Meton proudly said, "Holding back is a bad habit of craftsmen. Our House of Mohism has passed down our techniques for generations to reach our current achievements. Naturally, there is no such thing as holding back."
"However, not only is the refinement of the Azure Dragon True Medicine extremely precise, it also requires the cooperation of several secret techniques of the House of Mohism. These secret techniques also require the assistance of several other techniques. If this is made public, I fear that the entire House of Mohism will be spied upon once again, and the secret technique will be exposed to the danger of being leaked." Meton changed the topic.
"What's so difficult about that? The Imperial Court will bear the losses of the House of Mohism. As long as the people of the world can use the divine medicine, We will be greatly relieved! " Li Shimin heroically waved his hand. Compared to the value of the Azure Dragon True Medicine, the losses of the Mohism Village were nothing in his eyes.
To the side, Dai Zhou couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. Li Shimin made it sound so easy, but in the end, he still wanted the people to pay the bill.
"Your Majesty is benevolent. If the Minister continues to make excuses, he would be unappreciative of your kindness." Meton thought for a moment before nodding.
Hearing this, the officials immediately revealed proud smiles. With their alliance, Mo Jiazi had indeed taken a step back. When they thought of the value of the Azure Dragon True Medicine formula, they couldn't help but feel excited. This was a gold mine!
Li Shimin couldn't help but nod his head in satisfaction, "How much did the Mo Clan lose this time? You only need to report it truthfully, and this Emperor will buy your secret technique."
Meton shook his head and said, "Your Majesty doesn't need to spend a single cent. This subject has a way to satisfy both sides."
"Let's hear it!" Li Shimin couldn't help but feel curious when he heard that he didn't need to spend money.
Meton turned to Hou Junji and said, "Just now, General Hou said that the craftsmen of the House of Mohism have a bad habit called 'holding back'. This bad habit seems to protect the master's rice bowl, but the harm it brings is endless. The Mohism craftsmen's techniques are passed down, and some techniques must be developed above others. If one person holds back something, it will delay the process for several decades, and in the worst case, it will be lost forever."
Minister of Works Zhang Liang couldn't help but nod. This was truly the craftsmen's greatest weakness. Even the great craftsmen of Works were the same.
Meton continued, "The Mohism's techniques are passed down from generation to generation............ of the House of Mohism.... If a Mohism's ancestor.... a................. of.
Everyone couldn't help sighing. Perhaps only the Mo family's selfless spirit could allow the Mo family to revive today.
............. a.... of..... of of Mohism. of.. of Mohism.... of. of......... of.. of.......... of.................. of Of Of Mo of... of. of Of Mohist.. of. of............. investing............ . "Meton... The officials..................................................
........... ".. It seems that the people of the world benefit in a short time, but they don't know that if the House of Mo continues to invest without receiving any returns, they will not be motivated to develop new Mohism techniques. One day, the House of Mo will not be able to make ends meet and will gradually decline. In the end, no new Mohism techniques will be born. In the long run, the loss to the world is far greater than the immediate gain." Meton.
"We were indeed a little short-sighted!" Wei Zheng couldn't help but sigh. Whether it was the craftsmen or the public offering of Mohism techniques, they only cared about the immediate benefits.
"Then what is Merton's way of getting the best of both worlds?" Fang Xuanling was deep in thought, but he couldn't grasp the glimmer of light.
"If you want to get the best of both worlds, you must not only have immediate benefits, but also take into account the long-term benefits. I don't know if you know that in the House of Mo, no matter who develops a new product, they can enjoy half of the product's composition." Merton said.
"Silver mirror!" Fang Xuanling blurted out in a flash of inspiration.
Meton nodded and said, "Yes, my disciple Wu Meiniang's Silver Mirror enjoys half of the Silver Mirror's composition. If each Silver Mirror is sold for a hundred coins, my disciple enjoys five coins of income. In the House of Mo, this is called patent fee."
"Patent fee?" Everyone was puzzled.
Morton explained, "This product is an exclusive creation, and it has never been seen before. I have the exclusive rights to use it. If others want to use it, they will have to pay me. This is called a patent fee. My apprentice has only developed the silver mirror for less than a year, and he has already received eight hundred strings of coins in patent fees!"
"Eight hundred coins of patent fee!" Everyone couldn't help but exclaim. An annual income of eight hundred coins of patent fee was much higher than their salaries, and it was earned by a teenage girl.
At this time, everyone finally understood what Meton wanted to do. He probably also wanted to collect patent fee for the Green Dragon True Medicine.
"This is easy. As long as you disclose the secret formula of the Green Dragon True Medicine, I will allow you to collect patent fee for the Green Dragon True Medicine. It will also be based on half of the Green Dragon True Medicine's composition. How about it?" Li Shimin waved his hand and said straightforwardly. In this way, the imperial court wouldn't have to pay, the people could use the medicine, and the House of Mo would also have a corresponding income. It was killing three birds with one stone.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! However, the Minister hasn't finished speaking yet. " Meton smiled bitterly. "The patent fee can be divided, but it can also be bought out by paying a sum of money. That day, when this subject competed with Li Yun of the Xiangfu family, this subject paid a thousand coins of patent fee to buy the patent for Li Yun's folding ruler. Unfortunately, the House of Mo's patent fee of a thousand coins of patent fee went down the drain. Countless craftsmen in Chang 'an tried to copy the folding ruler, but none of them paid the House of Mo. I'm afraid that the folding ruler won't be able to recover its cost in this lifetime."
Li Shimin couldn't help but laugh. "I didn't think that the great Mo Jiazi would also suffer a loss!"
The officials couldn't help but roar with laughter. It wasn't easy to see Mo Jiazi suffer a loss.
