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On the streets of Dacheng, the bookstores of the Zhejiang He family in the capital have all put up new books with detailed explanations of sketching techniques!

Because the He family of Zhejiang Province has its roots in the south, although the Heyuan Academy has always been an industry in the capital and has gradually taken root in the capital, because it is an industry of a scholarly family, books and paintings are high-end items that ordinary people cannot afford, so the store is not very large.

The calligraphy and painting meeting was a big hit yesterday. In order to take advantage of this wave of popularity, the people of the He family in Zhejiang Province worked all night to print 5,000 copies of the book "Detailed Explanation of Sketching Techniques".

In addition to giving the five thousand copies as gifts to famous people and famous writers, there were not enough copies to be distributed among various bookstores for sale. Large stores might get two hundred copies, while ordinary bookstores only got a dozen or twenty copies.

Those who knew that the bookstore would have detailed explanations of sketching techniques would be sold there today, including those from wealthy families, lined up early in the morning. Some of them waited for several hours without even seeing what the detailed explanations of sketching techniques were about!

Fatty Luo was talking about yesterday's poetry and painting gathering, which had attracted a large crowd. Many scholars crowded into the Fanyun Teahouse, firstly to hear about the grand event and gather with like-minded people, and secondly because they heard that Luo Dabiao had won ten books on detailed sketching techniques!

Everyone was chattering about the grand occasion of yesterday's poetry and painting meeting. Some were talking loudly about poetry, so Fatty Luo could only raise his voice.

"What's that? I met the princess and the prince yesterday, and I even spoke to the princess!" A loud voice came from the crowd, and everyone's attention was drawn to it.

"Is this true?! Who are the prince and princess to see a poor scholar like you?"

No one believed him. The scholar was quite tall and saw that no one believed him, so he immediately recited the poem describing the drought in the northwest.

The scorching sun burns the nine provinces like flames, the clouds hide the wind and the water is difficult to flow.

The fields are cracked and the crops are withered, the wells are dry and people are worried.

The distant mountains are vast and without green, and the nearby water is dry, reflecting the autumn sky.

We pray for rain earnestly and burn incense, hoping for a downpour to relieve the drought.

I recited it word for word, but I just couldn't get the feeling of it.

Everyone was shocked when they heard him recite the poem. One reason was that he looked fierce and had a strong body but a good memory, the other was that he was so well-written!

Seeing that everyone believed him, the tall scholar said proudly, "Yesterday I discussed this poem with the princess! The princess even said that digging a canal to divert water could alleviate the drought in the northwest!"

This statement was shocking and everyone was talking about it.

"Digging a canal to divert water?! This has never happened before!"

"You know what? If we really dig a canal to divert the floodwaters from the Anxi River, it might actually be useful!"

"The Anxi River runs through Dacheng from east to west. During the rainy seasons of summer and autumn, the river surges rapidly, and the people along the riverbanks suffer terribly. What the princess said is indeed true."

"Digging a canal to divert water? You're crazy! Don't you see how far the Anxi River is from the northwest? This is a waste of money and effort. The people are already suffering, and I'm afraid they're just going to increase taxes again! How can the people survive?"

Everyone was talking at once, and some people started cursing at each other after failing to gain a conclusion, and the situation suddenly got out of control.

Luo Dabiao was sweating profusely. He hadn't even finished his poetry and painting speech yet, and these people weren't even interested in listening!

"Everyone! Be patient, I have ten books with detailed explanations of sketching techniques..."

A scholar stepped forward and slapped a silver ingot. "You are a bunch of brainless Confucian scholars. You don't understand that digging a canal to divert water is a matter of immediate benefit for generations to come, yet you are here slandering the princess and the prince. You are so short-sighted! I am too lazy to argue with you. Luo Dabiao, bring me a book!"

When Luo Dabiao saw the silver ingot, he couldn't stop smiling, and with a flattering look on his face, he handed over a book with detailed instructions on sketching techniques.

