Ming Dynasty, starting from the empty seal case

Chapter 98 Copper movable type printing!

Ok?
  Hearing this, Tugu'er suddenly looked towards His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
  Is this the beginning of endorsement?

Zhu Yuanzhang also noticed their gazes and immediately smiled even more heartily.

"Su Xian, keep talking!"

"We think so too. Our Ming Dynasty's ability is limited, so we can only help four or five tribes. No matter how many more, we may not be able to do it for the time being."

"However, since you all obey me, Da Ming, you will have opportunities in the future. It is just a matter of who comes first and who comes last."

Zhu Yuanzhang confirmed that he was able to react and attack in such a short period of time, and even hung a big carrot in front of him. This is simply grinding the hearts of the Tubo tribes.

He wanted to conquer Tubo, but he was very aware of the twists and turns involved.

They are not a unified Tubo Empire!

Compared with the hostility with the Ming Dynasty, the competition among various tribes within Tubo for territory was the most fierce. After all, if you want to live well, you have to raise more cattle, sheep, and more importantly, war horses.

And this requires a lot of territory.

On the contrary, because Daming is too powerful, as long as they surrender to Daming, Daming will not participate in their internal battles.

Su Xian's approach was to first divide them, and then create rifts between them. In this way, the so-called alliance between them would be self-defeating.

Even if he knew clearly that Ming's treasure money was definitely not as "well-intentioned" as Su Xian said, he would still have to try to accept it. As long as he accepted it for the first time and his strength improved slightly, he would have to keep accepting it!
  Why should he worry about not being able to promote this treasure in Tubo?
  good boy!
  This method is a bit like the art of war.

At this moment, the more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more excited he became. He really wanted to look forward to letting him grow up quickly.

At this time, the ministers were in shock.

It would be fine if Su Xian was a man in his thirties. He was kind, sophisticated and resourceful. This method of promoting treasure money was almost the same as that of the Warring States Period. Is this a war? Divide and collapse?

But the other party is only a six-year-old baby. No, during the Chinese New Year this year, he will be a seven-year-old baby!

And at this moment...

Tuguer's expression changed.

He clearly felt that the expressions of several envoys beside him had changed, and the originally agreed alliance seemed to be ruined.

"you……"

He looked at the doll with some resentment, which was trying to drive a wedge between them.

Now that Su Xian has received the endorsement, it's time to continue striking while the iron is hot.

He even related some routines from later generations and said seriously:
  "What I said is true. Our treasure banknotes cannot be printed as much as we want. They are all linked to food. What you are worried about is that an empty piece of paper can be exchanged for cattle and sheep? That is even more nonsense!"

"Because of this, the Ming Dynasty could only temporarily cooperate with five tribes in the early Ming Dynasty. At the beginning, the tribes that used Baoqian could get more supplies of tea, salt and other necessities."

"If necessary, the Ming Dynasty can also provide craftsmen with craftsmanship. Once there is a natural disaster, the tribe that cooperates with the Ming Dynasty can borrow the treasure money to buy what you need without any cost. In addition, this tribe will also be protected by the Ming Dynasty. protection of."

"Of course, if the tribes are willing to learn, the Ming Dynasty can even open schools within the tribes to teach them literacy and arithmetic. In this way, they can make better use of their treasures and trade with our Ming Dynasty."

After every word Su Xian said, the expressions of the Tubo envoys began to change slightly.

"Of course, in the future, the Ming Dynasty will also make statistics based on the use of treasure banknotes by various tribes. If the treasure banknotes are used more, they will get more support in the next year, and even the protection of the Ming army. In the future... You can even get our Ming Dynasty’s advanced iron smelting technology and salt-making methods.”

At this moment, even if they knew that what Su Xian said was unreliable, their breathing could not help but quicken.

What they value is no longer learning, but what Su Xian said, the military protection provided by the Ming Dynasty, various craftsmanship, and even the subsequent iron smelting craftsmanship and salt making methods! "

At this moment, Tugu'er felt that he was almost losing control of his subordinates.

Some of the courtiers of the Ming Dynasty also looked at Su Xian angrily.

What is the method of smelting iron and making salt?

Does he know that if this spreads out, Ming's control over them will become smaller and smaller, and he may even shoot himself in the foot.

