Crowned the New Han Dynasty

Chapter 493: Traveling thousands of miles to sell paper?
"Take out those two books and let me take a look."

"No, a work like Tongdian can be said to be a valuable treasure. It has not spread throughout the world yet. The one in Su Liao's hands is an orphan. How can we wait for it? Therefore, we cannot give it to others easily."

"Yes, yes, if it is accidentally damaged, it will be a big loss. Who knows if Mr. Chen will miss anything when he writes again?"

Seeing Su Liao's reaction, several people stepped forward to explain, but the underlying meaning behind the words was very clear, that they wanted to get the book.

With so many competitors coming forward together, Mr. Wang Yan was a little impatient, but he did not rebuke others because there was no suitable reason. He just walked up to Su Liao and asked: "Brother Su, what do you think?" I have old arms and legs. I don’t know when I kicked my legs and closed my eyes and passed by. Can you bear not to show me?" As he said this, there was a sad look on his face.

When Su Liao heard this and looked at the expressions of others, he knew that he had to express his position, but it was not suitable for anyone. So he thought about it and recalled the task Chen Zhi had given him. Knowing that it was time to show his value, he He opened the cloth bag and took out the two books.

Everyone was immediately excited about this, and their eyes fell on the covers of the two books. They happened to see the two names "Tongdian Sutra" and "Tongdian Daolun", and they were immediately eager to try and interested. I want to ask for it and take a good look at it.

Old Man Wang, who was nearest, had a flush of excitement on his old face, thinking that he was about to succeed.

But unexpectedly, Su Liao took these two books, bowed deeply to the people around him, and then said: "Gentlemen, please understand that Su came here actually for Governor Chen. Something, please take a look..."

When he said this, everyone present was confused and didn't know why, but they still listened patiently.

Following them, they saw that Su Liao was flipping through a book, but did not find the content. He just stayed at the table of contents, pointed to a blank space, and said to everyone: "Look at this paper."

Originally, a group of people were staring at the catalogue, and they all looked thoughtful. The book Su Liao opened was the volume of scriptures, and most of the contents involved were Confucian classics, but everyone paid attention. I noticed that the table of contents of this book did not use the name of the classic as an introduction, but mentioned many historical events. I immediately understood that this sutra and treatise also followed the path of Dharma and Buddhist treatises, and was based on history. , tell the content.

However, what they could know based solely on the catalog titles was very limited. Many places were still confusing and unexplainable, so they had to think about it for a while. Then they heard Su Liao's reminder, and they finally noticed the text that contained the Tongdian text. paper.

In fact, Su Liao had already mentioned paper at the earliest time, but whether it was Wang Yan or others, their minds were not on this at all, not to mention them, even Zhao Yuan didn't have time to make a fuss about it at first. The root cause is the content itself, which attracts all the attention.

This situation also made Su Liao very emotional, but he also became more aware of the tasks and missions on his shoulders.

At this time, he brought up the old things again, and the situation he faced still did not change much. Although many people noticed the specialness of this paper, and some were amazed, but their minds were more attracted by the content of the tongdian. It passed without any intention of delving into the paper.

Seeing this scene, Su Liao became more and more helpless and had to sigh deeply. The prefect behind him was so outstanding in this work that he turned his back on the guest, which affected his original intention. I didn't know this, but Chen It only depends on whether you have anticipated it when arranging it.

But now is not the time for him to be emotional, so he can only put the prepared manuscript aside, and simply said directly: "Actually, this matter is like this. I came to Luoyang to write down the few volumes of this general classic. Give it to Mr. Zhao Yuan."

Seeing Su Liao's solemn expression, the people nearby also suppressed their thoughts and decided to see if he could reveal his identity without urging him.

As soon as they heard this, some people in the crowd began to suspect that Chen Zhi had specially arranged for Su Liao to send the book. Could it be that he had really made up his mind to destroy this Buddhist commentary?Did Leqi really hit the point, was he wrongly accused?

But what Su Liao said next was shocking.

"It's just that the original intention of coming here is not to promote Tongdian to the world, but to let everyone pay attention to this paper. This paper is produced by the paper mill established by my family's eunuch in Daijun. It is white, flawless, transparent and crystal clear. The surface is smooth. Compared with many papers in the world, it is not much higher. So he thought of making friends with you when he was an official in Luoyang, and wanted to let you know the benefits of this white paper, but he was worried that it would be stolen by the south. Paper is devalued, so I wrote this general code and sent it to Luoyang for Zhao Jun to read it first, and then asked him to write it on his behalf."

