Chapter 73 of 100

Chapter 73

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This time, returning to Chang'an was not like the last time when they went from Chang'an to Lantian, where they had to be driven from a warm nest onto the horseback halfway. As soon as Zhao Chen left the Lantian city gate, he told Qin Ming a few words, then buried his head in the tiger skin and fell asleep.

Qin Ming and Ma Zhou, among others, each had a sled. With the appearance of Zhao Chen's first sled, sleds almost dominated Chang'an.

Some people, like Chai Lingwu and Li Jingheng, had nothing better to do and even had a sled made for them, with their retainers pulling them around the Zhuque Street to show off.

When Zhao Chen and his group set off from Lantian and arrived in Chang'an, it was just noon. He instructed a few people to take Ma Zhou to the residence in Xinghua Fang, while Zhao Chen went directly to Qin's residence with Qin Ming.

This time, the incident in Lantian caused a great stir, and it ended perfectly, even leading to the retirement of a high official like Cui Shilang. This was certainly due to Zhao Chen's brilliant strategy, but it also could not have been achieved without the behind-the-scenes operations of Old Qin and Cheng Yaojin.

If it weren't for these two old generals' wholehearted protection, this matter would not have ended so perfectly. Therefore, upon returning from Lantian, Zhao Chen could go anywhere, but he had to report to Old Qin first.

When Zhao Chen arrived at Qin's residence, he found Cheng Yaojin was there too. Zhao Chen immediately smiled inwardly, guessing that these two old generals had probably predicted that he would return from Lantian today and had been waiting here for a long time.

He didn't know what kind of storm was coming, but from Old Qin's letter, Zhao Chen estimated that it would be at least a level seven or eight storm!

"Boy, you did a great job!" As he entered, he saw Old Qin's face as black as the bottom of a pot, his mustache flaring and eyes glaring, looking like a live volcano about to erupt. However, before the volcano could erupt, Cheng Yaojin had already laughed and praised Zhao Chen.

The atmosphere that Old Qin had painstakingly created was instantly ruined by Cheng Yaojin's words. There was no point in getting angry anymore! Old Qin couldn't hold back and joined Cheng Yaojin in a hearty laugh.

The clouds cleared, and Zhao Chen's heart, which had been hanging, finally settled. He then sat down next to the two old generals with a playful smile and recounted everything that happened in Lantian in detail.

Just as they were talking happily, a eunuch sent by Emperor Li Er arrived. Li Er had heard that Zhao Chen had returned to the capital and was waiting in the Gannu Hall, demanding that Zhao Chen come to the palace immediately.

He knew it would be like this. This time, he had caused a storm in Chang'an, and it would be strange if Li Er didn't hold him accountable!

"It's fine!" As he left, Cheng Yaojin patted Zhao Chen's shoulder and grinned, "What you did this time made the emperor feel good. He's praising you!"

When Zhao Chen heard Cheng Yaojin's words, he rolled his eyes inwardly, thinking that such words could only fool a simpleton like Cheng Chumu, not him!

Following the eunuch sent by Li Er, he went straight to the palace. When he entered the Gannu Hall, he found Li Er leaning on a soft couch, flipping through the Records of the Grand Historian. Seeing Zhao Chen enter, Li Er immediately raised his head, squinted his eyes, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Back?"

"Yes!" Zhao Chen stood far away, steeled himself, and bowed to Li Er, saying loudly, "Your humble servant, the Director of the Academy of Natural Philosophy, Zhao Chen, pays respects to Your Majesty!"

"Come closer to talk!" For some reason, Li Er felt a surge of anger as soon as he saw Zhao Chen's sneaky look, probably because of the deep impression Zhao Chen had left on him during their first meeting.

"Your humble servant may have caught a cold on the way, and I'm afraid I might infect Your Majesty if I get too close!" Zhao Chen lied without a second thought, spouting lies as soon as he opened his mouth.

"As you wish!" Li Er put the Records of the Grand Historian on the low table in front of him, then pulled out a few papers from under the table, shook them, and looked at Zhao Chen with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "How do you explain this?"

Zhao Chen sighed inwardly. Look! As expected, a ruler like Li Er, who values imperial power above all, couldn't fail to realize the terrifying consequences of this!

Actually, before doing this, Zhao Chen had already anticipated this outcome. But it didn't matter; he had already thought about how to deal with it. If he could convince Li Er, this matter could become a great benefit for generations to come.

With this thought, Zhao Chen steeled himself and asked instead, "What does Your Majesty think of the printing technique on this?"

Seeing Li Er's eyes narrow slightly, Zhao Chen didn't wait for him to speak but quickly said, "Your Majesty should know that the current printing technique in the Tang Dynasty is woodblock printing, which is extremely inefficient. This low efficiency directly results in many books being unique copies!"

Zhao Chen pointed to the Records of the Grand Historian on the low table and continued, "Just like the Records of the Grand Historian Your Majesty was just reading, how many copies can be found in the entire Tang Dynasty besides the one here?"

