I am the king of the dead

Chapter 970 Paper is expensive, ink is expensive, books are expensive, reading is expensive

On the third day of March in the 14th year of Jingtai, when it was another year of spring, scholars often went to the mountains and rivers near the capital to have blind dates in the name of the outing poetry club.After all, spring is here, everything is revived, and it is the breeding season again. Among them, Xishan is full of tourists, scholars take advantage of the good spring to recite poems and Fu, and ladies burn incense sticks in temples to seek a good marriage.

At this time, Emperor Zhu Qiyu of the Ming Dynasty was receiving the Minister of Industry Wang Xie and the Minister of Industry Zuo Shilang Nianfu. After Nianfu went to Henan to inspect the river, he returned to the capital again. Minister of the Ministry of Industry of Ming Dynasty.

Holding two memorials in his hand, Zhu Qiyu said to Wang Qiang and Nianfu: "One knife paper is one hundred sheets, and the one with seventy characters and one knife is yellow paper."

"Eighteen pieces of Jingtai Tongbao can buy a catty of tenderloin, and then four catties of tenderloin can be exchanged for a knife of yellow paper. The paper is yellow and has a peculiar smell, and it does not condense ink."

"Slightly better paper costs 20 to [-] Wen per knife, and more than [-] catties of tenderloin can be exchanged for a knife, and the best Ciqing paper (used for copying gold powder scriptures on black paper) costs only one piece. Two twenty-five coins."

"A catty of the most inferior ink costs 240 five Wen Jingtai Tongbao, and a pen costs about [-] Wen even the worst."

"It takes about four silvers to support a person who is studying out of production in just one year. The sergeants in the capital and the Beijing camp only need about twenty silvers a year, but there are only 24 people in the Beijing camp. A military household in the Beijing camp, When I am on errand, I can raise at most two children to study."

The military households in the Beijing camp earn more than the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty, and the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty can raise two children who are studying by saving food and money. Children study in social schools, and lamp oil is more expensive.

Most of the children of the farm law are working part-time and studying, and only a few can finish elementary school. The material foundation determines the superstructure.

Life is not just raising children to study, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar tea, which one does not cost money?

The reason why Zhu Qiyu was able to yell at the ministers was that he rarely even used his internal money for his own private affairs, because he was soft and hard to eat!
When Ran Siniang married the emperor, Zhu Qiyu not only didn't spend a penny, but also got a cornucopia. The rehabilitation new liquid, Guangyue facial cream, Baibao Dan, Yangyan Dan and other patent medicines produced by Ran Siniang Huangzhuang Pharmaceutical Factory are the main financial resources of Tai'an Palace. Source of income.

What happened to the soft rice?Ran Siniang is happy.

Nian Fu said with a smile: "Your Majesty, this is the purpose of my visit today. I am good at reading and can make machines. I have a small force and a heavy burden. I make machines for civilian use and benefit the people's livelihood. Nuo, in the past few years, I have made some more stuff, which I think is worthy of His Majesty's attention."

As Yu Qian's good friend, Nian Fu was a comrade-in-arms who fought local tyrants together in Henan. He never shook His Majesty. Yu Qian would never open his mouth for problems that could not be solved right now, and neither would Nian Fu. Since he came to the lecture hall, Nian Fu Speaking of the difficulty of studying in Daming, naturally there is something to say.

Only then did Zhu Qiyu understand, and said with a smile: "Oh, so, Xian Xiangrui, right?"

"Yes." Nian Fu said very confidently: "I'm going to hear about His Majesty today, and the Qili Bureau wants to offer auspiciousness."

Xianxiangrui has very clear regulations, which are divided into five types: Jia, Da, Shang, Zhong, and Xia. Along with the auspiciousness, it is necessary to write an ode to praise the emperor's achievements. Then put on a congratulatory form, and the emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites to draw shadows and graphics to show the whole country, and finally customized special utensils to place auspiciousness.

This is a complete set of auspicious offering process.

These auspicious paintings have various styles. For example, when Yongzheng first came to the throne, some people clamored for Yongzheng to amend his will and usurp the throne.

Some courtiers planted a large pile of yarrow in the Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty, which is the tomb of Emperor Shunzhi, and presented it to the emperor as auspicious. Grass, to show their orthodoxy.

Offering auspiciousness is an act that is scoffed at by the Ming and Qingliu, and it is easy to fall into a storm of public opinion.

Nianfu is about to take up his post. Before assuming the position, he used auspiciousness to show his status as a sycophant and express his political stance. Don't you think it's shameless for an official like Nianfu to engage in such auspicious offerings?