Some of these words were Su Liao's words to act according to the situation, but the backbone of them was explained by Chen Zhi. Before Su Liao left Daijun, Chen Zhi wrote a charter, which included some rhetoric.

It's just that Su Liao's blunt words made everyone present stunned. Their expressions were extremely exciting!
Especially Mr. Wang Yan, his dim eyes widened with a strange expression, as if he couldn't accept this fact for a while.After a while, Wang Lan finally asked with difficulty: "Su Liao, do you mean to say that the reason why this Tongdian was written was actually to promote this paper?"

When the others heard this, they all stared at Su Liao nervously, with complicated expressions and even more complicated thoughts in their hearts.

Needless to say, the value, content, and significance of the Tongdian. Good Buddhist commentaries are in chaos because of the Tongdian. Because the Tongdian is simply unnecessary, so many Dharma masters and everyone have gathered here. Here are all the top figures in Luoyang, and even they all spoke highly of the two volumes of Tongdian. Although no one said it explicitly, it is a sure thing that it will be spread to future generations, otherwise Wang Yan and others would not have to show their fight for it. posture.

But the original intention of such an epoch-making work was just to sell paper?This purpose can no longer be said to be a joke to them, it is simply unbelievable!

If it is true, then what will those people who have worked hard all their lives and studied for half their lives just to write their own feelings and express their family's opinions think?

Thinking about it this way, they all felt that this should not be true.

But Su Liao nodded, and said: "That's right, but my prefect has been planning this tome for a long time. When he was an official in Luoyang, he had already started to prepare it. He brought a lot of manuscripts to Daijun. Knowing that only a few books have been written recently, it is also a lot of hard work."

Su Liao was also a scholar, so of course he knew the thoughts of the people in front of him, so he gave them a step down, explaining that Chen Zhi's writing of books was not so casual, but had been prepared for a long time, and cooperated with Luoyang not long ago. Rumors circulated that Chen Zhi was going to hold a grand ceremony to make the whole thing go smoothly.

Sure enough, when Wang Yan and others heard this, they felt much better, but there were still some parts that were difficult to accept. Mr. Wang Yan even looked at Zhao Yuan and asked: "Shouyi sent someone to give you a book, what exactly is it?" Because of something, is it for the Buddhist review, or for the Stone Forest review, or as he said, just for...for the paper."

"Of course it's for your comments!" At this time, Zhao Yuan still knew how to be more diplomatic. He first set the tone, and then changed the subject, "However, the paper he wrote the book on is indeed extraordinary. You just need to If you take a closer look, you will know that not only is it in good condition and extremely smooth to the touch, but what is even more valuable is that when the ink is dotted on it, there will be no traces of infection or expansion, and the edges of the handwriting are crisp and clear. "

Paper at that time was limited by materials and techniques. Once a lot of paper was stained with ink, there would be penetration, which would cause the strokes to blur and spread.

In fact, this characteristic is not a bad thing for some works, but can actually increase the rhythm. However, it is an obstacle to calligraphy that pursues bright and bright brushwork.

But it has to be said that Zhao Yuan's product introduction was not very good because he completely failed to capture the hearts of the potential customers in front of him. These people care more about the general code than the blank paper.

When Wang Yan and the others got the answers they needed from Zhao Yuan, they all fell silent, feeling an inexplicable depression.

Is such an excellent work just a bundled sale?
This reality made this group of people feel very complicated. They felt lost and speechless. It seemed that some idea in their hearts had been touched, causing them to lose their vitality.

Seeing such a situation, Su Liao could actually understand it, but he still had a mission on his shoulders, so he cheered up and said without losing the opportunity: "My lord, please return the three books, my prefect..." He is I feel that everyone is a little distracted. It is time to take back the general outline, Dharma theory and Buddhist theory that were distributed before, and then launch a propaganda offensive.

But unexpectedly, these words were like a switch, which brought the old man back to his senses. He immediately clenched the two books in his hands and said in a low voice: "This...I still don't understand some things. Can you let me know?" I’ll give it to you after looking at it for two days?”

Of course, he knew that he could not seize the Tongdian without Chen Zhi's approval. He also knew that the origin of the Tongdian was probably closely related to Daijun Baizhi, but he would not deny the value of the Tongdian, so he used it tactfully. made a request to borrow it for two days.

When the others heard this, they all frowned.

After being embarrassed, Su Liao had no choice but to nod in agreement.

(End of this chapter)