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◎Give every member of Lao Qin's family a set of Little Princess' books!◎
The travel manuscript had been edited and polished by the little princess twice, and had been reviewed and approved by two scholars, Jie Yu and Di Wang. After receiving it, several university scholars from the Hanlin Academy naturally could not find any typos or misspellings. The little princess's writing was already first-class, and if they made any unauthorized changes, it would damage the little princess's unique spirit.
Therefore, after confirming that it was correct, the Grand Secretaries copied the travel manuscript and handed it to Emperor Xingwu together with the little princess's original copy.
Emperor Xingwu left his daughter's manuscript to be returned to her, and then sent someone to summon the chief academic officer of the Imperial College and the library official in charge of printing classics to the Imperial Study.
These two officials were rarely summoned by the emperor, so they were inevitably nervous and excited when they received the oral order. They were nervous because they didn't know the emperor's intentions, and they were excited because they might have the opportunity to show their abilities.
When the people arrived, Emperor Xingwu took out the manuscript copied by the Hanlin Academy and made his request: "I want Lin'er's travelogue to be spread throughout the world as quickly as possible. What do you think should be done?"
The chief priest is over sixty years old. He is a highly respected and knowledgeable official. He is good at quoting classics, teaching and educating people, and selling books...
Although the Imperial College was in charge of engraving books, the books it engraved were mainly classics, history, and literature. These books were engraved to provide accurate replicas to official and private bookshops in various places to prevent students from reading the wrong books. As for how much money the Imperial College could earn for the court by sending its books to bookshops, the court did not set a specific target for them. Naturally, the group of scholars in the Imperial College would not focus on the income from engraving books. In fact, because the books engraved by the Imperial College were for the emperor, civil and military officials, and local official bookshops to read, the paper and ink used in each book, as well as the exquisite layout, were all of high quality. The high cost led to the high selling price, so high that sometimes officials thought it was too expensive, and ordinary scholars and people would rather go to private bookshops to buy books of inferior quality than buy books published by the Imperial College.
The old chief academician was stunned by Emperor Xingwu's question. He really thought that the emperor wanted to ask about the students' knowledge and whether there were any useful talents. He was completely unprepared for how to sell books.
The library official was directly responsible for engraving and selling books, as well as calculating costs and pricing. Seeing that the chief academic officer was stunned by the emperor's question, and the emperor's sharp gaze turned to him again, the library official immediately ignored the decency of the seal. After a moment's thought, he replied, "This travelogue is named after the emperor's southern tour, and it is written by the princess. I believe that once this book appears in the official market, it will cause a buying frenzy among the subjects. Your Majesty does not need to worry about how quickly the travelogue will circulate among the people. Instead, you should consider whether the engraving and printing speed of the Imperial College can meet the needs of the subjects, and what price to set for this travelogue. If it is too expensive, ordinary people may not be able to afford it. If it is too low, it will be unfair to the princess."
Confucius is very famous, but ordinary people have no interest in reading about him. Instead, when they hear that a princess of the dynasty wrote a book about the emperor's southern tour, people, whether they can read or not, will be curious about what the book is about.
Emperor Xingwu was good at fighting wars and governing the country, but he had limited knowledge of selling books and fell silent for a moment.
At this time, the chief priest, who had been reminded by his subordinates, was ready and spoke, "Your Majesty, the imperial court prints books to pass on the classics of famous scholars or promote practical books such as agricultural books and medical books for the benefit of the people, not for the purpose of profit. However, private printing and selling books, big and small, are only interested in profit. They will sell the books of whoever is popular among scholars and common people. Piracy and illegal printing and selling are common. Therefore, I dare to assert that once the princess's book becomes a hot seller in the official printing and selling, the private printing and selling will definitely find ways to sell it. The legitimate private printing and selling will beg to share the profits with the imperial court, while the illegitimate ones will secretly print and sell the books, and the quality of the books they sell will be even more difficult to control."
