Chapter 21: "Presenting Treasures" to Gao Lishi

When Li Xuan walked out of Xingqing Palace, it was already sunset in the afternoon.

Gao Lishi personally escorted Li Xuan out of the palace. Along the way, Li Xuan was respectful and humbly asked for advice.

"Although Qilang is young, he has the wisdom to help others achieve their goals. Even the left prime minister cannot compare to Qilang in this regard."

Halfway through the walk, Gao Lishi praised Li Xuan for his high emotional intelligence.

When Li Xuan was discussing with Li Longji, Gao Lishi was always by their side.

The last person who could win Li Longji’s favor in this way was Li Linfu.

But Li Xuan is not only talented and brave, but also knowledgeable.

In addition to her status as a member of the royal family, she will definitely be loved by Li Longji.

"Mr. Gao, you are too kind. How can I be compared with my father? In my heart, Mr. Gao's wisdom is unprecedented in ancient and modern times, and he will definitely go down in history."

Li Xuan is still making use of his strengths.

"In the eyes of the literati and scholars, I am just a eunuch. They respect me because the emperor trusts me. When I turn into dust, who will sing praises for me?"

Gao Lishi has always been calm. Since his youth, he has been able to remain calm in the face of honor and disgrace.

This also led to the Crown Prince calling Gao Lishi "Second Brother", the princes and princesses all calling him "Aung", and the princes-in-law calling him "Master".

Especially after the death of Yang Sixu, the eunuch who was good at fighting, Gao Lishi's power reached its peak. Li Longji often said: "Lishi is in power, and I can sleep peacefully."

Only when Gao Lishi was on duty could Li Longji sleep well.

Which eunuch in ancient and modern times has had this honor?
But Gao Lishi also had concerns in his heart. In the past, saints were able to listen to advice and correct their mistakes.

But since his last return from the eastern capital Luoyang, Gao Lishi watched Li Longji get furious with those who advised him and execute ministers who dared to speak out against him.

He no longer dared to say anything unpleasant.

"Mr. Gao, why did Cai Lun go down in history? Why was he respected by scholars and officials of all generations?"

Li Xuan knew that flattery would eventually lead to disgust, so he had to help Gao Lishi do something.

When Prince Xin'an Li Yi was leading troops outside, Prime Minister Yuwen Rong was jealous of Li Yi's achievements and slandered him.

But the clever Li Yi passed the memorial to Li Longji through Gao Lishi.

After seeing this, Li Longji dismissed Yuwen Rong from his post as prime minister and sent him to Ruzhou to serve as governor.

Gao Lishi was a man who was extremely good at protecting himself. He was good at adapting to changing circumstances and observing the situation. Even if it was someone he loved the most, if they disobeyed the emperor and faced overthrow and destruction, he would not help them.

Li Xuan needs to deepen his relationship with Gao Lishi and establish interests.

Because Gao Lishi was a grateful person, once Gao Lishi was driven out of the palace by Wu Zetian for a minor mistake and became homeless, he was adopted by Gao Yanfu, a eunuch in Wu Sansi's mansion. Therefore, Gao Lishi was always grateful for the kindness and took good care of Wu Sansi's descendants.

"The paper used by scholars all came from Marquis Cai. How can we not be grateful to him?"

Gao Lishi didn't understand what Li Xuan meant. After thinking about it, he answered Li Xuan.

"If all the poor scholars in the world could read books because of Mr. Gao, who would not be grateful to Mr. Gao?"

Li Xuan said slowly to Gao Lishi.

"Qi Lang is joking."

Gao Lishi shook his head, thinking that Li Xuan was just telling a funny story.

"Does Mr. Gao know about woodblock printing?"

Li Xuan asked Gao Lishi seriously.

Woodblock printing originated in the early Tang Dynasty, but it has not been popularized until now. Books are still mainly copied by hand, which is extremely inefficient.

Since Li Longji came to power, he has repeatedly required that all villages in the Tang Dynasty set up village schools.

In the 26th year of Kaiyuan, an imperial decree was issued to "establish a school in each village."

But there are many difficulties in setting up the college, and obtaining books is even more difficult.

