White-robed Minister

Chapter 241, page 0239: [The Maturation of Movable Type Printing]

Today, Shen Kuo is taking Xu Lai to a place called "Guangbei Siege Workshop". It used to belong to the East and West Eight Workshops, but Wang Anshi separated it to specialize in manufacturing military equipment. It can be understood as the "Great Song Dynasty Weapon Research and Manufacturing Bureau".

"Is the gunpowder factory also located in this area?" Xu Lai asked.

Shen Kuo nodded and said, "They're all in this area."

The Guangbei Siege Operation, which was formed after the separation, was not far from the house that Xu Lai used to rent, in the northwest of the outer city of Tokyo.

If the gunpowder machine were to explode, the nearby civilians would certainly suffer, and the entire Zhao Song imperial family would be thrown into the air. This was because Emperors Yingzong and Shenzong relocated all the imperial family members to live in a concentrated area nearby.

"Aren't you afraid of an explosion?" Xu Lai asked.

Shen Kuo replied, "Yes, I am afraid. But gunpowder is a closely guarded secret of the Song Dynasty, and it's impossible to move the gunpowder factory outside the city. A few years ago it was even more frightening; the gunpowder factory was right next to the imperial city, and that's the result of the factory being moved."

Xu Lai said, "I must petition His Majesty to relocate the gunpowder factory. How can such a thing be kept in a residential area within the city?"

Shen Kuo laughed and said, "Your words are more useful than mine."

As they spoke, the two arrived at Jin Huo Zuo.

Today is a day off, and the officials are on holiday, but some clerks are on duty and the craftsmen are still working.

Shen Kuo pointed to a pile of raw materials and said, "This is lead, this is tin, and this is antimony. We mainly use these to make movable lead type. In one formula, I also added a small amount of copper."

Ancient Chinese people created many lead, tin, and antimony alloys.

For example, it's a lead-tin alloy that looks similar to silver. It's a classic case of "a silver spearhead"—that's what they mean by this stuff.

Shen Kuo took out four or five lead alloys, selected two of them, and said, "These two are the most suitable. Considering everything, the one in my left hand is the most suitable, with 73% lead, 9% tin, and 18% tin alloy. Its hardness and wear resistance are not the highest, but it is not too brittle and easy to break. Moreover, it has excellent toughness and is easy to cast."

As he spoke, Shen Kuo smiled broadly: "I also tried casting this kind of movable lead type using the sand casting method, and the characters are very clear!"

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"So, you mean we don't need to carve each type individually, we can just use the master mold to cast them?" Xu Lai asked happily.

Shen Kuo nodded: "Yes. Just like casting copper coins, wooden molds can be reused."

Given the technological limitations of the Northern Song Dynasty, direct casting with copper movable type would have been extremely difficult, but using lead alloys would have been much simpler.

This is related to the metal's melting point, casting fluidity, and solidification shrinkage rate.

When casting movable lead type, the master mold doesn't even need to be made of copper; hardwoods like boxwood can be used directly. Hardwoods are easier to carve than copper, and they are also cheaper.

This is something that copper movable type cannot do, because the temperature of molten copper is too high, and it will char instantly when poured onto the wooden mold.

Xu Lai then asked, "Where's the ink?"

Shen Kuo led Xu Lai to a warehouse and pointed to three barrels of ink, saying, "These three barrels of ink are made with tung oil, sesame oil, and..."

Made from rapeseed oil.

"What about the results and costs?" Xu Lai asked.

Shen Kuo explained in detail: "Sesame oil is the most expensive, followed by tung oil, and rapeseed oil is the cheapest. For making ink, tung oil is the best choice, followed by sesame oil, and rapeseed oil is the worst."

Ink made with tung oil dries quickly during printing and maintains the most stable ink color.

Ink made from rapeseed oil is not suitable; it dries slowly and the ink color will become lighter and lighter over time.

The ink properties of sesame oil are between the two, but it is the most expensive.

Tung oil is still the most effective!

Shen Kuo excitedly added, "The ink blotting for woodblock printing needs to be aged for three or four years before it can be dissolved in water and used for printing. However, ink made with tung oil only needs to be aged for a few days, and aging for more than half a month is ideal."

What does this mean?

This means that the production cycle of woodblock printing ink can be as long as three or four years, during which time it also needs to be stored in a warehouse.

The ink needed for movable type printing can be produced in less than a month!

However, it is not as convenient to transport and store because ink is in a liquid state, while water-based ink can be made into solid ink globules.

It can actually be even faster.

