(Thank you Feng Meng, Caizhu and all the book friends who rewarded and voted, I am afraid of this flood of power...... ）

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Zhang Fang explained all the matters, and the fastest one to give the order was Qu Liang. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info Quliang received two orders, to investigate the paper-making and pottery-making processes in the workshop under the name of the Hou Mansion, and then report back.

Because it was the first time to accept the order of the head of the family, Zhang Jingchen, the family commander, did not dare to hand over the acquisition of the paper mill to his subordinates, but personally handled it, considered it in many ways, and was cautious, for fear that the owner would not be satisfied. In this way, Qu Liang was unable to inspect the papermaking for a while, so he first reported the pottery making.

Qu Liang is very stable, he not only came alone, but also brought an old craftsman who has been making pottery for more than 30 years with him for consultation.

The potter named Tian An, who is over fifty years old, has a somewhat rickety back, a wrinkled face, a white beard, and a pair of thick black palms, with more folds than his face. The pottery workshop where Tian An is located is in the southwest of Chang'an City, and various workshops are all over the place.

Tian An had seen the young master from afar when the old master was at the funeral, and now he was able to come close to see him, he was really frightened, and he kept lying down, not daring to raise his head.

Zhang Fang first asked Qu Liang in detail, and after asking about the same amount, he turned to the old potter and said in a calm tone: "Tian Craftsman, I heard that you have been making utensils for more than 30 years?" ”

Tian An hurriedly responded: "If you go home, the old slave has been making pottery in the workshop since the Aihou period, and it has been thirty-six years. ”

Aihou is the nickname of the great-grandfather Zhang Yanshou, that is to say. This Tian An began to make pottery as early as the period of Zhang Fang's great-grandfather, and he was really an old craftsman.

Zhang Fang smiled: "Since you are an old craftsman, this pottery craft must be very skilled, right?" ”

Speaking of craftsmanship, Tian An was panicked, and he couldn't help but feel a little complacent: "The old slave doesn't dare to compare with the master craftsman of Chang'an, but in the west of the Zhicheng Gate, our pottery workshop recognizes the second, and no one dares to recognize the first." ”

Zhang Fang asked about the pottery process, Tian An was a little snorted at first, but the more he spoke, the more fluent he became, and even a look swelled up on his face.

Zhang Fang listened quietly, basically without interrupting, and kept nodding and smiling in the process. His affirmation made Tian An even more into a state, and even his voice was raised.

Zhang Fang also played pottery in his leisure time before, and he has a little understanding of ancient pottery, but it is also general. At this time, I heard the old craftsman say that from the very beginning of the mud panning, to the mud stacking, drawing, printing, repairing, watering, as well as painting and glazing, and finally entering the kiln for firing. The time required for the whole process, precautions, and technical know-how are clearly understood.

Zhang Fang listened carefully as he looked at a brown black porcelain bowl in his hand. This black porcelain bowl is accurately called glazed pottery, which belongs to the original porcelain, which resembles porcelain rather than porcelain. A thin layer of glaze is applied to the inner wall of the utensil, and the outer wall is only glazed on the edge of the mouth and the upper part of the shoulder, and the middle and lower parts of the abdomen are exposed, which looks very coarse.

Since the Qin and Han dynasties, this kind of glazed pottery has become the mainstream of household utensils for the rich, and the people still use pottery more. The industry of Fuping Houfu is naturally to take the high-end route, and most of the products produced and sold are glazed pottery.

Zhang Fang shook his head: "These are pottery, not porcelain." ”

Tian An, who was foaming at the mouth as he spoke, was stunned, looked at the young family master in surprise, and immediately knew that he was rude, trembling all over, and hurriedly bowed his head and muttered: "Chang'an pottery is like this, the head of the family ......."

Zhang Fang glanced at Qu Liang, after he explained the task a few days ago, he specially advised, so that when Qu Liang inspected the pottery workshops, he must ask "why don't you make blue and white porcelain". If there is a craftsman who understands, he can bring it, and if he does not understand, he will keep looking until he finds someone who understands.

Since Qu Liang brought this person here today, he must have gained, but the old craftsman's answer made Zhang Fang frown—all the same? What is that for?

