Chapter 7: Ying Zheng: The Qin Dynasty already had something like an assembly line
"Can you make 'paper' with these?"
Ying Zheng held up a sheet of paper covered in writing. This was the papermaking method Zhao Gao had just memorized. Zhao Gao's calligraphy was excellent, and the words on the paper were smooth, symmetrical, and beautiful.
The production steps are much more complicated than bamboo slips, but the cost is greatly reduced compared to silk.
It will cause a revolution.
No literate person can resist paper.
Wei Shengxue sat sideways on a cushion beside him and replied, "I only gave you the simplest method. Different materials and steps will produce different qualities of paper. You'll have to experiment on your own."
She wasn't interested in the matter and briefly mentioned it before changing the subject: "When will you take me to see the bamboo slip production process?"
She wanted to use the photo stone to record the entire process, so that when she returned to the interstellar space, she would be the great hero who restored history. Thinking of the history teacher who had always scowled at her and chased after her to praise her, she was so happy that she could only chew an extra fasting pill.
"Zhao Gao, pass on the Mo Ge."
"Wait a moment." Wei Shengxue stopped the person who was about to deliver the message, looked up at Ying Zheng, and demanded, "I want to see where the bamboo slips were made."
She took out the photo stone and said, "I want to record the process and bring it back for everyone to see."
Ying Zheng secretly thought: Is it possible that there are no bamboo slips in the fairy world?
"Of course. Zhao Gao, lead the way for the Immortal Master."
----
In the main hall, the ministers were eagerly waiting for the First Emperor to return.
Your Majesty went to inquire about the 'paper' matter, what was the result?
Is the cost of paper high?
After the paper is made, who can get the first batch?
All assumptions must be based on the results obtained by Your Majesty. If paper is more expensive than silk, then its value lies only in being "the same style as immortals." It has a nice name but little practicality.
When Ying Zheng stepped into the main hall again, what awaited him were all the expectant eyes looking at him.
He did not keep anyone in suspense and directly signaled his attendant Meng Yi to announce the good news to them.
"Wood? Fishing net?"
This is the most common object.
If you really calculate it, the cost may be lower than bamboo slips.
"His Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, please give the order to have this made. May God bless our Great Qin!"
"I second this motion."
Ying Zheng was also very happy. He read the papermaking method on the paper over and over again, barely suppressing his desire to open a paper mill here.
"Send word, ordering the Minister of the Interior to study papermaking outside Xianyang City, with the eldest son Fusu in charge. Meng Yi, copy this book and escort it back to Xianyang."
"I want to see the finished product when I return to the palace."
"Yes." Meng Yi bent down and raised his hands, respectfully taking the paper handed over by Ying Zheng.
He knew that His Majesty would never allow him to take it back and copy it, so he spread out blank bamboo slips on the small table beside him and started writing.
As a civil servant in the imperial court, he had excellent handwriting and was good at writing the most words with the least bamboo slips. But even so, it took him three rolls of bamboo slips to copy the papermaking technique word for word.
"Your Majesty, the transcription is complete."
Ying Zheng looked up and saw three rolls of bamboo slips on the left and a thin piece of paper on the right, which could be folded and put into the sachet he carried with him.
This obvious gap allowed the Qin emperor and his ministers to intuitively feel the wonders of paper for the first time.
"Draw some people from the craftsmanship department to make the paper first."
At the emperor's command, the sophisticated machine of the Qin Dynasty immediately began to operate efficiently.
Next is——
Attitude towards this immortal.
An immortal who is only concerned with immortality and an immortal who can bring earth-shaking changes to the Qin Dynasty have completely different meanings.
As everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, Li Si was the first to speak up: "Your Majesty, the immortals believe that our Great Qin is a remote place in the immortal world. Why don't we maintain this illusion?"
"Li Tingwei, you deliberately deceived the immortal. If you anger her, how can the Qin Dynasty withstand the immortal's wrath?" The speaker was Wang Wan, a moderate who always advocated steady progress.
