I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 207 Happy Event

"Have you heard? Last month, Lao Zheng, who was working in Shangfang Supervisor, suffered from a sudden illness. Although he recovered later, he could no longer do any work. Logically speaking, he was going to be kicked out of the palace, but the Queen Mother heard that After taking care of his affairs, we sent him directly to Xipingguan outside the city for retirement."

The chamberlain who spoke was full of envy. He was already over fifty, and years of hard work made him look older than his age.

He has no family outside the palace. Although he has saved some money on weekdays, it is a question whether he can keep the money outside the palace when he leaves the palace.

The person listening to him was about the same age as him. Although he was happy when he heard what he said, he still said worriedly: "The Queen Mother is willing to do such a benevolent act. As slaves, we should be grateful, but is Xipingguan really a good place? ?”

They have been in the palace for a long time and have a deeper understanding of the cruelty of reality.

Queen Mother He has always been a majestic figure in the palace.

When the Queen Mother He wanted to take the lead in arranging the pension arrangements for the maids in the palace, no one doubted that the Queen Mother He would take the money and run away like the Taiping Dao thieves.

How could the Queen Mother value such a small amount of money?

But it’s not necessarily the case for the people below… No, it’s definitely!

"Don't worry about that. I heard that His Majesty has specially made a custom for this. The chambermaids who intend to go to Xiping Temple for retirement can apply to go to Xiping Temple on their holidays for supervision. It's Xiao Huang who is next to His Majesty. Men Guozhi is personally responsible for this matter..."

"Your Majesty is so kind!"

"Hey, why are you leaving?"

Guo Zhi was quite capable, and relying on Xipingguan, he was able to collect intelligence and uncover several embezzlement cases involving more than 300,000 yuan that had just occurred this year within a few days.

Because Liu Bian had been in Yuntai Hall for a long time, Guo Zhi's time serving in front of Liu Bian was suddenly squeezed out by Guo Sheng.

Relying on Xipingguan, Liu Bian did not expect to be able to build an identical intelligence network, but if it could play some role and not let others have the opportunity to do so, he would be satisfied.

There is only one ending for these criminals. As Qu Mu and other embezzlement criminals were sentenced to death one after another, more and more ministers understood the method of dealing with eunuchs. At the same time, Liu Bian got another piece of good news.

This move received unanimous response from many chambermaids and maids.

……

Bi Lan was extremely excited because after spending two years and countless manpower and material resources in Xiyuan, he finally succeeded in improving the papermaking technology.

Guo Zhi did not dare to argue with Guo Sheng. As soon as he got the emperor's task of snooping and collecting information through the maids at the bottom of the chamber, he immediately invested a lot of thought and time.

"Your Majesty, in the past, I always thought of using other tree barks to replace mulberry bark, but ordinary tree bark is not as good as mulberry bark."

"Get the money!"

Liu Bian once heard that in history, Wu Zetian once recruited the lower-level chambermaids in the palace to form an intelligence network, so that she could know anything in the palace immediately. Shangguan Wan'er's grandfather, Shangguan Yi, once advised Li Zhi to abolish the throne, and the edict was written. However, before going through the process, he was stopped by Wu Zetian who learned the news halfway.

Liu Bian looked at the light yellow bamboo paper in his hand and nodded. He took the brush already prepared on the desk and dipped it in ink to write a few words.

"Later, I simply threw away the shackles of Zuo Bo's paper and chose bamboo from the south, and this paper was created!"

Scenes like this are not uncommon in the northern and southern palaces.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, who had no worries about their own affairs, took the lead in responding. Soon, the first elderly care institution of the Han Dynasty, funded by the Shaofu and led by the Empress Dowager, was officially established and put into operation in Xipingguan outside Luoyang City.

For a time, the originally solemn and quiet palace was filled with laughter and laughter, as if it was the New Year.

Compared with Zuobo paper, the quality of this bamboo paper is still a bit inferior, but it doesn't matter.

"Very good!"

Hearing the praise, Bi Lan smiled happily and continued to introduce: "This bamboo paper is made of extremely tender bamboo. In the future, the craftsmanship will be refined, and I think it will be no less than Zuo Bo paper." Then he pointed to the side that looked slightly worse. Paper: "This paper is made from slightly grown bamboo. Although it is not as tough as the former and is rougher, it is cheaper to make and can be used for printing and writing!"

"Two months are enough for the bamboos in the south to grow from when they sprout to when they are ready for use. In this way, the cost of making paper is only 10% of Zuo Bo's paper. And with the improvement of the craftsmanship, it may be possible to make it again."

Liu Bian asked: "Is all the bamboo used for paper-making brought from the south?"

Bi Lan replied: "Yes, Your Majesty, the bamboo in the north grows more slowly, and the texture of the paper made from it is rougher."

Liu argued: "Wouldn't it be more economical if paper was made from bamboo in the place where it is produced?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being stupid and not thinking of this method..."

Liu Bian glanced at Bi Lan and confirmed that there was indeed no other meaning hidden in the latter's words.

Later, Liu Bian visited the results of bamboo paper printing under the leadership of Bi Lan. He was excited and solemnly said to Bi Lan: "In the past, I promised you that the day when the papermaking technology was improved, it would be the day when the papermaking technology was improved." Hou Zhi Shi."

Bi Lan was shocked.

How has he spent the past two years?

I worked hard and slept hard, not daring to slack off at all, so I lost half of my hair.

Now that the day has finally come, Bi Lan couldn't help but kneel on the ground, and her hands couldn't stop trembling.

"Today the bamboo paper is ready, it is the time for me to fulfill my promise!"

Bi Lan's voice couldn't stop trembling: "I thank your Majesty for your grace!"

Liu Bian pulled Bi Lan up from the ground and said, "I want to thank you on behalf of all the students in the world, and I also want to thank the craftsmen who did this with you!"

……

Liu Bian, who had returned to Yuntai Hall, was holding a memorial book and was lost in thought. He was thinking about how to maximize the effect of bamboo paper, when he suddenly heard someone calling him.

Liu Bian came back to his senses and heard Ma Rixi's voice.

"Your Majesty, I think that Bi Lan has made great contributions to improving the art of papermaking, so I just want to reward him more. However, the princes and the country live together, so they should not be given lightly!"

The first thing Liu Bian did after returning to the palace was to ennoble Bi Lan as Dutinghou. At this time, the feudal lords only had the power to eat and control the land, which meant that the rich land of the country was higher than the Tinghou with the title of fiefdom, and was located in the penultimate level among the lords.

Since the three ministers were away at the time, Liu Bian made the decision on his own. During the final confirmation of the edict, he was opposed by Taiwei Ma Rixi.

In this regard, Liu Bian retorted: "Otherwise, one is that I have promised Bi Lan, and the other is that I have made Bi Lan the Marquis of Duting, not because he is a eunuch, but because he has improved the art of papermaking."

"The technology of papermaking and printing are used to assist in the teaching of education. I don't know how many people can listen to the teachings of the saints and benefit from it. This is really a great achievement!"

"The third one is the story of my wish to use the bones of a thousand gold horses to make people aware of the wonderful skills that will benefit the people, and those who are willing to donate them."

Once upon a time, Liu Bian tried this aspect through the promotion of Quyuanli, but it was like nothing happened afterwards. Of course, he was unwilling to give up.

(End of this chapter)