Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 276, Section 275: Writing Books and Biographies
The Minister of the Imperial Household immediately stiffened.

He had served the King of Qin for many years and had some understanding of the king's character. Although the king was somewhat unpredictable, he was usually quite direct in his actions.

There is only one thing—

Love makes one wish for life, hate makes one wish for death.

Your Majesty trusts General Yan, and by extension, the Yan family. Furthermore, Your Majesty is willing to entrust the fate and destiny of the Qin state to you.

Therefore, no one in the entire court dared to say a bad word about General Yan.

Before the New Year, Wang Xueyuan, the Imperial Censor who also served the Emperor, was suddenly demoted for a few minor mistakes, from one of the Three Dukes to a minor border patrol officer with no real power...

The wrath of Heaven is unpredictable; such is its power.

And now...

His body was stiff, and the more he bent over, the more sweat poured down his back.

Then, with a wry smile as he looked down, he said: "Yes."

This paper and this printing will break the knowledge monopoly of the nobles and powerful, but what it cannot break is the world ruled by the King of Qin.

The foundation of the Qin state is at stake, so I dare not speak of it for now.

However, the very foundation of their aristocratic families needs to be fundamentally altered.

Zhou Ju had silently descended the steps and taken the six-foot-long sheet of white Xuan paper from his hand.

My eyes swept over it at that moment, and I was immediately struck by its power.

He had certainly seen the King and Queen writing on paper; the Imperial Household Department had also been sending him paper with bark fibers attached.

However, the paper was not white enough or smooth enough, and the ink would bleed when dipped in it, making writing less than aesthetically pleasing. It was only with the graphite pencil provided by the Queen that it became more convenient.

But the white paper in front of me was as white as snow, thin and even, with ink stains that did not bleed through, and was exceptionally neat.

Although the seal script on it doesn't have much calligraphic beauty, it's unclear how it was engraved on it. The characters are neat, square, and uniform in size, arranged in an orderly fashion.

One glance is enough to make you feel pleasing to the eye.

He presented the paper to Ji Heng, who glanced at it and knew that it must have been engraved on the whole paper at the same time.

Coupled with what the Queen had said earlier about printing efficiency, Ji Heng's heart was filled with mixed emotions.

He understood the worries and anxieties of the Minister of the Imperial Household.

At the same time, he also knew that if he rashly launched the paper and broke another advantage of the aristocratic families, then their resentment at not getting enough benefits in the conquest of the six kingdoms would run rampant again.

However, there is absolutely no possibility of granting fiefdoms to them!
The Great Qin is his Great Qin, and as long as he lives, the territory of the Great Qin will never be divided among the states.

The Great Zhou Dynasty ruled the world for eight hundred years, but during those eight hundred years, the feudal lords were divided and did not obey the king's orders. Was the title of the Son of Heaven not a true one?
Great Qin, never become the next Great Zhou!
His mind was in turmoil, his eyes unfathomable, yet his voice remained remarkably calm:
"Minister of the Imperial Household, you have yet to answer: How will the Queen's gains shake the foundations of the state?"

"Is it the Queen's possession that threatens the foundation of the state, or are you all harboring resentment and attempting to use this to undermine my Great Qin?"

"I dare not!"

The Minister of the Imperial Household suddenly bowed, as if he wished he could prostrate himself to the ground, his back almost breaking.

"Your subject would never dare!"

His vision blurred, and he felt that he might lose his life today. But at this moment, he saw the King of Qin wave his hand heavily on the high platform, and a piece of clean white Xuan paper floated down in front of him.

"If that's the case, why send what the Queen needs to Zhangtai Palace?"

The Minister of the Imperial Household's hands trembled; his mind was blank. He quickly and gently picked up the paper in front of him, then, without a word, bowed and carefully withdrew from the hall.

The King to the Queen...

It really is!
He let out a long sigh of relief, then continued on his way to Ganquan Palace.

