As soon as Liu Hong returned to the mansion, the housekeeper came forward and took out an invitation.
"Sir, Mrs. Cheng, Cheng Jin, has sent me an invitation to meet you."
Cheng?
Cheng Jin was somewhat impressed. Last time he hosted people to donate money and food, the Cheng family took the lead in donating a lot.
"please come in."
Liu Hong picked up the invitation.
The housekeeper responded and quickly brought Cheng Jin in.
An old man smiled.
"Cheng Jin, I have met the governor."
Liu Hong nodded.
"What's going on?"
"There is a woman in the Cheng family, Cheng Ying, who is eighteen years old and has a reputation far and wide."
Cheng Jin looked at Liu Hong's face and said cautiously.
"Some impression."
Liu Hong raised his eyebrows. He was somewhat impressed by this Cheng Ying.
Among Dongjun, his reputation is not small, and many scholars admire his reputation.
"I came here this time just to propose marriage to you. I heard that your residence is still short of a concubine. Mrs. Cheng is willing to give this girl to you as your concubine. In addition, I will also give you grain, grass, and thousands of stones as a dowry."
"oh?"
Liu Hong's sitting posture was slightly upright.
Although Wanshi grain and grass is not much, it represents an attitude.
Is Cheng planning to bet heavily on him?
Once they get married, Cheng will definitely put his mark on it.
Isolated by the Yanzhou gentry.
These nobles have always hedged their bets.
Although he doesn't know how to stud, he at least represents a certain branch of the Cheng family, and the center of gravity will shift towards him.
"Ms. Cheng is really interested."
Liu Hong nodded.
Of course he had no reason to refuse such a good thing.
After getting the answer he wanted, Cheng Jin returned with satisfaction.
In the Cheng Mansion.
The elders of the Cheng clan gathered together.
"The governor agreed?"
Cheng Jin walked into the house and nodded when he heard the words.
"accepted."
"I don't know whether this decision is right or wrong."
A clan elder looked hesitant.
"Now that the troubled times are revealed, if I, the Cheng family, want to take a further step, we must make a move in advance."
"Otherwise, how can we compete with the Yuan family and the Yang family?"
When Cheng Jin heard this, his tone dropped.
"Even if we lose, the clan will be shut down for hundreds of years at worst."
The Han Dynasty has been standing for hundreds of years, and the disputes between noble families have long been unwritten rules.
You can fight, but you won't kill them all.
It's just that you have to give up some benefits.
This marriage is a big gamble.
The bet was won, and the Cheng family took off!
If you lose the bet, everyone will be wiped out.
But as long as you keep what you learned at home, you can make a comeback sooner or later.
News of the marriage between the Cheng family and the governor came out.
The powerful nobles in Yanzhou had their own ideas.
Some people are not ashamed, but some people have the idea of investing.
However, most are still waiting and watching.
In the Han Dynasty, there was a set of rules for marrying a wife.
The main wife is married by the official matchmaker.
But the concubine's room didn't have so many rules. Mrs. Cheng chose a day and sent her directly to Liu Hong's house.
Liu Hong took it for granted, but Diao Chan was very happy that she had another sister.
A woman from a big family is well-educated and sensible.
He actually got along well with her.
"Quite sensible."
Liu Hong felt calm after hearing Diao Chan's narration.
If he dares to fight for favor and power based on his family background, he will be displeased.
Fortunately, this Cheng girl is quite sensible.
"Sir, the grain and grass sent by Cheng have been counted and put into storage."
"Go down."
He waved his hand and dismissed the officials who came to report.
Liu Hong pondered slightly.
Seeing Cheng's courage, he didn't mind allowing him to be rich for several generations.
He happens to be short of two or three important positions that are unfilled.
I originally thought about recruiting a few talents from the recruitment hall and entrusting them with important tasks.
Now it is just left to the Cheng family, which can be regarded as a thousand gold to buy horse bones.
