In Jingkou, Shen Tianzi reported the assassination details to Liu Yu. Liu Yu was silent after listening.
Shen Tianzi thought that Liu Yu was blaming him for his incompetence in doing things, so he knelt down and said: "I have fulfilled my lord's trust. Please punish me."
Liu Yu stood up and helped Shen Tianzi up, saying: "Jing Guang misunderstood, Yu did not blame you. Yang Anxuan is a hero in the world, and his subordinates are also brave men. Even if Yu Qin goes to rob and kill him, he may not be able to succeed."
"I heard what you said. The Yongzhou battleship has been modified to make it unsinkable. It has water wheels on both sides and the ship travels extremely fast. This is a serious danger." Liu Yu said with a solemn expression.
Just after he had worked hard to obtain the skill of forging swords, Yang Anxuan threw out a new type of warship, which reminded him of Yang Jiali and Yun Jiezhi. Liu Yu's head was as big as a bucket. It seemed that the book "Tiangong Kaiwu" was not burned. Yang Anxuan responded. He is constantly creating new things based on the records in the book, and he is truly a powerful enemy.
When Shen Tianzi sat down, Liu Yu had already made up his mind and said: "Jingguang, I know you don't want to be an official, but Yang Hongnong has reached out to Jiankang with the intention of striving for supremacy in the world. Jingguang has a great talent, if he can help Yu With just one arm, why should I be afraid of Yang Anxuan?"
Shen Tianzi felt guilty for assassinating Yang Anxuan unintentionally, and it was Liu Yu who helped the Shen family out of trouble. Seeing Liu Yu's sincere invitation, he stood up and prostrated, saying: "This servant's family is only today because of the master's rescue. How dare I not be the master?" Die."
Liu Yu laughed loudly and said: "A fool who respects light is better than a thousand troops."
When Shen Tianzi sat down, Liu Yu said: "New things in Yongzhou are emerging one after another, which makes Yu very afraid. Yu has appointed you to join the army for the General Chariot and Cavalry Mansion. You can inquire about the military situation for Yu, especially pay attention to the new things in Yongzhou. If it is beneficial to the country, you may try something seek."
Shen Tianzi responded in a deep voice.
Liu Yu reminded: "I heard that Yang Anxuan received a book called "Tiangong Kaiwu" from a stranger, so Jingguang tried to get it."
Shen Tianzi nodded. He had also heard the rumors about "The Creations of Heaven". If the objects created by Yang Anxuan really came from this book, this book would really be called a work of heaven.
Liu Yu thought for a while and then said: "Since it is set up to inquire about the military situation, it is simply called the Military Intelligence Department. If you need manpower, money and materials, just ask, and Yuhui will try to satisfy you. Yuhui will report to King Langya and authorize the Military Intelligence Department to inquire about the people's situation in each state. Regarding the customs and the trends of Qin, Wei, Yan and other countries, Jingguang is free to act, and even if you make mistakes, you will be responsible for them."
Shen Tianzi deeply felt Liu Yu's trust and felt that he had a heavy responsibility. He stood up and said, "I will live up to my lord's trust in my humble position."
In Xiangyang, Yang Anxuan had been busy for half a month before settling the backlog of affairs in the state. He could finally take a break tomorrow and accompany Kong Miao to visit Kong Yi and discuss engraving.
Yang Anxuan came back from Beijing this time and copied many rare books from Lantai, the imperial court. When the aristocratic families learned that Yang Anxuan asked Kong Yi to compile a Confucian collection, they also donated copies of their treasures to each other, which totaled more than a thousand copies.
Kong Yi learned the news, and when Yang Anxuan came back, he urged Kong Xian to bring an ox cart to transport the books to Hongwenzhuang. According to Kong Miao, his sister-in-law complained to him that his elder brother Kong Xian did not come home and was studying with his father and the great scholars in Hongwenzhuang. To the third update. Yang Anxuan was both angry and funny, and he was still very moved by the intellectual curiosity of these great scholars. However, since his eldest uncle also held the position of literary director, he could not be considered as abandoning his official duties for personal gain.
Yang Min was nine months old and already knew how to recognize people. When she saw her grandpa opening her arms and asking for a hug, Kong Yi couldn't help but smile.
The family was eating, drinking and chatting. Yang Anxuan briefly talked about what happened in Beijing. Kong Yi was dull for a moment and asked: "Is there any hope of reviving the Jin Dynasty?"
Yang Anxuan said seriously: "If Liu Yu and others can work together with Yu, it may be possible."
Kong Yi shook his head and stopped talking. Kong Xian smiled and said: "Originally, most of the Confucian Zang has been compiled, but An Xuan brought back thousands of books from the capital, which delayed the matter for at least a year."
Yang Anxuan apologized: "Thank you, my father-in-law and all the masters."
Kong Yi stroked his beard and said: "The compilation of Confucianism and Tibet is on the right track. Great scholars are gathered in Hongwen Village. It doesn't matter whether I am with you or not for the rest. I have been away from home for a long time, and I am planning to leave home in July."