Qu Liang was glared at by the young master, and sweat oozed from his forehead. In the past ten days, accompanied by a familiar guard, he searched all over Chang'an West City, Waikou, and Zhulingyi, and asked the secret phrase "why don't you make blue and white porcelain" more than 100 times, and almost no one knew what it meant. In the end, it was not easy to find this old craftsman, and he actually understood the "secret language", Qu Liang immediately grabbed him like a life-saving straw, but he didn't expect the old craftsman to come up with such a sentence, and it was over......

Zhang Fang turned his gaze back to the old craftsman, and his tone was still peaceful: "Do you know how to make blue and white porcelain?" ”

Tian An muttered for a long time, and suddenly shouted: "The old slave once saw azure porcelain in the ancestor's house, and listened to what the ancestor said, it was his ancestor's ......."

What?! Shizu? Return to your ancestors! What year is it? You won't tell me that there was porcelain in the pre-Qin period!

“…… The old slave was originally a member of the Wucheng clan of Huiji, at the foot of Mogan Mountain, and made pottery for generations. When I was an apprentice, I once heard the words of the old craftsman, and the ancestor once made a secret weapon for the king of Yue, and applied a kind of green glaze ......"

The old craftsman Tian An's account unveiled an eternal mystery for Zhang Fang - the earliest glazed pottery appeared as early as the Warring States Period. At that time, the Wuyue pottery industry was very developed, about in the middle and late stages of the Yue Kingdom, there were craftsmen who developed a kind of glaze water, applied to the surface and inside of the pottery blank, fired at high temperature, and the pottery was bright and dark green after leaving the kiln. This kind of glazed ware, which is between pottery and porcelain, was regarded as a royal secret vessel (that is, a burial object), and was buried in the tombs of the royal families and nobles of the Yue Kingdom, and was not regarded as a daily necessities, so it was not declared to the world.

After the fall of the Yue Kingdom, because the secret ware was no longer made, this craft was gradually lost, and it was only passed down by word of mouth among the Moganshan potters in the past dynasties.

It turns out that as early as the Warring States Period, there were already glazed ceramics, and the Yue potters, passed down from generation to generation, have made breakthroughs, which is also reasonable. Zhang Fang pressed his excitement and asked, "Have you ever seen a real thing?" ”

Tian An replied: "When I was young, I saw a remnant of a piece of ware in my ancestor's house, the color is azure, the tentacles are warm, and it is very different from ordinary pottery, the old slave has never seen such a fine porcelain, so I remember it very well, although I have not forgotten it for decades." As soon as the pedestrian in the house said it the day before yesterday, the old slave remembered his impressions when he was young......"

Qu Liang, like Qingyan, the Han brothers, Shi Niu and others, all got the title of "pedestrian", and he was regarded as a middle-level domestic servant in the Hou Mansion and had a certain status. This is not entirely because of Zhang Fang's preference, but more because they all have a civil lord corresponding to this title, which is also an additional gain for them to accompany the army to the west.

"Do you know how to mix glaze water and fire?"

"The old slave doesn't know...... However, I once heard my senior brother say that my ancestor wanted to restore the ancestor's craftsmanship and secretly studied it. How did I do it, the old slave has been away from his hometown for many years, and the ancestor has passed away, I don't know what to do......"

"Okay, that's it." Zhang Fang said decisively, "I'll give you a long vacation, and then issue the coil, you go back to Huiji and buy the remnant." If your brother or other potter has studied this artifact, please invite it as well, and I will pay a lot of money to him. ”

Tian An was a little hesitant: "Family master, this secret weapon doesn't dare to be made privately, it's terrible to be discovered......

"Hahahaha!" Zhang Fang burst out laughing, which scared Tian An into a tremend, "Who said this thing is a secret weapon?" I tell you, if you can really recover and build on this, I guarantee that you will glorify your ancestors and leave your name in history! ”

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PS: The glazed pottery in the text is really something, in the eighties of the last century, during the archaeology, a large number of glazed pottery fragments in the middle and late Warring States period were excavated in Deqing, Zhejiang, and they were all secret weapons for the tombs of the nobles of the Yue Kingdom. Although it is not really mature porcelain, it can be said to be an early quasi-porcelain. (To be continued.) )