What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 246 The Empress's Great Breakthrough, the System Pops Up!

The Empress examined the contents of the box more closely.

She recognized each one, but when they were combined and placed in the same box, the Empress couldn't understand what they meant at all.

A square copper grid, covered with a dark substance that emits a faint pine scent, next to which are a round bamboo roller, a wool brush, and a small porcelain bottle.

After picking up the copper square, there are several small square boxes underneath.

Inside were small, stamp-like characters in bronze, and the box was marked with the initials and finals created by Su Mo, which was quite strange.

The Empress looked at Su Mo suspiciously: "What is this thing, and what is its purpose? I can't understand it."

Su Mo smiled, not answering the Empress's question, but instead suddenly asked, "Today we are reunited after a long separation. Lord Leng, would you be willing to compose a poem?"

Leng Liuxi didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

What kind of reunion is this? It's only been a month.

Those who go on long journeys to study or serve as officials in other places, and don't return to their hometowns for several years or even ten years, that's what we call a long-awaited reunion, isn't it?

However, they have all written many poems for themselves.

It is impolite not to reciprocate.

This also lets Su Lang know that his own knowledge is not bad, and that he shouldn't be underestimated by Su Lang.

The Empress paused for a moment, her lips parted slightly, and she spoke with the grace of orchids: "The sparse shadows of the window are like frost under the moon; I lean alone against the railing, tears staining my silk robe. Ten years of traces, ten years of longing; when the wild geese return, autumn is already here."

She paused slightly, then sang softly: "Suddenly I heard the jingling of the eaves horse, and thought it was you returning, but then I dreamt of a fleeting dream. I pushed open the door and saw your old makeup, your temples frosted with snow, and your smile full of vicissitudes."

Su Mo was slightly stunned.

Who would have thought that the Empress could speak eloquently, possessing virtue, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor skills... no, she was proficient in all three arts: literature, martial arts, and immortality.

She still writes these kinds of poems expressing the grievances of women confined to their chambers.

My second uncle was right after all; the stronger a woman is, the more she craves affection from others.

After Leng Liuxi finished reciting the poem.

Su Mo deftly selected the corresponding copper movable type from the squares based on the pronunciation.

They were then placed side by side in the printing box.

The Empress frowned slightly as she watched Su Mo operate the device. In the blink of an eye, she saw that the poem she had just written was neatly arranged in the bronze box!

This is?

Woodblock printing?

The Empress looked at Su Mo in surprise!

She finally vaguely understood.

Su Mo was too lazy to ask the Empress for a stove. He placed his palm on the bottom of the copper coin, circulated his pure yang power, and showed off his peak Soul-Stabilizing Realm magic power.

A moment later, the wood ash and pine resin melted and fixed the copper movable type in place.

Pick up the roller and roll it on the movable type to press it flat.

Once the resin has cooled and set, the specially prepared printing ink is poured out of the porcelain bottle and evenly applied to the movable type with a wool brush.

Then, a roll of Suzhou paper was pulled out from the roller.

The Empress's eyes narrowed involuntarily again, her gaze fixed on the pale yellow Su paper!
Only then did she realize that there was paper hidden inside the roller.

Su Mo took a sheet of Su paper, covered it on the copper movable type, and gently rolled the rollers over it.

He then lifted the paper, smiling, and handed it to the Empress: "Lord Leng, take a look!"

The Empress took a deep breath, suppressing her excitement, and looked at him as she calmly accepted the paper.

On the pale yellow paper, the poem he had just written was clearly printed.

From the moment the lyrics were written to the moment they were printed, only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn has passed!

The Empress slowly put down the paper, then couldn't help but pick it up again and carefully read it over. Finally, she turned her gaze to Su Mo: "Is this the gift that Su Lang gave to me?"

"And also, is this paper made by Su Lang?"

Su Mo nodded and smiled, "This humble servant has worked diligently for the past month without slacking off, and has finally lived up to His Majesty and Lord Leng's expectations by producing paper."

He pointed to the copper movable type: "This is a copper movable type that I specially made to facilitate the printing of articles into books."

"With this copper movable type, books can be printed quickly, saving the trouble of carving the printing blocks!"

Even without Su Mo saying it, the Empress understood the great significance and value of movable type printing.

Traditionally, only woodblock printing could be used to print books.

The reason why books are so expensive is not only due to the cost of paper, but also because the woodblocks are difficult to make.

Creating woodblocks is extremely time-consuming; if even one character is mistakenly written incorrectly, the entire block must be redone!
If calculated according to traditional woodblock printing, even if one's own words are only a hundred or eighty characters long, it would still take several days to print them out.

