Transmigrating to the Three Kingdoms as Lu Bu: I Have a Pseudo-Apocalypse System

The paper mills and printing workshops in Chang'an were brightly lit, with craftsmen working in shifts to meet demand.

Newly produced, inexpensive paper was produced in abundance, and after typesetting, printing, and binding, it was transformed into books such as the Analects, the Book of Poetry, and the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, filling warehouses.

In mid-July, the first batch of 30,000 books was loaded onto trucks and sent to government-run bookstores in various counties and prefectures of Sili.

Jia Xu specifically instructed the escorting officials: "The prices of the books have been set: 120 coins for the Analects, 100 coins for the Book of Poetry, and 80 coins for the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. Make sure the prices are clearly marked, do not raise them, and do not hoard them for speculation."

The escorting officer bowed and said, "Minister Jia, rest assured, I will strictly enforce the order."

The convoy left the city in a grand procession, attracting crowds of onlookers who discussed the spectacle.

"I heard a book only costs around a hundred yuan; I can buy one by working seven or eight days!"

"Yes, in the past, if you wanted to read books, you had to copy them by hand. Each bamboo slip cost ten coins, and copying a whole Analects would cost several thousand coins. You also had to ask someone for help."

"Duke Jin has truly done a great deed!"

When the news reached the counties and prefectures, scholars from humble backgrounds were overjoyed, while members of prominent families were gloomy.

Zuo Fengyi, Suyi County.

The most powerful family in the county was the Tian family. The head of the family, Tian Hengnian, was about fifty years old. He had served as the county magistrate, but resigned due to disagreements with the previous magistrate. However, members of the Tian family were scattered throughout the county government, and many of the village heads and hamlet heads in the countryside were also members of the Tian family.

On the 23rd of July, a government-run bookstore opened in the East Market of Suyi County. The shopkeeper, surnamed Wang, was a minor official sent from Chang'an. He brought two assistants and neatly arranged the books on wooden shelves, with price lists hanging outside the door.

On the day of its opening, many scholars from humble backgrounds and ordinary people came to watch.

A young scholar picked up a copy of the Analects, opened it, and read it. The handwriting was clear, and although the paper wasn't as smooth as silk, it was perfectly readable. He excitedly asked, "Shopkeeper, is this book really only 120 coins?"

Shopkeeper Wang laughed and said, "I'm honest and fair to all, young and old. Duke Jin personally set the price; who would dare to change it?"

The scholar took out his money: "I want one!"

"Me too!"

"Leave me a copy of the Book of Songs!"

In a short time, more than twenty copies were sold.

On the second floor of the teahouse across the street, Tian Heng, along with his son Tian Fang and nephew Tian Yi, looked out the window with grim expressions.

Tian Fang said in a low voice, "Father, if we continue selling like this, the books will spread, and even those peasants will be able to read and write and take the imperial examinations to become officials. Then our Tian family will lose its advantage."

Tian Yi snorted: "One hundred and twenty coins a book, that's too cheap! In the past, every book in our family's collection cost tens of thousands of coins to have someone copy it. Now, at this price, it's practically as cheap as toilet paper."

Tian Heng pondered for a moment and said, "We can't let these books fall into the hands of poor families. Fang'er, go and buy all the books in the bookstore."

Tian Fang was taken aback: "All of them? That would be thousands of books, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars."

"So be it," Tian Heng said calmly. "Money can be earned back, but if it allows the poor to rise up and shakes our foundation, then money can't solve the problem."

Tian Yi cautioned, "Uncle, the imperial court has clearly stipulated that hoarding and speculation are prohibited. If discovered..."

Tian Heng sneered, "I'm not reselling it; I'm buying it for my own collection. What business is it of the court? Go now."

Tian Fang accepted the order, went downstairs with five or six servants, and went straight to the bookstore.

Seeing that a distinguished customer had arrived, Manager Wang greeted him with a smile: "Young master, what kind of book would you like to buy?"

Tian Fang glanced at the bookshelf: "How many books do you have here?"

Shopkeeper Wang said, "There are 500 copies of the Analects, 400 copies of the Book of Poetry, 300 copies of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, and 200 other miscellaneous books, totaling 1,400 books."

