Chapter 197

Sure enough, Wang Yang shook his head and said: "It's just that now is not the time."

Xiao Baoyue looked at Wang Yang, her eyes cold, her lips pressed tight.

Wang Yang made a move to get up: "I will take my leave now."

"Young master, stay..." Xiao Baoyue smiled through gritted teeth, "Actually, I was prepared to tell you about this the next time we met, but since you asked, it is not impossible to tell you now."

Wang Yang sat back down steadily, smiling calmly: "Then I will listen with respect."

Xiao Baoyue pinched her sleeve with her jade fingers, her smile unchanged: "I have already delivered the 'Comprehensive Examination of the Southern Barbarians' to the bookstore, had two thousand copies copied, and will sell them four days from now."

"Two thousand copies? A grand gesture."

At this time, there was no concept of copyright; once a book was published, it would be copied and spread. If the price was set too high, it would either be undercut by pirated book merchants or readers would copy and borrow it themselves, and no one would buy it; if the price was set too low, it would be difficult to recover costs. And if costs couldn't be recovered quickly, by the time pirated and private copies flooded the bookstores, sales would be even worse.

So when Wang Yang debated at the White Tiger Dojo, taking advantage of his great victory and personally promoting his new book, he only had three hundred copies of "A Hundred Questions on the Book of Documents" copied in advance for sale, mainly focusing on timeliness.

Later, when his reputation grew, he released the second volume, "Answers to the Book of Documents," but only hired people to copy eight hundred copies, and the price wasn't set high.

Mainly, Wang Yang was no longer as short of money as when he first transmigrated; otherwise, he could have only copied one hundred copies to sell and then raised the price of the book to an exorbitant level, just like selling those thirty folding fans, and then used a clever method to hype it up. With his reputation and status in the Jingzhou scholarly circles, he could definitely have made a fortune.

But Wang Yang was unwilling to do so.

Because "Answers to the Book of Documents" is different from folding fans; it is a professional academic treatise. Those who would rather pay a high price to grab the book immediately are either scholars who truly love learning or Wang Yang's die-hard fans, and Wang Yang was extremely unwilling to cheat these two groups of people, so he set the price very reasonably. But even so, he only had eight hundred copies copied, and after selling them for two days, re-copied versions began to appear on the market; the speed was truly astonishing.

As for "Flaws in the Ancient and Modern Texts of the Book of Documents," it was recorded by Liu Zhao. In Wang Yang's heart, this book was a gift to Liu Zhao, so he didn't bring up the matter of selling it. He knew Liu Zhao had copied many copies and given them to friends and academic peers, but what he didn't know was that the objects of Liu Zhao's gifts were not limited to Jingzhou. Now, in the imperial capital, this volume is spreading rapidly in academic circles, and the one who started it was Liu Zhao.

And Xiao Baoyue had two thousand copies of "Comprehensive Examination of the Southern Barbarians" copied; either she was extremely confident in the author's reputation, believing it would be snapped up as soon as it was released, or she wasn't aiming for profit at all, but to expand her influence.

But this book was written by Xiao Baoyue; she even had to hide her own identity, so how could she use her reputation? What influence was she expanding? Connecting this to her making him memorize the book, Wang Yang immediately thought of a possibility...

Xiao Baoyue smiled: "Since it's publishing a book for the young master, how can the gesture not be grand?"

"You want me to be the author?"

"Correct."

Could there be a trap?

Sentences from "Comprehensive Examination of the Southern Barbarians" flashed rapidly through Wang Yang's mind, but he immediately realized that if she really wanted to set a trap, she could make the book she had him memorize and the book she published two different versions, but...

"Is the young master worried that I will use this book to harm you?" Xiao Baoyue asked with a half-smile.

"No, if you wanted to harm me, there are many ways; why go to such trouble?"

"Exactly."

"But this book was written by you; putting my name on it is a bit like stealing someone else's beauty."

"The young master's learning far exceeds mine; having this book passed down under your name is a fortunate thing. However, if the young master really feels bad about it, you can also write a volume of 'Critical Discussion on the Partisan Prohibitions' or something to send back to me." Xiao Baoyue rested her fingers on her cheek, smiling brightly, a natural charm in her eyebrows and eyes.

What "passed down under your name"... Wang Yang saw through Xiao Baoyue's true intention at a glance.

This woman becomes confident as soon as she starts plotting.

"I just think it's a pity to hide your name. As for feeling bad, that won't happen. You're using me as bait, aren't you, just to hook the Prince of Badong? This is a matter of charging into battle; what's there to feel bad about?"

