Xiang Yan smiled like a chicken thief and said: "It's not just profitable, but it can make a lot of money. I plan to open up two neighboring courtyards outside the city and build a printing workshop inside, specifically responsible for For printing books.”
Kou Ji said unexpectedly: "Have you finished counting the money in the house?"
Xiang Yan shook her head and said: "Not yet..."
Kou Ji said suspiciously: "Then what do you do in the printing workshop?"
Xiang Yan said with a smile: "Of course it's printing... you don't know, after I and Bi Sheng calculated the cost of Li Gong's printing today, I thought of my grandfather.
I sent someone to the Xiang Mansion and told my grandfather that the Kou Mansion was willing to help my grandfather print 100,000 copies of poetry collections and articles for only 5,000 guan.
My grandfather immediately sent someone to deliver the money.
He thought he was taking advantage of our government, but he didn't know that it was our government that took advantage of him."
The corners of Kou Ji's mouth twitched and he said, "Is it really okay to treat my grandfather-in-law like this?"
Xiang Yan said nonchalantly: "What we do is business, and we should make money."
After saying this, Xiang Yan was overjoyed and said: "There are many people in Bianjing who want to print books. Tomorrow, I will send someone to ask them one by one to attract more business. Our Kou Mansion has a large sum of money." Income comes in.”
When Kou Ji heard this, he didn't know what to say.
The money-making machine in Jiaozipu will be opened soon, and then the money will roll into the Kou family like running water.
Is the ordinary one or two thousand guan still considered money?
Kou Ji thought so in his heart, but didn't say it out loud.
It was rare for Xiang Yan to be so concerned about making money, so he just let Xiang Yan do whatever she wanted.
The couple chatted in the room for a while and then went to bed.
The next day.
After getting up.
Xiang Yan was busy trying to fool people.
Kou Ji dressed neatly, washed up, and went out.
As soon as I walked out of the door, I heard someone discussing the poem Liu Yong wrote in praise of him last night.
Of course, more people are talking about the news of the sale of Wanxiang Tower.
But this is not Kou Ji's concern.
He got on the sedan chair and entered the palace.
Kou Zhun stayed in the palace for several days, but did not return home during this period. As Kou Zhun's good grandson, he had to go and see.
Entered the palace.
Kou Zhun was found in the Zishi Hall reviewing the memorial.
Kou Zhun was in good spirits, and it could be seen that his little life in the palace was quite nourishing.
As soon as he saw Kou Ji, Kou Zhun frowned and said, "You have caused trouble for me again..."
Kou Zhun picked up a memorial and threw it at Kou Ji's feet, "Impeach you..."
Then he pointed to the other memorials on the table and said with a dark face: "I am also impeaching you."
Kou Ji picked up the memorial on the ground, walked to Kou Zhun, and said with a dry smile: "I didn't do anything, why did they want to impeach me?"
Kou Zhun snorted coldly: "The questions you asked are like child's play to deceive the officials and are used to test the students all over the world. If you are not impeached, who will be impeached?"
Kou Ji smiled and said, "I also saw that you guys were worried about leaking questions, so I came up with this strategy."
Kou Zhun glared at Kou Ji and said, "I'm asking you to help, but I'm not asking you to cause trouble. In a few days, half of the civil servants in the court will impeach you. When the time comes, I'll see what you do."
Kou Ji spread his hands and said: "The person who proposed the question is the official, not me..."
Kou Zhun scolded angrily: "Do you think that all the civil and military officials in the dynasty are blind?"
Kou Ji smiled dryly and said, "Even if they want to impeach me, grandpa, you will protect me, right?"
"snort!"
Kou Zhun snorted coldly, but had no words.
He kind of acquiesced to Kou Ji's statement.
Kou Ji smiled and said, "With you protecting me, what do I have to fear?"
Kou Zhun glared and said, "I can protect you for a while, but can I protect you for a lifetime?"
Kou Ji laughed dryly and said nothing.
Kou Zhun obviously couldn't protect him for the rest of his life.
Just when the grandfather and grandson were staring at each other.
Zhao Zhen hurriedly walked into Zishitang. As soon as he saw Kou Ji, he shouted: "Kou Ji, I heard that you have a craft worth ten million yuan in your hands? I heard that in the pre-Qin period, Lu Ban made
The wooden bird technique that came out?
Can you make one and let me try it?"
"Wooden Bird Technique?"
Kou Ji looked stunned.
He stared at Zhao Zhen and asked, "Who told you that what Wanxianglou sells is the Wooden Bird Technique?"
Zhao Zhen said seriously: "Everyone in Bianjing City is spreading the news."