Su Mo's copper movable type was completed in just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!

The Empress gave Su Mo a deep look: "This gift from Su Lang is truly excellent, and I am very pleased with it!"

She hesitated for a moment, her pretty face becoming slightly serious: "Is Su Lang planning to use these copper movable type... to deal with the Wang family?"

Even the Empress was extremely cautious when dealing with powerful clans.

In fact, she couldn't directly step forward to support Su Mo.

This will certainly raise the alarm of the entire aristocratic family class, forcing them to join forces to deal with it.

This is not the time for a full-scale confrontation with the powerful clans.

Therefore, the Empress specially introduced Princess Baicheng to Su Mo, indirectly finding Su Mo a powerful backer.

Su Mo would naturally not hide anything from the Empress.

The Empress was young and impetuous, and would not easily compromise with powerful clans and aristocratic families. She was determined to fight them until a victor emerged.

What she wants is a trusted confidant who will stand firmly by her side!

Therefore, Su Mo nodded emphatically without hesitation.

"Not bad!"

"The Wang family has gone too far! I cannot swallow this insult!"

Su Mo's face darkened, and he sneered disdainfully: "In my opinion, there are only three reasons why powerful clans are so deeply rooted and difficult to resist."

"Money, fame, and knowledge are monopolized!"

"Among these, the monopoly of knowledge is the most crucial!"

The Empress couldn't help but say, "There are many powerful and influential families in the court!"

Su Mo waved his hand: "Power is secondary!"

"No matter how important a minister is, Your Majesty can remove him at any time if you wish. The reason why it is difficult to make a decision is simply because you are worried that once he is removed, there will not be enough officials to maintain the operation of the court!"

"Ultimately, it is the powerful clans that control money, fame, and knowledge. Those selected by the imperial court are all their people!"

The Empress's eyes lit up: "Therefore, Su Lang plans to use this paper and movable type printing to... use the Thirty-Six Stratagems to cut off the fuel supply from under the cauldron?"

"As long as ordinary people can easily learn knowledge, the channels for advancement will not be controlled by powerful families, and Your Majesty will not need to worry about demoting officials from powerful families, resulting in a lack of capable officials?"

Su Mo sighed inwardly that the Empress was indeed the Empress; she had learned and applied the Thirty-Six Stratagems in a practical way, and it was indeed just right for this situation!

He nodded and smiled, "You're right, sir. That's exactly what I was thinking."

"The powerful clans and the Great Wu are actually the same as the clerks and officials in the government!"

Just as the Empress was about to speak, Su Mo added, "However, this is only one of my thoughts!" The Empress was slightly taken aback.

In her view, Su Mo's ability to use papermaking and incredibly efficient movable type printing to attack the dissemination of knowledge controlled by powerful families was already an astonishing feat.

Su Mo actually said that this was only one aspect?

Su Lang is indeed vindictive, yet he is also incredibly cunning and possesses unparalleled talent.

The Wang family has offended him, and they're really in for a world of trouble.

However, if you treat him well in the first place, he will treat you well in return.

Su Mo then added, "As I said, powerful families rely on money, fame, and knowledge to monopolize power!"

"Besides enabling the mass and rapid printing of books and the dissemination of knowledge, movable type printing can also simultaneously attack the wealth and reputation of powerful families!"

The Empress's eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Please enlighten me, Master Su!"

Su Mo directly used the Wang family, their rival, as an example: "Paper making can make money!"

"The Wang family, for example, acquired a large amount of money by semi-monopolizing the paper industry, and then used it to support their own family members, gaining fame and status!"

"This humble servant made the cold Su paper..."

The Empress looked at Su Mo suspiciously: "Leng Su Zhi?"

Su Mo smiled and said, "This paper was made by my orders, Your Excellency, therefore I named it Cold Su Paper..."

The Empress blushed slightly and whispered, "Is...is this appropriate?"

"I...I haven't offered Su Lang any help whatsoever..."

Su Mo asked righteously, "What's inappropriate about it?"

"Lord Leng has been of great help to this humble servant!"

“If it weren’t for your support, sir, how could I have made this paper? If, as you say, this paper wasn’t made by my own hands, but by a craftsman, does that mean even Suzhou paper is unusable?”

The Empress hesitated for a moment, then smiled gently and said, "Hmm... then let's call him Leng Suzhi."

Su Mo continued the previous topic, but was interrupted by the Empress and forgot where he was: "Where was I?"

