Chương 126: Movable Type Printing, Zhen Yao

Uncle Liu watched from the side, wincing with heartache—these are all good laborers; pounding this stuff is too exhausting.

The servants took turns pounding the pulp for a long time until it finally turned into a sticky pulp.

The pounded pulp is poured into a large vat and diluted with water.

The next step is crucial.

Liu Ce had already had a carpenter make a fine bamboo curtain, and now it came in handy.

He demonstrated: "Take a spoonful of pulp, pour it onto the bamboo screen, and gently shake it to spread the fibers evenly."

The pulp is spread in a thin layer on the bamboo screen.

"Then like this..." He slowly lifted the bamboo curtain, and the water flowed away through the gaps, leaving a thin film of pulp.

"Place it in a well-ventilated area to air dry, and peel it off when it's half-dry."

Everyone watched with bated breath.

Half a day later, Liu Ce carefully peeled off the piece of paper—rough and yellowed, but it was indeed a piece of paper! Paper that could be written on!

He drew a circle on it with a charcoal pencil, and the writing was clear.

"It's done!"

Liu Ce laughed loudly, "This paper is lighter than bamboo slips and cheaper than silk! We can use it for printing books, keeping accounts, and writing letters!"

Cai Yan was so excited that her hands were trembling.

She was a talented woman who knew the importance of paper best.

With cheap and easy-to-use paper, knowledge can be spread more widely, and children from poor families will have more opportunities to study!

"My husband..."

She looked at Liu Ce, her eyes filled with admiration, and said, "You're amazing!"

Zhang Ning and Ren Hongchang were also full of amazement.

Liu Ce was secretly pleased: This is nothing.

With paper in hand, Liu Ce thought of movable type printing.

This thing only appeared in the Song Dynasty. Bringing it out now is absolutely a game-changer.

He found jujube wood—its texture is fine and suitable for carving. He cut it into small squares, each one inch square.

Liu Ce explained, "Each character is represented by a block. To print a particular book, you simply select the necessary character blocks and arrange them into a printing plate. After printing, you can disassemble the plate and reuse the character blocks."

The servants were confused, but it sounded very impressive.

Liu Ce began carving the characters. He started with the commonly used ones: Heaven, Earth, Man, Sun, Moon, Stars...

Engraving is a delicate task. He only managed to carve a dozen or so characters after a long time. They were crooked and messy, and his hands were sore.

Cai Yan couldn't bear to watch any longer and took the carving knife: "Husband, let me do it. I write well, so I should be able to carve characters too."

Zhang Ning and Ren Hongchang also helped, one grinding the ink and the other tidying up the wooden blocks.

Working together as a team of three significantly increased the speed.

After carving dozens of characters, Liu Ce decided to test the effect first.

He composed four characters: "Youzhou Taiping".

The characters were arranged and secured with thin wooden strips. Then the ink was prepared—an ink made from pine soot and glue, neither too thick nor too thin.

Dip it in ink and press it onto the freshly made paper.

Lift it up and take a look...

The characters were crooked and the ink had smudged, making it a mess.

"Uh..." Liu Ce scratched his head.

Cai Yan covered her mouth and laughed: "Husband, it seems... not very successful."

"Don't rush, don't rush."

Liu Ce adjusted the spacing between the characters and diluted the ink again.

"Let's try it again."

The second time, the characters were clearer, but still a bit crooked.

Third time, fourth time...

On the seventh attempt, the four characters "Youzhou Taiping" were finally printed clearly and neatly.

"It's done!" Liu Ce held up the paper, as excited as a child.

Cai Yan and the other two came over to take a look and were all amazed.

"If this were printed as a book..."

"Cai Yan calculated, 'It used to take half a month to copy a book, but this thing can print dozens of copies a day, right?'"

"more than."

Liu Ce continued, "Once you get the hang of it, you could write hundreds of books a day."

Zhang Ning's eyes sparkled: "Husband, with this, we can print many books so that more children can read and learn to read!"

