Fortunate Young Gentleman

As King Kang stood up, everyone in the elegant pavilion also stood up and looked over.

They were very curious about the person who could make His Royal Highness King Kang wait.

Among the two people who pushed the door open, the one on the left was familiar to everyone. Xiao Jue, the young master, was already a celebrity in the capital before this imperial examination. The story of Xiao Jue going to a brothel was known to everyone in the capital.

But what really made him famous was another thing.

Xiao Jue was born in a general family and was a famous playboy in the capital. He actually won the first place in this palace examination. This has never happened since the founding of the State of Chen.

Because of this, he became a captain of the Yulin Army in one fell swoop. Even Lu Teng, who was known as the most promising son of a general family, could not compare with him.

Everyone present was from a powerful family in the capital. These days, they were often compared with Xiao Jue by their elders. Hearing his name, their ears have long been calloused.

It's just that the Xiao family used to be low-key and never involved in party disputes. I wonder if the participation of the young master Xiao in the banquet of King Kang indicates something...

These thoughts flashed through everyone's mind, and soon they turned their attention to another person.

This person is as young as Xiao Jue, but looks very unfamiliar and has never been seen before.

Only a few people showed a look of realization on their faces.

Tang Ning pushed the door open, bowed to King Kang, and said: "Something delayed me on the way, I hope Your Highness will not blame me."

"Why would you blame me?" King Kang smiled and said: "What's more, the agreed time has not arrived, we came too early."

He looked at Tang Ning, turned to the crowd, and said: "Let me introduce you to everyone, this is the top scorer of this palace examination, Tang Ning, my father has appointed him as the Hanlin editor, and from now on, everyone will call him Lord Tang."

After King Kang introduced, everyone suddenly realized.

Although they had never seen this top scorer, everyone had heard of his name.

The number one in the palace examination is produced every three years, which is not rare. The people present may not take it seriously, but this year's number one is different from previous years.

The most different thing is his identity. He was abandoned by the Tang family more than ten years ago. Now he has jumped into the dragon gate and won the number one in the imperial examination. He has also cut off his relationship with the Tang family, which is jaw-dropping.

The Tang family is a wealthy family in Beijing and the largest force in the hands of Prince Duan, who is hostile to Prince Kang. The actions of the Tang family more than ten years ago directly pushed this number one to Prince Kang.

And this one did not disappoint His Royal Highness Prince Kang.

The case some time ago not only severely lost the face of the Tang family and Prince Duan, but also indirectly affected the situation of confrontation between Prince Kang and Prince Duan, making Prince Duan pay the price of a minister of the Ministry of Revenue. This is a rare victory for His Royal Highness Prince Kang in the confrontation with Prince Duan.

The new number one Tang Ning is the source of this matter.

King Kang raised his wine glass and said with a smile: "Tonight, I want to introduce Lord Tang to you all. Let's not talk about trivial matters and have a good time!"

"Come on, Lord Tang, I'll toast you a glass."

"I'll toast Lord Tang a glass too."

"You have so many people, aren't you bullying me? Lord Tang, ignore them, just show your respect..."

...

King Kang held a banquet for Tang Ning, so he naturally treated him as one of his own. Everyone was enthusiastic about him.

Tang Ning also did not show any resistance. Judging from the current situation, the emperor would be either Prince Duan or Prince Kang, and it would not be the turn of the fat little Prince Run. In this way, he had only one choice.

"Although they lost a minister of the Ministry of Revenue this time, the Tang family has a strong foundation in the court and cannot shake them at all..."

"There is no way. The Tang family has controlled the imperial examination for many years and has a great influence in the official circles. How many officials in the court entered the officialdom through the imperial examination? Who knows how much they have accumulated over the years?"

"If Your Highness can win the hearts of scholars in the world, great things can be accomplished."

"It's easy to say, but how can the officials be loyal without reason?"

...

Although Prince Kang made it clear at the beginning that he would not talk about trivial matters today, after everyone drank a few glasses of wine, the topic naturally could not be separated from the dispute between the two princes.

