan relied on his keen business acumen and strong financial resources to secretly contact like-minded businessmen, retired sailors and craftsmen, secretly build ships, recruit personnel, and form a private navy. In the process, he not only had to deal with the suspicion and suppression of the court and the extortion of officials, but also had to deal with Japanese pirates and Western merchant ships. Using business strategies and military wisdom, he defeated Japanese pirates many times, protected merchant ships, and gradually strengthened the navy. He also persuaded some court officials to support the opening of overseas trade, which ultimately promoted changes in the maritime structure of the Ming Dynasty, gained more rights for private merchants, and restored peace to coastal areas.