Although the academic atmosphere was very strong in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, "from the youngest to the youngest children all knew how to be polite and courteous", and there were many literate people in the army, but it was far from the level where all children from good families could go to school.

The woodblock printing of the prosperous Tang Dynasty only existed in Chang'an and Luoyang, and was mainly used for printing Buddhist scriptures.

"Of course I know. But if you want to print a book on woodblocks, you need to carve dozens or even hundreds of wood blocks, and you need skilled craftsmen, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Often the woodblocks are damaged during the carving process, and all the previous work is wasted."

Gao Lishi shook his head and said.

Twenty years ago, Li Longji personally annotated the "Book of Filial Piety" and required every household to keep a copy.

Gao Lishi was in charge of the engraving of the "Book of Filial Piety" at that time, and he knew best how much effort it took.

“If we set up officials and spend ten years training craftsmen, it will not be difficult to compile books.”

Woodblock printing was bound to enter the stage of history.

This is the general trend.

"Although the saints value scholars, there are as many books in the world as the pine trees in Nanshan. It is impossible to carve a few sets of woodblocks for just one book."

Gao Lishi still shook his head slightly.

It would not matter even if the Four Books and Five Classics were engraved in hundreds of sets, as they could be distributed to the counties.

But the birth of a new set of woodblocks requires retesting the craftsmanship of the craftsmen.

"I have come up with a new printing method. If you can come up with this new printing method, you will be a wise man like Cai Lun."

Li Xuan whetted Gao Lishi's appetite and took the opportunity to tell him his purpose.

Typography!
Gao Lishi, who is already old, is not a person without desires. He also cares about what will happen after his death and his reputation.

Gao Lishi's greatest wish is to be recorded in history and have his good name spread throughout the world.

Li Xuan wanted to use Gao Lishi to popularize movable type printing and woodblock printing.

If only a few types of books were printed, movable type printing would not be as efficient as woodblock printing.

If hundreds or thousands of books are printed, the efficiency of movable type printing will be extremely impressive. It can not only save a lot of manpower and material resources, but also improve the speed and efficiency of printing.

Moreover, woodblock printing is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It will take several years to carve the template for a slightly thick book.

Movable type printing is more flexible. As long as the movable type clay is fired in advance and more commonly used characters are prepared, the characters can be arranged at any time according to the content of the book. If the characters are rare, they can be replaced by carving wood blocks. With the papermaking industry in the Tang Dynasty, both printing methods can be implemented on a large scale.

"I will not be on duty tomorrow and will return to my residence in Xingningfang. I will prepare a bed for you and invite Qilang to come."

On the way out of the palace, Li Xuan explained movable type printing to Gao Lishi, including the method of firing movable type clay.

This is not a difficult craft and it can be easily accomplished as long as you have the concept.

Gao Lishi was a smart man. He thought it was absolutely feasible to use what Li Xuan called "movable type clay" instead of woodblocks.

Gao Lishi was moved and invited Li Xuan to discuss the details tomorrow.

"I will definitely visit Mr. Gao tomorrow."

Li Xuan replied with a bow.

In front of the Jinming Gate of Xingqing Palace, when Li Xuan was about to say goodbye, Gao Lishi suddenly grabbed Li Xuan's arm and whispered: "Before the Saint summoned Qilang today, the Right Prime Minister asked to see the Saint. He always plays some tricks, Qilang is very wise!"

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Gao."

Li Xuan was stunned for a moment and thanked Gao Lishi.

Gao Lishi nodded slightly and turned back to the palace.

Li Xuan stood there and thought for a moment. If it was Li Linfu who recommended him to the emperor, he must have had evil intentions.

"Could the Feng'an military envoy be Li Linfu's man? Li Linfu wants me to die on the battlefield like Wang Zhongsi's father, Wang Haibin?"

This is the only possibility!
Now that we know this, it will be very easy to deal with the Feng'an military envoy.

Li Xuan could ask Li Shizhi to write to Li Longji to transfer the Feng'an military envoy and replace him with another one.

Li Shizhi served as the Minister of War concurrently and had such ability.

After making up his mind, Li Xuan rode back to the Left Prime Minister's Mansion.

