The emperor is biased and wants to kill me, but you chickened out when the army is at the city gates

Chapter 74 Using the enemy's spear to attack the enemy's shield

A group of scholars discussed the matter animatedly, and were also extremely excited.

Seeing that everyone was getting impatient, Xu Qingyun ordered his servants, "Lift up the velvet cloth."

The next second, the snow-white Beining paper appeared before everyone's eyes.

Someone immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Why is this paper so white?"

"Yes, even the finest Xuan paper from Kyoto doesn't seem to be this white, does it?"

"Tsk tsk, with this quality, this paper must fetch an astronomical price!"

"..."

People were talking about it, and all their eyes turned to Xu Qingyun.

Xu Qingyun smiled faintly and said, "Paper may have a price, but your talent is priceless. As long as you can write the second line of the couplet, what's wrong with me sending you more Beining paper?"

"Beining paper?!"

Someone immediately seized on the key point and couldn't help but ask, "Master Xu, you said this paper is called Beining paper?"

Xu Qingyun nodded: "This Beining paper was a gift from my good friend Qiu Xingzhi. According to him, it is a specialty of Beining City. I have used it these past few days and it is indeed no ordinary product."

"But we wanted to write the second line in order to defeat Beining City, yet we're using Beining paper... isn't that...?"

Some people felt awkward, even a little embarrassed, but Xu Qingyun seemed to have expected it, and laughed loudly:

"All scholars under heaven are one family. We can compete in terms of talent, but we cannot compete in terms of pride."

"I believe everyone has heard about or even witnessed the Prince of Chu's coup that day. Is he really such a heinous criminal?"

Xu Qingyun's words immediately made these Confucian sages nod in agreement.

Qin Xuan could have directly ascended to the throne at that time, so why did he give it up?

If he were truly as incompetent as the rumors suggest, why would he let such an opportunity slip by?

"But Lord Kong Ru once angrily denounced Qingshan Academy as a lackey of Beining City. If the King of Chu is truly innocent, wouldn't that mean Lord Kong Ru was wrong?"

Someone questioned.

"I will not comment on right or wrong for now, but as far as I know, at the end of the month, the King of Chu will personally come to the Confucius Mountain in Shanhaiguan to give everyone an explanation."

"Everyone might as well go and join in the fun, it's also a good way to broaden your horizons."

“If you are dissatisfied with Beining City and the King of Chu, you should take this Beining paper.”

Xu Qingyun patiently explained throughout.

"Why is that?" an old scholar asked curiously.

"Since you regard Beining City as the enemy, wouldn't writing an unparalleled second line on Beining paper be like using the enemy's spear against the enemy's shield? Wouldn't that be even more gratifying?"

Xu Qingyun laughed heartily, his tone revealing a hint of amusement and sarcasm.

"Yes, that's right! Using the enemy's spear to attack the enemy's shield is the best approach!"

"Haha, not bad, Xu Daru is indeed a wise man. We should use Beining paper to write the second line."

"Anyway, I can't afford paper. This Beining paper is of such high quality that I can just use it directly."

"..."

In that instant, all these scholars put aside their prejudices and unconsciously accepted Beining paper completely.

Xu Qingyun then ordered his men to distribute all the Beining paper on the tray before leaving.

Inside the carriage, Xu Qingyun's smile vanished, and he sighed to himself, "I have lived a life of integrity and uprightness, but I never imagined that I would end up doing business in my old age."

But in his heart, he felt incredibly happy, because this was for the benefit of scholars all over the world.

The price of one sheet of Beining paper can buy twenty sheets of the most ordinary Xuan paper. Such a price is enough to ensure that all scholars in the world have access to paper.

As a renowned Confucian scholar of his time, Xu Qingyun naturally knew what this meant.

"When the price of paper is low enough that everyone can afford it, then everyone in the world will be a scholar."

