On the third day of the first lunar month, everyone in Chang'an and the world was immersed in the festive atmosphere of the New Year, but Wei Jiansu and Gao Shi appeared at Huaqing Palace to apologize.
According to the original plan, the printing should be successful before the end of December, and then the first Tang Dynasty Xunbao would be issued on the first day of the first lunar month.
Unexpectedly, during the final review period on December 25, Emperor Li Ye changed the registration from "Tang Dynasty X-day Journal" to "Tang Dynasty X-term Journal". Li Ye believed that the newspaper must be published every day. If it is done
You can't call a newspaper if it's not published every day, you can only call a magazine.
Although Gao Shi believes that there is no difference between newspapers and periodicals, in the past "Kaiyuan Miscellaneous News" was published once a month. Wasn't it called a newspaper differently?
Later, Wei Jiansu reminded him that maybe the emperor just didn't want to be the same as "Kaiyuan Miscellaneous News", so Gao Shi came to his senses and changed his registration to "Tang Dynasty Xun Issue".
But the problem lies in the word "published". There is no such word in the movable type, so one has to be carved. The craftsman who was responsible for cutting the movable type returned to his hometown in Chencang County during the Spring Festival and could not come back for a while, so a new craftsman came to cut it.
As a result, this craftsman had no experience in cutting movable type for the first time, and his skills were slightly inferior. As a result, the fine size did not match the original movable type. When printing, the word 'journal' came loose, and ink got into the gap, resulting in the "Tang Dynasty"
A ball of ink appeared on the words of "Xunkan".
After struggling for two days, the problem could not be solved. Gao Shi had no choice but to send people on fast horses to Chencang County early on the first day of the Lunar New Year to get the original craftsmen back. In this way, he would not be able to make it in time for the publication on the first day of the first lunar month.
Already.
Li Ye looked at the masthead that failed to be printed. The word "Publication" was stained with ink and was difficult to read.
Of course, Li Ye understood that this was actually his own problem. His request to change his name was made too late, which prevented them from preparing in time.
Li Ye thought for a moment and asked: "If it is changed to "Tang Dynasty Xun Bao", will it be printed in time?"
Gao Shi nodded, "It should be okay!"
Li Ye pondered for a moment and said: "Let's do it! It will be released early on the sixth day of the first lunar month and distributed to all officials in front of the Daming Palace. Then the release time will still be the first day of the first lunar month. Try to complete the modifications in these two days. If you really can't make the changes, then you can.
Use the "Tang Dynasty Xun Bao" to print three thousand copies first. If there are more than one left, send them to the county offices of each state in the Tang Dynasty. If there are any left, distribute them to the Imperial Academy and retired officials."
Gao Shi quickly bowed and saluted, "I obey your order!"
Li Ye smiled and said: "Also, let me give you a suggestion. Movable type can be large or small. A single type can have one character, but it can also contain dozens of characters. For example, the masthead of "Tang Dynasty Xunkan" can be engraved into
It’s a complete engraving, it’s also a movable type! It’s just bigger.”
Gao Shi patted his forehead, feeling a little like crying, "Weichen is so stupid that he didn't think of this method."
Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "The authorities are confused, but bystanders are wise! There is no need for Gao Shijun to blame himself. Go back and prepare quickly. The first copy will still be on the first day of the first lunar month, the second copy will be on the 11th, and the third copy will be on the 21st."
"Wei Chen understands, Wei Chen resigns!"
Wei Jiansu and Gao Shi stood up to leave. Li Ye asked them to leave the damaged newspaper. He wanted to read the content.
The two said goodbye and left. Li Ye looked through the newspaper. The paper used was relatively thick and printed on both sides. Except for the damaged masthead, the other contents were very regular and the handwriting was very clear. It could be seen that Gao Shi had put in a lot of effort.
.
Li Ye suddenly thought of thread-bound books and thread-bound books. The book binding method that only appeared in the Song Dynasty can definitely appear now.
At this time, Queen Dugu Xinyue walked into the study with a cup of tea. Li Ye smiled and said: "Madam, come and take a look at this!"
Dugu Xinyue put down the tea cup, took the newspaper and read it again, smiling slightly and said: "These contents are too boring. Except for the various market prices, which interest me a little, the rest are not interesting. I am afraid only court officials will like it!"
"
"This is just a test. At the beginning, after the printing technology is solved, I estimate that next year! The daily newspaper will be published. At that time, it will not only be read by all the officials of the court, but also a special daily life page will be published to teach how to cook, how to take care of children, and how to
Clothing making, how to put on makeup, etc., as well as all kinds of gossip about Chang'an's parents, this is a newspaper specially for housewives."
Dugu Xinyue smiled and said: "I like this kind of newspaper, hurry up and print it out!"
Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Be patient and wait. It will be available when the printing technology matures."
Gao Shi hurried back to the printing office in Yongxingfang. The previous cutter had already rushed back from Chencang. As soon as Gao Shi entered the door, the steward of the printing office came up to him and said, "Your Majesty, the problem has been solved."
Gao Shi was overjoyed and asked quickly: "What caused it?"
"The materials used were wrong. The first-level engraving plate was used before, but the third-level engraving plate was used later. The cutting temperature was also a little different, so it would become loose."
Printing and engraving are very demanding, because it is necessary to prevent the wood from expanding due to thermal expansion and contraction, causing the font to crack and destroying the entire engraving. Wood cannot be used that is too hard or too soft. Usually camphor or beech wood is used, and then it needs to be soaked.
Oil for half a year, and then leave it to dry in the shade for half a year. It is best to soak it three times and dry it three times, but it is difficult to wait for time.
So most of them are soaked and aired, which is the third-level engraving. Two soaking and two-drying is the second-level engraving. The best first-level engraving is three-dip and three-drying, which will not crack after decades of use.
In addition to using first-grade carved boards as raw materials, making movable type also requires very sophisticated skills in cutting and polishing. When the movable type cut by the most skilled craftsmen is put together, water will not soak into the puzzle pieces if water is poured on them. The joints must be tight to this extent.
In this way, the printing will be beautiful, neat and clear.
The old craftsmen who rushed back spent a full half day making a complete masthead type according to Gao Shi's requirements.
At night, Gao Shi and a dozen newspaper officials watched nervously as a printer carefully laid out white paper and started printing.
The first complete newspaper was printed. Gao Shi and the officials read it carefully. There was no problem at all. It was finally successful. Everyone cheered with excitement.
The next step was mass printing. Gao Shi prepared a total of thirteen sets of movable type and typesetting, and more than a dozen skilled printers started working together. Three thousand copies of "Tang Dynasty Xunkan" could be printed in one day.
The New Year's Day was held on the fifth day of the first lunar month. More than 3,000 officials in Beijing who were ninth grade or above gathered in the Hanyuan Hall. Zhang Li, the left prime minister, loudly read the emperor's New Year's message and announced that the reign name would be the third year of Jiaxing.
The New Year's Day is just a retreat ceremony. It does not talk about specific government affairs, but it mentions several reform directions in the New Year's Prospects, which makes everyone think about it.
One is to develop overseas, which everyone is not deeply impressed by. The second is the development of Liaodong, which is not deeply impressed by everyone. What everyone is interested in is the third one, which is to increase officials’ salaries appropriately, which makes everyone secretly happy. If the finances are sufficient, wages will be raised.
Who wouldn’t be happy!
The fourth is the reform of the county-level official system, and the last is the reform of the imperial examination and education.
These two reforms also attracted the attention of officials.
After the imperial dynasty, officials all gathered together at major restaurants in Chang'an to have dinner together. The advantage of canceling the New Year's banquet was that everyone could take advantage of this rare opportunity to get together, unlike the previous New Year's banquets where people sat according to departments.
Together, we don’t dare to talk nonsense, don’t drink alcohol randomly, and we have to look at the boss’s face all the time, not to mention how uncomfortable it is.
Now everyone gathers separately to drink, which is more casual and there is no need to look at the boss's face.
At noon, all the major restaurants in Chang'an were filled with officials attending the New Year's Ceremony, first the Danfeng Restaurant, and then the major restaurants in Pingkangfang.
The Wude Restaurant in Pingkangfang is already fully occupied. The Wude Restaurant is still the property of the Dugu family. Except for the Baoji Cabinet Shop, which was handed over to Li Ye, the Dugu family keeps other properties for themselves.
In a private room on the third floor, a group of officials from the Ministry of Etiquette were gathering together to drink.
Liu Qiming, a member of the Ministry of Etiquette, sighed: "It's a pity that the temples are closed. Otherwise, wouldn't it be nice for us to go to the temples to drink?"
Another doctor from the Ministry of Rites, Li Zunyi, sneered: "Everyone dislikes the abolition of slavery, but the abolition of slaves and prostitutes is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so everyone praises the wiseness of the saint. You are sorry, I really don't understand."
You, do you hope that one day you will be found guilty of a crime and your wife and daughter will be turned into a prostitute?"
"good!"
Another member of the Communist Party of China, Qin Kun, slapped the table and said, "Yes, this is indeed the most popular of all reforms. If one person breaks the law, everyone will be punished. Innocent family members will not be held accountable. This is the one I most approve of among the abolition of slavery."
At this time, Zhou Rong, the doctor who had been silent, drank the wine in his glass and said coldly: "Stop praising the abolition of slavery. Go home and check yourself! The knife has been pulled out, don't become a knife."
