My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

Chang'an West Market.

The sky was overcast.

Chen Ping stood in the muddy water, wearing a faded long gown with torn cuffs. A gust of wind made his thin body sway.

Before him stood the door of Lu Ji Bookstore.

The door was locked. A piece of red paper was pasted on the door, the ink still wet.

"Paper and ink are out of stock, and prices have been adjusted tenfold."

Chen Ping stared at the number "+".

After watching for a long time, he tucked his frozen hands into his sleeves and slowly turned around.

He wasn't the only one on the street.

Hundreds and thousands of students from impoverished families wandered the streets like lost souls.

The Cui family's paper shop is closed.

The Zheng family's ink shop is closed.

The Wang family's bookstore was open, and a handwritten copy of the Analects was priced at ten taels of silver.

Ten taels. Enough for a farming family to eat for three years.

There are still twenty days until the spring imperial examinations.

The pen broke, the ink dried, and the book was gone.

A young scholar suddenly squatted down by the roadside.

He covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders twitched.

She didn't cry out loud, only suppressed gasps.

Chen Ping walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

They said nothing, and saying anything would be useless; that's the nature of aristocratic families.

Give you food, and you'll live. Smash the bowl, and you'll starve.

They would squeeze the money lost on farming tools back from the very bones and blood of scholars.

……

Taiji Palace. Grand Court Assembly.

The floor heating in the main hall was very hot.

The atmosphere, however, was so cold it felt like ice crystals were falling out.

Li Shimin sat on the dragon throne.

Expressionless.

Hands on knees.

A row of imperial censors stood below.

Leading the group was Lu Sidao, a disciple of the Lu family of Fanyang.

"Your Majesty," Lu Sidao said in a loud voice, holding up his ivory tablet, "students in Chang'an are filled with complaints. Paper is scarce and book prices are soaring. This is a warning from the heavens."

Li Shimin remained silent. His eyelids drooped.

Lu Sidao stepped forward and continued, "The court values ​​crafts over education. Extravagant skills and gimmicks flourish, and while agricultural tools are useful, they have lost sight of the fundamental teachings of the sages. Merchants, finding no profit, naturally close their shops. With the imperial examinations approaching, students have no books to read. If this continues, the nation will cease to exist!"

Quiet.

The hall was so quiet you could hear the candles popping.

Changsun Wuji stood at the head of the civil officials, his eyes fixed on his nose, his nose seemingly reflecting his inner thoughts.

Fang Xuanling lowered his head, staring at the gold bricks at his feet.

They all knew this was a coup.

The powerful families control ninety percent of the books in the world.

The workshops that make paper and ink.

No soldiers, no swords.

A single act of cutting off supplies could turn the Tang Dynasty's imperial examinations into a joke.

"Then, in Lu Qing's opinion, what should be done?" Li Shimin asked calmly.

Lu Sidao bent down: "Merchants are driven by profit. If the court could stop selling those fifty-cash farm tools, leaving a way for aristocratic merchants to survive, bookstores would naturally open, and students would naturally have books to read."

The true intentions were revealed when the map was unrolled. They traded the futures of all scholars for the Qin King's crooked-shaft plow market.

Li Shimin raised his head and stared at Lu Sidao.

His hands slowly tightened on his knees. His knuckles turned white.

"Dismiss the court."

Li Shimin stood up.

Ignoring the kneeling officials below, he turned and walked into the rear hall.

They took very long strides, as if carried by the wind.

……

The Prince of Qin's residence. The backyard.

The willow trees by the pond have sprouted buds.

Li Chen sat on a stool, holding a purple bamboo fishing rod in his hand.

The buoy on the water's surface remained motionless.

A few steps away, Li Tai was squatting on the ground, covered in mud and his face blackened with soot.

Several earthenware jars were placed in front of him.

Sulfur, charcoal, saltpeter.

A pungent smell of rotten eggs wafted through the yard.

"Bang!"

The backyard door was kicked open.

Li Shimin strode in, his face ashen.

He walked to the stone table, grabbed a purple clay teapot, and took a large gulp of cool tea. Water dripped down his beard.

"They stopped reading." Li Shimin slammed the teapot heavily on the table.

Li Chen didn't lift his eyelids. He stared at the float. "I expected it."

"All the bookstores in Chang'an, either close down or raise their prices tenfold!" Li Shimin gritted his teeth, his hands gripping the stone table. "The imperial examinations are the foundation of the Tang Dynasty's official selection! These old bastards are digging up my very foundation!"

