Keqing, it’s just cultivating immortality, is it that difficult?

A seven-year-old child.

Even Liao Quan was a little surprised as to when his own child had learned the movable type printing technique.

"You go and argue with others every day. How do you know? Recently, the child has been going to the manor every day, saying that he wants to study something. He has become very busy. It should be about the movable type printing technology. It is said that he has reported it to the emperor, and the emperor has sent people to help."

"Really?"

Why didn't Your Majesty tell me?

Kelanlan saw through his thoughts at a glance.

"Why would His Majesty tell you to do that? What can you do? You are not even as good as a finger of your daughter!"

Kelanlan stretched out a middle finger, then reacted and changed it to the thumb.

What it means is that without even a middle finger, you are only fit to be a thumb.

Liao Quan: …

Okay, I'm not worthy, but my daughter is.

This action unconsciously slapped the faces of those who looked down on Lady Ke.

So, suspicions began to arise outside, wondering if this was another case of robbery, after all, it was just a seven-year-old girl.

However, this time His Majesty stood up and said that the movable type printing was the county princess's idea, and he told me in advance. I sent people to assist throughout the process.

If you doubt, you are doubting me.

The emperor's statement instantly dispelled the rumors.

Yes, who dares to say that Your Majesty is taking credit for others' achievements? Does Your Majesty need to take credit? I'm afraid there are people vying to send credits to Your Majesty, hoping that Your Majesty will take notice of them.

However, movable type printing was truly amazing. The moment this thing came out, it was used in every bookstore. Not to mention other places, at least the Great Zhou City was immediately using it.

Other people didn’t have much experience with movable type printing, but they knew that the prices of books in the bookstore were suddenly reduced by half, which was...

Moreover, the number of books has increased significantly, and the content is more

rich.

So the emperor bestowed another title, but this time he did not promote her to a county princess. The promotion was so fast that even the emperor felt that if he promoted her any further, this little girl might give him a bigger surprise, and he had no more titles to offer.

So he only asked for one hundred taels of gold, one thousand taels of silver, and an additional one thousand households in the fief.

The amount given was not much, but it was a token of my appreciation. In total, there were 1,500 households in the fiefdom, which was enough for a county.

In ancient times, in order to avoid the burden of labor, it was rare for families to split up. So one family would have three generations of grandparents and grandchildren living together as one big family. A family could have three to more than ten people, so 1,500 households would have more than 10,000 people.

This means that these more than 10,000 people pay taxes to Keqing.

To be honest, Keqing’s contribution is quite significant. Fifteen hundred households are not a lot.

But if nothing unexpected happens, this tax can last for a long time. The imperial court cannot collect taxes from these 1,500 households. It is really like cutting off their waists, and once it is cut, it is gone. So no matter how you calculate it, you can't tell whether it is a loss or a loss.

After all, engraving and movable type printing are both good things.

If it were given to any person, he would be able to be appointed as an official of the seventh or eighth rank. It was a pity that it was the credit of a girl, so she could only be granted a status and some fiefdom.

But unfortunately, it was just a girl.

On the other side, the Minister of Revenue was mumbling, saying that Your Highness had granted too many fiefs, more than a thousand households! When people get old, they talk a lot of nonsense, and Your Majesty's ears hurt when he hears it.

"Why, you mean you won't give me any reward?"

"Not really... just, a little less will do!"

The Minister of Revenue touched his chin and spoke tentatively.

"Two hundred households?"

"Are you sending away beggars? Movable type printing, a thing that benefits many students, is only worth two hundred households?"

The emperor laughed out of anger. He didn't expect that the Minister of Revenue was so eloquent.

"If you don't feel ashamed, then I do! Others will only say that my Great Zhou is so poor that it is stingy to give even a little food and fiefdom."

"But...but, it's just printing. Although it reduces some costs, that little cost is nothing. As for efficiency, it has indeed improved a lot and can play a lot of roles, but the paper produced by our Great Zhou can't be improved! What's the use of such an improvement?"

The Minister of Revenue kept talking, and he became more and more confident the more he spoke!

Yes, what’s the use of such limited movable type printing!

First of all, you need a carrier to use it! !

The papermaking of their Great Zhou Dynasty could not withstand such efficiency.

However, just as he said this, someone outside suddenly came to the door of the imperial study to report.

"Your Majesty, Minister Liao requests to see you."

"allow"

Upon hearing that it was Minister Liao, the Emperor nodded.

"Look, Minister Liao is here. Aren't you going to discuss this? Why don't you discuss it with him? After all, Keqing is his precious daughter."

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue complained in his heart, you have already issued the imperial edict, what can I say?

Soon, a familiar figure came walking quickly. A handsome and elegant man walked in quickly and said loudly.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty is happy!"

Then he knelt down skillfully and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Well, my dear, please stand up. What's the good news?"

Liao Quan said excitedly: "Your Highness, my daughter has invented a new papermaking technique. Now the students of the Great Zhou will no longer have to worry about having no books!"

The emperor was stunned, and the Minister of Finance beside him was also stunned.

No, right——

He had just mentioned the disadvantages of movable type printing, which was useless without more paper, and then he immediately brought up papermaking.

This... this is too much of a coincidence, as if it was meant to slap me in the face.

"A new papermaking technique?"

"Yes! Based on the output, we can produce enough paper for the entire Zhoucheng in just one month!"

hiss--

The Minister of Revenue felt a pang in his heart. Although there was no specific output, it seemed that this papermaking technology was very efficient.

“Not only that, the cost has also been greatly reduced, so low that ordinary people can get it.”

"Your Majesty, look, this is the paper made by my daughter."