"Go on!" Li Er listened to Zhao Chen's words, thought for a moment, and then frowned, looking at Zhao Chen.

"But it's different now!" Zhao Chen looked up at Li Er and said earnestly, "Your humble servant has a new printing technique in hand, and its efficiency is so high that Your Majesty has probably already seen it!"

At this point, Zhao Chen secretly observed Li Er's reaction. Seeing that Li Er was listening intently, he felt relieved and continued, "So, what I want to say is that with such a highly efficient printing technique, as long as we are willing, not only can we print as many copies of the Records of the Grand Historian as we want, but even a music score can be printed in any quantity!"

When Li Er suddenly heard this, he took a deep breath, and his eyes suddenly became fiery. If it were really like this, being able to print as many as we want, it would truly be a great benefit for the country and the people!

Just thinking about printing thousands of copies of all the classics and histories, so that all the scholars of the Tang Dynasty could have books from the beginning, rather than sitting there and memorizing the teacher's lectures by rote, made Li Er's heart race.

Actually, not only was Li Er excited, but Zhao Chen himself was also excited by his own idea at this moment.

The reason why there were so few scholars from humble backgrounds in this era was due to the scarcity of books. Often, what was called "reading" was just the teacher explaining and the students memorizing by rote. In such a state, how many people, unless they were exceptionally intelligent, could remember much?

However, even this was a luxury that only children from wealthy families could enjoy. For someone like Ma Zhou, who came from a truly humble background, even being able to listen in was a luxury!

Li Er's eyes turned red, a clear sign of envy.

He had noticed this new printing technique earlier, but as the supreme ruler of the Tang Empire, Li Er saw another side. Now, with Zhao Chen's words, Li Er began to realize the enormous impact of this matter.

There were too few talented people available in the Tang Dynasty, and the reason was the lack of scholars, which in turn was due to the scarcity of books. If the book problem could be solved, then the Tang Dynasty could select the best talents for use.

"If I let you do this now, how long will it take for you to show me the results?" Li Er took a deep breath, suddenly looked at Zhao Chen with a burning gaze, and asked.

"One year!" Zhao Chen thought for a moment, looked up at Li Er, and said confidently, "By the end of next year, your humble servant can fill this hall with books!"

"Really?" Li Er's fingers trembled slightly, his eyes fixed on Zhao Chen, seemingly unsure, and asked for further confirmation.

"Really!" Zhao Chen smiled.

"Good!" Li Er suddenly laughed heartily, and after laughing enough, he looked down at Zhao Chen with a domineering gaze and said, "If this is accomplished, it will be a great benefit for generations to come. At that time, I will certainly reward you!"

Pfft! Zhao Chen didn't mind so much until Li Er mentioned the reward, but now he inwardly scoffed. Every time he said he would reward, but so far, apart from a gold medal, nothing else had been given. Now, he's using the same old trick again. Who would believe it?

Although they were standing far apart, Li Er could see Zhao Chen's scoffing expression clearly. Thinking about how this boy had brought so many benefits to the Tang Dynasty since he was brought back from the Wei River, Li Er felt a bit awkward.

Not to mention other things, just the steel-making technique and a gold mine had brought so much benefit to the Tang Dynasty. He seemed to always say he would reward him, but so far, apart from a gold medal, no reward had been given!

No wonder this boy had such an expression!

Thinking about this, Li Er's expression became a bit awkward, but as an emperor, he couldn't lower his face to cajole someone, especially someone like Li Er!

So, Li Er cleared his throat, suddenly stiffened his face, and said angrily, "What kind of expression is that? I haven't held you accountable yet for killing my hundred-ride commander in Lantian. How do you explain that?"

"Your Majesty, your humble servant is wronged!" As soon as Zhao Chen heard this, he immediately cried out, "Your humble servant has never even killed a chicken, let alone a person!"

Li Er's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. This boy had clearly killed Sun Yin, yet he was now running here to plead his innocence, trying to deny it?

"Your Majesty, you don't know!" Zhao Chen avoided Li Er's fiery gaze, put on a more wronged expression than Dou E, and cried out, "At that time, a slight mistake could have led to the death of hundreds of innocent people. Your humble servant tried to persuade them, but in vain. Out of desperation, I had to use my crossbow to force that... that commander to back down!"

"But why did that commander die from your crossbow?" Li Er's eyes narrowed slightly, looking at Zhao Chen with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, and spoke coldly.

"It was cold!" Zhao Chen lowered his head, steeled himself, and said, "Your humble servant's fingers were frozen, and I accidentally pulled the trigger!"

"Smack!" As soon as Zhao Chen finished speaking, Li Er picked up a nanmu pen stand from the low table and threw it at Zhao Chen in a fit of rage. Zhao Chen easily dodged it, and the fine nanmu pen stand landed on the wall behind him, breaking into eight pieces.

Phew, lucky I didn't get closer!

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