Humane Yongchang

Chapter 501 The Dreamer

"Squeak, squeak..."

The simple carriage slowly drove into Jinling City with the flow of people entering the city.
The curtains of the car were lifted, and the veteran Haoshou casually looked at the heart of the Han Empire, which is famous in Kyushu, through the narrow car window.

Looking around, the buildings in the city are generally very tall, and there are almost no low buildings below three floors in the buildings facing the street, and the height, shape, and color are uniform, giving people a neat and symmetrical aesthetic.

The street is also very spacious, it can almost accommodate four or two carriages in parallel, and the street does not seem to be paved with bluestone strips mixed with glutinous rice juice, it is as flat as a mirror, and the road for cars and people seems to be separated. In the same way, without interfering with each other.

In addition, this city does not seem to separate commercial trade from private houses. There are densely packed shops on both sides of the street, and various peddlers can be seen everywhere on the street. However, this seemingly irregular layout is actually There is no mess and sewage in the imagination, but there is a different sense of excitement.

Also, everyone who comes and goes on the street, no matter whether they are graceful or weak, whether their clothes are luxurious or shabby, they walk very calmly and firmly, their eyes do not flicker, their expressions do not flinch. This calm posture is no longer like a small animal drinking water by a pond in the wild, but like an old dog lying in front of its own gate basking in the sun...

The veteran's casual eyes gradually became focused, and there were countless intense emotions colliding in the depths of his eyes.

He never obeys the old.

But at this moment, he suddenly realized that time and the world wait for no one...

"parking!"

he called out in a low voice.

"Shut up!"

The coachman reined in the horse and respectfully responded, "Sir, do you want to rest for a while?"

The veteran Haoshou got out of the carriage straight away, stood on the shaft of the carriage, and faced the huge new world.

He took a deep breath and said: "You will go to the Princess's Mansion on your own, the old man wants to walk around the city!"

After finishing speaking, he jumped out of the carriage in one step regardless of the obstruction of his entourage. After walking two steps, he suddenly found that the cumbersome and solemn cloak on his body was incompatible with the people passing by around him, so he stepped back and took off his outer cloak, Wearing a dark suit, he strode into the crowd.

He walked through the hot air of the noodle booth, and a large group of young children emerged from behind him, chasing and playing past him, bouncing and running while reciting "the beginning of man, the nature of human beings". Ben Shan".

He listened to the unexpectedly thought-provoking nursery rhymes, watched a group of little bean dings, and watched them babbling and shouting "Hello, Uncle Pavilion Chief" to a black-clothed official wearing a Xiezhi crown and carrying a copper gong. Ruo Jian Tie's heart suddenly throbbed.

The little official in black bent down and pricked the cheeks of these little bean dings one by one with his full beard, told them not to go far when they were playing, and be careful to go home and eat fried pork with bamboo shoots. While walking, he shouted loudly: "Adhere to the national policy of 'Growing Grain in Grass of Grass' unswervingly. Diversify grains to fight famine and have more children to strengthen the nation. Diversify grains to reduce taxes and have more children to help support..."

The old general Haoshou stood there for a long time, until the cries of the little official in black were so far away that he could no longer hear him, he finally moved forward and continued to walk, his steps were erratic, as if in a dream.

He hoped it was a big dream.

And I'm afraid it's just a big dream.

……

The fragrance of ink floats in the air.

In the spacious house, Chen Sheng, dressed in normal clothes, was pulling two samples of freshly baked newspapers, and carefully scrutinized the differences between the two newspapers with the sunlight coming in from the fence window.

The two newspapers are large sheets of paper one foot wide and one and a half feet high.

One of them is beige, and the paper is relatively delicate, but it still feels grainy when touched by hand, and it also has a certain degree of tenacity when it is turned over. If you look closely at the handwriting on it, there are some signs of scattered ink, but it does not hinder recognition. ...Like a poor-quality workbook soaked in water.

The other one is dark yellow, the paper is rough and uneven, and when it is flipped, it is soft and scumbags. If you look closely at the handwriting on it, the ink is black. If you want to read it, you have to read and guess... That's right. To put it bluntly, this kind of paper is too rough to rub your buttocks.

After Chen Sheng looked at it for a while, he raised his eyes and showed a little smile to a large group of nervous craftsmen around him. He nodded and said, "That's right, we've made great progress!"

Many craftsmen with ink stains all over their faces heard the words, although they all restrained the desire to breathe heavily, their shoulders all sank.

"This newspaper..."

