"The temperament of young people is sharp. This is a good thing, but it is also a bad thing. I have also come from your age. I can understand what you are thinking, and I don't want to force your temper. But you must also understand that a tree is as beautiful as a tree.
The truth is that what is too hard is easy to break. Do things in a measured way, not to overdo it, and not to hurt people's lives. If you have a little dispute, if it really comes to me, seeing as you have done a lot of things for me, I will do the same.
Maintain one or two.”
Li Mu was overjoyed and said repeatedly: "If this can be done, I will thank Your Majesty in advance. I will definitely be heartbroken and do my best to share your Majesty's worries."
"Okay, it's hard for me to hear a few words of truth from your mouth. Go and do your business. I will help you when necessary."
Li Mu responded repeatedly, and when he saw that the time was almost up, he took the opportunity to ask for the plaque. Li Shimin agreed, and promised that he would order the palace craftsmen to make it and send it over when the time came. After achieving his goal, Li Mu resigned, and he still had to go to the craftsman's workshop to make arrangements.
Issues.
Li Shimin filled another half bowl of porridge and said to Queen Changsun: "Queen, you have always been good at understanding people. What do you think of this guy Li Mu?"
Empress Changsun thought for a while and said: "This boy is very smart. Although he does things a little recklessly, he knows what he is doing. He shouldn't cause a big trouble... But Your Majesty, you just promised him that you would help him, will you let him
Feeling that you have something to rely on, you take the initiative to find trouble for the children of those powerful families!"
Li Shimin shook his head and said: "This kid Li Mu has never taken the initiative to cause trouble. He just doesn't want to suffer. If he feels bullied, he must fight back. It's not a problem. There is such a person in the wealthy family to stir up the trouble.
It's not a bad thing to give him a beating. I agreed to help him, just to let the wealthy family know that he is one of my people, so that they will be wary. Li Mu is a talent, and there are many things I count on him, so I can't let him fail.
In the hands of a wealthy family."
Seeing that Li Shimin had made up his mind, Empress Changsun just smiled and said nothing more.
After finishing his breakfast, Li Shimin asked Eunuch Gao to bring the impeachment memorial written by Lang Yuwengui, a member of the Ministry of Industry, which he had received yesterday. He then handed it to Eunuch Gao and said, "Instruct the Zhongshu Province and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to follow this."
There is no need to ask more about it. If the auxiliary engine asks about it, just tell him that this is what I want."
"No." Eunuch Gao took the memorial and went to deliver the message.
The government agencies of the early Tang Dynasty basically followed the system of the Sui Dynasty, with three provinces and six ministries. The Zhongshu Province was the decision-making body, responsible for drafting and issuing the emperor's edicts, and its chief was Zhongshu Ling. The Menxia Province was the deliberation body, responsible for reviewing decrees and refuting them.
If Li Shimin fails to do so, his chief will be Shizhong. The Shangshu Province is the executive agency responsible for implementing important government orders. Since Li Shimin served as Shangshu Ling, after he ascended the throne, this position was no longer established and was replaced by the left and right servants.
Nowadays, the official title of Zhongshu Ling is Cen Wenwen, the official title of Shizhong is the king, the title of Shangshu Zuopushe is Du Ruhui, and the title of Shangshu Right Pushe is Fang Xuanling. The official offices are all in the imperial city, not far from each other.
Eunuch Gao came to convey the order and showed Li Shimin's edict to Cen Wenwen. Cen Wenwen was confused. Before he could ask more questions, Eunuch Gao spoke first: "Your Majesty has spoken, so there is no need to ask more. Just follow this."
"
As soon as Cen Wenwen heard this, he stopped talking. He drafted an edict and dismissed all the officials mentioned in the impeachment memorial. The edict was sent to the province. The king read it over and asked no questions.
After asking, it was sent to the Ministry of Finance. Fang Xuanling obviously had a bad relationship with Li Shimin, but he didn't say anything and was directly transferred to the Ministry of Personnel.
Li Shimin's guess was generally good, and Changsun Wuji asked about the reason. Eunuch Gao answered according to Li Shimin's instructions. Changsun Wuji pondered for a long time and said nothing.
The edict came into effect and eunuchs were sent to deliver the edict. On the same day, the Ministry of Works dismissed five officials.
Li Mu arrived at the craftsman's workshop, inspected the construction progress, and listened to Yu Wengui's report. He learned that the impeachment memorial had been handed over. Li Mu also fulfilled his promise and wrote a letter recommending him to serve as the Ministry of Industry in front of Yu Wengui.
Yu Wengui was overjoyed by the doctor's report. Li Mu encouraged him a few words, and then left with Li Chongyi and his guards, arriving at the West Market.
Li Mu came to the West Market today for two things. The first one is that Datang Daily can no longer afford to print. Everything else is not bad. The cost of paper exceeds the budget. If the current rice paper is still used for printing, Datang Daily will not be able to print.
When the daily newspaper was officially published, it was impossible to pay a penny for a piece. Originally, the cost was controllable based on the price when Li Mu purchased the paper. However, Li Mu miscalculated the stock of rice paper. The stock of rice paper in Chang'an City cannot be unlimited.
Supply. Li Mu has been printing Datang Daily for several days, which has consumed a lot of paper in Chang'an City. As a result, the price of paper has increased, and the cost has naturally increased.
Li Mu came to the West Market to find a cheap paper to replace the current paper. In addition, he wanted to buy a batch of tanned leather. The assassination of Tongshanfang reminded Li Mu that he
Although he has a system in his body, it is only a body of flesh and blood. If a sharp knife penetrates his flesh, he will feel pain, and he will die if he bleeds too much. Therefore, he must find a way to save his life.