Kou Ji shook his head and said: "What Wanxianglou sells is not the wood-bird technique at all, but a printing technique."
Zhao Zhen was stunned, "Printing?"
Kou Zhun frowned and said: "Since it is printing, how can it be worth ten million yuan?"
Kou Ji explained: "The original engraving and printing technology is naturally not worth the price, but the newly created printing technology is worth the price."
Zhao Zhen was a little disappointed when he heard that what Wanxianglou was selling was not the Wooden Bird Technique.
"Who can afford printing technology worth ten million dollars?"
Zhao Zhen said casually and walked out.
Kou Ji hurriedly said: "The merits of printing lie in the country, and its benefits will last forever. It cannot be measured by money alone."
Zhao Zhen said indifferently: "Can you still make great use of printing technology?"
Kou Zhun nodded in agreement.
Kou Ji smiled calmly and explained the movable type printing technique to Zhao Zhen and Kou Zhun.
After hearing this, the two of them were slightly surprised.
Kou Zhun was not sure what he was thinking about. Zhao Zhen frowned and said: "Even if it is better than the original printing technology, it cannot be worth ten million yuan."
Kou Zhun shook his head and said: "Its role is in Sheji. Once this printing technology is spread, the cost of printing books will become very low. By that time, there will naturally be many people printing books.
When a large number of books filled the entire Song Dynasty, there would be a corresponding increase in the number of scholars.
By then, the number of talents that the imperial court can select will also be greatly improved.
Its value should not be measured in money."
Kou Zhun looked at Kou Ji and asked, "What do you think?"
Kou Zhun did not think that Kou Ji would really sell the movable type printing technology, nor did he believe that anyone could spend 10 million yuan to purchase the movable type printing technology.
So he expected that Kou Ji's move must have deep meaning.
Kou Ji smiled and said: "I will dedicate movable type printing to the imperial court and promote it. However, the imperial court must also give corresponding rewards."
Kou Zhun nodded slowly and said: "Since it is a contribution to Sheji, of course it needs to be rewarded. In the past, if the master craftsman in the palace developed a craft that was beneficial to Sheji, the palace would reward him with a hundred thousand coins and an official rank."
Kou Ji shook his head and said: "Too little..."
Kou Zhun slowly frowned.
Kou Ji said: "The imperial court's method of rewards does more harm than good. Rewards that are too small can easily make craftsmen dissatisfied, thus dampening their passion for creating new craftsmanship.
If craftsmen lose their passion, how can they create more crafts that are beneficial to the country and the country?"
Kou Zhun stared at Kou Ji and said: "If we give generous gifts to craftsmen, many people will become craftsmen one after another, and some young people who are studying will also turn to learn craftsmanship.
This is not a good thing for the court."
Kou Ji said seriously: "If there is not enough craftsmanship to support it, the imperial court will not become stronger."
Kou Zhun opened his mouth to argue, but Kou Ji was the first to say: "The reason why the Song Dynasty is still standing despite repeated attacks by the Liao Kingdom is because of the infantry armor and various types of crossbows created by the craftsmen."
Kou Zhun glared and said: "That is the credit of the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty."
Kou Ji laughed and said: "Does it count as merit? If being beaten is also a kind of merit, then I would rather not take this kind of credit. The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty may have merit in the war, but the soldiers, as well as those hard armors and sharp weapons
, but it is the foundation.
If the foundation is not stable, everything else is empty talk.”
"you……"
Kou Zhun was a little angry.
Kou Ji interrupted him and continued: "In addition to soldiers, there are also dams, roads, etc. in various places, which also require certain skills for support. Bianjing City is close to the Yellow River, which overflows every year. If the water is small, it will flood the surrounding areas of Kaifeng.
When floods hit the villages, even the city of Bianjing will suffer.
The imperial court would allocate part of the money and grain every year to build Yellow River dams.
But the imperial court was built every year, but the Yellow River embankments collapsed every year.
The imperial court has spent tens of millions of money on the Yellow River, but so far no results have been achieved.
The basic reason is that there is not enough craftsmanship to support it, and the dam constructed cannot stop the torrent of the Yellow River."
Kou Zhun said in a deep voice: "The flooding of the Yellow River has been around for a long time. It is a problem that previous dynasties have been unable to solve. How can we solve it?"
Kou Ji laughed and said: "We can't solve the problems that our predecessors couldn't solve. Before the Sui Dynasty, who had thought about building a Grand Canal to connect the north and the south? Before King Zhao of Qin, who had thought about building Dujiangyan in Sichuan?"
Kou Zhun had a gloomy face and remained silent.
It's not that he was deliberately going against Kou Ji.
