Chapter 236 Printing
The system "poofed" and tried to suppress its laughter: [... Ah Ruan, something seems a little wrong. You were demonstrating book printing techniques to him, but he thought you were demonstrating sentence formation to her. Hmm... is this considered talking at cross purposes? ]
The emperor raised his eyebrows. Books? Ink? Printing?
He understood instantly.
Without waiting for Yuanruan and the system to react, the emperor calmly picked up four wooden blocks and pressed them into the ink beside the wooden box, then took them out and slapped them hard on a piece of new white paper three times in a row.
Soon, the words "My beloved father" appeared in three rows on the paper.
Yuan Ruan was a little hesitant at first, but when he saw this, he smiled widely: [Haha, I knew that you had guessed it.]
System Sorry: [It seems I guessed wrong. 】
The prince also came over to take a look, and instantly became interested. He couldn't help but clap his hands and said, "Great! Great! There is such a wonderful method. Ninth sister is really smart."
The voice was full of energy, and Yuanruan's ears were numbed for a moment.
The system also said proudly: [My nephew has vision! My Ah Ruan is smart. Not only did he solve the paper problem, he also solved the printing problem. Now the speed of popularizing books will be ten or a hundred times faster than before. Ha, my nephew's transformation will have a chance to be completed.]
Yuan Ruan touched his nose in embarrassment: [I am standing on the shoulders of giants. After all, I was given paper, so how could I forget its official printing technique?]
Then, she pulled the prince's hand and said, "Prince, brother, come on! Print the books."
The prince nodded repeatedly and said, yes, print books!
Both paper and printing technology that does not require manual transcription further save the cost and time of producing books.
Seeing the prince's excited expression, Yuan Ruan suddenly remembered that there was something he hadn't shown.
She quickly took out another carved board from the box.
She tried hard to pick up the small brush and apply ink on it.
Seeing that she was having difficulty, the prince hurried forward to help apply the ink, while staring at the board with the words carved on it.
Yuan Ruan pointed at the wooden board and said seriously: "This is woodblock printing. Large-scale printing, this is more neat than movable type printing."
The prince nodded faster.
After looking at it a few more times and touching the paper a few more times, the prince quickly saw the advantages and disadvantages of woodblock printing and movable type printing.
He began to imagine how to pack the books, how to store the goods, and how to break through the official system of the aristocratic families.
Soon, the prince pinched her chubby cheeks as calmly as possible and said, "Ninth sister, you have helped a lot. Really, you have helped a lot."
Yuan Ruan chuckled and patted the prince's shoulder with her chubby little hand: "We are one family, so we are talking about different things."
The prince and the emperor both laughed out loud at Yuanruan's little adult appearance.
The prince hugged Yuan Ruan and said, "Yes. We are one family and we should not have different opinions. Come on, accompany me to the Ministry of Works."
The emperor paused and spoke slowly: "Prince? Are you going to the Ministry of Works now?"
The prince gave the emperor a brilliant smile in return, and said, "Father, the imperial examination is approaching, and I am already impatient."
The system sighed: [The prince is truly devoted to the country and loyal. ]
Yuan Ruan also sighed: [As expected of the novel's virtuous prince, honest and hardworking, excellent! ]
The corners of the emperor's mouth twitched slightly: Good job! Excellent evaluation!
But honestly...
A big part of the reason why the prince was in a hurry to leave was that he didn't want to stay and continue to argue with the officials who came from aristocratic families.
The emperor originally wanted to keep the prince to train him in how to influence and handle the noble families.
But if you think about it carefully, even with the emergence of a powerful weapon like printing, those nobles who protected the Queen Mother were the best at changing their attitudes according to the situation and would probably not pose much resistance.
Just at this time, the chief eunuch came to report the situation, and the emperor let the prince leave.
The emperor looked at the eunuch and asked, "What's going on?"
The chief eunuch said, "Your Majesty, I think the court officials' dispute is over."
The emperor paused, turned and walked away.
At this time, the court officials in front of the pavilion were standing in two groups, clearly divided.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be blessed." The court officials all bowed deeply.
