Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

The news of the change of ownership of the major bookstores on Shuyuan Street was not kept secret for long, and soon all the major bookstores received the news.

It's virtually impossible to carry out such a large-scale operation silently.

Several major bookstores conducted a secret investigation but found nothing. The person who acquired these bookstores was very well hidden and did not reveal any clues.

The major bookstores did not pay much attention to this.

The book business in the capital was monopolized by these few major bookstores. Their backgrounds extended directly to the Hanlin Academy and the Grand Secretariat, ensuring they always had the right to print official classics and never had to worry about business.

In the past, they would eat the meat, leaving the small bookstores to have a few sips of soup.

That man's massive acquisition of these small and medium-sized bookstores was clearly a losing proposition; let's just wait and see how he goes bankrupt.

Then, they can also buy these stores at a low price.

Inside the top scholar's residence, Chen Chang'an had not left the house for three days.

He spent a fortune acquiring so many bookstores, certainly not to sell those sacred scriptures.

The more a work is geared towards the general public, the better it sells.

The story of "Journey to the West" has already been verified in the imperial heirs and the sons of princes and ministers.

Chen Chang'an plans to use "Journey to the West" as the first book for his bookstore.

In the past few days, he has meticulously revised the first few chapters of Journey to the West, reorganized the text, polished the sentences, and completed the first volume of Journey to the West.

His revised version of the story is written in simple and straightforward language, with easy-to-understand sentences, so that children who have learned to read can read it without any problems.

Chen Chang'an also had Shi Hua draw many illustrations for the book. Some of the illustrations were wonderful, and the combination of text and illustrations made it so enjoyable that even Qing Shuang, who was semi-literate and didn't know many words, could read the book with great interest.

This version of "Journey to the West" was aimed at children learning to read and write.

Even children who have never received formal education and cannot read can treat it as a picture book.

If we want to revitalize the cultural heritage of Daning, we must cultivate children’s interest in reading from an early age. Once the children of Daning develop the habit of reading, it will be easier for them to transition from storybooks to classic texts when they grow up.

Chen Chang'an handed the finalized manuscript to Miss Gong Yue and said, "Take another look at the content. If there are no problems, you can send it for printing. How long will it take to complete the woodblock printing at the earliest?"

Princess Zhaoyue thought for a moment and said, "In the past few days, besides acquiring the bookstores, I've also had some craftsmen hired for printing and plate making. If we're making the pages and plates, it will take two to three days at the fastest to start printing..."

Chen Chang'an nodded and said, "When the time comes, we'll print a thousand copies to test the waters first."

Princess Zhaoyue looked at him and asked, "Isn't a thousand copies too many?"

Chen Chang'an asked in surprise, "Is it a lot?"

Princess Zhaoyue explained, "I had someone investigate the situation of bookstores in the capital. Whenever a book sells well, other bookstores will rush to print it. If they print too much, they may not be able to sell it..."

Chen Chang'an frowned slightly; this was indeed a problem.

There is no copyright law in Daning. Just like operas, if one opera house can perform it, another opera house can perform it. In a few days, all the opera houses in the city will be performing the same opera.

The same applies to books. Printing books is not like mixing perfume. If you don't know the recipe or how to purify alcohol, you will never be able to make the same thing again.

But printing books is different. Engraving and printing are not difficult, and pirated copies can appear in as little as a few days.

It is not uncommon for legitimate booksellers to be driven out of business by piracy.

Chen Chang'an's own poetry collection didn't sell for long before pirated booksellers took over and it became unsellable.

He was also one of the victims of piracy.

Chen Chang'an must solve the piracy problem first; otherwise, all his efforts will only benefit others.

If only Daning had a copyright law too...

Upon hearing Chen Chang'an's idea, Princess Zhaoyue's eyes lit up. She instantly guessed what Chen Chang'an was thinking and said, "You mean that all published books must be registered and have their rights confirmed by the imperial court, and only designated bookstores can print them. If other bookstores want to print them, they have to pay a fee and share the profits from the books..."

Chen Chang'an nodded and said, "Exactly. This is also a way to protect knowledge. Scholars pour their hearts and souls into writing a book over many years, only to have others simply copy and pirate it, reaping all the benefits. It's so unfair to the authors..."

"If this continues, no one will be willing to devote themselves to writing books. Everyone will only know how to plagiarize and pirate, reaping the benefits without effort. This is not a good thing for the revitalization of the cultural heritage of Daning."

Princess Zhaoyue nodded slightly, agreeing with what Chen Chang'an said.

Chen Chang'an continued, "The imperial court needs to legislate that after the new book is registered and its ownership is confirmed, the original author and the original publishing house will have the exclusive right to print it. If others want to reprint it, they need to obtain the original author's consent, pay the authorization fee, and share the corresponding profits. Those who print without permission will be considered to have infringed on copyrights, and their woodblocks will be confiscated and they will be fined silver. Those who repeatedly violate the law can have their publishing houses shut down directly."

"Only by making publishers' interests profitable can we encourage writers across the land to write and establish their own theories, which will also benefit the revitalization of Daning's cultural heritage..."

Princess Zhaoyue listened quietly; it was the first time she had ever heard such remarks.

For a long time, Daning Bookstore has been operating independently, with rampant piracy. Everyone has accepted this as the norm in the industry, and no one feels that there is anything wrong with it, nor does anyone want to change it.

Only Chen Chang'an could think of this.

Soon, a hint of worry appeared between her brows, and she said, "The Hanlin Academy is not only responsible for compiling books, but also controls the power to print them. It's simply impossible to establish this new law without Headmaster Dou's approval..."

Princess Zhaoyue added, "There's something you might not know. The four oldest and most established bookstores in the capital monopolize most of the book printing business. Among them, Wenyuan Bookstore, which is the most powerful and has the deepest foundation, is backed by Dou Wenhuan, the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy. The four bookstores are also the biggest beneficiaries of piracy. Whenever there is a popular book in the capital, the four bookstores will be the first to pirate it..."

Chen Chang'an frowned slightly. No wonder these established bookstores were so brazen, monopolizing the market for years. No wonder book piracy was rampant, yet no one seemed to care. The root of the problem lay here...

Given his relationship with Dou Wenhuan... he would probably find that Dou Wenhuan would oppose any suggestions he made.

Not to mention, Dou Wenhuan was also the biggest beneficiary of piracy...

Chen Chang'an could even imagine what reasons Dou Wenhuan would use to refute him. He would surely say that not banning piracy would be more conducive to the dissemination of books, allowing more people to buy them, which would benefit the revitalization of Daning's literary scene...

He could already picture in his mind the righteous and awe-inspiring look on Dou Wenhuan's face when he said those words.

Therefore, he must never reveal his thoughts to Dou Wenhuan in advance.

He pondered for a moment, raised an eyebrow, and suddenly had an idea...

Since the other party is going to do it sooner or later, he should strike first!