Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 188 All Parties Are Satisfied

The two parties left one after the other, both filled with joy.

Zhang Shiheng's newspaper was finally approved, and Changsun Wuji and his men got what they wanted.

Everyone has a bright future.

Li Chengqian stood up and walked towards the inner hall. Halfway there, he called a eunuch to prepare something.

"What do you think?"

he asked.

"Brother, have they promised not to object at the grand court meeting?" Li Zhi asked.

This is also what Li Ke wanted to ask.

As for Chang Sun Chong, the family head, he went to see his father off.

"I told you, the newspapers don't say what they think."

Li Ke said: "So, it can be understood that they do not object. In the grand court meeting, the people of the five surnames and seven families will not speak?"

Li Zhi's eyes lit up and he said, "That should be it."

But he was still a little uncertain and looked at his brother, the Crown Prince.

Li Chengqian said: "That's right."

"But brother, isn't this a bit of a threat?" Li Ke weighed his words and said, "They used this method to get the printing technology. If we don't give it to them, they will oppose it with all their strength."

"Are you even going to put Duke Song to death?"

It can be understood in this way.

They used the influence of public opinion to force Li Chengqian to bow his head and give them printing technology.

Li Chengqian said playfully, "How do you know whether I am passive or active in this threat?"

Li Ke's heart was shocked, and the logic in his mind gradually became clearer. He said, "I dare to ask my brother to solve my doubts."

"If I don't want to, it's useless for them to do anything."

Li Chengqian said calmly: "Printing technology is of no importance to me. Sooner or later it will be exposed and used by the world."

"But if I want to do something and achieve my goal, I have to give them hope."

"Rather than waiting for the day to be exposed, it is better to make the most of it."

"During this period of time, Shandong family has spent a lot of money on newspapers, but they have not been able to compete with Wenxian and other newspapers."

"They are very anxious, especially after they have tasted the sweetness of the influence brought by newspapers."

Li Ke and Li Zhi nodded. They also knew that publishing newspapers was not a simple waste of money. At only one cent per copy, they didn't have to think about making money at all.

The Jiangnan gentry had printing technology, but the losses were considerable if the profits were spread across each family.

Not to mention the handwritten newspapers of Shandong family, which suffered even greater losses.

But the influence of newspapers is there. If they don’t make progress, they will only fall further and further behind the Jiangnan gentry.

If they really wait until Jiangnan becomes powerful, it will be too late for them to regret.

"But for a printing process, do they have to be so humble?"

Li Zhi found it a little unbelievable.

"It's not that simple."

Li Chengqian said casually: "If they want to make peace with me, they have to lower their stance."

"Xiao Liangdi and the others are pregnant. If they give birth to a boy, everyone will know what it means."

"Chi Nu, if it were your family, and someone wanted to challenge the authority of the family, would you watch helplessly as the people around me who have nothing to do with you became more and more powerful, and even be able to influence some of my decisions?"

"Will you sit back and watch the threat grow?"

Li Zhi shook his head firmly, "Definitely not."

"That's clear."

At this time, the eunuch brought the things and placed them on the table in front of Li Chengqian. Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "One is that they want to repair their relationship with me, and the other is that they want to have the same status as the Jiangnan gentry in my mind."

"Third, based on the first two factors, they can use their fists and feet to fight against the Jiangnan gentry."

"They want me to be neutral."

"And what I want is that the prince stay in the capital, and they cannot say anything against it."

"To them, the newspapers are just alarmist, and they don't really care."

He tapped Li Zhi's forehead and said, "Now you should understand why I am so humble, right?"

Li Zhi smiled shyly, "But my brother rejected their request to send their daughter to the East Palace."

"My brother refused, but they dared not to see him off. Could they not?" Li Ke continued.

"Yes."

Li Zhi suddenly realized: "No matter what my brother says, they have to send it."

"Without their legitimate daughter in the East Palace, my brother would have no one to sleep with."

He chuckled and said, "Brother is extremely lucky."

"Little brat!"

Li Chengqian laughed and scolded, teasing him, shook his head and laughed, pushed the box on the table to Li Ke, and said, "Send this thing to Duke Song."

"Tell him that this is for him, and it can also be regarded as for the Jiangnan gentry."

"Some of them are for the Jiannan nobles."

“He understood it when he saw it.”

He paused and said, "As expected, the direction of the newspaper will change tomorrow."

"When they come to apologize, Duke Song should not refuse them."

Li Ke didn't know what was inside, he nodded solemnly.

"You go first."

"Yes!"

Li Ke left with the things.

Li Zhi stretched his head and looked for a long time, then turned back and said, "Brother, people outside are saying some bad things about Third Brother, do you really not care?"

Li Chengqian patted him on the back of his head and said, "Remember, don't trust the rumors out there."

"You are all my brothers, so we should treat you equally and trust each other."

"He is also your brother. Don't be easily provoked."

Li Zhi covered his forehead with his hands, looking aggrieved. Just say it, why hit me?

"The matter has been resolved."

"You have to show your attitude tomorrow."

Changsun Wuji smiled very relaxedly, and so did Gao Shilian. The depression that had been weighing on his chest finally dissipated.

Reconciling with the prince is more important than anything else.

Cui Dunli also smiled, "Don't worry, Duke. We know what to do."

