Chapter 68

Wang Yang asked in confusion: "Is that so? Where?"

Xie Xinghan sneered and asked the servants: "Did you recognize him?"

The four looked at each other, appearing somewhat embarrassed. One of them said: "He looks a bit like him, but we were too far away, so we dare not be sure."

Xie Xinghan said: "Come closer and look. Recognize him carefully."

"Yes."

That person stared at Wang Yang's face and walked toward Wang Yang step by step.

Wang Yang coughed. A green shadow moved, and Chen Qingshan had already blocked in front of him.

The Xie family servant said: "Please move aside. My master ordered me to come closer."

Chen Qingshan's cold eyes remained silent.

The Xie family servant heard that his master didn't give new orders, knowing this was tacit permission to take action, so he said: "Offense."

His figure turned, and he was about to bypass Chen Qingshan, but unexpectedly, a sword scabbard appeared abruptly, blocking the way again! He immediately reached out to grab the scabbard!

The scabbard swept across, and the short stick responded.

Only two slapping sounds were heard.

The Xie family servant covered his left shoulder and took three steps back; he had already been poked by Chen Qingshan!

The other three servants saw this and stepped forward together. Xie Xinghan shouted: "Retreat."

The four bowed and retreated to their original positions.

Chen Qingshan also stood back behind Wang Yang.

Xie Xinghan looked Chen Qingshan up and down, her tone slightly cold: "What a handsome skill, what a handsome beauty. Young Master Wang, won't you introduce her?"

Seeing Chen Qingshan easily defeat the Xie family's strong servants, Wang Yang was so happy that he danced with joy, feeling as if he had picked up a treasure. He tapped his palm lightly with his folding fan and suppressed his laughter: "This is my guard. As for her skill, it's just average; it's passable."

Chen Qingshan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Seeing Wang Yang's cheap appearance, Xie Xinghan breathed a few times, suppressing her anger: "What did you want with me yesterday?"

Wang Yang was stunned: "When did I look for you?"

Xie Xinghan's eyes were gloomy.

"Oh right." Wang Yang remembered. He was with the black man at the time, wanting to find Xie Xinghan to solve the problem of the transfer order. "I had something to look for you about at the time."

"What is it?" Xie Xinghan asked curiously.

"Uh... it's nothing now..."

Xie Xinghan considered herself to have a good temperament, but she didn't know if this kid had some special ability to annoy people. In just a short while, he had made her feel the urge to beat him up several times.

She flicked her small sleeve and was about to get on the cart to leave. After taking two steps, she stopped abruptly, straightened her pretty face, turned around, and asked: "Is there a sequel to that scroll of books you asked me to copy?"

Wang Yang didn't expect her to ask about this. He thought for a moment and said: "Yes."

"Is it the answer?"

"Yes."

"Can you answer all those questions?"

"Of course."

"Then why didn't you just write out the answers directly?!"

The scroll of books Wang Yang asked her to copy consisted of difficult questions in the "Classic of History" studies, named "One Hundred Questions on the Classic of History." After seeing it, Xie Xinghan thought hard, but couldn't solve a single question, and didn't even sleep well.

"If I write them out, who will buy the next volume? This volume of mine asks questions, which is called warming up. After warming up, I will answer in the next volume. It will definitely sell like hotcakes by then. By the way, we agreed on copying three hundred copies. There are five days left including today. Keep an eye on the progress; don't delay it."

"You... are you going to sell books?" Xie Xinghan's expression was surprised. She originally thought that Wang Yang asked her to copy so many copies to send to famous scholars in the academic world.

"Yes!" Wang Yang said as a matter of course.

At that time, there was no printing technology and no copyright. Most of the books sold on the market were hand-copied versions that had been copied many times. Even newly written books would be copied immediately as soon as they circulated on the market. That's why there is the idiom "paper in Luoyang is expensive."

Therefore, those in the book business were either book merchants who searched everywhere for ancient and rare books, or bosses who specifically hired scribes. Very few authors sold their own books.

"Are all three hundred copies you asked me to copy for sale?"

"Yes... ah, send one to Mr. Liu, one to Zijie, and I'll keep one for myself as a souvenir. If Xie Xie Niangzi Xie likes it, I'll send you one too. Excluding these four, the rest will be sold."

After Wang Yang finished speaking, he remembered someone else and turned to ask Chen Qingshan: "Do you want me to keep one for you?"

Chen Qingshan: (→_→)

Xie Xinghan opened her star-like eyes: "Those book merchants will only buy one copy of your book and then copy hundreds or thousands of copies. Don't you know that?"

"I know, but my book is the most timely, the price is not expensive, and the key is that I have a hook, which can sell these books without missing a single one."