Adding lead oxide during ink production eliminates the need for a longer aging process (more than half a month), allowing the ink to be used within hours. Furthermore, the ink dries much faster during printing.

Ancient Chinese people did produce lead oxide, commonly known as "limonite." It was highly toxic, and Taoist priests used it to refine elixirs!

Shen Kuo never even considered adding lead oxide.

Actually, it's better not to add it, otherwise it would affect the lifespan of ink makers. It would just mean aging it for another half month.

"Bring me lead type and ink, and come with me to the palace," Xu Lai said impatiently.

Making money was not on Xu Lai's mind at all, nor did he have the time or energy to open a printing shop.

If this invention were presented to the emperor, it could be quickly promoted throughout the country. The resulting political and public impact would far outweigh any amount of money earned.

Moreover, it was the most convenient place to utilize the resources of the imperial court. From smelting alloys to carving master molds and casting movable type, the entire process could be handled at the Mint.

The technology, craftsmen, equipment, and raw materials are all readily available!

There was a mint in Tokyo.

Xu went home briefly and picked up a few calligraphy books.

Because they were accompanied by servants who were carrying movable type and ink, they were stopped by the imperial guards at Donghua Gate.

Xu Lai cupped his hands and said, "Please inform them that Shen Junqi and I are presenting something beneficial to the country and its people."

Knowing that Xu Lai was a favorite of the emperor, the guards dared not be negligent. They immediately sent one of them to report, while the rest checked the movable type and ink.

After waiting for a full half hour, a palace attendant finally came out and invited Xu Lai and Shen Kuo inside. The servants were sent away, and the movable type and ink were taken away by the imperial guards.

After they entered the palace, they were led to a side hall to wait.

Inside the main hall, Prime Minister Zeng Gongliang was bidding farewell to the emperor. This time, his resignation was quite thorough; he was even unwilling to continue serving as a local official, retaining only honorary positions such as Minister of Works, Attendant-in-Ordinary, and Military Governor.

After Zeng Gongliang left, Xu Lai and Shen Kuo were invited into the main hall.

Since he had brought Shen Kuo with him, Zhao Xu asked upon meeting him, "Have you created any new military equipment? Last month, I personally inspected the earth-shaking mines, which are truly powerful weapons for defending the city."

Shen Kuo replied, "I am indeed working on improving the earth-shattering mine, intending to change the clay shell to a cast iron shell, which would make it easier to transport and store. However, the item presented today is actually the idea of ​​Scholar Xu."

Zhao Xu laughed heartily and said, "The firearms were the work of both of you; one came up with the idea, and the other manufactured them. What treasure is it this time?"

Xu Lai took out the booklet and said, "It's for education and culture."

Shen Kuo also pointed to the guard holding the movable type: "During the Qingli era, there was a craftsman named Bi Sheng in Hangzhou who used clay and wood to print books using movable type. However, due to too many defects, it did not spread widely. Now, your servant and Scholar Xu have improved these defects."

Zhao Xu got up out of curiosity to observe the movable type and ink.

There are only a dozen or so movable type pieces at present, all of which are hand-carved.

After examining the movable type, Zhao Xu scrutinized the ink: "Is this ink?"

Shen Kuo explained: "Clay movable type is easily damaged, wooden movable type is easily deformed, and copper and lead movable type do not hold ink. Scholar Xu said that oil can easily adhere to objects, so I used tung oil to make ink. I also studied the proportions to make lead movable type."

Xu Lai said, "Your Majesty, the Mint can cast movable lead type. The same master mold can be used to cast movable type repeatedly. I have calculated that if this method becomes widespread, the price of books can be halved. In particular, in the future, when the official gazette is issued, there will be no need for clerks to copy it; it can be printed in large quantities directly. Announcements from prefectures and counties can also be printed."

After listening, Zhao Xu did not speak, but instead pondered its enormous influence.

Xu Lai continued, "In the future, in addition to minting coins, local mints will also be able to mint movable type to sell to booksellers. This will also generate a significant amount of revenue for the imperial court and local governments."

17

"Let's give it a try first," Zhao Xu said.

Shen Kuo immediately took action and explained, "Today's equipment is rudimentary. When printing, rosin and other substances are needed to fix the printing plate—Your Majesty, please try it."

Shen Kuo handed the emperor two brushes and taught Zhao Xu how to use movable type printing.

Zhao Xu was having a great time.

Because there was no fixed plate, the printed characters were crooked and uneven, but the ink of each character was very clear.

Zhao Xu praised, "This is truly a fine item."

Xu Lai presented his self-compiled character book: "I have hired someone to compile a list of characters from books on the market, categorizing them into commonly used, urgently needed, and suitable characters."

