My father is Jiajing

Chapter 283 The Thoughts of Emperor Jiajing

After hearing what Huang Jin said, Emperor Jiajing chuckled.

Emperor Jiajing sighed and said, "San'er's idea is good, but the Yongle Encyclopedia is all-encompassing, with 11,095 volumes. I asked the Hanlin Academy to copy it for several years, but they have only copied less than one-third of it. If you want this book to become a famous book in the world, it is simply a fantasy."

Huang Jin handed over a towel that had just been wrung out, and said, "Yes, that's what I told Prince Yu at the time, but Prince Yu said it wasn't that complicated, and we just needed to think of a way to work around it."

When Emperor Jiajing heard what Huang Jin said, he immediately became interested. "What kind of workaround did San'er come up with?"

Huang Jin continued, "Prince Yu suggested that the court should set up a Daming Bookstore similar to a private bookstore, and let Daming Bookstore recruit some booksellers who are good at management and business, and let them arrange some movable type printing workers and some workers who are good at adjusting the plates, and divide the original complex set of "Yongle Encyclopedia" into multiple batches and categories, and simply copy and print them to produce a more general catalogue."

"Even if it's just a catalog, it can make a lot of money. And the Yongle Encyclopedia has more than 10,000 volumes. Even if only 10 to 20 volumes of simplified printed versions are published each year, they can still sell for hundreds of years."

As soon as Huang Jin finished speaking, Emperor Jiajing also laughed, "What on earth is wrong with this San'er's head? How can he have so many wonderful ideas? And he can even make so much money? It really broadens my horizons. But you still have to talk to him. As a prince, you should study these business techniques less and focus more on employing and governing people, and learn more serious principles from Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng."

Huang Jin was shocked when he heard this. What did the Emperor mean by this? Was he going to establish a crown prince?
Otherwise, why would he ask Prince Yu to do so?
Huang Jin replied in a low voice: "I will remember this."

Then Huang Jin respectfully reached out and took the towel that Emperor Jiajing had just used to wipe his face.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing said again: "The idea of ​​Daming Book Bureau is good, but it is also difficult. The Yongle Encyclopedia is not just a set of books, but also a national treasure stored in the Wenyuan Pavilion Hanlin Academy. Even if I want to make some money with it, I guess those Hanlin scholars will not agree. If the news leaks out, it may stir up a hornet's nest. How can a national grand ceremony be tainted with the smell of money? Isn't this an insult to the saints?"

"Remember to tell San'er again that he must not mention this matter to anyone else. Once people know that he wants to use the Yongle Encyclopedia to make money, it will not be a good thing for him."

Emperor Jiajing was much more experienced than most people in looking at things. He was very aware of the importance of the Yongle Encyclopedia. This set of books could gather dust in the Wenyuan Pavilion or be used as table legs in the Hanlin Academy, but it could not be used as a money-making tool.

Because once it has actual value, it will become a sacred object in the mouths of scholars. Since it is a sacred object, how can it be tainted by the lowly business methods?
Therefore, Emperor Jiajing immediately rejected Zhu Zaigui's idea of ​​using the Yongle Encyclopedia to open a Ming Bookstore to make money.

However, after rejecting the suggestion of making money from the Yongle Encyclopedia, Emperor Jiajing was still somewhat interested in the Daming Bookstore.

Emperor Jiajing asked again: "What does San'er think of this Daming Bookstore? You know, the book business is not that easy to do. For many books, it takes a lot of effort just to make a printing mold."

"In addition, paper and ink are expensive, and books are also very valuable. An average book costs about one or two taels of silver. Apart from wealthy scholars who buy books, the rest of the poor people just copy them to read.

"So it's hard for this bookstore to make money. It's not like the Yiran candies and Bingxin candies that he promoted. These candies are gone once you eat them, so people who like them will naturally continue to buy them. But books are different. After reading a book once, you can read it over and over again. It's not like the Yiran candies that are gone once you read them."

Huang Jin said: "The emperor is right. I told Prince Yu the same thing at that time. But Prince Yu seems to have other tricks. He said that books can be made into ordinary and fine editions, and some can even be made into collector's editions. In addition, each book will be given a special publishing number so that book buyers can verify that their books are genuinely published by Daming Bookstore." "This will allow book lovers to get a certain quality guarantee and psychological satisfaction. Secondly, it will promote the cultural dissemination of Daming, give more excellent books and works a chance to be displayed, and allow more readers to see more wonderful articles and stories."

"I am a stupid person. When I heard these words, I didn't really understand what Prince Yu meant. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Huang Jin gave the topic back to Emperor Jiajing. Some of the words were new words that Zhu Zaigui accidentally came up with when talking to Huang Jin, but fortunately these new words were easy to understand and the meaning was known after listening, so Huang Jin just said them out loud.

After Emperor Jiajing heard Huang Jin's words and this question, he also showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"San'er's idea is brilliant. One book is divided into three different grades, and the order is specially arranged. What is it called?"

Huang Jin immediately responded, "Publication number."

"Yes, yes, the publication number. This is a great idea. It's equivalent to having the imperial court's certification, which shows the value of this book. If you really print and sell books this way, you might be able to make some money. But this money is just a small profit, so there's no need to bother. If San'er really wants to do it, let him do it, but remember not to touch the Yongle Encyclopedia."

Finally, Emperor Jiajing added this sentence. He was really worried that Zhu Zaigui did not know his place at the beginning. If the "Yongle Encyclopedia" irritated some old-fashioned and conservative people, it would be a waste of time.

Huang Jin was delighted when she heard that Emperor Jiajing had approved this matter. She bowed to the Emperor and said, "Yes, I will tell Prince Yu the good news right away."

"and many more."

At this time, Emperor Jiajing stopped Huang Jin again. He thought for a while and said, "How about this? We can't do this secretly. We have to do it openly. You go and draft an edict later. Say that I want to re-establish the Hongwenguan and let Prince Yu preside over all the affairs in the Hongwenguan. I will also set up the Daming Book Bureau under the Hongwenguan, which is responsible for collecting and publishing the authentic versions of the imperial court's laws and regulations, as well as excellent folk legends and stories, etc."

"This will help to correct the cultural heritage of the Ming Dynasty and promote the literary style of the Ming Dynasty! As for the actual candidates for the job." Emperor Jiajing thought for a while and said, "I think the two young men, Li Chunfang and Zhao Zhenji, are good. Let's arrange them to work under the Hongwen Academy. I want to see if Saner can manage the balance between them and Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng before."

"This can be considered as a small exercise for him, to see if he can manage so many people."

Emperor Jiajing now truly had high hopes for Zhu Zaigui. Even the imperial physicians dared not guarantee anything about Prince Jing Zhu Zaizhen, so Emperor Jiajing could not help but think pessimistically that Prince Jing was most likely ruined and might even have difficulty having an heir in the future.

Therefore, he may only have Zhu Zaigui as his only child, so he must be well cared for and trained, and allowed to train early, so that he will not be deceived by these scholars who are smart to the core in the future.

(End of this chapter)