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Chapter 122 Li Lizhi Tests the Waters!

Chapter 122 Li Lizhi Tests the Waters!
The most important thing is that the two little princesses like it.

While Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were chatting, Li Wu returned with a letter.

Upon hearing Zhang Anan say that Li Wu had come, Li Shimin immediately invited Li Wu in.

"From now on, when Li Wu brings letters, there's no need to announce your arrival; just bring them in directly," Li Shimin instructed.

"Yes, Your Majesty! This servant understands!"

Li Shimin opened the letter and immediately burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!" Xiao Ran had kept it a secret before, but I didn't expect him to tell Li Lizhi so quickly.

"Your Majesty, what makes you so happy?" Empress Zhangsun asked curiously.

"Xiao Ran said he was preparing a gift for me, but he wouldn't tell me before. I didn't expect him to tell Li Zhi about it, and now Li Zhi has told me."

Li Shimin sent the letter to Empress Zhangsun.

Empress Zhangsun also showed joy when she saw the printing technology.

"That's a good idea; the price of books is likely to come down!" Empress Zhangsun smiled.

"Yes!"

The smile in Li Shimin's eyes gradually turned into deep thought, but his tone became more solemn than before: "This kid was playing riddles with me earlier, it turns out he was waiting for Lizhi to 'reveal the truth' - but this riddle was worth solving!"

He got up and walked to the window, gazing at the snow-covered branches in the courtyard, his voice tinged with emotion: "Book prices will drop, and by much more than this."

"What makes powerful families able to control the court these days? Besides their social standing, it's because they have countless books in their possession. Poor students can't even afford to copy the Analects, let alone study the classics or take the imperial examinations!"

“In the past, when I promoted the imperial examination, I always felt like I was scratching an itch through a boot—it’s not that I didn’t want to select students from poor families, it’s that poor families can’t even get their hands on books, how can they compare to the children of aristocratic families?”

He turned around, patting the letter in his palm lightly. "But once Xiao Ran's method comes out, the situation will be different! A single wooden board can print hundreds of books. Ordinary people can save up a few coins to buy a literacy book or an agricultural book. In another ten or eight years, there will be many more children in the countryside who can read. Will we still have to worry about not being able to select capable children from poor families? At that time, it will be difficult for aristocratic families to monopolize official careers by 'collecting books'!"

"Lizhi wrote that Xiaoran wanted to print textbooks and agricultural books first—textbooks for children to read and agricultural books for the people to read. This is not as simple as just selling books to make money. If the children read books, they will know 'propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame,' and they will know 'farming and reading are the family traditions.' In the future, the education of the village will be easier."

"If people read agricultural books, they will know when to sow seeds and how to prevent pests, and their harvest will be better next year, making their lives more stable."

Li Shimin paused, then thought on a deeper level: "Speaking of the court, many officials today entered office through 'family connections,' and they only know rote memorization, making them hesitant and inflexible in their work. If printing were widespread, I would have the government print laws, river engineering policies, and border defense policies, so that officials could read practical books instead of just engaging in empty talk about classical texts—that would be truly useful for governing the country!"

"I was worried before that Xiao Ran said, 'Only when the people are rich can they study.' How many years would it take? Now it seems that we don't need to wait until the people are rich enough to hire teachers. Letting them be able to afford books first is a shortcut."

Li Shimin walked to the desk, picked up a pen and wrote the character "印" on the paper. "Lizhi said she would help prepare paper and wood. I have to put in more effort. I will have the government-run workshops in Chang'an cooperate with her. If she needs paper, I will provide her with paper. If she needs wood, I will also send two carpenters to Kaolao Village to help Xiao Ran set up the workshop."

Li Shimin looked up at Empress Zhangsun, his tone full of anticipation: "I want to see if the books printed from this wooden board can truly bring the teachings of the Tang Dynasty to the countryside."

"Could we also give those from poor families the opportunity to stand before me and say, 'Your subject has a strategy for governing the country!'"

Seeing Li Shimin like this, Empress Zhangsun was genuinely happy.

Li Shimin agreed to all of Li Lizhi's requests and immediately ordered Zhang Anan to prepare them.

Li Wu did not return empty-handed; Li Shimin had prepared quite a few things.

It was for the princesses and Xiao Ran.

With several princesses at Xiao Ran's house, Li Shimin had to show his respect.

We can't let Xiao Ran suffer a loss.

The return trip was a bit slow because several truckloads of goods were going back together.

When Li Wu returned home, he found that there was still a meal left at home.

I'm still quite happy inside.

Zhang Erya went to school, and Zhang Jinhe helped take care of things at home.

Zhang Jinhe was very familiar with the place and knew exactly where to put things.

Li Lizhi and Yuzhang also went to the school; it was impossible for Wang Ji to attend classes all the time.

In name only, Li Lizhi and Princess Yuzhang were also teachers.

Xiao Ran was busy preparing for the printing press.

Go to the coal mine, select people who can carve, and count those who are willing to carve.

If the coal mine is short of workers, you can go to Wang Shen; he has many people who want to work there.

Xiao Ran's salary is quite considerable, and coupled with his punctuality and good reputation, people in the neighborhood are quite willing to come and work for him.

After counting the number of people, Xiao Ran returned home.

"Young master, are the people you need ready?" Li Li asked. "There aren't many people who know carving, but there are quite a few who are willing to learn."

It was mainly Xiao Ran who organized the arrangements. The others felt that there would definitely be no problem, and that it didn't matter whether there were any issues or not, as their attitude was impeccable.

Following Xiao Ran will definitely be fine.

"Two people who know carving will come then." Li Lizhi did not say that it was arranged by Li Shimin.

"That's great, we can mentor the newcomers then."

"The wood and paper needed are being prepared and should be delivered gradually in the next couple of days."

Xiao Ran nodded, "Yes, it's the off-season for farming now, and everyone wants to find something to do. We need to step up our efforts."

“Mmm.” Li Lizhi wholeheartedly agreed.

"Fifth Sister, please write a letter to Uncle Wang Shen, telling him that you need coal miners and asking him to help you find a master craftsman who can carve."

“Okay!” Li Lizhi went to fetch a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

There was relatively little to do after winter began.

This year, every household in Kaolao Village is very busy.

At first, most of the workers in the coal mines were men, but later they found that many jobs were not tiring and could be done by women and children.

Classes have started now, otherwise there would still be quite a few children at the coal mine.

Xiao Ran asked someone to make a trip for him, and he took Li Lizhi to the place where they had previously grown sweet potatoes.

That is, next to Zhang Erya's old house.

This place needs to be checked on every day, and the neighboring households also help keep an eye on it.

Xiao Ran hasn't mentioned the yield per mu of sweet potatoes, and apart from Li Lizhi, Zhang Jinhe, and a few others, no one else has ever eaten sweet potatoes.

However, the villagers are willing to help with anything Xiao Ran cares about.

There's no other reason than that I owe Xiao Ran a lot of favors.

There's no reason to mess with Xiao Ran.

"Will we be able to eat sweet potatoes next autumn?" Li Lizhi also likes to eat them.

I had a little bit of it before and thought it was delicious. I miss it.

"Pretty much. We can keep more for ourselves, but we also need to leave seeds for others."

Li Lizhi felt that her days in Kaolao Village were fulfilling and she really enjoyed the feeling.

"Young master, do you want to go to Chang'an?" Li Lizhi suddenly asked.

"Isn't this place nice?" Xiao Ran didn't know why Li Lizhi asked that.

Xiao Ran didn't go to see the house or shop he had previously owned.

Li Lizhi was also in charge of arranging the sale of the glassware.

Xiao Ran ignored it.