Chapter Forty-Eight: Casting a Brick to Attract Jade

With his thoughts clarified, Liu Tan felt his entire body lighten. He gathered the sheets before him, stacking them with the toilet paper he had collected over the past days—these would serve as his bargaining chips when negotiating with Zhuge Liang and the court officials.

The next day, Liu Tan sent for Zhuge Liang and Li Yan.

As he had matters to discuss with them, Liu Tan only exercised for an hour that morning before bathing and dressing, then seated himself at the table in the hall, waiting for his guests to arrive at the palace.

He considered for a moment, then rose and fetched a roll of silk from the corner of the hall, along with a sheet of writing paper, spreading both out on the table.

He picked up his brush, and Wang Li immediately prepared the ink for him.

The empress and her companions discreetly withdrew; if they remained too long with the emperor in the presence of the prime minister, it would surely invite rebuke.

Upon the silk was Zhuge Liang’s memorial before departing for war.

Now, his task was to copy this memorial onto paper.

As fortune would have it, his timing was perfect—just as he finished transcribing, Zhuge Liang and Li Yan entered the Hall of Nurtured Heart.

Liu Tan hurried to his feet and exclaimed, “Prime Minister, Father-in-law, come quickly! It’s been many days since we last met, and I have missed you dearly. Attend me—bring seats!”

Zhuge Liang, fanning himself with a plume, took his seat and replied, “Your Majesty, I have been occupied these past days with the autumn harvest and preparations for the northern expedition, and have not entered the palace to pay my respects. I beg your pardon.”

Li Yan echoed, “Your Majesty, I too have been busy. I ask for your forgiveness.”

Liu Tan shook his head. “No need for such words. You both toil for the state and relieve me of worries—there is no fault in that.”

“Then, may I ask, what does Your Majesty wish to discuss with us today?” Zhuge Liang inquired.

Liu Tan answered, “Firstly, I simply wished to see you both again. But indeed, there are matters I wish to consult you about.”

“Oh?” Zhuge Liang and Li Yan were both puzzled. Though the emperor had changed somewhat in recent days, his past habits were deeply ingrained; neither believed he would seek their counsel.

For minor matters, or trouble, the emperor always tried to conceal them, never willingly sharing.

Liu Tan bent forward and handed Zhuge Liang the sheet of paper on which he had copied the memorial. “Prime Minister, please take a look—has my handwriting improved these past days?”

Zhuge Liang received it with delight—wasn’t this his own memorial before departing? Previously, the emperor had resisted reading and writing, but now he was proactively copying one of his proudest works.

He hadn’t immediately noticed the paper itself.

Li Yan saw it as well, and at first felt a twinge of displeasure—the emperor’s attention was, after all, still focused on Zhuge Liang.

But soon, his attention shifted to the paper.

He snatched it from Zhuge Liang, holding it in both hands and examining it closely.

“Minister Li, what are you doing? Let me see if His Majesty’s handwriting has improved,” Zhuge Liang said with mild irritation.

Li Yan ignored him and instead asked, “Your Majesty, what is this? I have never seen its like before!”

“Paper,” Liu Tan replied. “I found it inconvenient and extravagant to write daily on silk, so I made some paper myself. Please take a look—can this serve as a writing material?”

Now Zhuge Liang’s attention turned to the paper. Li Yan handed it to him and said, “Your Majesty, I have seen paper before, but it was dull in color, coarse in texture, and unsuitable for writing. But this—how did you make it?”

Zhuge Liang nodded, thinking the same.

Liu Tan listened, then patted his chest and said, “I pondered for some time and made improvements to the papermaking technique—thus, this result.”

“Your Majesty, do you have more of this paper?” Zhuge Liang now realized its significance and asked eagerly.

Liu Tan gestured to the table. “There—those are all the sheets I’ve made these past days.”

Zhuge Liang hurried over, took a sheet, spread it on the table, stroked its surface, and wrote four large characters:

“Return to the Central Plains!”

“Prime Minister, let me try as well!” Li Yan took another sheet and wrote:

“Long live the Emperor!”

The content was trivial, but their eyes shone with excitement, and in their hearts, they had the answer—

This paper could be written upon!

Seeing the emperor smiling at them, both men suddenly understood—the reason they had been summoned today was this paper.

Li Yan declared, “Your Majesty’s paper is excellent for writing. Do you have other ideas? Please share them with us!”

Liu Tan grew serious. “Firstly, this paper can be mass-produced at very low cost, with common materials. I wish to produce it in quantity.”

Zhuge Liang nodded. “If it is as Your Majesty says, this paper will surely replace bamboo slips and silk.”

Liu Tan continued, “Secondly, I have devised a method to swiftly transcribe texts onto paper. Imagine, if I could place the works of ancient sages onto paper, allowing many more to study them—what would that mean?”

“Then every scholar in the land would be grateful to Your Majesty!” Zhuge Liang immediately grasped the significance.

Why were there so few scholars in this era? At root, it was because books were unaffordable!

If one wished to achieve something in learning, one needed to read many books. But in this age, books were carried on bamboo slips or silk, and all had to be copied by hand, making their circulation exceedingly difficult!

Thus, learning was a formidable challenge.

“Indeed! Prime Minister, today I wish to discuss with you both the establishment of a department dedicated to such manufacturing—not only paper, but other inventions beneficial to the people as well,” Liu Tan suddenly declared.

“Your Majesty, there is already a Bureau of Manufacture in the state,” Zhuge Liang replied.

Liu Tan shook his head. “Prime Minister, I am aware of the Bureau, but it is already engaged in various national tasks. If I wish to pursue these new endeavors, it will surely disrupt them. I know that the whole country is now preparing for the northern expedition, and I do not wish to interfere with your plans!”

Li Yan glanced at the emperor and nodded. “That is indeed the case, Prime Minister; I feel His Majesty speaks truly.”

Zhuge Liang considered for a moment and nodded as well.

“Then you agree, Prime Minister?” Liu Tan pressed.

“How could I refuse? Your Majesty wishes to do practical work—this is a blessing. How could I deny you?” Zhuge Liang replied.

Liu Tan added, “Moreover, I wish to sell this paper and other products yet to be made, to raise funds for your northern expedition!”

At the mention of the campaign, Zhuge Liang’s eyes shone ever brighter.

Liu Tan continued, “Prime Minister, my late father taught me: for a nation to wage war and win, financial support is indispensable! Recruiting troops, forging weapons and armor, supplying provisions and salaries, comforting the soldiers—all require funds. The treasury’s resources come from two sources: taxes and coinage!”

“As for taxes, you yourself have said that Yizhou is exhausted and cannot bear further burdens. Regarding coinage, my father also said that minting currency in Shu is not a long-term solution—it only increases the people’s suffering. But the circulation of goods is different: it benefits the whole country and increases the treasury’s income—a double advantage. What do you think, Prime Minister?”

At this, not only Zhuge Liang but even Li Yan stared at the emperor in astonishment.

Such words—could the former emperor have spoken them?

As rulers of Shu, they knew well the realities of its economic policies.

In truth, each issuance of currency was a form of appropriation from the people by the rulers.

Now, both men were deeply intrigued. Zhuge Liang said, “Could Your Majesty elaborate on the matter of coinage?”

Li Yan added, “And as for the circulation of goods—how does it benefit the nation?”

Liu Tan rejoiced inwardly—his strategy of using paper as a lead had finally borne fruit.