allonlinenovel Chapter 59 Money, Power, and Military!
Chapter 59 Money, Power, and Military!
The news of the rebirth of Confucius, the sage of Confucianism, was like a thunderclap piercing the night sky.
Not to mention Beining City, the entire Daqi, Jurchen, and even Khangu and Goryeo all sent envoys.
The major families, powerful clans, and merchant guilds directly spread the word that as long as the Confucian sage was willing to choose their bookstore, these wealthy and powerful people would gladly offer him not just a tael or a copy of "Confucianism," but even a penny.
"Your Highness, now that the Confucian sage has returned to public life, you must do everything in your power to invite him to Beining City!"
In the council hall of the Prince's Mansion, Qiu Xingzhi was even more excited than Zhuge Xuan had been.
Beside him stood a middle-aged man with dark skin, a thin build, but unusually bright eyes; he was none other than his prized disciple, Cui Yu.
Qin Xuan was well aware of the Confucian sage's influence, but inviting him to Beining City was no easy task.
"This matter is not urgent, and there's no use in rushing it. On the other hand, I have long admired your disciple, and now that he's here, why don't you quickly ask him how to handle the current political affairs of Beining City?"
The Confucian sage announced the news three days ago, but his actual return to public life will not be until a month later.
He will then go to the Confucius Temple on Mount Kongsheng in Shanhaiguan to give lectures, and countless Confucian scholars and important figures will come to pay their respects.
Shanhaiguan originally belonged to the Great Qi Empire, but now, due to wars between various countries, it has become a no-man's-land, with only Shanhai Town remaining.
Therefore, Qin Xuan was not in a hurry.
Cui Yu kept her eyes fixed on Qin Xuan, because this famous King of Chu was simply too young.
To his surprise and some extent, the King of Chu wanted to discuss political affairs with him first, rather than the Confucian sage, which showed that this young prince was extremely pragmatic.
“Your Highness, my master has already told me about the political affairs of Beining City in his mind. I only want three things from Your Highness.”
“If Your Highness agrees, I, Cui Yu, guarantee with my life that Beining City will become the most prosperous and peaceful city in the world.”
Cui Yu stepped forward and said in a humble yet assertive manner.
Qin Xuan's eyes lit up, and he asked with a smile, "Which three things do you want?"
"Money! Power! Soldiers!"
Cui Yu's three words were brief and forceful, but they startled Qiu Xingzhi, who quickly said, "Unruly, don't be silly."
"Unrestrained" is Cui Yu's courtesy name; his pen name is Lieyang Jushi.
From the very beginning of his life, he seemed to regard himself as the only sun in this dark world, determined to sweep away all the darkness.
"reason."
Qin Xuan waved his hand at Qiu Xingzhi, indicating that he didn't care, and asked.
Cui Yu hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, "Before I paid my respects to Your Highness, I spent two days wandering around Beining City and found that although the city was thriving and bustling, there were still significant shortcomings in its overall planning."
"For example, a large number of raw materials need to pass through the main roads in the city to enter the workshop area, instead of having a separate road."
"In addition, there is a lack of roads connecting the various workshop areas, and some roads are too narrow, making it difficult for the army to arrive in time in the event of war."
With each sentence Cui Yu spoke, Qin Xuan's smile grew even wider: "So you're trying to build a city's architecture!"
"Urban structure?"
Cui Yu didn't understand this word.
Qin Xuan realized he had let something slip and explained, "The meaning of city architecture is to plan the areas and roads of a city, break down the transportation barriers between different areas, and thus achieve true control over the city."
"Your Majesty, you..."
Cui Yu was deeply moved. Qin Xuan summarized his grand plan in the most straightforward and simple terms.
"You've convinced me with money, but what about power and soldiers?"
Qin Xuan continued.
At this moment, Cui Yu had developed a deep respect for Qin Xuan and sincerely said, "In Daqi, although I have brilliant strategies for governing the country and the world, I lack the authority to enforce them. Therefore, I dare to ask Your Highness for authority."
