Daqin Fusu: It is difficult to start the battle

Chapter 97 Papermaking
The public transportation track rushed forward, worshiped in groups, and then led the crowd forward.

This scene made him feel like he was in an oil mill...

Fusu walked inward, and found that the paper mill in front of him had completely changed from what he saw that day.

The ditch that was originally used to irrigate the farmland was widened, and the slightly turbid Weishui River flowed into it, impacting a huge waterwheel.

Below the shed in the distance is a row of wood-saving stoves made of mud bricks. The bottom of the stove is filled with briquettes, and the hot water in the iron pot on the stove is tumbling and steaming.

Feng Quji took a closer look at the waterwheel in the distance, and asked the public transportation rail: "What is the purpose of setting up the waterwheel here? What is it that is boiling on the pot?"

The public transportation rail cupped his hands and replied: "The prime minister does not know that the raw materials for papermaking can only be used after being boiled and mashed. The water wheel is pulled by the water pestle [duì] used to mash the raw materials."

Young Master Yan of the Shaofu stepped forward to inspect it, nodded his head and said, "The water pestle seems somewhat similar to the foot pestle used for pounding rice."

"Foot pestle?" Neishi Wang He asked.

Gong Ziyan thought about it for a while, but he couldn't remember the name of the little official, so he said lightly: "This is also created by the little official in Anlu who offered the method of public toilet. He was rewarded with 500 coins and a wooden plaque..."

Zhisu Neishi Zheng Guo frowned slightly and questioned: "The water mill does save time and effort, but it is okay to use it to pound rice, but it is not appropriate to use it to smash bamboo pulp.

The minister heard that once the water reel has been in continuous operation for too long, its shaft will be easily worn out and has to be replaced frequently.

It only takes a while to pound rice, but it takes days and years and years to pound bamboo strip pulp. If it stops, it will not be able to keep up with the speed of papermaking, and it will be extremely troublesome to replace..."

Fusu nodded secretly. This is a big guy in engineering. After all, in this era when there were no precise measuring tools, he commanded the construction of the Zhengguo Canal, which was comparable to Dujiangyan, and irrigated tens of thousands of acres of fertile fields in Guanzhong.

It's a pity... Fusu sighed slightly, but didn't say a word.

"What Zhisu Neishi said is absolutely true!" Gong Chugui turned his head, cupped his hands in the direction of Fusu and said, "However, the bearing created by His Majesty has basically solved the burden of frequent shaft replacement!"

Seeing the eyes of everyone looking over, Fu Su smiled and said nothing: I don't produce knowledge, I'm just a porter of knowledge...

The public transportation rail took Feng Quji and others to the side of the water reel, and said, "Different from the foot reel for pounding rice, this thing is called Lianji water reel, and it uses a vertical water wheel structure. Only one water wheel can drive four A water reed, the efficiency has been increased by more than a hundred times!"

"Everyone look here again, this is the core of the water wheel!"

Zheng Guo looked closer tremblingly, and found that the bearings at the core were different from the copper bearings that he usually installed on the wheels of carriages. For the bearings of the water reel, some small columns were added between the bearing bush and the tile cover. It looks like it's made of iron.

The public transport rail explained: "This thing is called a rolling bearing, made of [-]-forged steel, compared with the original copper sliding bearing, it saves ten times the labor, and can run continuously for more than two months!"

The public transport rail explained to them the difference between the two types of bearings. Gong Ziyan, who once worked as a supervisor in the imperial mausoleum, said: "I understand, it is like the logs placed underneath when transporting stones. Thousands of catties of stones , only need a small number of a dozen ministers to drag it!"

Everyone nodded in unison, and after bragging about Rainbow Fart for a while, they continued to read.

The ones erected by the side of the canal are not all water reels, but also stone mills driven by groups of huge gears. The gears bite the gears and are driven by the water wheel outside through the connecting rod, turning rapidly and dazzlingly.

From time to time, a craftsman walks in, brings in the bamboo raw materials that have been steamed and boiled in the pot outside, slowly pours them into the two grinding eyes on the stone mill, and then chisels [zàn] on the contact surface of the stone mill, and arranges them neatly. The teeth of the stone mill are ground, and the slurry flows out from the bottom of the stone mill...

The whole process was easy and pleasant.

Meng Yi, who had seen the making of papyrus, asked, "Is it ready to use after the slurry is flattened and dried?"

The public transportation rail shook his head, pointed to the slurry water slowly flowing into a pool, and said: "The slurry water produced now cannot be used to directly make paper."

"If it is used to make paper, the paper will be loose and porous, with a rough surface, no different from straw paper, and it needs to be beaten again before it can be used."

The public transportation rail pointed to a row of pools in the distance and said, "That's where the paper is made."

Fusu and others followed him in and saw many disabled men busy by the pool.

These people are hermit officials who have been subjected to corporal punishment. The reason why Fusu uses them in large numbers is to find a livelihood for them, and the main reason is that these people's wages are cheap...

At this time, many paper makers put the pounded thick pulp into the pool, stirred and dissolved it, and turned it into a thin slurry.

Then put the bamboo curtain into the pulp and shake it gently to make the pulp evenly settle and form a film, which becomes wet paper.

Then put the bamboo curtain on the paper holder board, lift the bamboo curtain gently, and the wet paper will stay on the board.

Repeating this over and over again, a thick stack of paper is accumulated, and the water is slowly squeezed dry.

The last layer is uncovered, bundled and cut, and it becomes a usable paper.

Several men dressed as craftsmen holding bamboo whips were checking the papermaker's operating procedures. If there were any mistakes, they would stand beside them and explain in detail in a gentle tone.

The paper makers who were working would also listen attentively, and if they themselves made the same mistakes, they would immediately correct them.

Of course, if you encounter a papermaker who makes mistakes repeatedly, the bamboo whip in the hand of the engineer will not be polite.

Fusu turned a blind eye to this. Under the Qin law, if a craftsman fails to teach craftsmen skills on time, the craftsman himself will be punished.

And in this era, fighting is an effective means to solve problems.

There is no need to worry about the beating, because Qin Law also stipulates that if the engineer beats the apprentice to death, he will also be punished in the same way.

Fusu turned his head to look at the public transmission rail, and said, "Within three months, this papermaking workshop needs to train 100 craftsmen who have mastered a full set of papermaking skills. The cast iron workshop in Lantian is the same."

"After the selected engineer is correct in the assessment, he will be rewarded with a thousand coins, and the rank of the noble will be one level."

After Fusu finished speaking, except for the two clan representatives, Gongzi Yan and Gongzi Gun, who frowned slightly, the faces of the other ministers remained unchanged.

It's just a first-class lord, nothing more.

After all, just like a farmer earns a title by farming or a sergeant earns a title by beheading, a craftsman can also earn a title by relying on his craftsmanship.

This is in line with what Shang Jun said about the principle of benefiting from one hole.

After a while, looking at the piles of uncovered, slightly yellowed bamboo paper, Fusu asked everyone: "The family thinks that we should first copy the books in the palace and put them on paper?"

(End of this chapter)