Naturally, the actions of Xun Yu, Liu Yu, Cai Yong and others could not be hidden from the eyes of Jin Yiwei. Liu Xiang knew their plans early and also knew that this was Xun You's strategy.
He doesn't care at all.
A short farewell to Zhao Ji was better than a wedding. After a few days of infatuation, he went straight to Lantian.
Lantian County is located in the southeast of Chang'an and is world-famous for its white jade production. Lantian is where the sun warms the jade and produces smoke.
Liu Xiang came here not to inspect the jade mine, he came here to see the paper.
Using bamboo as material, paper was successfully made.
It was not easy. Since the establishment of the bookstore, he had ordered the papermaking workshop to improve the formula. After more than four years, he finally produced high-quality paper suitable for writing.
Originally, the craftsmen were sent to Lantian to set up a pilot workshop just because the bamboo forests in the Qinling Mountains were lush and they wanted to be close to the source of raw materials. Unexpectedly, they gave him a surprise.
Really good.
He smiled and listened to the papermaker's introduction to the process:
"The first step is to chop bamboo to float in the pond. The raw material must be young bamboo. Cut it into two feet in length. Put it in the pond and soak it for more than a hundred days until it becomes soft inside and outside. Then wash off the green skin on the bamboo. In this way, the paper
It can be pure white without any discoloration. In the past, old bamboo was mostly used and the bamboo skin was not removed, which was the main reason for the failure."
The engineer talked eloquently, and Liu Xiang nodded in appreciation.
Seeing the approving look on Shangguan's face, the engineer was in high spirits and introduced even more vigorously: "The second step is to boil the bamboo material over high heat. Put the obtained bamboo material into a vat and cook it with lime for eight days and eight nights to make clinker.
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The third step is to pound the clinker into mud, wash the clinker, put it in a stone mortar, and beat it with a stone hammer until the material is smashed and resembles mud.
The fourth step is to pour the material into the curtain. Pour the broken bamboo material into the water tank and use the bamboo curtain to swish the material in the water. The bamboo material will become a thin layer attached to the bamboo curtain, and the remaining water will flow down the trough from the four sides of the bamboo curtain.
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The fifth step is to cover the curtain and press the paper. Overturn the bamboo curtain and let the wet paper fall on the board to form a large sheet of paper. Repeat the steps of spreading the material and covering the curtain to make thousands of layers of wet paper.
, and then put a wooden board on top of it to squeeze out the slurry water.
The sixth step is to bake through fire, lift the wet paper one by one, and bake it. The place where the paper is baked is made of hollow brick walls to form a tunnel, connected by a flue. After the temperature of the brick wall rises, the wet paper is pasted one by one.
Bake it and dry it. After drying, peel it off to make paper."
The engineer led everyone to the baking room, peeled off a large piece of paper with his own hands, and showed it to Liu Xiang for inspection: "Da Sima, please see, the paper is white and flawless, the surface is delicate, there is no risk of ink scattering, and it is suitable for writing."
Liu Xiang stretched out his hand to take it and inspected it carefully. It was really a large piece of paper, four feet wide and six feet long. If he wanted to bind it into a book, it would have to be cut later.
The paper surface is indeed much finer than the mulberry linen paper of the Han Dynasty. It doesn't feel rough or rough at all, and there is no obvious hairiness. It is smooth and pliable, but a bit thick. It is somewhat similar to modern drawing paper, about three or four sheets.
It's like a millimeter.
As for the theory of being white and flawless, it is actually a bit yellowish. The color should be said to be ivory white. There was no bleaching agent in the Han Dynasty, so it could not be as white as modern paper, but it is still much more beautiful than the khaki mulberry paper.
Well, at least it looks a hundred times better.
"Very good!" Liu Xiang shook the paper in his hand, listened to the crunching sound, and asked with a smile: "Does this paper have a name?"
The engineer knew what was going on, so he quickly clasped his hands and saluted: "Please give me your name, Grand Sima."
There is a future!
