Chapter 0047 Who Would Believe It

Chapter 0047 Who Would Believe It

On the other side, Xiao Rong watched as Chen finally finished eating and drinking her fill. She seemed to have returned to her aristocratic habits, taking out a handkerchief to elegantly wipe her mouth. Noticing that Xiao Rong was staring at her, Chen was momentarily stunned before she realized and handed the handkerchief to Xiao Rong.

Xiao Rong: "…………"

Later, when Xiao Yi heard about this incident, he immediately looked regretful. "Although my grandmother has dementia, her memory is unpredictable. Sometimes she can remember things from over fifty years ago, but other times, she forgets what she said just moments ago. If I had known something like this would happen, I would have warned Eldest Brother!"

After saying this, he cautiously observed Xiao Rong's expression and couldn't help but ask, "So, did Grandmother reveal something that Eldest Brother said to the Northern Pacification King?"

Xiao Rong: "……"

His tone was slightly angry, "Why do you need to know that!"

Xiao Yi silently closed his mouth, thinking to himself, it was just a question.

Seeing Xiao Rong unhappy, Xiao Yi became the unfortunate target. For the first time since they met, Xiao Rong showed a cold face to Xiao Yi. "Also, from now on, you are not allowed to call him the Northern Pacification King, even in private with Grandmother and me. You must refer to him as The King. In the future, there will be more people in the palace, and although you are young and not yet part of the council, you must remember to be cautious with your words and actions."

Xiao Yi was taken aback and quickly agreed.

Although Xiao Yi also lived in the palace, he was still an independent individual. Even the Yu brothers could serve two masters initially, so why not them? Therefore, calling Qu Yunmie the Northern Pacification King only sounded distant, not as serious as Xiao Rong made it seem.

Xiao Rong knew he was venting his anger, so after his outburst, he felt a bit regretful. Seeing his adopted brother's obedient demeanor, Xiao Rong couldn't stay any longer. He mumbled something about going out and then left Xiao Yi behind, walking away quickly.

However, Xiao Yi didn't know that after Xiao Rong left, he stood on tiptoe, swinging his hands hanging by his sides, mimicking a penguin.

He felt incredibly happy because Xiao Rong finally treated him less formally. He had seen Xiao Rong roll his eyes at Qu Yunmie several times and act defiantly when Gao Xunzhi nagged him, but he always remained the ever-smiling and wise elder brother in front of him.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with that; many dreamed of having such an elder brother. But Xiao Yi couldn't help hoping that Xiao Rong would be more lively when facing him.

Only then could he feel that the invisible barrier between them was disappearing, and that Xiao Rong brought them here not just out of duty but because they were becoming a real family.

After entertaining himself for a while and letting out all his happiness, when he opened the door again, Xiao Yi stood straight, hands in his sleeves, still the well-mannered young boy.

Gao Xunzhi found ten soldiers skilled in carpentry from the Northern Pacification Army. These soldiers were originally responsible for carpentry tasks in the army, from building siege vehicles to carving wooden stakes during camp setup.

Being logistics personnel, their absence wouldn't cause much trouble. Unfortunately, none of these ten soldiers could read.

After Gao Xunzhi explained, Xiao Rong realized how narrow-minded he had been.

In the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Northern Pacification Army, only a few hundred could read, and these few did not include all the commanders. Many commanders were illiterate and could not understand military orders, so they had educated deputies who never fought on the battlefield. Their daily job was to read official documents to the commanders, but some took advantage of this position for personal gain, ranging from suppressing colleagues to trying to usurp power.

Xiao Rong: "."

This could be considered another form of conflict between the literate and the illiterate.

While it might sound absurd for illiterate people to lead troops, it wasn't a problem when most people were illiterate. After all, they were not main commanders and followed orders. On the battlefield, Qu Yunmie wouldn't issue written orders but would give verbal commands directly to the commanders.

Therefore, this issue could be set aside for now, and later, a literacy campaign could be launched among senior officers.

During the journey from Yanmen County, Xiao Rong secretly practiced writing characters with sticks on the ground whenever he was idle. If someone approached, he would quickly erase the characters with his foot. After doing this repeatedly, Qu Yunmie thought Xiao Rong had a peculiar habit of drawing circles on the ground. Although he found it strange, he decided not to say anything out of respect.

