A great man of the Northern Song Dynasty

In the political hall, Han Qi threw a book out with his hands and cursed: "There are three mistakes, who proofread this? Find it and punish it with ten sticks!"

Screams came from outside later.

They have to deal with political affairs and compile books. The prime ministers and ministers have been very busy recently.

Han Qi held his belly sadly and felt that he had lost some weight.

Can being busy help you lose weight?

The thought flashed across my mind.

Zeng Gongliang was reading a book with dull eyes, Bao Zheng was dealing with political affairs with a straight face, and Ouyang Xiu had his eyes on the book and was still mumbling something.

Why!

I haven’t posted anything these days!

Han Qi is very depressed.

A clerk came outside and said, "My dear sirs, the engraving craftsmen are asking if they can start."

"It's early!"

An official said with a gloomy face: "This has to be prioritized. Which article comes first and which poem comes last must be arranged slowly."

The clerk said helplessly: "Those craftsmen have estimated that they may not have enough time."

Carving takes time, and this is why slow work produces careful work.

Han Qi said angrily: "Then hire more people to carve."

The clerk said: "Xiang Han, there are only so many carvers in Bianliang."

Carving words on wooden boards is not easy, and training a qualified carver is even harder. It is impossible for the printing shop in Bianliang to lend you all its engraving skills, otherwise they would not be able to drink from the northwest wind!

"roll!"

Han Qi's mood was extremely irritable and he waved his hand to drive people away.

Bao Zheng put down his brush, rubbed his eyes and said, "It's useless to yell and scold, so just hurry up."

Han Qi nodded, and then someone came from outside to report, "My dear sirs, I would like to see Shen An."

Han Qi smiled ferociously and said, "This liar still dares to come?"

Zeng Gongliang put down the book and said through gritted teeth: "It's in vain for us to worry about the bank. Who knew that this kid had laid a secret plot a few months ago and deceived countless people, including us."

Bao Zheng didn't look up, "Take care of him."

Shen An came in later and felt murderous aura as soon as he entered the door.

hehe!

The ministers and ministers all looked at him with angry expressions, and Han Qi asked in a conspiratorial tone, "Did Duke Shen go to the wrong place today?"

The clerk next to him was holding back his laughter, thinking that if you didn't come early or late, you would come when your husband-in-law was furious, what else could this mean if you weren't seeking your own death?

Shen An cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Are you all busy?"

He picked up a book and flipped through it, "Hey! It's actually a poem by Emperor Taizong? It's really heroic!"

Bao Zheng said angrily: "What a good thing you did!"

He stood up slowly with a book in hand. This was a sign that he was going to be chased!

Han Qi moved towards the door, preparing to block Shen An, the liar.

Everyone has been in a bad temper recently, so it was just a good time to beat him up to relieve their anger.

At this tense moment, Shen An said with a smile: "Actually... it won't take much time to print these things."

Um?

Han Qi paused and asked, "Can you still conjure engravings out of thin air?"

Shen An smiled and said, "Is it possible to use slightly different handwriting?"

The biggest advantage of engraving is that the calligraphy is good.

Han Qi looked at him and said, "We'll talk about it after we get it out. It doesn't matter if the handwriting is a little different."

This thing is just a political mission. Once it is printed, it is done, and then it is left there and no one cares about it.

Chen An felt calm and said seriously: "This matter is not difficult."

Bao Zheng was worried that he would make random promises, "Do you have a carving skill?"

Shen An shook his head. The Shen family didn't have a bookstore, so why would they need a carver?

"Then what can you do?"

Shen An smiled and said: "Xiaguan does have a way."

When Han Qi was having a headache, thinking of Shen An's various tricks, he said dubiously: "How long will it take?"

What they are worried about now is that the engraving speed is too slow and is holding them back.

"The Shen family is testing it. If it succeeds, the price of books in the world will be..."

Shen An smiled and waved, "I am thinking, if the price of this book can be lowered, so low that ordinary people can afford it, what do you think?"

Han Qi took a breath of cold air, "If this can be done, this is a great merit, and the merit is immeasurable!"

"Big talk, kid!"

Zeng Gong has been very busy recently and was almost exhausted. He put his chin on his hands and said angrily: "The consumption of paper is just one thing. The most expensive thing in terms of money and labor is engraving. Can you create countless engravings out of thin air? And those engravings You have to work without being paid.”

Shen An smiled and said: "The lower official has his own way."

Han Qi waved his hand, "In that case, go ahead."

Shen An resigned, and the ministers and ministers smiled at each other. Ouyang Xiu said: "Don't think that Shen An is fooling people. Think about the things he did. Which one of them didn't subvert the perception? In the past, we recited poems and lyrics and mentioned the Moon Palace. It must be Toad Palace, it must be Chang'e and Rabbit, and there is also some osmanthus tree. We happily composed poems based on it and felt that the artistic conception was very beautiful.

When I drink too much, I also like to raise a glass to the bright moon and express my eternal thoughts. But after seeing the real Moon Palace, I can no longer write poems about the Moon Palace. Those pits! "

There are no Chang'e and Wu Gang in the Moon Palace, and there are no rabbits or sweet-scented osmanthus trees. There are just big pits.

After discovering this, the literati of the Song Dynasty were surprised to find that the prime ministers and ministers no longer wrote poems related to the moon. Even on August 15th, they just remained silent.

