When Liang Xiao successfully took over the paper mill, he also sent people to collect ink materials.
Letter printing had not yet been invented in the Da Zhou, but various materials such as tung oil, sesame oil, and grease were added to the ink used by the people of the Da Zhou to make writing clearer and brighter.
According to Liang Xiao's speculation, woodblock printing might have been secretly developed by those aristocratic families and used quietly to reduce costs. The huge profits it would bring were unimaginable.
In the early stages of development, movable type printing did not replace woodblock printing. Both had their own advantages and disadvantages.
But Liang Xiao’s own newspaper must rely on movable type printing instead of fixed-type engraving printing!
Liang Xiao's trend of purchasing materials from all over the world was also keenly noticed by major aristocratic families.
Unexpectedly, these materials themselves came from the suppliers of the paper mill and the Dingguo Hou Mansion.
As the founding prime minister, Zhugehui proposed increasing afforestation to supply papermaking as early as the founding of the Zhou Dynasty.
The development of the paper industry also indirectly led to the development of ink, which brought great convenience to Liang Xiao.
Liang Xiao sat at home, took a box of ink from the table, painted it on a copper plate with a few words on it, and then pressed it on the paper.
Duan Yunxiu sat aside, looking forward to it.
In the past few days, in her dreams, she wished that Liang Xiao would immediately open a newspaper office and use the magical "movable type printing technology".
The copper plate left faint words on the paper with obvious gaps.
Liang Xiao also tried to get various types of wood boards, such as jujube wood and pear wood, and followed the same method. He dipped it in ink and printed it on the paper, leaving only vague handwriting.
After repeating this process several times, Liang Xiao also tried different printing and coating methods, as well as several inks with different prices, but without exception, they all failed.
"Can't it be printed?" Duan Yunxiu looked anxious.
Liang Xiao tried all types of inks, but they couldn't be printed.
Jiang Fuxue, who was sitting next to Duan Yunxiu, couldn't help but look depressed.
This means that his newspaper office cannot be opened?
Liang Xiao's cheerful laughter sounded in the room: "This is a good thing!"
"Is this still a good thing? The newspaper company's affairs are in trouble..." Duan Yunxiu said in despair.
If movable type printing can successfully support the newspaper and prove that the six policies of governing the country are effective, it will greatly strengthen her sister's determination to support Liang Xiao.
He can actually laugh!
Liang Xiao then said: "This illustrates one thing. Those aristocratic families that have mastered the book and paper industries have definitely not secretly invented movable type printing and engraving printing. In other words, they are still relying on hand copying!"
Duan Yunxiu breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly muttered: "But in this case, even if you invent it, it will be useless!"
Liang Xiao smiled and said, "What if I prepare ink that can be used for printing?"
Duan Yunxiu's beautiful eyes lit up: "Do you know how to make this kind of ink?"
"Of course I know, it's not difficult!" Liang Xiao grinned.
"You should have told me earlier, it's so annoying to be so startled and make people worry~"
Duan Yunxiu couldn't help but pinch Liang Xiao's arm. Jiang Fuxue was dumbfounded.
Is this really the legendary noble princess?
But when she thought about herself, Jiang Fuxue felt relieved: This princess did not hesitate to pretend to be a city eunuch for her brother. It seems that she also has a hidden side?
After confirming that woodblock printing had not been invented by the family, Liang Xiao began to make bold arrangements to do it.
The workers responsible for blending the ink were the female relatives of the earliest batch of workers. This group of people were extremely loyal, and the interests of the whole family were tied to him as the boss. Naturally, they also tried their best to carefully blend the ink under the supervision of Xuan Wei. , to earn extra money for the family.
Mixing ink is not a heavy job. Each of these female workers can still get one or two silver each month. They are already happy. They are only worried that if they do not do well, they will be fired by Liang Xiao and replaced.
On that day, the empress issued an edict to officially promote "stamp tax" nationwide, with the tax rate being two thousandths of the contract transaction amount.
The news spread, and the entire capital was shocked!
"There is such a perfect and wonderful plan!"
Xing Feng was the first to praise him and sent someone to notify the Emperor of Chu.
Dachu and Dazhou share the same ancestry and origin, and the two sides are still in the stage of good relations.
The national policy of stamp duty can be used by Dazhou, but there is no reason why Dachu cannot use it.
"Liang Xiao has just emerged, and the Empress of the Zhou Dynasty has promoted this wonderful national policy. Maybe it has something to do with him. I will choose a day to visit!" Xing Feng finally made up his mind and chose a time.
After Gongsun Wuji and Zhuo Mingfeng learned about the stamp tax, their eyes brightened.
As the nominal territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Bashu can certainly promote this policy justifiably!
According to their estimates, the Gongsun family, which ruled over Bashu, should be able to earn at least 300,000 taels of silver through stamp duty every year!
Zhuo Mingfeng frowned and said: "Have you noticed? Such a whimsical idea reminds me of Liang Xiao's white sugar... Maybe this person secretly gave the stamp tax advice. Even if he didn't give the advice, since he can get Prime Minister Zhuge's I highly praise him. If the empress wants to support him, she will definitely credit him with the stamp duty in the future as a stepping stone to his officialdom. It is enough for her to be known as a wise king."
"You're right! It's quite reasonable for a businessman to come up with such a reasonable and profitable policy as stamp duty." Gongsun Wuji felt an increasing sense of crisis in his heart, but he had to admire Zhuo Mingfeng's foresight.
If he was really allowed to come to the capital on his own to do business, he might have ruined all the opportunities by now.
Judging from the current situation, even if it is a bad idea to make friends with Liang Xiao, it is also the best strategy he can choose at the moment.
According to Zhuo Mingfeng's idea, even if the Gongsun family did not cooperate with him, a loyal family like Dingguo Houfu would definitely intervene. Instead of doing this, the Gongsun family would be better off getting familiar with Liang Xiao than provoking him.
Since the stamp tax was in line with the interests of the court and the people, Duanmujie and others had no reason to stop it, so they could only kneel in the hall and call for sainthood.
But they were filled with resentment.
Beihu doesn't need this kind of national policy!
Only when Beihu grows stronger can these aristocratic families have the confidence to compromise with the imperial power.
A powerful Zhou Dynasty is not in their interests at all. What they need is a Zhou Dynasty that looks up to others. They even want the empress to compromise and choose her husband and brother-in-law from a noble family to share the throne!
Obviously, the emergence of stamp duty has hindered the realization of their goals to a certain extent, and they cannot risk the world's disapproval to oppose such a comprehensive policy.
"As soon as His Majesty's stamp tax edict came out, the people really applauded, and the people were happy to spend a little money to get a guarantee from the government!"
Liang Xiao learned that the stamp duty rate was two thousandths, and did not object.
The Great Zhou Dynasty was still in the ancient stage, and the cost and efficiency of government management contracts were obviously not as good as modern times. There was no problem in charging more.
Two parts per thousand is a good limit and is within the acceptable range among the people.
The next day, the empress summoned Liang Xiao again.
