Chapter 51

Yes!

Money!

Although selling paper is very profitable now!

But... the expenses are also very high!

Han Xin's side is a money pit!

The food and expenses for more than fifty thousand people cost nearly five hundred thousand coins a month.

Although Li Si could still afford this little money!

But... he couldn't stop the army from expanding!

And he couldn't stop the sales of paper from declining!

More importantly, he had to save money!

One must know, Ying Su's amnesty for the world allowed the common people not to pay taxes for three years, so all the food and clothing expenses of the imperial court in the future would have to rely on selling paper!

In case of another drought or flood, the imperial court would still have to distribute disaster relief grain!

The Great Wall, Dujiangyan, the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum, and the Epang Palace were all being built in full swing.

It needed money!

These were all places that needed money!

Therefore, Li Si always felt a sense of tension.

And seeing any opportunity to make money, he wouldn't let it go!

However, Ying Su smiled at Li Si:

"Prime Minister, papermaking still has some threshold for production, but this movable type printing, do you think there is any threshold for production?"

"Ah?"

As soon as the words were out, Li Si was stunned!

He looked at these templates carefully, it seemed... there was really no threshold for production, it was just making mud into small squares, and then carving characters on the small squares!

This thing, as long as it was a person, could do it, there was absolutely no threshold for production.

He could even guarantee that if he used it to make money, if he sold one today, someone would start researching and making it tomorrow!

"Then... then what should we do?"

"How can we turn it into money!"

Li Si frowned heavily!

Ying Su smiled: "Sell books!"

"Make this thing into paper books, and then, sell books!"

"How much can a copy of the Analects sell for now? We'll make it twice as expensive on this basis, what do you think?"

"What?"

As soon as the words were out, Li Si was stunned, but at the same time, almost instantly, his eyes lit up!

"Big sale!"

"It will definitely be a big sale!"

"Why do those people buy paper?"

"Isn't it for copying and writing?"

"More people use it to copy books!"

"But... how can their speed of copying books compare to the speed of movable type printing?"

"How can the quality of their copying be as neat as printing?"

"A copy of the Analects sells for fifty coins now, let's just sell it for one hundred coins!"

"Even so, there will definitely be people buying it!"

"One must know, the price of paper is not low, and it saves them the trouble of copying!"

"One hundred coins is definitely not expensive!"

"Likewise, one hundred coins is definitely affordable for those noble families!"

"The key is, it's cheaper than bamboo slips!"

"Take me for example, I have a complete set of the Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals at home, with thirty-five volumes, and these fifteen volumes cost me three thousand coins!"

"And if printed with movable type, the Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals would only need three books, and these three books would only cost three hundred coins!"

"This gives them a big bargain!"

"Your Majesty, one hundred coins is not enough, it must be five hundred coins!"

"No, no, five hundred coins is too expensive. The Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals has many words, so it costs three thousand coins. The Tao Te Ching only has three thousand words, selling it for five hundred coins is too expensive, no one wants to be such a sucker!"

"Then how should we price it?"

Li Si was still melancholy, Ying Su smiled:

"Divide it into volumes based on the amount of paper used and the words on it, and sell each volume at its own price!"

"For example, the Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, with two hundred thousand words, can be divided into ten volumes, each volume with twenty thousand words, costing two large sheets of paper, selling for one hundred coins!"

"And the Tao Te Ching, with too few words, can only be one volume, selling for fifty coins!"

Ying Su said with a smile!

And Li Si was shocked again, praising Ying Su: "Brilliant, but... Your Majesty, it's sold too cheaply. According to your way of selling, a complete set of the Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals only sells for one thousand coins, three times cheaper than bamboo slips!"

"A book with twenty thousand words per volume must sell for at least four hundred coins, it must be more expensive than bamboo slips!"

Li Si called out.

And hearing this, Ying Su couldn't help but smile!

This Li Si was indeed someone who had followed Lu Buwei; damn, he was even more ruthless than himself when it came to slaughtering these noble families!

However, in this regard, Ying Su didn't argue with Li Si, directly letting him set the price; this matter would still be fully responsible by him!

Li Si was extremely excited: "I am willing to serve as a dog and horse!"

"Okay, Cai Lun, continue to recruit people, increase the templates for movable type printing, and prepare to sell books!"

He smiled.

Li Si was also smiling.

He was extremely happy!

Selling books!

At this moment, he seemed to be able to see the scene of books selling well!

He even saw countless money pouring into the Great Qin treasury!

The Great Qin treasury was becoming more and more full!

And the Great Qin, under his hard work, was becoming more and more prosperous!

"Your Majesty!"

Following behind Ying Su, at this moment, Li Si felt like he was about to burst into tears!

At this moment, he was even a little glad, glad that he had defected to Ying Su early, otherwise, how could such a big thing as selling paper and selling books fall to him, Li Si!

At this moment, Li Si was really excited!

But soon, Li Si was unhappy!

Because Ying Su was going to take him to see Zhang Liang.

To let Zhang Liang point out a clear direction for the Great Qin's path to a strong country!

"Him? Is he worthy?"

Li Si was very disdainful.

He also didn't look up to Zhang Liang!

A person like Zhang Liang wasn't worth ten thousand gold anywhere!

He also felt that Ying Su took Zhang Liang too seriously.

Therefore, Li Si didn't like Zhang Liang!

However, what Ying Su said to him made Li Si very satisfied!

"Li Si, you are the Prime Minister of my Great Qin, the controller with real power!"

"Zhang Liang? No matter how strategic he is, he is just talking on paper!"

"Moreover, he is still a deep-rooted anti-Qin force, no matter what, I will never let him ride on your head!"