Li Si's voice was passionate and full of energy. But as soon as his words came out, the usually calm First Emperor couldn't help but look shocked.
The emperor did not hold back. Zhao Gao and other eunuchs in the palace also had slightly changed expressions, looking at Ting Wei with strange expressions.
Fortunately, after a brief moment of astonishment, the First Emperor quickly showed a smile on his face, nodded and praised: "Tingwei's suggestion is very good, I have always had the idea of unifying the world's writing." Li Si was keenly aware that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the palace.
However, the emperor directly agreed with his suggestion, which made Li Si quite happy. The unified text he proposed really spoke to what the emperor had in mind.
He, Li Si, and the emperor have a good understanding! But immediately afterwards, the emperor did not ask about the specific matter of unifying the world's writing. Instead, he changed the topic and asked an unrelated question: "When Tingwei entered the palace, did he see Shaofu Zhao leaving?"
"Your Majesty, I did see Mr. Zhao at the palace gate when I entered the palace." Li Si replied, feeling a little confused.
When he got off the car outside the palace gate just now, he happened to meet Zhao Tuo who was leaving the palace. The two of them saluted each other, exchanged greetings, and made some special remarks.
He still remembered that there was nothing unusual about Zhao Tuo except that his face was slightly red, and he didn't know why the emperor mentioned Zhao Tuo at this time.
When the First Emperor saw Li Si's expression, he knew that Li Si was not angry with Zhao Tuo. It seems likely that the two of them made the same suggestion on the same day.
It seems that Li Si is also my close friend. The First Emperor nodded secretly and started talking about business, saying: "Wei Ting came just in time. Shaofu Zhao just came to see me to present newly made paper. This thing can be used to write in place of bamboo slips and silk books. It is very good. Ting Wei." You can take a look, I decided to use paper to promote the writing of books."
"Paper?" Li Si's face was calm, but surprise flashed in his eyes. What kind of thing is this? It can actually be used to promote unified writing.
Because this was something he had never heard of before, Li Si did not dare to pretend to understand, so he could only ask: "May I ask Your Majesty, what is paper?" The First Emperor smiled and motioned to Zhao Gao to take a piece of paper and hand it to Li Si.
"Tingwei, this is the paper made by the young master." Zhao Gao held a piece of paper with both hands and handed it to Li Si respectfully.
Li Si nodded and focused all his attention on the yellow silk-like thing in front of him. After a while.
When Li Si figured out the function of the thin thing in his hand, he was completely surprised.
"The price of this thing is cheaper than bamboo slips, and it is lighter and lighter than silk. When writing with this thing, one piece of paper can replace several bamboo slips." Li Si looked at the one placed on the emperor's eucalyptus, which had a big written on it.
The word "I" is written on hemp paper, and the eyes are full of brilliance. He once worked as a minor official in Chu State. He worked as a retainer under Lu Buwei's family.
After joining the government of the Qin Dynasty, he served as a guest minister and a minister, and now he has become a Tingwei, one of the nine ministers.
It can be said that Li Si climbed to a high position step by step from a junior official. Naturally, he knew how much benefit such a thin writing carrier could bring to the entire country.
From the bottom to the top, everyone will benefit greatly.
"Shaofu Zhao is really a capable man. With this thing, your majesty's unification of the world's writing will definitely go smoothly. Moreover, after the paper is popularized, it will be very convenient for the officials of Qin to handle government affairs in the future. This truth is given to me by God. A gift from Da Qin!" Li Si was full of praise for the paper.
Seeing Li Si happy at the sight of paper. The First Emperor nodded. The two ministers have already made suggestions regarding the book and text, and he has already had such an idea in his mind.
There is no need to let the Prime Minister and others discuss this matter, and the decision can be made directly. If you say do it, do it!
The First Emperor's expression became solemn and he said in a deep voice: "Zhao Gao, issue an edict."
"Wei." Zhao Gao immediately responded to the order, moistened the ink and started writing, with his ears erect, listening to the words from the emperor's mouth, ready to write at any time.
The First Emperor spoke loudly.
"The world has been in chaos for a long time, and the feudal lords are in chaos, causing the writing to be abnormal and difficult to communicate within the four seas. Such chaos makes it impossible for Qin law to be implemented in Shandong, and it is difficult for political orders to be issued across the four seas, which is extremely unsightly."
"Now, Li Si, the court captain, and Zhao Tuo, the Shaofu, have come up with suggestions and suggestions. In order to put an end to the six kingdoms who do not agree with the Qin text, they will write the same text to the world."
"I believe that the Qin Dynasty will unify the world, not only to unify the territory, but also to make everything in the world unique!" In the palace of Qin, the First Emperor formally issued an edict written in the same language.
But Li Si, who made the suggestion, was stunned on the spot. He looked confused. Isn't it my suggestion?
"Why is there Zhao Tuo's name in this edict?"...A black carriage stopped outside Li Mansion.
Li Si got off the carriage, still holding the paper the emperor gave him tightly in his hand. There are six in total, very precious.
"This time the edict with the same text contains Zhao Tuo's name, probably because he invented paper."
