Liangzhou craftsman workshop,

It's still in full swing,

Hundreds of craftsmen inside are methodically making movable type, since Xu Xian separated each step, each craftsman only needs to complete the part of his own hands, just like the assembly line in the factory in the previous life, the efficiency has increased several times, from a distance it seems that the movable type template and the demolding agent piled up in the warehouse are already full.

backyard

The young man changed into a coarse cloth shirt and was carrying the tray from the clay kiln with his cuffs without any image, just at the summer solstice, the sun was shining in the capital, and the fierce fire of the clay kiln made most of the craftsmen sweat, and even bare-chested, pouring water into their mouths.

I wanted to rest for a while, but my eyes fell on the young man not far away, and I stopped this thought, and I felt inexplicably full of energy, and even the shouting of the gray-haired prison craftsman was much louder.

"Your Highness, sour plum soup. ”

Bai Xiaosheng, who was waiting on the side, looked at the young man and put down the tray in his hand, and stepped forward very naturally to hand the young man a bowl of sour plum soup.

"Hoo ......"

"Comfortable ......"

The young man drank the sour plum soup in the bowl, the crushed ice came to the tip of his tongue with a cold feeling, the sweet and sour taste of the plum bloomed on the taste buds, and the whole person was much more comfortable to drink such a bowl during the summer solstice.

"Sending someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to bring some ice cubes over is a job of suffering and pleasure, and it can't be caused by heat stroke. ”

The young man wiped the soup from the corner of his mouth and said softly,

Saltpeter ice making is not a secret in Shangjing, it is nothing more than taking a large vat, putting half full of water in it, placing the tank in a pool, placing nitrate in the pool, and then pouring water into the pool, waiting for half a day, the pool water cools down, and the vat freezes, but even so it is still expensive, and it is by no means affordable for ordinary people.

......

The huge ice cubes that are bubbling bring a hint of coolness to the steaming artisans' workshops, and the undulating plums in the barrels make the Adam's apple rise.

"Old decay, thank you for everyone, Your Highness!"

The old craftsman who made movable type trembled lightly with his hand holding the sea bowl, looking at the smiling young man, his eyes were a little blurred, how could such a noble person be so approachable from a time ago?

The young man smiled without words,

During this time, every three or five days, I will come to this Liangzhou craftsman workshop to go around, and occasionally I will personally get started, all as an experience, of course, the most important point is to deter Xiaoxiao, you must know that movable type is a good thing for the world's poor scholars, but it is not the case in the family gate.

Earlier, there were a lot of spies sent by people around him, and the young man just asked the spy department to secretly write down and did not do it, in recent days, hundreds of soldiers have been dispatched to guard around the Liangzhou craftsman workshop, and the young man still walks up from time to time to show his attitude, and then everything seems to be quiet, not to mention the ill-intentioned people, the whole craftsman workshop is rarely seen by the figures.

"What is the situation of the major study halls in Beijing now?"

The young man leaned against the gate of the courtyard and said to Bai Xiaosheng, beside him was covered with movable type of cement that was being demolded and dried, and now the movable type template was enough to supply the entire Gyeonggi land for non-stop printing day and night, and the skilled craftsmen who had written down the process were also dispatched to various states and counties, paving the way for a long time, and it was time to close the net.

"Your Highness. ”

"In the past month, the entire study in Shangjing has sold out all the printed books, and the books that used to be priced at seven or eight taels of silver are now only a little more than one or two silver, which is a great bargain for them, and many poor students are even more praises to His Royal Highness. ”

Now that the scriptures and texts selected for the imperial examination have been printed, and the channels of bookstores in all counties and counties in Gyeonggi have been opened, as long as they are sold quickly, they can be delivered in less than half a day. ”

"So, the time has come. ”

"Tomorrow, when the palace goes to the court, it will be sent to the major studies, and the imperial examination should now be completely set up in the court and announced to the world. ”

"It's been more than a month. ”

"Those children of the family in the city are also not sleeping well when they want to come. ”

"Now it's time for the knife to fall. ”

"Close your eyes early, settle down early. ”

The young man sighed lightly and walked out of the door towards the Prime Minister's Mansion.

