After the bandits' affairs were settled, Li Hao came to make arrangements to return to the Tan County camp.
It is quite convenient to transport the money among the spoils of war. Just find some carriages to load the things, and it won't take much trouble.
However, it would take some effort to escort a group of prisoners. Li Hao planned to escort these prisoners back to Jiaodong, so that they could directly serve as workers in the papermaking workshop.
This can not only reduce expenses, but more importantly, confidentiality is more guaranteed.
After all, after these prisoners return, the power of life and death rests with them, and there is no personal network in Jiaodong. As long as they are well supervised, they don't have to worry about leaks.
However, because Li Hao still planned to stay in Xuzhou for a while to see if there was still a chance to fight another battle, he could not let his subordinates escort the prisoners back directly.
So Li Hao ordered people to rush back to Jiaodong to find Liang, and asked her to send people to Tan County to take over and bring back all the prisoners.
Because of the dragging down of the prisoners, the process of returning to Tan County was not so fast this time. It took seven days in a row before returning smoothly.
Taking advantage of this time, Li Hao became more familiar with Wan Songbai and Cheng Shi. If it weren't for the age difference, Wan Songbai would have almost become sworn sworn friends with Li Hao.
It was this familiarity that made Wan Songbai remind him on the way: "That day when you attacked the bandit camp, I saw that the siege equipment you used were quite novel. We have never seen the Zhou Mu envoy before, but Yuan Jiaxin Made near?"
Li Hao had already expected that Wan Songbai would ask about this matter. After all, as veterans on the battlefield, it was impossible for Wan Songbai and Cheng Shi not to see the role of these two things.
And Li Hao was also ready to hand over this thing. After all, the world was in chaos. This weapon for attacking cities and strongholds must be given to Emperor Wen. Otherwise, if he hits any city unfavorably in the future, he will lose his troops and generals.
I'm afraid that whether it's because of the siege equipment or not, Emperor Wen will be reminded of the Yuan family's failure to present treasures, and will be angry with the Yuan family.
Since they all have to be paid, it would be good to use the remaining value and teach Wan Songbai and Cheng Shi together to build a closer relationship.
Of course, Li Hao wouldn't give it away directly. That would be a bit pricey, so Wan Songbai had to speak first.
Then he replied: "That's true. After my father took office in Xuzhou, I asked the craftsmen at home to improve it. However, I didn't use it in actual practice and I didn't know how effective it was, so I didn't give it to my father.
But this time, it seems that these two things are indeed beneficial to the siege. When I return to Tancheng, I will tell my father about these things and leave the corresponding craftsmen behind. "
Unexpectedly, Wan Songbai heard this, but did not answer the question. Instead, he started chatting with Li Hao about the pros and cons of the battle, leaving Li Hao confused.
It wasn't until Li Hao talked about this with Yuan Pei later that he realized how shrewd Wan Songbai was.
After returning to Tan County, because the people from Jiaodong had not arrived yet, Li Hao ordered people to set up a separate camp outside to guard the prisoners.
He went to Yuan Pei's side with Wan Songbai and Cheng Shi to recover. After Yuan Pei had a general understanding of the situation, he expressed condolences to Wan Songbai and Cheng Shi, and then let them go down to rest first.
Then he said to Li Hao: "Are the rush cars and wooden curtains you mentioned just now really so useful?"
Li Hao replied: "That's natural. How can the things I made be bad? Of course there must be flaws. In order to enhance protection and power, they are not light in weight, so there are requirements for the terrain.
In addition, they are made of wood after all. Although I have set up fire prevention measures, they cannot withstand it if they are burned with kerosene.
And the most important point is that larger cities all have trenches, so how to transport these things to the city is a problem. "
After hearing the various difficulties mentioned by Li Hao, Yuan Pei nodded. The first two questions were easy to answer, because for any big city, the location chosen must be a place with convenient transportation, and the terrain is not much different.
And fire prevention is not a problem. Even without these siege equipment, the enemy will still use kerosene when it is time to use it. If it is really burned down, it will just start over. After all, wood is always easier to find than kerosene.
However, if it cannot cross the trench, it can only be used to attack some small cities, and its effectiveness will be greatly reduced.
Just when Yuan Pei was worried about this, he suddenly saw Li Hao's calm look, and then thought of his son's thoughtful character, and his heart moved.
He said: "I'm afraid you are ready for this thing that has passed through the city trench. Take it out and show it to me."