"That's good." Changsun Wuji said, "You also need to tell the others not to speak carelessly during the grand court meeting."

"Understood!" Cui Dunli responded. Lu Chengqing hesitated and asked, "Should the legitimate daughter be sent to the East Palace? His Highness just refused."

"deliver."

"Why not?"

Gao Shilian said sternly: "Whether you want it or not is up to your Highness, but whether to send it or not is up to you."

"The king said no, so you took it seriously?"

"With such an attitude, how can you gain the prince's approval?"

Chang Sun Wuji nodded and said, "Don't worry, send it over. The prince won't refuse it."

"it is good!"

Cui Dunli and Lu Chengqing returned and immediately wrote a letter to their family to announce the good news.

But Cui Dunli heard the butler report that King Wei's men had visited him.

"What are you doing here?"

"What did you say?"

he asked with a frown.

The Shandong noble families had long given up on the King of Wei.

Although he had outstanding literary talent, his political awareness was too poor, so the prince quickly sent him to edit books.

If you don't finish the book, no matter how much support you get, you will no longer be qualified to participate in the fight for the throne.

"He said he hoped to borrow Cui's collection of books to compile into the Zhenguan Canon."

"Ah!"

Cui Dunli sneered, "That's a good plan. Borrowing my things will help him gain fame, right?"

"Whatever, just pretend nothing happened."

"Yes!"

……

Song Guogong Mansion.

Xiao Yu sipped the tea and found it more and more bitter.

The clamoring students and scholars outside made him feel very bad.

"Ah Lang, the people outside the door have dispersed."

"Ok?"

Xiao Yu paused while sipping his tea and asked in confusion, "Why are you here so early today?"

"I don't know. Suddenly, no one was there. They left very quickly."

He couldn't help but frown and thought for a moment. Could it be that the prince had resolved the matter?

But then he became furious again.

It turned out that those who blocked his way and scolded him all day were instructed by someone.

No wonder you come here every day but don’t do any work.

You are from a Shandong family, but you are so despicable and shameless.

Just then, the servant reported that King Wu had arrived.

After a while, Li Ke came over holding the box, "Uncle!"

"Saburo."

Xiao Yu asked him to sit down and asked with concern, "How is the prince doing?"

"It's taken care of."

Li Ke said: "Brother, if nothing unexpected happens, they will come to apologize tomorrow and restore the reputation of my uncle."

"It is true." Xiao Yu sighed.

"This is what I gave to my uncle..." Li Ke roughly recounted the story and said, "I don't know what's in the box either. My brother said you'll understand once you read it."

Xiao Yu did not hesitate and opened the box. Inside was a pile of papers and a piece of porcelain. He opened the porcelain first and saw something snow-white.

He stretched out his hand and rubbed two fingers, then tasted it and said in surprise: "It's salt!"

“This is flake salt.”

Salt?
Li Ke was stunned. What did sending salt mean?
Xiao Yu immediately checked the paper, his expression becoming more and more shocked and delighted, "It's the production process of snowflake salt."

"So that's how it is. That's how it is."

"I understand."

"What did uncle understand?" Li Ke asked curiously.

Xiao Yu showed the paper to Li Ke and said, "Your Highness has given us a huge fortune."

He stroked his beard and said happily, "Your Highness gave me this gift as compensation to this old man. It is also a disguised way of making up for giving the printing technology to the Shandong family and the Jiangnan gentry."

"It's like saying, I've suffered some injustice, and I'll give this craft to you, so I won't bother with it."

"Shandong Shijia has printing technology, and their newspapers are definitely on par with us, or even better than ours, but we shouldn't be upset because they have snowflake salt."

"Your Highness, he really has considered everything."

Li Ke was shocked by Xiao Yu's words, and he instantly understood the intention behind it.

He didn't know how to express it, he just felt that his brother's methods were really comprehensive and seemed to have taken everything into consideration.

The elder brother’s status as the crown prince, the prince staying in Beijing, the Shandong family, the Jiangnan gentry, and so on.

Who can say that the prince's handling of this matter was biased?
No one dares to say no.

Even the Jiannan nobles received compensation.

"Sanlang, you should stay with His Highness and learn a lot."

"Although you may not be as wise and majestic as His Highness, you should still be able to plan and think more carefully before dealing with things."

Li Ke said: "I have learned a lot. Thank you for your teachings, uncle."

"Then just wait for them to return the honor to me."

Xiao Yu's face was wrinkled with laughter. "This time, I have suffered such an unfair humiliation, but it is not a loss at all."

……

the next day.

The newspapers in Chang'an City had a polarized reversal of opinion. Originally, they denounced Xiao Yu as a treacherous minister close to the prince, but now they strongly praised Xiao Yu as a loyal minister.

Cui Dunli, Lu Chengqing and other prominent families from the Five Surnames and Seven Families came to apologize with generous gifts.

Xiao Yu showed his magnanimity by opening the middle door to welcome him and accepting his apology.

The students and scholars in Chang'an City gathered outside the Duke of Song's mansion and witnessed this scene with their own eyes.

"After manipulating public opinion to this extent, will the imperial court just turn a blind eye and allow them to run rampant?"

Someone sighed sadly.

(End of this chapter)