Xiao Rong didn't know about this consideration; he simply didn't want to see his clumsy handwriting anymore.

Before coming to this era, Xiao Rong never imagined he would be so helpless. Despite rarely attending classes in high school and taking a year off, he still ranked first in his major. He was proud of his knowledge, especially since many could recognize traditional Chinese characters but couldn't write them, whereas he could and always impressed his classmates.

However, he had never practiced calligraphy. He learned traditional characters because many historical texts were in traditional versions, available only in libraries due to their age. His grandfather once tried to teach him calligraphy for two hours, but gave up when he couldn't sit still. If Xiao Rong had known about his future experience, he would have started practicing from a young age.

Now, everything had to start anew, and unfortunately, cursive script was popular, making it difficult for beginners. However, scholars loved following famous people, and almost everyone wrote in cursive, leaving him with no proper models to follow. When he went to the warehouse with Gao Xunzhi to inventory strategic materials, he found an eighty-year-old travelogue in the corner. Fortunately, the author specialized in regular script.

After practicing for over a month, Xiao Rong had made some progress. Although his writing wasn't beautiful, it was better than before, when even Jian Qiao doubted his authenticity.

Taking a piece of paper, Xiao Rong wrote a line of slightly larger characters. After the ink dried, he placed the paper face down on the table and distributed a wooden board to each of the ten soldiers, instructing them to carve the reversed characters into the boards using intaglio.

The soldiers were confused but had to obey their superior's order. They looked at each other and reluctantly began carving.

Hearing the sounds of carving, Gao Xunzhi was puzzled, wondering what Xiao Rong was doing.

If it were for seals, no one would carve such long sentences. If not for seals, why carve them in reverse?

Gao Xunzhi asked Xiao Rong what he was planning, and Xiao Rong pulled out a book from his sleeve.

Fortunately, the sleeves were wide enough to conceal the book.

Xiao Rong showed the cover to Gao Xunzhi and explained, "Previously, you asked me how to keep scholars in Chenliu. This is the solution. We'll carve important books onto wooden boards, brush ink on them, and print multiple copies. Initially, we'll print twenty copies of each book, build a library, and allow scholars to freely borrow and read them. Of course, our collection is limited, so we can seek contributions. We can post notices inviting scholars to donate books not yet included in our collection. In return, we'll reward them with a plaque and engrave their names and origins on the library walls for everyone to see."

Xiao Rong smiled, "This is just an idea. We can offer various rewards. If the contributors are truly talented, we can offer them official positions. The only concern is if they refuse, which would make us look bad."

The custom of rejecting offers three times before accepting them, from emperors to scholars, was frustrating. If they accepted on the fourth try, Xiao Rong wouldn't sigh. The problem was that this tradition made many believe that living a reclusive life was more virtuous than accepting an official position.

Whether to offer official positions needed further discussion. He didn't want Qu Yunmie to become a stepping stone for others' moral posturing.

Xiao Rong continued thinking, forgetting that Gao Xunzhi hadn't spoken for a while.

Gao Xunzhi turned stiffly, looking at the soldiers carving the boards, then back at Xiao Rong, who seemed to be casually adding another meal to his daily routine.

This is completely different from eating three meals and two snacks!

How much you eat is your business, but if you build a library, you're challenging the aristocrats and the royal family!

Gao Xunzhi wanted to shake Xiao Rong to wake him up, but he didn't move.

Because he understood the immense allure of such a library to scholars. Reading used to be the exclusive right of aristocrats, but with the rise of commoners, more people could read. Later, as commoners fell into poverty and small aristocratic families were wiped out, those struggling for survival contributed their skills for food.

Compared to a century ago, the scholar class had grown significantly. All aristocrats were scholars, but not all scholars came from aristocratic backgrounds.

Without the imperial examination system, reading was not a direct path to officialdom. Many people read purely out of passion, choosing to live as impoverished scholars.

Gao Xunzhi came from a commoner background and struggled to find books to read when he was young. Friends could lend books, but commoners had limited resources. Books were never easily obtained, regardless of wealth.

