Zhao Weiwang in the Warring States Period

When Gongshu Fuzhen said these words, Mao Sui, who was standing behind Zhao Dan, suddenly had a strange look in his eyes.

Zhao Dan showed a clear expression, and said: "Okay, tell me what this printing technique is all about."

As soon as this topic was mentioned, Gongshu Fuzhen immediately regained his spirits, and praised Zhao Dan: "My lord, this papermaking technique is a rare thing that I have only seen in my life."

Zhao Dan waved his hand and said, "Get to the point."

Since the appearance of paper, Zhao Dan has started to use it in daily life. Although the output of paper produced is not much, Zhao Dan is the real King of Zhao if he can't bear it.

Zhao Dan has long been fed up with the life of holding hundreds of catties of bamboo slips in his hands every day.

Of course, as a wise king, Zhao Dan did not give the good thing of paper to himself, and the ministers also distributed some.

So Zhao Dan's ears got callused when he heard the praise and praise of the paper like Gongshu Fuzhen just now.

It was only then that Gongshu Fuzhen realized his gaffe, he hurriedly made a complaint, and led Zhao Dan to a workbench.

It is said to be a workbench, but it is actually just a huge stone table that has been made quite flat.

There are many utensils placed in a very chaotic manner on this stone table, many utensils Zhao Dan doesn't know at all, or they are very different from the appearance of later generations.

As soon as you walk here, you can smell a strong smell of wood and ink.

Gongshu Fuzhen picked up a wooden board and said to Zhao Dan, "Your Majesty, this is the engraving block."

Zhao Dan took a closer look and found that there are many small characters densely engraved on this wooden board, and every small character is reversed.

According to Gongshu Fuzhen's introduction, the selection and processing of the wood material is actually very particular.

The craftsmen of Zhao State prepared a lot of wood, such as pear wood with moderate hardness, boxwood with tough and smooth texture, pear wood with the same hard texture, ginkgo wood, poplar wood, jujube wood and so on.

Then they are sawed off, soaked in water, then dried, and then flattened, a very smooth looking board is born.

Carving characters on such a wooden board is much better and more convenient than directly constructing on a sawn blank.

After hearing this, Zhao Dan was also amazed. Although he didn't know how the printing technique of later generations was done, judging from the steps introduced by Gongshu Fuzhen, this printing technique is not simple at all.

Zhao Dan said: "Come on, print a page and show it to the widows."

Gongshufu really respectfully agreed, and then picked up a brush dipped in ink and brushed it back and forth on the wooden board for a while, then put down the brush, picked up a piece of paper from the side to cover the engraving block, took the paper off after a while, and presented it to the In front of Zhao Dan.

A brand new page with several chapters in the Book of Songs Qin Feng appeared in front of Zhao Dan.

Zhao Dan took the page with a strong ink fragrance, looked at it carefully for a while, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, this is exactly what the widow wants."

With engraving, in fact, the problem is not completely solved, and there must be suitable ink.

Printing ink is actually different from writing ink.

If you use writing ink to print, it will cause the ink to melt and seep into the paper, resulting in blurred writing.

Once the handwriting is blurred, then the printing will naturally fail.

According to the master craftsmen around Zhao Dan, it is precisely this problem that has been troubling the artisans of the Zhao country.

"How did you solve this problem?" Zhao Dan looked at Gongshu Fuzhen in front of him with great interest.

Gongshu Fuzhen picked up a piece of black paint from the stone table, which looked like black charcoal, and said to Zhao Dan: "My lord, my father and ancestors once developed a kind of ink, and the name of this ink is black smoke ink. Perfect for printing."

"So that's how it is." Zhao Dan was in a good mood, and asked: "Gong Shu Fuzhen, can you give your method of making smoke and ink to the widow?"

Gongshu Fuzhen was obviously hesitant.

Zhao Dan waved his hand and said: "If you are willing to hand in this method of smoke and ink, then the widow will give you five levels of honor and a reward of [-]!"

"Level five!?" The faces of the master and Mao Sui next to him changed at the same time, and they showed envious expressions at the same time.

This is definitely an out-and-out generosity.

Gongshu Fuzhen immediately bowed down: "I would like to dedicate the formula of this ink to the king!"

After being promoted to five levels in a row, Gong Shufu really has the qualifications to be a minister to Zhao Dan.

"Very good." Zhao Dan looked at Gongshu Fuzhen with a smile, and said, "From today onwards, you are the master craftsman of this printing workshop."

Gongshu Fuzhen also seemed quite excited, his whole face was flushed, and he suddenly said: "To tell you the truth, your ancestors also passed down some methods of making weapons, bows and crossbows, and I am willing to present them to you. "

"Weapons, bows and crossbows?" Zhao Dan froze for a moment, then a happy expression appeared on his face: "Where are the blueprints?"

Gong Shufu really respectfully said: "My lord, it is not easy to keep these blueprints. I have always kept them in my head, and I would like to ask my lord to come and have a try after I have finished the finished product. "

Zhao Dan nodded with a smile and said: "That's very good, then I will wait for your good news."

After returning to the palace, Mao Sui who had been following Zhao Dan suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty, I feel that there may be something wrong with that public loser."

Zhao Dan's footsteps stopped for a moment, then he turned around: "What do you mean by that?"

Mao Sui said, "Your Majesty, this Gongshufu may really be a spy."

"What?" Zhao Dan showed a surprised expression on his face: "Why?"

Mao Sui said: "Your Majesty, although this person's accent sounds similar to that of Hedong, he is definitely from Guanzhong."

"Guanzhong people?" Zhao Dan frowned, and after a while he said: "Based on this alone, I am afraid that he cannot be identified as a spy of Qin State?"

Mao Sui continued: "Your Majesty, I don't know something. I recently read the information collected by Hu Yiwei. I once saw a piece of information saying that there is a unique formula ink in the Mo family of Qin State. The name of this ink is black smoke. ink."

Zhao Dan's face became serious.

"If that's the case, then you will investigate carefully for the widow to see how he got into this printing workshop and what plans he has."

Mao Sui paused for a moment, and then said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, in fact, I still have something to report."

"what's up?"

Mao Sui said: "Your Majesty, I recently discovered that there is a lady in the palace next to Mrs. Mi. She used some opportunities to quietly leave the palace. It seems that she has had contact with Qin Guoxiozuo."

Zhao Dan's eyes widened all of a sudden: "Is there such a thing?"

Zhao Dan was really angry this time.

First there was a guy who was suspected of being a spy of the State of Qin, and then there was a wife who might be a spy of the State of Qin.

These Qin people are really capable of scheming, and the scheming is all on the head of the widow.