And they wanted to warn, but the Holy One didn't speak at this moment, so it was naturally impossible for them to jump out at this time.

"wrong!"

Suddenly, Tuguer realized that he could not continue talking.

Otherwise, he really doesn't know what kind of words the other party will say and continue to confuse them.

This little doll looks innocent, but in fact he has a sophisticated mind and is targeting their "selfish" intentions!
  Not only are five tribes established, but the results of their implementation of Baoqian are also counted every year...

Do you want them to fight over each other?
  Where did you learn all this?
  Tugu'er was extremely angry, feeling that he and others had secretly made a "covenant" before, and if it continued like this, it might really be ruined by this child.

"No! It's still the same problem as before. Even if the Ming Dynasty prints new treasure banknotes, the treasure banknotes cannot be stored at all. If they are kept for a long time, they will become moldy. We are exposed to wind and rain and have no time to take good care of them. Instead of In this case, it’s not as good as a silver tael.”

"Not to mention, there is also counterfeiting. Some people can fake old treasure banknotes. Even if new treasure banknotes appear, there will be counterfeiting!"

"And..." Tugu'er seemed to be really upset, and he wanted to tell all the reasons at once.

However, in Su Xian's eyes, these questions don't seem like explaining reasons, but like talking about the last few doubts.

After hearing these words, Zhu Yuanzhang also looked at the treasure banknotes he had just patted on his desk.

The two treasure banknotes were exactly the same, and until now he had not been able to tell which one was real and which one was fake.

It is undeniable that what the other party said cannot be solved by printing new banknotes. More changes must be made!
  And at the same time this idea emerged in his mind.

But Su Xian continued:
  "These problems are not problems at all. They are nothing more than technological improvements in craftsmanship and anti-counterfeiting."

Ok?
  His words obviously surprised Zhu Yuanzhang and all his officials.

Before he could ask.

But he saw that Su Xian was already looking in another direction, which was exactly the direction of Su Guiyuan.

When he was doubtful.

Seeing the father and son looking at each other, Su Guiyuan even knew what his son was going to say. He quickly said: "The material of the new treasure banknote has been greatly improved. It will not be afraid of wind and rain, even if it gets wet or soaked in water, it will not hurt." It will all fester like before.”

"You only need to bask in the sun or next to a lamp, and it will be almost back to its original shape!"

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously hearing this statement for the first time.

However, he quickly thought of something. Not long ago, the people from the Baochao Lifting Division reported to him that Su Guiyuan was trying something.

But these things were almost a daily routine for Baochao Lisi, so he didn't pay attention to them anymore.

When he heard this, he stood up suddenly. "Is it true or false?"

Su Guiyuan immediately reached into his arms, and then took out a neatly folded piece of paper from the inner lining, which was about the same size as an ordinary treasure note.

There is no pattern on the paper, just like a piece of white paper.

But after Su Guiyuan unfolded it, it was obviously much harder than the previous banknotes.

"Quick! Get it for us!"

Zhu Yuanzhang had obviously realized something, and quickly asked the chamberlain on the side to pick him up.

However, he still disliked the waiter being too slow, "Biao'er, go ahead!"

Zhu Biao, who was sitting down below and watching carefully, immediately stood up and walked quickly. He had been watching everything that happened since just now.

Wait until you start and get this white paper.

Zhu Biao's expression was obviously stunned, and then he was full of shock.

"Bring me a basin of water!"

He shouted loudly and quickly returned to his father. Zhu Yuanzhang took it directly, looked at it carefully, and even shook it in the air, making a "crash" sound.

The paper is soft and flexible, which is obviously better than the previous banknote material!
  "Why aren't you coming?"

Zhu Yuanzhang complained, and the officials' eyes had already followed him.

Even Su Xian himself was a little surprised.

I remember that in April and May, he said that some cotton could be added to the material of the banknotes.

It was originally an attempt, but I didn't expect that after more than half a year, it would actually be effective?

After a while, a waiter hurriedly brought a basin of water.

Zhu Yuanzhang first put the old banknotes in.

After a while, the old treasure banknotes were completely soaked in the water like ordinary paper. Then they were taken out and torn apart easily with a slight flick.

Yeah, but I have to say, it's much better than ordinary paper.

