A dull thunder rolled from the horizon and then fell over the palace. A rainstorm came, but unfortunately, as usual, a few drops were squeezed, and the swift rain stopped.

The scenery after the rain is moving, with some raindrops hanging on the bamboo leaves and leaves, and as soon as the sun shows its face, it will appear in a colorful light.

Sitting in the palace, Di Renjie said disappointedly: "The rain has not fallen. ”

In fact, it fell, at least the ground was wet, and there was still some splash in the depression, but it was not big. It's better than not falling, and the same is true of the situation in Guanzhong, where people always drink water, which is the water for crops to grow, which is very problematic.

Wei Yuanzhong also said: "The states of Henan are still good, but they are Guanzhong." ”

"When Lone left the Eastern Capital, he once had an idea," Li Wei said about his offer of several titles to stimulate merchants.

Di Renjie said: "Your Majesty must not agree. ”

"Yes."

"Your Highness, it's not good to say such things in the future, even if it is a reward for a few inconsequential sub-barons, maybe it will save countless people in Guanzhong. But have you ever heard of the story of King Chu's slender waist? ”

"Heard it."

"When the saint moves, the world will follow suit. Today I have rewarded a few merchant titles, but the people of the world think that His Majesty will correct the name of the merchant. The drought is only temporary, and even if it is difficult this year, it will not be the case next year. It's over, it's over. But when this wind opens, it shakes the moral foundation of the country. This is the inheritance of eternity. ”

Could it be so serious? Li Wei was noncommittal in his heart.

It does not attach importance to business, so the state tax has to be exploited by the peasants, and the peasants are already pitiful, and the state has changed and changed, and it is still those peasants. Of course, attaching importance to commerce, with the current scale of industry and commerce, will not allow the state to avoid collecting taxes from peasants. But it has somewhat shared the pressure of some peasants.

But seeing Di Renjie like this, let alone others.

Originally, Li Wei wanted to say something to explain Di Renjie. That is the big food, and the big food believes that the merchants and workers are good and are the industry to be encouraged. So the business is big, and with money, there is a foundation for the southern and northern wars. Craftsmen with good skills can build better weapons, more ships, and then weapons and transports for them to expand.

But when it comes to big food, in the eyes of the Tang people now, it is just a backward country outside the country, and it can't prove anything at all.

Di Renjie looked out the window again and said, "But if the drought continues like this, Your Majesty and the Empress must be anxious, for fear that they will finally give in to His Highness's idea......

It's good to be subservient, it may not be able to save millions of victims in Guanzhong, it may save many people, and it can also bring down food prices. Otherwise, such a tepid request for help, I heard that the price of Chang'an rice has risen by more than 60 yuan per bucket. If it continues to rise, even ordinary citizens may not be able to buy rice.

In fact, if you think about it, it's really difficult, his parents and two old people, let him walk on thin ice, just want to do something, and be constrained by these backward thoughts.

Di Renjie said again: "Your Highness, it's time for the bamboo paper to come out, right?" ”

"About the same," Li Wei replied nonchalantly.

There are many people who hang bamboo paper burnt, but he, the initiator, doesn't even pay attention to the time.

"Your Highness, will it succeed?"

"Di Qing, Lone has said it many times, I believe Lone."

"It's good to be successful." Di Renjie sighed. But there were some things that he didn't say. As the time of bamboo paper arrives, the more wrong the atmosphere becomes. There are countless rumors in the eastern capital, and this is no longer promoted by the power of the people. In fact, after pondering it carefully, I finally understood the queen's thoughts.

Success is good, but of course drought is still drought, and with this righteousness to cover up, it will change somewhat. Besides, the queen's methods are more than these, if they succeed, use some tricks to expand its effect. So everyone was fine.

Di Renjie also welcomed. Anyway, the crown prince will not be able to ascend the throne for a while and a half. It cannot be changed.

But it failed, and under this rendering, many people also focused their attention on the bamboo paper, and some people would say that the prince was ridiculous. She can also take some body out of the drought. Can't be that the queen is not good, and the crown prince is not good. Could it be that the queen and crown prince changed all at once?

Not to mention that the prime ministers, even the emperor himself, it is impossible to do this.

Queen, Queen, good means. But if this method is used, there will definitely not be many people who can detect it. The queen was cautious, and she was seriously ill and went to the doctor. In fact, this move can be advanced or retreated.

Thinking of this, he said again: "Your Highness, I'm afraid that after this bamboo paper turmoil, Your Majesty and Empress will feel guilty about you, and it is possible to recall you back to the Eastern Capital." ”

"It's good here, I don't want to go back."

You just can't hunt, but the scenery is very good, the mountains and forests are lush, and it is a good place to escape the heat and enjoy the coolness. There is no one to supervise and restrain them.

"If you are summoned, you still have to go back, otherwise you will have resentment. It's okay to be slightly dissatisfied, but you can't have resentment. Not only that, but it is not good for the minister to stay here for a long time, and he has to go back and think about how to deal with Young Master Xu. This has to go back to Dali Temple. ”

"Young Master Xu, Di Qing, if you can deal with it, you can deal with it, and it doesn't matter if you can't deal with it. Don't force it. ”

That was Xu Jingzong, and there were countless ministers and prime ministers who fell in his hands. Although there is more or less the meaning of mother, or father.

"The minister is not Shangguan Yi," he pointed to Shangguan Wan'er, who was playing with Li Lingyue outside.

………………………………

Already a couple of low-ranking officials took out pens and wrote them down on paper.

This is Li Wei's order to Liu Qun, and Liu Qun said it to Dai Zhide again. There is a process for debugging. For example, different young bamboos, the specific rotting time, the proportion of lime, and the back, drying temperature and heat. Don't look at the scale of this trial.

It would take several times, at the very least, of trials to figure out the optimal ratio.

After it is promoted to the whole country, it is necessary to experiment, different bamboo, different lime and water quality, all have an impact on paper.

But when the big plan is decided, that's the second thing.

The craftsman slowly lifted the bamboo curtain, and there was indeed a thin layer of things on it, very thin and uniform, because it was still pulp, crystal clear, and it was possible to see the things behind it, and it could be seen clearly. The onlookers were in a commotion, and they couldn't help but squeeze forward so that they could see more clearly. Fortunately, there are a lot of guards, otherwise there might be chaos.

Really successful?

Dai Zhide glanced at Jiang Ke and the others.

The expressions of these bigwigs are not very good, and the people can't see it, but they have the right to look at it, and they all approach one by one and look at this thin layer.

Sure enough, it is very thin, in fact, it may not be so thin, the real rice paper of later generations, that is called thin, and the toughness is better than bamboo paper. Of course, the cost is also good.

But nowadays paper can be used to make clothes to wear, and you can imagine the thickness of paper. Compared to bamboo paper, at least in terms of thickness, one is heaven and the other is earth. In fact, the appearance of bamboo paper, can be said to be the second time of paper, this kind of process later in the Tang Dynasty also had, very rough, to the Song Dynasty to mature, but there are still many defects, until the Ming Dynasty, only fully matured. Even in the later industrial era, bamboo paper did not withdraw from the stage. However, the process is more complex, and the quality is far better than this kind of heavenly bamboo paper.

It's not a success, there are some crafts.

The craftsman places the thin layer on a thin plank that has been prepared for planing in advance. Press a wooden board on top of it, and then go to the material. After swinging out a lot, they are lifted up to a huge square stone and placed on a wooden plank, which is to use the weight to squeeze out most of the water in the thin material.

All the officials did not leave, and the officials sent "box lunches".

Anyway, there are no people in this area, and the place is spacious. Squat down together and rest the meal on the ground to eat. Waiting.

Not every retort is successful. Some retort bamboo materials may not be able to be fed for various reasons. But it doesn't matter, there are already several retorts of bamboo material swinging up. Now the bamboo paper must be there, and the thinness is there, which is a quality problem.

The firewood is made of adobe bricks, and the craftsman lights the firewood, and when he sees that the thin material can no longer drip water, he lifts the square stone down and uncovers the wooden plank. When the bamboo material is picked up, there is still moisture, so the color is still mainly transparent, but it is thinner, and it also has a slight appearance of white.

There was another commotion in the crowd.

Dai Zhide walked over, stroked it with his hand, and said in a low voice: "New paper." ”

It's soft and slippery to the touch.

He calculated in his heart, the cost is still needed, as for the cost of lime and bamboo, he has ignored it, this kind of play, the Tang Dynasty can be said to have it in most areas. It's the money for labor and firewood, and after calculating it, he said, "It's really cheap." ”

Alas, the quality of jute is not required, as long as it can be written

When the craftsman saw that the prime minister wanted to see it, he left one and let them watch it slowly, put the rest into the alley, and began to dry it.

In fact, the big sun is very poisonous, and it has been coiled around in the hands of Dai Zhide and others, and some of it has been done. Of course, for large-scale production, it must be cultivated, where to find such a large area in the sun?

The sun is setting in the west.

The onlookers did not leave, but gathered more and more, and some of them were literati and artists, who were already pondering some words in their minds, ready to describe this grand occasion.

The alley opened, and the craftsman took out the paper.

The "good white" crowd couldn't help but squeeze forward, squeezing the guards to the ground......

"Your Majesty, since the Eastern Capital, to the prefectures and counties of Fenzhou, Jinzhou, Puzhou, and Ruzhou, there has not been much rain since the beginning of summer." Wu Zetian Dao.

"Well," Li Zhi rubbed his head, these prefectures and counties are Henan and Hedong, although there are slight signs of drought, but they are all connected by rivers, and the supply is convenient, and said, "What about Guanzhong?" ”

Wu Zetian's face changed, and he said, "Guanzhong is even worse."

After finishing speaking, she looked at Li Zhi's expression, and as she was surprised, Li Zhi's face immediately became gloomy.

"Report, report" Li Cheng held a few rolls of white paper in his hand and ran in excitedly. ran in a hurry, stumbled on the threshold all of a sudden, fell to the ground, and didn't care if he would fall and his nose and face were swollen, and he held the paper in his hand.

Li Zhi was sulking and scolded angrily: "What kind of system. ”

Li Cheng was a little aggrieved, the slave and maid fell, and he didn't expect the emperor to comfort him, and he didn't have to reprimand the slave and maid, he stood up, fell not lightly, rubbed his painful face and said: "The bamboo paper is here, this is the bamboo paper, which is sent urgently by a fast horse." ”

"Oh," Li Zhi also stood up. If the bamboo paper is really successful, it will be good for the son, for himself, and for his wife. walked over, took a few rolls of paper, opened one roll, and said, "Queen, you see, it's really thin." ”

"Yes." Wu Zetian replied, but his body collapsed softly, and after worrying for so many days, he didn't expect that the bamboo paper that succeeded was finally successful. The son definitely doesn't have this ability, is this really a chance for God to give his family?

"Bring a pen," Li Zhi instructed again.

Sure enough, it's very white and thin, but it's not good to look at, and you have to see if you can use it. If you run out of ink, no matter how good it is, it won't be of much use. Not only did such a thin paper make him suspect that the ink was soaking, but some of the paper was not good, even if it was very thick, and the ink was written up, a large piece of ink would be squeezed.

The eunuch hurriedly sharpened the ink, and Li Zhi picked up the pen and wrote on it. The toughness of the bamboo paper is not strong, but the ink is very good, and the ink is bright after the pen, and the pen can feel bright. The bamboo paper of the Song Dynasty still had such and such problems, but the bamboo paper at that time made Su Dongpo and Wang Anshi and others love it more than once.

In terms of ink alone, these bamboo papers are not inferior to famous products such as Yizhou jute.

Looking at the words he wrote, looking at the ink, Li Zhi said: "Good paper." ”

Li Chengdao: "Yes, it's a good paper, but it's a pity, this must be used before and after the mango planting, although it is now a method, but it cannot be promoted immediately." Bamboo is different from place to place, and it needs to be modulated. In this way, it will take the year after next before it can be popularized nationwide. However, Zhongnanshan will be able to have a large amount of bamboo paper next year. ”

"The year after tomorrow, I can wait."

In fact, when to promote the god horse, Li Zhi now doesn't care about it, as long as the bamboo paper is available, it is successful, and it is better than everyone expected, the righteousness will be there, and it will become

"Come, take the glucose from the Western Regions, I want to drink a cup or two." The eunuch was just about to go down, but Li Zhi called him again: "Wait, you immediately pass on my decree and let the prince return to the Eastern Capital." ”

Only then did I remember the benefits of my son