"I'll take them all." Tian Fang took out his money pouch. "Let's settle the bill."

Shopkeeper Wang was stunned: "All...all of it?"

"What, not selling?"

"Sell, of course I'll sell," Manager Wang hurriedly replied, "but young master, the imperial court stipulates that hoarding is prohibited..."

Tian Fang interrupted, "Rules are rules, but I'm making these purchases on behalf of my family's children. If you don't sell, I'll go to Chang'an and accuse you of obstructing education."

Manager Wang hesitated.

Tian Fang was the eldest son of the Tian family, whose influence in Suyi County was immense. He couldn't afford to offend them, but the imperial edict clearly stated that "hoarding and speculation are prohibited."

While he was still hesitating, Tian Fang placed a bag of gold ingots on the counter: "Here is twenty taels of gold, worth two hundred thousand in cash. Is that enough? Consider the extra a bonus."

Fourteen hundred books, totaling about fifteen thousand coins. Twenty gold coins would be enough, with fifty thousand left over.

Shopkeeper Wang looked at the gold ingots, gritted his teeth, and said, "Alright, I'll sell them to you."

He instructed his servants to count the books, pack them up, and load them onto the carriage. Tian Fang's servants carried stacks of books onto the carriage.

The poor scholars waiting outside the door became anxious upon seeing this.

"Shopkeeper, why are they all sold out? We haven't bought any yet!"

"Yeah, why should he buy them all?"

Shopkeeper Wang bowed and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, everyone, but Young Master Tian wants to buy books for his family members, so I can't refuse to sell them to you! When the next batch of books arrives, I will definitely save some for you."

A young scholar angrily retorted, "What family-wide centralized purchasing? The Tian family doesn't need so many books! It's clearly the Tian family trying to monopolize the book market!"

Tian Fang turned around and glared at him: "What did you say?"

The scholar, intimidated by his imposing manner, took a half step back, but remained defiant: "I'm telling the truth! Your Tian family is trying to cut off our path to education!"

Tian Fang sneered, "My Tian family buys books legally and in accordance with the law. What's it to you? If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll arrest you and take you to the authorities!"

The scholar's face turned pale with anger, but he dared not say another word. The Tian family had connections in the county government; if things really escalated, he would be the one to suffer.

More than a thousand books were brought back to the Tian residence. Tian Heng ordered his servants to move them into the library, lock the door, and keep the key himself.

Tianyi asked, "Uncle, are we just going to leave these books here?"

Tian Heng said, "Let's leave it for now and deal with it slowly after things have calmed down. We can't let it fall into the hands of a poor family."

The news quickly reached Chang'an.

In the study of the Duke of Jin's mansion, Lü Bu was reading reports on the progress of reforms sent from various places when Jia Xu hurriedly entered.

"My lord, something has happened in Suyi County."

Lü Bu looked up: "What is it?"

Jia Xu reported in detail about how the Tian family had bought up all the books in the bookstores of Suyi County, and concluded by saying, "Similar situations have also occurred in Fufeng, Hongnong, Hedong and other counties. Local powerful families have been buying up large quantities of cheap books under the guise of purchasing for county schools or for family collections, leaving poor scholars with no books to buy."

Lu Bu put down the bamboo slips and laughed: "These aristocratic families certainly have simple and direct methods."

Guo Jia, standing to the side, said, "My lord, should we order a thorough investigation and punish them for hoarding and speculation?"

Lu Bu shook his head: "They took advantage of a loophole, claiming it was for their own use, so it doesn't count as hoarding. Forcibly punishing them would only give others grounds for criticism."

He thought for a moment and said, "Order the printing press and paper mill to work overtime and expand production. Also, allocate funds and grain, recruit more craftsmen, and increase output."

Jia Xu said, "My lord, even if production doubles, if powerful families continue to buy up all the production, it will only be a temporary solution."

Lü Bu laughed and said, "Then let them buy. They have money, so let them buy. But tell bookstores everywhere to start a pre-order system. If poor scholars can't buy the books, they can register their name, address, and the books they want at the bookstore and prepay for them. When the next batch of books arrives, those who pre-ordered will be given priority."