Since Meton had pushed the wall, he would not hide the progress of the new house. As the tiles were pasted on the wall and the glass windows were installed, a beautiful villa was gradually taking shape.
Everyone who saw it was amazed. Such a unique shape and the materials used were all amazing. Through word of mouth, it quickly spread in Chang 'an. In particular, the Mo Family's design concept of using the Great Way of the Human Body as the framework was even more legendary.
"People usually describe a person's strength as strong as steel. But today, Mo Jiazi is doing the opposite. He is using the human body as the framework and the best steel produced by the Village of Mo. You can imagine how strong it is. It will probably last for a lifetime."
"I heard that he used at least five thousand pounds of steel."
"How much will that cost?!"
…
Everyone in the Pan Family Restaurant was talking about it.
Without a doubt, no one doubted that Mo Jiazi's concept would not succeed. Everyone was amazed by the materials used by Mo Jiazi. One must know that the price of steel was extremely expensive. Five thousand jin of steel was not cheap!
"That's nothing. Do you know what cement is? It is refined by Taoism through alchemy. Its value is immeasurable. It is in the form of powder. Once it comes into contact with water, it will solidify within a day and become as hard as a rock. It cannot be destroyed without great strength. "A businessman boasted about the rumors he had heard.
"Let's not talk about the bricks. Mo Jiazi even custom-made white porcelain from Xing Yao in Hebei Province. He made it into thin tiles and pasted them on the wall. He also used transparent glass as the windows. Sunlight can enter the house without opening the windows. Not only is the house bright, but it is also extremely warm in winter. It is much better than paper windows." An old landlord said enviously.
In this era, white paper was used as the windows. Although there was some light, it was very limited. It was much worse than transparent glass. But no matter how envious they were, it was futile. Not to mention that the Village of Mo did not produce much glass and did not sell it. Even if they did, it was expensive. How could ordinary people afford it?
Everyone was talking about it. They could imagine how amazing the new house was.
"Hmph! Mo Jiazi! "
On the second floor of the Pan Family Restaurant, Quan Wanji coldly snorted and slammed his wine cup on the table with a furious expression.
Right now, he was at a loss in the officialdom. Previously, he had offended Li Shimin. In addition, when he was the Imperial Censor, he had offended many officials. These people took the opportunity to hit him when he was down and impeached him.
Now that the imperial court had issued a transfer order, he had been transferred to a distant place as an official. It would be difficult for him to return to the center of the imperial court in a short period of time. This made the arrogant Quan Wanji feel extremely sullen.
"Brother Quan, don't be anxious. As long as we're here, we definitely won't allow the Mo Clan to act recklessly." Yu Zhining said from the side.
Yu Zhining was also a scholar of the Confucian School. Quan Wanji had repeatedly targeted the School of Mohism, and Yu Zhining was one of them. Quan Wanji had been careless and had allowed Meton to get a hold of his weakness. Naturally, Yu Zhining was dissatisfied.
"Brother Yu, you must be careful. Mo Jiazi can't be underestimated. Otherwise, the Old Man will serve as an example." Quan Wanji reminded.
Yu Zhining shook his head. "Brother Quan, don't worry. If I didn't have a complete plan, I wouldn't act rashly. Brother Quan, did you notice that Mo Jiazi's new house is indeed extremely exquisite? I'm sure the princess will definitely like it. However, there's a big problem."
Quan Wanji thought for a moment and his eyes flashed. "Brother Yu, are you talking about the cost?"
Yu Zhining nodded proudly. "That's right! In order to build the new house, Mo Jiazi used all sorts of rare and expensive materials. This one calculated that the cost is at least five hundred strings of string of coins. "
"Five hundred strings of coins?" Quan Wanji's eyes immediately lit up. Aside from bricks, Mo Jiazi used the most common materials to build the house, there were also steel bars, cement, ceramic tiles, and glass. All of them were extremely rare and expensive materials on the market. Five hundred strings of coins was a conservative estimate. Just how extravagant was this?
"Brother Yu, could it be that you're accusing Mo Jiazi and Princess Changle of being too extravagant?" Quan Wanji asked thoughtfully.
"That's right!" Yu Zhining said boldly.
"Brother Yu, you mustn't. The Old Man ended up like this because he interfered with Princess Changle's marriage. Brother Quan, you mustn't follow in the footsteps of the Old Man!" Quan Wanji seemed to kindly remind Yu Zhining.