Yang Anxuan was stunned. He didn't expect that Kong Yi would be moved to return home. However, it was only natural that his mother-in-law was in Qufu and he had four uncles at home. He missed his wife and children.
Sighing softly, Yang Anxuan said: "When the time comes, Yu will send someone to escort his father-in-law back. Yu told his father-in-law that he would build a college based on the Guixia Academy. It was temporarily shelved due to lack of money and food, but Yu's original intention has not changed. If the college is completed, I also hope that my father-in-law will come to give lectures."
Kong Yi said happily: "If I can still walk by then, I will come naturally."
Kong Miao wiped her tears aside and cried: "I miss my mother too. I really want to go home with you to see my mother and see my brothers."
Yang Anxuan gently held Kong Miao's hand and said, "Madam, don't be anxious. When Zhen'er grows up next year, Yu will personally accompany Madam home to visit her relatives."
Kong Xian saw that the atmosphere had become depressed and said with a smile: "An Xuan, I heard that you got the calligraphy of Yuan Lingong and the paintings of Gu Sanjue and Gu Gong in the capital, and asked your servant to look at them for a few days."
Yang Anxuan said with a smile: "Calligraphy and painting are meant for people to appreciate. Brother Xian just wants to see the fool tomorrow and let people bring them to him."
Kong Xian was overjoyed and bowed his hands and said, "Thank you so much An Xuan. My little sister is marrying An Xuan, so I will be able to feast my eyes on you."
These words could easily lead to misunderstandings, so Ms. Ran coughed twice at her husband.
Yang Anxuan said: "My father-in-law is going home. Brother Xian cannot leave. You are the literary agent of the state government. I heard from Miao'er that you are hiding in Hongwenzhuang to study and neglecting government affairs. You will be fined."
Kong Xian said in a weird voice: "Oh, my ancestors said, 'Only villains and women are difficult to raise.' You don't deceive me."
Everyone laughed, and Yang Min giggled when he saw everyone laughing. Kong Miao said angrily: "Brother, I asked Xuanlang not to give you the calligraphy and painting."
Kong Xian hurriedly bowed his hands and said, "Foolish brother made a mistake, please don't blame the wise sister."
After Kong Xian joked and joked, the atmosphere became relaxed. Yang Anxuan said: "Father-in-law, are you going to go home this time by water or land?"
Kong Yi stroked his beard and looked at Yang Anxuan, saying, "Did Anxuan ask me to take the land route?"
Seeing that Kong Yi had guessed what he was thinking, Yang Anxuan smiled and said: "That's right. Yu was appointed the governor of Yongyan by the imperial court, and he felt ashamed that he had not yet inspected the territory of Yanzhou. Yu ordered Xi to open up the frontiers as a separate vehicle and to rule the central area as Yu Ping. I wonder how well these two are managing?"
Although the secret guards would report the situation in Yanzhou to Yang Anxuan, the secret guards focused on military affairs and only followed the civil affairs, so Yang Anxuan did not know much about the civil affairs of Yanzhou. It's a pity that Kong Yi has no intention of becoming an official, otherwise he can rest assured that his father-in-law can govern Yanzhou.
Kong Yi slowly trimmed his beard and said, "When I go back this time, I will take a look at Yanzhou's officials and ask how the people are."
Yang Anxuan said: "I still need to trouble my father-in-law to recommend talented people to serve as officials for Yu. If there are talented people in the Confucius family who are willing to become officials, you may wish to recommend them. Yanzhou is still under the rule of Gui Yu. I hope my father-in-law will take more time to promote Confucianism." .”
Kong Yi said happily: "Very good."
Yang Anxuan turned to Kong Xian and said, "Brother-in-law, I have a favor to ask of you, and I hope you will agree to it."
Kong Xian made a sad face and sighed: "You know it's not easy to read calligraphy and painting, you know. Tell me, what's the matter? If the calligraphy and painting are complicated, then I have to let you read the calligraphy and painting for at least half a month, a month?"
Yang Anxuan smiled and said: "If Brother Xian can accomplish this, it doesn't matter if I let you watch it for a year."
Kong Xian said "Oops" and said: "If we can wait for a year, this matter is not a big deal, so let's forget it."
Kong Yi glared and shouted: "Xianzhi, the etiquette must not be abolished, please listen to An Xuanyan."
Kong Xian saw his father's glare and hurriedly changed his face and said, "Yes."
When Kong Miao saw his eldest brother being scolded, he recalled the scene when his father scolded several older brothers when he was a child, and couldn't help laughing.
Yang Anxuan asked his entourage to bring in a few wooden boards about a foot square and put them on the ground. Kong Xian stood up and came to the board to look at it. He asked in surprise: "What is the purpose of the words engraved on this board?"
Yang Anxuan stepped forward and picked up a piece, placed it next to Kong Yi, and introduced: "This board is made of polished jujube wood with fine texture and solid texture. After writing the manuscript, the side with the words is affixed to the board, and the carver can use it to carve. The knife carves the reverse handwriting on the plate into raised positive characters and eliminates the blank spaces."
