Chapter 308: Chapter 204_3
"Actually, I have many ideas about the government, all of which are very good, but I can’t bring them up at this time." Zhao Yao also wanted to bring some things from the dream world of Zhao Yao into reality and benefit the people of Great Zhou, but he didn’t have the ability to endure the consequences of creating those things right now. "Once I am granted a fiefdom, I will implement these ideas one by one."
"Aren’t there one or two things you can talk about?" Mr. Xiao felt utterly anxious.
"Let me think." Zhao Yao pinched his chin, thought seriously for a while, and said, "There are one or two things I can mention."
Mr. Xiao’s eyes lit up as he asked, "What? Your Highness, please tell me quickly."
"I can improve farming tools, improve weapons, improve looms, and many other things..." Zhao Yao realized that these things couldn’t be casually brought out, "It seems they can’t be done right now either."
Mr. Xiao was shocked: "Your Highness, you can improve farming tools?"
"Sir, I created the stirrup before." Zhao Yao said with a smug look, "What’s so difficult about improving farming tools and looms?"
"Your Highness, I didn’t expect you were skilled in Mo Family techniques." Mr. Xiao sighed, "The stirrup you created before was really a great thing."
Zhao Yao raised his chin and said, "I know many things, but now is not the time to reveal them."
"That’s truly a pity." To think His Highness is skilled in Mo Family techniques, "What else are you skilled in, Your Highness?"
"I know many things; you will find out later, sir." Zhao Yao deliberately left him guessing, "By the way, I’ve been thinking about something recently."
"What is it?"
"I think the current paper is not good enough. I want to improve it to make it more useful and cheaper."
Mr. Xiao was amazed: "Your Highness, you can even papermake?"
"A little. I think the current paper is somewhat expensive, so books are also expensive." Zhao Yao said seriously, "When books are expensive, the common people can’t afford them, and that means they can’t afford to read, so they can’t learn knowledge."
Mr. Xiao thought what Zhao Yao said made a lot of sense and nodded in agreement, "Books are indeed expensive, but cheaper than they used to be."
"Books in the past were expensive because the characters were carved on bamboo scrolls. Now books are made of paper, but they still have to be copied by hand, which is not only slow but also labor-intensive." Zhao Yao said thoughtfully, "I’m thinking about whether to develop printing technology, so books can be printed and not copied by hand character by character."
"Printing technology, what is that?" Mr. Xiao heard the term "printing technology" for the first time.
"It’s about printing characters on books so people don’t have to copy them by hand." Movable type printing doesn’t seem difficult to create, he will try to bring it out in this period.
"If it can really be printed, that would be great." Although Zhao Yao explained it simply, Mr. Xiao could tell that this printing technology was something remarkable.
"If we have printing technology, books will become cheaper, and then many people will be able to afford books." By the way, his fourth brother previously said he would show him how papermaking works, but his fourth brother forgot. He must remind him tomorrow.
"If you can really develop this printing technology, scholars throughout the land will be eternally grateful."
"Sir, you and I discussed before that the noble families and the Li Family, as well as the Kong Family, have their own collections of books, and they hoard many books without sharing them. The Li Family even created the Li Family script for this purpose. Are you familiar with the Li Family script?"
"No, the Li Family script can only be learned by the Li Family members, and I am not one of them."
"I think this is wrong, but you and my fourth brother both say it has always been like this, so I have an idea."
Mr. Xiao asked, "What idea?"
"In fact, I am collecting various books now not just to take them to the fiefdom one day to give to the scholars, but also to establish a library."
"A library?" Mr. Xiao heard the term for the first time and didn’t understand its meaning.
"It’s a place to store books, actually like a bookstore." Zhao Yao laughed and said, "A bookstore sells books, but the library doesn’t sell them and is open to everyone for free. That way, everyone can borrow books from the library to read or just read inside the library."
Mr. Xiao had previously learned from Zhao Yao what "free" meant. Hearing Zhao Yao’s idea of building a free library left him greatly astonished.
"Your Highness, you..."
"This way there will be a dedicated place for the people to read books for free." Zhao Yao suddenly clenched his right fist, full of vigor, and said, "I want to build a very large library, collecting all kinds of books, so that everyone can read whatever books they want."