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Chapter 209 Cheap Ink

Cen Wenwen looked at the outline in his hand. This outline was very well done. It could be said to be impeccable. He didn't even need to refer to other classics. He also had a very unique vision. This is the time when the Tang Dynasty was first established and needed this kind of classics.

And it can be passed down to future generations, but was this outline really written by His Highness the King of Wei?

Cen Wenwen glanced at the servants in Prince Wei's residence in front of him. It seemed that these people couldn't even tell the source of the classics.

There is an expert behind King Wei.

Cen Wenwen sighed in his heart, but he didn't know who this expert was.

There are many benefits of having a good relationship with Kong Yingda. For example, you can borrow some books from the study room of the Imperial College and take them with you.

Zhang Yang bought Kong Yingda with a storybook.

Kong Yingda held the book in his hand and read it over and over again. There were many short stories in the book, such as the story of the wolf coming, or the story of the farmer and the snake, or the story of the fox and the crow.

The fox saw a crow on the tree with meat in its mouth, so the fox praised the crow for its beautiful cries and hoped that the crow would crow a few times. When the crow started to crow, the meat fell off, and the fox left with the meat in its mouth.

Some vivid dialogue descriptions in the story.

Although the story is simple and popular in reading, it also contains many truths.

Kong Yingda nodded while reading, "Such stories are the best for educating people. Are these stories what the consort thinks?"

Zhang Yang quickly stuffed the book into Li Yue's hand and explained: "I usually like to listen to people telling stories. These are all stories I have heard others tell."

"I think that only knowledgeable people can tell such stories, but ordinary people cannot tell such stories."

The story of Yin Suo's fable has been circulated for a long time.

It was only after being sorted and polished by later generations that the later Yin Suo Fables came into being, a storybook composed of hundreds of stories.

Although I didn't want to watch it when I was a child, I realized how much I benefited from it when I grew up.

Li Yue struggled to carry the backpack, "I will borrow these books first and return them to the Imperial College in a few days."

Kong Yingda looked at the storybook and stroked his beard and smiled and said: "Okay, instead of those people chewing peonies, why don't you, the princess, borrow it and take it away."

"Thank you, old master."

Bringing a lot of books home, now you don’t have to stay in the Imperial College every day, you can just pick out books and read them every day.

The books Li Yue took away were all tool books. For example, the books he brought this time were all about pen, ink and paper records, which are also useful for movable type printing. The most important thing is that the paper needs to be improved and the printing ink needs to be prepared.

I'd like to get some clues from some previous records.

The couple left the city gate and went straight to the village.

The entire village belongs to Li Yue, but today there are a few uninvited guests in the village. They are people sent by the East Palace. Niu Chuang has already asked about the purpose of their visit. The crowning ceremony of Prince Li Chengqian will be next month.

They came to invite Li Xiaogong to attend the crowning ceremony of the crown prince, and wanted to use this to get Li Xiaogong to return to Chang'an City to attend the crowning ceremony.

"Get out! Get out of here!" Li Xiaogong waved a stick and drove these people out.

Looking at this scene, Zhang Gongjin sighed: "It seems that the grudge in the heart of Prince Hejian cannot be let go."

The affairs of the Ministry of Rites became a shadow in Li Xiaogong's heart. After all, not just anyone could do such a thing as burning down the office of the Ministry of Rites.

Li Xiaogong really did this.

After driving the people away, Li Xiaogong hit them with the stick in his hand.

These people had just walked a short distance away and came back again. Li Xiaogong shouted: "What else are you doing?"

The visitor looked aggrieved and said, "In addition to the Prince of Hejian County, His Royal Highness also invited the Consort and Princess Runan."

After saying that, they left the invitation from the East Palace and left.

Aunt Wang picked up the invitation and handed it to Li Yue.

Li Yue opened it and took a look at it, then put the invitation away.

"Prince Hejian, are you really not planning to return to Chang'an City?"

"I'm not going back!"

Li Xiaogong cursed and returned to his room, slamming the door hard.

Looking at his closed door, Zhang Gongjin sighed: "This old man has lived for such a long time, but he still hasn't made much progress, and he is so angry because of such a trivial matter."

[To be honest, I have been using the Huanyuan app recently to read and catch up on updates. It can switch sources and read aloud with many sounds, huanyuanapp. Both Android and Apple are available.]

"Is this still a small matter?"

"It's just a government office of the Ministry of Rites. It's just a run-down government office. It's no big deal." Zhang Gongjin said lightly, sitting leisurely in the sunshine.

Li Yue whispered: "Husband, since the prince has invited us to his coming-of-age ceremony, it would not be good if we refuse."

If you can't help but do this kind of thing, don't do it, especially if you have to deal with people from the royal family, and these people in the powerful class have some problems with their outlook on life.

