Ouyang Ji said in a deep voice, "What is the point of giving up? Printing books at a cost of over five hundred wen?"
Everyone was speechless.
Cost was the root of their desperation!
Even buying Liang Xiao's books at three hundred wen was much cheaper than printing them themselves…
But now even the Ouyang family was beginning to doubt if Liang Xiao was actually losing money.
"If only we had bargained a little harder when he sold them for three hundred wen!" Ouyang Hong sighed.
Ouyang Ping retorted angrily, "Uncle, are you blaming me? You all said that anything under four hundred wen was acceptable. I got them for three hundred wen, and that's not enough? Should I have waited for him to name his price, or simply sold them to the people for one hundred and fifty wen?"
Ouyang Hong chuckled wryly, helpless.
Without the support of the other families, they would have given up or gone bankrupt long ago!
"Master, envoys from the Yan family of Great Liang have arrived!"
The butler's report made Ouyang Ji's old eyes light up.
The Yan family's envoy was Yan Jiu, a trusted subordinate and a twenty-year acquaintance of the Ouyang family.
After delivering the letter from his patriarch, Yan Liu, Yan Jiu said, "I heard that the Ouyang family's bookshop is currently at a stalemate with Liang Xiao's bookshop?"
The Ouyang family members nodded repeatedly, looking at Yan Jiu with anticipation.
Yan Jiu gritted his teeth slightly. "Liang Xiao's suppression of book prices has severely affected the business of various bookshops in our Great Liang. The Ouyang family and several of us are old friends. Our patriarchs have discussed it, and we can provide financial support to the Ouyang family by purchasing some books and transporting them to Great Liang!"
"How much can your families contribute?" Ouyang Ji asked with joy.
Yan Jiu held up a hand. "Five million taels. Our Yan family will contribute two million taels! Provided the books can be safely transported to Great Liang for sale!"
Ouyang Ji said with difficulty, "How much do you intend to sell them for?"
Yan Jiu smiled bitterly. "Eight hundred wen! But now the common people of Great Liang know that Liang Xiao sells his books to them for only one hundred and fifty wen. They probably won't buy them now. At worst, we can stockpile them and wait until you defeat Liang Xiao! After all, if we were to print them ourselves, the cost per book would still be over five hundred wen!"
"Liang Xiao has again obtained one hundred thousand taels of gold, which can be converted into at least one million taels of silver…" Ouyang Ji's face was filled with worry.
Yan Jiu said gravely, "Five million taels, is that not enough? The other families will naturally provide further support depending on the situation!"
Ouyang Ji was overjoyed and immediately signed several contracts with Yan Jiu.
At the same time, in the imperial study of Great Liang.
Mu Cheng and Qin Feng looked at the intelligence on the table with grim expressions.
"Liang Xiao's bookshop business has indeed affected our Great Liang. For me, this is a good thing!" Mu Cheng smiled helplessly.
It was a disgrace that Great Liang's development was being indirectly influenced by a foreign youth, he thought.
Qin Feng sighed, "The problem now is whether we should allow these domestic bookshops to continue selling books at high prices!"
Mu Cheng said in a deep voice, "Of course not! I want the common people to have access to books. Sooner or later, we will break the monopoly of the aristocratic families. As you said, this is a slow process, but its benefits will last for generations! Otherwise, when I am gone, you will be unable to bear the burden alone, and imperial power will ultimately be undermined… Even if popular enlightenment is achieved in the future, its impact on imperial power will not be as significant as the monopoly of these aristocratic families."
After a moment of hesitation, Mu Cheng sighed, "You might not believe me, but the wise ruler I admire is not our dynasty's founder, but the founder of Great Gan – the emperor is of little importance compared to the people! I would rather my Mu family be overthrown by the people one day than see the Mu family replaced by representatives of the aristocratic families!!"
Qin Feng looked at Mu Cheng in shock, feeling that Mu Cheng was far more towering in his heart than he had imagined.
"Your Highness, I will immediately arrange for the 'Shadow Guard Army' to instigate the people in various regions to refuse to buy Yan family books at high prices, forcing them to lower their prices!"
After returning to the capital, Liang Xiao inspected several bookshops and the "One Drunken Century" wine shop to ensure everything was foolproof.
The movable type printing technology was kept strictly confidential. Even the bookshops in various regions had contingency plans.