No, because he knows that this is a great thing that benefits the country and the people, because it can promote the rapid development of Ming Dynasty's productivity. If he can keep donating, he would like to donate one every day. If the Ministry of Industry can donate one Jiarui every day, Nianfu woke up laughing from his dreams.

The auspiciousness in the Jingtai period was not Linfeng Wuling, Jingxing, Qingyun, or famous things, but a production tool with strange skills and ingenuity.

Zhu Qiyu came to the top ten calendar bureaus of Qintianjian, and the opposite of the top ten calendar bureaus was the Gongyuan and Guozijian. The supervisors of the Guozijian saw the emperor's big driver coming to the door, and knew that this was going to Qintianjian again.

To this day, since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has never entered the Imperial College once. The students in the prison are all disciples of the Son of Heaven, and His Majesty really doesn't even look at them.

On the contrary, Qin Tianjian, His Majesty often goes there, no, here he is again.

The supervisors gritted their teeth with hatred for the group of astronomy students on the opposite side, but there was nothing they could do, because the supervisors of the Guozijian did not know the techniques to please the emperor.

Of course, the supervising students of the Imperial College would say to others: Their noble personalities do not allow them to lie on the ground and please the emperor!
Zhu Qiyu got off the big driver's seat and came to the ten calendar bureaus. The statue of Mo Di with his trousers rolled up was still elegant, while Zheng Beilin, the supervisor of Qintianjian, led the ten calendar bureaus and the astronomy students to salute.

Xu Dun, the former Qin Tianjian supervisor, did not survive the winter of last year, died of illness, and was buried in the Jinshan Cemetery. Xu Dun had never obtained a personal miraculous merit card in his life, but he brought the Qin Tianjian After obtaining three collective merit cards, Zhu Qiyu gave Xu Dun the treatment of being buried as an official, and the Ministry of Rites gave him a posthumous title, and also gave Xu Dun's son three generations to descend to the official position of Qin Tianjian.

Beilin and Zhan Zhongnuo, supervisor of the Bureau of Artifacts and History, led His Majesty into the Qin Tianjian, and came to a machine covered with red silk, and then Xing'an opened the machine.

This paper machine is very simple, using wood as the pulp barrel and frame, and using two rollers to stretch and rotate the endless endless copper mesh.

When making paper, the pulp is sprinkled from the pulp drum onto the copper wire, and the water in the pulp flows back into the pulp drum through the copper wire. The wet paper sheet passes through a small roller to press the water, and becomes a semi-dry paper sheet, which is taken off from the rear of the machine.

Zhan Zhongnuo shook the pulp machine by hand and said: "The pulp barrel has a single-leaf wooden board, which can stir the pulp in the barrel to the copper mesh and sieve it, and then the water flows into the pulp barrel for continued use, and the roller press presses the water. Accelerates the transformation of wet paper into paper."

"This is the simplest paper machine."

"Easiest?" Zhu Qiyu clearly heard something in Zhan Zhongnuo's words.

Zhan Zhongnuo turned the paper machine solemnly and continued: "This copper mesh is 27 inches long and 48 inches wide. In a quarter of an hour, it can make semi-dry paper 45 feet long, and about 540 catties a day. The paper is the simplest yellow hemp head paper, which is used by farms all over the Ming Dynasty. It can use animal power and water power, and it can be erected very easily. The copper mesh can be replaced with steel mesh, although the lifespan is shorter. But it costs less."

“To set up a paper machine in each farm requires five to six diced operations. Even children can participate in chopping wheat straw, needles, wood leaves, bamboo, reeds, sugar cane and other raw materials. The materials collected can be used by students from [-] to [-] households."

Huangben hemp-headed paper is the kind of yellow paper that is used to burn paper money during festivals and festivals. Even so, it still costs 72 renminbi a knife.

Zhu Qiyu was very pleased. Looking at the one-foot-long and three-foot-high paper machine in front of him, he couldn't stop nodding.

"Your Majesty, please come this way." Zhan Zhongnuo led the emperor to a factory building, and opened the door of the factory building. There are about 50 steps inside. This is the auspiciousness that Zhan Zhongnuo wants to present. Based on the current situation of Ming Dynasty, There must be paper machines suitable for the production and use of small farm workshops, and an assembly line papermaking plan suitable for the large-scale production and use of Daming.

Because the emperor is coming, everything in the workshop is clean, even the dust can't be seen, which is not in line with the status quo of the workshop. The emperor personally inspects, stops production, and cleans the workshop. It is a decadent bureaucracy. style.

