Guo An smiled slightly, and asked lightly: "Who said that sugar cane must be needed to make sugar?" ”

As soon as these words came out, Xu Yun and Zhuang Guang were stunned at first.

Immediately, his eyes widened directly, and his face was full of excitement.

"Guo Changshi, are you saying that in addition to sugarcane to make sugar, there are other things that can be used to make sugar?"

As he spoke, the two suddenly remembered something and asked again, "Guo Changshi, are you going to make caramel candy?" ”

Caramel, that is, maltose, can be made from rice, wheat, millet and millet, and is the earliest sugar in the Central Plains.

It can also be regarded as a traditional Chinese medicine.

The advantage of making caramel is that as long as there are grains, you can make them anytime, anywhere.

It's just that the caramel is slimy, and half of it is not sugar, nor is it as sweet as sucrose, and it is not as delicious as sucrose.

Many wealthy families like to eat sucrose.

However, caramel can't be added to gunpowder, so Guo An shook his head slowly, "Let's use a beet to make sugar." ”

"Beets?"

Xu Yun and Zhuang Guang stared directly at Guo An with wide eyes, stared at Guo An with excitement on their faces and asked, "Dare to ask Guo Changshi, I don't know what kind of beets can be used to make sugar?" ”

You know, since people learned to use sugar cane sugar, for hundreds of years, I don't know how many people have tried to use other plants to make sugar.

Unfortunately, only sugar cane can be used to make sugar.

If Guo Changshi could really find another plant to make sugar, wouldn't the Yanwang Mansion directly discover a golden mountain?

Guo An said: "Sugar radish." ”

"Sugar radish?"

Xu Yun and Zhuang Guang both couldn't help frowning slightly.

"Guo Changshi, where does this radish grow?"

Guo An said: "Ningxia, Liangzhou, or Liaodong and other places. ”

Is there really one?

Xu Yun and Zhuang Guang's faces were overjoyed, and they hurriedly asked, "Dare to ask Guo Changshi, I don't know what that sugar radish looks like?" But it's called sugar radish? ”

"We don't know."

At this time, Guo An really didn't know what the name of that sugar radish was.

After thinking about it slightly, he said: "You can send people to Shaanxi and Liaodong first, and let us search."

A rhizome that looks like a turnip, but is buried in the soil with small round red bumps.

It's October now, and it's harvest season for these sugar radishes. ”

"Yes, Guo Changshi! The lower official went to ...... in person."

Xu Yun and Zhuang Guang responded, and they prepared to go to find the sugar radish that Guo An said.

Guo An instructed again: "Remember, sugar radish is our name, you can't use this name to find it, just use the name of carrot to find it." ”

"Yes, Guo Changshi!"

The two answered and hurried away.

As for whether the two can be found, Guo An is not worried at all.

The current Yanwang Mansion is not short of money and manpower.

Moreover, because of the wool workshop and the cotton clothing workshop, the relationship between Yanwangfu and the northern regions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Liaodong is much closer.

It can be said that even if the Yan Wangfu wants to find a three-legged toad in such a large northern province, it can find it.

……

It was a few days later.

The old Mr. Du Zhidao from Huguan, Shanxi, finally came to Beiping Mansion.

Zhu Di personally took Zhu Fu, Guo An, and Monk Daoyan to greet him personally.

In addition, a group of scholars who have gathered in Beiping in the past few days have also spontaneously come out to greet them.

Even, even Guo's father and Liu Weiyuan came out to greet them.

It can be described as a huge scene.

However, what reassured Guo An was that the old Mr. Du Yi didn't know if it was because of his temperament, or because he was old, he had entered the moment of a sage.

No matter who you face, you are very kind.

Even, after hearing Zhu Di's various requirements for the academy, Du Yi also agreed with a smile, even if he was stuffed into a monk as a businessman.

Du Yi was not unhappy at all.

Now that the autumn harvest has passed, the academy has been completed, and the directors of the two major academies of sacrificial wine and division are in place.

The college officially enrolls students.

Enlightenment has the school of enlightenment, and the academy has the academy of the academy.

