The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

Upon returning to the Ministry of Revenue, Chen Huai'an immediately ordered a review of the numerous account books from various border regions, and to find all those that were confused or unclear.

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue were immediately thrown into a flurry of activity, with clerks from various departments rushing back and forth, the sound of scrolls being turned over incessant.

In the afternoon, an unexpected person came to the Ministry of Revenue and found Chen Huai'an.

"Lord Zheng?"

Chen Huai'an was somewhat surprised by Zheng Yuanzhu's arrival, but he still invited him into the Ministry of Personnel.

Zheng Yuanzhu sat down, looked at Chen Huai'an and said in silence, "In fact, I never wanted to get involved in your struggle."

"Papermaking, woodblock printing... Duke Anguo has indeed made a brilliant move. I agree to your conditions, and these things will be implemented safely!"

Chen Huai'an looked puzzled: "Didn't Lord Zheng already agree to it in front of the entire court back in April?"

Zheng Yuanzhu was taken aback. He didn't believe that Chen Huai'an couldn't understand that his "I" also referred to the Zheng family behind him, indicating that they had agreed.

But Chen Huai'an continued to play dumb, pretending not to understand.

Zheng Yuanzhu was incredibly clever; he understood in an instant.

That day he was a subject in the imperial court, but today he is clearly representing a powerful family.

Chen Huai'an was telling him not to forget his identity and the stance he had previously upheld.

Zheng Yuanzhu took a deep breath, his pent-up resentment finally bursting forth: "If it weren't for you, would I have gotten myself into this mess?"

"What's the use of me agreeing now in front of the entire court?"

Chen Huai'an smiled and brewed him a cup of tea: "Don't be impatient, Zheng Gong. Come and try some of the new gadgets I've recently come up with. Have a cup of tea and calm down."

"As for the rest, let's finish this cup of tea and talk about it slowly, shall we?"

Zheng Yuanzhu glanced at the teacup Chen Huai'an handed him. A pure and mellow tea aroma wafted up with the steam, smelling completely different from the usual brewed tea.

He held the teacup, blew on it gently, took a small sip, and looked surprised. "Are you sure this is tea?"

"Of course." Chen Huai'an had a faint smile on his face. "Didn't you taste the tea flavor, Master Zheng? My tea doesn't require a lot of ingredients. Just a simple steep with hot water is enough. It's convenient and simple. More importantly... its taste and flavor far surpass the tea we used to brew."

"Master Zheng, what do you think of the taste of this tea?"

Zheng Yuanzhu gave the young man in front of him a deep look: "Very good, better than any tea I've ever had before, by a significant margin."

Chen Huai'an's smile widened: "You see, Master Zheng, the major events of the world and the changes of the times are just like this tea."

"In the past, brewing tea was quite troublesome. All sorts of miscellaneous things like ginger, salt, and dogwood were thrown in. In the end, the tea was neither tea nor soup, and the taste was all mixed flavors, losing the original fragrance of tea."

"My new tea doesn't need any extra ingredients. Just pour in boiling water, and it's full of tea aroma. It seems simple, but in fact, it's about removing the dross and keeping the essence. Only by removing the unnecessary parts can the original flavor be preserved."

Zheng Yuanzhu hesitated for a moment: "What do you want to say?"

Chen Huai'an patiently said, "I didn't actually mean to say anything; I just wanted to tell Lord Zheng a principle."

"Old things will eventually be eliminated, and people always have to learn to accept new things because times will progress, and those who cannot keep up with the times are destined to be abandoned by the times."

"It's like a curved plow; this thing is simple and labor-saving to use. With it, who would still use the old straight plow?"

"Surely Lord Zheng understands such a simple principle?"

Zheng Yuanzhu's eyes flickered slightly.

He naturally understood what Chen Huai'an was saying.

Whether it's the curved plow, iron forging, salt production, or now papermaking and printing, who wouldn't want to keep up?

But there's nothing you can do about the curved plow; it's too special, and nobody dares to touch it.

Iron can basically be disregarded.

As for salt... just look at the Cui family; the eldest son of the Cui family is in a terrible hurry.

The emergence of papermaking and printing, to some extent, represents a major trend.

It would be better if it could be nipped in the bud when it first emerged, just like Cui Xuan's attempt to label papermaking as a strange and ingenious skill from the very beginning.

But obviously, they didn't succeed.

Once these ideas spread and become known to the world, their widespread adoption will be unstoppable.

At this point, the aristocratic families whose interests had been severely infringed upon, and Chen Huai'an and Li Shimin, who wanted to promote papermaking and printing techniques to elevate the status of people from humble backgrounds, both faced two choices.

First, it's a fight to the death!

Second, we must cooperate for mutual benefit and compromise!

Papermaking and printing technologies can be implemented and promoted, and the price of books can be reduced.

The deeper compromise was that Li Shimin allowed some of the children from poor families to be trained.

The condition is that powerful families must participate and obtain a share of the profits.

Isn't this kind of cooperation and compromise the price we have to pay to keep up with the times?

"My presence here today is the best answer," Zheng Yuanzhu sighed slightly. "If that's all you wanted to say, we could have skipped this."

"Besides papermaking and printing, I'd also like to talk to you about salt..."

"Lord Zheng!!"

Before Zheng Yuanzhu could finish speaking, Chen Huai'an immediately interrupted him: "I think you may not understand what I mean."

Chen Huai'an looked at him seriously and said, "I told you, tea doesn't need anything added to it. Once you add anything, it stops resembling tea!"

"Only pure tea, after being steeped in boiling water, can release such a rich aroma, making it an unforgettable and delicious drink!"

Zheng Yuanzhu frowned, pondered Chen Huai'an's words carefully, and gradually understood. He looked at Chen with a strange expression and said, "You mean, the Zheng family should only focus on classical studies? And shouldn't dabble in other things?"

"I didn't say that," Chen Huai'an laughed.

Zheng Yuanzhu remained noncommittal: "I'll pretend I didn't hear that today. Let's talk about papermaking and printing."

"I understand that your current request for me to print some law books, agricultural books, and the like is just the beginning."

"In the future, we must participate in the promotion of papermaking and the compilation and printing of books."

"Of course, no problem!" Chen Huai'an readily agreed. "I've always preferred weeding to digging up tree roots."

"As long as we follow the rules, everyone has a bright future."

"Let's work together to grow bigger and stronger, and create new glories!"

Zheng Yuanzhu inwardly scoffed and asked directly, "What are your conditions?"

"Zheng Gong's words are too harsh," Chen Huai'an grinned. "However, I do have a small request, and I hope Zheng Gong can grant it."

"What?"

"The right to mint coins belongs to the imperial court; support my reform of the imperial examination system!"

"..."