After spending a day in the village, the couple prepared ink. If it is printing ink, they cannot use higher quality ink, otherwise the cost will be too high.

Of course, the quality cannot be too bad. If it is too bad, the printed words will not be good and it will be difficult to conduct business.

Returning home with worries, the two met Li Shimin at the door.

It is not a good thing that the emperor comes to visit this evening.

After several struggles in his mind, Zhang Yang still opened the door of his house and said, "Your Majesty, please come in."

Two guards stood straight outside the door.

Walking into the courtyard, Li Shimin sat down on the rocking chair, "I think it's easier for people to relax when sitting like this."

"This is called a rocking chair. If your Majesty likes it, you can take it away and I can make a new one myself."

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "That's not necessary. The palace has already asked people to do hundreds of them."

Imperial power is overbearing, and the concept of the emperor popularizing patents seems unreasonable.

The emperor is inherently an unreasonable being.

Zhang Yang lit the small clay stove and placed the kettle on it to boil water.

"Why do you, Your Majesty, come to see a guilty minister like me?"

Li Shimin sneered and said: "I just came to see my daughter, it has nothing to do with you."

Zhang Yang cleared his throat in embarrassment, "His Majesty paid such a sudden visit, and the humble residence was not prepared in advance, and the hospitality was not good enough. Please forgive me for your majesty's visit."

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Li Shimin nodded slightly, "After Kong Yingda's teachings these days, you have indeed changed a lot from before."

Aunt Wang brought some dried fruits and food from home.

Zhang Yang sat down and picked up a piece of bean cake, "There are so many soybeans at home that I can't finish them all. I ground them into powder and mixed them with syrup made from malt. It also tasted unique. I told you not to be in a hurry when eating it, otherwise

A mouthful of bean flour."

Li Shimin picked up a piece of bean cake and put it in his mouth to taste it carefully.

After eating one piece, Li Shimin picked up another piece and put it in his mouth. He took a sip of tea and said, "My mouth is a little dry after eating it."

"I have tried to persuade Prince Hejian several times, but he just doesn't want to go back to Chang'an."

"Leave it to him, he has reached the age where he should take care of himself." Li Shimin put down the tea bowl and said, "Gao Jingcheng submitted another memorial to me, saying that he would send an envoy to Tubo to lobby for good relations between Tibet and the Tang Dynasty.

"

The yard was very quiet, the sunshine in the evening was not very warm, and the wind blowing was a bit cold.

When talking about the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, seeing that Zhang Yang didn't reply again, Li Shimin said again: "I have always remembered your achievements in the past, and the court is not my only one. The way I deal with you is to convince people and stop everyone from talking.

.”

Not a few of the emperor's words were true. He was not polite at all when he took away the achievements of the Ministry of Rites. He killed donkeys and burned bridges. Not only that, he also wanted people to sacrifice their lives for his Li Tang country and the country, and even sacrificed without hesitation.

Out of life.

Zhang Yang sighed: "Actually, Gao Jiuxing is also a very knowledgeable and capable person. I admire him very much."

"High performance is indeed more stable."

"Moreover, Gao Jiuxing can also cooperate with Xu Guogong to make the Ministry of Rites bigger and stronger. Compared with him, I pale in comparison. I am really ashamed."

Let Gao Qingcheng shine for Li Shimin.

Li Shimin looked at the lazy little bear beside him, "Aren't you afraid that if you raise this kind of animal, it will bite its owner when it grows up?"

"He is fed food. Feeding him food since he was a child will make him docile when he grows up."

"Using grain to feed such animals? It's a novel way of saying it." Li Shimin stroked his beard and said, "I know that Songtsen Gampo has now returned to Tubo and is resting his troops. Can such a man like Tang Dynasty really have good relations with Tubo?"

Zhang Yang cleared his throat, "I think Brother Gao can handle this matter."

His words were spoken impeccably, and it seemed that it would be difficult to ask any more questions from this boy's mouth.

Li Shimin slowly stood up and said, "The prince also has good intentions. I know that you rarely interact with people in the clan. You are my son-in-law, and you must meet the people you should see."

It feels a bit like an ugly daughter-in-law finally meeting her husband's family.

The royal family is the daughter-in-law’s natal family.

The conversation between her husband and his father seemed unhappy. Seeing that his father was about to leave, Li Yue quickly bowed and said goodbye.

When Li Shimin left, Zhang Yang whispered: "Daughter-in-law."

Li Yue sat down aside.

"On the day of the Crown Prince's crowning ceremony, let's go there. You are my wife and we can't be looked down upon."

Li Yue nodded vigorously.

This is Li Shimin's method of provoking generals, and this method of provoking generals is quite successful.