As he spoke, he handed over the spotless white paper in his hand. The Minister of Revenue took it and looked at it. It had a delicate touch, looked spotless white, had the right amount of softness and hardness, and didn't look like it was soaked in ink at all. One could tell at a glance that it was top-quality paper, better than the tribute.

The Minister of Revenue looked at Minister Liao's provocative gaze and his beard twitched, but he held back and handed the paper to the emperor.

The emperor was also attracted by the snow-white paper.

"Good paper, good paper!"

"The county master is really good. She can actually make paper that is as white and delicate as a woman's skin. Reward! A huge reward!"

The Minister of Finance standing by had no time to stop him, and the emperor immediately reported a number.

Not long after, the news that Princess Ke had developed a new papermaking technique caused an uproar among court officials.

Keqing had another 3,000 households in her fief, and now had a total of 4,500 households.

It can be said that its scope covers several counties.

Although it was not a fiefdom but a fiefdom, in essence, the taxes paid by those counties were all paid to the county lord, which was similar to a fiefdom in some ways.

Of course, in reality there is still a big difference. At least in the Zhou Dynasty, the thousand kings and princesses had control over their fiefdoms, and they also had the right to appoint officials at will.

Then the princes fought against each other, and finally the Zhou Dynasty came into being.

When the Zhou Dynasty was first established, many regulations were cut, including those related to fiefdoms.

The fiefs of princes, princesses and princesses only had the right to collect taxes, but not the power to appoint and transfer officials. Only the imperial court could appoint and transfer officials, which greatly weakened the control of the princes over their fiefs.

However, although it has been weakened, since the fiefdoms are all his own, it proves that the economic lifeline is in his hands. So, in fact, he still has a certain control over the fiefdom's own food.

After all, money is life.

Agricultural taxes account for more than half of it.

Regardless of how envious the people in the study were when they learned that Keqing owned a fief of 4,500 households, ever since the invention of papermaking, the price of books had dropped by two-thirds within a month from the previous price reduction, which made many students extremely happy.

Before long, Keqing's reputation spread among literati.

It is said that a writer's pen can kill the enemy on the battlefield, and his mouth can even force the enemy to retreat. Although it is not that exaggerated, it also shows its importance.

Today, these two achievements benefit all scholars. Even if Keqing is just a seven-year-old child, it does not prevent everyone from praising her. For a time, Keqing's fame was well-known, and she was even comparable to great scholars.

After all this, the previous rumors dissipated on their own and no one used this as an excuse anymore.

After all, if you say that Keqing is not good, the literati might point his finger at you and scold you. If one person is not good, a group of people will come. It's really scary. You really can't afford to offend him.

Just like that, the crisis that wasn't really a crisis collapsed on its own.

But after being happy, His Majesty also felt a headache. If Keqing did something again, he really couldn't afford it.

If she is not promoted to a county lady by then, it would be really unfair to her accumulated merits. However, a county lady naturally comes with a fiefdom. In addition, for a county lady who has made contributions, she will have to add more fiefdoms under the standards of a county lady based on her past merits.

Being promoted to a county lady only requires certain merits. In this case, when Keqing is promoted to a county lady, I'm afraid her fief will be no less than 20,000 households!

Chapter 520 Habit (5000)

Twenty thousand households, that’s almost a four-fold increase.

His Majesty doesn't care about these 20,000 households. It's just 20,000 households, and his Great Zhou can still afford it. The main thing is that the nagging of the Minister of Revenue is really annoying.

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty has suffered from natural disasters recently, it still has some foundation. Not to mention 20,000 households, even 100,000 households...

Well, this is really a bit troublesome. One hundred thousand households is almost equivalent to a prefecture. To confer a prefecture as a fiefdom, it is impossible to do so without some extraordinary achievements.

This is equivalent to the standard of a prince.

No matter what, His Majesty was very worried. He felt that it was not good for a person to be too outstanding. Fortunately, Keqing was just a little girl. If she was really an official, her reputation would be...

That would be troublesome.

However, to his surprise, Keqing had not produced anything since she invented the papermaking technique. She was quiet and acted as if nothing had happened.

Your Majesty: ???

Why do I always feel like I'm expecting something big to happen?

But on second thought, why so many big things happen? It would be more unusual if Keqing could create a big event for herself every now and then, and they are all good things that benefit the country and the people.

When did I get used to it?

His Majesty breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time felt a little amused.

This is the first time in my life that I am worried about having nothing to give after conferring a title on someone.

After thinking about it, he felt relieved since nothing serious happened.

That’s right, the little county lady who has become famous recently is just a seven-year-old child.

At this time, he thought of Keqing's age, and felt that it was good enough that she could produce so many things at this age. She was afraid that she would not be able to produce more.

But I didn't think about it, it was a bit weird for him to make so many things at the age of seven.

I have to say that habits really make people overlook a lot of things unconsciously.

If it were a few years ago, people would have found it funny to say that a seven-year-old girl could improve papermaking and printing techniques, benefit the country and the people, and have the qualities of a great scholar.

What a joke, a seven-year-old child.

However, when things happen, with the presence of such a person, everything seems to become natural and go with the flow.

Even if Keqing does something earth-shattering in the future, they might still feel it.

Ah, that's quite normal, the little county princess is a unique child prodigy.

This spontaneous reaction was beyond her age, disregarding common sense and ignoring gender, leaving only her entire existence, like the fluorescence of the bright moon, so bright in the dark and silent night that it was hard to ignore.

I was surprised at first sight, but I got used to it after a while.

Perhaps one day when the bright moon disappears and the fluorescence is no longer there, people may be surprised or even panic, completely forgetting that both the fluorescence and the bright moon were not there in the first place!