He couldn't help but start thinking about how many people in this world were just like him when he was young. He was old now, his white hair already covering his temples, yet his experiences were never unique. Even if he told the story of his life to others, it would make them shed tears, but he really wasn't special. In this vast world, when a bird flew across the sky before him, it represented thousands of other birds flying past others.

His heart was a bit afraid yet excited. Gao Xunzhi couldn't help but mutter, "Building a library is also good. Now that we have many people, what can the noble families do to us?"

Xiao Rong didn't hear what he said clearly and looked over with confusion. By then, Gao Xunzhi had already composed himself, after all, he was someone who had weathered storms. No matter what he saw, he could quickly calm down.

He said to Xiao Rong, "If that's the case, Ah Rong doesn't need to mobilize everyone. Find a few literate people to copy these books twenty times; it won't take much time."

After all, it's their time being spent...

Gao Xunzhi's expression seemed calm at the moment, but beneath that calmness, he was nearly grimacing. Commoner, commoner—how many cold looks and hardships had he endured because of these two words? Now that he had the chance to rise above, he threw away his usual gentle approach.

Who cares if they want to copy or not? Since I've given the order, they'll all come and work for me!

Xiao Rong vaguely sensed something was off with Gao Xunzhi, but he didn't know him well enough. He just blinked and smiled, responding to Gao Xunzhi's words, "Twenty copies are only the initial number to be placed in the library. Once the literary collection is established and most scholars join us, we should move on to the next step. These wooden boards will still be needed then."

Gao Xunzhi was taken aback. "Next step?"

Xiao Rong nodded. "Printing large quantities of books, establishing a publishing house, and selling these books to everyone who can afford them."

Universal literacy is impossible before the advent of machines. Xiao Rong didn't plan to focus all his energy on literacy. Only when people are well-fed and warm can they think of desires. Even if books were given away for free, those who couldn't survive wouldn't be able to read them anyway.

So let's take it step by step. First, sell books to allow scholars to read more and residents in the city to learn to read. The scope will gradually expand. In a few years, when city dwellers compete to send their children to school, farmers and mountain folk will naturally be influenced too.

Xiao Rong felt he was quite pragmatic, but Gao Xunzhi looked at him as if he were a fool.

Xiao Rong: "..."

Ugh, why are you looking at me like that?

Gao Xunzhi couldn't bear it anymore. "You want to sell books?!"

Xiao Rong blinked quickly. "Yes."

Gao Xunzhi almost fell backward from anger. "Building a library has already offended the noble families greatly. You actually want to sell books to everyone! Ah Rong, who taught you to do this? They're trying to get you killed!"

Xiao Rong: "..."

After a moment of silence, Xiao Rong said, "I understand, so I don't plan to establish a publishing house immediately. Instead, I'll wait a few years until the timing is right."

Gao Xunzhi jumped up in frustration. "Do you think this is something trivial? The timing won't be right even after a few years!"

Xiao Rong shrugged. "The King and the Northern Pacification Army will protect me."

Gao Xunzhi: "...Open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. Building a library might still have scholars speaking up for you, but selling books breaks their bottom line. Not everyone believes in education for all!"

He dared not imagine what would happen if assassins from the Breeze Sect were drawn in. Even the King wouldn't be able to protect Xiao Rong then!

Xiao Rong fell into deep thought, seemingly taking his words to heart. Under Gao Xunzhi's worried gaze, Xiao Rong nodded. "Prime Minister is right. I am young and handsome, making me a conspicuous target in the Northern Pacification Army. It's not suitable for me to do such high-profile things."

Gao Xunzhi nodded vigorously. "Exactly!"

So don't establish any publishing house!

But Xiao Rong's next words almost broke Gao Xunzhi's neck. "Alright, then we'll tell everyone that these ideas came from the King, and these orders were given by the King. He's already offended many people, so a few more won't hurt."

Gao Xunzhi: "................"

He looked at Xiao Rong with a numb face, thinking that Xiao Rong must have forgotten about the incident with the Jinning governor.

Killing scholars for a single word one moment, and building a library to create more scholars the next.

Who would believe such absurdity?!

Author's note: