Wei Juan stayed in the Marquis of Gonggao for two more days, and reminisced with Han Yandang, both of whom had meritorious service during the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, recalling the past, sighing.

Lao Han naturally pleaded in every possible way, hoping that he would say a few good words to His Majesty and help him get a fish for Zhou Yafu, which made Wei Juan smile bitterly and muttered that he didn't dare to respond.

Before leaving, Wei Juan saw the paper made by Han Yan, there are net paper made of rotten fishing nets, cloth paper made of rags, and there are elm bark made of paper, I don't know what it is called, most of the surface is rough, although it can already be written on it, the impregnation effect is not good, but it doesn't matter, it can be written, it is better than bamboo slips.

If Han Yan increases the production of paper, it is believed that bamboo slips will be replaced in a few years.

In this ancient man, the most indispensable thing was trees, raw materials did not cost money, as long as he mastered the manufacturing technology, except for the wages of hired workers and the payment of taxes, it was almost a business.

In fact, the imperial court also made paper, and there were government-run workshops, which made hemp fiber paper, which was rough in texture, small in quantity, high in cost, and not easy to popularize.

To put it bluntly, this paper is not actual paper, but only a by-product of bleaching. But it's this kind of rough paper, and the price is comparable to gold.

Wei Juan held the elm paper silently, borrowed Han Yandang's brush to write on it, if you use too much ink, the words will be rendered around, and you can't see what is written, but for people who have been writing with a brush for a long time, this pen power is still there.

Recently, it has become popular to use a brush to write on bamboo slips, because it is too tiring to engrave words with a knife and pen. But this kind of brush character is only circulated among the princes, ordinary people do not have a brush, and they will not use a brush, and the knife and pen genes handed down in their bones are what they are familiar with.

Wei Xuan's mind is a little complicated, this evil man of his own seems to have suddenly received the empowerment of the gods, there is a keel waterwheel in front of him, and he helps him solve the affairs of the king of Suchuan and the king of Hejian in the back, and then there is paper, doing everything that ordinary people can't think of.

Blue is better than blue, to be slapped on the beach by the Yangtze River, I, a teacher, can only look at it, and I can't do it in silence.

Looking down at the brown elm paper, Wei Juan suddenly thought of Emperor Jing, who was buried in bamboo slips all day long, and the four subordinates in his office, their only job was to sort out stacks of bamboo slips, and then hand them in front of them, and then take them away after the instructions, and they would sweat profusely after half a day. If there was paper, it probably wouldn't be so bothersome.

After thinking about it a lot, I finally made up my mind and said, "Give your paper to Your Majesty, and the secret recipe for making it to the Imperial Court, and I will ask Your Majesty to compensate you." ”

"......" Han Yan was stunned, his eyes widened, and he was caught off guard, you can take away the things that Lao Tzu has worked hard for several months, "Teacher, you must be teasing me." ”

"I will ask Your Majesty to allow you to monopolize paper, except for the paper made by the imperial court, and the folk paper will be sold by you." As he spoke, Wei Juan handed over the elm paper and brush, and motioned for you to quickly write down the secret recipe for manufacturing, and I was in a hurry to go back to Chang'an.

After a pause, seeing that Han Yan was about to refute, he interrupted him as soon as he raised his hand, "Don't think that I don't understand the doorway, today's paper prices are comparable to gold, if you control the secret recipe for papermaking, this huge profit is comparable to the early years when Emperor Wen rewarded Deng Tong for minting money, allowing him to open copper mines and make coins." But you don't have the emperor as a backer, and it will be a disaster to grasp such benefits sooner or later, so it is better to give the secret recipe to Your Majesty for a guarantee. ”

Hearing this, Han Yan couldn't say anything anymore.

He has traveled through more than half a year, and he has a deep understanding of the Han Dynasty, the upper class rules the lower class, the nobles oppress the people, and the ordinary people don't even think about it, it is all the patent of the upper class. If there is a good thing, the first one must first honor the emperor before it can be your turn, otherwise it will be disloyal and disrespectful.

In autumn, the grass and trees are faintly overflowing, the jujube tree outside the door is high, the big red jujube that cannot be picked is also blown by a gust of wind, unable to hang on the branches, bang bang and fall to the ground continuously, the soft jujube can still be intact, but the hard jujube has to knock a scar, and it will be surrounded by ants and gnaw a black hole in less than a day, and even the slaves and maids will not pick it to eat.