The Empress covered her mouth and chuckled: "Speaking of your creation of the Cold Su Paper to deal with the Wang family."

Su Mo smiled and said, "That's right!"

"The cold-pressed paper I make is much better than the paper from the Wang family, and the material is mainly bamboo, so the production volume is large and the cost is low."

"By simply lowering the price slightly, we can easily crush the Wang family's paper mill and strike at their lifeline of revenue!"

The Empress gently nodded her head: "How can you explain the word 'name' in one sentence?"

Su Mo pointed to the first volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "The powerful families, with their reputations, are nothing more than doing good deeds. But to make these good deeds known to the public, the key lies in the channels!"

"This humble servant will name this 'public opinion'!"

"Controlling public opinion means controlling the moral high ground and securing an invincible position!"

The Empress's eyes grew even brighter.

I feel that Su Mo's words make a lot of sense.

It's a pity he refused to be my teacher... Well, it's fine as it is now, anyway, Su Lang has taken the initiative to impart his knowledge to me.

Su Mo then added, "As the saying goes, 'three men can make a tiger.'"

"Even if the powerful clans have not done any real good deeds, as long as enough people say so, the uninformed masses will naturally believe that the powerful clans have done good deeds!"

"I cannot attack the aristocratic families with public opinion now, but it is also crucial to control our own channels of public opinion."

He paused slightly, noticed a teacup on the table, and assumed it was prepared for him by the Empress, so he picked it up.

Just as I was about to drink it, I noticed a faint rouge mark on the rim of the teacup. It turned out to be the Empress's teacup.

But it wasn't an easy time to give up now, so he forced himself to take a sip and said, "With this movable type printing..."

"I can then print tabloids and storybooks so that my words can be known to countless people."

"I can print the works of such literary giants and great scholars as soon as possible, far faster than other bookstores."

"Because the cost is lower, the price can be much lower than other bookstores, so sales should be excellent!"

"Once tabloids and books are accepted by scholars and the general public, I will not be unable to speak out due to a lack of channels, nor will I be unable to leave the Su residence and reach the ears of the people!"

The Empress took a deep breath, her beautiful face grave, and said, "If the court had the channels of public opinion that you mentioned, it would certainly not be that government orders could not leave the capital... no, it would be that government orders could not reach the countryside?"

Su Mo naturally dared not respond to the Empress's words.

The Empress looked at Su Mo with a complicated expression.

This gift truly touched her heart.

It seems that Su Lang really cares about him.

He didn't keep such a valuable thing as copper movable type to himself; instead, he sent it to me immediately!

She hesitated for a moment, then chuckled softly and repeated what she had said before: "I really...I really like this gift from Su Lang!"

"What kind of return gift does Su Lang wish for?"

Su Mo's eyes suddenly lit up slightly.

As expected, the Empress's favorability rating has been refreshed again!

It's unprecedented that it's risen by a full six points!
It's almost 50%!

He remained calm, hesitated slightly, and finally shook his head, saying, "This humble servant never intended to receive any reward from you, sir."

"This humble servant dared not conceal the truth from you, sir. The reason I gave you the copper movable type was actually because I had ulterior motives."

The Empress was slightly taken aback: "Does Su Lang have ulterior motives?"

Su Mo nodded: "The Wang family is pressing me relentlessly, and I have been hiding in Lonely Peak Mountain, afraid to show my face. The Wang family has also been urging grain merchants to stop selling rice!"

He snorted heavily: "As Your Majesty knows, there are tens of thousands of people on Lone Peak Mountain. If we run out of food, wouldn't that lead to a major disaster!"

"Since the Wang family won't give me a way out, even though I'm just an ant and I'm afraid of death, I have no choice but to fight with all my might so that the Wang family will know that even a commoner's anger can cause bloodshed!"

The Empress chuckled lightly, "Who says my lord is but an ant?"

Su Mo gritted his teeth and said frankly, "This humble servant knows he is no match for the Wang family and the other five noble clans and seven prominent families. He can only place his hopes on His Majesty!"

"The method I described for dealing with powerful clans actually has a fatal weakness!"

"These methods all require strong military support. To act on my own is to commit suicide!"

"Therefore, I send the movable type printing press to you, sir, so that you may present it to His Majesty!"

Su Mo glanced at the Empress again: "Under the whole heaven, only Your Majesty can implement these three strategies!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Fu Yao's favorability rating increased by three points in an instant!

50%!

Then, the system popped up without warning!

[Hint! The target's affinity level has reached 50%!]

【congratulations……】

　This is an additional chapter, updated after receiving 400 monthly votes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)