How can you rule the world if I'm just a substitute for you?

Zhang Wan immediately wrote it down.

Lin Xuan continued to give instructions:

"All production capacity will be fully deployed, and the trading companies and bookstores will all open for business in ten days."

Zhang Wan immediately reported a clear mass production target:

"Your subject understands. Within ten days, I guarantee to produce 10,000 sets of toothbrushes and toothpaste."

Three fundamental classic texts were selected, with 500 copies of each printed, totaling 1,500 copies, all of which were put on the shelves for sale.

The workshop is now in full-scale production and running smoothly. Toothbrushes and toothpaste are being produced steadily, and three classic books are being printed in batches. Everything is in good order.

Lin Xuan pondered for a moment, "No matter how good a product is, it still needs to be bought and recognized by someone."

Although he was a special forces soldier in his previous life, he was also familiar with various marketing and publicity techniques.

To create a sensation across the city on opening day, you need to generate buzz beforehand.

On a whim, he immediately thought of Master Liu.

Master Liu was a great Confucian scholar of the Great Qian Dynasty, with countless students and a role model for many poor scholars. His reputation among scholars was unmatched.

If we could get Master Liu to endorse the bookstore, its reputation alone would surely make it a huge success.

Having figured this out, Lin Xuan no longer hesitated, got up, and took Shen Hu to Master Liu's residence again.

At that moment, Master Liu was sitting quietly in his study reading when a servant hurriedly entered to report that Crown Prince Lin Xuan had come to visit.

Master Liu frowned slightly upon hearing this, pondering to himself.

He secretly speculated that he had publicly acknowledged the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace a few days ago and spoken on his behalf.

The Crown Prince's special visit this time is most likely an attempt to win me over and make me completely submit to the Eastern Palace.

Master Liu was upright and honest, and he would never curry favor with the powerful and wealthy.

My words of assistance that day were purely out of recognition of the Crown Prince's righteousness, not out of any desire to curry favor with the heir apparent or to side with the Eastern Palace.

It's absolutely impossible for him to join the Crown Prince's ranks based on this small favor.

However, since the Crown Prince is the heir apparent, it would be against etiquette and law for him to personally visit the palace. If he were to refuse to see the Crown Prince, it would give others grounds for criticism.

Master Liu pondered for a moment, deciding to have a brief meeting, exchange a few polite words, and then properly send the Crown Prince away.

After straightening his robes, Master Liu strode into the main hall.

Seeing Lin Xuan sitting upright in the hall, he immediately bowed and greeted him, his tone proper and respectful:

"This old minister greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

As soon as Master Liu bowed in greeting, Lin Xuan immediately stepped forward and reached out to help him up steadily.

"Master, there's no need for such formalities. According to seniority, you taught me for half a month, so you are my teacher. In the future, when we meet in private, there's no need for such formalities."

Upon hearing this, Master Liu's expression froze instantly.

He immediately recalled the events of that year.

In just half a month of instruction, the prince before him became arrogant, unruly, and mischievous, which angered him so much that he fell seriously ill and had to stay in bed for half a month to recover.

That wasn't some teacher-student relationship at all; it was clearly the most frustrating two weeks of his life!

Master Liu quickly waved his hand, hastily disclaiming any involvement, his attitude extremely firm:

"Your Highness, please don't! I dare not accept such a title, nor am I worthy to be Your Highness's teacher. My past lessons were merely carried out under orders. Your Highness, please refrain from using the words 'teacher and student' again!"

Lin Xuan smiled calmly.

He could tell that Master Liu still harbored resentment about what happened back then, and that he still had a grudge against him.

"It doesn't matter if you don't acknowledge me as your teacher, but in my heart, anyone who has received a day of your instruction is my mentor."

After listening, Master Liu felt a sense of certainty in his heart.

He was now convinced that Lin Xuan had deliberately strained the teacher-student relationship today in an attempt to curry favor and get closer to him, with the ultimate goal of winning him over.

He suppressed his thoughts and asked directly:

"May I ask what brings Your Highness to my door today?"

Lin Xuan didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point:

"I have come today to ask my teacher for a favor."