"What hook?" Xie Xinghan was very puzzled.

Wang Yang looked mysterious: "You'll know when the time comes."

"You have quite a few ghost ideas, but it's a pity you don't walk the right path." Xie Xinghan glanced at Wang Yang sideways.

Wang Yang said unhappily: "How am I not walking the right path?"

Xie Xinghan said seriously: "The common saying goes, 'Leaving children a full chest of gold is not as good as one classic.' You are so specialized in the 'Classic of History,' yet you put your mind on such small merchant matters. It's fine in Jingzhou, but if you go to Jiankang, you will definitely be criticized by public opinion."

Public opinion is a term often used in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, referring to external evaluation and discussion.

People in the Medieval period valued public opinion very much. For example, after the founding emperor of the Southern Qi usurped the throne, he once asked his ministers: "I have followed heaven and changed the mandate; what does public opinion think of it?"

Even the emperor cared, and scholars could not avoid it either.

Wang Yang did not agree with Xie Xinghan's statement and said: "No matter how much gold is not as good as one classic, the key is that I don't have gold! Where would the gold come from if I don't put my mind to it? Besides, is being a merchant a small matter? I don't think so. Since ancient times, literature has been valued and merchants have been despised. Although I value literature, I don't despise merchants. Literature can establish a heart for heaven and earth, and commerce can establish a life for the people."

"Commerce establishes a life for the people?" Xie Xinghan's expression was strange.

Wang Yang had no interest in explaining the principles of economics to Xie Xinghan, so he perfunctorily said: "I just said it casually."

Xie Xinghan was clever and saw at a glance that Wang Yang disdained to answer. She said unconvinced: "Don't look down on people. The benefits of goods and wealth are operated by industry and commerce; it's not just you who understands business. I have been managing the family's industries for a long time. This time I came to Jingzhou to deal with business matters."

A look of disbelief appeared on Wang Yang's face.

Xie Xinghan looked like the kind of person who could play the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but to say she managed industries and dealt with business...

"Several major brocade factories in Jingzhou have closed down, and there is a great shortage of cloth. My family's cargo ships will arrive in eight days, full of brocade on fifteen ships. You will know whether it is true or false by then. However, I am just presiding over it in the middle and will not personally come forward to handle it. Many aristocrats do business, and my family is no exception, but most of them stay behind the scenes..."

Speaking of this, Xie Xinghan looked at Wang Yang deeply:

"I'm just reminding you not to lose the big because of the small. You are going to be ranked and enter officialdom in the future. Once you are stained with the color of a merchant, at best your official position will be damaged, and at worst you will be impeached and tried."

How could Wang Yang not know this? It's just that he was truly short of money and had no trusted hands, so he had to go into battle himself. However, if the black man could really shed his military status, he would have one more person he could use.

As for being ranked and entering officialdom, Wang Yang didn't dare to think about it.

Firstly, the identity of the Wang clan of Langya was fake after all. Even if he used connections to get household registration, this fake couldn't become real. The ranking of officials by impartial judges must have strict procedures, and this fake aristocrat of his probably wouldn't pass.

Secondly, he didn't know when the Xiao Qi Dynasty would collapse. The timing for becoming an official was wrong, and he might end up folding himself in.

Regardless, he had to save some money first before talking about anything else.

"I have taken note of your advice, Xie Xie Niangzi. I will definitely pay attention in the future." Wang Yang looked at Xie Xinghan's complexion and changed the subject: "May I ask if your family's fleet will transport goods back to Jiankang after unloading the brocade in Jingzhou?"

——————————

Note: During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, while inheriting the idea of despising merchants, from aristocratic families, princes, and officials down to the common people, and even soldiers, many were engaged in business. Because the central government was not strong, it could not maintain a strict and unified policy; and because aristocratic families had great power and wealth, they also had the favorable conditions for doing business. As a result, there were many emperors who liked the game of being a merchant. From top to bottom, this trend could not be stopped, thus forming the situation described in the "Book of Sui": "People compete for business and do not engage in farming."

And the court's finances were not strong, so it also relied on commercial trade to increase revenue. This point in the "Book of Sui: Treatise on Food and Money" is very accurate, saying that the Southern Dynasty's commercial tax was named as punishment, but in reality, "the benefit lies in encroachment and exploitation." Precisely because of this, although the Southern Dynasty occasionally had emperors issuing edicts to suppress merchants, it was always scattered and not systematic, down to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It cannot be compared with the consistent suppression of merchants in the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties. Mr. Luo Zhanglong said, "Between the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was not yet a systematic theory and policy of suppressing merchants like in the Han Dynasty" ("History of the National Economy of China," Part 7), which is very true.