The supporters of Prince Kang and Prince Duan are obviously two camps.

Prince Duan cannot compete with the real dignitaries in the capital. Prince Kang has limited influence in the civil service system, and has no prestige and achievements in the official circles. The two people have been fighting back and forth, and this has not changed much.

King Kang drank a cup of wine and sighed, "How easy is it to get the support of those scholars?"

Tang Ning thought for a moment, put down the wine glass, and said, "Your Highness, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Nothing can be accomplished overnight. If you want to win the hearts of the officials, you might as well get the support of some people first..."

Xiao Jue had just picked up a bite of food, but the chopsticks shook and fell down again.

Based on his understanding of Tang Ning, he would not do anything that was not good for him, and he would not be so kind as to give advice to King Kang, who was not related to him.

King Kang was stunned, looked at Tang Ning, and said, "I would like to hear your opinion."

"It's not a great opinion, just some superficial opinions." Tang Ning looked at King Kang and asked, "I wonder if Your Highness knows that since the imperial examination is a way to bring honor to the family and make a breakthrough, everyone should yearn for it. Why are there so few scholars in the world?"

King Kang thought for a while and said, "The champion was once a poor student, so he must know this reason. Although reading is good, not everyone can afford to read this book."

"Exactly." Tang Ning nodded and said, "Not to mention that the children of the poor cannot afford to pay a salary or buy a book. Even among the many scholars in the world, most of them are short of money and cannot afford to buy a book with commentaries on the meaning of the scriptures. …”

"What's the use of saying this?" King Kang shook his head and said: "I can neither help them buy books nor lower the price of books..."

Tang Ning looked at him and said patiently: "As far as I know, many famous scholars in the world spent their whole lives writing books and biographies, but they themselves were poor. Many students spent a lot of money to buy books, but only handed over their money to pirated books. They have forced the genuine bookstores to have no way of survival, so they can only raise the price of books. As a result, no one can afford them. "

King Kang was confused when he heard this and said, "If Mr. Tang has anything to say, just say it directly."

Tang Ning looked at him and said, "Your Highness can urge the court to legislate and severely crack down on pirated booksellers. In this way, genuine bookstores will not be forced to raise book prices in order to survive. The price of books will be reduced. For scholars, Of course it is a good thing, and those famous scholars who wrote books will not be impoverished, and they must be grateful to His Highness. "

King Kang was a little moved by what he said. He thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "Father said that governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. Laws and regulations cannot be changed at will. This matter... is difficult!"

Tang Ning didn't expect that he would actually dig a hole for himself. After thinking about it, he added, "If the imperial court protects the original books, it also allows other booksellers to pay a certain fee to print authentic books, and part of the fees will be returned to the original books." booksellers, and the other part goes to the treasury..."

King Kang was startled, and then he slammed the table and said, "In this case, my father will definitely agree. My father likes silver the most!"

When he thought about it carefully, this move would not only gain the gratitude of the scholars, but also bring an income to the national treasury. I am afraid it would also please his father. Wouldn't this kill two birds with one stone?

He looked at Tang Ning with a smile on his face, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Master Tang, for your guidance. If this matter can be accomplished, I will be very grateful to you!"

Tang Ning smiled and said, "Your Highness, you are welcome. As a scholar, I have long wanted to do something for the scholars in the world."

King Kang smiled at each other and looked at Tang Ning with even more serious eyes.

During the dinner, Tangning excused herself to relieve herself and walked out of the Accord.

Xiao Jue followed him and asked: "What you just said can really lower the price of books. Why do you want to lower the price of books? Do you want to buy a lot of books?"

Tangning didn't know that part of what she just said was nonsense, but if the imperial court really introduced copyright laws, the prices of books in their bookshop would be lowered, and they would make small profits but quick sales.

"It seems not." Xiao Jue looked at him, shook his head, thought for a moment, and then said, "Is your family going to open a bookstore?"