But his thoughts are the same as those of scholars all over the world.
Scholars all over the world feel that except for themselves, people in other industries are not very important.
In their eyes, craftsmen are more like tools. When you want to use them, they take them and use them. When you don't want to use them, they throw them aside.
They do not understand the importance of craftsmen and their contribution to society.
Perhaps only when certain skills are lost and they think of using them will they pay attention to the craftsmen.
Kou Zhun frowned and asked Kou Ji, "How do you want the court to reward craftsmen?"
Kou Jidao: "Any craftsman who can create a craft that is useful to the country should receive the same treatment as a scholar, and the reward should be one hundred thousand coins."
"bass!"
Kou Zhun stood up suddenly, stared at Kou Ji and said, "Are you crazy?"
Zhao Zhen was also staring blankly at Kou Ji. He felt that Kou Ji was also a little crazy.
They are just craftsmen. No matter how powerful they are, how can they be compared with knights?
Kou Ji said seriously: "I'm not crazy! In your eyes, scholars are important. But in my eyes, skilled craftsmen are far more important than scholars. There are hundreds of thousands of craftsmen in the world, but who can truly create something useful to the country?"
There are very few craftsmen with excellent craftsmanship.
There are hundreds of thousands of people studying in the world, but there are tens of thousands of people who can pass the Jinshi examination.
In comparison, which one is more precious?"
Zhao Zhen and Kou Zhun were both silent.
But they didn't agree with what Kou Ji said.
Although according to Kou Ji, skilled craftsmen are indeed more valuable.
But craftsmen and scholars are two classes of people.
From the moment they were created, the four classes of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce had a strict hierarchy.
This hierarchical system has been strictly followed throughout the dynasties, and it cannot be broken by anyone who wants to.
What Kou Ji did was to break this hierarchical system.
The scholar class, which is at the top of the four classes, will not allow people from the other three classes to be on an equal footing with them.
And those who control most of the voice in the world are the scholar class.
Kou Zhun glared at Kou Ji and said, "Go back home and rest first. We can discuss this later."
Kou Ji opened his mouth to speak, but Kou Zhun didn't want to talk to him.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhen pulled Kou Ji out of Zishitang.
"Kou Ji, you are making enemies of all the scholars in the world!"
Zhao Zhen took Kou Ji to a side hall in the palace and said seriously.
Kou Ji was stunned and said, "I didn't think that much."
Zhao Zhen said: "I know that you want the Song Dynasty to produce a lot of good things, and I also know that you are doing this for the sake of the country and the country of the Song Dynasty. But if these good things need to be exchanged for your life, I am not willing to give them up.
"
Kou Ji looked at Zhao Zhen with a surprised look on his face, "Do the officials know a lot?"
Zhao Zhen's face darkened and he murmured: "Actually, I don't know much about it either. Li Aiqing told me these words in private. He told me that your skills of selling tens of millions of dollars in Wanxiang Tower were for the benefit of the Song Dynasty.
Good. But you are inviting trouble for yourself."
Kou Ji laughed and said: "Since I became an official, I have always caused trouble for scholars, and I haven't seen anyone do anything to me."
Zhao Zhen said seriously: "Never underestimate the scholars in the world. Their power is far more terrifying than you imagine."
Kou Ji looked at Zhao Zhen unexpectedly again.
Zhao Zhen said dryly: "This is what my father once told me."
Kou Ji smiled and said, "Am I being taught a lesson by the officials?"
Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "I don't want to teach you a lesson, I just don't want to see you get into trouble."
Kou Ji bowed and said, "I have learned a lesson."
Zhao Zhen smiled happily: "That's good..."
After a pause, Zhao Zhen said again: "When I was in Zishi Hall in recent days, I saw many courtiers impeaching you. I will speak for you."
Kou Ji nodded and said, "Thank you, officials."
Kou Ji chatted with Zhao Zhen for a while and left the palace.
On the way back home, he thought to himself.
He just wanted to help Bi Sheng gain a decent status and a higher salary.
But I didn't expect that class issues would be involved.
This problem is too big for him to solve yet.
I returned to my house and stayed there for a few days.
The big meeting has arrived.
After Kou Ji was dressed neatly, he entered the palace to attend the court meeting.
On the way into the palace, Kou Ji heard many rumors about impeaching him, but he paid no attention to them.
His mouth was on the officials, but he couldn't stop the officials from talking.
Although Kou Zhun had power over the government and the opposition, he had no ambition to dominate. The courtiers occasionally impeached him or Kou Ji, but as long as it was not too much, he generally would not blame him.
As time went by, the officials became a little bit unable to control their mouths.