The fourth category was rarely used. When casting movable type, the most commonly used characters were cast, and the least rarely used characters were cast. This made it convenient for craftsmen to use and also reduced printing costs.

"This method is ingenious," Zhao Xu said, flipping through the book of characters. "What kind of script is this?"

Xu Lai said, "Song typeface. The font used in the Song Dynasty, specifically for printing. This font has many advantages—"

Zhao Xiang listened attentively and was quite pleased with the Song typeface. This was not only because of its practical effectiveness, but also because it could showcase his achievements in civil administration.

It's in Song typeface!

Xu Lai then said, "The font sizes of books on the market vary, but they can generally be divided into large, medium, and small sizes. I suggest that the court set a standard that the mint should ensure that each movable type is the same size and that the characters on it are of uniform size when casting movable type. In this way, if a batch of movable type is damaged, it can be purchased and replaced at any time."

Standardized movable type.

Xu Lai continued, "The size of the printed type should also be determined by His Majesty: large, medium, and small. We'll leave the woodblock printing aside for now; movable type printing must meet the court's standards."

There's no need to force a brand name; businesspeople will follow it on their own.

Initially, movable type was minted by mints in various regions and then sold to booksellers. Subsequently, when booksellers needed a particular type, they would contact the mints to restock.

In the future, even if someone privately mints movable type, it will naturally have to meet the standards; otherwise, it will not be compatible with the official movable type.

Zhao Xu pondered Xu Lai's words and found them increasingly useful.

Moreover, the emperor's decree on the specifications and size of movable type was undoubtedly a testament to his civil achievements.

Xu Lai then brought up punctuation marks, which Zhao Xu wasn't very interested in, believing they were optional. However, after Xu Lai's repeated persuasion, he finally agreed to use colons, commas, and periods.

Following this, Zhao Xu made the following decision:

First, Xu Lai, Shen Kuo, and the craftsmen who participated in the research and development were rewarded. Even Wang Hou received a reward of ten strings of cash. Xu Lai and Shen Kuo were also promoted and rewarded with money and silk.

Xu Lai's honorary official rank was promoted three levels, and his previous demotion was reinstated. His subordinate post was upgraded from Academician of the Baowen Pavilion to Academician of the Tianzhang Pavilion, directly becoming Academician of the Longtu Pavilion.

The next promotion would be that of a Privy Councilor.

If he continues to be promoted, the word "straight" can be removed.

Shen Kuo's official rank was promoted by one level, his honorary rank by two levels, and his post-official position was promoted to Compiler of the Imperial Academy (a senior post-official position).

Second, Zhao Xu ordered the mint in the capital to cast movable type and recruited one hundred craftsmen to carve movable letter plates.

Third, Zhao Xu summoned the official in charge of ink affairs who was closest to the capital and instructed him to obtain the ink-making techniques from Shen Kuo, purchase ink from ink shops, and procure ink.

Fourth, have historians try using punctuation to break down the Analects with annotations.

Xu Lai was inexplicably promoted again. Although his official rank wasn't officially promoted, he was now promoted to the highest rank of Academician. This greatly surprised many officials. The emperor's reason was that he had contributed to the promotion of education, but no one could see any merit in that.

Some people knew they were working on movable type printing, but most officials questioned it.

However, people are more concerned about something else.

At the court assembly, the emperor issued an edict to promote Xu Lai to the position of Deputy Privy Councilor.

"Your Majesty, I have a objection. Xu Lai is inexperienced and too young; he is unsuitable to be the Deputy Privy Councilor!"

The newly appointed Imperial Censor Yang Hui stepped forward.

The position of Imperial Censor has been changed frequently in the past two years, all because of those who were demoted for opposing Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi was simply too hasty in promoting officials, with various promotions exceeding the allotted time, which inevitably drew opposition from the Censor-in-Chief. This was also the case this time; Yang Hui was willing to be demoted and sent out of the capital rather than allow Xu Lai to become the Vice-Chancellor of the Privy Council.

Before the second censor could speak, Xu Lai stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty's knowledge is limited, and I urge you to select other capable individuals. I also have objections to the reform of the imperial examination system; I request that the quota for candidates from Kaifeng be reduced. For candidates from other regions, I request that the quota be strictly adhered to!"

These words immediately stirred up a hornet's nest.

The position of Deputy Privy Councilor was no longer the focus.

Wang Anshi's expression was bewildered; he hadn't expected Xu Lai to be so forceful. He also wanted to reduce the quota for Kaifeng's tax collection, but the resistance was too great, and even the reform faction couldn't reach a consensus.