A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

The snow fell heavily for two days, covering the capital city in a blanket of white. However, the atmosphere in the Liang court and among the common people was even colder and more somber than the winter itself.

Before the sensation of the opening of Daliang Bookstore had subsided, the fierce counterattack from powerful families came like a storm.

The Gu family of Dongzhou, the Lu family of Nanzhou, the Song family of Zhongzhou, along with the Wen and He families of the capital, reached an astonishing tacit understanding within just half a month.

Overnight, all paper mills, ink mills, and brush shops controlled by powerful families in various prefectures and counties of Daliang ceased operations and closed down.

Moreover, private schools, academies, and schools in various places that were funded or controlled by prominent families suspended classes indefinitely under the pretext of "the teacher being ill" or "building repairs".

Apart from the capital city under the emperor's nose, which could barely maintain stability thanks to the imperial court's resources, the students in the other states of Daliang were instantly plunged into a desperate situation.

The impoverished students, who were originally overjoyed at the prospect of being able to buy affordable books, now find themselves holding books but unable to find a single sheet of paper or drop of ink to write their essays. They have no school to attend and no teacher to consult.

There were widespread complaints and cries of sorrow, and some impulsive students even sat down and wept in front of the local government office.

Inside the Imperial Study in the Imperial Palace.

"Bang!"

A thick volume was slammed onto the gold-brick floor. Emperor Liang Song, his face ashen with rage, his chest heaving violently, cried out, "Outrageous! Utterly outrageous! They're forcing me to abdicate! Cutting paper, cutting ink, closing schools—they want to tell the world that without their powerful families, the scholars of Liang cannot survive!"

The chief eunuch Liu Dequan was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe.

Crown Prince Liang Heng stood to the side, his brows furrowed and his eyes bloodshot: "Father, please calm your anger. I have already ordered the Ministry of Revenue to allocate reserves from various regions, but the aristocratic families have monopolized the market for too long, and the court's reserves are merely a drop in the ocean. Now, memorials from various prefectures are pouring in like snowflakes. If we do not come up with a solution soon, I fear that public resentment will boil over, and the public support that the Great Liang Bookstore has painstakingly gathered will dissipate."

Liang Song slumped back onto the dragon throne, rubbing his throbbing temples. Though he was furious, he also knew that the law could not punish the masses. If he were to use the army to force the noble families to open their doors, it would only plunge the world into chaos.

After a long silence, Liang Song suddenly stood up, a resolute glint in his eyes: "Prepare plain clothes! Heng'er, come with me out of the palace!"

"Father, where are you going?"

"Go to Changning Street, to the Prince's Mansion!" Liang Song gritted his teeth. "The one who tied the knot must untie it. I'll go ask that Lady Wang. Since she dared to suggest overturning the tables of the aristocratic families, I refuse to believe she doesn't have a way to clean up the mess!"

Half an hour later, an ordinary-looking carriage quietly stopped at the side gate of the Prince's Mansion on Changning Street.

When Feng An, the head steward of the Prince's mansion, saw that it was His Highness the Crown Prince himself knocking on the door, followed by the Emperor in disguise, he was so frightened that his legs almost went weak. He quickly ushered the man into the most secluded warm pavilion in the inner courtyard.

"This humble woman, Wang Jinzhu, kowtows to pay her respects..."

"Madam Wang, please stop with the formalities!" Liang Song had no time for formalities at this moment and waved his hand to interrupt her. "No need for all that, sit down and let's talk."

After everyone was seated, Liang Song got straight to the point, "Madam Wang, I've come today seeking medical advice and treatment. The Great Liang Bookstore has been opened, but those old foxes from the aristocratic families have cut off the supply of writing materials and paper throughout the land, and even shut down schools! Now, students everywhere are full of complaints, and I can hardly sit on my dragon throne because of their resentment!"

Crown Prince Liang Heng sighed, "Sister-in-law, nowadays, apart from the capital, there is no paper, no ink, and no schools to learn in. What should we do?"

After listening, Wang Jinzhu paused slightly, her hand holding the teacup hanging in mid-air.

That's it?

She thought these well-established families could pull off some sophisticated financial or propaganda war, but it turns out they just resorted to the most basic tactics of halting operations and cutting off supplies.

In modern business competition, this is tantamount to voluntarily handing over a huge market share.

Wang Jinzhu put down her teacup, showing no sign of worry. Instead, a meaningful smile appeared on her lips: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, this is a wonderful thing!"