If the officials of those aristocratic families engaged in arbitrary seizure and robbery, the bookshops would immediately destroy all movable types and reagents.
However, this had not happened yet. After all, the law of the land prevailed, and the bookshops still belonged to Marquis Anguo, Liang Xiao. These officials dared not act recklessly, at most sending people to steal the technology.
Liang Manor's most elite guards numbered up to two hundred, all supported by the income from Liang family's ancestral properties in Yan Prefecture and the capital. Now, these guards had ample opportunity to showcase their skills, with some deployed to various locations to manage bookshop security, proving much more reliable than newly hired guards.
Of course, Liang Xiao had also prepared for the leakage of movable type printing technology, allowing him to advance or retreat as needed.
A gust of autumn wind brushed past his face. Liang Xiao looked up at the withered leaves dancing in the distance.
"It's already August. The sugarcane in various regions should be ripe soon, shouldn't it?"
Luo Qingxue, standing behind Liang Xiao, chuckled, "Why the sudden craving for sugarcane?"
"Sugarcane is for making sugar. However, the sugar-making technology also needs to be researched and improved," Liang Xiao said with a smile.
"Sugar-making?" The girls exchanged glances.
When Jian Qinwan and Yue Lian were with Liang Xiao in Jiangnan, they had heard him mention this.
Liang Xiao smiled mysteriously. "We'll try it then."
There were some things he had read about that he didn't fully understand, only having a partial impression.
Crude sugar-making was not too difficult, but he had not yet practiced it.
Sugar, like salt, was an important strategic resource.
If stored properly, white sugar could last for more than a year.
Liang Xiao still retained the sense of responsibility of a soldier. Sharing joy was better than enjoying it alone. Allowing the common people to afford salt and sugar was an important step towards a prosperous and peaceful era.
Both publicly and privately, Liang Xiao wished to do this. After all, he and his ancestors had long offended the aristocratic families, and they needed the strong support of the emperor and the common people, otherwise, they would only be manipulated by the aristocratic families.
Convenience for others was convenience for oneself; it was much like this.
Luo Qingxue handed Liang Xiao another list of materials for the apothecary.
Liang Xiao glanced at it and fell silent.
Sulfur in the capital was also limited in quantity.
Liang Xiao did not know whether to be happy or worried.
The scarcity of sulfur meant fewer gunpowder barrels for emergencies in the future. If Great Gan was caught in a pincer attack or even surrounded before it could develop, gunpowder barrels could provide immediate relief.
However, Liang Xiao also had to consider the possibility of enemies accidentally developing gunpowder or black powder. To prevent Great Gan from falling behind and being vulnerable, the method of making black powder needed to be backed up and left for the descendants of Great Gan for emergencies. This carried another risk.
The spread of gunpowder and even more powerful black powder throughout the world would be a calamity for all living beings in the near future. Liang Xiao had to be extremely cautious, preferring to slow down the world's development process.
Riding the momentum of his return to the capital, Liang Xiao went to Bai Chun Lou again and sold another thousand jars of "One Drunken Century," presenting two new poems.
Ye Qingyi had returned to Bai Chun Lou and resumed her position as楼主 (building master). Yi Rou had regained her status as the top courtesan. However, they no longer needed to promote Liang Xiao; the dignitaries and noble lords flocked to them on their own.
No one could resist the temptation of two poems that ranked among the top in "Great Gan Poetry," especially as Liang Xiao's fame and status continued to grow.
He received five hundred thousand taels of silver. After deducting taxes and a total of twenty percent for Liang Feng and Xiao Shuangzi, Liang Xiao pocketed nearly four hundred thousand taels, leaving the Ouyang family fuming.
In the blink of an eye, August 14th arrived. Liang Xiao put aside all trivial matters, nervously awaiting his wedding day.
The next day, a court procession arrived at Liang Manor to escort Liang Xiao, who was about to officially become a consort, to the palace to marry Princess Ningshuang.
Jian Qinwan and the others waited in the courtyard for good news, all of them nervous.
After he married Princess Ningshuang, he would come to marry them…
During these days back in the capital, Jian Qinwan dared not meet Liang Xiao's gaze. She often hid behind Luo Qingxue, remaining silent and trying to minimize her presence.
In the past six months, in order to "get her money's worth," she had teased and provoked her "flower thief" countless times in private. The "flower thief" had verbally "held grudges" more than thirty times, and would settle the score with her sooner or later…