As Chen Mu expected, when the concept of living printing was mentioned, Liu Ding's eyes lit up and he stood up from the chair.
"You have such a good idea and you hold it back yourself, you are guilty!"
Although he criticized Chen Mu harshly in words, it could be seen from his expression that Liu Ding was very happy.
He also felt a little emotional, it was obviously a very simple method, why has no one thought of it for so many years?
As a prince, Liu Ding was naturally aware of the implications of printing technology that was hundreds or even a thousand times faster than copying.
Longxia is originally a bookish country, and its need for books is no less than food, clothing, housing and transportation.
However, manual copying is not only expensive and laborious, but also extremely slow. It is conceivable that if the dynasty has this technology first, it will definitely make a lot of money.
Seeing Liu Ding thinking with a smile, Chen Mu basically guessed the result.
After thinking about it, Chen Mu suddenly knelt down on the ground and kowtowed: "Your Highness may be able to make some money with this move, but it will undoubtedly kill the livelihood of ordinary people. I hope Your Highness will show mercy."
Perhaps these people in high positions would not pay much attention to a commoner, but if the printing technology were known to the world, Chen Mu would have to put it aside if he wanted to become bigger and stronger.
Compared with death, Chen Mu was more afraid of being poor and mediocre for the rest of his life. The printing technique would inevitably not spread. Maybe if it spread, Chen Mu could become famous throughout the ages, but for a layman like him, he still wanted to be an unknown rich man.
Liu Ding glanced at Chen Mu indifferently, but did not have any strange mood swings because of Chen Mu's words.
After a long time, Liu Ding chuckled softly: "I have no choice but to do it. You don't know the national conditions for the sake of the people. Now there are bandits invading along the Monan coast. Military expenses are very tight. I am not doing it for selfish reasons, but for the country."
This... is a complete moral kidnapping. For an individual, Chen Mu still has a few words to say. Now that it has suddenly risen to the level of family and country, Chen Mu even wants to say it, but it is wrong.
But Liu Ding did not use this as an excuse.
The world map of this world is similar to that of the previous world. In the north are the brave Tatars, and in the east there is a country called Japan in the far sea.
One plundered the coastal areas of Yangzhou, and the other plundered the inland plains, acting like two good brothers.
At the beginning of Long Xia's establishment, the country was still extremely powerful. Whether it was military or economic, it was by no means comparable to neighboring countries.
It was only after the years of melee among the clans that the emperor first released his military power over a glass of wine in order to prevent someone from taking charge of the army to rebel, and then began to implement the policy of controlling military power with civility.
This policy is like a double-edged sword. While it prevents generals from rebelling, it also greatly weakens the country's military strength.
As a result, when the Tatars later went south to plunder, they never returned without a full load.
On the other hand, the Japanese people on the other side saw that the Longxia Dynasty was so weak. They sailed across the sea every year and plundered the Yangzhou generation, stealing food, money and women.
Longxia is rich and has a lot of money. At first, giving money and food to women would make the two countries more secure.
But we know that people’s desires are endless, and the country is made up of people, so why is it not like this?
Year after year, the requests for money and supplies became more and more frequent, and eventually, they had no choice but to resist.
But now that we have to fight on two fronts, the military expenditure required is too much. Although the people of the Long Xia Dynasty are not poor, the national treasury is tight.
Chen Mu could see that Liu Ding really wanted to raise military expenses through this. Although the military was not good at it, the imperial court was good at dealing with internal affairs. Even if the national treasury was in short supply, it would not impose it on the people.
They knew very well that if the people could no longer survive, there would probably be civil strife.
"If Your Highness is only worried about military expenses, I have a better way that will surely raise a large amount of money in a short period of time."
Hearing this, Liu Ding glanced at Chen Mu suspiciously: "Oh, there is a way just for me, you are so thoughtful."
Seeing that Liu Ding didn't believe it, Chen Mu bowed his head again: "It's because of our different status. There are some methods that I can't do, but His Highness must be able to do it."
Liu Ding became interested and returned to the chair again and said leisurely: "Tell me about it. If you say it well, I won't be greedy for your printing skills."
Chen Mu nodded, and after thinking for a moment, he said: "Your Highness can actually travel to defend the country in the name of the country."
Liu Ding frowned and said: "What is the so-called Wei Guochi?"
Chen Mu thought for a while, then tore the rice paper on the table into several small pieces, picked a few more and wrote some numbers on them.
Then he mixed them up and put them in a box: "Your Highness, this is Wei Guochao. There are two numbers inside, and five without numbers. Each one sells for five cents. Can you try it, Your Highness?"
Seeing this, Liu Ding suddenly became happy. Naturally, he understood the method, but he didn't know the details. He still did what Chen Mu said.
I pulled out all the papers in a row and spent a total of thirty-five cents. I also picked out numbers with numbers during the period, but I only made fifteen cents from Chen Mu. Overall, it was a loss.
"Your Highness, think about it, it's like if you took out 10,000 taels of silver as a base and set an amount of 30,000 taels of tissue paper, and you didn't have to do anything, would you still make a net profit of 20,000 taels?"
Liu Ding smiled and nodded. Now that the war between the two places has begun, the food money consumed by the front line every day is an astronomical figure. Even if you use this printing technology to make money for those bookstores, I am afraid you will not make too much.
.
Liu Ding glanced at Chen Mu and said thoughtfully: "This is indeed a good idea, but doesn't it deceive the people and is against etiquette?"
Chen Mu stepped forward and respectfully made a cup of tea for Liu Ding, and then explained: "People are stupid and narrow-minded. They only care about themselves. Many people have no concept of family and country. Your Highness's move is just to make the right choice for them.
We know that if the army is really defeated, these people will not be the ones who suffer in the end."
After hearing this, Liu Ding nodded happily. The so-called violation of etiquette was all nonsense. He just wanted to find a legitimate reason to admire Chen here again.
"However, your method is too new. What if the people don't believe it?"
Chen Mu held up his hands and said, "First find a prosperous capital city to practice this method and let a beggar win the first prize. But imagine that a man who was begging on the street the day before yesterday suddenly became a millionaire. Then you can let people spread this throughout the world.
Longxia, everyone is lucky. Who wouldn't want to spend five cents to win a thousand taels of gold or ten thousand taels of silver? If such a bureau is set up in every prefecture and county in Longxia, I believe that His Highness will soon be able to spend all his money.
It’s all collected.”
"Oh, you are a real thief."
Liu Ding came to Chen Mu's side, stroked Chen Mu's cheek and smiled: "You are so smart, it would be a pity not to become an official. I hope that when I ascend the throne, His Highness Jin Luan will have you alone."
As he spoke, Liu Ding stood up slowly: "I have basically understood this method. As for the words and paintings, I have to ask you to write again."
Seeing that the matter was almost over, Chen Mu took a long breath, regretting that he often bought lottery tickets in his previous life, otherwise it would be really difficult to solve this matter now.