Li Hao smiled when he heard this and replied: "My father understands me and has already prepared it. It's just that I didn't use it this time."
As he spoke, he took out a book made of paper from his arms and handed it to Yuan Pei, and said: "This book records several siege equipment I asked craftsmen to develop in Jiaodong. In addition to rams and wooden curtains, In addition, there are moat bridges and ladders, among which the moat bridge is used to cross the city moat."
But when Yuan Pei took the book, he did not look at the specific content immediately, but studied the book itself.
Asked: "This is the new paper you made. It is indeed much stronger than the previous ones, and its smoothness is not inferior to that of cloth.
Look at your mother's letter, saying that you think the art of papermaking is related to the future of my Yuan family. Why is that? "
Li Hao replied: "I should have discussed this matter with my father a long time ago, but I just thought it was still early, so I was busy training Buqu and delayed it.
Since my father is asking about it now, I will talk to him about it and ask him what he thinks our Yuan family relies on to survive for a hundred years. "
After Yuan Pei heard this, although he didn't quite understand why Li Hao asked this question, he still asked: "Of course it's because my Yuan family has a noble family. For hundreds of years, I have always attached great importance to the education of my children, so I have been able to produce many people since the previous dynasty. Only step by step have I made the Yuan family proud."
"Father is right, but I think the key to this is the word enlightenment. So what can be used to enlighten people's hearts?" Before Yuan Pei could answer, Li Hao said to himself: "That's the saint you rely on. The classics are based on the stacks of letters written by the clan."
Yuan Pei still didn't understand what Li Hao meant, so he asked, "So what does this have to do with paper?"
Li Hao did not answer, but said: "Father, when I show you something later, you will know what I want to say?"
Then he turned around and walked to the door of the camp, calling his personal guards to get a bundle from his tent.
Yuan Pei was quite determined at this time, and regardless of what Li Hao was tossing about, he just kept reading the book, and he was fascinated by it.
After all, Li Hao spent a lot of effort in compiling this book. The basic template was adapted from "The General Essentials of the Military Classics" compiled by Zeng Gongliang.
But on top of this, Li Hao made great improvements. Not only did he provide an overall introduction and drawings of each siege equipment, including size, materials, and even how to make every detail, Li Hao explained them one by one.
In addition, it also records the process and results of each drill performed by Li Hao. It can be said that as long as you get this book, you will know how to make and use these siege equipment.
Of course, whether it can really be made depends on the specific skills. After all, Li Hao will not write down the manufacturing techniques of certain high-end materials in a book for others to learn.
Just when Yuan Pei was looking excited, Li Hao had already brought back what he wanted, so Li Hao interrupted Yuan Pei.
After coming back to his senses, Yuan Pei watched Li Hao open the bag and took out a few pieces of white paper, a large seal, and an ink pad that looked a little different.
Then Li Hao spread the white paper on the table, then dipped his seal in ink mud and covered it on the paper. After taking the seal away, he saw a dozen words left on the paper, astonishingly: In the past, Emperor Yao was smart, Wen Siguang, and his family would be inferior to others in the world. These are the words.
After Yuan Pei saw it, he said: "Isn't this the opening chapter of Yu Shu Yao's Code in Shangshu? What's there..."
As he was speaking, Yuan Pei stopped, apparently understanding why Li Hao said this.
The things originally used for writing were generally bamboo slips and cloth. Among them, cloth was light, could be written clearly and could be stamped, and was said to be more convenient and comfortable to use than this paper.
But cloth is now equivalent to money, and its use cost is too high. Even princes and nobles cannot use it all the time.
Bamboo slips are much less expensive than cloth, but their shortcomings are also obvious. First, they are bulky. A book of ministers has a total of 25,000 words. If the entire text is written on bamboo slips, it can be piled up. It fills half the room.
Moreover, the bamboo slips themselves are rough and not suitable for rubbing. In the past, seals were covered with mud, so writing had to be done manually. This limited the number of books.
Furthermore, bamboo slips are cheap, but when used in large quantities, they are not affordable for small households.
It is precisely for these reasons that most of the books in the world are hidden in the hands of wealthy families, princes and nobles, and ordinary people have no access to knowledge.
This also ensures that most of the people who can become officials today are from wealthy noble families. Even if Emperor Wen had the intention to promote children from poor families, he could not find a few useful people.
But the action that Li Hao just demonstrated undoubtedly means that a large number of books can be printed out by just using paper, and the price of paper is not high.