In just 10 days, the academy enrolled 300 Mongolian students, and as for the children who were formally studying, the number reached 500.

Basically, the entire seven counties and four prefectures of Peiping Prefecture have come.

Every day, there is a lot of traffic outside the academy.

As for the officials of the Yanwang Mansion, as well as the officials of nearby states and counties such as Wanping, Daxing, and Tongzhou, they will be replaced every ten days.

And every day, Jin Zhong also took a dozen probationary scribes to build houses around the academy.

In the library building of the college, it is also full of college students every day.

Most of them are the children of rich gentry who are brightly dressed.

Each of the gentry and rich children had a book in their hands, and in front of them all had a cup of hot tea, a plate of pastries, and some better ones, some melons, fruits, and grains.

Every time he came, looking at this scene, Guo An couldn't help but slightly curl the corners of his mouth.

However, Guo An did not wander around the library building today, but went directly to the work building on the side of the library.

Inside the building, there was already a white-haired old man in his sixties, who was waiting for him quietly.

As Guo An came in, Jin Zhong hurriedly got up to greet him and explained to Guo An.

"I've seen Guo Changshi, and this is the old gentleman who wants to donate books to the library."

"Little old man Robben has seen Guo Changshi."

Seeing Guo An come in, the old man's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly got up to salute.

Guo An was taken aback, and hurriedly stepped forward to help, "The old gentleman must not, the kid would not dare to bear such a big gift." ”

As he spoke, helping the old gentleman back to his seat, Guo An asked curiously: "Dare to ask the old gentleman to come looking for a boy, but what books do you want to donate?" ”

Robben pointed to the wooden box on the side and said slowly: "There is a long history of Lao Guo, Xiao Lao'er is going to donate a few ancient books this time, and there are also a few clumsy books written by himself." ”

"The old gentleman's own book?"

Hearing this, Guo An and Jin Zhong were immediately full of admiration.

In ancient times, no matter what, if you can write your own book and pass it on, you must be a great Confucian who is a scholar of heaven and man, and knows the present through the past and the present.

And at this time, Robben had slowly opened the wooden box.

"Water Margin?"

Seeing the first book, Guo An couldn't help frowning slightly.

If he remembers correctly, "Water Margin" should be a long book, and the author's surname is Shi, not Luo!

Luo Ben smiled and said, "Don't blame Guo Changshi, this book was created by Xiao Lao'er.

It's just that, for some reasons, this book has not been published, and Xiao Lao'er is afraid that this book will be lost, and he heard that the library built by His Royal Highness Beiping Mansion wants to collect all the books in the world, so he brought it over. ”

"I see."

Guo An nodded slightly, didn't think much about it, and continued to look down.

"Don't worry, old gentleman, if we want to include all the books in the world in the library, this book can naturally be done."

A glimmer of light appeared in Robben's eyes, and he hurriedly continued to flip through the books below.

"Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Romance of the Five Dynasties of the Remnant Tang Dynasty", "Chronicles of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "Legend of the Three Suiping Demons"......

Hey, this is still "Three Kingdoms" written by Chen Shou...... Pei Songzhi's annotated "Romance of the Three Kingdoms...... Unexpectedly, the old gentleman is also a researcher of ancient history. ”

In the whole box, except for some strange mythological books, they are all dynastic romances, and Guo An likes to read these the most.

Moreover, the old men who can study these histories often have some real skills, and Guo An's tone is even more admiring.

"Thank you Guo Changshi for your praise, Xiao Lao'er is just a scattered person, and he wrote these books in vain, but he can't afford to print and publish any of them."

"Sir, rest assured, from the past to the present, my generation of scholars should read some historical masterpieces. These books, the kid will put them on the top floor of the library. Guo An said.

"Thank you, Guo Changshi."

Robben hurriedly said with a happy face of gratitude.

Guo An asked again: "I don't know where the old gentleman is and how old is this year?" The kid asked someone to choose the most suitable pair of reading glasses for the old gentleman...... Presumably, the old gentleman's eyes will be a little dizzy when he reads some words every day......"