"Let's see."

The room on duty gradually became quiet, with only the slightest movement of turning pages of books remaining.

As Shen An walked home, several craftsmen were burning things in the front yard.

"I've met the Duke."

There are several piles of mud on the ground, and a craftsman is constantly stirring it and twisting it from time to time.

"How's it going?"

Shen An squatted in front of the stove and watched the movable type being fired inside.

That's right.

This is movable type made of clay.

After hearing that, Shen An thought of this.

Both primary and junior high schools have teaching materials about Bi Sheng's invention of movable type printing, one of the four great inventions, which is impressive.

One craftsman concentrated on watching the fire, while the other rubbed the clay on his hand, "My lord, this thing is easy to burn. It is much more convenient than any other porcelain. What is the use of burning it?"

"Don't worry about it."

Now is not the time to leak.

Huang Chun came later and brought news that Shen An didn't want to hear.

"Mr. Lang, Bi Sheng was not found."

Shen An was speechless.

He only remembered that movable type printing was invented during the Renzong period, but this thing had never been heard of in the Song Dynasty, which was very puzzling.

And Bi Sheng couldn't find it. Could it be that the Song Dynasty where I live is wrong?

All kinds of strange ideas popped up in an instant, including fantasy options.

He pondered for a while, "There is a reward. There was a man named Bi Sheng who was a printer during the late emperor's time. If the information about this person is found, it is conclusive. The reward is 5,000 guan!"

Five thousand strings to find a stranger, isn't this a big deal? If you spend this money, you can enjoy the paradise-like happiness in Bianliang.

Huang Chun even gave Zhuang Laoshi a wink, and Zhuang Laoshi shook his head, indicating that Lang Jun was not crazy.

"Mr. Lang, has this person offended you?"

This is the only way to say it, otherwise a common man engaged in the printing industry would not be worth five thousand dollars to explore.

Shen An put his hands behind his hands, "This person has made great contributions to the world and has great merits!"

The invention of movable type printing made books and knowledge cheaper, lowered the cost of reading for ordinary people, and made outstanding contributions to social development.

Shen An felt that Bi Sheng could be called half a saint, and those so-called great scholars who were seeking fame and reputation were not even worthy of carrying his shoes.

The news got out immediately.

"Five thousand strings?"

"Yes, Zhuang Laoshi of the Shen family said it himself."

"That's right. Duke Shen has a good reputation, and five thousand guan will not be discounted."

"Bi Sheng, this name is rare and it's hard to make a mistake. Go look for it."

Bianliang was the center of the Song Dynasty, where people from all over the world gathered.

Just when the clay movable type was gradually taking shape, the news came.

"Then Bi Sheng was a printing craftsman. He has been dead for more than ten years."

died?

Shen An was stunned and immediately asked about Bi Sheng's situation.

"He is just a craftsman with no reputation. He and the villain are from the same hometown, so the villain knows that there is such a person."

"Give him money!"

Shen An didn't expect Bi Sheng to die in such obscurity.

Half Saint!

Without him, books would still be exclusive to the rich, and poor people would never be able to smell the fragrance of ink.

Without movable type printing, the light of mankind would have been delayed for a long time.

Shen An feels that Bi Sheng can be called a semi-sage in the history of human development.

Such a person should not be so silent.

Shen An was silent in the study for a long time, and there was no response from Taro when he came to ask him to eat.

"Mom, daddy seems to be crying."

Yang Zhuoxue panicked when she heard this and hurried to the study.

"I'm not crying, that kid is talking nonsense."

Shen An really didn't cry, he was just a little bit sad.

"Zhuoxue, you are a lucky husband."

"Yes!" Yang Zhuoxue didn't know what he meant, but UU Reading www.uukanshu.net agreed habitually.

This is the woman of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Compared with Bi Sheng, Shen An feels that he is a lucky person.

No, compared with Bi Sheng, countless people are lucky.

He arranged for his men to go south.

"Go to Bi's house and tell his family that a certain Shen An invited them to come to Bianliang."

Zhuang Laoshi said very tangledly: "Lang Jun, since he is unknown, why not give him some money?"

He saw how cautiously Shen An treated those clay characters, so he thought it would be better to keep the reputation of the inventor in the Shen family.

"That will make you feel uneasy."

Shen An could plagiarize poems without any guilt, but he could not admit that he invented movable type printing.

People must have a bottom line when doing things!

This is Shen An’s motto!

Movable Type is constantly testing various recipes.

Prepare a copper plate, melt some adhesive made of rosin and other substances, pour it in, and then insert the clay characters in the order written. After checking that there are no errors, use fire to grill the back of the copper plate. After the adhesive melts, press Click the clay words to make them flush. Once the adhesive has cooled, the layout is considered a success.

"Mr. Lang, it's ready."

At this moment, the craftsmen finally knew what these clay characters were used for, and they looked at Shen An with shock in their eyes.

If successful, Shen An would be a semi-saint.

"let's start."

Brush the ink, then cover it with a piece of paper and roll it over gently with a roller.

The craftsmen's breathing was rapid, and they felt that they were witnessing a miraculous moment.

"Lift it up!"

One of the craftsmen lifted up the paper and looked carefully.

"Prince!"

He turned around slowly, "Clear!"

The craftsmen looked at Shen An as if they were looking at gods.

…

The fourth update is here, there will be another chapter later.