The first poisonous scholar in Daxia, starting from the abdication of the prime minister

Chapter 345 Layout——Ministry of Industry**!

After leaving the palace, Gu Jingzhi had someone drive a carriage to **'s house.

Before he left for the palace, he asked someone to deliver a visiting card. When Gu Jingzhi was about to come, ** felt a little strange, but mostly happy!

He now holds the position of Vice Minister of Works, and since it is the end of the year, he does not need to go out, so he has been staying in the capital all this time.

After arriving at Chen's residence, ** was already standing at the door to greet him. Seeing Gu Jingzhi's carriage parked at the door, he walked forward cheerfully and said, "My Lord, your presence truly brings honor to my humble abode!"

The two had a good relationship when they were in Ningzhou, so there was no need for excessive formalities.

"Brother Chen, why are you still guarding the door?"

"Haha! Thinking that the palace gates would soon close and Marquis Gu would have to leave the palace, I just stood here for a while!"

** smiled and said, "This is the first time the Marquis has come to visit me. My mansion is usually quiet, so I was afraid of neglecting him, so I left early!"

"..."

My goodness, is the residence of you, the Minister of Works, still quiet?

I’m afraid that others would want to break through the threshold, but you didn’t give way to them, right?

But he also knew that this was just an excuse, so he laughed and said, "Brother, there's no need to be so polite in our friendship. If you act like this every time, I won't dare to come to your house next time!"

"Uh!"

** was stunned, and a warm feeling surged in his heart.

In the capital, only Gu Jingzhi and a few others spoke to him sincerely, and among these people, Gu Jingzhi had the highest status.

"My Lord, please enter the mansion first!"

……

**'s family's banquet was rich but simple, without any pomp. He and his two sons were the only ones who accompanied him. After eating and drinking, ** knew that Gu Jingzhi had come for an important matter.

So, he said with a smile, "Only after returning to the capital did I learn that the Marquis was fond of calligraphy. In my early years, I accidentally came across a piece of calligraphy by the great master Liu Yuan. Would you like to have it appreciated?"

"That feeling is good!"

Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "I also longed for this authentic work of Master Liu Yuan, but I never had the chance to own one. I never thought you would have one at home!"

"Ha ha!"

** smiled and said, "It's a coincidence, a coincidence... Since the Marquis is interested, please come to the study..."

Gu Jingzhi smiled and nodded.

Gu Jingzhi was naturally not interested in calligraphy. He came here just to complete the emperor's instructions. As for the so-called calligraphy... he could also see that it was just an excuse for the **!

The two of them arrived at the study. After the servants served tea, the maid stopped being polite and asked directly, "My Lord, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Brother Chen, you're wrong. It's not that I need any help from you, Brother Chen, but..."

Gu Jingzhi pointed upwards and uttered two words: "Your Majesty!"

"His Majesty?"

** glared and said, "If His Majesty has any instructions, just give them verbally. Why bother Marquis Gu to come all this way?"

"Ha ha!"

"Your Majesty didn't convey the order because this matter can't be made public at the moment. Also, I haven't been to your place since returning from Ningzhou, so I'm here to visit you on a half-official, half-private basis!"

Gu Jingzhi laughed heartily, but ** said sternly: "Gu Hou, you have been very kind to me, Chen, in helping me. Not to mention today, even if Gu Hou wants to come in the future, the door of my Chen family is always open to you!"

"hehe!"

Gu Jingzhi just smiled and said, "Let's not talk about those, take a look at this first!"

As he spoke, Gu Jingzhi handed the scroll to **, who took it curiously. This scroll had been carried with Gu Jingzhi from the beginning, and it was obvious that it was an important item!

**When I opened the scroll, I found that it was actually a drawing with annotations on it!

"This, this is a carving?"

** said in a daze, then his eyes widened: "No, that's not right! This is... movable type printing? Lord, what is movable type printing?"

**Look up!

Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "So-called movable type printing is an improvement on the original woodblock printing! The method is also very simple, just use the font on the woodblock..."

Gu Jingzhi explained the concept of movable type printing and then said, "If we use this woodblock printing, the cost of printing books will be greatly reduced in the future..."

"This this……"

** was no fool; he understood the meaning immediately. He exclaimed in astonishment, "This will bring happiness to all students in the world!"

Gu Jingzhi smiled: "We're just getting started. You should still remember the white paper my Gu family used to tinker with back in Ningzhou, right?"

** was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "I remember, that paper is so much better than the ones on the market. The ink won't even run when you drop it on it!"

Gu Jingzhi smiled and nodded, saying, "What if I tell you that the cost of these papers is less than 10% of the market price?"

"what?"

"My Lord, you...are you really not joking?"

**The corners of his mouth trembled slightly!

Gu Jingzhi patted his shoulder and said, "Brother, given our relationship, how could I possibly lie to you?"

After Gu Jingzhi said this, ** suddenly realized that this was movable type printing and low-priced paper, so it must be a big move, related to books but not entirely about books.

Seeing him ask, Gu Jingzhi smiled faintly and whispered, "Brother Chen, in your opinion, what is the greatest reliance of this family?"

**Hearing this, he blurted out, "Why ask? Of course it's the endless supply of talent from the aristocratic families. They currently occupy almost half of the officialdom in Daxia, and there is also an endless supply of younger generation talents... If it weren't for your previous land encroachment case, Marquis Gu, the aristocratic families would have occupied more than half of the positions!"

"exactly!"

"However, what Brother Chen said is not quite accurate. The reason why our Great Xia imperial examinations have a constant stream of talented people from aristocratic families is that they have a vast amount of knowledge in their hands, which is difficult for ordinary people to access!"

"Secondly, the wealth accumulated by aristocratic families over hundreds and thousands of years... whether it's through literature or martial arts, it's much easier for them to make money than for ordinary people!"

"But in the final analysis, the root cause is that the aristocratic families have a monopoly on knowledge. It is difficult for children from farming families to study, and children from poor families have no future. This is the fundamental reason why the aristocratic families can influence the officialdom!"

To be honest, although ** could also see the harm of the aristocratic family, he did not see the root cause.

Now, with just a little hint from Gu Jingzhi, he immediately understood and said in surprise, "So, the reason why His Majesty asked Marquis Gu to come here this time is..."

He pointed to a diagram of movable type printing.

Gu Jingzhi nodded. "In order to break the monopoly of the aristocratic families, Your Majesty has decided to release a batch of cheap... and rarely circulated books on the market, to create a way out for the children of poor families and farmers!"

For the poor people of the world...

** His breathing suddenly became rapid: "Lord Gu, if I were to print a copy of the Analects using Lord Gu's method, how much would it cost?"

Gu Jingzhi smiled slightly and stretched out a finger...

"If it is printed in large quantities, the cost of a copy of the Analects can be reduced to ten coins..."

** stared in disbelief, "Ten... ten cents?"

"Not bad!"

Gu Jingzhi nodded: "It's just ten cents!"

"Oh my god……"

**Muttered to himself, his eyes a little dazed!