Chapter 117: Money Is Not Enough

Yan Ning was also the type to act as soon as she decided.

She took paper and a Bamboo Pen, and on the spot, had someone write down the method for making ink.

The ingredients were very simple, and the officials could see them clearly: soot, water, and glue, mixed together in a certain ratio.

These raw materials were very cheap, and the ink produced would not be sold for too high a price.

Currently, an ordinary ink stick could sell for over ten wen, so the price of liquid ink would certainly be lower.

The twenty-some ministers in the Imperial Study were all a bit surprised; was it really that simple?

Yan Ning instructed the people below: "Have them print it quickly; print ten thousand copies first."

At this, the Minister of Revenue's eyelids twitched, and he hurriedly said, "This, printing ten thousand copies, how much paper will that consume? Although the national treasury is not currently in deficit, we cannot spend too much silver."

"If every government decree must be distributed to every village, it is truly too wasteful."

Yan Ning pondered for a moment: "Currently, a single sheet of ordinary rice paper costs two hundred wen; it is truly too expensive."

Then Yan Ning continued to write the Paper Making Technique, and again had someone print ten thousand copies.

Once the production of paper increased, it would not be so expensive.

The court officials were all at a loss for words; it seemed the Crown Princess was determined to establish the Official School this time.

The ministers also sighed secretly in their hearts.

If everyone could read and study, and everyone was competing with their own aristocratic children, they would snatch away quite a few of the quotas for the imperial examination.

There were quite a few people who were worried about this.

Aristocratic children were taught by good masters from a young age and had many books in their homes, so they were a big step ahead of students from humble backgrounds from birth.

However, after the Official School was established, the advantage of the aristocratic children would be gone.

Several ministers were dispirited.

Yan Ning knew what they were worried about, but she did not point it out.

It was another day of rest.

Yan Ning and Xiao Huaijin were strolling through the market together; Yan Ze had to approve memorials, so he did not come.

Xiao Huaijin pointed to a corner: "There seems to be paper for sale over there, why is it a bit yellow?"

Yan Ning also leaned over to look; it was a very rough type of paper, but one could write and draw on it.

She had not expected that only a few days after the paper-making method was spread, someone would already be hauling paper out to sell.

It really was fast.

Yan Ning asked: "How much are you selling this paper for?"

The person buying the paper was a woman of about forty; seeing someone ask, she said: "If you buy this stack of paper together, it only costs two hundred wen."

Yan Ning was shocked; this thick stack had at least several hundred sheets.

Is it this competitive?

Yan Ning asked: "Why is this paper so cheap, and how long did it take you to make?"

The woman said: "If it's not cheap, it's hard to sell. It's not the busy farming season now, so every household has people making paper, and this yellow paper is simpler to make. It's fine as long as I can sell this stack for 200 wen."

Yan Ning pointed out a path for her: "There is a School over there; you can try selling it there, and it should sell out very quickly."

During the slack farming season, everyone had nothing to do, so being able to sell paper was considered quite good.

Earning nearly one tael of silver a month was also considered a new source of income for farming households.

Currently, a farming household only used three to five taels of silver a year, and food and clothing cost over three taels, so they basically could not save much money.

With this Paper Making Technique, they could save a sum of money every year.

Within a few days, it spread to everyone that there was cheap paper for sale, fifty wen for one hundred sheets; those who were not well-off and could not afford rice paper were squatting there every day waiting for the cheap paper.

The officials in the court were also shocked.

They did not expect their efficiency to be so high; the methods for ink and paper-making had already been written and distributed everywhere. Besides these, there was also a new type of Bamboo Pen that could be bought for two copper coins; it worked especially well with the ink, and the characters written were small, which could save quite a bit of money.

The hearts of the officials turned cold.

Yan Ning was truly racking her brains to ensure the common people could study.

From now on, the number of competitors for their children and nephews would suddenly increase by tens of millions.

After the morning court, many officials were whispering to each other.

"What are we to do in the future?"

"In the future, the teachers at the Prefecture School will all be imperial scholars; can we find imperial scholars to be teachers?"

"That is certainly impossible; those imperial scholars all have to go be officials."

The more the few ministers discussed, the more miserable they felt.

One of them suggested: "Then we can only make them study hard; a small exam every month and a big exam every half year. Those who do not pass the assessment will be punished by copying books."

After the few of them calculated, they all felt this method was good.

It was just that the aristocratic children were going to be unlucky.

At the morning court the next day, the Minister of Revenue finally found an excuse.

He bowed to Yan Ning and said: "Your Highness, the matter of establishing Schools in various places must be considered carefully. This official has calculated the accounts: if Schools are set up in the towns under each county, at least four thousand Schools must be established. The construction cost for one School is approximately five hundred taels of silver. Building a School is not just about building a room; one must also repair the nearby roads."

"Just the construction alone would cost so much silver, and adding the hiring of teachers and the setting up of rewards, I fear it would cost over five million taels of silver."

"And now, the Northern Rong are eyeing the Northern Frontier covetously, the soldiers are not fed or clothed well, and His Majesty has reduced taxes. If there is any emergency, our national treasury will truly have no money!"

All the ministers said in unison: "We hope His Majesty will think thrice."

Yan Ze sat on the Dragon Throne and asked: "Can anyone think of other methods?"

All the ministers remained silent.

Even those who had thought of methods were unwilling to speak.

Yan Ning had made up her mind to establish the Official School, and with a roll of her eyes, she thought of a way.

"Actually, it's not difficult. Pass down the word that we are going to build a School and roads, and erect a Merit Stele. Ask if anyone wants to donate; all donors will have their names recorded, and the top three donors will have their names carved the largest. This way, there should be money."

Minister of Revenue:...

Fine, fine, fine. He truly had no other ideas left.

But some officials made sarcastic remarks. The Minister of Rites said, "This won't raise any donations, will it? Who would donate so much money just to have their name carved when they have nothing better to do?"

Yan Ning said with a smile, "It will raise at least some, and the imperial court can subsidize the rest. The Glass Workshop can also sell quite a lot of Glazed Glass every month; at worst, we can just draw an advance."

Quite a few officials felt that these donations would certainly come to nothing.

The next day, Yan Ning personally went to several nearby villages.

She wore black clothes with a Dragon Pattern and a jade crown on her head, arriving at Taowu Village on the outskirts of the capital.

Yan Ning was nearly fourteen years old and not very tall, but with this outfit and the guards behind her, one could tell she was no ordinary person.

Yan Ning looked over the village; quite a few people were making paper, and others were preparing ink.

Further away in the village, a large residence could be seen; it must belong to a wealthy person.

Yan Ning dismounted and asked the crowd, "Where are your village head and Village Chief? I have important matters to discuss."

Several people hurried off to invite the village head and the Village Chief.

Many people were secretly sizing Yan Ning up; she was far too young, yet she was actually an official.

Soon, the Village Chief, as well as the village heads of Taowu Village, Shiqiao Village, and Wangshui Village, all arrived.

The four of them looked at Yan Ning, trembling one by one.