Gu Yuzhi and his entourage hurried to the paper mill, took the mulberry bark paper from the manager, and Gu Yuzhi even tugged at it slightly with his hand, exclaiming, "Chief Secretary Xie, this is really much stronger than the paper we used before!"
Chief Secretary Xie could not hide his excitement. He took the paper and tested it: "Yes, it is indeed more durable than the paper we used before!"
He stroked his beard: "Your Highness, let's go and give it a try."
His Highness once said that the deity who told him about mulberry paper said that mulberry paper not only has good flexibility, strong water resistance, and insect resistance, but is also less prone to water penetration than the paper they use now.
So now he can't wait to verify it himself.
Gu Yuzhi nodded her little head, imitating Xie Changshi as she walked ahead with her hands behind her back, silently screaming in her mind, "Teacher Shu! Teacher Shu!"
Shu Xiaohan was also surprised that these people could develop mulberry paper in such a short time. Her face was filled with shock.
Hearing Gu Yuzhi's excited scream, she suddenly came to her senses, and a big smile appeared on her face: "Yes, Your Highness, mulberry paper has been invented, and you have made another great contribution to the Sang Dynasty!"
Wen Xiuzhu also had a big smile on his face. The reason was simple: the advent of mulberry paper, coupled with the young prince's pacification of Jiangnan, made it highly likely that Mr. Cheng would be moved!
The young prince saw the future hope of the students in the northern desert, and he saw the future economic take-off of Xinliang.
The academy's location had already been decided before the young prince went to Jiangnan, and they were just waiting for the young prince's residence to be completed.
As long as Mr. Cheng takes the position of Dean of Xinliang Academy, merchants from all over the country, including Jiangnan, Lingnan, and the capital, will sense such a business opportunity.
He was confident that after Mr. Cheng decided to serve as the dean of Xinliang Academy for a year, Xinliang would definitely replace Changzhou as the most prosperous city in the northern desert!
Gu Yuzhi and Xie Changshi were cautiously and expectantly testing the mulberry paper when Wen Xiuzhu gently nudged Shu Xiaohan with his fan and whispered, "Teacher Shu, Xinliang is already taking shape, and His Highness has decided to move here next spring. Shouldn't we..."
Their mission is nearing its end, in at most two years, when the main system will sever their connection with the young prince and find a new host.
Shu Xiaohan's smile vanished abruptly, and she looked slightly taken aback.
After a long while, she finally managed a forced smile: "Yes, time flies..."
Before they came, the agreement they signed with the main system was that Wen Xiuzhu would make the young prince the richest man in the northern desert, while she would help the young prince increase grain production and enrich at least three kinds of grain products.
Strictly speaking, in the past two years, in addition to sweet potatoes and potatoes, she also helped improve the varieties of some fruits such as pears and apples, so she can be considered to have completed her task.
But she still wanted to find wheat!
Shu Xiaohan patted Wen Xiuzhu on the shoulder, ignoring his reproachful gaze: "Old Wen, you need to work harder. Not only should you make the young prince the richest man in the Northern Desert, but you should make him the richest man in the entire Great Sang Dynasty!"
She muttered to herself, "Leaving aside the changes the academy will bring to Xinliang, just look at the present. Gu Yufan's downfall has left so much fertile land in Jiangnan unclaimed. You should persuade the young prince to buy more fertile land in Jiangnan."
Having witnessed the struggle for the throne among the princes and learned about the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Shu Xiaohan was certainly not naive enough to believe that the Sang Dynasty emperor would be completely without suspicion of the young prince simply because of his many achievements and young age.
Living in an imperial family, the last thing one can expect is family affection.
Shu Xiaohan sighed, "To put it bluntly, Chief Secretary Xie and the others are all the emperor's men. The young prince is still young, so their role is to assist him. But as the young prince grows up year by year, their role will be to monitor him."
Therefore, the young prince must have people other than Chief Secretary Xie to wholeheartedly assist her.
“I do not want the young prince to rebel, or have any other intentions. I just hope that as the young prince grows older, if the emperor really cannot tolerate him, he will be able to protect himself.”
Manager Wen frowned and glanced at her: "Teacher Shu, don't you know that on the day we returned from Jiangnan, Chief Secretary Xie mentioned this matter to the young prince?"
Shu Xiaohan frowned: "You really said that?"
She scratched her head vigorously: "How come I don't remember anything about this?"
She spends all her time in the young prince's mind, so how come Wen Xiuzhu knows but she doesn't?
Wen Xiuzhu shook his head helplessly: "I really did say that."
After securing Gu Yufan's advisors, Prince Qi rode swiftly from Huizhou to Jiangzhou to help, as almost half of Jiangzhou's fertile land had become ownerless.
Prince Qi had reminded Chief Secretary Xie that if he wanted to acquire it, he should do so now while no one knew about it. He could help the young prince with the operation, and no one would find out.
Chief Secretary Xie had no other idea than that there was plenty of fertile land in Jiangnan, and many crops could be harvested twice a year, which would be very beneficial for the development of the grain trade and for enriching the grain reserves of the people in the northern desert.
Therefore, Chief Secretary Xie had mentioned this matter to Gu Yuzhi long ago. Gu Yuzhi was naturally very interested at first, but when he heard Prince Qi say that this matter should be kept from others, he hesitated.
After pondering it secretly for several days, she finally decided to refuse Prince Qi on the day she decided to return to Mobei.
His reasoning was simple: he couldn't keep anything from his elder brother, the emperor.
From the very first day he arrived in the northern desert, Chief Secretary Xie had been teaching him that no matter what he did, he must always be able to face his elder brother with a clear conscience.
It would be great to buy these fertile fields, but if his elder brother didn't allow it, he felt it was unnecessary, since there was plenty of land to be reclaimed in the northern desert!
After Wen Xiuzhu finished speaking in a few words, he frowned and looked Shu Xiaohan up and down. Just as he was about to ask Shu Xiaohan what was going on, he heard the little prince's exclamation.
"Chief Secretary Xie! It really doesn't bleed ink easily!"
Gu Yuzhi picked up the paper covered with writing and saw that the writing was already dry. He had deliberately applied more pressure to some of the characters, causing the ink to clump together, but from the back, it didn't seem to have penetrated much.
The normally written characters did not penetrate the other side at all.
Gu Yuzhi's little face was full of smiles: "Look, look, Chief Secretary Xie!"
He then looked at Chen Dianyi and said, "Chen Dianyi, I'm so happy!"
He put down the mulberry paper, stepped forward, hugged Chen Dianyi, and patted her: "Thank you for your hard work, Chen Dianyi! I'll tell Granny Xu to have an extra meal tonight and make more of Chen Dianyi's favorite dishes."
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at Chief Secretary Xie and said, "Chief Secretary Xie, now quickly send the mulberry paper that has been made to the palace. Don't forget the method for making mulberry paper!"
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