Chapter 206.2 - I Became the Legendary Emperor Throughout the Ages After I Started Giving Away My Territory

If there really were a solution, why would they let Great Xia rise?

At that moment, someone had an idea: “Right, their papermaking technique, is there any way we can get it?”

“You mean…”

“We can’t do anything about their education system and distinguished teachers, but we still have a chance to get our hands on that papermaking technique! I’ve heard that the cost of their papermaking is low, so if we get it, won’t we make a fortune?”

The eyes of the various household heads lit up.

At this moment, one of the heads sighed, “Actually, I’ve had this for a while now. It’s just about expanding the sources of raw materials for papermaking, which isn’t technically difficult! But, it’s not of much use to us!”

“Why not?” Everyone was puzzled.

“At the end of the day, it’s a cost issue!”

That head explained, “I followed his papermaking steps, and indeed, the cost was reduced, but only by twenty-five percent!”

“Isn’t saving twenty-five percent of the cost enough? That’s a significant profit margin, isn’t it?”

“You are not satisfied with that?”

Laughter and teasing erupted among them.

“That’s because you don’t know the whole story!”

The head said resentfully, “Do you have any idea how much Great Xia can save on costs?”

“How much?” they all asked in unison.

“Nearly seventy-five percent!”

“Seventy-five percent, that much!?” Everyone gasped in shock.

“Yes, that much!”

“Although we use the same raw materials, they often source theirs locally, so they save a lot of money in that respect!”

“After gathering the raw materials, they need to soak and chop them! They have a volcanic vent nearby, which emits geothermal energy and hot springs, and they use the hot springs for soaking, which greatly saves time and cost!”

Everyone was astounded, “F*ck! They can do that?”

“And for the alkali soak, they also use the hot spring water from the volcanic vent, which works exceptionally well!”

“Then there are the steps of pounding, washing, and beating the pulp. Because the previous hot water soak was so thorough, these steps don’t take much effort, saving a lot of manpower and time!”

“Finally, there’s the paper drying! As I said, they’re near a volcanic vent, which is windy and dry and perfect for drying! Plus, they produce on a large scale…”

“So, after this whole process…”

The head said helplessly, “The cost of paper is incredibly low, and they save a lot of time! They can sell it at half price and still make a killing!”

“But if we produce it their way, the cost is indeed lower, but we can never match their level! If they sell at half price and we don’t, we can’t compete with them!”

“However, if the price is halved, our profits will be greatly reduced, almost negligible, just enough to cover the hard work!”

“Ah? Is it really that bad?” All the household heads were dumbfounded.

So now they understood that to produce a paper as cheap as Great Xia, one must find a location with both a volcanic vent and hot springs.

But volcanic vents are usually found in remote and dangerous places—who would dare to make paper there?

Not to mention the danger, just the cost of setting up a factory there, transportation, and labor was enough to deter anyone.

Unlike Great Xia, where the volcanic vent is near the capital city and is very mild!

Damn it!

Thinking of this, the faces of the noble family heads turned gloomy, as if they had swallowed flies.

“To make paper, he managed to find such superior production conditions!”

“Hasn’t heaven been too kind to him?!”

“It seems we can’t learn this method, can we?”

“The most disgusting part is that damn Emperor! He could sell at high prices, but he chooses to sell low. I think he’s doing it on purpose to deliberately squeeze our noble families!”

“It’s not just squeezing us, he’s practically trying to wipe us out!”

“Damn Great Xia! Damn that dog Emperor!”

……

At this moment, Great Luo Emperor was looking quite displeased.

Ever since the Great Xia Dynasty reformed its domestic education system, he has been paying close attention.

He discovered that the reforms of Great Xia had significant advantages.

Through the grade-teacher system and the provision of free education, they could attract talents from all over while also nurturing a large number of talents dedicated to serving the country and its people.

By taking control of the education industry, they could, in turn, support teachers and reduce the financial burden on the government.

With such a positive cycle, the talent pool in their country would grow, and so would their national power.

He saw great potential in this approach and wanted to emulate it.

If he succeeded, he could gradually free himself from the noble families and take complete control of the state.

However, as soon as he proposed it at the court, civil and military officials opposed it.

“Damn those noble family scions! Don’t let me find an opportunity, or I will execute all of you!”

Just then, a figure in white floated in.

Great Luo Emperor was very pleased to see her: “Fairy Yufei, you’ve come!”

“Your Majesty, what are your orders?” Song Yufei asked calmly.

Great Luo Emperor got straight to the point: “Fairy Yufei, I wish to follow Great Xia’s lead and reform our domestic education system. Well, the noble families…”

After listening, Song Yufei nodded and said: “The education system of Great Xia indeed has many advantages. If done well, it can certainly strengthen the nation and enrich the people! Very well, I will make a trip for this cause!”

“Fairy Yufei, you have my thanks for your hard work!”

“Your Majesty, it is my duty!”

Two days later, Song Yufei returned.

“Your Majesty, the noble families have been pacified, you can proceed as you wish!”

“Thank you, Fairy!” Great Luo Emperor was very happy.

“Your Majesty, where do you plan to start?”

“Whether it’s building schools or hiring teachers, money is essential! So, to solve this problem, money is the key! Great Xia solved the money issue through their paper mills!”

“Fortunately, we have obtained their papermaking technique! Using their technique to make paper will be very cost-effective! Therefore, I plan to start with opening a paper mill to solve the issues of paper and money!”

No sooner said than done, Great Luo Emperor immediately gathered a group of trusted followers and started the papermaking industry.

After a round of operations, they found that making paper was indeed cheaper, but not as cheap as in Great Xia.

Great Xia made their paper near volcanic vents, and they didn’t even have a volcanic vent, so how could they compete?

However, this was not a problem for him.

As long as he prohibited Great Xia’s paper from entering, the people of Great Luo would have no choice but to use their paper, and it wouldn’t matter if it was a bit more expensive.

Monopolizing a business was indeed profitable!

After establishing the paper mill, Great Luo Emperor also began to implement the grade-teacher system, hoping to attract talents from all over the world.

But he was soon dumbfounded!

***