Xu Qingyun silently cried out in his heart, while at the same time feeling extremely grateful to his good friend Qiu Xingzhi, who was willing to give up his future and reputation.

Around the same time, throughout the Great Qi Kingdom, wherever scholars gathered, such as poetry gatherings, restaurants, music academies, and brothels, Beining paper was given away for free.

At first, there were naturally scholars like the one from Qinghu Langyuan who thought that using Beining paper was equivalent to joining Beining City.

However, after Xu Qingyun's remarks were made, these scholars no longer felt any psychological burden.

Subsequently, once everyone had received and used some Beining paper, these scholars were completely corrupted.

In the past, paper was not easy to write on; it would either tear easily, absorb ink, or produce rough and uneven ink marks.

Beining paper, however, does not have these problems at all. Not only is the paper of moderate thickness, but the ink also dries easily.

The writing is extremely smooth, stroke by stroke, and unforgettable.

Beining City, the Chu King's Palace.

"Your Highness, the last patient has also recovered. In addition, I have classified penicillin as top secret and stored it separately."

Zhao Luoying had just returned from the Northern Wilderness and said excitedly.

The epidemic caused by the red pox has been completely cured, and the extracted penicillin, just as Qin Xuan had expected, did indeed play a role in boosting immunity.

However, Qin Xuan did not order anyone to stop producing penicillin, because this substance could not only cure the Kryptonite, but could also be kept for future use in various infectious diseases.

In this era, penicillin was practically a miracle drug.

Qin Xuan nodded: "That's good. Thank you for your hard work these past few days."

"How could I possibly be as hardworking as Your Highness?"

Zhao Luoying rarely joked: "By the way, Mr. Qiu just asked me to remind you that our Beining Paper Project is very successful and has spread throughout the entire Daqi Kingdom as well as the Jurchen, Goryeo, Liaodong and other countries."

"Well, in that case, it's time to inform Hu Xu and the others."

A rare look of excitement appeared on Qin Xuan's face.

He gave away Beining paper for free in this way for two reasons: firstly, to increase its visibility, and secondly, to take this opportunity to legitimize Beining City and himself.

However, although Beining paper is extremely inexpensive to produce, it won't always be free.

Qin Xuan estimated that in a few more days, those scholars would start to worry about not being able to find Beining paper.

"Send the order to the four major chambers of commerce: Beining paper will be sold in full three days."

Qin Xuan deliberately left a three-day gap, firstly to prepare the supply of goods, and secondly to cool down those scholars.

He believed that anyone who had used Beining paper would be convinced of its superiority.

When people want to use it but can't buy it anymore, Beining paper's reputation will truly soar.

When that time comes, once Beining Paper House is launched, it will inevitably become a bestseller.

"The movable type printing technology will be ready for actual testing in about two days, and the penicillin has also been successfully developed. It seems that the next step is to deal with the Wan Hua Lou matter."

Qin Xuan muttered to himself.

The monkey had already gathered information about the last incident involving Kuva.

Qin Xuan couldn't figure out how to handle it, so he temporarily sent spies to monitor him day and night.

But now that he is about to depart for Shanhaiguan, he naturally needs to address this potential problem in advance.

Thinking of this, Qin Xuan jokingly said, "Luo Ying, come with me to the Wan Hua Lou tonight."

"The brothel of ten thousand flowers?!"

Zhao Luoying was immediately taken aback. She naturally knew that place, and immediately said angrily, "Does Your Highness think that Luoying alone cannot serve you? Why don't I help you transfer Hua Mingyue back from Goryeo?"

After settling in Beining City, Hua Mingyue of the Lieyang Chamber of Commerce rushed to Goryeo to explore a larger trade market.

Qin Xuan laughed heartily, picked up the angry Zhao Luoying, and whispered in her ear, "I knew you'd be angry. Actually, I was..."

"Your Highness, you're so annoying!"

Zhao Luoying was immediately embarrassed, her face flushed red as she punched Qin Xuan repeatedly with her small pink fists.