Chapter 38 Lü Buwei: What Cangjie reborn? (Leans back tactically) ...

Before even stating his request, Taishu Jiu didn't forget to stuff the things that were temporarily placed on the table into Lü Buwei's hands again. This time, Lü Buwei was truly afraid.

He was already wary of Taishu Jiu's initiative to come to his door, and was wondering what major event had recently occurred.

After a moment's recollection, the matter of simplified characters could be considered a suspect, but it was only after Taishu Jiu himself mentioned it that it was truly confirmed that Taishu Jiu had come for this purpose.

Lu Buwei recalled why Taishu Jiu had given him a gift last time... He subconsciously felt that the Grand Chancellor had ulterior motives, and dared not accept the gift directly. So he forced a smile and declined, saying, "Well, how can I accept a reward without having done anything?"

"I cannot accept the gift from the Grand Chancellor. His Majesty dislikes ministers engaging in such alliances..."

Lu Buwei revealed a profound and inscrutable expression, seemingly acting as if he was doing this for Taishu Jiu's own good. Unfortunately, Taishu Jiu himself completely failed to grasp this most appropriate reason, and no matter what Lu Buwei said, he insisted on sending the gift.

In his view, if he didn't give the bribe, he couldn't proceed to the next step.

Lü Buwei... Lü Buwei's strength was not as great as Taishu Jiu's, so he couldn't refuse and the gift was forcibly stuffed into his hand.

Lü Buwei: ...

Having accepted everything, he took a deep breath and forced a question: "So, Mr. Taishu, you have something to ask? As long as it's not too troublesome, I can give it a try, but I can't guarantee it will work out..."

Before Taishu Jiu even stated his demands, Lü Buwei had already begun to make his moves. No matter what the other party said, he could later use the excuse that he had already made his point clear beforehand, and that Taishu Jiu had insisted that he try, even if he failed to accomplish it.

Taishu Jiu didn't have as many ulterior motives as Lü Buwei. He simply believed that Lü Buwei was genuinely willing to try for him, so he gave Lü Buwei another "good guy" card: "Prime Minister Lü is such a kind person! Thank you so much!"

Lü Buwei: Huh? He doesn't seem to be being sarcastic at all. He really thinks I'm a good person...

He touched his non-existent conscience and calmly said, "Mr. Taishu, please tell me why you came to my residence. I dare not make any promises without a clear explanation."

Zhu Qing'ai clicked her tongue and said, "You truly deserve to be the prime minister."

Taishu Jiu didn't understand anything from what he heard, assuming that Qing'ai was just praising Lü Buwei like he was. Unaffected, he finally revealed his purpose.

“I’ve come here today to discuss the simplification of writing. I believe this matter has great potential, so I want to get involved,” Taishu Jiu said, still looking at Lü Buwei with unease. “Prime Minister, I’m not asking to join the army this time, and there’s no danger involved. You wouldn’t refuse me, would you?”

Lu Buwei touched his nose. If it were anyone else, he would have assumed there was a hidden meaning in their words, but with Taishu Jiu sitting next to him, he took it literally.

He gave a vague answer: "I won't object, but about this matter..."

As Lu Buwei's eyes flickered, he recalled the last time Taishu Jiu went to join the army. Last time, this man gained most of the military merits. What about this time?

People always have a purpose in doing things in this world. Whether it's fame or profit, they will want to get some. Otherwise, how can we explain why Uncle Tong took on so many things for himself?

Even if Taishu Jiu was simple-minded, it didn't mean he wasn't interested in fame and fortune.

After careful consideration, Lü Buwei realized that there was indeed a profit to be made in simplifying the characters. It wasn't that he hadn't seen the potential of this matter when he hadn't directly agreed to the King of Qin's proposal in court.

Rather, it was because he himself had the task of compiling the Lüshi Chunqiu, and coupled with his heavy workload of daily government affairs, he simply didn't have time to deal with the matter of simplifying characters.

Secondly, it is very difficult to systematically simplify all the characters. This is not something that can be done just by thinking about it. It requires cultural knowledge, and of course, the most important thing is a keen sensitivity to characters. The difficulties involved can only be known after trying it.

But it was Taishu Jiu who brought this up... Lü Buwei frowned and pondered. This merit was not something that could not be earned, and there was also a chance to go down in history. How could he not be tempted?

Last time, this guy insisted on joining his army on a campaign, which kept him up for months, fearing that an assassin would kill him. If he returned to Xianyang, he could just go and present his head to the King of Qin. This time, it's not too much for him to take credit for the other party's simplified writing, is it?

So Lü Buwei asked with a smile, "Sir, does that mean you already have ideas about simplifying characters?"

Taishu Jiu nodded directly. He couldn't simplify it, and he had no ideas, but he could copy the book.

He immediately unwrapped the gift that Lü Buwei had just secretly put back on the table and said, "Prime Minister Lü, grind the ink, and I'll write it for you right now."

Lü Buwei: ... (hesitatingly)

Lü Buwei gave a wink to the servant beside him, ordering someone to fetch the items. When the servant brought over the inkstone and other items, Lü Buwei stopped the servant from making any move and personally ground the ink for Taishu Jiu.

Taishu Jiu got up and picked up a brush to write. Lü Buwei stood beside him and peeked over. He saw Taishu Jiu write a line of neat and beautiful characters...

