Prime Minister of Great Qin

Chapter 401 Rules must be observed and broken! (Please subscribe)

Hearing Ji Heng relent, Hu Hai's face lit up with joy.

He knew that Ji Heng would not ignore him.

And he really needs a title. In the past, when the young master was high and the young master was making plans, he was a little dissatisfied.

Now, as he understands his status more and more, he feels more and more that the decision made by Young Master Gao and others was correct, and he also regrets his rashness.

Textbooks such as "Yu Shu" and "Arithmetic" compiled by Gongzi Gao and others only received the title of "Bu Geng".

But the title of "Bu Geng" is actually already very high.

Although in Hu Hai's opinion, the role and influence of textbooks such as "Yu Shu" and "Arithmetic" go far beyond just being awarded a low-level title like "Bu Geng", this is an order from his father and he has no way to refute it. .

now.

He didn't have many demands for a title.

At least Shangzao.

Because of Shangzao, he can be exempted from crime. In real terms, he is now a white man. If he is punished as a prisoner in the future, with the title of Shangzao, he can still regain his freedom and avoid being imprisoned.

He now feels an inexplicable sense of crisis.

Hu Hai looked at Ji Heng happily and asked: "What are you going to ask me to do? I'm afraid I won't be able to do what the second brother and the others are doing. The quantity is too big. I'm only one person, and my requirements are not very high." , get a high-ranking title, if it can be higher, it will be even better."

Hu Hai expressed his needs.

Ji Heng glanced at Hu Hai with a playful expression, and said helplessly: "How can I decide what title the imperial court will grant? I think the "Book of Yus" compiled by Gongzi Gao and others is enough to make a prince, but the imperial court will grant him a title. Are you ready?"

Hu Hai coughed lightly, with a hint of embarrassment on his face: "That's impossible."

"Just try to help me think more."

Ji Heng nodded, thought for a moment, and accidentally caught a glimpse of the bamboo slips placed in front of Ying Si Nian. He touched his chin, a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and said lightly: "There really is one."

"What is it?" Hu Hai said happily.

Ji Heng asked: "Can you weave cloth?"

"Weaving." The smile on Hu Hai's face froze, he shook his head simply, and whispered: "That is something made by a woman. I am still a man, and this thing is not good."

"Not learn."

"You can learn." Ji Heng said seriously.

Hu Hai continued to shake his head.

If he were to learn weaving, wouldn't he become a laughing stock if word spread about it?

How could he bear this kind of stimulation?

Hu Hai directly shook it into a rattle, with resistance written all over his face.

Ji Heng said calmly: "The weaving I am talking about is not weaving like women, it is just similar to weaving. If you change the term, you can also call it 'paper making'."

"Papermaking?" Hu Hai glanced at Ji Heng suspiciously, a little doubtful: "What is this?"

Ji Heng thought for a moment, thinking about how to speak more carefully.

After a while.

Ji Heng said: "Have you seen Bubo?"

Hu Hai's face darkened and he said speechlessly: "How can I never see this before? I'm wearing it."

"Where's the sheepskin?"

"Of course I've seen it before," Hu Hai said.

"Where's the bark?"

Hu Hai's face turned darker.

Did he feel that Ji Heng had some misunderstanding about him?

Even if he is industrious and indifferent to grains, he still doesn't know what bark is, right?

Hu Hai hummed: "I know."

"You can write on cloth, and you can write on sheepskin, but did you know that you can also write on some tree bark?" Ji Heng asked again.

Hu Hai frowned.

He really didn't know this.

But after thinking about it in his mind, he nodded seriously.

He said: "The bark should be able to be written on, after all, the inside seems to be quite white."

"What does this have to do with the papermaking you're talking about?"

"And weaving."

"Listen slowly first." Ji Heng glanced at Hu Hai and continued: "Go find some bark, hemp heads, rags, old fishing nets and other objects, find a place where the water flow is not too fast, and bundle these things It's better to throw them in, wait until these things are soaked in water and whiten, then fish them out, cut them into pieces with scissors, smash them with a wooden hammer, or grind them with a stone."

"It ends up being a pulp."

“Then use some bamboo braid to net the wood pulp.”

"When the wood pulp dries, it becomes paper."

Hu Hai opened his eyes wide.

He sounded confused.

finally.

He still couldn't help but said: "What is that?"

"Paper!"

"Paper?"