Han Yan suddenly took the brush with a hippie smile and began to write the manufacturing process, and his mouth was full of words: "Teacher, although I am your disciple, you can't take it by force......"

"If only you could figure it out." Wei Juan answered the question, and resolved the embarrassment with a characteristic official tone, and he was faintly relieved in his heart, eating the king's luck and being loyal to the king, for the sake of His Majesty, I can only wronged you.

As he was writing, Han Yan raised his head and asked, "Teacher, Your Majesty just asked you to reprimand me, and you go back and say that I make paper, will Your Majesty dismantle me with a great crime of disrespect?" ”

"Offering paper is a piece of your filial piety, and I will help you show your affection." Wei Juan tidied up his sleeves, and after a while, seeing that Han Yan had finished writing, he picked up the elm paper and looked at it a few times, the handwriting was crooked like an insect, but he could barely see it clearly, pouted, and ordered: "You have to practice calligraphy diligently, you papermaker can't write, which makes people laugh off their big teeth." ”

"The brush won't last for many years, and when the Han people will use the brush, I'll make a pencil." Han Yan muttered to himself.

Wei Juan ignored his chatter, packed up and prepared to go back to Chang'an, it had been some time since he came out, and the accumulated official duties were enough for a headache for a while. Besides, this is about to be the first lunar month, so I have to rush back before the Spring Festival.

Sending Wei Juan out of the city, watching the clouds of smoke and dust set up by the car disappear at the end of his sight, Han Yan sighed, it's good to be the emperor, there are so many loyal people at your service, it's cool.

……

At this time, the Han Dynasty is still following the calendar, the lunar calendar is the first month of October, and the Spring Festival will be celebrated on the first day of October.

But unlike later generations, the Spring Festival of this year is not an auspicious day in the eyes of the people.

The first day of the first month of the Spring Festival, the second day of the second month of February, and the third day of the third month of the third month of the Spring Festival all belong to the yang of the yang and are classified as disaster days.

In Han's words, our life is like bamboo, which is originally smooth, but when it comes to festivals, the place is a pimple, so this kind of day is called a festival, which is the most unlucky, so people come up with various ways to celebrate the festival, such as exorcism of ghosts and evil spirits, praying for blessings and blessings, and worshiping ancestors for peace.

However, the Han Dynasty has also changed over the years, because the Spring Festival is just in the autumn, is the harvest season, with the evolution of customs, the New Year has also changed from ghosts and gods to humanization, and the solemn and mysterious atmosphere of the Qin Dynasty New Year has gradually faded, replaced by a more joyful atmosphere.

Just looking at the bustling crowds in the city, the lively atmosphere is a sign of the New Year.

Towards the end of the Chinese New Year, merchants who sell their goods in the market on weekdays are also allowed to come and sell their goods on the streets. There are peddlers and pawns carrying all kinds of gadgets, such as brooms, needles and threads, wooden combs, etc., and shouting from house to house.

Occasionally, you can see the people gathering together to talk and laugh, and there is a small official around them, everyone is in harmony, and there is no hierarchy.

This is an envoy sent by the government to patrol the city, and gather the crowd with wooden bells in his hands, ask the people about what happened this year, and ask them for songs in the fields, and he will gather these things and report them to the officials in charge of music, compile them into songs, and report them to the emperor.

Therefore, there is a saying: "The king does not peep into the household but knows the world." ”

After walking around the city, Han Yan actually had nothing to buy, and on a whim, he went to the place where the workers were hired in the bazaar.

As the soul of modern people, except for parents and relatives, everyone in modern society is selfish, and when they travel back to the slave society, they are probably unable to quit the addiction of being a "master".

Of course, Han Yan didn't want to abuse others, but simply wanted to buy a few slaves as a team member, so that there were people under him who could be used, and also enjoy Wei Juan's care and loyalty to Emperor Han Jing by the way.

At the end of each year, the government will settle accounts with the people who have not paid the oral taxes, reckoning taxes, and land taxes in a year, and those who cannot pay them will become official slaves and be forced to do hard labor in various yamen...... Being an official slave really has no future, and whoever wants to bully will be bullied.

