Duke of Zhenguan

Chapter 125 Zhenguan Bookstore

Lin Chuan opened his mouth, unsure whether to admit it or refute it.

If he refuted her, Li Shimin would surely continue to suspect him; if he admitted it, it would seem like he was committing the crime of deceiving the emperor.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Chuan still didn't refute, but he still had to explain, saying that he had forgotten a lot of things because he was sick.

News related to Lin Chuan was always delivered to Li Shimin by the Hundred Cavalry Division as soon as possible, so Li Shimin knew the cause and effect without Lin Chuan having to explain.

Although the Wang brothers, Wang Tong and Wang Ji, were also from a branch of the Taiyuan Wang clan, they had long since lost any connection. Moreover, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and others had studied under Wang Tong, so Lin Chuan's identity naturally placed him on their side.

Li Shimin grew to like Lin Chuan more and more the more he looked at him, and when he thought about what Lin Chuan had done over the past year, he even felt a little indebted to him.

Lin Chuan also vaguely sensed the change in Li Shimin's attitude. Although he felt a little awkward, he was mostly relieved. He hadn't expected that his predecessor had left him such a useful identity!

"How is the academy's admissions process going?" Li Shimin changed the subject.

"Your Majesty, we have almost finished recruiting them!" Lin Chuan replied.

"That's good!"

The matter of student recruitment naturally couldn't be kept from Li Shimin, but since Lin Chuan didn't speak up, he naturally didn't say anything either.

In his view, it would be better to recruit the sons of officials, since they already have a foundation and are easier to teach.

However, he did not intend to interfere too much with the Gewu Academy. He wanted to see Lin Chuan's abilities. If Lin Chuan could cultivate those talented but incompetent sons of soldiers into capable individuals, he would support Lin Chuan in expanding the Gewu Academy without hesitation.

Speaking of the academy, he suddenly remembered the book printing matter and said to Lin Chuan, "Li San has reported to me about the book printing project at the Institute of Gewu. Since book printing is so cheap, I will send some more people to Li San to print more books. I will also have someone open a bookstore in Chang'an!"

Lin Chuan looked at Li Shimin and saw that Li Shimin didn't seem to be joking. After thinking for a moment, he tentatively said to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, since you want to open a bookstore, why not open one in every prefecture and county of the Tang Dynasty?"

Nowadays, paper is cheap to produce and printing is not troublesome. As many books as you want, you can print as many as you want. I think we can use a unified name so that people can tell at a glance that it is Your Majesty's establishment!

The books inside don't need to be of high quality, but they must be cheap. Not only do they need to be inexpensive, but there also needs to be some tables and chairs so that even if people don't have money to buy books, they can still sit inside and read!

Rumors about Lin Chuan being the reincarnation of the Maitreya deity are still spreading wildly in Chang'an, and it's obvious that someone is constantly fanning the flames behind the scenes.

Since they wanted to disgust Lin Chuan, Lin Chuan naturally wouldn't hold back. The reason those powerful families had such influence was, besides...

They possessed vast tracts of land, controlled books and schools, and monopolized access to learning, which naturally led to a monopoly on scholars and the right to speak.

Running a school can't be rushed, but you can sell a lot of books to people who can't afford them. Although the effect may not be obvious in the short term, it's enough to disgust them.

Upon hearing Lin Chuan's words, Li Shimin's eyes lit up; it seemed feasible!

The whole world belongs to him, so naturally he doesn't need to worry about making money; the price of his books only needs to cover costs.

But if we could really do as Lin Chuan said and open a bookstore in every prefecture and county of the Tang Dynasty, would we still be afraid of not being able to win over the hearts of scholars all over the world?

Upon realizing the brilliance of the plan, Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Haha, this plan is brilliant! Brilliant!"

Li Shimin was ambitious about opening a bookstore, and Lin Chuan offered his advice without reservation. It wasn't until noon that Lin Chuan came out of the palace.

Seeing that it was still early, Lin Chuan went to the Ministry of Personnel.

Find the Imperial Physician and talk to him about registering Mei Xiang's identity. The man is a favorite of Li Shimin. Although he is an Imperial Physician like himself, he is also the Crown Prince's Assistant!

After clarifying Lin Chuan's requirements, the physician Si Feng didn't ask anything else, not even Mei Xiang's identity, and immediately started registering the matter. The process went so smoothly that it surprised Lin Chuan.

Upon returning home, as Lin Chuan expected, more than a dozen captains were waiting in the front yard, mostly from the Left Guard and the Left Commander Guard under Yuchi Jingde.

Lin Chuan agreed to all of them as long as the age requirement was met.

He entertained these people, and they drank until midnight. After two consecutive nights of being drunk, Lin Chuan had to control his alcohol intake, but he still got about 80 or 90 percent drunk.

When people are drunk, they don't think about those messy things. That night, holding Meixiang in bed, in his hazy state, Lin Chuan casually asked, "Meixiang, do you know what your surname is?"

"I don't know!" Meixiang paused, then said sadly.

"It's alright, you'll have the surname Lin from now on!" Lin Chuan comforted him.

The next day, after the court assembly, Lin Chuan was kept behind by Li Shimin again.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"No need for formalities! Please sit down!"

Li Shimin waved his hand, gesturing for Lin Chuan to sit down, and then asked, "What ideas do you have for the name of the bookstore?"

"Uh, no! Your Majesty's decision is fine!"

Lin Chuan quickly shook his head. Why would you ask him about something so trivial?

"Speak up!" Li Shimin glared at Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan seemed to understand something, glanced at Li Shimin, thought for a moment, and asked, "What does Your Majesty think of the Zhenguan Bookstore?"

"good!"

Sure enough, as soon as Lin Chuan finished speaking, Li Shimin clapped his hands and praised loudly.

Lin Chuan, with his head down, twitched the corner of his mouth. Sure enough, those who can become emperors are shameless.

After calming himself down, Lin Chuan respectfully said to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, after the opening of the Gewu Academy, I will be personally teaching mathematics and will have no time to go to the Ministry of War. I request to resign from my position as the Director of the Ministry of War!"

"Keep it, but you don't need to go to the Ministry of War. Apart from the Grand Court Assembly, you don't need to attend the regular court assemblies. Just manage the academy well!" Li Shimin waved his hand magnanimously.

Although his resignation attempt failed, he achieved his goal of not having to attend court assemblies. After leaving the palace, Lin Chuan went to the Ministry of War to ask for leave.

Lin Chuan asked for so many days off to go see Du Ruhui, but when he arrived at the Minister's office, Du Ruhui did not grant him leave.

At the Ministry of War, Du Ruhui was extremely lenient with Lin Chuan and often praised Lin Chuan's reliability in front of Li Shimin. Looking at the thin-faced Du Ruhui, Lin Chuan thought for a moment and then subtly mentioned, "Minister Du, you don't look too well. Perhaps you could ask the imperial physicians to take a look?"

Now that he had established a connection with the Wang family, Lin Chuan had fewer concerns. Since he knew that Du Ruhui would die young due to illness, he would offer a word of advice to put his mind at ease.

As for whether Du Ruhui can live for two more years, that's a matter for the Zhen brothers!

Du Ruhui was startled. Although Lin Chuan always explained to people that he did not know medicine, the Zhen brothers of the Imperial Medical Bureau praised Lin Chuan highly.

He suggested that Du Ruhui summon the imperial physician, and Du Ruhui was naturally alarmed. He solemnly bowed to Lin Chuan, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Lin!"

"Minister Du, you flatter me. I shall take my leave!" Lin Chuan said, bowing slightly.