Li Si said, "The immortals are now open to us, probably because they think we are one of their kind. When Duke Xiao ascended the throne, the other states viewed Qin as a barbarian nation, even refusing to invite us to the alliance. Even the five Central Plains states, all under the rule of the Zhou Emperor, acted in this way, let alone the immortals."
To put it simply, this passage means that people are so generous because they treat us as their own people. If they knew that we were not the same kind, they would probably just leave.
Wang Wan asked, "Why is the immortal so angry?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Li Si understood and gave in.
It's no wonder that after just a few days of knowing each other, the immortal has come up with the papermaking technique of inestimable value.
How can one accept entering a mountain of treasures only to come out empty-handed?
But the anger of being deceived after the truth comes out must also be taken into consideration.
No one spoke in the main hall, everyone was thinking about countermeasures.
A way to have the best of both worlds.
"Your Majesty, why not ask Xu Sheng for advice?"
Xu Sheng was an alchemist that the First Emperor met in Qi. He had performed many miracles and claimed to have seen immortal mountains such as Penglai and Fangzhang above the East China Sea. The First Emperor thought highly of him.
Li Si smiled slightly and continued, "Xu Sheng can communicate with the gods, so I think he has something to say to the immortals."
The ministers' gazes drifted away.
It has to be you, Li Tingwei.
The people who had long been dissatisfied with the First Emperor's preference for alchemists looked at each other and added fuel to the fire.
This one said, "Your Majesty, the immortal masters are obsessed with cultivation. I think they must be ecstatic to be able to seek guidance from the immortals."
The other one immediately added, "Why not ask the immortal master to demonstrate what he has learned in front of the immortal? When I was young and studying, if I could get a single word of guidance from an elder, I would be ecstatic for days. I think the immortal masters would feel the same way."
You kept talking to me, as if you wanted to blow me up to the sky.
Ying Zheng listened to the flattery of his ministers, who had always been hostile to the alchemists, and his understanding of their little thoughts was clear to him.
but……
"My Great Qin has had a difficult life, and its inheritance has been cut short. Since unifying the nation, we have searched for the remains of our ancestors and recruited many immortal masters who claim to have inherited their legacy... Immortal cultivators, please distinguish between the two."
The person who could speak exactly to the First Emperor's heart was naturally the 007 master, the King of Qin, Li Si.
This excuse was perfect, Ying Zheng liked it very much, and his ministers were also very satisfied.
Thus, the matter was decided without the sorcerers knowing about it.
As for how flustered and panicked they were after receiving the order, it is not something outsiders can understand.
Then everyone added to and revised the plan, making sure to achieve the effect of "I didn't lie, it was you who misunderstood, and you will continue to misunderstand."
-----
While the Qin officials were racking their brains, Weishengxue followed Zhao Gao to the bamboo slip production site.
When the First Emperor went on tour, it would often take several months. The paperwork and memorials he handled every day would weigh at least 100 kilograms. Naturally, it was impossible for him to carry so many blank bamboo slips with his motorcade.
It was not convenient to make bamboo slips on the fly as the convoy was always moving. Fortunately, the palace was well-equipped with craftsmen and places to make bamboo slips.
"Immortal, this is the place."
What came into view was a large open space, with piles of bamboo poles stacked in the corner. They had been sawed into pieces of suitable length by a specialist, then carried to another area, where they were split by men wielding short knives. Even the splitters were divided into several groups. Some were responsible for splitting the bamboo into finger-width pieces, while others were responsible for splitting the bamboo into two layers, inside and outside. The two groups used different knives.
Each person is responsible for a specific task, and each person is only responsible for a small part of the work. They communicate with each other but do not interfere with each other.
This is a very mature assembly line.
"I believe it. You really did have an advanced and superior civilization in the past."
Although she often ignored history classes, she knew that assembly line work did not appear on her home planet until the industrial age.
This world of immortal cultivation, where the living standards are not even as good as those in ancient times, actually has a mature assembly line division of labor.
This must be left over from the past.
Weisheng·Xue, a poor student in history, made his conclusion seriously.
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