Daqin: My weak and virtuous minister

After leaving Zhangtai Palace, Zhang Yuanqing took Qin Huali to find Li Si.

The two discussed for a long time before Zhang Yuanqing left.

Li Si started working again with high morale, and he was already busy to begin with, and he was even more busy.

However, Li Si was happy to do it. These were all achievements, and they were great contributions that benefited the people. Since Brother Zhang thought of him, he must be one of his own.

More than half a month later, Li Si came to Zhang's house with the first batch of paper.

"Brother Zhang, great joy, great joy!"

"Has improved paper been made?"

Zhang Yuanqing looked at Li Si holding a big box in his hand, and immediately thought of something. He put down the pen in his hand and walked forward.

"Yes, yes, it was made."

"Let me see."

The paper was as white as jade and had just the right hardness. Zhang Yuanqing was overjoyed and took Li Si to the Zhangtai Palace.

When the King of Qin saw the paper, he felt like he had found a treasure and rewarded everyone on the spot.

"Your Majesty, we can buy paper now."

Zhang Yuanqing knew that the Qin State would have to fight wars for several years in the future, and it would be impossible without money.

"Buy paper?"

Ying Zheng and Li Si both looked at Zhang Yuanqing. Obviously, in their minds, such precious things could only be used by court officials, and they had never thought of selling them.

"Your Majesty, this paper is not expensive to make. If it is only used by court officials, then wouldn't it be uneconomical for us to make it? Naturally, we should sell it for money."

Zhang Yuanqing looked at Ying Zheng and carefully expressed his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, war requires a lot of money. My Qin State values ​​agriculture and commerce, so we don't have much money. When the time comes, recruiting soldiers, forging weapons, which one doesn't require money? And those who can buy paper are all wealthy clans, and they are not short of money. We are all preparing for the great cause in the future."

These words made Ying Zheng's eyes light up.

Li Si also nodded repeatedly.

As long as it doesn’t make money from the people, it’s fine.

"One more thing, Your Majesty, we can use paper to attract talents from all over the world."

Yes, which scholar who gets this paper doesn’t want to know who made it?

Don't you want to come and see it for yourself?

If they controlled the output of paper sales, would those who couldn't buy it find a way to come to Qin?

"The most important point, Your Majesty, is that another Mohist scholar arrived in Xianyang today. I have already had Xiang Liqin and his men begin researching the art of printing. If we can figure it out, we can quickly print books on paper. We can have as many books as we want, which will lower the cost of learning to read and write, giving more people the opportunity to learn. If we have enough gold and silver, we can also establish schools in Qin to teach our people to read and write. We can then use examinations to select talents, and Your Majesty will no longer have to worry about finding talented people. We can then publicize it widely, and the people of the other six kingdoms will know that everyone in Qin can read and write. How can they not yearn for it? He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world, and then our unification will be much smoother."

After saying this in one breath, Ying Zheng and Li Si looked at Zhang Yuanqing in shock for a long time without saying a word.

I never thought that a piece of paper could be used in such a wonderful way.

A genius, a genius of the ages!

The two sighed and began to think about how to cultivate talents.

Wow, this is going against the aristocratic families.

However, when he thought about the future when Qin State would be full of talented people, Ying Zheng felt that everything would be fine.

Shang Yang was able to succeed in his reforms back then, and now Ying Zheng will definitely support Zhang Qing's good policies for governing the country.

Looking at Li Si, the two saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

Dry!

Absolutely do it!

If you succeed, it will be a feat that will be remembered forever.

Li Si insisted on getting involved no matter what.

"color!"

"color!"

"My king, although the current situation is good, we cannot rush. Let's take it step by step."

"Your Majesty, I second your proposal. This matter requires careful consideration."

"Of course." Ying Zheng said with high spirits, feeling that the unification of the six kingdoms was just around the corner.

The next morning

"Yesterday, Mr. Zhang brought me some newly made paper. Please take a look, everyone."

After Ying Zheng finished speaking, Zhao Gao took the paper and distributed it to the three dukes and nine ministers.

This time the paper is obviously finer and more resilient than the ones I have seen before. Everyone can’t put it down and can’t wait to take it home and write a few words on it.

"Your Majesty, now that the paper has been manufactured, I am ready to start selling it."

"sell?"

"Please save some for me, my Lord. I will go to your house to buy some after I leave the court."

"Please save some for me too."

"And me, I want it too."

Among all the ministers in the court, except for a few military generals who didn't pay attention, Zhang Yuanqing was instantly overwhelmed by the crowd.

"Ahem, ahem, please don't be anxious, gentlemen. Ahem, please let go, let go."

Zhang Yuanqing coughed a few times because you and I pulled him.

Ying Zheng suppressed his anger and said, "Silence."

What if I hurt Zhang Qing? How will you compensate me? Your stupid brains?

"Is Zhang Qing okay?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm fine." Zhang Yuanqing straightened his clothes, which had been torn and messed up. "I didn't expect you gentlemen to be so welcoming."

"Don't worry, everyone. We have sufficient paper in stock. I have already selected a shop that will open today. You can go to the shop to make some purchases after you leave the court."

"I have one more thing to report."

"allow."

"Your Majesty, now that paper has begun to be sold, although I am in charge, all the proceeds will go to the national treasury. Therefore, we should also add a decree to regulate this situation."

"I second the proposal."

As a Legalist, Li Si quickly stood up and other people in the court also responded quickly.

Very good. Changes start small, day by day. If we add a law today, we can remove one tomorrow. Gradually, the laws of the Qin Dynasty will become more and more humane.

Zhang Yuanqing nodded in satisfaction, keeping his achievements and fame to himself.

"Your Majesty, I think we should add a rule regarding paper: private individuals cannot sell it at will, and can only buy it from designated places."

Right Prime Minister Wei Zhuang spoke.

When this statement was made, many people agreed with it.

Ying Zheng was also very satisfied and immediately agreed and ordered it to be included in the law.

"Then how should those who violate this law be dealt with?"

"Your Majesty, I believe he should be beheaded."

"Your Majesty, I second your proposal. If the amount sold is huge, the family members should be implicated."

!!!

Zhang Yuanqing was stunned when he heard this.

Is it so serious! ?

Isn’t it just a few pieces of paper?

Too exaggerated?

Ying Zheng naturally also saw Zhang Yuanqing's shock and found it funny.

"Zhang Qing, what do you think?"

Zhang Yuanqing suppressed his shock and said seriously, "I think beheading is too severe. Let's change it to a fine. That way, the gold and silver from the fine can also be used to replenish the national treasury. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

"Besides, paper is supposed to benefit the people. If it leads to too much killing, it would be bad. It would also hinder our ability to attract scholars from all over the world."

Although Ying Zheng was satisfied, he did not express his opinion and instead asked, "What do you think?"

"I second the proposal."

Obviously, the king was satisfied. Although the punishment was a little light, the fine could be set higher.