He could barely make out a tiny bit of it, and even had some doubts: did Taishu Jiu know what the character meant when he wrote it?

What does this mean?

Taishu Jiu didn't make things difficult for Lü Buwei. He simply read out the following sentence: "I wish Prime Minister Lü's book will be completed soon, and then we can work together to simplify the written language."

Upon hearing this, Lü Buwei realized that this was not a simplified version of written language, but rather similar to everyday speech, as if someone were having a conversation with him using paper.

He thought about it and agreed. He had heard that this paper was cheaper to produce than books and could record more text.

In the past, written language was simplified to the extreme in order to save bamboo slips and make the whole book less bulky. Now that there is thin paper, the extremely simplified written language is no longer very useful, and the only drawback is that it is difficult to read.

Looking at these simple, elegant, and philosophical simplified characters, Lü Buwei felt that the day when simplified characters would surpass bronze inscriptions and Qin seal script was not far off, and the everyday use of written language was also not far away.

This is not just a simple simplified character; it's as if Cangjie himself has reincarnated the script. You have to admit that this font is comfortable and easy to read, and even if you can't understand it, you can still appreciate the beauty it contains.

He picked up the blessing written by Taishu Jiu and stared intently at the simple and clear words. He could already foresee the impact this thin piece of paper would have on the future.

He couldn't help but wonder if Taishu Jiu himself knew the impact of his actions on the country and even the era.

Lü Buwei suddenly heard his own voice say, "At the next grand court assembly, I will present this paper to the King."

Seeing that Lü Buwei still hadn't mentioned that he had actually entrusted the matter to Crown Prince Zheng, Taishu Jiu said with some disappointment, "Then I'll leave it to Prime Minister Lü."

“Mr. Taishu, you’re too kind. This is what I should do,” Lü Buwei said, glancing at the sky. It was already afternoon. He politely invited, “Would the Grand Chancellor like to stay for a meal?”

Taishu Jiu bowed and took his leave: "No, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't bother you any longer. If Prime Minister Lü has any news later, you can come to the school to find me this afternoon."

"I usually stay at school in the afternoon and don't go anywhere else."

Lü Buwei readily agreed: "No problem, Mr. Taishu, rest assured, I will take care of things."

After exchanging pleasantries, Lü Buwei personally escorted Taishu Jiu to the door.

****

Taishu Jiu sat in his own carriage, and the driver cracked his whip, driving the carriage toward the school built next to Xianyang Palace.

Now the school is named after his surname, and people generally call it Taishu School. He finds it strange, but that's what everyone who knows it thinks.

At the time, I was so focused on telling the visiting officials that this was the school he was talking about that I forgot about naming it, so I had to make do with whatever was available later.

He can change the name when he opens more schools in the future; it would be reasonable for all the schools in the national chain to change their names together.

When Taishu Jiu left Lü Buwei's house, he was secretly chatting with Zhu Qing'ai in the private chat channel, mainly because he was happy that his plan was going smoothly.

Zhu Qing'ai is generous with praising people in the private chat channel; she can say it directly. Only Tai Shu Jiu can't chat freely because the coachman is sitting outside, so he can only chat in the private chat channel.

[Host Taishu Jiu: It's a pity I couldn't go directly to Ying Zheng's side this time. I still have to wait for news from Lü Buwei. I wonder what Prince Chu of Qin will think when he sees these simplified characters, and whether he will agree to simplify the characters according to them.]

Zhu Qing'ai pondered for a moment but did not say with certainty that Prince Qin would definitely choose simplified characters. Before things were settled, everything was uncertain. There might even be officials who disliked the incomplete characters and were determined to oppose them.

"It should be possible. Simplified Chinese characters have been tested by hundreds of millions of people, and foreigners who have learned them all say they are good."

[Host Taishu Jiu: Qing'ai, actually I've seen videos of foreigners struggling to learn Chinese.]

"Ahem, that's not the point. The point is that they all really like Chinese culture after learning the characters." Zhu Qing'ai completely reversed the cause and effect of the event. Actually, it would be more reasonable for them to learn Chinese because they like Chinese culture, but Taishu Jiu believed her.

He nodded and typed in the private chat: [Host Taishu Jiu: That's right, if they didn't really like it, they wouldn't be able to stick with it.]

"Right? That's why foreigners who have learned it all say it's good. Ying Zichu should agree."

****

This prediction was correct. After receiving the several sheets of paper presented by Lü Buwei, Prince Chu of Qin read through the words he thought were written by Lü Buwei's retainers, and was amazed by the paper written by Taishu Jiu among them.

The main reason is that he didn't understand it either, and that lack of understanding gave the text an inexplicable sense of sophistication.

In addition, the script looks simple and should be much easier to learn than Qin seal script.

"Which of Lü Xiang's retainers wrote this?"

Lü Buwei's retainers were not qualified to attend court, which was why he presented the paper on his behalf. He quickly stepped forward, took the paper from Lü Buwei's hand, and said decisively, "This person is not one of my retainers. These words were written by Grand Chancellor Taishu, meaning... wishing Prime Minister Lü's book a speedy completion..."

He realized the second half of the sentence wasn't a compliment, so he simply omitted it.

"The Grand Chancellor also told his ministers that he hoped to participate in the simplification of characters."

-----------------------

Author's Note: Taishu Jiu: Are you moved?

Lü Buwei: I dare not move! I dare not move!

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