The counterattack of the villains

Chapter 127 Yushu
Papermaking does not happen overnight, and it takes four to five months to produce a batch of paper.

There are eight steps in hand-made paper, the most time-consuming step is the "whitening" step.

This step alone takes two to three months, because the pulp depends on the material, and it is the original color, or off-white, or light yellow, or brown.

In this era without bleaching powder, it can only rely on sunlight until it turns white.

Of course, off-white and light yellow paper can also be used directly, no problem.

But brown is definitely not good, the color itself is darker, and it is hard to read clearly when writing.

The first batch of paper Li Mu still wanted to make white paper, because white paper is the most perfect paper, even more beautiful than silk, so it looks more precious.

In the future, the paper can be graded. White paper is only used by the royal family and the noble class, and it doesn't matter if the output is less.

The scholar-bureaucrats and folks use natural-colored paper. In this era of distinct classes, this approach is more in line with the wishes of the powerful and can make them show their sense of superiority.

Li Mu ordered the establishment of a paper-making workshop in a relatively remote part of the prince's mansion, and mobilized a group of official slaves to be responsible for the collection of materials.

When all the infrastructure of the workshop was ready and the materials were in place, Li Mu picked out one of the bastards to learn papermaking technology from him.

It is impossible for him to be responsible for this matter in the future, so he has to train a person who is dedicated to this matter.

And the concubine, as Fusu's personal attendant, is naturally Fusu's most trusted person.

Regardless of whether it is necessary to work under Fusu, but just his attitude alone will make any boss feel very comfortable.

The craftsmen are all carpenters and strippers in the Prince's Mansion. Papermaking also requires a lot of strength, and those with skills can learn it quickly.

The first step in papermaking is "foaming", that is, soaking the material in water. Depending on the material, this process requires soaking for seven days to half a month.

Bamboo takes the longest time to soak for half a month, straw only takes seven days, and twigs and hemp stems need to soak for ten days.

Straw is the most efficient papermaking method. The natural color paper made from straw is light yellow and can be used directly.

But this era is not like later generations, there are not many straws, so Li Mu has to use all available materials.

On the second day after Meng Tian left, the person he sent to the Prince's Mansion was a deputy general named Xu Yan.

After Li Mu soaked up the materials, he followed Xu Yan to the Mengjia army camp outside the city.

Most of the 30 men of the Meng family army supervised the construction of the Great Wall at the border, and only [-] soldiers and horses were permanently stationed in Xianyang City, dedicated to guarding Xianyang.

Xu Yan also knew that the harness and the rifle were made by Li Mu, so he respected him very much.

Now that he wants to help the Qin army improve their weapons, it is a great joy for these soldiers, so he obeys Li Muyan.

The camp of the Meng family army is located not far from the Weishui River, which is very convenient for Li Mu to do things.

"General Xu, is there a place with strong currents near here?"

Xu Yan immediately replied after hearing the words: "The Wei River has always been gentle, but there is a tributary, the river beach is very shallow, but the water flow is fast."

Li Mu said happily: "Very good, General Xu will call the artisans in the army to come, let's go to the tributary."

"promise."

To improve weapons, we must first improve the method of smelting iron and improve the quality of iron.

The iron smelting method in this era was still "block iron smelting", that is, at a relatively low smelting temperature, iron ore was solid-state reduced to obtain sponge iron, which was then forged to form iron nuggets.

This iron smelting method is not only inefficient, but also the quality of iron is not high.

Li Mu didn't intend to do anything too advanced. Too advanced the productivity and craftsmanship of this era would not be able to keep up, and it would greatly change history.

But even if it is only a few hundred years ahead, reaching the level of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is already quite advanced in this era.

The blast furnace is the foundation of the foundation, and it is not difficult to build. It can be built with clay and stones.

The reason why he was looking for a place with strong water flow was to build a "hydraulic blast furnace", or "water row" for short, which only appeared in the period of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

With this thing, the "steel frying method" and "steel pouring method" can be easily realized.

In this way, the progress of Daqin's transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age will be greatly accelerated.