Liang Heng was stunned, his face full of astonishment: "Sister-in-law, students all over the country are in an uproar, and the country is in danger of turmoil. How can this be a good thing?"

"Your Highness," Wang Jinzhu said, taking a sip of her tea, "the powerful families have monopolized education for centuries, their influence so deep-rooted it's like a malignant tumor." She continued, "Normally, when we try to seize their territory, we have to go to great lengths and proceed with extreme caution. Now that they've closed their shops and locked their schools, voluntarily relinquishing most of the market, isn't this the perfect opportunity for the imperial court to completely take over the nation's cultural heritage?"

Liang Song was taken aback, leaning forward: "Take over? With what can we take over? The imperial court can't even gather a single pen tube!"

"Your Majesty, please don't worry, let's tackle this one step at a time." Wang Jinzhu held up one finger. "First, there's paper. Your Highness, how efficient is the water-powered pulping at our paper mills in the outskirts of the capital?"

Liang Heng immediately replied, "Extremely high! Working day and night, the output of paper is astonishing."

"Then why only use it for printing books?" Wang Jinzhu laughed. "Since the aristocratic families don't sell paper, the Daliang Publishing House will just sell plain paper! We'll double the size of our paper mills, not only in the capital, but also immediately send people to various prefectures to build large-scale water-powered paper mills nestled against mountains and rivers. The aristocratic families use specific precious tree bark or bamboo as raw materials, which are limited by the place of origin, and they have to rely on manual labor day and night to pound and copy each sheet. But our paper mills are different. The raw materials we use are everywhere, in abundance. Coupled with our tireless waterwheels pounding the pulp day and night, our costs are less than a fraction of theirs. Once our affordable plain paper is distributed throughout the prefectures of Daliang, even if the aristocratic families want to open their paper mills again, they won't be able to sell a single sheet!"

Liang Song's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh: "That's right! How could I have forgotten about that! What about the brush and ink?"

Wang Jinzhu raised her second finger: "Ink is actually the easiest. The method for making pine soot ink isn't complicated; it's simply burning pine wood to get the soot, then mixing it with glue and pounding it. The imperial court could easily build another ink-making workshop next to the paper mills in the suburbs of Beijing and have those retired veterans make it. As for brushes..."

Wang Jinzhu paused, then took out a sharpened black wooden stick from her sleeve and handed it to Liang Heng: "Your Highness, try writing on the paper."

Liang Heng took it suspiciously and scribbled a few strokes on the scrap paper on the table. A clear black character appeared on the paper. Although it was not as smooth as a brush, the character was distinct and did not require dipping in ink at all!

"What is this?!" Liang Song exclaimed in shock as he approached.

"This is called a charcoal pencil," Wang Jinzhu explained. "It's made by burning specially made willow branches or charcoal, and then wrapping it in hardwood or paper. Students use a lot of ink and brushes when copying books, doing arithmetic, and practicing calligraphy. With this charcoal pencil, you can buy several for a penny and write anytime, anywhere. Why bother with those expensive wolf-hair or Huzhou brushes from prestigious families? As for the proper brushes used in the imperial examinations, we can gradually acquire rabbit-hair and sheep-hair brushes from the common people and build our own brush shop."

"Great! What a wonderful charcoal pencil!" Liang Song was so excited that his face was flushed. This was simply a magic tool to solve the daily consumption problem for students from poor families.

"What about the schools?" Liang Heng pressed urgently. "The powerful families control the great scholars and teachers; if the schools close, the students will have no one to teach them!"

"Your Highness, this is the third step." Wang Jinzhu stood up, her expression becoming solemn. "Your Highness, how many 'Daliang Scholar' plaques' did we issue when the Daliang Bookstore opened?"

"In the capital alone, more than eight thousand coins were distributed," Liang Heng replied.

"Of these eight thousand students, how many are from poor families and have repeatedly failed the imperial examinations?" Wang Jinzhu pressed.

After a moment's thought, Liang Heng said confidently, "At least 60%."

"That's enough." Wang Jinzhu tapped the table lightly. "If the aristocratic families stop their studies, the imperial court will establish official schools. I've already thought of a name: 'Great Liang Hope Academy.' The venue is easy to arrange; we can use idle government offices, temples, or even confiscated residences from various places. As for the money, we'll use the profits from selling books, paper, and ink to make up the difference."