After so many years, it was the first time that Robben was so respected, but he didn't refuse, he had already heard the name of reading glasses in Yanwangfu.

"Little Lao'er's namebook, the word runs through the middle, the number is Huhai Sanren, Shanxi Taiyuan, this year is already sixty and six.

It's a pity that since the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, he has been floating south of the Yangtze River, and he hasn't been back for a long time......"

"Words run through...... Gauze... Luo Guanzhong......"

After listening to the old man's words, Guo An shivered straight, and no longer had the heart to listen to the following words.

Thinking about it, Guo An seemed to think of something, and hurriedly opened the book "Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Although the handwriting inside was all handwritten, it was all too familiar to him.

"Guo Changshi, Guo Changshi ......"

Seeing Guo An holding his copy of "Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in a daze, the expression in his eyes was still changing, and a trace of worry flashed in Robben's eyes.

"But what's wrong with this book written by Little Lao'er?"

"The old gentleman misunderstood."

Guo An hurriedly explained: "The kid just thinks that the old man's books can be called classics, and it would be a bit brutal to put the old man's original manuscript directly in the library building......

The old gentleman rest assured, the kid will definitely find someone to re-copy the old gentleman's books.

As for the manuscript of the old gentleman, it was handed over to the old gentleman for personal safekeeping...... Of course, if the old gentleman doesn't mind, the kid also wants to collect these books of the old gentleman at home......

"Don't mind, don't mind!"

Robben's face was beaming.

"Thank you, sir."

Guo An hurriedly got up and put the books back into the wooden box.

"In this way, please also ask the old gentleman to go to the city with the boy, and the boy will personally find a house for the old gentleman, and find a scholar to copy the book for the gentleman himself."

"I didn't expect the old man to be adrift for half his life, and when he was old, he could still be respected by Guo Changshi so much, but the old man was disrespectful."

Robben was not hypocritical.

As he said, at such an old age, if he hadn't been able to put down his few books, he might have gone to his teacher a long time ago.

Guo An instructed Jin Zhong on the side: "Jin Zhong, hold this bookcase and follow us into the city." ”

"Yes, Guo Changshi!"

Jin Zhong responded and hurriedly picked up the bookcase.

On the side, an old man who looked like a servant hurriedly stepped forward to help Robben.

Then, the group left the academy, got into Guo An's spacious and luxurious carriage, and headed for the city.

As for Robben's dilapidated carriage, it was followed.

All the way, I came directly to the Chunshu Hutong in Wanping County.

Stopped in front of a house without a plaque.

However, the courtyard of the house is cleaned up, and there are still a few people living in it.

Seeing Guo An leading two old men in, a group of subordinates hurriedly came over to salute, and then served hot tea.

"Old gentleman, this is a courtyard bought by the boy, and the old gentleman can live here first.

If there is any need, the people in the hospital can send it at will. ”

"Thank you, Guo Changshi."

Robben looked around and said with a grateful expression.

Inside the house, Guo An and Robben were chatting, and a voice came from outside the courtyard.

"Ning Yi, I heard that your kid brought back an old gentleman, isn't it a big Confucian?"

After the words fell, Guo's father and Liu Weiyuan walked in.

At this time, there is nothing to do in Shunde Mansion, and these two old men have been staying in Beiping Mansion.

All day long, I am either obsessed with the library of the academy, or I follow some great Confucian discussions, and I am already a little happy.

"I've seen my father, Lord Yue."

Guo An hurriedly got up, saluted Guo's father and Liu Weiyuan, and then introduced to the two: "Father, Lord Yue, this old gentleman is Mr. Luo Guanzhong, a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi.

This time, I came to donate books to the library, and most of the books were written by the old gentleman. ”

"Mr. Luo, this is the father of the boy, this is the father-in-law of the boy, both of them are ...... of Shunde Mansion"

After Guo An's introduction, when Liu Weiyuan and Guo's father looked at Luo Guanzhong, their faces couldn't help but stiffen.

As for Luo Guanzhong, a wry smile flashed in his eyes.

……

(End of chapter)