After the water raft and blast furnace are built, the only thing to do is to wait for the ore and fuel to be in place, which needs to be connected with Shaofu.

But with Fusu personally intervening, the problem is not too big, he has naturally obtained permission from Shihuang, and it should be resolved in a few days.

Li Mu took the opportunity to return to the papermaking workshop and began to preside over the second step of papermaking, "cooking".

At this point, Li Mu started running at both ends, completely busy, and couldn't care about Xiaoyue anymore.

Xiaoyue practiced martial arts alone most of the time, and occasionally found a few familiar guards to learn swordsmanship.

Or go to the pro-barracks, find generals to learn about long weapons and martial arts, and at the same time train riding skills to master the skills of riding and fighting.

Although she has only practiced martial arts for more than a year, how can a martial artist of this era be her opponent?

Xiaoyue soon became famous in the son's mansion, and everyone knew that Zhan Shijun's younger sister was not only beautiful and kind, but also first-class in martial arts.

And because she often hangs out with a group of guards and sergeants, her personality has become more cheerful and generous, and she is even more loved by the people in the mansion.

Fusu seemed to regard her as his own sister, and he also introduced his own sister, Princess Daqin Yingyinman, to Xiaoyue.

This Princess Daqin, who was loved by thousands of people, was brutally murdered and dismembered by Hu Hai in the end, after contacting Xiaoyue, the two quickly became one and became close friends in the boudoir.

Ying Yinman wanted to practice martial arts with Xiaoyue. After Xiaoyue asked Li Mu in private, Li Mu asked her to pass on the moving skills, Dafumo boxing, long sky swordsmanship, and Zhongjia marksmanship of the Yijin forging chapter to her.

Other skills must not be disclosed, not even the princess.

Xiaoyue naturally listened to Li Mu's words completely. If she practiced the exercise for a long time, she could greatly strengthen her muscles and bones and increase her strength, which was enough for this era.

Those kinds of martial arts, even if they don't have internal strength, just relying on their moves are still top-notch martial arts in this world.

At least for the time being, there is no martial art with more subtle moves than these martial arts.

What's more, Ying Yinman is learning martial arts, and she doesn't really want to become a female general who can go to the battlefield. She knows that is unrealistic.

The biggest reason is just to present the treasure in front of the father and get his father's praise.

Days passed day by day, and it took nearly five months for Meng Tian to return.

Tu'anguo is located in the north of Guangyang County, that is, outside the Badaling Great Wall of later generations. It is two thousand four to five hundred miles away from Xianyang, and it is nearly five thousand miles away.

With the traffic conditions of this era, it would take more than three months to go back and forth.

But Meng Tian was seriously injured when he was attacked by Tu'an rebels on his way, and he and Yi Xiaochuan and Yushu spent a period of time recovering from their injuries.

On the way, because of reluctance to give up, I deliberately slowed down the pace of returning to Xianyang, which took so much time.

When Meng Tian left Xianyang for four months, the first batch of white paper and high-quality steel made by pouring steel had already been released.

The so-called steel pouring is to pour the molten pig iron that has been smelted onto the wrought iron that has been fried by the steel frying method.

The steel formed in this way has both the hardness of pig iron and the toughness of wrought iron, and its performance has completely surpassed that of bronze.

Li Mu asked the blacksmith to forge a six-sided iron sword according to the drawings he gave. After testing, its performance crushed the bronze sword.

It has higher hardness and toughness than bronze, but its weight is much lighter than bronze.

A bronze sword weighed seven or eight catties, but a six-faced iron sword weighed only three or four catties. It weighed more than half, but its lethality increased rather than diminished.

The first batch of blank paper and the six-sided iron sword were presented to Shihuang.

The first emperor Longyan Dayue, after trying the performance of the six-sided iron sword, immediately promoted Li Mu's title by two ranks at the request of Fusu.

Now Li Mu's title is Shaoshangzao, also known as Shaoliangzao, which is the No. 15 title of Daqin, and belongs to the high-ranking class.

