The news of papermaking spread, but that was not the end. Zhao Jun still had ideas about printing that he had not yet mentioned.
Otherwise, it would be useless if papermaking and printing alone cannot keep up.
After the court session ended that day, she stopped Li Si who was about to leave and went to meet the king together.
This was the first time that Zhao Jun had private contact with this famous historical official.
It seems that's the case...
"Lord Zhao asked me to come to see the king because he has something else to discuss, papermaking."
Li Si asked as he walked side by side with her, his tone affirmative.
"I guess so. Anyway, the Prime Minister's help is indispensable."
Zhao Jun responded with a smile and soon arrived at Ying Zheng's front hall.
"Come on, are you okay?"
Ying Zheng had just come out of court and had just changed his clothes when he walked out and saw Zhao Jun and Li Si standing in the hall.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Everything is fine now." Zhao Jun replied with a smile.
"Yes, I think so too. Seeing that you are smiling at me today, you must be doing very well."
Ying Zheng sat down at his usual desk, on which lay a few sheets of white paper that the Lord of Zhao had just given him.
"No, no, ahem, my king, I have something important to discuss today, and I need Lord Li Si's help."
Zhao Jun glanced at Li Si, who had lowered his eyes and pretended not to see since he entered the room, and suddenly asked him.
As soon as Li Si entered the room, he noticed the unusually familiar questions and answers between the king and the King of Zhao.
He waited silently by the side without interrupting.
Only when he heard Zhao Jun calling him did he step forward to respond.
"Something? It's about the papermaking workshop. You decide."
Ying Zheng thought they were here to discuss the site selection and construction of the workshop.
"No, I have no problem with the construction of this workshop. I have another important matter to discuss today."
Zhao Jun said seriously and began to talk about printing.
"The papermaking process is already completely sound, but it needs to be combined with printing technology to achieve greater success."
"Let's say I want to copy down the detailed expenditures of the Imperial Household Department over the years onto paper. But with so many words, do I have to hire someone to copy them day and night?"
"Here, I want the people of Qin to be able to read. Since they want to read, I have to make enlightenment books, and also transcribe some other ancient books. If each enlightenment book is to be spread throughout the Qin Dynasty, I have to write at least a thousand copies. Do I have to have people copy them one by one?"
"How many people would have to copy this book to spread throughout the Qin Dynasty?"
Zhao Jun raised the current problem.
"The problem Lord Zhao mentioned is indeed very serious. Putting aside all this, even transcribing Qin's own historical records would probably take a considerable amount of time if it relied solely on manpower."
Li Si was indeed a cultural figure with great political sensitivity. As soon as Zhao Jun mentioned it, he immediately understood the seriousness of the situation.
"The Prime Minister is right. Therefore, if we want to popularize books and culture, printing is indispensable."
"Don't keep me in suspense. Just tell me what printing is."
Ying Zheng knew at a glance that this guy had already come up with a mature idea.
"Don't be anxious, Your Majesty. I'll tell you right away." Zhao Jun replied playfully.
"Printing techniques can be divided into woodblock printing and movable type printing. Woodblock printing involves carving the contents of a book onto a plate, then applying ink and pasting it. The words are then printed on the paper. Once the template is made, hundreds or even thousands of copies can be printed."
"But woodblock printing has a big disadvantage. The entire book is carved on a single template. If one character is carved incorrectly, the entire book is unusable, which is quite wasteful."
"But movable type printing doesn't have this problem. Movable type printing involves carving each character into a small seal, and then arranging the seals together according to the content of the book before printing. It saves time and effort and is more convenient."
Zhao Jun briefly introduced to them the difference between the two types of printing. Generally speaking, movable type is more practical.
"I understand what Master Zhao said. This method can indeed greatly improve efficiency."
Li Si understood what Zhao Jun meant as soon as he heard it.
Ying Zheng also understood it. This was the same principle as printing his seal on paper.
"Prime Minister, you understand what I mean, right? I want you to find someone to handle the printing business."
Printing itself does not require a very complicated process, but it is time-consuming and laborious.
Zhao Jun felt that there was no need to let the Mo family do this.
Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken?
Thinking of this, Zhao Jun looked at Ying Zheng. After all, he was the one giving the orders.
"In that case, Li Si, I'll leave this matter to you. If you do it well, it will be a great achievement."
Ying Zheng understood what the King of Zhao meant, so he went along with it and let Li Si do it.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take people to do it right away."
Li Si took the order and went out first, while the King of Zhao stayed here waiting to talk to Ying Zheng about something else.
"I just said in the court that I can make you a promise. Do you have an idea of what you want?"
Ying Zheng asked while sitting aside.
"Well, I haven't thought of it yet. I'll keep it for now. When I think of it, I'll ask the king to fulfill it."
Zhao Jun had thought about it before, but there was nothing he particularly wanted, so he could only keep it for now.
"Well, sure. Come back to me whenever you want."
Ying Zheng agreed and looked up at her. She hadn't slipped away yet. Could there be something else?
"Anything else?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Well, there are some, mainly the follow-up to papermaking. My king, I want to open a bookstore in the city, and sell the paper and books directly in the store after they are made."
Opening a shop in Xianyang City is something Zhao Jun must do. He may even open more than one in the future. The more shops the better.
"That's no problem. You're already in charge of the Neishi Mansion, so just open it directly."
"That's easy to solve. I'm mainly wondering if there are any useful merchants in the court, or if there are any big merchants in Qin. I want to sell paper to various vassal states and make money from other countries, but I can't do that. I need to find a professional merchant."
Zhao Jun felt a little troubled because there were still too few professional businessmen nowadays.
"Well, this is indeed a problem. So I will send someone to ask if there is anyone in the court who is willing to do this, or if they know of any other big businessmen."
Ying Zheng frowned. He didn't have any good solution for the time being, so he could only try to find someone.
After finishing the business, Zhao Jun quickly left the front hall. She still had a lot of things to do.
She was very busy for the next half month.
First, he went to the Mo family workshop to tell Juzi that he was going to build a papermaking workshop in the city.
Afterwards, he went straight to find the Minister of Works, who was in charge of the construction of public buildings. He needed to deal with this Minister of Works for stone, wood, and construction.
Zhao Jun and he walked around Xianyang City twice and finally found a suitable open space.
The first papermaking workshop of the Qin State will soon stand here!
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