Master Liu sighed inwardly.

really!

After going around in circles, they still want something from me; they must be trying to win me over.

He immediately refused in a serious tone:

"If Your Highness wishes for this old minister to attach himself to the Crown Prince, I am afraid I cannot comply! As the Imperial Censor, I have devoted my life to upholding the righteous path, and I urge Your Highness to abandon such thoughts."

Seeing this, Lin Xuan quickly waved his hand and smiled wryly:

"Master, you are overthinking it. I had no such intention at all and never thought of having you submit to me."

Master Liu was slightly taken aback, but his vigilance remained undiminished. He spoke in a deep voice:

"In that case, Your Highness, please speak frankly."

Lin Xuan slowly opened his mouth:

"I have opened a new bookstore, selling all kinds of classic books, with the intention of providing convenience for poor students all over the world."

"Teacher, you are a great Confucian scholar of our time, and a role model for countless students of the Great Qian Dynasty. Therefore, I have come today to trouble you to write the nameplate for my calligraphy shop."

Upon hearing this, Master Liu instantly understood and secretly sneered to himself.

He completely understood the Crown Prince's thoughts.

Ultimately, it all boils down to the Crown Prince being short of money!

He speaks grandly about benefiting students across the land, but in reality, he just wants to use his reputation as a great Confucian scholar to bolster his image, attract business, and make money.

Although he felt disdain in his heart, he remained outwardly calm, his tone carrying a hint of hostility and probing:

"May I ask what kinds of books Your Highness's bookstore sells, and what their prices are?"

Lin Xuan replied frankly:

"All kinds of books are available for sale. As for the price, I will tentatively set it at five taels per book."

"What? Five taels?"

Master Liu's pupils shrank suddenly, his face filled with disbelief, and he gasped in shock on the spot.

Nowadays, books in the Great Qian Dynasty are extremely expensive.

Paper was expensive to begin with, and all the classics had to be copied by hand by scholars, which was time-consuming and laborious.

Not to mention that powerful and influential families monopolized rare books, and many good books were never circulated outside their borders.

Even a tattered handwritten scroll on the market costs at least several dozen taels of silver, while a complete classic can easily cost hundreds of taels. A poor scholar might not be able to afford it even after years of hard work.

He stared intently at Lin Xuan, his face full of disbelief:

"Is Your Highness playing a trick on me? Five taels a copy? Forget about the labor cost of copying it, it might not even cover the cost of the paper! Is Your Highness deliberately trying to fool the public by setting such a price?"

After saying that, he asked another question:

"How many copies does Your Highness plan to sell in the first batch?"

Lin Xuan replied truthfully:

"On the opening day of the bookstore, 1,500 books will be sold. Once the workshop's production capacity catches up, unlimited production will be possible."

Master Liu found it even more outrageous.

Not only is it cheap, but it's also selling 1,500 copies at once?

It would be impossible to produce this quantity by hand, and the cost would be astronomical.

His brow furrowed, convinced that Lin Xuan was deliberately exaggerating to create a sensation, and his tone became increasingly skeptical:

"Your Highness, please don't try to deceive me! Your Highness's actions must have some ulterior motive!"

"How could I possibly accuse you of deceiving me?"

Lin Xuan smiled, raised his hand, took out the sample sheet of movable type printing from his pocket, and handed it to Master Liu.

"Teacher, please look, these are the pages from the new book published by my workshop."

Master Liu took the paper with a heart full of doubt and looked down to examine it carefully.

The paper contains the contents of the first chapter of the scripture.

Master Liu held the page in his hands, his gaze fixed on the handwriting, growing increasingly alarmed with each reading.

The characters on this are too neat.

Every character is the same size, with horizontal and vertical strokes aligned perfectly, and the spacing between characters is exactly the same, resulting in a neat and uniform layout across the entire page.

When ordinary scholars write, their handwriting will inevitably vary in pressure and spacing, resulting in different handwriting styles.

But on this page, there is absolutely no trace of handwriting.

He suddenly looked up at Lin Xuan, his face full of shock, and blurted out:

"Your Highness! This...this handwriting doesn't look like it was written by a human hand!"