The emperor turned around and waved his hand: "My dear ministers, please stand up. Have you finished your discussion?"
The court officials looked at each other and did not call the discussion over. They were just willing to give the noble family of the empress dowager's line a chance to speak up. Let them speak first and see if they can convince the emperor.
The Right Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple took a deep breath and was about to take a step forward.
The emperor suddenly said, "Wait, that's not important. You guys look at this first. Recommend a few people to me first, screen the scope of the imperial examination questions as soon as possible, prepare the teaching materials and questions, and hold the preliminary selection ceremony as soon as possible."
Courtiers: ???
Wait, Your Majesty, weren't we discussing the Queen Mother and her relatives?! Why are we talking about the Imperial Examination again?!
Your Majesty, I know you are anxious, but can you please not be so impatient? Can you just finish the task one day at a time?!
The Minister of Personnel could not help but bow and said, "Your Majesty, selecting talents for Daxia is a major national event. Don't rush it."
The emperor nodded, then waved his hand, and the eunuch came forward with a box.
The emperor personally took out four templates, dipped them in ink, and then slapped and pressed them on a piece of white silk cloth, and then released them. Soon, three rows of four words "My beloved father" appeared on the paper.
The pupils of civil officials and military generals shrank: !!!
Prime Minister Wang, Prime Minister Li and others quickly rushed over and took a closer look.
There is no fool who can reach the sixth rank.
Soon, everyone realized its impact on the aristocratic official class.
Among the important officials, there are those who are of powerful and noble origin, those who are of noble origin, and a rare few who are of commoner origin.
It seemed that several court officials from noble families who still wanted to speak for the Queen Mother had more solemn expressions than each other.
In their view, the emperor's use of the printing technology was like a villain putting a knife on their necks, threatening them: You want to protect the queen mother in your own way? ! Okay, with books, I have no shortage of talents. I can quickly find new people to replace them at any time. If they don't obey, I will kill them all!
The more these court officials thought about it, the more frightened they became, especially the Right Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple who was about to take the lead in speaking. He froze in place, feeling torn.
Of course, even those court officials who came from aristocratic families and had no connection with the Queen Mother felt a sense of urgency.
…
The expressions of ministers who came from commoner backgrounds were completely different.
The Minister of Industry was so excited that he almost lay down on the paper to read it, and said repeatedly: "Great, great, it turns out that it can be done this way! In the future, we don't need people to copy it, we just need to print it one by one like this! In my Great Xia, countless books will appear and countless talents will be cultivated! Your Majesty, this is really amazing!"
The emperor nodded slightly: "Of course. Jiuer loves me the most. If she can achieve her goal, she will surely be able to create a powerful tool like movable type printing."
The excited expression of the Minister of Works froze for a second, and he couldn't help but whisper to others: "When did your Majesty become so idealistic..." If you want to show off that the Ninth Princess is close to you, you can't attribute the credit to her love.
However, standing next to the Minister of Works was Cheng Weining.
He said to the Minister of Industry very seriously, "Mr. Minister, I think your Majesty is right. It is because of my love for Her Royal Highness that I have been able to make so many agricultural tools."
The Minister of Works, the Minister of Revenue, and the Minister of War nearby: …
…
The emperor watched coldly as his courtiers' emotions fluctuated.
He brought up the "printing technology" in advance to warn those court officials who wanted to find someone to marry or have some other relationship with him: I am not short of people, they will die if you try, so you should find out what interests you.
Wait until the ministers calm down again.
The emperor looked at Prime Minister Li and said, "My dear, what else do you think about the imperial examination?"
Prime Minister Li stepped forward decisively and said, "Your Majesty, I think the sooner the better."
The official from a noble family staggered and said: Prime Minister Li, you don't even try to fight.
The emperor looked at Prime Minister Li with satisfaction and nodded, "Okay! My dear, you should keep a close eye on this matter. If you fail to meet my requirements next year, I will hold you responsible."
Prime Minister Li bowed and said, "As you command."
The emperor looked at the Right Junior Official of the Dali Temple again and said with a half-smile, "Okay, who else wants to talk about the Queen Mother now?"
The Right Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple broke out in a thin sweat.