Yu Zhining sneered. "Let's not talk about the Princess's wedding house. Even if the Crown Prince was extravagant, this one would still dare to report it to His Majesty."
Yu Zhining wasn't boasting about this point. In history, when Li Chengqian built a house in the Eastern Palace, Yu Zhining wrote a letter criticizing him for being too extravagant. When Li Chengqian played around with the eunuchs around him, Yu Zhining directly compared Li Chengqian to Qin Ershi. It could be seen just how stubborn this person was.
Quan Wanji's heart stirred, but he didn't try to persuade Yu Zhining. Instead, he cupped his hands and said, "In the future, the court will be in Brother Yu's hands. When this one isn't here, I hope Brother Yu can take care of the Confucian Journal."
Yu Zhining was delighted. "Brother Quan, don't worry. This one will do his best."
The reason why Yu Zhining acted so arrogantly in front of Quan Wanji and couldn't wait to attack Meton was because he wanted to take over the Confucian Journal. The Confucian Journal was the voice of the Confucian school, and its role was getting bigger and bigger. Whoever held the journal would have the right to speak. Yu Zhining had been thinking about this for a long time. Now that Quan Wanji was an official and the Confucian Journal was without an owner, Yu Zhining naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity.
The two tacitly made an exchange. Quan Wanji wanted Yu Zhining to take revenge for him, while Yu Zhining wanted to take over the Confucian Journal. The two of them just took what they wanted.
"Brother Yu, I wish you success."
"Brother Quan, I wish you a safe journey."
The two of them raised their cups and drank it in one gulp. They laughed at the same time. Birds of a feather flock together!
… … …
The Confucian Journal was very fast. In less than two days, a special issue had been published. It even added oil to the fire and directly doubled the cost of the house, reaching a thousand strings of coins. This immediately caused an uproar in Chang 'an.
A thousand strings of coins to build a new house. An ordinary person would only need around 20 strings of coins to build a brick house. If the cost of the land was included, wouldn't it cost even more? The Confucian Journal directly called this new house the most expensive in Chang 'an. It also repeatedly ridiculed Mo Jiazi for forgetting the Mo family's concept of frugality.
"What a wastrel!"
Countless Confucian scholars shook their heads and lamented. They looked at Mo Jiazi as if they expected better from him.
Then, with Yu Zhining taking the lead, the other imperial censors all reported Mo Jiazi's extravagance and extravagance. For a while, the entire court was in an uproar.
"Yu Zhining?" Meton frowned. He didn't know how he had offended this person.
Teacher Li explained, "Yu Zhining is a great Confucian scholar. This time, when Quan Wanji left the capital, Yu Zhining took over the Confucian Journal."
Meton suddenly realized that Yu Zhining must have just taken over the Confucian Journal and wanted to use Meton to establish his authority.
Mochi said angrily, "Young Master is just building a wedding house. Of course it has to be built well. The Confucian Journal is meddling in other people's business. Young Master, don't worry. I will let the Mo Journal refute this. "
Teacher Li shook his head and said, "This matter is no longer about the Confucian Journal. However, the imperial censors have already reported to the court. His Majesty has repeatedly advocated frugality. Meton's house is indeed too extravagant. I'm afraid it won't be easy to deal with!"
Teacher Li looked at the new house that reflected the sunlight outside the window. Anyone who saw it would know that it was expensive.
Mo Dun sneered, "Do these imperial censors have nothing better to do? Instead of doing their job, they care about such trivial matters. Do we need their permission to build a house for the Mo family and not overstep their boundaries?"
Teacher Li smiled bitterly. Meton was talking about the imperial censors, but he was also talking about the Confucians. With the rise of the Mo family, there were more and more conflicts between the Confucians and the Mo family. It was very difficult for him to be caught in the middle.
Now, he had shifted his focus to the Teacher's College. The Mo Journal was gradually being handed over to Mochi.
Suddenly, Uncle Fu hurried over and said, "Young Master, someone from the court has come to invite you to the court to explain yourself."
Meton suddenly stood up and said, "Okay, I will personally meet this Yu Zhining."
He wasn't like Li Chengqian in history, who cared about his reputation and could only endure. However, he was increasing the arrogance of these Confucians.
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