novelAbuy Chapter 51 A Hot Commodity
Chapter 51 A Hot Commodity
The great development of Qingzhou is not only reflected in its military and economy.
In terms of culture, Li Zhao has also begun to make arrangements.
He knew that to truly control the world, force alone was not enough.
We also need to control the discourse.
We must win the hearts of all scholars in the world.
To achieve this, a true "cultural guru" must be brought in to oversee things.
This person was Zheng Xuan, Zheng Kangcheng.
This person was the most famous Confucian scholar in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, a great Confucian scholar in the country.
He annotated numerous classic texts and founded the "Zheng School," wielding unparalleled influence among scholars.
It can be said that whoever gains Zheng Xuan's support will control the discourse among the scholars of the land.
At this time, Zheng Xuan was living in seclusion in Gaomi County, Beihai Kingdom, Qingzhou, to avoid the chaos of war.
All the feudal lords wanted to invite him to come out of seclusion to bolster their power.
Yuan Shao sent a thousand taels of gold and a four-horse carriage as a gift.
Cao Cao sent a personal letter and a rare, ancient book.
Even Liu Biao, who was far away in Jingzhou, sent someone to deliver an invitation.
Every day, Zheng Xuan's house was bustling with carriages and messengers.
However, Zheng Xuan saw no one.
He was not interested in the recruitment efforts of these feudal lords.
He only wanted to quietly pursue his studies and annotate scriptures.
On this day, at Zheng Xuan's hermitage in Gaomi County.
Another group of envoys arrived.
This time it was Yuan Shao's envoy, and it was Xin Pi again.
He had suffered a setback in Qingzhou last time, and this time Yuan Shao sent him to invite Zheng Xuan, hoping to regain his face.
He brought with him a personal letter from Yuan Shao, ten boxes of gold and silver jewelry, and several volumes of precious ancient bamboo slips.
"Lord Kangcheng! The Grand General admires your learning and has specially sent me to invite you!"
Xinpi stood outside the thatched cottage and shouted loudly.
"The General has already built a place for you to lecture in Ye City. We urge Lord Kang Cheng to come out of seclusion and impart knowledge to the scholars of the world!"
He had his men display the gold, silver, jewels, and ancient books at the entrance, making them dazzling and glittering.
The door to the thatched cottage creaked open.
An elderly man with white hair and beard, and a sprightly appearance, came out.
It was Zheng Xuan.
He glanced at the things by the door, his face expressionless.
"I am old and frail, and unable to travel. I appreciate the General's kindness. Please take these things back with you, messenger."
Zheng Xuan's voice was flat, revealing a cold indifference that kept people at a distance.
Xinpi grew anxious.
"Lord Kangcheng! This is a token of the General's goodwill! If you refuse it like this, wouldn't you be disrespecting the General?"
He pointed to the ancient books and said:
"These are unique copies passed down from the previous dynasty! They are priceless! Doesn't Duke Kangcheng have any interest in them?"
Zheng Xuan glanced at the bamboo slips indifferently.
"So what if it's a rare book? If it can't be widely circulated and read by more people, it's nothing more than a pile of rotten wood."
After saying that, he turned around, went back into the house, and closed the door.
Xinpi was turned away and became so angry that his face turned ashen.
He didn't expect the old man to be so ungrateful.
He was about to have an attack.
Just then, another group of people arrived on the official road.
There were only a dozen or so riders.
There were no flags or any ceremonial processions.
The leader was a young man in his twenties, dressed in an ordinary blue robe, looking travel-worn.
It was Sun Fu, a clerk in the Prime Minister's office in Pingyuan.
Xinpi was delighted when he saw it.
Isn't this Li Zhao's peasant subordinate?
What, does Li Zhao also want to invite Zheng Xuan?
Him? A nouveau riche?
What makes him comparable to a great general?
Comparing money? Zheng Xuan didn't care about money.
Comparing books? That boorish Li Zhao probably hasn't even read the entire Analects of Confucius.
Xin Pi crossed his arms, waiting to see Li Zhao make a fool of himself.
Sun Fu jumped off his horse and walked to the front of the thatched cottage.
He didn't shout like Sinpi.
Instead, he bowed respectfully.
"I am Sun Fu, a junior clerk in the Pingyuan Prime Minister's residence. I have come to pay my respects to Duke Kangcheng on the orders of my family's Prime Minister."
There was no sound in the thatched cottage.
Zheng Xuan clearly did not want to receive guests.
Sinpi sneered from the side:
"Sun Shuzuo, don't waste your energy."
"Even our Grand General won't see Duke Kangcheng, so why would he see your nouveau riche lord?"
"You'd better hurry up and take your lousy gifts back home, instead of making a fool of yourself here."
Sun Fu ignored him.
He straightened up and took a package from the horse behind him.
The package wasn't big, and it didn't look very heavy.
Sun Fu untied the package.
There are only two things inside.
A thick stack of snow-white, smooth paper.
And a set of beautifully bound thread-bound books.
The paper is bamboo pulp paper that Li Zhao improved using technology provided by the system.
It is white, delicate, flexible, and inexpensive.
The book is the Analects of Confucius, printed by Li Zhao using movable type printing.
The handwriting is clear and neat, and the layout is well-spaced.
Sun Fu held the two items with both hands and said respectfully again:
"Lord Kangcheng! My prime minister knows that you do not love gold and silver, nor do you desire power."
"Therefore, I specially sent these two items for you, Lord Kangcheng, to take a look."
"My prime minister said that even if Duke Kangcheng sees these two things, he still won't be willing to come out of seclusion."
"Then we'll leave immediately and won't linger."
There was still no sound from the thatched cottage.
However, after a moment, the door opened again.
The door opened again.
Zheng Xuan came out again.
My eyes were immediately drawn to the stack of white papers in Sun Fu's hand.
He strode forward, his hand trembling slightly as he reached out and touched the piece of paper.
Smooth, delicate, and soft.
The touch was even better than the finest silk; just one touch almost gave Sun Fu a jolt of pleasure.
Sun Fu snapped out of his daze and eagerly picked up the book.
Turn the page.
A faint scent of ink wafted over.
The handwriting on it was neat and tidy, with no characters too big or too small; they were all the same size.
Every character is the same size and arranged neatly.
How... how did they do that?
Did they invite many calligraphers to write it stroke by stroke?
That would take so much manpower and resources!
Moreover, Zheng Xuan had never seen this book bound in this way before.
Instead of bulky bamboo scrolls, they were bound page by page, making them extremely convenient to flip through.
Zheng Xuan's hands began to tremble.
His eyes were starting to light up.
That was a thirst for knowledge, and awe at the progress of civilization.
As a master of classical studies, he knew all too well what these two things meant.
During the Han Dynasty, the main writing materials were bamboo slips and wooden tablets.
Bulky, expensive, and difficult to preserve.
Although Cai Lun improved papermaking techniques, the paper at that time was still relatively rough and the output was low, so it did not become widespread.
The paper before me is as white as snow and as thin as a wing. How convenient it would be to write books on this kind of paper!
What shocked him even more was the book.
He knew this wasn't handwritten.
It's impossible for every word in a handwritten book to be so neat.
The only possible explanation for this is that it was manufactured industrially, which means it could be mass-produced.
A technology that can mass-produce books!
Upon realizing this, Zheng Xuan's breathing became rapid.
"What...what is this?"
Zheng Xuan's voice was hoarse and trembling as he spoke.