At this moment, Ying Zheng was deep in thought, unable to understand why this was happening.
He questioned Zhao Gao, but even Zhao Gao couldn't explain it. However, he suggested that they could ask Li Si about it. If that didn't work, they could directly call Ying Su over!
"Call who?"
The moment he uttered these words, Ying Zheng exploded. His eyes narrowed in anger, glaring at Zhao Gao!
Zhao Gao trembled with fear, but he still insisted that they should consult Li Si if all else failed!
However, Ying Zheng remained silent.
At this moment, all he felt was rage!
Similarly, his mind raced, constantly trying to understand why this was happening.
Yes!
As the First Emperor, he had his own pride and dignity!
Ying Su managed to come up with this idea and put it into action, yet he couldn't comprehend the reason behind it. Could it be that... the new emperor truly surpasses the First Emperor?
Impossible!
This matter... he must figure it out!
Ying Zheng raged, but after closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, he smiled and turned to Zhao Gao.
"Whether they are merchants, bandits, or even profiteers, they intercept disaster relief grain not because they need it, but to gain profit!"
"But what if the cost of obtaining disaster relief grain exceeds the profit it brings?"
"Disaster relief grain mixed with sand, if you want to sift out the sand from three hundred thousand bushels of grain, it will require a massive amount of manpower. The time and effort cost would far outweigh the profits gained from the disaster relief grain!"
"In that case, no one will covet the disaster relief grain anymore!"
"As for those disaster-stricken people, they won't care. They are starving. Even if it's mixed with sand, or even something else, they will pick it out and eat the grain!"
As Ying Zheng spoke, his eyes lit up!
Zhao Gao bowed down, "Your Majesty is wise, Your Majesty is brilliant!"
He shouted, and after listening to Ying Zheng's analysis, even his own heart had to admit that this was a good idea.
Not just him.
Even Ying Zheng's own heart was filled with admiration!
But... he merely scoffed, "A mere trifle, nothing more!"
Then, he looked at Zhao Gao, "What about the general amnesty? He must be having a headache about that!"
"Even though it's been less than a month, the treasury's money and grain have been depleted by disaster relief and various daily expenses. Currently, there's only enough for one distribution to the Great Wall, and we have three more distributions this year. He must be racking his brains right now!"
"Besides, there are the officials' salaries, many of them are double. Could it be that he can't even afford to pay the salaries of officials across the kingdom?"
Ying Zheng chuckled.
At the mention of this, Zhao Gao couldn't help but tremble and shiver!
"What are you afraid of!"
Ying Zheng was displeased and turned to Zhao Gao!
Zhao Gao pondered for a long time before finally taking out an item!
"This... what is this?"
Ying Zheng looked at the slightly yellowish flax paper in front of him, his face full of confusion.
But when he opened it and took a look, he was immediately stunned!
There were... actually words on it?
"This is called paper, sold by Li Si, one sheet costs fifteen coins!"
"One sheet costs fifteen coins?"
"Paper?"
Ying Zheng was dumbfounded. He turned the paper over and over again, inspecting it.
The more he looked, the more surprised he became, the more shocked he was!
Mainly... this thing was too thin, and it was also too convenient.
Furthermore, the amount of text that could be recorded on it far exceeded that of bamboo slips!
This... was not comparable to bamboo slips, but could completely replace them!
"This... this..."
Ying Zheng was stunned, his face full of shock and disbelief.
He couldn't help but ask Zhao Gao where Li Si obtained this item.
Zhao Gao knelt on the ground, trembling violently, unable to speak!
Ying Zheng seemed to realize something and glared fiercely at Zhao Gao, "Speak!"
Zhao Gao replied, "Li Si claims it was a gift from a celestial being!"
"But according to the investigation by the Luo Net, this item came from Cai Lun, the newly appointed director of the Office of Craftsmanship by Ying Su!"
"And Li Si is in charge of selling it, fifteen coins per sheet!"
"What?"
"Li Si? Selling paper?"
"Helping that rebellious son of a bitch Ying Su sell paper?"
As soon as he uttered these words, Ying Zheng was dumbfounded!
But in an instant, he was consumed by raging flames of anger!
"Li Si... how... how dare he!"
Ying Zheng's anger reached its peak!
Yes!
One must remember, this was Li Si!
His loyal and trusted minister!
It was understandable for others to defect to Ying Su, but Li Si?
He was the one who had been promoted by Ying Zheng even when he was still vying with Lü Buwei for power!
After Lü Buwei fell, Ying Zheng made him the Left Chancellor!
Although his rank was lower than Feng Quji, the Right Chancellor.
But... in terms of actual power, he far surpassed Feng Quji!
He... he actually betrayed Ying Zheng and sided with Ying Su?
"What... what is he trying to do!"
"Does he still have any respect for this emperor?"
"Everyone in the world can see that Ying Su is rebelling, that he is committing treason!"
"Can't he see it?"
Ying Zheng was furious!
His anger was uncontrollable!
His entire body trembled violently!
Zhao Gao was terrified. He quickly stood up and started to soothe Ying Zheng's chest, trying to calm him down!
Ying Zheng slapped his hand away, "Tell me, how well is this paper selling?"
"I don't believe that he can sustain the operation of the entire Qin court with just this piece of flimsy paper!"
"I don't believe that everyone in the world is an idiot!"
"It's just a piece of flimsy paper, and its selling price is almost as high as silk. How can there be so many people buying this kind of paper?"
Ying Zheng, in a fit of rage, tore the flax paper in his hand to shreds!
Zhao Gao swallowed hard, trembling and shivering, unable to speak for a long time!
Ying Zheng, furious, kicked Zhao Gao, "Speak! I want you to speak!"
Zhao Gao hesitated for a long time before finally speaking,
"According to the reports from the Luo Net scouts, ever since Chancellor Li Si started selling paper, people have been flocking to his mansion every day!"
"Eventually, the Chancellor had to set up shops specifically for selling paper!"
"However, after only two days, the shops were overwhelmed with customers and couldn't keep up with the demand, so they had to open more shops!"
"Now, there are more than six paper shops in Xianyang City. Every shop is packed with people every day, a constant stream of customers!"
Zhao Gao reported.
These words rang out, and suddenly, Ying Zheng felt dizzy.
The next second, his vision darkened!
With a loud thud, he collapsed to the ground!
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