Meton waved his hand and said, "A thousand coins of patent fee is nothing to the House of Mo. However, if an ordinary person works hard for a year or several years, or even exhausts his family's wealth, to develop something that benefits the country and the people, but doesn't receive a single coin in return, do you think he will spend a few more years to develop a new product?"
The officials fell silent. They spoke of righteousness, but everyone knew that the so-called righteousness was just a joke if there wasn't enough food and clothing.
"On the other hand, if this person develops a new product and gives it to others to use, he will have a steady flow of income every year. Not only will he continue to develop it, but more people will also imitate him. Under the trend of profit and reputation, they will develop more new products that benefit the country and the people. In time, not only will there be no hidden cards, but there will also be a steady flow of things that benefit the country and the people." Meton said proudly.
Li Shimin couldn't help but nod. The reason why the House of Mo prospered was not because of the continuous production of new products. Every new product would make the House of Mo more prosperous and bring a lot of wealth to the Tang dynasty.
"Therefore, I earnestly request Your Majesty to enact a patent law to protect the hard work of the craftsmen of the world and encourage them to take the initiative to disclose their secret techniques. In this way, the craftsmen will receive a corresponding reward, and other craftsmen can also verify with each other and emerge more secret techniques. I once said that if you want to see a thousand miles, then you can reach a higher level. When the time comes, not to mention the True Green Dragon Medicine, with generations of research and development, there will be even better medicines than the True Green Dragon Medicine emerging in the future." Meton bowed to the ground and solemnly requested.
Since ancient times, there had been countless talented people and unique skills that emerged, but because of the craftsmen's bad habits, they were eventually lost. If they could be carried forward under the protection of the patent law, the future would definitely be different.
"The patent law!" Li Shimin's eyes narrowed. He didn't expect Meton to be so ambitious that he actually wanted the imperial court to enact a law for this. However, the future that Meton's patent law depicted was indeed very tempting to him. This move was indeed very beneficial to the Tang dynasty.
The other ministers also carefully considered. They naturally knew that the patent law was very beneficial to the House of Mo and the craftsmen, but it wasn't harmful to them. It was also worthwhile to use it to exchange for the True Green Dragon Medicine.
However, the Minister of Works, Zhang Liang's eyes flashed and said, "Merton just said that the craftsmen of the world should apply for a patent for the use of others. I wonder if the House of Mo will also apply for a patent for the World Workshop."
"Of course! As long as the House of Mo applies for a patent, the people of the world can use it. "Meton nodded without hesitation.
"The Secret Technique of Steel Making! Is it included? "An official from the Ministry of Works asked tentatively.
"Yes!" Meton nodded without hesitation.
Immediately, everyone in the Ministry of Works exclaimed. No one expected that the House of Mo's treasured Secret Technique of Steel Making would be voluntarily disclosed because of the patent law.
"Then what about the Secret Technique of Glass?" An aristocratic family asked hopefully.
Meton shook his head and said, "The Secret Technique of Glass is a luxury item that isn't urgently needed by the world. The House of Mo will temporarily keep it a secret and won't disclose it. Of course, since the House of Mo didn't apply for a patent, if someone else cracked it and applied for a patent in the future, the House of Mo will still pay the patent fee."
The officials were naturally very smart and immediately understood the intention of Meton's move. He wanted to encourage the craftsmen to apply for a patent as soon as possible to prevent anyone from keeping a trick up their sleeves. Ordinary families were probably the only ones who could keep it a secret like the House of Mo. This was also the reason why the House of Mo had no fear of keeping the Secret Technique of Glass.
"Merton's move is good, but it's too much. Your disciple's Secret Technique of Silver Mirror earns 800 strings of cash a year. If he collects it for 100 years, wouldn't that be 80,000 strings of cash?" Dai Zhou frowned and said. He was very sensitive to numbers and was keenly aware of this.
Meton shook his head and said, "Lord Dai, there's something you don't know. The so-called patent isn't something that only you can develop. If it's someone else, they can also develop it with time. It's just that you've done it a little earlier. It's also inappropriate to keep collecting patent fees. Therefore, the patent fee will be collected for 20 years. After 20 years, the patent will be disclosed and the people of the Tang dynasty will be able to use it for free."
"20 years!" Dai Zhou nodded slightly. If the patent fee was too short, the craftsmen's interests would be damaged. If the patent fee was too long, it wouldn't be beneficial to the workshop. 20 years was a suitable period.
"The House of Mo is so calculative. They actually have such a grand plan!" Kong Yingda took a deep breath and said. With his eyesight, he could naturally see how much benefit it would bring to the House of Mo once the patent law was enacted. From then on, there would definitely be an endless stream of Mo techniques emerging. The House of Mo would definitely prosper.
However, Meton's move was an open conspiracy. Even if Kong Yingda understood Mo Jiazi's plan, he couldn't stop it. After all, the House of Mo had exchanged the formula of the Green Dragon True Medicine and the secret technique of the House of Mo. If he wanted to stop it, he would have to ask the School of Medicine, Ministry of Works, Ministry of War, Imperial Family, and the people of the world.
In addition, the Confucian School controlled the path of official career while the House of Mo controlled the path of craftsmen. There wasn't much conflict between the two.
"Fine! I'll listen to you this time. I know that Han Fuzi is in the House of Mo. Let Han Fuzi compile the patent law and submit it to the three provinces for review. If it passes, I'll incorporate it into the Zhenguan Law. " Li Shimin made the final decision. He had no choice but to let Han Fuzi compile the patent law. In the entire Tang dynasty, only the House of Mo valued patents. Perhaps only Han Fuzi, who knew the House of Mo best, would be able to compile the patent law.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Meton heaved a sigh of relief. With the patent law, the House of Mo's revival would be in sight.
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