Chen Sheng raised the beige quality newspaper and waved it: "What is the cost?"

A gray-bearded craftsman stood up, bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this kind of mulberry paper is made by our Meihua Villa, and the cost has not been calculated. If it is only based on materials and manpower... it will cost seven cents! "

Chen Sheng caught a key particle: "Enough?"

The master replied tactfully: "Maybe a little bit up."

Chen Sheng pursed his lips.

Not long after the founding of the Han Dynasty, the price of goods was still a bit confusing. He couldn't give an accurate answer on how much three Wen coins were worth.

But he knows that the egg noodles in Chang'an District, without eggs, a small bowl of three Wen, a large bowl of five Wen, and seven Wen can make a man of strength eat enough!
A newspaper, sell a full meal?

Is he crazy, or is the man who bought the newspaper crazy?
Chen Sheng raised the inferior newspaper and waved it: "What about this one?"

The master replied: "This piece of hemp paper is slightly cheaper, and three Wen is more than enough..."

After hearing this, Chen Sheng finally couldn't hold back and let out a "tsk".

To be honest, he was very dissatisfied with these two newspapers, whether it was the paper quality or the printing level.

He said "good", but he didn't want to put pressure on these craftsmen and dampen their enthusiasm.

But he really didn't expect that the cost of two things made like shit would be so high?
The cost is three pennies, so how much should it be sold for?
If you can't make a profit and rely solely on government investment to make money and make money, can you make it big?

If it's not big, wouldn't it become the self-promotion of the small circle again?
He doesn't want to cheer himself up, he wants to bring the whole country to cheer together!

His "tsk" sound was not loud, but it made the atmosphere in the room suddenly sink. A group of rough guys, all of them looked like elementary school students who had done something wrong, lowered their heads anxiously, and didn't even know where to let go of their hands and feet. where is it...

Seeing this, Chen Sheng regretted that it was all over, so he could only curse helplessly: "Okay, don't give me such a dead end, if I didn't do a good job, just spend more time and thought to do a good job, and make this dead Look, are you driving me away? Get out and do something, Master Liu will stay!"

A group of craftsmen bowed their hands together as if they had been pardoned, as birds and beasts scattered... After being scolded, they felt at ease!
The grey-haired master bit the bullet and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, the old man is not doing his job well..."

Chen Sheng shook his head and interrupted him, holding two newspapers and waving towards the door: "Don't interfere with their work, go out and talk."

The two walked out of the house one after the other, and spring was like warm sunshine.

"About the research direction of the newspaper..."

Chen Sheng said softly, "I have a few comments."

The master lifted his spirits, and skillfully took out a small notebook and a section of charcoal from his waist: "The old man is stupid, please show your Majesty."

Chen Sheng glanced at the small book in his hand speechlessly, and said, "The direction is still the two directions I gave you earlier. A high-quality newspaper should start from two directions: the quality of the paper and the level of printing."

"I won't say much about the quality of the paper. I'm barely satisfied with the quality of the mulberry paper, but the cost is too high. Seven renminbi is enough for me to go to Chang'an District to eat a big bowl of noodles. You are willing to spend so much Money, buy a piece of waste paper that is not suitable for eating or drinking?"

He looked at the master.

The master was stunned for a moment, shaking his head like a rattle: "Reluctance, reluctance..."

Chen Sheng: "So, I hope that the price of a finished newspaper should not exceed three pennies, which means that it is best to sell it for only one penny. There is no way to sell it for three pennies!"

"I said it's not the cost, but the situation where it can make a profit. Do you understand the profit? It means that one penny can make two newspapers. I sell one penny and earn one. In the future, the bonus of your group will be just Point to these profits!"

After a pause, he waved the mulberry newspaper in his hand again: "The cost can be low, but the quality cannot be low, at least it must be higher than this level!"

The master was stunned for a moment, even stopping the charcoal pen he was writing vigorously. He shook his head like a rattle and said, "It can't be done, it can't be done..."

Chen Sheng: "Can't it be done?"

Master: "I can't do it!"

Chen Sheng: "Then tell me, why can't it be done!"

Master: "Your Majesty, a skilled apprentice who works without touching the ground for a month can at most make a hundred sheets of mulberry paper. If he sells one for three Wen, he will starve to death on the street within two months!"

Chen Sheng: "Come on, I'll take you through it from the beginning. Dealing with raw materials is troublesome. Can we directly list and buy raw materials? Do you think what the common people lack is time, energy, or a way to make money?"