Liu Xiang liked this kind of paper that could accomplish things and had good eyesight, so he said: "The paper is white in color and as smooth as jade, so let's call it jade button paper."
"A good name, its paper is like jade, it is famous for knowing things, and the great Sima has great literary talents!"
"With the name given by the Grand Sima, the jade buckle paper will definitely become famous all over the world! We are so honored."
"Lantian produces jade, and now Da Sima has given it the name Jade Button. It complements each other."
The engineers of the papermaking workshop and the officials who came with him, including generals and supervisors, rushed to flatter him.
Haha, Liu Xiang smiled and said nothing. What a good name. Yukouzhi is just an ordinary name. It is just because of his status that it became a praiseworthy and excellent name.
Kou is the unit of measurement for paper, and jade-kou paper means white paper when translated, nothing more.
However, buckles were rarely used in the Han Dynasty, and there was no particularly accurate numerical standard, because no one used paper to write, and there was no habit of burning paper to worship ancestors. Only a handful of people used paper to practice painting.
Therefore, the use of paper is very niche. It is not considered a commodity at all. No one runs a papermaking workshop to make money. The unit of measurement is naturally relatively extensive. The so-called "one buckle" means a handful. It doesn't matter whether the hand is big or small. Whatever you can grab, it counts.
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It’s so willful!
But things are different now. The era of paper books is coming, and measurement units must be rigorous to facilitate commercial transactions.
Liu Xiang felt that he needed to set a standard first. He waved his hand to stop the flattery of the officials and asked the papermaker: "How much money does this piece of paper cost?"
The engineer thought for a while and replied: "A piece of paper costs ten dollars. Because it is a trial, it will consume a lot of manpower and material resources."
Liu Xiang understands this. The costs of laboratory products and mass-produced goods are naturally different.
He continued to ask: "How much can the cost be reduced after formal production?"
"About two big bucks per piece of paper."
A large piece of paper four feet wide and six feet long. If the size of the book is taken into consideration, it should be one foot wide and one foot five inches long. A large piece of paper can be cut into sixteen pieces.
The cost of sixteen pieces of paper and two big bucks is a bit high even if you don't take into account the increase in trafficking.
Now the price of grain under his rule is about fifty yuan per stone, and a pound of grain is less than a big dollar, which is equivalent to a pound of grain for a few pieces of paper. This price is still a hindrance to the promotion of paper books.
Thinking of this, he was a little discouraged. Forget it, we can't ask too high, let's set the standard first. The cost problem will always come down with the increase of skilled workers and the expansion of production scale.
"Five pieces of large paper are used to make a button. Book paper is cut into one foot wide and one and a half feet long, and one button is made into ninety sheets. The papermaking process is recorded in a book, filed by the supervisor, and sent back to the bookstore to start production.
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He thought for a while and then said: "Train skilled craftsmen as soon as possible, and send them to Hanzhong, Mianzhu, Chengdu, and Xiangyang to build workshops and expand production. Order the bookstore secretary to supervise, proofread, and copy the books. From now on, all the books will be replaced with jade buckle paper."
"
"I sincerely obey the order of the Grand Sima." All the officials bowed their hands and obeyed the order.
"The craftsmen of Lantian Workshop were given a title by Chief Cao, and the craftsmen who lived in residence were given titles and apprenticeships. They were rewarded with a thousand coins for hard work. The workshop was expanded five times, and the personnel were mobilized as soon as possible with the general as supervisor."
"Thank you, Sima Long!" Everyone in the papermaking workshop rejoiced and rewarded money and titles. Who would be unhappy? The expansion of the workshop means that the current personnel will inevitably be promoted accordingly. Who can be unhappy?
Amidst cheers, Liu Xiang set off back to Chang'an. He was thinking about printing problems along the way.
The quality of the paper has reached a point where oil fume ink was already available in the Han Dynasty. It only needs to be slightly improved to increase the oil content and it can be used for printing.
As for engraving lettering, is it difficult?
The craftsmen of the Han Dynasty could carve flowers on jujube pits. How difficult is it to carve reverse characters?