The float moved slightly.

Li Chen flicked his wrist.

The fishing line is taut.

A grass carp the size of a palm was pulled out of the water and flung onto the grass, where it thrashed about.

"Isn't there a library in the palace with books?" Li Chen put down his fishing rod, walked over, took the fish off the shell, and threw it into the wooden bucket.

"Those are handwritten copies! How are thousands of students supposed to divide them? Are you going to have the scholars of the Hanlin Academy copy them? They'd break their hands copying them, and they still wouldn't be able to copy a thousand copies in twenty days!" Li Shimin paced back and forth in anger.

Li Chen wiped his hands with a towel.

He turned around.

He walked behind Li Tai.

He raised his leg and kicked Li Taiyuan's rolling buttocks.

"Ouch!" Li Tai lunged forward, his face burying itself in the hay.

"Sixteenth Brother! What are you doing! The recipe will be mixed right away!" Li Tai got up, rubbing his buttocks and complaining.

"Stop playing in the mud." Li Chen pointed to the stone table. "Come here. There's something important to do."

Li Tai's eyes lit up when he heard about the big job.

He quickly wiped his hands on his clothes and skipped over.

Li Chen walked to the stone table.

Pick up a piece of charcoal.

He began to draw on the smooth bluestone table.

The first picture shows a pond, a few bamboo poles, quicklime, and a large pot.

"This is called bamboo paper." Li Chen tapped the table with charcoal. "It doesn't use hemp fibers or tree bark. It's made from tender bamboo that grows all over the mountains. We chop it up, soak it in lime, boil it until it's soft, and then grind it into pulp. We then make paper and dry it."

Li Shimin frowned: "Bamboo can be used to make paper?"

"Yes, it's possible. The cost is less than one-tenth of that of hemp paper. It turns yellowish when it's made, hence the name 'yellow paper.' It's sufficient for writing."

Li Chen didn't stop and continued drawing the second picture.

Dozens of small squares.

On each square, a character is engraved in reverse.

An iron frame.

A wooden board.

"This is called movable type."

Li Chen pointed to the squares.

"Make small squares out of clay. Carve reversed characters on them. Then fire them in a kiln to harden. This is called clay movable type."

"Select the words from the books to be printed. Arrange them in this iron frame. Once a page is full, secure it with resin and wax."

"Brush on the ink. Lay down the paper. Scrape it with the brush."

"It was printed out in one page."

Li Chen threw away the charcoal and clapped his hands.

"After printing, remove the characters. Continue piecing them together on the next page. Repeat this process."

The courtyard was deathly silent.

The wind rustled through the willow branches.

Li Shimin stared at the diagram on the stone table. His eyes widened. His breathing gradually became heavier.

Li Tai froze.

Although he was fat and covered in mud, he was an exceptionally intelligent science and engineering genius.

The process instantly flashed through his mind.

Engraving, firing to harden, typesetting, applying ink, laying out paper.

"One... how long?" Li Tai's voice trembled as he stared intently at Li Chen.

"A skilled craftsman can print two thousand copies a day once he has laid out a page," Li Chen said calmly.

Li Tai's legs went weak. He only managed to stay upright by grabbing the stone table.

Two thousand copies a day.

The fastest copyist in the Tang Dynasty could take ten days to copy a single copy of the Analects.

With a single brush stroke of this mud, hundreds or even thousands of books can be produced in a single day.

This is no longer about creating books.

This is water being poured down using a mold!

"Sixteenth Brother..." Li Tai raised his head, his lips trembling. He knew that once this thing appeared in the world, it would truly go down in history. Even Confucius would have to sit up from his coffin and kowtow to it upon seeing it.

"Stop talking nonsense." Li Chen pointed outside the courtyard gate. "I've given you the map. Go find Cui Wanqing. She has craftsmen, workshops, and distribution channels."

"There are still twenty days until the imperial examination."

Li Chen picked up his teacup and blew on it.

"I want everyone in Chang'an, even beggars, to be able to get beggar's chicken wrapped in yellow paper."

Li Tai suddenly turned around.

His legs were trembling, but he ran extremely fast.

He kicked over the wooden bucket containing the fish, and the fish jumped on the ground, but he didn't even look at them.

"Men! Prepare the horses! We're going to the Cui family!"

Li Tai's roar echoed outside the mansion gate.

Li Shimin stood still.