Seeing this, Ji Heng shook his head and just described it verbally. It was difficult for Hu Hai to think clearly. He just said: "You first do it according to the method I told you. Although you may fail many times, you should be able to succeed in the end."

"The whole process is actually just like weaving."

“But cloth is simpler, just weaving threads together.”

“And papermaking is much more sophisticated.”

"What is woven is wood pulp, or some wood chips, and the wood pulp is naturally spread into a smooth layer."

"Let it dry and it's done."

"Is this really possible?" Hu Hai looked surprised.

He felt that Ji Heng himself was a little unsure.

"it should be OK."

"What do you mean it should be okay?" Hu Hai looked unhappy.

Ji Heng said with a smile: "Master will lead you in. Cultivation depends on oneself."

"I can only provide you with a solution. Whether it succeeds or fails depends on your intentions."

Hu Hai looked at Ji Heng.

He always felt that Ji Heng was fooling him.

He asked: "What is the use of this paper you are talking about?"

Ji Heng pointed his hand forward and said, "Have you seen that bamboo slip?"

"I saw it."

"How much does a bamboo slip cost?"

"The cost of a bamboo slip is about three to one and a half taels of Qin." Hu Hai said.

Ji Heng said: "Where are the bark, hemp heads, rags, and old fishing nets?"

"Probably not very valuable." Hu Hai said uncertainly.

Ji Heng said: "A book is composed of more than a hundred bamboo slips, and the text on it is about four to five thousand words. If it is written on suitable sheepskin, only two or three sheepskins may be enough."

"And this paper replaces the parchment."

"You can think of it as substituting tree bark for the more expensive sheepskin."

"It's just that the bark is too smooth, and when ink falls on it, it easily loses its shape. Therefore, the bark needs to be crushed again and re-woven into a rough but relatively smooth layer."

"In this way, you can write directly with ink."

Hear the words.

Hu Hai was thoughtful.

He said solemnly: "Can this paper really have the effect of sheepskin?"

Ji Heng nodded and started: "But don't have too high expectations. Even if you only use bark, hemp heads, rags, old fishing nets and other more conventional ones, once the quantity increases, the manpower required will be It’s a very large quantity, and shipping is a huge expense, so the final price of the paper may not be lower than the bamboo slips initially.”

"But as long as we continue to improve, the cost of paper will continue to shrink."

“One day, we may be able to achieve low prices.”

"When."

"It is not known whether it will replace the bamboo slips."

"When the time comes, things like the "Yu Shu" that Ying Sinian is studying may be able to be transcribed in just two or three pages. The local primary school or the regular school built by the imperial court will also be able to copy it. Benefit significantly.”

"The number of people who are reading and literate in the world will also increase significantly."

"This is not a blessing for the world."

Hu Hai nodded.

He didn't think it was that far.

He only knew that if he really did it, he would definitely be praised by his father. You can also be awarded a knighthood for this.

"How to do it specifically?" Hu Hai asked enthusiastically.

Ji Heng shook his head and chuckled: "I have said everything I should say before. I have not tried it myself. You have to explore everything by yourself. If you let me do everything, then your title will probably be You can’t get down, but I can ask Ying Si Nian to help you.”

"Besides."

"Failure is the mother of success."

“It’s not a bad idea to fail a few more times to gain experience.”

"As for how to make fine wood pulp and how to make exquisite 'bamboo net', you need to figure it out yourself."

"I can't help."

Hu Hai's face turned dark.

But he didn't say anything, and what Ji Heng said was right.

If Ji Heng had done everything, wouldn't it be too easy for him to get this title? How can I be recognized by my father-in-law?

What's more, the second brother and others were like this at the beginning. Ji Heng just said a few words and mentioned a few words. The second brother and the others did it themselves. They did it for a full year or two, and even went to the calligraphy office many times. , please teach Miao, Wang Cizhong and other official calligraphers.

At that time, he felt that his second brother and others were making a fuss out of a molehill.

Think about it now.

It’s just that I am too self-righteous.

If the second brother and others are older than me, how can they not know more than me?

Now it's just that the tide has turned to him.

He thought for a while, recorded it carefully in his mind, and nodded vigorously.

"Okay, I'll do it."

At this time.

Ji Heng waved to Ying Sinian, who had been staring at him, and asked Ying Sinian to bring breakfast.

He is hungry.

Hearing Ji Heng calling Ying Si Nian like this, Hu Hai's mouth twitched slightly and whispered: "Do you know who he is? He is my eldest brother's eldest son. If nothing happens, he may even be the future."