Ren Hongchang whispered, "They can also print storybooks... I've heard that the storybooks from Luoyang are really good, but they're expensive, I can't afford them."

(The story was written in advance.) Liu Ce laughed heartily: "Print! Print everything! Print the Four Books and Five Classics, print vernacular novels! We in Youzhou not only need to be well-fed and clothed, but also cultured!"

The autumn wind swept through the backyard, carrying the bitter smell of paper pulp, the salty aroma of salt, and the faint fragrance of wine wafting from the earthenware jar.

Liu Ce stood in the courtyard, looking at his "scientific achievement," feeling incredibly proud.

Once these technologies are widely adopted, the economy of Youzhou will be revitalized.

Fine salt can be sold for money, fine wine can be sold for money, and paper and printing are even more profitable industries.

In addition, there was Shen Wansan's business acumen...

"I'm rich! I'm rich!" Liu Ce thought to himself happily.

...

On the third day after Liu Ce started his invention, Zhen Yao arrived in Zhuojun.

Liu Ce received him at the governor's mansion.

Zhen Yao was in his early twenties, handsome and well-mannered.

"I am Zhen Yao, and I pay my respects to the Marquis of Champion!" Zhen Yao bowed.

"No need for formalities."

Liu Ce smiled and helped him up, "We're all family, no need to be so polite."

After exchanging pleasantries, Liu Ce pulled out his trump card—the imperial edict bestowing marriage upon him by Liu Hong.

"Take a look at this." He handed the imperial edict to Zhen Yao.

Zhen Yao respectfully accepted it and unfolded it to take a look.

Then his eyes widened.

The imperial edict stated in black and white: "The five daughters of the Zhen family, Zhen Jiang, Zhen Tuo, Zhen Dao, Zhen Rong, and Zhen Mi, are granted to Marquis Liu Ce as concubines."

It bears the emperor's jade seal; there's no way to fake it.

Zhen Yao's hands trembled: "This... this is..."

"His Majesty personally bestowed the marriage upon us."

Liu Ce smiled and said, "Now you understand why I called you here, right?"

Zhen Yao was so excited that he couldn't speak.

The emperor bestowed this marriage upon them! What an honor! Although the Zhen family was wealthy, they were, after all, merchants and did not hold a high social status.

Now, marrying the Marquis of Champion, with the Emperor acting as matchmaker, immediately changes one's status!

He composed himself and bowed respectfully: "The Zhen family is deeply grateful for Your Excellency's kindness!"

"We're family, let's not talk about these things."

Liu Ce waved his hand and said, "I called you here for two reasons: first, to let you see this imperial edict, and second, to ask your Zhen family to move to Zhuojun."

"Move to Zhuojun?" Zhen Yao was taken aback.

"right."

Liu Ce nodded and said, "Youzhou is in dire need of rebuilding right now, and it's exactly the time when we need people. If your Zhen family moves here, I'll give you an official position. By the way... bring Jiang'er and the others over as well."

He paused, then added, "Also, I've recently developed a new wine that tastes quite good, similar to the one I had at the Zhen family's residence in Wuji County last time. Once you move here, we'll entrust part of the wine business to your Zhen family. What do you say?"

Zhen Yao's mind raced: moving to Zhuojun, although Youzhou was in chaos now, with the Marquis of Champion protecting him, safety wouldn't be a problem; being granted an official position would be a matter of bringing glory to his ancestors; and the new wine business would be extremely profitable...

"My lord!"

Zhen Yao stood up, bowed deeply, and said, "The Zhen family is willing to move! I will immediately return to inform my father and move here as soon as possible!"

"good!"

Liu Ce nodded in satisfaction and said, "When you return, I will have General Cheng Yaojin escort you with two hundred Xuanjia Iron Cavalry. Firstly, for your safety, and secondly... to bolster your prestige."

Zhen Yao felt even more at ease—with the Marquis of Champion's elite troops escorting them, the journey would be absolutely safe.