unclear

Chapter 497 Pen
Youdao is willing to admit defeat. Since you have staked your entire fortune to make a big fortune, there will inevitably be two outcomes: winning or losing. You shouldn't be too surprised by either outcome.

But before giving in, he wanted to take one last look at his wife and children. According to the consistent style of Emperor Jingyang, it is unlikely that he will be executed by everyone, but the hard laborers who search the homes will definitely not be able to escape. Even if they can survive in this world, from now on, they may be separated from each other and it will be difficult to see each other again.

"Shang Shu Shen, your majesty has written clearly. He will enter the palace immediately. With the holy decree, there is no need to worry about the details. Please get in the car!"

But Wang Zhizhen refused very unkindly. He sat upright on the horse and extended his hand to make a gesture of invitation. His eyes were staring directly at the servant of the Shen family outside the door, full of murderous intent.

"That's all..."

Shen Yingwen knew in his heart that as long as he dared to resist the order, or if his family members made any changes, the Jin Yiwei opposite would immediately kill him, and afterwards he would be labeled as a rebel, disrespectful person, and rebel.

People have to bow their heads under the eaves. The most cursed person at this time is the officials who agreed to the emperor's establishment of the maritime bandit suppression office. They are really a bunch of useless people. Without Yuan Keli's tens of thousands of elites to rely on, how could the emperor dare to act so arrogantly.

There was another person in the carriage, a young man with short stature, dark skin, linen clothes and linen trousers, and plain short boots. He was dressed in a nondescript manner. He looked neither like a farmer, nor a peddler, nor a government official.

"Master Shen, don't panic. I'm here sent by Lord Long Live. Those soldiers are rough and don't know etiquette." Seeing Shen Yingwen step into the carriage with one leg and the other leg still outside, the young man smiled slightly and said, Came to introduce myself.

"...Which father-in-law are you?" Shen Yingwen deliberately refused to get in the car. It would be unbelievable for a second-rank official of the current dynasty to ride with an eunuch. But when I turned around and saw that Wang Zhizhen was already leading the team on horseback, I could only bite the bullet and put the other leg up.

"I'm from the Cuju team, and I'm a disciple of Lord Long Live! Lord Long Live sent this slave to ask Master Shen a few questions. Whether you answer or not depends entirely on Master Shen's whim.

Long live the Lord said, the matter has come to an end, let Shen Yingwen clear his mind, I will not make such a move without conclusive evidence. If you want to protect your family, it's best to tell everything. If you save me trouble, I'll make it easier for you.

Death will never die, and no one can escape the hard labor of confiscation of homes. But raiding a house is different from raiding a house. You can dig three feet into the ground or sweep away fallen leaves in the autumn wind. There is also a difference between hard labor and hard labor. There is a lifelong slave status, and the imperial examination is not allowed for three generations. There are also people who work hard for four or five years and then go home and continue living their lives after being released.

Where to go depends on Master Shen's choice. I'm just going to ask questions and take notes, and I won't say a word off-topic again. Master Shen, please listen carefully. I’m going to ask you a question! "

Facing the contemptuous eyes of the court officials, the young eunuch didn't take it seriously at all. He put a square leather saddle bag on his leg, took out a pen and paper, and wrote while explaining.

"...What is this thing for?" Shen Yingwen did not answer the question, but pointed to the pen in the young eunuch's hand.

Let’s call it a pen. It’s as thick as a finger and as long as a palm. It has a hardwood texture all over its body, with only a slight metallic sheen on the head. It doesn’t look like a pen, but it can write clearly on white paper. The handwriting is slightly thinner than that of a brush. , also has the meaning of light, heavy, light, and frustrated. "The pen... is made of fine steel as the tip and hardwood as the body. It is hollow and contains whale baleen bone to store the ink. A few drops can write a hundred words." The young eunuch was stunned for a moment, but decided to satisfy the curiosity of the Minister of Punishment. In addition to using He explained in words and turned the pen away from the middle to reveal the structure hidden inside the pen body.

When you hear this name, you don't need to ask, it is one thousand percent made by Hong Tao. That's right, as early as five years ago, the skilled craftsmen of the Time Workshop followed the emperor's wishes and illustrations to come up with a fountain pen. However, because a technical problem was not solved, it was never able to be put into mass production.

To store ink, if a pen cannot store ink, it must be dipped in when writing a few words, and an ink bottle is always kept by the side. Hong Tao feels that there is no need for mass production. There is not much essential difference between it and a brush, so why bother to change the Chinese people's style? What about writing habits?

This technical problem dragged on for more than three years, and was finally solved by a eunuch craftsman from a silversmith's bureau inadvertently. He likes carving, and any material at hand that can be cut with a carving knife will be carved into various objects.

One day, he obtained a rare material from the craftsmen at the shipyard, called whale baleen. It was said to be produced from the teeth of giant fish in the sea and was a useless waste after being hunted by the navy.

After taking it back and studying it carefully, the eunuch craftsman was a little scratched his head. The bone whiskers look similar to ivory, but they are much softer. The middle is full of fine holes and are very elastic. They cannot be carved into too fine objects at all, so they have to settle for the next best thing and carve a knife handle instead. .

As a result, when using a brush to draw a pattern, the eunuch craftsman suddenly discovered an interesting phenomenon. The bone whiskers sucked in all the ink on the brush. Draw a stroke and absorb a little, and do not drip randomly. Only by shaking hard can the ink be thrown out.

Then an idea flashed in his mind, and he quickly made an ink reservoir for a fountain pen out of bone whiskers, and the experiment was successful. To use it, you only need to unscrew the cap at the end of the pen, drip the ink into the pen and allow it to be absorbed by the bones, then screw on the cap to write.

The specific number of words that can be written depends on the size of the bone. The larger the bone, the more ink is stored and the more words can be written. Therefore, the larger the pen, the more words it can write.

This invention was approved by the emperor, named the Hero Pen, and ordered 500 pens at a time. The Cuju team was the first to use a fountain pen. Is it easy to use? It was really not that good at the beginning. It was not as easy to use as a brush. But even the emperor was using it, so who dared to say not to use it.

Slowly I discovered that the pen is indeed unique. The biggest advantage is that it is easy to carry. No need for ink or an inkstone. Just find a bottle with the ground ink and take it with you. It will last for a long time. It is especially suitable for marching in the field. You can write as soon as you pick it up. After you finish writing, you can twist it a few times and put it in your pocket without any burden.

But the shortcomings are equally obvious. First of all, there are too few materials to adapt to, and it can only be written on relatively strong paper and leather. It will not work if it is replaced by silk, cloth, bamboo, or masonry. Moreover, the tip of the pen is afraid of hard objects, and it will not work well if it is slightly bumped.

In addition, the ink in the bone must not be stored for too long. It must be cleaned in time when not writing. Once the ink is allowed to dry, it will greatly affect the ability to store the ink and even cannot be absorbed.

But no matter what, if the emperor is willing to use it, it must be a good thing, and no one else can care about it. Anyway, everyone in the Cuju team imitates the long live master and puts the pen upright in his coat pocket. If he is wearing a robe, don't On the belt.

(End of this chapter)