Ji Heng looked over and said calmly: "So what?"

"What does it have to do with me?"

"Since you come to my place, you must abide by my rules."

"You are like this, Fusu is like this, and the First Emperor is like this, how can he be an exception?"

"rule."

"This is the fundamental strategy for governing the country."

Hu Hai frowned.

He glanced at Ji Heng suspiciously, whispered these words a few times, and figured out something.

He said slowly: "You are right."

"The most important thing in governing the world is to make people obey the rules, and being a king also requires setting an example and obeying the rules."

"If you take the lead and don't comply, how can you expect others to comply?"

"Behave yourself."

"We must both defend and destroy."

"The degree of this is probably difficult to grasp."

Hu Hai shook his head.

He didn't say much about winning Si Nian.

Since Ji Heng asked Ying Si Nian to do this, Ji Heng naturally had his reasons.

but.

Sometimes he really admires Ji Heng.

He really doesn't give in to the powerful at all.

He looked around and saw that Ying Si Nian hadn't come out yet, so he still wanted to ask again.

Hu Hai whispered: "By the way, I really feel that something is not right with Zhao Gao recently. I haven't noticed it before, but recently, Zhao Gao seems to be more and more concerned about His Majesty's physical condition. He comes to ask me about it every now and then. , and asked me to serve His Majesty."

"As a son of man, it is natural for me to serve His Majesty."

"But why is Zhao Gao so persistent?"

"I don't feel right."

"Especially since you told me before that Zhao Gao is very evil and will not give up so easily. I feel like he has no intention of giving up."

Ji Heng glanced at Hu Hai and felt quite emotional.

Hu Hai has grown a lot.

He turned around and walked towards the house, saying indifferently: "You don't need to tell me about the things in the palace. I don't care and I don't want to know. I am only responsible for living my own life."

"The rest is not important."

Hear the words.

Hu Hai rolled his eyes.

He also felt that he seemed to be too worried.

After all, Zhao Gao used to be a close minister and favorite of his father. Now that his father is ill, it seems understandable that Zhao Gao is concerned, but he has secretly made up his mind to draw a clear line with Zhao Gao.

He was worried that one day he would be a drag on Zhao Gao.

He even regretted it.

At first, he didn't listen to Ji Heng's words and just ignored Zhao Gao.

Otherwise, there is no need to be so worried.

Because of this.

He is now eager to seek a title.

With the title at his side, he had the confidence to continue to be stable in the palace.

At least it gives me peace of mind.

soon.

Ying Si Nian came over with a wooden tray.

The three of them sat in their own seats.

There were no words for a moment.

Hu Hai also had a meal directly.

Moreover, it was made by Ying Si Nian, and Hu Hai ate it deliciously.

Wait until breakfast is finished.

Hu Hai left directly.

He was going to give it a try as Ji Heng said.

First, try to get some rag fishing nets, and start fishing by yourself.

Ying Si Nian washed the dishes and chopsticks.

He returned to the courtyard, closed the door that Hu Hai had not closed, and then looked at Ji Heng curiously and asked: "Master, is that paper really so magical?"

Ji Heng nodded, chuckled and said, "Yes."

"And it's more amazing than you think."

"It's just that it takes a long time to popularize something like paper."

"If you want to reduce the cost, you will need at least several generations of efforts, or you will need to rely on administrative means to recruit a large number of craftsmen to focus on improvements, and this cannot be achieved in a short time."

"But at least there are seeds."

"Once the papermaking technology is completely mature, it will have a huge impact on the old nobles and scholars. However, before the paper technology is completely mature, these things will be beneficial to the nobles and scholars to a certain extent. "

"The reason is equally simple."

"Because only these people have the scroll in their hands."

"Technology has always been a double-edged sword, but some things will not disappear when someone forcibly stops them. Therefore, as a court, what is needed for technology is not blocking, but sparing. More importantly, it must There’s enough understanding about this technology.”

“Even sometimes through administrative force.”

"Making a seemingly high-end technology step by step closer to the commonplace is actually a very important idea in Shang Yang's reform."

"Everyone has a title, which means everyone has no title."

"Sometimes the role of the court is to speed up the chaotic process in the middle."

"Let something that may be monopolized by a small number of people be directly turned into something that everyone in the world can benefit from. In this way, the benefit from a small number of people becomes a benefit to the country."

Ying Si Nian nodded thoughtfully.

　Tomorrow three more

　　

　

(End of this chapter)