Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Hanlin Academy.

Today, officials in all departments of the Hanlin Academy are being extremely cautious, staying in their respective offices and rarely venturing out.

Everyone could tell that the head of the academy was in a very bad mood today.

Although the head of the academy had been in a bad mood for some time, he hadn't been in a good mood since Chen Xiuzhuan arrived, but today he was clearly in an exceptionally bad mood.

"You old scoundrel, you've gone too far!"

Dou Wenhuan was furious at the Xiao family's house. When he returned to the yamen, he had nowhere to vent his anger. The poor celadon teacup was now a pile of shards.

After returning to his duty room, he calmed down and quickly realized that this matter was probably related to Chen Chang'an.

From the imperial court to the common people, everyone in the capital knows that Chen Chang'an and that little devil from the Xiao family are in cahoots.

This matter was likely instigated by Chen Chang'an.

Even though he was no longer at the Hanlin Academy, they still tried every means to make things difficult for him.

He absolutely could not stand idly by while his exclusive book was being pirated.

He used to be a beneficiary of the piracy rules, but when this happened to him, he realized how despicable such behavior was.

The problem is that over 70% of Wenyuan Bookstore's revenue comes from its exclusive books, while pirated books account for less than 30% of its total profits.

Although Xiao Lao bastard was despicable, one of his remarks did remind Dou Wenhuan.

Since the imperial court did not have this legal provision, he would create a new one himself.

The authority to set rules for book printing rested with the Hanlin Academy.

Thinking of this, Dou Wenhuan was unwilling to delay for a moment and immediately summoned a group of Grand Secretaries to discuss the matter.

A moment later, in the council hall.

The Grand Secretaries of the Hanlin Academy took their seats. Dou Wenhuan, who was in the main seat, had composed himself and said in a deep voice, "I have gathered you all here today for a matter of great importance concerning the rise and fall of literature in Da Ning and the survival of the scholar-official class."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Grand Secretaries also became serious.

Dou Wenhuan continued, "In recent years, the bookstores in the city have been plagued by chaos, with rampant reprinting and rampant piracy. Whenever a new book is released, it will be copied indiscriminately within a few days..."

The scholars exchanged glances, a hint of doubt appearing in their eyes.

What's gotten into the Grand Secretary today?

Who doesn't know that the biggest pirate of books in the capital is his Wenyuan Bookstore? Could it be that Grand Secretary Dou has suddenly had a change of heart and wants to clean house today?

Dou Wenhuan, unaware of what the crowd was thinking, cleared his throat, put on a righteous expression, and continued, "Scholars throughout the world often spend years of their lives and exhaust their learning to write a book. But now, the book market is in chaos, pirates reap the benefits, authors gain nothing, and all their hard work goes to waste..."

"If this continues, who will be willing to devote themselves to study, write books, and pass on the sacred teachings? Without new ideas, the culture and scholarship of Da Ning will gradually wither away, never to be reborn, and perhaps we will even fall to the point where we are bullied by barbarian countries..."

After a lengthy discourse, Dou Wenhan finally laid the groundwork. He stood up, indignantly declaring, "To revitalize the literary tradition of Daning, inspire the world, and eradicate piracy, I have decided to establish new regulations: books published, proofread, and finalized by each publishing house will belong exclusively to that house. No one else may privately reproduce or reprint them. Anyone found to have privately printed books from other publishers will have their printing blocks destroyed and will be severely punished!"

He spoke these words in a grand and righteous manner.

It seems that his concern wasn't about the loss of his own bookstore's profits, but rather about revitalizing literature and the future of literature in Da Ning...

The other scholars present were also moved by Dou Wenhuan's words.

It seems that the head of the academy has truly repented.

They have all published books and are well aware of the harm of piracy. This regulation can both prevent the proliferation of shoddy books in the market and protect the interests of authors, which is extremely fair.

Even Grand Secretary Zhou and Grand Secretary Lin, who had always looked down on him, began to regard Dou Wenhuan in a different light this time.

"The new regulations benefit the country and its people, and are conducive to the flourishing of culture and morality; they should be implemented!"

"I support Lord Dou!"

"I've put up with those pirate booksellers for far too long!"

"Lord Dou's consideration for the authors truly makes him worthy of the position of Head of the Hanlin Academy!"

……

Everyone agreed with Dou Wenhuan's proposal, and no one objected.

Dou Wenhuan nodded in satisfaction, then took out a draft memorial that had been prepared long ago and handed it to everyone for them to sign.

The memorial evaluating Dou Wenhuan's dual roles as the head of the Hanlin Academy and a cabinet minister was delivered with astonishing speed.

Ordinary memorials to the throne take anywhere from a few days to several months to reach the cabinet.

After the Grand Secretaries signed the memorial, Dou Wenhuan immediately took it into the Cabinet. A quarter of an hour later, he had it sent out of the Cabinet for His Majesty's final approval.

None of the cabinet ministers questioned the memorial; it was unanimously approved.

Firstly, the content of the memorial is indeed reasonable. Secondly, with so many Grand Secretaries of the Hanlin Academy signing it, anyone who disagrees would have to explain to them personally.

If these high-ranking officials cause such a ruckus before the Emperor, they'll be in for a world of trouble.

Within half an hour, Dou Wenhuan's memorial was placed on the desk of the Emperor of Daming.

When the Emperor of Daming opened the memorial and read Dou Wenhuan's righteous and stern words criticizing pirated booksellers, he almost couldn't help but laugh...

He had heard about this matter from Chen Chang'an when he went to Chen Chang'an's place for a meal a couple of days ago, so he naturally knew the inside story.

Chen Chang'an was worried that his book would be pirated by Dou Wenhuan's bookstores after it was published. He wanted to legislate, but was afraid that Dou Wenhuan would reject it.

So he first stole the exclusive books from Dou Wenhuan's Wenyuan Bookstore, forcing Dou Wenhuan to legislate for himself. Then he took the opportunity to launch his own storybooks, so that others could not pirate his books.

Dou Wenhuan, that old fox, was led by the nose by Chen Chang'an, that little fox, from beginning to end, falling step by step into the trap set by Chen Chang'an.

The Emperor of Daming witnessed his plan being implemented step by step, and couldn't help but feel moved.

This young man, despite his young age, is just as cunning as those old foxes. Anyone who messes with him is really in for a world of trouble...

He picked up a vermilion pen, circled the memorial, and then instructed the eunuch to send it back to the cabinet immediately.

Each cabinet member has a separate office in the palace.

Before Dou Wenhuan even returned to the Hanlin Academy, he received a reply: His Majesty had approved the matters he had reported in his memorial.

Although His Majesty generally wouldn't reject a memorial that had been unanimously approved by the entire Hanlin Academy and agreed upon by the Cabinet, the speed of this approval was far too fast...

From the moment the memorial was delivered to the moment the approval was returned, the tea in his hand was still warm...

It seems that the several disturbances in Yan last year have made His Majesty pay special attention to literature and the Way.

The eunuch looked at Dou Wenhuan and said with a smile, "Lord Dou, His Majesty attaches great importance to this new regulation and has ordered your Hanlin Academy to promulgate it as soon as possible..."

Dou Wenhuan was overjoyed and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "As you command!"

As he walked out of the Hanlin Academy, a slight smile curled his lips. Chen Chang'an, Chen Chang'an, thought that by climbing up to the Xiao family, he was out of options...

After returning to the Hanlin Academy, he immediately promulgated this new regulation, and no matter how arrogant that old scoundrel Xiao was, he dared not go against the imperial court's laws...