Seeing this scene, the Tibetan envoy almost woke up.

They are just afraid that if something goes wrong with the treasure banknotes made of this kind of material, it will be almost like losing their entire fortune.

"Put this on!"

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the "material" he just took again, using the same technique.

He took it out again, and although it was soaked, he shook it gently, but it didn't tear.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, "Bring the fire!"

Immediately, a chamberlain prepared it early, and Zhu Yuanzhang personally took it and baked it on the fire.

time flies.

After a while, the entire paper seemed to become the same as before as the water evaporated.

Of course, subtle observations are still somewhat different.

But enough is enough!

"it is good!"

He shouted because he really didn't expect that he would be able to see this surprise tonight on New Year's Eve.

"How did this change?"

He asked subconsciously, but then he quickly reacted and said immediately: "No need to say more!"

"Just tell me, how could it be changed like this?"

"Report to Your Majesty!" Su Guiyuan immediately replied: "This is the idea that my son once said. As early as the end of April, the Baochao Lifting Department tried it. This method is indeed feasible, but it requires continued research."

"By November, the prototype has actually been formed, but there are still some finishing touches, and I haven't figured out how to add anti-counterfeiting." "I wanted to report it later..."

Zhu Yuanzhang stretched out his palm to signal him not to say more.

It's Su Xian again.

He continued to look at the boy, and this time, the joy on his face was beyond words.

"My envoys, you saw it just now, why don't you see if this banknote meets your expectations?"

Without waiting for their answer, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Of course, we are satisfied now."

Tuguer looked nervous, and his old face also smiled at him, "Your Majesty is satisfied, of course we are satisfied."

"It's just that ordinary herdsmen can rarely analyze the material. Moreover, the patterns and impressions of officially minted treasure banknotes are not exactly the same."

"This in itself is an important reason for the rise of counterfeit banknotes."

Tugu'er obviously put in a lot of hard work, and when he talked about this, he spoke clearly.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang knew something about this, he also looked at Su Guiyuan for the sake of details.

"Reporting to your Majesty, actually upon closer inspection, there are indeed some differences. This is all due to the material of the equipment used during printing!"

"Wooden letter boards are made of loose material. After being dyed with ink, it will spread immediately, and when printed on the paper, unnecessary messy shadows will appear..."

"As for the clay tablets, although they are feasible in the early stage, they will inevitably become dry and cracked over time due to cold and heat. In this way, problems will still be left on the banknotes. The longer the time goes on, the more problems there will be. .”

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frown, why were there so many twists and turns here.

"What about the slate? Where about the copper plate?"

"Slates need to be carved, but to prevent counterfeiting of treasure banknotes, they must be more delicate, even with difficult-to-model patterns and even patterns."

"The slate is brittle and will fall off in large pieces after a moment. It's okay to engrave large characters. The engraving is as big as a treasure banknote and requires precision, which is difficult to achieve."

"And copper plates..." Su Guiyuan frowned, "When the Northern Song Dynasty printed Jiaozi, they used copper plates, but for some reason, they were not used in the Ming Dynasty."

"This..." Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know either. The Baochao Judgment Department had only been established for two years, and he didn't have that much time and energy to pay attention to too detailed things.

At this moment, Su Xian said again: "Since we are printing and issuing treasure banknotes, copper coins are of course better."

"As long as we can make copper blocks that look like clay with inscriptions... The problem that the clay slab cracked just now and caused the treasure banknotes can be solved!"

While talking, Su Xian himself remembered something.

Movable type printing has appeared since the Northern Song Dynasty.

But it seems that the mainstream of movable type printing is just clay type or even wood type...

But with this method, as his father Su Guiyuan said, it's okay for a short time, but if it takes a long time, various unexpected problems will arise due to the material itself.

It makes sense.

Craftsmen are not fools. They can definitely make the transition from clay movable type and wooden movable type to metal movable type.

And copper!

Must be one of the first choice materials.

But for some reason, it has not been implemented, let alone popularized on a large scale.

Su Xian also searched in his memory. Most of the sayings in later generations were spread from Goryeo and then popularized in the West. It was not until the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty that metal printing was widely popularized in the south.

However, there are also loopholes in this argument.