Emperor Xingwu understood what was going on and said, "The Imperial College and local government printing houses must print and sell books. At the same time, private printing houses will be allowed to obtain printed books from government printing houses and sell them. Twenty percent of the profits will be handed over to the court. The Imperial College and local government printing houses will use the same paper for typeset printing as Yin Lin'er's collection of classics, histories, and collections. Private printing houses can decide on the materials they use, but they must ensure that every word is accurate. Finally, whether it is a government printing house or a private printing house, the profit of each book cannot exceed twice the total cost. At the same time, I order all paper and ink printing houses related to book printing not to raise prices for profit. Anyone who hoards goods and takes advantage of me and the princess to profit will be severely punished."
"Furthermore, the government office must provide five copies of Lin'er's travelogue to each of the local government offices, government schools, private academies, and village headmen's homes. These are only for borrowing by common people and students. Borrowers may copy the books, but they must return them within three days. Any official, teacher, student, or village head who exploits their authority to borrow books or resells the handwritten travelogues for profit will be severely punished. You are to formulate the specific punishment and submit it to me for review."
He wanted to make Lin'er famous, but if this incident caused price fluctuations among the people, it would be his fault and would also ruin Lin'er's reputation.
The two officials of the Imperial College fully understood the emperor's intention and left.
Back in Qingyang, because her father wanted to publish a book for her, she went out of the palace on her day off and took Zhang Su to visit the official and private bookshops in the capital. After discovering the different situations of "hot books" and "unpopular books" in the bookshops, and thinking about the "boom" in buying books that her and her father's fame could cause, Qingyang was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. She hurried back to the palace to ask her father to reconsider.
Emperor Xingwu was in a better mood because his little daughter reacted so quickly. This showed that his daughter had both outstanding talent and sufficient foresight and sharpness. She was not dazzled by temporary fame and joy, and would rather sacrifice her own fame and fortune than put people's livelihood first.
Of course, he only considered it more after meeting with the two officials of the Imperial College. If he let his daughter take full responsibility for this matter, he believed that she would be able to think it through.
Therefore, no matter how wise and powerful an emperor is, he still needs the assistance of wise ministers. How can one person take care of everything?
Emperor Xingwu smiled and told his daughter his response plan. After thinking about it, Qingyang proposed some of his own defense methods. The father and daughter were so excited that they discussed for almost an hour and almost finished everything that the Imperial College should do.
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On February 15th, the Imperial College, in accordance with the emperor's instructions, first sent fifty sets of brand new, exquisite and noble "Travels of the Southern Tour" to the Imperial Study.
Just looking at this set of books, it seems too luxurious, and it is obvious that it is used for collection and inheritance by a large family. But if you take out other classics, history, and collections printed by the Imperial College, you will find that all books published by the Imperial College have the same exquisite, luxurious and elegant binding and precious rice paper.
When the Imperial College's chief academic officer and his staff filed in, carrying the books, Emperor Xingwu was conferring with his two prime ministers. He had assigned He Yuanjing the responsibility of inspecting them, and the emperor and his ministers continued their work. When the two prime ministers were about to leave, Emperor Xingwu pointed to the fifty neatly arranged copies of "Southern Tour Records" and said, "I was going to send someone to give you the books. Since you're here, take the two copies I gave you."
A set of eight volumes, published by the Imperial College, cost three taels of silver, and sold at least ten taels at the official market, so the "gift" from Emperor Xingwu was truly a favor.
The two ministers immediately thanked him and each took a set of books and left.
After returning to the Secretariat, the minor officials did not dare to ask the two prime ministers what good things they had obtained. After the two prime ministers entered the public housing, the ministers and others who were on duty outside dared to ask, and the sound of the questions and answers reached the ears of Prince Qin Hong who was sitting inside.
Qin Hong smiled.
My younger sister was modest and hadn't boasted about her upcoming book to them, and my father hadn't mentioned it either. However, word had already spread from the Hanlin Academy praising my younger sister, and my eldest sister had even gone to the palace to inquire about it, curious about what my younger sister had written. Qin Hong didn't know, so he just told my eldest sister to be patient. Once the book was printed, my father would definitely give them each a copy.
