"I see!
This old man said that there was no such thing as perfection in this world. Although this paper is cheap and white, it is easy to write on, but the production is not high.
This is also in line with the Dao of Heaven and Earth…"
Hearing what Ying Zhan said, the Right Prime Minister stroked his white beard and relaxed.
At first, he was worried that the widespread use of paper would make it so that everyone in the world could look up to books and read, which would affect the interests of the ministers and nobles.
Now that he heard from Yingzhan that the production of paper could not be increased, he did not have any worries.
As such, even though the new paper was good, it was only used by Great Qin's officials. Even if there were a few pieces of paper on the market, it was not something that the commoners could afford.
They, the dignitaries, would buy it first!
This was also the first time they had seen a piece of paper. It was impossible for them to think that Ying Zhan had lied to them.
Because they did not understand the principle behind paper making!
Instead, based on their life experience, they believed that anything beautiful must be rare and precious!
This was what it meant when things were rare!
Moreover, Huai Zhuang and the others could not think of any reason why Yingzhan would hide this from them. After Yingzhan became a Marquis, he would become a top-tier noble of Great Qin and one of their own.
Compared to those poor and lowly commoners, they were two completely different kinds of people!
As a noble, there was no reason for Ying Zhan to give those commoners a chance to learn and shake the interests of the noble class.
Even the First Emperor didn't expect Ying Zhan to dispel the worries of Huai Zhuang and the other ministers with just a few words when he was still thinking about how to resolve the ministers 'opposition to the circulation of the paper!
However, the First Emperor did not understand why Yingzhan had told him that as long as the paper technology was popularized, the production would increase rapidly and it would be enough to satisfy the needs of the entire world. Now, he was telling Huai Zhuang and the others that the failure rate of the paper was high and the production could not be increased…
Although he couldn't figure out why he won the battle, he knew that the eldest son's wisdom and talent were far superior to the rest of the world. He must have his own plans.
Therefore, the First Emperor didn't ask much and followed Yingzhan's words.""Indeed. Unfortunately, although this paper is good, the production is not high. Even I didn't get much. Today, I can only give a few pages to each of you.
I hope that you will use it sparingly. After all, in the short term, the paper produced by the Marquis of Xianyang can only be given priority to the Imperial Court and not much can be sold to the outside world.”
As he spoke, the First Emperor looked at Yingzhan and said in a voice that sounded like he had just caught a cold,""Marquis of Xianyang, I hope that you can try your best to increase the production. This way, the ministers can also use paper in private to write books and make Great Qin prosperous.”
When Ying Zhan heard this, he knew that the First Emperor understood his intentions. He immediately pretended to be troubled and cupped his hands."Yes, I can only try my best, but I can't guarantee that I can increase the production. After all, the failure rate is too high.”
"It's fine. Just do your best. Even if you can't increase the production, I and the ministers won't blame you.”
Although the First Emperor and Yingzhan hadn't met each other, they seemed to have a tacit understanding. They had managed to ensnare Huai Zhuang and the other ministers.
In the hearts of all the officials, they had planted a psychological expectation that although the cost of a piece of paper was low, the production was also low, and it would become relatively precious.
In this way, it would be difficult for these wealthy ministers and nobles not to fall into the trap!
At this point, today's court meeting ended.
Other than Chunyu Yue and the other Confucians who were in low spirits, everyone else was happy.
After the court session ended, many people came forward to congratulate Yingzhan on his promotion to Xianyang Marquis. Of course, there were also some ministers who wanted to use the reason of congratulation to get closer to Yingzhan so that they could get some papers from Yingzhan in the future.
One shouldn't hit a smiling person. Yingzhan didn't put on any airs towards these people. He feigned civility and chatted with them for a while before dismissing them.
"I am Li Si, congratulations, Marquis of Xianyang!”
After the crowd around Yingzhan dispersed, a voice rang out in Yingzhan's ears.
Ying Zhan looked over and saw a calm middle-aged man with spirited eyes looking at him with a smile.
"Thank you very much, Lord Chief Justice."
Ying Zhan faintly smiled as he thought to himself,'So this is Great Qin's famous Prime Minister Li Si. His bearing is indeed extraordinary.'
Of course, Li Si was not the prime minister yet, but the chief justice who was in charge of the law.
The Prime Minister was still Huai Zhuang and Wang Wan, the two old ministers.
However, Ying Zhan did not underestimate Li Si because of this.
As one of the 9 ministers, the dean of the Supreme Court was equal to the combination of the minister of the Supreme Court and the minister of the Ministry of Justice.
Furthermore, Li Si was one of the closest subjects of the First Emperor. He had once been a guest minister and had given the First Emperor advice. In the process of the First Emperor seizing power and destroying the six countries, he had made great contributions.
Even the first emperor's imperial jade seal," By the heavens, longevity ", was carved by Li Si!
The First Emperor even handed over the net that Lu Buwei had once controlled to Li Si.
Under Li Si, Zhao Gao was in charge of the network.
As such, Li Si was both Great Qin's Supreme Court and the person in charge of Great Qin's secret organization, the Network.
Such an important figure didn't need to be so friendly to a new Xianyang Marquis.
Therefore, even though Yingzhan smiled at Li Si, he was still wary.
Li Si was a complicated person.
He was talented, ambitious, greedy for power, and jealous of talent.
Han Fei, Li Si's younger brother, was more talented than Li Si. Even the First Emperor wanted to put Han Fei in an important position, but he was framed and killed by Li Si.
For the sake of power and importance, Li Si would even kill his own junior brother.
Even in the original history, Li Si, who was already the Prime Minister, was worried that Fu Su would appoint his master Meng Tian as the Prime Minister after he succeeded the throne. He conspired with Zhao Gao to tamper with the First Emperor's posthumous edict and personally wrote a fake edict to kill Fu Su.
Such a person was talented and scheming but had no moral character!
At this moment, Li Si approached him alone as if he had something to say. How could Yingzhan not be wary?
In fact, as Li Si was the chief justice of the Supreme Court and in charge of the net, many ministers in the imperial court didn't like him and kept a respectful distance from him.
Because Li Si's Supreme Court and the spies of the Network were mainly dealing with those officials of Great Qin…
There was also a saying among the ministers that whoever Li Si approached would be in trouble…
As if sensing Ying Zhan's attitude, Li Si thought that Ying Zhan was like the other ministers, so he immediately smiled and said,""Don't worry, Marquis of Xianyang. I just feel that you have a wonderful idea to invent a divine item like paper.
However, there is one thing that I don't understand. Why did the Marquis of Xianyang say that the cost of this paper is low, a hundred times cheaper than silk, but then say that the failure rate of paper is high and the success rate is low?
As a result, the materials used for the failed paper would accumulate, and the cost would also increase. It would not be much lower than bamboo slips and silk.
Thinking about it this way, wasn't the Marquis of Xianyang's words contradictory?
Or was the Duke of Xianyang hiding something? Was one of the information true and the other false?”
Ying Zhan smiled when he heard Li Si's words.
As expected, Li Si, who was famous in history, was no longer a smart person, but a smart person among smart people!
Ying Zhan managed to fool Wang Wan and the other old officials, but the meticulous Li Si noticed something…
Fortunately, Ying Zhan had already come up with a countermeasure to deal with people as smart as Li Si…
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