"As for the soldiers, they are actually to consolidate the power that Your Highness has given me. If Your Highness wants to build Beining City into the number one city in the world in a short period of time, then you must use harsh measures in times of chaos. Once things are stable in the future, you can slowly restore order."
"Clap clap clap!"
Qin Xuan laughed and clapped his hands. He stood up and said approvingly, "Sir, I am very satisfied with your disciple. Then give him what he asked for: money, power, and soldiers."
“But Cui Yu, I’m only giving you three months. If I don’t see results within three months, you don’t deserve to stay in Beining City anymore. Do you understand?”
"Your Highness, I will certainly not disappoint you."
Cui Yu immediately knelt down and paid his respects.
Qin Xuan waved his hand, signaling him to get up, and then asked Qiu Xingzhi, "Sir, did my master have any connection with the Confucian sage?"
Qiu Xingzhi was slightly taken aback. Qin Xuan's topic had jumped so quickly that he was a little slow to react.
"This is natural."
Qiu Xingzhi did not hide anything and said, "When my master founded Qingshan Academy, although the Confucian sage had already gone into seclusion, he still sent someone to deliver his handwritten calligraphy, which is still hanging in the center of the Zhengqi Hall of the academy by my master!"
When this matter is mentioned, Qiu Xingzhi's face is full of pride.
Throughout the entire world, only his master was able to obtain a copy of the Confucian sage's calligraphy.
"Your Highness, you wouldn't be thinking of asking my teacher to invite the Confucian sage to Beining City, would you?"
After his initial triumph, Qiu Xingzhi sensed something was amiss and asked with a look of alarm.
Qin Xuan smiled and shook his head: "That's not necessary. Besides, even if your master were willing to go, given the character of a sage like Confucius, he probably wouldn't agree."
Hearing this, Qiu Xingzhi breathed a slight sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Qin Xuan would speak up, and then he would be in a dilemma, not refusing but not accepting either.
"I just want to trouble your master to pass on a message to the Sage of Confucianism, saying that my Beining Bookstore is willing to print all of the Sage of Confucianism's books, not just 'Confucianism,' and only one tael of silver per book."
Qin Xuan looked at Qiu Xingzhi with anticipation.
However, Qiu Xingzhi looked solemn and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, I know that you are eager to recruit talents, which is why you hope that the Confucian Sage will come to my Beining City."
"Although our Beining City has bookstores, they are just small workshops that print vernacular stories. How could they be qualified to print such a masterpiece as 'Confucianism' for Lord Kong Ru?"
"Your Highness probably doesn't know that a book of tens of thousands of words can already cost more than two taels of silver on the market. That's why Master Kongru proposed that 'Confucianism' could only be sold for one tael of silver. This is to take care of all the scholars in the world who cannot afford to read books!"
Hearing Qiu Xingzhi's words, Qin Xuan realized what he meant. Qiu Xingzhi felt that his family did not have a qualified publishing house, so it was impossible to print "Confucianism" in large quantities, and even one or two copies were not possible!
That's right. Even Qin Xuan looks down on that shabby bookstore in Beining City.
But while Beining City doesn't have it, Qin Xuan does have it in his mind!
The printing technology of the time was extremely backward, and at most it could only achieve woodblock printing. In terms of both efficiency and effect, it could not compare with movable type printing.
In addition, the reason why books are expensive is because of the paper they are made of.
But Qin Xuan knew of a papermaking technique that produced not only the highest quality paper but also the lowest cost.
With these two powerful weapons, Qin Xuan didn't believe anyone in this era could rival him.
"I was abrupt."
Qin Xuan gave an awkward smile, and Qiu Xingzhi felt relieved, thinking that Qin Xuan had finally realized the shortcomings of Beining City. However, Qin Xuan said, "I forgot to tell you, sir, that Beining Bookstore in Beining City has the best printing and papermaking technology in the world, so the Confucian sage will definitely come to Beining City."