At the same time, Qin Shi was also thinking about this matter.

With paper produced and woodblock printing no longer a problem, the key to widespread adoption lies in appeasing those whose interests would be harmed. While the Qin state appears powerful today, its treasury is empty, its people are impoverished, and it faces both internal and external troubles.

Ji Heng absolutely forbids the granting of fiefdoms, so if he wants to maintain stability for the time being, he needs to feed the wolves that surround him.

Salt and sugar are strategic resources, and the main focus should still be on state ownership, but in accordance with national conditions, they can still be privately owned on a small scale.

A few small, scattered salt-producing sites could be appropriately introduced.

Without centrifuges, white sugar cannot be produced, which would slightly diminish the strategic importance of sugar. The recipe for brown sugar could also be appropriately relinquished, as long as a monopoly is avoided.

The cake recipes offered previously were only of modest value, but with Liuli Gongfang (琉璃工坊) and each shop having its own unique focus—all of these combined should be able to satisfy their appetites within three to five years.

As for three to five years from now...

If the desired talent cannot be cultivated within three to five years, then the ruler is incompetent.

If, three to five years later, the desired talent is found, but the ruler is still unable to control these powerful nobles, then it is also a sign of incompetence on the part of the ruler.

After all, this era has never seen a period of fragmentation and the rise of aristocratic families. The only voice in the Qin state still belongs to King Ji Heng of Qin.

She listed all of these things clearly on the paper, and then heard someone outside the palace announce:
"Your Majesty, the Minister of the Imperial Household requests an audience."

Qin Shi replied, "Tell him to wait a while."

Dan and Fei Qing will be meeting soon. Compared to the long-term promotion of culture, the well-being of the people is a more pressing matter.

……

The Minister of the Imperial Household was unaware of the Queen's various thoughts; he only knew that the Queen and the King were one.

Now, left standing unattended outside the palace, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Under the warm, fragrant air, sweat began to bead on his forehead again; his clothes were soaked and then dried, making him increasingly uncomfortable.

The maidservant glanced at her quietly, then turned and hurriedly reported back to the Red Maiden.

The woman frowned: "Send someone to find a servant to inquire..."

Qin Shi was unaware of this.

She simply held up the thick stack of Xuan paper in her hand and pointed to the various tables and line drawings she had created:
"I know you two are very diligent, watching over the chickens and ducks day and night without letting up. However, the previous records were rather cumbersome, and if they were to be circulated, they would be difficult for people to remember. Therefore, here are several types of tables..."

Date, growth status, daily diet, etc.

In all these situations, there are systematic methods for comparison and reference, allowing problems to be identified at any time.

Dan and Fei Qing stared blankly at the large stack of papers and the forms on them that were hard to understand. They felt a bit of pressure thinking about having to take time to learn these new reporting methods.

"Don't be afraid." Qin Shi knew that for them, who came from a background of maids, learning was not an easy task.

"Wait a little longer, everyone in Ganquan Palace will need to learn this method, so I will take the time to explain it in detail."

In any case, compared to lengthy articles, this kind of intuitive and effective output table is much easier to learn.

Seeing the two breathe a sigh of relief, Qin Shi then casually said:

“Once these simple and easy-to-understand forms are compiled into a book, I will have them printed and published, and then send people to the countryside to promote them, based on the township and county levels.”

They don't need to learn such details, but even if they can remember one or two key points, it would be a good thing if they could raise one or two more chickens and ducks.

Dan and Feiqing looked up blankly, their hearts pounding like drums.

Engraving...publishing a book?
Who?
Them? But the method was clearly the Queen's—

The thought had barely crossed their minds when they saw the Queen looking at them with a beaming smile!

"Book title: 【Secret Methods of Chicken and Duck Farming】, Authors: Dan and Fei Qing".

　Chicken and duck farming is of utmost importance!

　　In fact, it has only been a few decades since the entire population of the People's Republic of China had enough to eat.

　　(End of this chapter)