......

Inside,

In the study,

Qin Qingtang was dealing with government affairs, and the strange thing was that the entourage who had been waiting silently at the door was actually holding a book of scriptures and shaking his head and reading it, the scene was extremely strange.

His Royal Highness smiled, let him pee with the old man, but he had no long things, although there was a laugh in the bright room, the prime minister was a seven-grade official in front of the door, but in the future, he couldn't really be a lifelong attendant of the porter, so he wanted him to study more, and fight for a fame in the imperial examination in the future, and did not expect the follow-up to lift people. Jinshi, even if it is one, Tongsheng, Xiucai is also excellent. ”

Qin Qingtang noticed the young man's surprised expression and explained.

"There are many vacancies in the six departments, and there are even some idle positions. ”

The young man spoke.

"Fame and fortune are taken from your own books. ”

"The old man should be a role model. ”

Qin Qingtang looked at the shaking head and smiled bitterly, the latter replied with a silly smile, and did not speak, but walked silently into the courtyard without disturbing the conversation between the two.

"Gong Qin, now the door valve of the family in the market is quite peaceful. ”

"What's the wind blowing above the court?"

Young Lang Kedao,

"The Wang family, the Xie family, the Sun family, the Cui family...... They are all silent about this matter, and what has happened in the capital these days seems to have never been in their eyes, but it is more peaceful, that is, the arrogant and domineering children of the major mansions have also stopped, and there is no trouble. ”

"Except for daily affairs, the entire court is like a pool of stagnant water. ”

Qin Qingtang stroked his beard and said,

There was a hint of worry in his words.

"The people in the craftsman's workshop take the strips of the main hall to borrow books in the same way, whether it is the Wang family, or the Xie family, the strips are handed in, less than a stick of incense, a cart of books to the craftsman's workshop to send, it is really not like the style of the past. ”

The young man took a sip of tea and muttered in a low voice, he has not yet seen the dagger, and the two top gate valves have been as good as flowing, and he can't wait to give all the books in his family to himself.

"If there is more noise, the old minister is much more comfortable, after all, the thousands of books in the house have turned into blank paper, but the more calm and regressive, the more uneasy the old minister will be. ”

Qin Qingtang let out a long sigh.

"Nowadays, the price of cabbage in books, all kinds of solitary books in the shelf, spread all over the world, and the family gate valve, it is a blunt knife to cut meat, but as soon as the imperial examination is opened, it is to pierce the heart ......"

"I hope the world is more competitive. ”

Qin Qingtang looked at the charter that had been set on the paper and said softly.

"In that case, let's go and meet my big family. ”

The young man said loudly.

......

Shangjing, Kangpingfang,

At the end of the unitary time, the red glow on the horizon is hidden, the square is still prosperous, the lights on both sides of the street are on the beginning, the green building in Nanqu is the blue paste bright candle, the stirrup is wrong, the sound of the charm is endless, there is no lack of people pushing the cup in the green building on the street, and even the air is filled with the intoxicating aroma of wine.

"The pite is poignant, and the huqin is loud. ”

"This Kang Pingfang is still drunk and gold-obsessed. ”

"Fortunately, there are many fewer people reading than in the past!"

The young man in a long robe sat in the private room on the second floor and looked at the crowd on the street, chuckled, since ancient times, literati love to drink and have fun, but also love the prostitute of the Qinglou to compose poems, the cold door, the cold door, but it must be in terms of the door valve, the silver of the ordinary Goulan Washe Qinglou can still be taken out.

Now that it has been more than a month since the launch of the movable type, the price of books in the entire Shangjing City has reached the price of paper, and the young man has also seen the subtle changes with his own eyes, saying that he has to go to Qinglou to understand the wind direction of the Chinese people in the city.

