"See the Marquis!" Bi Sheng and his son bowed to Li Zhang tremblingly. They never dreamed that they had just arrived in the capital and met a big man like Li Zhang, and the other party came to the inn in person to see them. This made Bi Sheng and his son feel flattered, and they didn't know where to put their hands and feet. They wanted to -free - watch - complete - version - please - Baidu - search -

"Mr. Bi doesn't have to be too polite. I wonder if you have time now. I can take you to the newly built movable type printing workshop for a walk. Some problems need to be solved." Li Zhang said with a smile at this time.

"Has the movable type workshop been built?" Bi Sheng also looked up at Li Zhang in surprise when he heard this.

"It's almost the same. In fact, when the order was first given to you, the court had already started to prepare a movable type printing workshop. Now, not only has it been built, but also has movable type, but there are still some problems that have not been solved." Li Zhang replied with a smile.

"Really! Then...what material did the court use to make movable type?" Bi Sheng asked with surprise and concern when he heard this. He was really afraid that the court would also use clay movable type, and the same problem would definitely occur at that time.

"Copper, the imperial court now makes copper movable type, but the cost is too high." Li Zhang said helplessly at this time. In fact, movable type does not necessarily require copper, just use some metals with softer texture, such as lead and tin. However, lead is toxic and tin is easy to powder at low temperatures, so the best way is to lead-tin alloys, but the output of lead in this era is even smaller. After all, this thing is not very useful, and Li Zhang can't find so much lead for the time being, so he simply uses copper.

Bi Sheng's eyes lit up when he heard that movable type was actually made of precious copper. However, it was normal to think about it. The court would definitely not be able to use clay movable type like himself to save money. Thinking that the metal movable type in his dream had been realized, Bi Sheng was also excited, and even wanted to take a look with his own eyes.

Li Zhang also saw Bi Sheng's idea at this time, and invited their father and son again. This time, Bi Sheng agreed without hesitation. Then Li Zhang personally took them out of the inn on a carriage. The group came to the east side of the imperial city. The famous Imperial College was here. Of course, there are many yards more famous here. I heard that Zhao Kuangyin personally ordered the establishment, and I don't know what he thought at the beginning.

Just in the northeast corner of the Imperial College, a movable type printing workshop was set up here. When Li Zhang brought Bi Sheng here, the officials responsible for managing the workshop immediately ran out to greet him. Although this workshop was suggested by Li Zhang, it was led by the Ministry of Works and was usually managed by officials of the Ministry of Works. Of course, Li Zhang also made a lot of efforts in the entire workshop.

"Master Zhao, this is Mr. Bi who invented the printing of movable type. You will also work together in the future. Today, you will take them to visit!" Li Zhang introduced Bi Sheng and his son to the official of the Ministry of Works who managed the place. Although the other party's surname is Zhao, it has nothing to do with the royal family. Instead, he is from Hubei. He is also half a fellow villager with Bi Sheng.

"Mr. Marquis, you are polite!" I saw that Director Zhao said to Li Zhang very politely, and then smiled at Bi Sheng, "Master Bi is polite. I am Zhao Meng, the head of this printing workshop. In addition, the appointment of the Ministry of Works has also come down. Just like me, I am the head of the ninth rank chief and co-organized the matter of the movable type printing workshop!"

"Nine...the ninth rank chief!" Bi Sheng was shocked when he heard the other party's words, because he really didn't expect that the court would actually grant him an official, and he was also a ninth rank official. Although his rank was very low, you should know that the county lieutenant of a county lieutenant was only a ninth rank. He had no chance to meet the Qishui county lieutenant before, but he didn't expect that he would suddenly be on the same level as the county lieutenant.

"Yes, there are not many leaders in the Ministry of Works. This time, Director Bi was promoted to the extreme, thanks to the recommendation of the Marquis!" Director Zhao was very good at being a human being. At this time, he actually told the story of Li Zhang's recommendation of Bi Sheng, which made Bi Sheng finally understand that he could enter Beijing and thanks to the Marquis Dingbei in front of him.

Bi Sheng immediately thanked Li Zhang when he heard this. However, Li Zhang did this not to get Bi Sheng's gratitude. He just felt that Bi Sheng's contributions should be rewarded as he deserved. A mere ninth-rank chief was not even enough to commend Bi Sheng's achievements. However, the status of a craftsman in the Song Dynasty was still relatively low, and it was not easy to win a ninth-rank chief for him.

At that time, Director Zhao took them several times to the movable type printing workshop, and there were also many craftsmen working in it. After all, the capital was one of the largest printing centers in the Song Dynasty, so all the craftsmen here were drawn from various printing workshops. At this time, they were familiar with movable type printing, and some processes still needed their experience to complete them.

Bi Sheng looked at such a large printing workshop and was trembling slightly due to excitement. What he wanted to see most was movable type, so Director Zhao also brought them to the layout room where the copper movable type was already made. Bi Sheng stretched out his deformed rough hand and picked up a few copper movable type. As a result, he was shocked to find that the size of these movable types was almost the same, and the fonts on it were very regular and clear, and they did not look like they were carved, but rather like cast.

"Master Zhao, don't the bronze word seem to be engraved?" Bi Sheng immediately spoke out the questions in his heart.

"Yes, although we can also do the engraving of words on copper, the speed is too slow and it consumes too much manpower. Therefore, our copper movable type is first engraved with Yang characters, and then with iron to form Yin characters. Finally, it is cast with copper on Yin characters, which becomes what we see now. This method is what the Marquis thinks of!" Zhao explained with a smile at the end, and of course he did not forget to praise Li Zhang's contribution.

"A good idea. In this way, even if the movable type is damaged in the future, as long as the character pattern is preserved, it can be quickly replenished in the future, and it can also make copper movable type in large quantities, which is a killing of multiple goals in one fell swoop!" Bi Sheng couldn't help but exclaim when he heard this, and his eyes at Li Zhang were full of admiration.

Li Zhang laughed at this time and did not explain anything. In fact, this method of Yin-Yang style was not thought of, but a method used in later generations. Although he didn't know much, he had read it from some information, so he had some impressions. Of course, he just proposed ideas, and the most important thing was that the craftsmen realized his ideas.

Bi Sheng also felt like he couldn't bear the standard movable type, and Bi Wen and Bi Rong next to him were even more confused because in their eyes, these brasses were all money.

After reading the movable type, Director Zhao took the Bi family and his son around other places. Finally, when he came to a room, he saw some craftsmen inside were also arguing fiercely. Li Zhang also looked at Bi Sheng at this time. Although the workshop was built, some problems had not been solved. He asked Bi Sheng to use his experience to solve these problems.

The cousin of the Northern Song Dynasty
Chapter completed!