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

Zheng Yuanzhu fell silent, staring intently at Chen Huai'an with a complex expression in his eyes.

Is this a small request?

Minting coins... This is something that is almost an open secret. Now that Chen Huai'an has made this request, it is undoubtedly asking them to give up this thing and hand it all over to the imperial court.

As for reforming the imperial examination system... that's not entirely unnecessarily open to discussion. The old imperial examination system had already created a huge loophole, but that loophole is still being maintained.

Chen Huai'an wanted to reform, and naturally he wanted to cultivate children from poor families.

The Zheng family, who had already accepted papermaking and printing, were mentally prepared for this.

"Does Lord Zheng find it difficult?" Chen Huai'an asked.

"I can agree to your later conditions right now. No matter how you want to reform, supporting you is no problem." After saying that, Zheng Yuanzhu said succinctly, "But minting coins... is not something I can decide alone."

The "I" he refers to also includes the Zheng family behind him.

The implication was that the Zheng family did indeed mint coins, but everyone did, not just them, and their word didn't count.

Chen Huai'an was not surprised at all, and said with a smile, "It's good that Lord Zheng agreed. As for the others... I have no ability to manage them."

"Of course, as I said before, I only like weeding, not digging up roots. As long as we follow the rules, everyone can eat."

"How about this, from now on, Lord Zheng will not mint coins, but he can participate in the mining and transportation of copper. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yuanzhu's tense expression relaxed somewhat.

As long as they don't try to monopolize the market and take away all the benefits that originally belonged to them, then everything is negotiable.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "In that case, I can agree to your request. However, I can only guarantee that the Zheng family will stop minting coins and cooperate with the government. I cannot control the others."

"No problem." Chen Huai'an nodded readily. "As I said, it's fine as long as Lord Zheng agrees."

"Of course, it would be even better if Lord Zheng could provide me with some support when I reform the monetary system in the future."

Zheng Yuanzhu laughed.

Chen Huai'an's so-called "rectification of currency laws" probably means taking back the right to mint coins, strictly prohibiting them from minting coins, and then distributing the profits to outsiders.

You still want to support this thing?

He didn't want to offend all the other powerful families at once.

Zheng Yuanzhu shook his head: "Alright, I have achieved my purpose in coming here today. Duke Anguo, I will take my leave."

"Take care, Mr. Zheng. I won't see you off." Chen Huai'an watched him leave with a smile, but the smile on his face slowly faded. He played with a mold with the character "郑" engraved upside down in his hand and fell into deep thought.

"..."

"So? Did Chen Huai'an agree?"

Zheng Yuanzhu arrived at the ancestral hall of the Zheng family in Xingyang, Chang'an. There were already many people sitting there, all of whom were core members of the Zheng family.

Zheng Yuanzhu recounted his entire conversation with Chen Huai'an, except for Chen Huai'an's implication that they should focus on classical studies when talking about tea; he didn't hide anything else.

After listening, the ancestral hall fell silent for a moment.

Zheng Shanyuan, the eldest son of Zheng Cheng, the Grand General of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, from the third branch of the Zheng family in the north, pondered, "Did he say how he planned to reform the imperial examination system?"

Zheng Yuanzhu said respectfully, "No, but I think that no matter how he reforms, he will ultimately be unable to change the general trend. Everyone knows that Li Shimin wants to cultivate talents from poor families."

"We don't need to confront them head-on. Even if we let them carry out reforms, at most we'll just have a few more people from poor families in the upper echelons of the court."

"The only thing worth noting... is the minting..."

"Minting coins goes without saying." Zheng Shanyuan shook his head slightly. "This thing is inherently troublesome, and our Zheng family doesn't rely on it. Let them do whatever they want with it."

"As long as papermaking and printing can be involved, these other things can be discarded."

Zheng Yuancong, the second son of Zheng Yi and the third son of the Northern Ancestor, frowned and said, "This Chen Huai'an is indeed quite capable of causing trouble. Even though we don't rely on minting coins much, we can't be sure about the other families."

"He dared to bring this up, so he must have some confidence. The real fear is, what kind of tricks will he pull that will force us to support him?"

Upon hearing this, the ancestral hall fell silent.

It must be said that Zheng Yuancong has a point.

In fact, these families, having passed down their traditions for so many years and witnessed so much history, have all discovered a problem to some extent.

The tide of time rolls ever onward, and every era gives birth to some incredible figures.

Many heroes are created by the times, but a very small number are created by heroes.

Li Shimin was such a person.

Now we might also have to include Chen Huai'an.

How would you evaluate Chen Huai'an?

It has virtually no weaknesses!

He's in his twenties and doesn't even have a wife, let alone children.

He lacked neither money nor power, and his reputation among the people was excellent.

More importantly, this person is so incomprehensible.

His mind is full of wildly imaginative ideas, and he can readily come up with all sorts of things that can drive the development of the times.

When the Cui family tried to challenge him, he countered with his papermaking and printing techniques, and even offered up his profits, forcing the Cui family to accept their defeat.

Zheng Yuanxun, the youngest son of Zheng Yi from the third branch of the Northern Ancestor and a baron of Yong'an County, said in a deep voice, "My advice is not to oppose him. Chen Huai'an is indeed a bit strange."

"Building a good relationship with him and cooperating is the best option. Some interests should be given up. There is absolutely no need to oppose him."

"No matter how eccentric Chen Huai'an is, he was just born into a poor family, and a hundred years from now he will still be a pile of bones."

"Don't even mention that he doesn't have any children yet. Even if he were to marry and have children, would his offspring be this monstrous? Even if a tiger father has no dog son, at most it would just be another Huo family."

"Let's avoid his sharp edge for now, just follow behind him and reap the benefits. As long as we don't cross the line, what can we do if he and Li Shimin lead the way?"

Upon hearing this, the Zheng clan members' eyes lit up, and Zheng Shanyuan, the one in charge, immediately said, "That's right. Let him be strong as he may, after a hundred years he'll just be a pile of bones."

"Right now, Li Shimin and Chen Huai'an can preserve the methods of iron forging, salt production, and papermaking. We can only follow behind and share some of the profits. But once they are dead, will they be able to keep these things?"

"We've weathered countless dynasties and changing times, so what's there to fear from Chen Huai'an?"

Their words immediately garnered a wave of support.

Zheng Yuanzhu didn't speak, but listened silently.

Nowadays, the Zheng family is almost entirely controlled by the third branch of the Northern Ancestor, with Zheng Shanyuan being the most powerful and having direct decision-making authority.

Since he said that, the others naturally had no objections.

Besides, what they said made sense.

Chen Huai'an may be unorthodox, but how many years can he remain so?

The more Chen Huai'an brings out now, the greater their gains will be after he dies!

Avoid his sharp edge for now, and wait until he's dead before making any moves.

"..."