After a while, the two prime ministers, after answering the questions, carried the books into the public room they shared with the prince.
Yan Xizheng explained to the prince why the emperor rewarded them two with books first.
Qin Hong understood and went to wash his hands first, then suggested borrowing Yan Xizheng's book. After all, it was written by his sister, and Qin Hong was still looking forward to reading it.
Of course Yan Xizheng was willing to lend it.
Qin Hong casually picked up the first volume of "Mountain Chapter" which was placed on the top and was reading it with great interest when someone from the Imperial Study came to convey the Emperor's oral instructions, inviting His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to come over.
Qin Hong knew that his father was going to give him a book, so he returned the book to Yan Xizheng and walked out with a smile.
Yan Xizheng sat still, watching the prince leave. After the curtain fell, the prince's happy smile for the little princess was still lingering in his mind.
Yan Xizheng felt mixed emotions.
A ruthless and ruthless Crown Prince who disregards brotherly love would terrify even these ministers. However, Crown Prince Inseong was unable to even see the underlying crisis, which was not the sign of a wise ruler. The Crown Prince was lucky to have a favored and uncompetitive Consort, Consort Li, and a young princess who also respected him. Otherwise, with just a little effort from Consort Li or the young princess, the throne would have fallen to the Third Prince.
If the Crown Prince had the courage, or if Concubine Li or the little princess showed any evil intentions, Yan Xizheng would definitely give him the same upright advice as he did the first time he advised the Emperor, both advising the Emperor and reminding the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince really disappointed him, both in terms of courage and health.
Qin Hong had no idea of the look the Left Prime Minister was giving him from behind. Not long after he arrived at the imperial study, he discovered that his younger sister, second brother, third brother, uncle Wang, Qin Liang, and even his eldest sister had all been called by their father. Those who were farther away must have received their father's oral instructions in advance, which was why they arrived at the imperial study at the same time as the four siblings.
Emperor Xingwu asked his youngest daughter to stand beside him and pointed at the books. He said, "Lin'er wrote the Southern Tour Travelogue, which is the first literary star of our Qin family. Each of you should take a copy and go back to read it carefully."
He Yuanjing was responsible for taking and distributing the books, first giving them to the Crown Prince and Prince Yong, then to the eldest princess, Prince Jing, Prince Xian, and Crown Prince Qin Liang.
The eight volumes of books were neither light nor heavy, and several people had to hold them with both hands.
Qin Ren was happy for his sister and took a deep breath of the fragrance of books.
Prince Yong teased his niece: "What are you writing about? So many books?"
Qingyang smiled and said, "I saw mountains and rivers along the way. I had nothing to do at night, so I took the opportunity to write down what I saw and heard during the day."
Qin Bing: "Not just at night, I see you often writing in the carriage during the day. You really don't mind the bumpy ride hurting your eyes."
Qin Hong reminded his sister to take care of herself and not to overwork herself.
Yongkang then expressed his concern for his sister, and Qin Liang expressed his admiration for the little princess.
After bestowing the book, Emperor Xingwu asked the others to leave. Qingyang also received a set of finished books that belonged to her with satisfaction. These were much more exquisite than the manuscripts she had collected casually.
Yongkang and Prince Yong were about to leave the palace. Prince Yong couldn't pour cold water on them while Qingyang and Qin Ren were present, but now that there were only three of them, Prince Yong muttered, "I heard the Emperor wants the government to sell Lin'er's books. Hey, everyone in our family will surely praise Lin'er as a literary star. What if the people outside don't appreciate it and no one buys? Wouldn't both the Emperor and Lin'er lose face?"
Qin Liang smiled and said, "Don't worry, father. With the reputation of the emperor and the princess, this travelogue will definitely sell well."
Yongkang ignored them, but every word the father and son said reached her ears.
How much was sold was another matter. Right now, she just wanted to see what her sister had written that would make her father praise her as the Wenquxing of the Qin family.
【Author’s words】
Ahhh, I didn't expect it to be so late. It took me a long time to check the prices of ancient books. [burst into tears]
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow!
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