But from Qin Tianjian, the officials of the top ten calendar bureaus, to ordinary craftsmen, there is no complaint.

This is a show, to show their achievements, and to leave a good impression on His Majesty. If they can pass His Majesty's acceptance and promote the whole country, that would be a great thing.

"This is the material preparation room. All incoming materials are cut, mortared, washed, and limed here. This is the entrance, and this is the exit." After Zhan Zhongnuo finished speaking, the craftsmen began to stuff the inside, and the steam engine began to roar. The machine starts to rotate at high speed, crushing hemp, sugarcane material, straw and other materials. The crushed materials become a pool of loose materials under the reciprocating hammer head, and then pass through the water in the sieve and flow into the ash pool.

Zhan Zhongnuo continued to lead the emperor forward, and then he arrived at the cooking room. He pointed to the three shaft furnaces with the height of three people side by side and said: "This is the cooking room. The materials are fed into the furnace from the preparation room, and rhubarb is added to the cooking room. , alkali and other aids are suitable for bleaching, and the copper gasket seal and rhubarb can shorten the cooking time. Now it only takes one hour for a furnace, while the ancient method of papermaking takes at least three hours."

Zhu Qiyu asked in great surprise: "How did you come up with the idea of ​​joining rhubarb?"

Just like adding ginger slices to tung oil can effectively increase the shelf life of tung oil, so that the shelf life of tung oil can be increased from six months to two to three years, and it can be successfully transported from Yungui to Songjiang Prefecture and other places for shipbuilding.

Adding alkali itself is the link of papermaking, but adding rhubarb, which is a herbal medicine, how did you think of adding rhubarb to papermaking?
Zhan Zhongnuo quickly explained: "A bowl of stewed rhubarb can poison a person. This kind of poison was discovered by the Jiefangyuan, and then it was found that it can be used to wash clothes and has the effect of bleaching. It is called Grass poison, a low dose of herbal poison, can stimulate intestinal excretion, and when making paper, I communicated with the Jieyuan Institute, and I realized that adding rhubarb can save a lot of cooking time."

Zhu Qiyu suddenly realized that Ran Siniang usually likes to eat a beauty pill, twice a day in the morning and evening, three pills at a time, before Zhu Qiyu asked Ran Siniang what she was eating, and Ran Siniang explained that it was the latest blockbuster product of the pharmaceutical factory.

Ran Siniang gave birth to two radiant children, not only Guangyue facial fat, but also this beauty pill. If you take too much of the beauty pill, it is a laxative, and how much you take can detoxify and beautify your face.

This has to mention the results of the Jiejieyuan, rhubarb poison, in order to study why rhubarb can detoxify and beautify the skin, the Jiejieyuan spent a whole lot of abolishing two Lingchi criminals, and then figured out the specific dosage. The beauty pill that Ran Siniang ate herself , the main drug is rhubarb poison, and the most important thing is that this stuff has no drug resistance.

Why is there no cooking material in the cooking workshop, because the rhubarb poison is poisonous, even if His Majesty stands there, the dose will not meet the poisoning standard, but if His Majesty comes, he cannot cook it.

Because the cooking room has not started, the follow-up process cannot be demonstrated, but where the machine is placed, His Majesty can see it. Zhan Zhongnuo continued: "After cooking, pulping is required. This is the pulping workshop. After pulping After desanding and cleaning, it goes through the rhubarb poison again, then enters the paper machine, sieves the pulp and presses it, then adds talcum powder, china clay, etc., coagulates it, presses it and dries it, then passes it through a rolling mill to calender, rolls the paper, and finally becomes a finished paper.”

Zhu Qiyu watched it all around, and highly recognized the work of Qin Tianjian and Qili Bureau, and then said to Nianfu: "Just talk but don't practice, let's start working."

"Your Majesty..." Nianfu reminded His Majesty in a low voice, it is okay to start work, but His Majesty has to leave the workshop to see the results, but because of the presence of rhubarb poison, the emperor cannot start work.

Zhu Qiyu recalled the days when he was stirring molten iron in Wang Gong's factory. He was also a serious craftsman, and the courtiers regarded him as porcelain, which would shatter when touched.

He didn't make things difficult for the ministers. Today is not the same as in the past. At that time, Daming was in danger. As a substitute emperor, he naturally had no taboos. Now he is the backbone of Daming.

He left the workshop and waited for the first batch of paper to be unloaded.

Zhu Qiyu waited for an entire hour, and the first batch of steaming paper finally arrived in front of him. The paper was delicate and smooth, and its quality was far better than that of yellow hemp paper. In the countryside, it is completely enough. If the quality of the pile of paper in front of me is comparable to that of Xuande Jianzhi, it is naturally not comparable, but it can be regarded as a good quality paper.