Meng Tian is now only an eighteenth-rank elder, belonging to the top ministerial class, but has not yet been conferred a Marquis. The Marquis of Daqin is not so easy to get.

Even Wang Jian was conferred the title of Marquis of Che only after he retired, and his title reached its peak.

Fusu himself was greatly appreciated by the First Emperor, who said that he had a good eye for knowing pearls and knew how to use them well.

Li Mu was also summoned by the first emperor, and after a face-to-face meeting, the first emperor found out that he really had a problem in his chest, so he specially granted him the right to follow Fusu to participate in politics.

After Li Mu succeeded in papermaking and steelmaking, Shi Huang ordered the Shaofu to start large-scale papermaking and steelmaking according to the method taught by Li Mu, and Daqin society began to "upgrade" in an all-round way.

From the age of bamboo slips, to the age of paper books, from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.

Based on the improvement of steel quality, Li Mu also invented tools such as iron picks, shovels, and steel drills, which greatly improved mining efficiency, and invented the curved plow to improve farming efficiency.

Almost every once in a while, the Prince's Mansion will report a new invention that is beneficial to the country and the people, and has a profound impact on the entire society.

According to Li Mu's accumulation of credit, it may not be long before he will be promoted again.

Shihuang originally wanted to promote him to the official position and let him take full charge of Daqin's craftsmanship, but Li Mu declined.

He also has a good reason. He is in the position of Zhan Shi in the son's mansion, because he is relatively free, so he has more time to think, so he can create so many things that are useful to Daqin.

If he is entangled in government affairs, I am afraid that he will not have time to think so much.

As soon as the first emperor heard that it was reasonable, he gave up and just rewarded some more treasures.

He expressed high appreciation for Li Mu not being greedy for power, but only for the heart of the country. He was called a model of all officials in front of civil and military officials at the court meeting.

All civil and military officials were convinced of this, after all, they all benefited from Li Mu, at least they didn't have to deal with tens of catties of government affairs every day, and the paper was really nice to use.

……

On this day, Li Mu followed Fusu to court as usual.

Going to court in this era is not like standing like later generations, let alone kneeling. After seeing His Majesty, all civil and military officials knelt on the left and right and sat on the cushion.

Fusu's position was on the right side under the steps, and Li Mu sat kneeling behind him, and three feet away from them was a line of civil servants.

The most important thing in today's court meeting is the audience with Princess Tu'an Yushu.

I saw Meng Tian wearing his helmet and armor, striding along the carpet in the middle to the steps of the throne, knelt on one knee with fists folded and said: "Meng Tian, ​​I greet Your Majesty."

"Aiqing is flat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After Meng Tian got up, he said: "I was ordered to go to Tu'an to meet Princess Yushu. On the way, I was attacked by bandits. After several twists and turns, I finally sent Princess Yushu to Xianyang safely. It took a long time. Your Majesty please punish me."

The First Emperor said: "Aiqing has worked so hard. I almost lost a general of the Qin Dynasty for a woman. I am very relieved that Aiqing can return safely."

Meng Tian clasped his fists and said: "Chen would rather die than disgrace his mission, Princess Yushu is already waiting for the order from His Highness."

The First Emperor nodded in satisfaction, and then said in a deep voice, "I want to see what kind of woman it is that can cause such a big disturbance."

Standing up, a servant sang loudly: "Xuan... Princess Yushu sees you."

All civil and military officials looked towards the entrance of the hall, and so did Li Mu.

The two actresses playing this role are naturally rare beauties, but they are not the real Princess Yushu after all.

Li Mu was really curious about the appearance of Princess Yushu in this world.

He also wanted to see what kind of peerless beauty this woman who fascinated Yi Xiaochuan, Meng Tian, ​​General Tu Anguo and others, who was so favored by the first emperor and wanted to be buried with her after death was.

Princess Yushu, who had already changed into a Daqin costume, stepped into the hall gracefully.

Li Mu, who has sharp ears and eyes, noticed that when the officials in the palace saw Yu Shu, they were all breathless.

Yu Shu is really beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful. Naturally, she is not the face of the actress Bai Bing, but a completely different face.