This time, Mr. He from Zhejiang Province was selling "Detailed Instructions on Sketching Techniques" at a fair price. He had originally intended to sell the ten books he had obtained through backdoor channels at twice the price, but he didn't expect that the first one would be sold for one hundred taels of silver!

The scholar took the book, flicked his sleeves and left angrily.

When everyone saw Luo Dabiao started selling books, they stopped arguing and began to pay. With the opening price of one hundred taels per book, the people behind him were so fierce in grabbing the books that the last book was sold for six hundred taels!

After buying the books, the scholars continued to discuss the method of digging canals to divert water, and they argued so fiercely that their faces turned red.

Luo Dabiao sat on the stage, his eyes narrowed into slits with a smile. "I'm rich, I'm rich!" I never thought that after all my hard work, I, Luo Dabiao, would finally get to this day! I must pay more attention to the Yong'an Palace in the future, especially the Princess Yong'an! She's a cash cow!

The quarrel on the street and the matter of digging a canal to divert water soon reached the palace. Zhu Shengyuan massaged Bei Zhenming's shoulders while describing the intense scene in Fan Yun's teahouse.

"Your Majesty, this Wang Dabiao is truly despicable. He paid six hundred taels for a book that cost two taels of silver. This is truly outrageous!"

Bei Zhenming didn't think so. He flipped through the detailed explanation of sketching techniques in his hand and felt that it would not be too much to sell the book for one thousand taels.

"Digging canals to divert water... I didn't know Luo Yao was so smart..." Bei Zhenming sighed. He felt that it was a mistake to grant Bei Zhenting and Luo Yao a marriage. Luo Yao's abilities could be used to great effect in officialdom. He would be much more useful than those stubborn old ministers!

As the two were talking, a young eunuch entered the study and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Yong'an requests an audience."

Bei Zhenming stretched lazily. "He's finally here! I thought Qinxi would have to write this memorial until tomorrow! Hurry and call him in!"

After a while, Bei Zhenting entered the Longxin Hall and presented a memorial to the emperor proposing to dig a canal to divert water.

Bei Zhenming flipped through the memorial. It had several red ink markings on it. If it wasn't Bei Zhenting's handwriting, it must have been the princess's. The handwriting was a bit sloppy, but the characters were beautiful. It was just that some of the explanations were hard to understand.

When encountering a mountain, we have to cut through it. What is this gunpowder?

Bei Zhenming frowned.

Bei Zhenting looked over and touched his nose. He had no idea what it was...

"Well, Bei Qinxi, you can't even do anything?" Bei Zhenming looked at Bei Zhenting with annoyance.

"Brother, I asked, isn't it written here? One stone, two nitrates, three charcoal..."

Bei Zhenting still didn't know what gunpowder was. He'd seen Luo Yao write this with a nonchalant expression, as if he knew it all. Bei Zhenting, concerned about his reputation, figured it might be a folk formula he didn't know, so he didn't ask.

Bei Zhenming shook the two treasonous poems in his hand and said, "Those rumors about diverting water and opening canals were spread by your princess. You must shut them up immediately to prevent the people from panicking. And get me some gunpowder!"

Bei Zhenting accepted the appointment with a bow. Before leaving, Bei Zhenming said, "Find out who wrote this poem for me too!"

Bei Zhenting is gone.

Only Bei Zhenming and Zhu Shengyuan were left in Longxin Hall.

"Your Majesty is looking for this poet, could it be..."

Bei Zhenming held his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache. "Those stubborn and sour scholars in the palace, all they do is oppose this and that day after day. I'm getting more and more annoyed with them!"

Zhu Shengyuan originally thought that the emperor was going to find this man and kill him, but he didn't expect that he was going to replace the old ministers in the court. He felt a little scared. He was also old and talked to the emperor the most on weekdays. Would the emperor also... Thinking of this, Zhu Shengyuan massaged his shoulders more frequently.

He doesn't want to leave His Majesty!