Let the nobles weigh whether they should fight against him or be his dogs.
Under Diao Chan's service, we drank a few glasses of wine.
The fine wine was as light as water in Liu Hong's mouth.
Compared with the high-strength wine distilled in later generations, does this kind of alcohol with impure color and impurities deserve to be called fine wine?
I'm afraid I haven't had a good drink.
I used to be busy with work and didn't have time to tinker with these strange skills.
Now that I have some free time, I can study distilled liquor.
Anyway, in his memory, the principle of this thing is quite simple.
The night of flowers and candles in the bridal chamber.
Cheng Ying and Diao Chan slept together.
The fierce battle continued until dawn, and in the end only Diao Chan was able to fight. Cheng Ying was already too tired to move.
For several days.
Under Diao Chan's personal guidance, Cheng Ying's service skills improved by leaps and bounds.
In the governor's office, Liu Hong was handling official affairs on the slips.
Next to the documents, the official documents to be processed were piled up into a small mountain.
Seeing this, Liu Hong was helpless.
Although there are many talents under his command, some matters still need to be decided by him, the governor himself.
In this era, handling official business is not just about taking a look at a piece of paper and pressing a seal.
Most official documents and records are still based on bamboo slips.
Silk was expensive and only used by the royal family and nobles.
Although there is cheap paper like Caihou paper, the quality of this thing is really confusing.
It's dark, rough, and extremely easy to break.
Let’s not talk about the difficulty of circulation. If you really use this kind of paper to write books, I am afraid that it will become a pile of residue within two years.
It is only suitable for use as toilet paper.
However, papermaking was readily available.
If we continue to transform it in depth, we might be able to develop paper that can replace the bamboo slips.
The emergence of paper not only facilitated the transportation of knowledge, but also gave some people from poor backgrounds the opportunity to learn.
And he can also obtain more talents and break the solidified class of the gentry.
Liu Hong came to a paper mill in the city.
Because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it looked a little dilapidated.
【Papermaking Workshop】
[Ruined (gray). 】
[Roughly made (white). 】
Liu Hong bought the papermaking interview and refreshed the entry directly.
Three opportunities to refresh entries have been used up.
There aren't any good entries.
Upon seeing this, Liu Hong directly used the luck value to refresh the entry.
After spending about a thousand luck points and refreshing it ten times, two purple entries appeared.
[Skilled Craftsman: In the papermaking workshop, personnel’s papermaking skills +100%, proficiency +100% (purple entry)]
[Exquisite craftsmanship: the average quality of the paper produced is +200% (purple entry)]
The two purple entries directly changed the name of the paper mill.
【Paper Making Workshop】.
Looking at the reborn workshop, Liu Hong looked satisfied.
The next step is to conduct in-depth research on transforming papermaking.
He happens to know some bamboo paper crafting techniques, although he only knows a little bit about it.
However, research should lead to the invention of usable paper.
Papermaking, printing, and establishing a college were all the skills he prepared for the Eastern Han gentry.
With these, it is only a matter of time before the cultural monopoly of the gentry is broken.
However, this kind of thing will definitely arouse resistance from the nobles.
Before you have enough strength, you should not provoke the nerves of these nobles too much.
Wait until the big man collapses and his wings are full.
When the time comes, whether these nobles will live or die will depend on his mood.
Leave the arrangements for the papermaking workshop to Cheng Yu.
Liu Hong returned to the mansion.
Seeing Diao Chan holding a handful of silk picture albums and studying them carefully, she stepped forward curiously.
"Slave, what are you looking at?"
"ah!"
After Diao Chan heard Liu Hong's voice, she hurriedly put away the silk album.
But Liu Hong still saw the pattern on it.
Two little people are doing various actions on it.
"Master, slave... slave is studying!"
“You must be able to apply what you have learned.”
Liu Hong smiled and then hugged Diao Chan.
