A vast Radiance, with the exception of the Dongyang District, merchants in other areas are nearly all of low social status and at the bottom of society. Although merchants are quite capable of making money, unless they own production materials like factory owners, they have little armed protection for their property.
Most people in Radiance would rather call merchants the 'property managers' of officials and the nobility, as merchants must seek the protection of rulers to survive. It is extremely rare for merchants like those in Dongyang District, who control production materials and overturn the ruling class, to rise from the bottom to the top, making everyone believe that the current rulers in Dongyang are the worst in history.
Therefore, few students at the Imperial Academy think of becoming merchants. If they want money, why not just become officials or generals? Having power inevitably leads to wealth, doesn't it?
