Yun Qing was startled by her own association.
Why would the little tyrant have such strange emotions?
Xie Rang gritted his teeth and sneered. That was him.
At first, Xie Rang didn't pay much attention when the Grand Tutor asked for leave on the first day, but unexpectedly, he asked for leave for several days in a row, which made Xie Rang take the matter to heart.
He only came out today because he was having some trouble dealing with government affairs.
Yun Qing coughed and said, "I apologize, Your Majesty. I have been busy with other matters recently and that is why I have not had time to come to the palace."
She smoothly changed the subject: "I'm just about to go take a look, Your Majesty, would you like to come along?"
Let the little tyrant experience the wonders of printing and papermaking!
The reason why books could not circulate among ordinary people was because they were too expensive to produce. Yunqing naturally wanted to do things to the best of his ability, so printing technology had to be invented and papermaking technology had to be improved.
The former was easy to deal with, but for the latter, Yunqing had only seen the blueprints and did not understand the intricacies. He had to observe the current papermaking workshop for a long time before he gradually came up with a way to improve it.
[Sigh, the experiment involved going back and forth, which wasted time, didn't it? Who knew the little tyrant would be so bothered by me missing his lesson.]
Hearing this, Xie Rang's bitter feelings subsided somewhat.
The Grand Tutor had the world on his mind; he was merely an afterthought. Otherwise, why would he have so eagerly hoped that the Grand Tutor would become a wise ruler? Thinking about it this way, it's not so hard to accept.
Xie Rang said, "Let's go."
Children's tempers come and go so quickly. Yunqing didn't hold it against him. She took the handkerchief handed to her by the servant and wiped the water stains off his body.
"Don't rush around in the rain. Aren't you uncomfortable if your clothes get wet?"
Yun Qing spoke in a tone that sounded like she was lecturing a child. Xie Rang was indignant, but when he met her eyes, which were full of concern, the words caught in his throat. He said reluctantly, "I know. If the Grand Tutor had been willing to come to the palace to see me, or even just send me a few words, I wouldn't have been in such a hurry."
[Where did you learn that affected, tea-like tone of voice?]
Yun Qing was both amused and exasperated: "Fine, I understand."
[Thinking about it, it makes sense. The kid who used to insist on going with me whenever I went out must be having trouble getting used to not seeing me for a long time.]
Yun Qing was too lazy to go to the workshop outside the city. Fortunately, there was a lot of empty space in the mansion, so she set up the place for conducting experiments in the mansion. It was just a few turns in the corridors and she could hear people's voices from a distance.
"Quickly, quickly, move the things over here!"
"Wow, look at this quality! This is the first time I've ever seen anything like it!"
"This printing technology is truly amazing. If it were widely adopted, it would save so much manpower..."
"If that's the case, wouldn't ordinary people be able to afford to go to school?"
"Young master is very generous; he will surely promote this technology..."
Yun Qing smiled: "It seems they have already produced a good finished product. Your Majesty has come at just the right time."
Xie Rang nodded in agreement, which could be considered as his confirmation of this statement.
Yun Qing didn't care too much. Seeing that he reacted, she pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside. It was a bit smaller now, and the busy people in the courtyard rushed out to greet her.
"Young master."
"Young master has arrived."
They didn't know Xie Rang's identity, but seeing his luxurious and extraordinary clothes, they finally called him "Young Master," with just the right amount of distance.
"Hurry up and go inside, don't get wet in the rain."
Yunqing has always treated technical personnel well, and these people are well paid and efficient. They must not get sick.
So the group of people welcomed them in with great enthusiasm. The room had been completely emptied and was filled with tools and equipment used in printing and papermaking.
Movable type printing is relatively difficult to operate, so Yun Qing first had them try woodblock printing, which was simply to print the fixed type.
Yun Qing asked a worker to demonstrate for them, explaining to Xie Rang, "The principle is actually very simple. It involves carving the text and pictures onto the wooden board using a mirror method, making the text stand out. Then, paper is placed on top, and a light brush can transfer the text onto the paper."
After several days of operation, the workers were already familiar with the process, and as Yun Qing slowly explained, they skillfully completed the rubbing of a piece of paper.
Xie Rang picked it up and saw that the text was clearly visible and the layout was simple and clear. It looked much cleaner than many handwritten books on the market. He immediately looked up at Yun Qing and said, "This method can indeed save more manpower and resources. If it is promoted, more people in the world will benefit."
The upper class monopolized official positions too much. Among the common people, those families who could afford to send their children to school all had some assets, so it was very difficult to achieve upward social mobility. During their travels, they also saw many cases of a place supporting a scholar, simply to improve these situations.
"As for paper, I have also made improvements to it. Both should be promoted together to achieve the desired effect."
The cost of copying books was reduced, but the cost of paper was not, so the effect was the same. Yun Qing decided to go all out and solve both problems at the same time.
"In fact, movable type printing would be more convenient and flexible, but I think that copying books is also a livelihood skill for some scholars, so we will not compete for it for the time being. We only need to use woodblock printing to produce some official books."
The economic base must be in harmony with the superstructure. Yun Qing has the desire to promote reading, but the current national strength of Da Xi is not yet sufficient to achieve that. She cannot cut off the livelihood of scholars because of this.
If it is only official books printed by woodblock printing, then it will not conflict with the copying of books by ordinary people, and a balance can be found between them.
“The Grand Tutor is right.”
Xie Rang understood the reasoning behind it and pondered, "If we want to promote this, we can look for talented people within the Ministry of Works."
The Minister of Works and the Vice Minister of Works are both unsuitable; this is a consensus between Yun Qing and Xie Rang.
Both of them were loyal supporters of Liang Zhigong. They took over the position after the former Minister of Works resigned due to illness and returned to his hometown. They had no talent other than flattery. This matter could be easily handled by them.
Yun Qing searched his memory for a long time but couldn't recall anything. He said, "I'll have someone check. If it really doesn't work, I'll do it myself. These workers can hold the fort for a while."
[Since I can't find anyone to use me, I've had to split myself in two. I'm so pathetic.]
Xie Rang's smile faded slightly, and he disagreed: "The Grand Tutor's actions will only make him more hated."
Yun Qing has already shielded him from many open and covert attacks. If this were to further infringe upon the interests of powerful families, there would surely be people who couldn't resist taking action against her.
"There's no other way; one has to do one's job in that position."
Yun Qing said gently, "To clear the way ahead, one must be prepared to lead by example. If you care about me, then grow up to be able to stand on your own as soon as possible, so that I may be blessed by the Emperor."
Xie Rang was stunned, his heart skipped a beat.
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