Does that mean that the cost of learning knowledge is reduced, allowing many poor families to have access to levels they have never been exposed to before?
You must know that the number of poor families is much greater than that of wealthy families such as the Yuan family. Even if the probability of becoming talented is low, the number of people who can become talented will not be small. In a few years, they may be able to compete with the wealthy families. Fight against each other.
So after thinking about this, Yuan Pei asked seriously: "How much does this paper cost? There are restrictions on its production technology."
Seeing that Yuan Pei already understood, Li Hao replied: "This paper is made of bark, hemp, rattan, wheat straw, straw and other materials. The cost of making each ten pieces of paper is roughly one penny. This is still a rough creation now. I will wait until I become more proficient in it in the future." Yes, the cost can be even lower.
As for the process, there are not many difficulties. If we need to increase production in the future, we just need to add more manpower. "
Hearing this, Yuan Pei became even more dignified. As the head of the Yuan family, his first priority was the interests of the Yuan family.
The good thing now is that the paper is his own property, so the initiative is still in his hands, and he can calmly think about how to use this matter to benefit the Yuan family.
Of course, the basis of all this is that the white paper has not been leaked, so Yuan Pei asked: "How many people know the production method of this white paper and the finished product, and will it be leaked?"
Li Hao replied: "Those who participated in the development of the white paper are all elderly slaves of the Yuan family, and they have always been loyal. Furthermore, when it was developed, even I did not expect that there were so many people, and they were stamped later. I discovered this by accident.
After that, even the seal of this Shangshu was carved by my own hands. I never used my own hands. I think the craftsmen would not notice this.
Moreover, when I left, I told my mother to take charge of this matter. With my mother's ability, it was naturally safe. "
Yuan Pei felt calm now and said to Li Hao: "You have posed a difficult problem for me, but I would like to ask you, what do you think?"
What can Li Haoneng think? As the legitimate son of the Yuan family, Li Hao is the beneficiary of today's gentry politics, so he naturally sits on the side of the gentry.
At first, Li Hao thought about making paper, mainly for his own convenience. After all, it was too troublesome to write on bamboo slips.
After it was actually made, Li Hao consciously felt that such a thing would change the status quo, so he stopped midway.
But if you think about it carefully, even if Li Hao doesn't do this, someone else will do it in the future. Just like in history, Cai Lun also made paper more than sixty years later!
Anyway, since the Han Dynasty, many subsequent dynasties have consciously promoted children from poor families. No one can stop this trend.
So it doesn't matter if it's a little earlier. Anyway, in Li Hao's lifetime, the humble family will still be unable to challenge his status. This is enough.
Of course, this was not suitable to say in front of Yuan Pei, he just said: "Father should make the decision on this matter, I don't have any ideas.
It’s just that I think everything should follow nature. After all, the art of papermaking has been around for a long time. Even if our family doesn’t do it, why won’t others do it? "
After hearing this, Yuan Pei tapped the table with his finger. Thinking about Li Hao's words, he felt that the same was true.
After pondering for a while, he said: "Okay, please stop here in the paper mill. Let me think about it again. You can go down first."
After hearing this, Li Hao was about to say goodbye and leave, but before he could reach the tent door, he was called back by Yuan Pei.
"I was also confused by you just now. Are the things recorded in the booklet you gave me accurate?"
"Of course they are all accurate. I have tested these things in Jiaodong. The contents and pictures written in them are all based on the actual objects I made.
I guess this thing needs to be reported to His Majesty, but the physical thing is too bulky and difficult to transport, so I made this booklet specially. "Li Hao replied.
After Li Hao said this, an idea came to his mind, and he figured out why Wan Songbai and Cheng Shi didn't mention learning to rush the wooden curtains of the car.
Because they knew that as long as they told Yuan Pei about it, they would definitely hand it over to Emperor Wen. Then they would naturally learn from Emperor Wen, and there was no need to speak on their own.
Thinking about it, this was probably the reason why Wan Songbai came to him, but later he heard that he would give the things to Yuan Pei, so he didn't answer the call.
Yuan Pei smiled when he heard what Li Hao had prepared in advance: "It's good that you can think of this. Indeed, such important military and national weapons must be reported to His Majesty.
Okay, you go down and rest first. Just wait for my news about the follow-up matters. "
This time Li Hao left and was not called back again, and he was finally able to rest peacefully for two days.
