I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 618 Invention
Did the school invent a new spinning wheel? Did it also solve the problem of the silk loom?

Liu Bian was very happy to hear the news.

Today's spinning wheels are in the transition stage from hand-cranked to foot-operated. Unlike the original single-spindle hand-cranked or foot-operated spinning wheels, the new foot-operated spinning wheels have three spindles, which can be understood as a three-fold increase in efficiency.

The silk loom that can produce patterned silk fabrics has an even higher efficiency improvement of four to five times.

The only pity is that there are not many breakthroughs in ordinary looms... probably because looms are more important and naturally progress faster in the development process. But even so, the first two achievements are enough to satisfy Liu Bian.

The spinning wheel speeded up the production of silk thread, while the loom was able to produce high-end products that were beneficial to trade, especially along the Silk Road.

Whether it was the spinning wheel or the weaving machine, it was indisputable that both were dominated by the young Ma Jun. Therefore, combined with Ma Jun's previous achievements in improving the dragon-bone waterwheel, Liu Bian decided to name him after the pavilion where Ma Jun's family belonged and conferred him the title of Marquis of Ganting.

Liu Ye, who played a great auxiliary role in spinning wheels and looms, was awarded the title of Guannei Hou based on his merits.

When it came to calculating the merits, although Huang Yueying had been refusing, Ma Jun, as the leader, changed his poor eloquence and wrote a special letter. After explaining a series of principles of spinning wheels and looms that even Liu Bian found complicated, he gave a conclusion - if Huang Yueying had not joined in to propose a different and better plan, he might have been able to figure out the key points, but he didn't know how many years it would take.

Therefore, Liu Bian chose to accept Ma Jun's suggestion and also conferred the title of Guannei Hou on Huang Yueying.

It had been many years since a woman in the Han Dynasty was granted a title of nobility, even if it was only the title of Guannei Marquis. However, unlike what Liu Bian thought there would be opposition in the court, there was almost no fierce voice in the process of Huang Yueying being granted the title of Guannei Marquis, at least not to Liu Bian's ears.

"Great joy, great joy!" Cai Mao was in a very good mood.

He originally thought that it was impossible for his niece to enter the palace, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. Now, although he was still a councilor and had no external post, he was looking forward to staying in the position for a few more years, at least until the day when his niece entered the palace...

"Are you overthinking it, uncle?" Huang Yueying was a little confused. In her opinion, although it was a surprise for her to be conferred the title of Guannei Hou, what did it have to do with her entering the palace as a concubine?

"It's not that I think too much, it's that you think too little!" Cai Mao introduced to Huang Yueying, "After my uncle recovered from his illness, he was appointed as the Minister of Justice and took charge of the judicial office."

The uncle that Cai Mao mentioned was the former three ministers Zhang Wen, whose wife was the sister of Huang Yueying's maternal grandfather. After arriving in Luoyang, she accompanied Cai Mao to visit him several times.

Cai Mao continued to explain: "The so-called Examination Office was originally only responsible for reviewing imperial edicts in the Shangshutai, and later it was also responsible for reviewing official documents. Under it, the Shangshutai was added, and the Shizhong who led the Examination Office worked in the side hall next to the Yuntai Palace with the Pingshangshushi."

"Therefore, in the side hall, the imperial edicts and official documents can be issued and implemented. Some people now call it the secrets of the Shangshutai and the Zhengshitang."

The Secretariat was originally the core of the Han Dynasty's handling of state affairs, and the Council of Directors had become the core of the core.

As for whether it was the Ping Shangshu Affairs or the Lingshen Office, they were just official positions without any official rank. Whether to appoint a candidate or to remove the position was decided by the emperor with just one word.

However, Cai Mao said this to Huang Yueying not to show the authority of the emperor, but to explain: "My uncle is in the government hall, and he handled the edict of conferring nobility... Yesterday, when my uncle met me, he told me privately that there were people in the government hall who opposed it at that time, and the reason why the edict was not changed and implemented in the end was because people in the government hall suspected that the palace had intentions towards you." Huang Yueying: ...

This incident was indeed beyond Huang Yueying's expectations.

At first, she came to Hongdumen School just to study, but now the development of things has long been out of her control.

After all, she was still young. Seeing that this matter involved a wide range of people, either high-ranking officials or nobles, she was a little confused about the future. She asked Cai Mao for advice: "Uncle, what should I do?"

"No rush! Just concentrate on your studies at Hongdu Gate... If you can invent a few more devices during this period, that would be great. As for the rest of the matters, your uncle and I will take care of them for you." Cai Mao said confidently.

"I'm telling you this just to give you some idea of ​​what's going on, so you don't panic when that day comes."

Huang Yueying hadn't thought of anything at first, but after hearing what Cai Mao said, she became uneasy.

However, Huang Yueying originally thought that after she was conferred the title of nobility, there would be some uproar, but she did not expect that compared with the silence of the court officials, the attitude of the people was indeed very enthusiastic, but this enthusiasm was not directed at Huang Yueying.

Compared to Ma Jun who was granted the title of Tinghou for his invention, it was not a problem for a woman to be granted the title of Guanneihou. In fact, it would even make people think, "If a woman can be granted the title of Guanneihou, why can't I be granted the title?"

This was the first time that someone was granted a title of nobility for this since Liu Bian issued an edict encouraging invention in his early years. As for the earlier eunuch Bi Lan, he certainly did not count in the minds of the people.

In recent years, with the development of Hongdu School, people's enthusiasm for invention and innovation has been increasing day by day. When the news that Ma Jun was conferred the title of Marquis came out, it ignited the people like a raging fire.

In the following months, according to incomplete statistics, under the rule of Henan Yin alone, at least five or six inventions of various kinds were presented by the people every day, most of which already existed, such as calipers for precise measurement, which actually existed as early as the Xinmang period.

There are also some more novel things, such as leather boots with rivets on the soles... Although they are useless, they are actually quite useful at certain times.

For all these, Liu Bian ordered the officials to check and then give different rewards.

Unfortunately, no object comparable to the new spinning wheel and the new silk loom appeared from the beginning to the end. However, under Liu Bian's reward, although the enthusiasm of the people for invention inevitably declined after reaching its climax, everyone knew that relying on inventions, one could really be promoted to an official position!
that's enough.

Against this background, Huang Yueying continued her studies at Hongdumen School. The students and literary scholars at Hongdumen School no longer had any prejudice against her. This was not because of her relationship with the palace, but because of her achievements.

Cai Yan's interest in Huang Yueying was even stronger than Liu Bian's. As a talented woman, although Cai Yan's expertise was not on the same track as Huang Yueying's, she inevitably felt a sense of mutual admiration for Huang Yueying. After obtaining Liu Bian's consent, she summoned Huang Yueying to the palace several times to meet her, and the two had a very pleasant conversation.

For Huang Yueying, she no longer cares what others think.

(End of this chapter)