The top-quality paper costs six cents a dollar, calculated according to the current Ming Dynasty, 420 coins a knife, while the Huangben hemp-headed paper is only 72 coins a knife.

"How much of this kind of paper can be produced in a day? What is the cost?" Emperor Daming asked Zhan Zhongnuo who had just come out of the workshop, feeling the thickness of the paper and not feeling the heat.

Since Zhan Zhongnuo wants to offer auspiciousness, he must write "Ode". He made a little calculation and said: "One fire, one day and night, three shifts, four thousand jun."

"That is, 12 catties of paper, 24 catties per dollar and [-] cents, which is [-] dollars, and labor, incoming materials, charcoal, etc., are sold at [-] yuan per dollar. The workshop recovers its investment in one and a half years, and then it is maintenance of machinery and raw materials. "

The sale for three yuan is a conservative estimate made by Zhan Zhongnuo considering that the price of Daming paper will decrease after mass production is put into operation.

In fact, the workshop they set up has already started to make money, but the calendar bureau is not an official factory, so it has been a test run for half a year, and the cost has been fully recovered, and then it will be handed over to the Shijing factory.

The cost of research and development has been fully recovered, which shows that papermaking is very profitable.

"Good! Good! Good!" Zhu Qiyu looked at Zhan Zhongnuo, and kept saying yes, this great inventor came from Songjiang Mansion, and when he came out of the spinning wheel, he went through a lot of troubles before he arrived in the capital.

"What's this paper called?" Zhu Qiyu touched the paper and couldn't put it down. He has been Zhenwu, but he has never forgotten Xingwen. Zhenwu and Xingwen have never been in conflict. Put the two things on opposite sides to discuss.

Zhan Zhongnuo bowed his head and said, "Jingtai paper."

"Ah, this..." Zhu Qiyu was taken aback. This nomenclature is indeed a common practice, just like Xuande Jianzhi is named after Xuande. Until the Qianlong period, the paper used in memorials has always been Xuande Jianzhi. In the last years of Qianlong, the official office changed Chengxintang paper. Paper for the memorial.

"Then let's call it Jingtai paper. That's right, Xing'an, the top ten calendar bureaus, and the Qigong card." Zhu Qiyu smiled and said as he put the roll paper on the cart: "This will be used in the martial arts hall in the future. Gaoli Gong paper There is no need."

As soon as this remark came out, North Korea immediately lost a pillar industry, and the emperor no longer needed it. If the atmosphere in the court changed, they would change the paper.

There was a reason for Zhu Qiyu's remark. This time, some Koreans were mixed among the slaves, and there were hundreds of them. Zhu Qiyu was quite displeased. Not using Korean paper was regarded as punishment.

Zhan Zhongnuo, Bei Lin, Nian Fu, and Wang Qiang all looked at each other a few times. They were not distressed that North Korea had lost its pillar industry, and His Majesty rewarded the cards for extraordinary achievements too quickly.

"What are you winking? Say something if you have something to say." Zhu Qiyu looked at several people's eyebrows and said with a smile.He still loves Jingtai paper. Once papermaking becomes industrialized, children in Daming will spend much less on reading. Even if it is yellow paper, if more paper is produced, it is a great thing that poor children can read. thing.

Nianfu bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, papermaking is one of them, and today's auspicious gift is also ink-making."

Paper is expensive, ink is expensive, books are expensive, and reading is expensive.

If you want to popularize education, you don’t need to use movable type printing to change the world. The movable type printing in the Ming Dynasty is very mature, and most of them are emergencies. Often books need to be plate-made.

Wang Qiang is old, and Nianfu is a virtuous minister who combines knowledge and action with his own actions. As the left servant, Nianfu still does not hesitate to fight against Chen Youde, the general manager of Shijing Factory, after the fire broke out in the Gunpowder Department of Shijing Factory. Walked into the artillery department.

Wang Xie couldn't teach Nianfu much, so he left some political legacy to Nianfu, paper and ink making, which was the legacy that Wang Cheng left for Nianfu to be the secretary of the Ministry of Industry.

"There's more! Well, well, well, well, let's go and have a look." Zhu Qiyu was happy, his brows beaming with joy.

　Ciqing paper is black, which is the kind of paper used to copy scriptures in gold powder and ink. This thing costs two taels of silver for a sheet, and 250 taels of silver for a knife, which is enough to cover the expenses of the Jiuzhong Hall for three months.Ask for a monthly ticket, woo! ! ! ! ! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)