"The young master jokes. I do indeed have designs on the Prince of Badong, but it is for your own good. Since the Prince of Badong trades weapons with the Southern Barbarians and harbors evil intentions, he must be interested in barbarian affairs, and the young master writing this book is a talent who understands barbarian affairs. In the future, when he starts a rebellion, he might be of great use; how could the Prince of Badong bear to silence you? As for charging into battle, that won't happen, after all..."

Xiao Baoyue paused and said meaningfully: "The young master is already in the formation."

I am in the formation, but I won't charge into battle for you.

However, using barbarian studies to hook the Prince of Badong... it barely counts as a way to save my life, but it's not stable enough. However, the other party clearly won't care about stability; the main intention of this strategy is definitely not "for the young master's good."

"After hooking the Prince of Badong, what do you need me to do? Say it all in one breath."

"Nothing can be hidden from the young master. Since the Prince of Badong wants to risk universal condemnation to trade weapons with the Southern Barbarians, for the sake of secrecy, he won't use multiple methods, but will choose one or two families. The possibility of trading with one family alone is the greatest. But the territory of Jingzhou is too vast, there are many barbarian tribes, and each has its own territory; they all live in deep mountains and heavy obstacles, where human footprints are rare. It is truly not easy to determine which tribe it is. However, only six major tribes have the ability to take on such a big business: the Bajian Barbarians, the Yidu Barbarians, the Tianmen Louzhong Barbarians, the Wenyang Barbarians, the Wu Ning Barbarians, and the Yongning Barbarians.

The Wenyang Barbarians snuck into the territory and were excluded first. If they didn't kidnap the Liu family, then it might be the Prince of Badong directing and acting it out himself. But kidnapping people wouldn't be them. This matter is making such a big noise, which is no good for the Prince of Badong.

The Bajian Barbarians are deep in the Wushan Mountains, too far from Jiangling. If I were the Prince of Badong, I would never choose such a distant place, because the longer the transport route, the less easy it is to hide, and the greater the probability of being discovered.

The Tianmen Louzhong Barbarians are hostile to the Han people and are the most warlike; they are the front line and seem the most impossible, but I thought it might be a cover, so I specifically investigated this tribe, and it turned out not to be them.

Of the remaining three tribes, the Yidu Barbarians, the Wu Ning Barbarians, and the Yongning Barbarians, my power is not enough, so I can only ask the young master for help. When the time comes, the young master can say it like this..."

Wang Yang knew that although it was called a request on the surface, it was actually not to be refused.

The other party investigated his identity and helped him plug loopholes, all for the sake of today.

If "preaching the Dao" was the capital that allowed him to gradually gain respect in front of Xiao Baoyue, then the irreplaceable role he could play in investigating the Prince of Badong's crimes was the cornerstone of his life.

If he didn't even have his life, what was the point of respect?

"Your strategy is okay, but the routine is not."

"Routine?"

"To routine people, you can't say it specifically like that; it's easy to make the other party vigilant. You should say it like this..."

Xiao Baoyue is very smart, and her schemes and methods are all very good, but her shortcoming is in interpersonal application.

She can calculate human nature and things, but when it comes to specific interpersonal interactions, she is still slightly green. This response includes expressions, wording, tone, eyes, even micro-expressions like the frequency of blinking, small habits in behavioral patterns, etc.

For example, if Wang Yang is in a defensive state and doesn't want to reveal any emotional information to the other party, the other party really can't capture anything at all. But Xiao Baoyue is far behind. This is also one of the reasons why Wang Yang insisted on pulling back the curtain at the beginning—to observe Xiao Baoyue's expression. Otherwise, it would be difficult to grasp the measure and timing of the subsequent "training."

So if one were to give Xiao Baoyue an evaluation, it would be that she is good at planning but poor at maneuvering.

The so-called "maneuvering" is not only about interpersonal maneuvering, but also about maneuvering in the ways of the world.

Of course, with Xiao Baoyue's seemingly not low status and position, combined with her own intelligence and power, perhaps she doesn't need to know how to maneuver.

Although her intelligence is good, planning is her specialty, and her methods are not bad, essentially she is still a pampered young lady, just pretending to be a bit intimidating. However, saying this is not entirely accurate; this woman is linked to politics, and she won't be soft when it's time to act, so one cannot underestimate the enemy.

After Xiao Baoyue heard what Wang Yang said, her eyes lit up, and then she became somewhat vigilant: "You are so good at routining people, are you also routining me?"