No matter what, it is the crowning ceremony for the current crown prince. Even if everything is kept simple and frugal, it will not be frugal. There are all the necessary preparations.

For the crowning ceremony in October, preparations began in September.

Even Zhuque Street in Chang'an City is cleaned every day.

The palace was busy preparing for the crowning ceremony, while Li Tai sat fishing by the deserted river, feeling a little desolate and desolate.

"Why don't the fish in Chang'an City bite the hook?" Li Tai stood up angrily, broke the fishing rod in his hand and threw it into the river.

After walking a few steps, Li Tai asked again: "What is Zhang Yang doing these days?"

The guard replied: "The prince-in-law has been inquiring about some things about the ink stand these days, and often talks with some people who sell pens and ink."

"Where is he?"

"It should be at the south gate of Dongshi at the moment. There are many pen and ink workshops there."

On the streets of Dongshi, Zhang Yang was chatting with a shopkeeper selling inkstones.

The shopkeeper said: "A good inkstone pays attention to its age and the fragrance of the ink. The better the quality of the ink, the better the price will be. Why do you ask about inferior ink?"

"I want to make a cheaper ink."

"If it is cheap ink, it will be easier to make." The shopkeeper took out the inkstone, filled it with a bowl of water, and poured the ink into the water. "Look, this is the kind of cheap ink you want. This bowl

I’ll give it to you.”

Zhang Yang said doubtfully: "This kind of ink is not pure. There will be water stains around the writing and the ink will spread."

Looking at the shopkeeper's smile, Zhang Yang put his hands in his hands and said, "What you sell is all good ink, so naturally you won't tell me how to make bad ink. When it comes to business, you will never say more."

The shopkeeper still had a smile on his face.

Zhang Yang cupped his hands and said, "Farewell."

As soon as I turned around, I felt I bumped into something. When I looked down, I realized it was the fat guy Li Tai.

"Your Highness, King Wei, I'm sorry, you are too short and I didn't see you for a moment."

After falling to the ground, Li Tai looked up at Zhang Yang. There were tears in the corners of his eyes for a while, "Even you bullied me!"

After saying that, the little fat man ran away in a flash.

"I didn't expect that His Highness, King Wei, is so wide and fat that he can run very fast." Zhang Yang said to the guard who was stunned on the spot.

"Your Highness, King Wei!" The guard came to his senses and chased after him.

Nowadays, most people still use pine smoke to make ink. Some people used graphite in the past. Of course, the ink made from pine smoke has a fine black color and is easy to grind. It soon replaced graphite and sesame oil was used to fill the ink.

Li Yue took notes while reading the book, "Husband, there is a method of combining ink recorded in Qi Ming Yao Shu."

The combined ink method is indeed a development node of ink.

Compared with Qi Ming Yaoshu, Zhang Yang thought of similar books, Tiangong Kaiwu in the Ming Dynasty and Mengxi Bi Tan in the Song Dynasty.

Among them is a method of extracting ink from black smoke, which seems to be burning petroleum.

Looking at the earthen stove he had built, Zhang Yang lifted the pot and looked at it.

Seeing Zhang Yang about to remove the ashes from the pot, Aunt Wang hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Consort, let me do such a dirty job."

"No, I don't need much."

Zhang Yang took off some pot ashes, ground them carefully into powder, and dropped in some hemp seed oil.

The family is used to eating lard, and Li Yue is not used to the green color that comes out when fried with hemp seed oil, and the taste is not good.

Drop the oil into the powder from the pot ashes and stir well.

Li Yue stepped forward and took a whiff, "Husband, you don't want to drink this stuff, right?"

"Why do you think I want to drink this?" Zhang Yang looked at his wife in disbelief.

"Sesame oil is used for cooking." Li Yue pointed to the small jar on the table.

Zhang Yang took out his brush and dipped some of it on the paper. When he saw that the ink was black and shiny, the blackness was more likely due to some impurities in it.

After it solidifies, the few strokes just drawn are like powder stuck on it. Shake the paper and some black powder will rustle off.

"Sure enough, it still doesn't work." Zhang Yang held his forehead and sighed, "Maybe my matching ratio is not good."

"Maybe this has something to do with what was burned?"

"Um?"

Listening to Li Yue's words, a picture flashed in Zhang Yang's mind. If oil was burning underneath when cooking, the black smoke would just be at the bottom of the pot. It is simple and easy to obtain.

Seeing her husband looking at her, Li Yue blinked and said, "Next month is the crowning ceremony for the crown prince. Husband, please try on your new clothes."

Walking into Li Yue's room, Zhang Yang saw the official uniforms beside him.

"Auntie said that official uniforms should not be thrown away casually, otherwise you will be punished if found out."

"Let's change it into other clothes."

"No, just in case my husband wants to wear it back."

The daughter-in-law has a firm attitude.

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