As a result, many people would rather sell themselves and become slaves of private families, in case they were valued by their masters, they might be entrusted with important tasks, get out of slavery, or even become rich. Even if it is not valued, it depends on the owner to beat the dog, and it is certain that being a private slave will be more decent than an official slave.

Han Yan is an acquaintance in the bazaar, he often has nothing to do to hang out, and he is generous, but anyone who pays money is a golden pill, and the merchants and officials who have come into contact with him all laughed.

"Yan Shizi is healthy and happy."

"Good luck."

"Prince Xiangrui."

For these greeting people, Han Yan will respond with a smile, which is very close to the people. The idea of equality that has been educated in his bones has not been polished away, which is probably the biggest difference between him and the Han ruling class.

When the little official in charge of the mercenary work saw Han Yan coming in, he hurriedly got up and saluted, and preemptively sold the treasure and said, "Yan Shizi, if you don't come again, I will go to the Gonggaohou Mansion to find you." ”

"Hmm." Han Yan nodded, his eyes fixed on the people in the room, there were four people chatting and resting, and one was tied against the wall, his clothes were ragged, and his skin wounds were faintly visible, and he was out of place with other people, and his eyes were cold.

This man has thick hair, a full beard, a broad forehead, and deep eyes, and at first glance he is a bearded man.

A few days ago, the Xiongnu swept the border, attacked the Han Forte, entered the upper county, and almost penetrated Chang'an City, and more than 2,000 soldiers died.

Seeing Han Yan, who was gorgeous, looking at him with interest, just like looking at a toy, this Hu man actually glared at him angrily, his eyes were like copper bells, and his face was angry.

"You dare!" The little official shook the roof with a loud shout, took out a horsewhip from under the desk, and went up to smoke it.

The sound of the whip of pia~pia~ shook the dust on the ground, but the Hu man gritted his teeth and did not say a word, even if there were blood marks on his chest, he still refused to give in.

"Stop fighting." Han Yan was very uncomfortable with this kind of abusive scene, and the clear words resounded in the room, causing the little official to stop, come over and laugh and say: "Shizi, I just know that you want to buy him, so I didn't dare to make a heavy hand, and it is worthless to break it......"

"Our Gonggaohou Kingdom is in the Great Han Forte, some distance from the north, how can there be Hu people?"

"I don't know, he was arrested through our Gonggaohou Kingdom, and when he entered the city, he didn't send a message, and he didn't have an identity certificate, so he could only be treated as a hooligan. During this time, the imperial historian came to our Gong Gaohou country, and there were the king of Suchuan and the king of Hejian, in order not to make trouble, the county ordered soldiers to arrest him, and also dispatched the guards of the Gong Gaohou Mansion, and only sixteen people before and after blocked him and arrested him. ”

"Then did you ask the roots?"

"He has a hard mouth, and he doesn't want to say it, as usual, an alien exile like him will directly report to the county guard and deal with it carefully, but recently everyone knows that Yan Shizi is eager for slaves, so we ......" The little official pretended to smile, and his mouth was "hehe" sound.

In fact, it stands to reason that even if this Hu person is not dealt with in detail, he will be beaten as an official slave, and it will not be his turn to sell himself, but in the acre and three points of land in Gonggao Marquis Country, Han Yan is the overlord of the soil, and the officials who grew up here naturally want to please him, and it is the instinct of the officials to tend to the flames, and this little official has done a good job, because Han Yan really remembers him.

The reason why he dared to sell this Hu man to Han Yan was probably the essence of the method of figuring out the leader's thoughts, because Han Yongdang had Hu blood, and his father Han Wangxin had taken refuge in the Xiongnu, and in the fourteenth year of Emperor Xiaowen, Han Yongdang and Han Ying led their subordinates to surrender to the Han Dynasty. One is the Marquis of Gong Gao, and the other is the Marquis of Xiangcheng.

The Hu people see that the Hu people are closer?

Probably that's what the little official thinks.

But he didn't bother in vain.

"This person, I bought it, help me go to the Gong Gaohou Mansion to call the guards and get him back."

"Whoa." The little official took the half handful of gold pills handed by Han Yan with a happy face.