Five types of paper appeared in Xiping County’s Treasure Pavilion, displayed on shelves—one stack per shelf. People coming and going could choose, then confirm how much to buy before the staff brought it out.
Most came to buy paper for home use, so they bought by the quire. There were also those planning to sell paper elsewhere.
The paper in Treasure Pavilion was slightly cheaper than market prices. Buying in bulk made it even cheaper, so many book merchants came upon hearing the news.
Thus, they were attracted not only by the cheap paper but also by various glass products and soap in Treasure Pavilion. They stayed a few more days, then heard about the textbooks being used in Xiping County’s school.
The “Three Character Classic” became popular in the city as a children’s song because it was catchy and students would recite it after school.
So even four or five-year-old children in the alleys who hadn’t attended school could loudly shout along with older children at home: “At birth, human nature is fundamentally good…”
The book merchants were greatly surprised and wanted the complete book.
Zhao Hanzhang was…
She sighed deeply. She also wanted it, but there was only Hu Jin in the book bureau. Oh, now there were some apprentices, but those apprentices were still learning and would be lucky not to add to the troubles.
Books were very valuable. Watching a broad money-making avenue laid before her eyes yet being unable to step onto it made her heart ache.
So she could only urge Ji Yuan to quickly find enough craftsmen for her. Ji Yuan was busy with Shangcai County’s construction and it was currently the critical time for spring planting, so he irritably said, “I’ve already sent people to Luoyang to search. We just haven’t found anyone yet.”
She ran to find Zhao Ming.
Now whenever Zhao Ming saw her, he got a headache. He immediately rolled up his sleeves, turned around, and went down to the fields to plant rice seedlings. “You’re a county magistrate who doesn’t think about encouraging agriculture and sericulture, yet you think about commerce all day—what kind of behavior is that?”
Zhao Hanzhang replied, “…Right now the people in the county are working as hard as if they’d been injected with stimulants. Do I still need to encourage agriculture and sericulture?”
She now had fixed times daily to go to the school to teach the Three Character Classic and mathematics. Although being a teacher was her main job, before each class, she had to copy the lesson onto the blackboard first. Wasn’t that quite a headache?
“It’s just that we temporarily can’t find craftsmen.”
Fortunately, Hu Jin was capable enough. Though faced with difficulties, shortly after rice planting, he finally finished carving a set of the Three Character Classic blocks. After processing them, he began leading his young apprentices in printing.
Inking, applying paper… organizing and binding—everything proceeded in an orderly manner. Then a copy of the Three Character Classic with missing lines was successfully printed.
Of course, the missing lines weren’t Hu Jin’s fault but because Zhao Hanzhang had left some characters and sentences blank. Recently, Zhao Cheng had become obsessed with trying to complete these missing lines.
For this reason, Hu Jin could leave those positions empty. As long as someone completed them, he could carve on the original blocks without having to start from scratch.
He first taught the young apprentices to print, confirming they could work together to complete it, then handed the printing work to them while he immersed himself in carving the positive characters of the Thousand Character Classic.
He only needed to check occasionally.
When Zhao Hanzhang received the first batch of printed Three Character Classics, she was delighted. First, she gave each child in the school a copy, then had Treasure Pavilion clear out a shelf to place the Three Character Classic.
Thus, the book bureau finally received its first order since opening and began making money.
It had been nearly half a year since it only spent without earning.
Besides Xiping, Zhao Hanzhang also opened a school in Shangcai. She didn’t let County Magistrate Chai interfere with this school but had Ji Yuan take full responsibility. Zhao Kuan, who had already taken root in Shangcai, went around in circles and was specially hired back to the school to teach.
Oh, along with his brothers.
Now they not only had to manage basic government affairs in Shangcai but also teach at the school. Every day they were so exhausted their expressions were blank.
Among all these busy people, County Magistrate Chai seemed rather leisurely. Many matters didn’t require him, so now his main work was mediating conflicts within the county.
Actually, conflicts between various families and the Zhao estate.
Then using his connections to buy grain, cloth, and various things Zhao Hanzhang needed for her.
He still lived quite happily every day. If it weren’t for a gentry member who couldn’t help questioning: “Does Shangcai County answer to the county magistrate, or to her subordinate Ji Yuan?”
Only then did County Magistrate Chai realize that unknowingly, he had completely followed Ji Yuan’s commands—no, he should say he completely followed Zhao Hanzhang’s commands.
Although Ji Yuan coaxed him along, undeniably, every decision he now made wasn’t what he wanted to do but what Zhao Hanzhang hoped he would do.
County Magistrate Chai was stunned for a moment. Before Ji Yuan, who had heard the news, could come to soothe him, he figured it out himself. Forget it—everyone in the county depended on Zhao Hanzhang. Could he push Zhao Hanzhang away and work alone?
He might be willing, but would the county’s people agree?
Forget it—whose orders wasn’t he following?
He was just a small county magistrate. If he didn’t follow Zhao Hanzhang’s orders, he’d still have to follow the prefect and inspector’s. Above them, he’d have to follow the court’s.
But they only made demands without listening to his complaints or agreeing to his requests. Zhao Hanzhang at least could understand his difficulties.
So by the time Ji Yuan came to find him, County Magistrate Chai had already recovered and even told Ji Yuan: “I won’t believe such divisive words.”
Acting as if he trusted both him and Zhao Hanzhang.
Ji Yuan was…
Ji Yuan smiled and agreed: “County Magistrate is right. How could our relationship be something these people could undermine?”
Even Changning in Xiping heard about this. He told Zhao Hanzhang: “The four words ‘adapting to circumstances’ couldn’t be more fitting for County Magistrate Chai. So once he adapts to the County Magistrate, unless someone holds a knife to his throat, he’ll keep following you.”
Until someone stronger than Zhao Hanzhang appeared.
Zhao Hanzhang smiled. “I know. He doesn’t make things difficult for me, so naturally I won’t make things difficult for him either.”
Now Xiping and Shangcai, though still two counties, had nearly identical policies. The connections between the two counties were unprecedentedly close, with economic and cultural exchanges so intimate they might as well be one county.
However, aside from the neighboring county having some knowledge of these matters, Inspector He far away in Chen County knew nothing. He found it difficult to pay attention to two lower counties’ activities.
Because he was troubled by the court’s capital relocation matter, and moreover, he had fallen ill.
Gou Xi had proposed relocating the capital to Cangyuan City, which was near Chen County. This meant his Yuzhou administrative seat might be included within the capital’s jurisdiction.
This meant he, the Yuzhou Inspector, might become the Capital Governor! So he supported the relocation.
With all his attention on the court’s capital relocation, Inspector He wasn’t very concerned about the lower counties’ situations. And right at this time, his old injury flared up—the wound received in Quyang last year erupted this year, making him very uncomfortable.
And Heaven seemed intent on not letting him have peace. Right at this moment, the Prince of Donghai, who had been arguing with Gou Xi, seemed to lose patience. He directly charged Gou Xi with treason and, in the court’s name, issued a proclamation calling for troops across the realm to jointly attack Gou Xi.
—