For example, as I just thought about, since Bi Sheng developed "movable type printing", it must have taken several years to conduct experiments based on different materials.

In other words, it stands to reason that copperplate printing should have appeared during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Even Jiaozi in the Northern Song Dynasty used copper plates to print money.

But I don’t know why, during this period, others took the lead?
  While thinking...

Su Xian quickly put it down, thinking too much.

Perhaps there are indeed many loopholes in the history of later generations, but now that I am in the Ming Dynasty, I have no time to think about these.

Moreover, when it comes to the Ming Dynasty, I fall into a misunderstanding.

Before this, the Ming Dynasty Baochao was something that the Emperor came up with to improve his "financial resources" two years ago.

Of course, it comes as fast as it works.

At that time, Baochao had not been promoted to the strategic position it is now.

And he is now.

Not only must copper movable type printing be allowed to continue the "ladder of progress in printing" during the Northern Song Dynasty!
  It is also necessary to continue to prevent counterfeiting of treasure banknotes, and even play a series of tricks.

such as……

Toppan Printing!

Gravure printing!

Another example: the banknote number!

Of course, this place still restricted him. If he wanted to make his idea succeed, he couldn't help but look to the side, Chang Sen, Xu Yingxu and other students from the main hall who had been staring at him.

even.

What he didn't notice was that Fang Xiaoru's eyes were hot.

After scanning Su Xian many times, her expectations for him seemed to have increased again.

He even met the eyes of the great scholar Song Lian many times, and the two talked about certain things more than once. Song Lian sighed helplessly after he saw it.

Finally, he looked at the group of Tibetan envoys who had been separated by Su Xian just in a few words.

Thinking of this short period of one year, the other party has quietly changed many major things.

Some even, without exaggeration, affected the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty!
  And when the Ming Dynasty was founded, all kinds of wastes were prospered!

Hongwu held only one imperial examination in three years and had no choice but to abolish it.

Now, it is indeed time.

As a great Confucian, how many students in the world are eagerly looking forward to this day?
  Restart the imperial examination!

After thinking for a long time, he looked at Fang Xiaoru and then nodded slowly.

The latter was overjoyed.

But Su Xian seemed unaware of this.

He just glanced at everyone and finally stopped at Zhu Xiongying...

You can continue to play Three Kingdoms Banknotes!
  After all...he still limits himself here.

……

"Copperplate printing?"

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang had already reacted, "Do you have any copper coins?"

Su Guiyuan seemed to have really prepared everything. He hurriedly fumbled around in his arms again and took out a copper-engraved seal.

"Your Majesty, I have done engraving before, and then fired the copper liquid and poured it into a copper medal."

"During this period, regardless of the hot or cold environment, copper plate printing is more durable and more convenient than clay and wood."

"Okay!" Zhu Yuanzhang nodded silently.

"You, father and son, gave us a big gift this New Year's Eve!"

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled heartily.

He looked at the envoys again.

Thinking about what Su Xian said before, he couldn't help but continue:
  "Now, all your doubts that need to be explained have been explained."

"Taking advantage of today's New Year's Eve, we will first decide on the five tribes that will cooperate with our Ming Dynasty for the first time."

"Wait, who wants to come first?"

Looking at Tuguer and others, they each looked at each other.

They all seemed to be hesitating, and some even seemed to be unable to bear it any longer.

When Tugu'er saw this, he sighed angrily.

Seeing his expression, several envoys beside him finally suppressed their inner thoughts and did not step forward first.

Tugu'er took a step forward, seemingly with determination.

"Your Majesty! Even so, there is still the final precaution against counterfeiting!"

“No matter how much technology improves, private counterfeiting will continue to be banned.”

See him like this.

Suddenly, a hint of anger rose up in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

If you don't eat the toast, you will be punished with a drink!
  Today, he has shown enough kindness. No matter how hard the bone is, if it cannot be chewed, he will smash it!
  While thinking about it, he was about to speak.

But the next moment...

"Plop!" a sound.

Tugur suddenly knelt down on one knee.

"But I, Tugu'er, only represent the Duogan tribes and am willing to be the first to believe in His Majesty the Ming Emperor!"

"Make a treasure covenant with the Ming Dynasty!"

　Sorry for the late update.

　　This chapter was written a little slowly.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)