"If we can buy raw materials at a low price and create a way for the people around Jinling City to make money, wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?"

"Even if the price of raw materials can't be suppressed, can't you think of other ways and readjust the formula? In the past, one catty of mulberry bark was mixed with one catty of jute, so why don't you try mixing two catties of jute with one catty of mulberry bark?" What about other bark and roots? Have you tried them all?"

"There are also crafts. Why do you have to hand over a dozen processes from mulberry to mulberry paper? You can't split these dozen processes and hand them over to more than a dozen people? One person only Do one thing, practice makes perfect, he can always improve efficiency? Are you short of manpower? There are plenty in death row, and I will approve dozens of people for you?"

The master looked at Chen Sheng with a dazed expression, his hardened mind couldn't keep up with Chen Sheng's flexible thinking that was beaten out by the market economy.

Chen Sheng wanted to give him some time to digest, but he saw Meng Yi stepping in lightly from the corner of his eye, and then said: "There is also the problem of printing, you can think of asking a craftsman who is good at carving to carve clay movable type, that's very good ...But why didn't you think of replacing clay movable type with metal movable type? Is my Meihua Villa short of this metal? Or is it that so many masters in my Meihua Villa can't even do such a simple job?"

"There is also a template, why not try to replace it with metal? Metal conducts heat faster and is more pressure-resistant. Isn't the printing effect better than wood?"

"There is also the problem of ink. Since the existing ink is easy to stain paper, why didn't you think of adding some rosin, grease, etc. to the ink to adjust it?"

"Of course, you can't handle so much work by yourself, but you are the leader of the printing team, and you have so many craftsmen under your hands, so you won't divide the work and assign it to them, one person or several people Research a project?"

He patted the master on the shoulder and encouraged him: "Use more dim sum. I am optimistic about you. In the future, the newspaper will be published and Kyushu will be published simultaneously. Your name Liu Mang will definitely be remembered in history because of it. Thousands of years later, people will remember it. In the Han Dynasty, there was a great craftsman named Liu Mang, who improved papermaking and printing techniques, and Chinese civilization was brilliant because of him!"

The master was confused but excited, turned around and walked quickly into the room, his head was full of the words "Leaving a name in history, and the Chinese civilization is brilliant because of me", and his steps were hurried like a supervisor waving a whip!

Chen Sheng watched him enter the house, and sighed slightly... Today's merit -1!

There are too many pies drawn during this time.

He himself is a little numb!

But as the saying goes, people can't help themselves in the rivers and lakes!
The country is newly established, a thousand wastes are waiting to be rejuvenated, and it is facing the catastrophe and change that occurs once in hundreds of years.

If he doesn't draw cakes to encourage the people under him to display their subjective initiative, with just one person and one head, even if he is exhausted, he still can't move the huge chariot of the big man!

and so……

'It's only for you to suffer! '

Chen Sheng turned around and walked quickly towards Meng Yixing.

Meng Yi greeted him: "Report to Your Majesty..."

Chen Sheng kept walking: "Talk while walking!"

Meng Yi followed his footsteps, took out a bamboo tube from his sleeves and presented it to him with both hands: "Bai Qi, Chief of Staff of the Suzaku War Zone, send back the Southern Border Battle Report."

Chen Sheng took the bamboo tube and crushed it, shook out the silk cloth inside, looked at ten lines at a glance, and then frowned slightly.

Bai Qi is about to close the net...

Whether you can catch the big fish in this net depends on the hammer!
Chen Sheng wondered if he should go to southern Xinjiang, and asked, "Is there any urgent business to be done in the near future?"

Meng Yi thought about it and replied: "In the schedule just submitted by Plum Blossom Villa, the test firing of the Renwu Cannon will be held in fifteen days."

"Fifteen days later?"

Chen Sheng nodded, Bai Qi expected to close the net in ten days, so he had time to ask, "Is there any more?"

Meng Yi thought for a while, then said: "Return to Your Majesty, Wang Jian has entered Beijing today!"

Chen Sheng stopped in his footsteps, and asked ponderingly, "Where are you? Have you gone to the Princess's mansion?"

Meng Yi shook his head: "A quarter of an hour ago, Jin Yiwei sent this person's whereabouts. He was eating chicken noodles in Chang'an District."

Chen Sheng frowned: "With someone?"

Meng Yi: "He is alone."

Chen Sheng loosened his brows, nodded and said, "I see."

Meng Yi understood... Let that old guy hang out!

(End of this chapter)