The only thing Li Mu could rely on was the system. He looked through the skill list and pattern shop, and the first thing that came to mind was forging protective gear, but the protective gear under the blacksmithing branch were all armor. Li Mu imagined what would happen if this armor
When he wore it and walked in Chang'an City, he looked like a stupid Ultraman from all four angles. Therefore, he decided to give up the armor and switch to leather armor. When he followed Li Ji's army to Chang'an, he saw
Most of the people in the Tang Army's camp wore leather armor, which shows that in this era, leather armor was the mainstream.
Moreover, one branch of leathermaking is making mail armor. On the basis of leather armor, key parts are reinforced with metal, which not only retains the flexibility of leather armor, but also takes into account the armor's defense, giving it the best of both worlds.
Li Mu originally thought that he would have to pay some membership fees, but he didn't expect that things went smoothly unexpectedly. The West Market is indeed a big treasure house. As long as you have money, as long as the Tang Dynasty has it, you can still get the news even if you can't buy it.
Li Mu found a Yaman and told him his needs. The Yaman then took him to a shop. This shop didn't even have a signboard, but it was a very famous place in the West Market because the Four Treasures of the Study sold here were the cheapest.
Moreover, the quality is decent, and it is favored by some literati who are not well-off and still need pens, inks, paper and inkstones.
"Your Excellency, this is Shopkeeper Feng. You need a lot of paper, so it would be perfect to find Shopkeeper Feng. In the two cities of Chang'an, who doesn't know that Shopkeeper Feng's pens, inks, paper and inkstones are of the best quality and at the lowest price." After saying this, Yaren talked to Feng again.
The shopkeeper introduced Li Mu: "Shopkeeper Feng, this noble man wants to purchase a large amount of paper, and it is a long-term cooperation. This is a big deal, so please be careful."
As soon as Shopkeeper Feng heard this, he knew something in his mind. He rolled his eyes, suddenly bowed and saluted, and said: "Little Feng Si, I have met Mr. Hou."
Li Mu raised his eyebrows and said, "How do you know who I am?"
Feng Si became more and more respectful and said: "Returning to the Marquis, it is not difficult to guess that in the past few days, the Marquis has consumed a lot of paper when printing Datang Daily. The price of rice paper in Chang'an City has increased day by day, and I am heartbroken.
I thought, that rice paper is expensive, and if it is used to print Datang Daily, I am afraid it will not be able to withstand the consumption. The Marquis must find other cheap paper to replace it. I just met the Marquis and saw that the Marquis is so young and needs a lot of paper.
I immediately thought it was you, Lord Marquis, and... your entourage is so conspicuous that I might not be able to find another one in Chang'an City. Datang Daily mentioned that your entourage is eight feet tall.
So I guessed it.”
Li Mu couldn't help but glance at the four letters and said: "Now that you recognize it, I won't be secretive anymore. Yes, you guessed it. I came today and really want to buy a reasonably priced product."
Paper, you are a smart man, if there is a suitable one, you might as well recommend it directly, you can decide the price yourself, I am not a fool, if you want to blackmail me, you should also know something about my temper."
"I don't dare, I don't dare." Feng Si said repeatedly, called a boy and gave a few instructions. The boy went back to the back of the shop and soon took out a stack of yellowed paper.
Li Mu frowned slightly and said, "Is this the kind of paper used to make paper money?"
Feng Si said: "Back to Mr. Hou, this kind of paper is called thatch paper in our industry. Mr. Hou is right, the paper money used for sacrifices is made of this thatch paper. But the one I brought to Mr. Hou is this.
Thatch paper is much better than that kind of paper. Mr. Hou, please take a look. The surface of the paper that I brought is smooth and not rough. This kind of paper is thicker and has a rough texture. To be honest, it is not suitable.
Writing. Rich literati would not buy this kind of paper, but it is perfect for printing. I have done some research on Datang Daily. Mr. Hou, you use rice paper to print Datang Daily because rice paper is thin and permeable.
It has good properties and ink can easily pass through the paper, but if you use this kind of thatch paper to print, you can print on both sides, which greatly saves paper consumption."
Li Mu was really moved when he heard what Feng Si said. He picked up the thatched paper and touched it. The feel was indeed not as good as rice paper, but it was still passable. He asked, "How much does this kind of paper cost?"
“Only half the price of rice paper.”
Li Mu frowned and thought for a while, then said: "Did you make this paper, or did you buy it from someone else?"
"Uh..." Feng Si's eyes were slightly panicked, and he said bravely: "Master Hou, you came to me to buy paper. I'm afraid it's... not appropriate to ask about this."
"Then it's time to purchase goods." Li Mu said: "I don't like to cooperate with Erdao traders. Let's do this. You open a paper mill and specialize in making this kind of thatched paper. I will sign a contract with you. In the next three years, in Chang'an City,
The paper used by Datang Daily is purchased from your paper mill and supplied exclusively by you. The price is set at 30% of the price of rice paper. What do you think?"
"This..." Feng Si couldn't answer for a while. The purchase price of this paper was 30% of the price of rice paper. Li Mu's slash was accurate and ruthless, directly cutting off his profit from seaming. If he purchased the paper
Selling, this business cannot be done, because there is no profit. But if he opens a paper mill by himself, even though he has orders for three years, the risk is not small. What if Datang Daily is banned someday? He can still go
Can't you sue Li Mu?
But on the other hand, if Datang Daily is prosperous, the profit from the three-year order will be considerable. How to choose puts Fengsi into a dilemma.