Princess Yushu played by Kim Hee Sun didn't even show two or three out of ten of her beauty.

In the last scene of the last episode of the show, the aging Yi Xiaochuan looked at Kim Hee Sun's movie poster and said, "You are not as beautiful as her."

It's really not that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but a fact.

Even Li Mu, a reincarnated person who is used to beauties, has to admit that Yu Shu is indeed a peerless beauty.

"Princess Tu'an Yushu, see Your Majesty."

Her voice is also like jade beads rolling on a plate, crisp and sweet, extremely beautiful.

"The princess is flat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Because Shihuang sat higher, Yushu lowered his head slightly, so all the officials kneeling below could see her face, but he couldn't.

So he ordered: "You raise your head."

Yushu raised her head, and the first emperor saw her beautiful face of joy and anger, and said in admiration: "It really is extraordinary and refined, I...can you be a jade beauty."

Hearing Shihuang's words, the military officers in the palace didn't respond, but the civil servants whispered to each other and started discussing in low voices.

Seeing this, Shi Huang's gaze sank slightly, and he looked at Li Si who was kneeling in the first row among the civil servants, and asked, "Prime Minister, what are you talking about?"

Li Si hurriedly got up, walked out of the queue, bowed his fists and said, "Your Majesty, when I saw your mother, I was astonished as a heavenly being, and I kept saying good things for a while."

"However, I want to ask the empress for some advice, and I am afraid that I will offend the empress, so I dare not speak in front of your majesty."

Shihuang smiled and said, "Prime Minister, it's okay to say."

"promise."

Li Si promised, and then said: "Your Majesty, everyone knows that Tu'an is a small border country, far away from the Central Plains, and has not been educated by the Central Plains' rituals and music."

"So, I would like to take this opportunity to ask my mother for some village songs and wild dances, so as to compare whether Daqin's rituals and music are better, or Tu'an Xiaobang's is more beautiful."

As soon as he said this, Meng Tian, ​​who had already stood sideways to the side of the military officer, had a flash of anger in his eyes.

Although Li Si stood in Daqin's position and seemed to have nothing wrong with saying these words, Li Mu still felt a little uncomfortable.

So insulting.

In Li Mu's view, looking down on the small border country so much and insulting it does not reflect the demeanor and sense of superiority of Great Qin.

On the contrary, if the "village singing and dancing" shown by others is indeed no worse than Daqin's ritual and music, wouldn't that be slapping Daqin in the face?

Or get together and let someone beat you.

This Li Si is indeed good at handling government affairs, but unfortunately his emotional intelligence and character are too low, you deserve to be cut in half.

After hearing his words, even the first emperor looked uneasy, and said in a deep voice: "Jade beauty is exhausted from the journey and frightened again, let her rest and rest before we talk!"

Li Si felt the surprise of the First Emperor, and was secretly startled, knowing that His Majesty really fell in love with the princess of this small country, and he flattered himself on the horse's leg.

Immediately bowed and said: "Your Majesty's words are very true, and the ministers have not considered it."

Yushu's counterattack came immediately, and she only heard her soft and gentle way: "Your Majesty, I am not very tired."

"Prime Minister, Tu'an is indeed a small border country, and I am also one of the stupid ones in Tu'an, but I just know a little about the etiquette of the Central Plains."

"If you don't dislike it, Yushu will show it to you."

Li Si didn't dare to make his own claims anymore, but asked the first emperor respectfully: "Your Majesty has such a taste, what do you think Your Majesty would like?"

Seeing this, Shihuang became interested, and said, "Then beauty Yiyu."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Yushu bowed and stepped back temporarily to make preparations.

Not long after, Yushu changed into her dance clothes, and after a little preparation, she went back to the hall.

He didn't think much of it when he watched the drama before, but now that he's watching it in person, Li Mucai has a deep understanding of how superb Yushu's dancing skills are.

After all, she is not a weak lady raised in a deep boudoir, but a princess of a foreign race who is proficient in riding and shooting and has a stronger physique than ordinary people.

