Hua Xin and Guan Ning came to Pingyuan County together.

Before they entered the city, they saw that many people were celebrating happily, and there were lights everywhere.

"The imperial court has just ordered to levy ten cents per mu, why aren't the people worried but happy?" Hua Xin stood on the car in confusion, and asked a grinning man selling mountain goods on the side, "This old man, I don't know what happy events are in the city, why is everyone happy?" ”

The old man looked up and saw that Hua Xin and Guan Ning were both wearing Confucian clothes, so he hurriedly got up and saluted and said, "Ah, it's two gentlemen, but the two gentlemen are here to apply for teachers?" It's good that you guys came, just now the Prime Minister's Office released an announcement, saying that with the help of Zuo Gong of Luoyang Hongdu College, the papermaking has been successful, and all the schools will start recruiting students in ten days, and the tuition fee is only ten cents a year! Everyone is praising the prime minister's virtue and politics! ”

"Papermaking?" Guan Ning looked at the several large bamboo slips behind him, nodded and said, "This paper is suitable for children's enlightenment, and it is clean and flawless, which is in line with the way of a gentleman!" ”

Hua Xin thanked the old man or said to Guan Ning, "In this way, it is just right for us to come, You'an, you and I will go to my nephew's house to put our luggage first, and then go to see Ma Pingyuan." ”

When Guan Ning heard this, his brows furrowed, and he shook his head and said, "I heard you say on the way, Huajing is already a county prince, that is Shangguan, we will go, we will only melon the fields and plums, it is better to find a temporary residence in another hall to avoid suspicion." ”

Hua Xin's face turned red, and he said yes again and again, and then took Guan Ning to find a separate hall to live in.

Of course, Guan Ning doesn't have this money.

As soon as he was destitute, he was left with books.

After Hua Xin was busy, he finally finished the settlement, and went to inform Hua Jing again, and then returned to the residence, but saw Guan Ning studying.

"You'an, what are you reading?"

"The Book of Songs"

"Why are you looking at this all of a sudden?"

"In the past, I was enlightened by the Book of Songs, and I want to see Ma Pingyuan tomorrow to make a statement."

Hua Xin sighed in his heart, and felt that he was not as good as Guan Ning too much.

In fact, in terms of Confucian literacy, Hua Xin and Guan Ning are between the best, Hua Xin is purely because Guan Ning is his idol, and some fans have a halo.

"This is the residence of Hua Ziyu and Guan You'an?"

There was an inquiry outside, Guan Ning continued to read unmoved, Hua Xin hurriedly answered, ran out, saw a pile of torches outside, a group of people were walking inside, standing in the middle of a person wearing an official uniform, and Hua Jing was standing on the side, Hua Xin immediately guessed the comer, and hurriedly bowed, "Humble Hua Xin has seen Ma Guoxiang!" ”

"Excuse me, just now I happened to talk about you with a few gentlemen, and Hua Juncheng came to report, saying that you have arrived, so we want to simply go and take a look at the two gentlemen, and I didn't disturb your rest."

"What's the matter, ah... You'an! Come and meet Ma Pingyuan! ”

Guan Ning sat inside and hesitated for a while, then put the bamboo slips away first, and then got up and went out to meet Ma Qiang.

"You'an, I haven't seen you for a long time." Zhang Zhi greeted with a smile, Guan Ning found that Ma Qiang was still standing next to Zhang Zhi and others, and he hurriedly bowed, "The student has seen Mr., but the student doesn't know that Mr. is here, and he is not far away." ”

Ma Qiang looked at Zhang Zhi, Zhang Zhi stroked his beard and smiled, "Hurry up, Ma Pingyuan, in the past, I lived in seclusion with my father in Hongnong, and You'an traveled to Hongnong, and I had a relationship, and I also taught him calligraphy for a few days." ”

"Mr. Guan was in the room just now, but he was studying hard?"

"Returning to China, the grass people are just thinking about giving the boy a book of enlightenment."

"Don't call yourself a grass folk anymore, from today onwards, you will be the chief teacher of my Plains Country, and you will be in charge of all the schools in my Plains Country."

When Guan Ning heard this, he was overjoyed, but he just smiled on his face, and Ma Qiang, who saw it, secretly praised it in his heart.

Look at this B pretend, what does it mean to be honored and disgraced! I'll have to learn it myself in the future!

And they all sat down and talked, and as they spoke, they talked about papermaking.

"Thanks to Zuo Gong, otherwise I don't know when this papermaking will be successful, and now I am preparing to make a large amount of paper, and then print it into a book for universal education."

"Finished book? This can be a lot of manpower to copy. Guan Ning shook his head and said, "If you want to copy a book, instead of using paper, you should use bamboo slips." ”

"This paper is indeed not suitable for books, but the price of paper is cheap, but it is also suitable for enlightening children." Zuo Bo shook his head and said, "It's all bamboo slips, how can those Qiantou bear it?" ”

Ma Qiang doesn't understand, paper is not suitable for making books? Here's why.

"Why can't paper make a book? I also set up a school in Youzhou, and in the school, paper books are used. ”

"Don't you know that this paper is easy to be eaten by insects and ants? If it is not properly preserved, it will not take three or five years for this paper to be bitten by insects and ants. Guan Ning asked rhetorically.

？？？

A bunch of question marks popped up on Ma Qiang's head.

Do insects and ants like knowledge so much these days?

"In fact, bamboo slips are also easy to provoke insects and ants, but the bamboo slips to be used for writing will be finished to prevent insects from eating them. Guan Ning saw that Ma Qiang didn't know anything, so he directly said, "The Prime Minister wants to reduce the burden on students, which is naturally good, but the Prime Minister wants to use paper to make books for students, this strategy is not the best policy to consume characters, no one around the Prime Minister speaks, it seems that there are many villains and few gentlemen around the Prime Minister!" ”

Hua Jing, who was accompanying him on the side, suddenly turned red, this time only he was Ma Qiang's subordinate, so Guan Ning said that he was a villain, so naturally he was him.

But although he knew that paper was not suitable for making books, Ma Qiang had never said that he would make books before, and he always thought that it was used as manuscript paper.

Ma Qiang felt that what Guan Ning said was really right! Think about Jia Xu, think about Duan Ying, is there a gentleman?

"Hey, this matter of making books out of paper is all made by me alone, and it has nothing to do with others, but can't this problem be solved?" Ma Qiang touched his chin, the future generations will use paper, there must be a way.

"Unless you can have a potion against insects and ants on the paper." Zuo Bo sighed, "It is also because paper cannot be preserved for a long time, so all official documents and classics must use bamboo slips, and it is also for this reason that the descendants of the Cai family who taught me papermaking are willing to teach me the method of glue." ”

"Glue..."Ma Qiang read these two words, he also learned later, the glue in Zuo Bo's hand was created by Cai Lun's descendants, Cai Lun improved papermaking skills in the year, and served the Empress Dowager Deng all the year round, was named the Marquis of Longting, but after the death of the Empress Dowager Deng, Emperor An was pro-government, was revealed to have participated in the persecution of Emperor An's grandmother Song Guiren and other court secrets, Cai Lun committed suicide by poisoning, the Hou was deprived, and the descendants of his clan wanted to further improve papermaking to revive the lintel, after decades of hard work, invented glue, which can increase paper production, But it was said that paper could not be used for official documents, not suitable for the palace, and was put on the shelf, until Zuo Bo asked for this technique, and then reappeared in the world.