Li Shizhi wandered in the front yard for a long time, waiting for Li Xuan to come back.

He was worried about Li Xuan.

Seeing that Li Xuan had not returned yet, he would have gone to Xingqing Palace to meet the emperor if Li Qian had not stopped him.

"Qi Lang, how are you doing in the palace?"

As soon as Li Xuan got off the horse, Li Shizhi came to the door and asked impatiently.

Li Xuan did not speak at the door, but pulled Li Shizhi back to the front hall.

He told Li Shizhi what happened in the palace.

He also told Li Shizhi that the emperor had appointed him as the deputy envoy of Feng'an Army.

"A gentleman hides his talents and waits for the right time to act. Qilang is exactly like this old saying."

When he joined the army, he was appointed as a deputy commander of an army. He was also personally tested by the emperor. He was sure to become a military governor in the future. However, Li Shizhi was somewhat worried: "On the battlefield, you cannot show the courage of an ordinary man. As a general, you must command thousands of troops, arrange the troops, and win by surprise. This is the key to victory in war."

Li Shizhi had always opposed Li Xuan starting as a low-ranking officer because he was afraid that Li Xuan would rush to the front like a young and inexperienced man.

Even with Guan Zhang's bravery, he still made mistakes.

A deputy military envoy assists the military envoy in commanding the troops and does not need to lead the charge into battle.

"I still have seven feet of my body to keep and do great things to benefit the world, so how can I not cherish myself?"

Although his ideas were somewhat different from Li Shizhi's, he would not refute Li Shizhi before leaving Chang'an.

Li Xuan knew that Li Longji trusted brave generals.

When Li Linfu advised Li Longji to employ Hu generals, one important reason was that "most Han generals were civil servants, and they did not dare to lead the troops in the face of arrows and stones, so the barbarians were not pacified." Li Linfu also praised that "the Hu people are brave and strong, raised on horseback, brave by nature, and simple in temperament. If you influence them and use both kindness and power, they will be loyal to you."

Li Longji deeply agreed with what Li Linfu said.

"In this way, I, the father, will be relieved."

Li Shizhi nodded.

"Father, Mr. Gao told me that the deputy envoy of Feng'an Army was most likely recommended by Li Linfu."

Li Xuan told Li Shizhi about this.

"what!"

"The old man has bad intentions. When Chen Huiguang, the envoy of Feng'an Army, came to visit me years ago, I trusted him at that time. Now it seems that Chen Huiguang must be Li Linfu's lackey."

Li Shizhi was furious.

As the Minister of War, military envoys coming to the capital had to report to him at the Ministry of War.

He thought that Chen Huiguang, who had risen from a small soldier to a general due to his military achievements, would be a veteran general.

Because of his disgust for Li Linfu, Li Shizhi was extremely disgusted with Chen Huiguang at this time.

"When Qilang is sent to Feng'an Army, I will transfer Chen Huiguang back to Beijing and arrange for him to serve in the Ministry of War. Feng'an Army also has a deputy envoy, let him take over the position of Feng'an Army envoy. Qilang has just been appointed as a deputy envoy. If he controls Feng'an Army without any military achievements, it will cause criticism and make the saint dissatisfied."

After calming down, Li Shizhi's ideas coincided with Li Xuan's.

"The child is self-aware."

Li Xuan never thought that he would take control of an army right now, but Li Xuan always felt that something was wrong.

When Li Linfu played political games, he was always cunning and sinister, with hidden ulterior motives.

Even Li Shizhi could see through it and respond, so it was impossible for Li Linfu not to have thought of it.

Even if he realized that something was wrong, Li Xuan would still head north resolutely.

Even though Li Linfu was extremely intelligent, he could never have imagined that Li Xuan could please Yang Yuhuan by writing a poem called "Peony".

Unexpectedly, Li Xuan would gain the reliance and trust of Li Longji through his experiences in later generations.

No one would have thought that Li Xuan would bring Gao Lishi the "invention patent" for movable type printing.

Also, Li Linfu greatly underestimated Li Xuan's military strength.

These are the only factors that determine failure and success.

(End of this chapter)