Chapter 132

To give an example.

Ever since the curved-shaft plow mentioned in that eternal masterpiece was invented, Li Er has been thinking about re-dividing the fields.

The curved-shaft plow, this great invention, has greatly liberated labor and can multiply grain harvests.

Li Er intended to let those liberated laborers continue to reclaim wasteland and bring the harvest of these wastelands under state ownership, making the Great Tang's grain and national treasury more abundant.

This was originally a good thing.

But who would have thought that this matter would be obstructed everywhere and delayed again and again.

The root cause.

The noble families are unwilling to let the tenant farmers become self-reliant.

They wantonly contracted land and continued to let those liberated farmers continue to plow in the newly bought fields.

In this way.

The noble families' grain also became more and more abundant, and the profits from the grain shops they opened became more and more.

And the lowest-level commoners work the same amount of labor every day.

The appearance of the curved-shaft plow did not bring them any benefits.

Most of the benefits all went into the pockets of the noble families.

But if Li Er wants to reform, he must rely on those noble families.

After all, most of the common people are illiterate, and only the children of noble families have the ability to help him govern the country.

And those noble family children are intertwined and connected, facing Li Er's decrees with outward compliance but inward opposition, dragging their feet and causing delays, leading to the reform plans being changed again and again, and delayed again and again.

In the end.

The reform plan was simply shelved.

Li Er wants to reform but must rely on the power of noble family children, while the noble family children oppose the reform with outward compliance, and the lives of the common people still see no hope.

This has formed a vicious cycle.

"Sigh! How could I not know your thoughts?"

"But the books of our Great Tang are basically in the hands of the noble families; they intermarry, exchange books with each other, discuss knowledge with each other, and are not willing to share them at all."

"Although the imperial examination was opened in name, in reality, those quotas were all occupied by noble family children. A commoner Top Graduate finally emerged, and you saw the result." "The public opinion in the imperial court wished they could directly swallow Qin Mu, this commoner Top Graduate, alive."

"For a commoner family to produce a learned scholar is just too difficult, too difficult!"

"The root cause is still the problem of books. Without books, commoners cannot learn knowledge. Without learning knowledge, they cannot enter the court as officials. Without entering the court as officials, they cannot shake the status of the noble families."

Li Er sighed and poured out everything he was thinking in his heart.

In such an era.

Books are basically passed down by hand-copying.

After various wars, many unique copies have been lost.

The preciousness of books is comparable to gold!

If one wants to popularize culture on a large scale, it is simply an impossible task.

Fang Xuanling also didn't know what to say.

A dead end!

The problem of books simply cannot be solved.

Even Fang Xuanling himself has many private collections of books that he never shows in front of others.

He even specially built a library.

Even a pillar of the state like Fang Xuanling is like this, let alone other noble families!

"Selling books! Selling books!"

"Big discount today! Ten coins a book, come and take a look!"

"The Analects, Zuo Zhuan, Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, and His Majesty's new work, 'The Domineering CEO Fell in Love with Me'!"

"First come, first served, while supplies last!"

Just as the two, Li Er and Fang Xuanling, were in despair in their hearts, suddenly, sounds of hawking came from not far away.

"Heh!"

"It seems my pressure has been a bit too high lately; I've actually started having auditory hallucinations."

"Xuanling, it's funny to say, I actually heard someone selling books, what 'Analects', 'Zuo Zhuan', and what 'The Domineering CEO Fell in Love with Me', and ten coins a book, it's truly absurd to the extreme!"

Li Er laughed at himself, thinking that he was so extremely eager for commoner scholars that he had auditory hallucinations.

"No, Master, I heard it too!"

"Look over there!"

Fang Xuanling stretched his neck and looked toward a book stall not far away.