In terms of dance alone, Xiaoyue is even weaker.

The most amazing thing is that while she is dancing, she can draw a high-level ink painting on a huge silk with her feet and sleeves.

The most amazing thing is the last drop of blood, dripping on the silk to form a red sun.

When Yushu finished dancing, there was no sound in the hall, and there was a complete silence. Everyone looked at the landscape painting in a daze.

Li Si felt that his face was hot, and he was ashamed today.

Even the first emperor was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses. He called out "Yes" three times in a row, got up and walked down from the throne, stepped forward to help Yushu himself, and praised: "The beauty of Yu is really one of the best."

"Peerless elegance, peerless dancing, and peerless painting."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Mu behind Fusu, and called out, "Gao Qing."

Li Mu got up and walked out from behind Fusu, stood still two zhang away from Shi Huang, bowed his fists and said, "The minister is here."

The First Emperor laughed and said, "I have heard that you have a brilliant literary talent. Your "Fu of Concubine Yu" wowed many literati and regarded it as a classic. I want you to write a Fu for Yumei. How about it?"

Yu Shu looked at Li Mu in amazement, unexpectedly, this man was not good looking, but he was actually a great talent.

Li Mu bowed with a smile and said, "No, the dance of the empress is really an eye-opener for the minister. If you see the Goddess of Nine Heavens, your Majesty's empress is like a treasure. Congratulations."

"Just now when the empress was dancing, I was already full of literary thoughts. Now I have an article "Ode to the Goddess", which I would like to present to the empress."

"Hahahaha..." Shihuang laughed loudly and said, "What Aiqing said really touched my heart, come here, get a pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

Immediately, a servant brought over the desk, covered it with white paper that Li Mu had just made, and polished the ink.

Li Mu stepped forward and knelt down in front of the case, and with a flick of a pen, an "Ode to the Goddess" was completed overnight.

When Li Mu got up, Fu Su took the initiative to go forward and asked for orders to recite this Fu, and Shi Huang readily agreed.

Fusu picked up the white paper, and recited in cadences: "Only the universality of heaven and earth, how can there be such a beautiful woman who produces Qi. The restorative liquid of pottery yin and yang, a god who nurtures young beauty. Inherent in nature, there is no desire, beyond the world, there is nothing like it." group……"

"The hair is like a mirror, and the sideburns are shaved. The quality is pure and bright, without powder and black. Zhu Yan Xiyao, Ye Ruochunhua. Mouth like pills, eyes like waves. Beautiful posture and smile, dimples and wonderful flowers..."

"Yang'e is faint, hanging and wandering. She is graceful and charming, and her actions are more appropriate..."

The military officer's side was in a fog, but the civil servant's side was shaking his head, fascinated.

After hearing this, even Yushu himself felt very embarrassed.

The main reason is that this Fu exaggerates too much, describing her as a peerless goddess who is rare in the sky and unparalleled on the earth.

The first emperor and all the civil servants didn't feel exaggerated at all, just now Yushu's dance deserved such praise.

After Fusu finished reciting, Shihuang said "Yes" three times in a row, and praised: "What a piece of "Ode to the Goddess".

After speaking, she turned around and said to Yu Shu: "Ms. Yu Mei listens to the seal, and I will seal you as Great Concubine Qin Li."

Hearing Shihuang's words, all the officials in the hall shouted in unison: "I wait to congratulate Concubine Li."

……

After the court meeting, Li Mu got a hundred gold coins and a bucket of pearls from the First Emperor.

Li Mu has been an official for less than two years, and the value of his assets has already exceeded ten thousand, and he has truly become a millionaire.

With the purchasing power of coins in this era, Wan Guan is really a huge sum of money.

The most irritating thing is that all his assets are rewarded by His Majesty after he has made contributions, and every penny is innocent, and there is no penny or baht of unknown origin.

Following Fu Su and Meng Tian, ​​who was a bit out of his mind, left Xianyang Palace, Li Mu pondered whether it was time for him to meet Yi Xiaochuan.

(End of this chapter)