"The edict says to give advice. I, Li Si, give advice, and the paper he, Zhao Tuo, made can be used for writing and writing, so naturally I give advice." Li Si secretly guessed in his heart and solved his doubts on his own.
Thinking of the various wonderful uses of paper, he felt a little itchy. After all, he, Li Si, was a master of calligraphy. When he saw this novel writing medium, he naturally wanted to write a big stroke on it.
Just when he walked into his mansion, he saw Li Yu's servant hurriedly walking out of the house.
"I have met my lord." When the servant saw Li Si entering the house, he quickly saluted respectfully. Li Si nodded, noticed that the servant was holding a sealed letter in his hand, and asked casually: "Where is this sent to?" The servant hurriedly said: "It is sent to Shu, to the great gentleman."
"Well, let's go." Li Si smiled slightly, thinking that brothers were harmonious, which really made him, an old father, happy.
Thinking of this, after Li Si entered the house, he did not go straight back to the house, but went to where Li Yu was. Li Yuzheng sat in front of the eucalyptus, holding a roll of slips and shaking his head.
Hearing footsteps outside the house, he looked back and saw Li Si coming in. His eyelids twitched slightly, but he smiled and said, "Father is back." Li Si nodded and said, "Next time I write a letter to your brother, you don't need a bamboo slip. Yes." Li Yu's face changed slightly, and he hurriedly asked: "What does father mean by this?"
"What do you mean?" Li Si smiled, raised the six yellow papers in his hand and shook them: "Look what these are!"
"silk?"
"Paper!" Li Si stepped forward, put the paper in his hand on the eucalyptus, carefully pulled out a piece and spread it out, then asked Li Yu to get pen and ink, and wrote a word on the paper under his son's surprised eyes.
Orange! Li Yuye reached out and picked up a piece of paper, pulled it and said, "This thing can actually be written on. But when you touch it, it feels far inferior to silk."
"What do you know, kid?" Li Si sneered and said, "Although this thing is not as good as silk, it is cheaper than anything else. Do you know what this thing is made of?" Li Yu asked: "What is it made of? Li Si smiled and said: "Hemp heads, rags, and even discarded shoes can be used to make paper. According to Zhao Shaofu, in the future, bark, wood, bamboo, and even grass can also be used to make paper. The price is cheaper than silk." too much!"
"Can grass make paper?" Li Yu looked surprised, and then thought of the name of the person Li Si mentioned just now, and asked: "Did Zhao Shaofu make this? He can actually do this." Li Si sighed: "Yes, he is truly worthy of his reputation as a young master. This paper can be written on, is cheaper than slips, and is lighter than silk. It has the advantages of both, and is tough..." Hiss... with the sound of tearing sounded.
He saw that the hemp paper in Li Yu's hand had been torn in half. silence.
"Shuzi, what a good thing you did!" Li Si cursed. He felt a little distressed. The emperor only gave him six!
Li Yu said awkwardly: "Father said this thing is tough, so I couldn't help but try it." Li Si snorted and reached out to pick up the remaining five pieces of paper.
"Today, we are going to let the Shaofu make a large amount of paper to help our Qin State unify the world's writing. In the future, this paper will be popularized, and all the officials in the world will use it to write and copy. Slips may be eliminated. ." Li Si said, unable to help but shake his head and sigh.
With his knowledge, he can naturally see what the emergence of this cheap and lightweight writing carrier means.
It will change the world! But as
A disciple of Legalism who "conveniences the country without following the ancients", he has always been very receptive to new things that facilitate the country's governance.
"Unify the world's writing." Li Yuze chewed on this sentence and stared at the five pieces of paper in Li Si's hand, especially the one written
"Orange" yellow paper. He frowned and said: "Father, in addition to facilitating government affairs and the implementation of laws, this thing can also make it easier for people to read. With this thing, I am afraid that the theories of various scholars will be more easily popularized." Convenient for reading?
Li Si's old eyes narrowed instantly. Yes, Li Yu's words reminded him. He always thought that paper could help administration and promote the law.
What I have overlooked is that this item will also reduce the cost of studying. In this era, bamboo slips were generally used for writing.
On a bamboo slip, some can write more than 20 characters, while others can write more than 30 or 40 characters. As far as he knew, if the Confucian Analects of Confucius were written on bamboo slips, it would require five to six hundred bamboo slips and weigh more than a hundred kilograms.
Such a high cost would make it impossible for wealthy aristocrats and wealthy children to study.
But if you write it on paper instead. With the same number of words, the price of paper will be much cheaper, and it is also lightweight, and its popularity will be far greater than that of bamboo slips.
The promotion and circulation of paper will surely make the theories of various schools of thought spread more widely and give more people the opportunity to read and study.
Among the hundreds of scholars, Confucianism is naturally the highest in terms of universality. Although the group of Confucian doctors suffered heavy losses in the last Princess Shang incident and were deprived of political rights, the First Emperor did not abolish the Zhou rites.
Confucianism still has a great influence in Shandong. If those Confucian disciples used paper to copy the classics and spread them, the consequences would be disastrous.
"You are right. I must advise His Majesty that this object can only be used for government affairs and the enforcement of laws." A cold light flashed in Li Si's eyes.
"Paper cannot be used by Confucianists and their disciples."