Kong Xian stroked the carving board thoughtfully, and the words engraved on the board protruded about two points, and said: "This carving board is somewhat similar to a seal and an inscription. The stele has the positive characters in Yin script, and this carving board has the reverse characters in Yang script. It's just right. on the contrary."
Kong Yi had already woken up, his eyes were shining brightly, and he asked in surprise: "Does An Xuan want to use this method to seal books?"
"Not bad," Yang Anxuan said with a smile: "When printing, dip the brush into ink, brush it evenly on the page, and then cover the paper with the paper. Gently brush the paper with the brush, and the words will be printed on the paper. Lift the paper to dry in the shade. , you can get the words on the board."
Kong Yi stroked the words on the board with trembling hands and said softly: "This is the Analects of Confucius, 'When three people walk together, there must be one who can teach me.' This font was written by Miao'er."
Kong Miao smiled and said: "My lord has good eyesight, but Xuanlang said his handwriting is ugly, so he chose it written by his daughter."
Kong Yi raised his head and looked at Yang Anxuan and asked, "How many times can this carved board be printed?"
Yang Anxuan smiled and said: "I haven't tried it yet. I estimate that it can be printed more than ten thousand times in a row. A printer can print about two thousand sheets a day."
Each carved board can be engraved with 200 characters. The Analects of Confucius has 12,000 characters and requires 600 carved boards. If the carvers make one plate every day, fifty carvers can complete it in less than half a month. Ten thousand times means ten thousand books. Two thousand books can be printed in one day. One hundred printers can print 20,000 books in one day. That is, more than 200 books can be printed every day, and more than 2,000 books can be printed in one month.
A normal person can copy more than a thousand words in a day. A copy of "The Analects of Confucius" takes about ten days to copy. Three copies a month. One hundred people can only copy 300 copies. It is very different from the speed of woodblock printing. Kong Yi knew that the carving board rubbing technique created by Yang Anxuan had a huge impact on the dissemination of scriptures and would definitely leave a mark in history.
Yang Anxuan handed over a few pieces of printed paper and said, "My father-in-law, please take a look. This is the rubbing pattern."
Kong Yi grabbed the paper and compared it with the writing on the carving board. Yes, contrary to the writing on the carving board, the printed words were clear and straight. "
Feeling a little dizzy, Kong Yi took a deep breath, stood up, saluted Yang Anxuan, and said, "I thank Anxuan for all the scholars in the world."
At this time, Kong Xian also reacted, pointed at the carving and said in a trembling voice: "An Xuan asked Yu Jing to take charge of this matter."
Seeing Yang Anxuan smiling and nodding, Kong Xian dressed up and bowed respectfully to Yang Anxuan, saying, "Thank you so much Anxuan, I'm so grateful."
However, Ran heard that the engraving printing brought huge profits. One copy of "The Analects" on the market sold for 200 yuan, and 10,000 copies cost 2 million yuan. The price of six hundred pieces of engraving is about 10,000 yuan. The monthly salary of an engraver is about 600 to 800 yuan, and the monthly salary of 100 people is only 80,000 yuan. The price of a printer will be lower, with a monthly salary of about 50,000 yuan for 100 people. The total cost of binding, selling, and renting a shop is about 50,000 yuan, and it will not exceed 200,000 yuan. If you print 2,000 books a month for 200 yuan each, you can get 400,000 yuan, doubling the profit.
As for selling, you don’t have to worry about it. Confucianism is vigorously promoted in Yongzhou, and the supply of books exceeds the demand. If they are sold to Qin, Wei and other countries, there will be extra trafficking costs, but the price of the books can still be doubled several times.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Ran whispered to Kong Miao: "Miao'er, I might leave the engraving and selling to my sister-in-law, and my sister-in-law's profits will be divided equally with you."
Kong Miao smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is a descendant of Master Ran. How come she has learned the skills of Duke Duanmu?"
Ran gave Kong Miao a pinch and said, "You damn girl, you dare to laugh at my sister-in-law. I'm not here to help your nephew earn a share of the family business."
Kong Miao said: "Sister-in-law, don't worry. Xuanlang entrusted this matter to the slave, and the slave and sister-in-law will take care of it together. However, Xuanlang said that 70% of the engraving plates will be used to print Buddhist scriptures."
Seeing the confusion on Kong Miao's eyebrows, Ran smiled and said, "My sister-in-law is really smart. Buddhist scriptures are much easier to sell than Confucian scriptures, and the price is also a bit more expensive."
Kong Yi said solemnly: "An Xuan, I heard that you were taught a book by a stranger called "Tiangong Kaiwu". This engraving technique came from this book. Did you really burn this book?"
Yang Anxuan said: "Exactly. "Tiangong Kaiwu" was taught by a Song Taoist priest when Yu was in Luoyang. Unfortunately, Yu accidentally burned it. It's strange to say that the records in the book will appear in his mind from time to time. "
Kong Yi took a deep look at Yang Anxuan and said: "This is a gift from heaven, you should cherish it."
33
Some people died, but not completely...
