After listening to Li Yuanjia's words, the emperor was stunned at first, and then laughed dumbly.

Making books more affordable for more people? Can afford to read?

Be ambitious!

But, it's just nonsense!

Can you afford to read books, and the reason will be whether you can afford books?

Maybe the emperors behind the Tang Dynasty may not know, but Tang Taizong Li Shimin is not an emperor who was born in the deep palace and does not hear about things outside the palace, and knows very well that even if the price of books is expensive, it is definitely not the key to preventing ordinary people from reading and reading - if you can't afford to buy books, you can borrow, copy, or even steal, there is always a way to solve it.

In this era, the key lies in the monopoly of knowledge by the gate valve!!

So even if books are cheap enough for everyone to afford, if there are not enough teachers to teach them, what is the difference between those books and waste paper? And even if there are teachers, everyone can afford to buy books, so who will take the thousands of dollars every year? A child in the family reads every day, just eats idle food and does not work, how many families can afford it?

"Hehe, it's just why not eat minced meat!"

Glancing at Li Shiyilang, who was full of seriousness, Li Shimin felt funny, but his mood instantly relaxed a lot - when he was waiting for his younger brother's answer just now, to be honest, he was really a little nervous, for fear of hearing what he didn't want to hear, but now it seems that it is indeed a little unfounded.

After all, if you think about it carefully, this method of printing books seems to be really simple and convenient, and it is much easier than copying word by word by hand, or engraving printing that appeared decades ago.

So after thinking about it for a while, Li Shimin then asked: "Yuanjia, I'm afraid this kind of movable type is more difficult to make than engraving, right?" If you were to print the Analects in this way now, what would it cost? ”

"This ......"

His face turned black in an instant, Li Yuanjia pursed his lips and said helplessly: "If you don't lose money, the price should be better than that of engraved books...... It's two or three times more expensive. ”

Although I really wanted to say that it was cheaper, it was obvious that Li Yuanjia did not dare to lie in front of the emperor.

He did not use wooden movable type or clay movable type, but took the metal movable type route directly, and the production cost was not ordinarily high. In addition, the cost of ink is also higher than that of ink, and the requirements for workers are far higher than that of engraving, so the cost is really touching when calculated.

"Twice as ...... Ha ha! ”

Listening to his younger brother's words, Li Shimin finally couldn't help laughing - the price is at least twice as expensive as others, why do you make more people afford to buy and read books?

"Second brother, listen to me first!"

Seeing him like this, Li Yuanjia was also anxious: "I mean that now, it should be twice as expensive as them, I didn't say that it will always be expensive!" Just like this papermaking, it will be more expensive at the beginning, but when they find the right way to make movable type, make more cheap ink, and then solve the difficulties such as typesetting and movable type fixation, it will definitely come down...... I think it will definitely be even lower than the engraving! ”

For this, Li Yuanjia could not doubt it at all.

It's just that Li Shimin wasn't interested in listening to his explanation, so he quickly waved his hand and smiled: "Okay, even if what you said is right, then wait until you can really print low-cost books in the future...... Haha, but it's kind of funny. ”

“……”

Biting his lower lip, Li Yuanjia's face was full of unwillingness and unconvinced.

Glancing at him, Li Shimin shook his head and smiled: "Okay, those kapok seeds that Gao Changguo paid tribute to, as well as that farmer, will be rewarded to you together!" ”

After talking to Shiyi Lang today, Li Shimin is also satisfied.

The use of white paper that was better than the tribute of the Li family paper mill, and the wonderful use of kapok, as well as the exquisite idea of movable type printing, made him feel more and more that it was a good idea to keep Li Yuanjia in Chang'an. If this kid is left in Luzhou, or changed to another place to do assassination, how can these things be seen at any time?

So in a happy mood, Li Shimin didn't mind giving this kid a little sweetness.

Some kapok seeds and a farmer, just reward him.

After listening to his words, Li Yuanjia was immediately overjoyed, and hurriedly said happily: "Thank you, second brother, I will definitely take good care of these seeds, and let them become things everywhere in our Datang in the future......"

"What? All over the place?! ”

"yes...... What's wrong? ”

"No way!"

Frowning, Li Shimin shouted in a deep voice: "Although Kapok seeds and that farmer have rewarded you, the most important thing in my Datang is food...... Although kapok is good, after all, it is only a kind of cold thing, so the land for planting kapok shall not exceed 100 acres, which is never allowed to be crossed, understand? ”

"One...... A hundred acres? ”

"Yes, a hundred acres at most!"

Squinting his eyes, Li Shimin's face was unquestionable, and he nodded in a deep voice: "In short, if you dare to plant more than 100 acres, I will take them all back." ”

Even if he just pocketed a comfortable and light cotton coat, it was absolutely impossible for Li Shimin to recognize the value of kapok at once, and immediately order his younger brother to plant it on a large scale!

No matter how good kapok is, at most it is just a thing to keep out the cold.

In these days, the poor wear sackcloth, the nobles have furs and silk, and everyone does not go out without clothes to wear, how useful is this thing? And how many flowers are there on a kapok plant? Or? Or two-two? How much land do you need to grow kapok if you want to make a cotton garment? How much water is used for irrigation, and how much manpower is consumed?

With a little calculation, Li Shimin will never let this kapok be planted in Datang.

In these days, it is a luxury for ordinary people to be able to eat a full stomach, who is willing to take out a part of the land to grow kapok? And how many people can wear clothes made of kapok - even if Li Yuanjia grows them, they will only provide a luxurious new material for the nobles and rich people in the future, and it will not be of much use to the country and the people.

And......

If you think about it deeply, Li Shimin is even more afraid that if this thing is really popular, a large amount of farmland will be used to replant kapok, which will really make people annoyed......

Under a hundred acres, let him toss.

In just a short period of time, countless thoughts turned in the emperor's mind, and he immediately came to a conclusion about Kapok.

Li Yuanjia was naturally at a loss about this, although he was not very satisfied with the limit of 100 mu, but he was already very content to get seeds and a Gaochangguo farmer who could handle cotton.

Anyway, cotton has been planted in China for so long, and it is very late to start large-scale planting.

Take your time and don't rush.

After agreeing that it would not exceed 100 acres, Li Yuanjia turned the topic back to movable type printing, and said quite unconvinced: "Second brother, let me tell you, I have spent a lot of effort on improving the movable type printing, and sooner or later it will definitely be able to ...... one day."

"Alright, I got it."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shimin yawned and said, "When the books it prints are cheaper than the engravings, you come to me again, and I will hand over any books printed by the imperial court to you...... I'm a little sleepy, so you can step back today. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

With a face full of disbelief, Li Yuanjia withdrew from the Manna Palace.

It's just that Li Shimin, who was smiling and silent behind him, didn't know that at the moment when his younger brother walked out of the gate of the Ganlu Palace, this kid left the waiter who sent him out behind, and the expression on his face instantly became calm, and even the corners of his mouth had a slight and almost imperceptible curvature......