"Singing and dancing prostitutes, drinking and having fun. ”

"In the early years, when Cheng Laochen had not yet sat in this position, every time he dispersed the dynasty and took a vacation, many colleagues also invited Lao Chen many times, not to find flowers and willows, but this atmosphere was also very good. ”

"However, the old minister is really boring and excused himself, not afraid of His Royal Highness's jokes, the old minister has lived in Beijing for decades, but this is the first time he has set foot in Kangpingfang. ”

Qin Qingtang, who was wearing regular clothes on the side, looked at the staggered appearance below, and looked carefully at the regulars in the hall, many of them were officials from the DPRK and China, but fortunately, there were beaded curtains and tulle in the private room on the second floor, and they couldn't see the upstairs from afar.

"Speaking of which, this drunken immortal residence is now also the property of the main hall. ”

The young man smiled and clapped his hands,

A moment later,

A plump woman stepped in,

"Your Majesty has seen it, Your Highness!"

"Xiaguan has seen it, Duke Qin!"

After hearing everyone's salute, it was very natural to refill a cup of tea for the two, who would have thought that the world-famous Qinglou behind-the-scenes proprietress was the second-in-command of the Liangzhou Spy Division, if the situation in the whole world was handled by Bai Xiaosheng, then the most detailed information about the entire Shangjing City was the woman in front of her, who had been in Beijing for a long time, not to mention anything else, and now all the Goolan Washers in the entire Shangjing have been covered with ears and eyes, and it can be seen from this point.

"Smell everyone. ”

"What is the trend of those scholars in Shangjing in recent months?"

The young man looked at the plump woman in front of him and said softly, speaking of which, the Liangzhou Espionage Division was able to develop so rapidly at the beginning, and it still relied on her channels, and now that she has entered the capital, she has not been transferred out, and she has also saved her mind to make her more stable in the rest of her life.

"This month, all the silver in the entire Shangjing City has been reduced by a full thirty percent, but it is also since the major bookstores in the city have sold books at low prices, and those who have been wandering around on weekdays have a feverish brain, and they have taken all the silver in their pockets to buy books. ”

"As for the direction of the wind, it seems that the lower officials are also excellent, at least in the eyes of those readers, the books are still more important than the body of the white flower flower of the Qinglou woman,"

Hearing that everyone's voice has just fallen,

Outside the street came a shout,

"Miss Qing'er, you wait for me!"

"I'm definitely coming to you next month!"

The young man looked for prestige and saw a man in a long shirt across the street holding a thick stack of books, and was driven out by the small guy in the building.

"You idiot......"

"A few taels of silver for such a stack of books. ”

"I don't know if I can eat or drink?"

The delicate sister upstairs sighed when she looked at the scholar's down-and-out appearance, and her eyes were a little unbearable, and finally she secretly dropped a money bag, and when she fell to the ground, there was a dull sound, and she thought that there were still a few taels of silver in it.

"Let's go into the building today, so many people are watching. ”

"Less trips in the future. ”

"It's not bad to study, but I know something in the building, if you want to be an official, you have to find someone, those individuals recommend an official position can cost a lot of silver, and the money to buy books is saved, and I will become an official in the future......."

The sister upstairs was chattering.

But the scholar looked at the silver on the ground and was stunned for a long time.

Finally, his eyes fell on the book in his hand, shook his head with a wry smile, picked up the silver on the ground, threw it back upstairs, and silently found a corner and looked down by the candlelight in the building, not caring about the eyes of others.

"This person's surname is Zhang, and he is also a seed of infatuation, in the early years, he fell in love with the sister in the opposite building, and he was considered to be affectionate, the concubine was intentional, and the elders in the initial family did not let him, but in the next few years, his parents passed away one after another, but no one stopped him, but he couldn't make up the money for redemption, and he finally had some silver recently, and he thought he was going to go to the building to see, but he didn't expect to buy a book. ”

Hearing this, everyone looked at the young man's puzzled eyes and explained.

"But the sister in that building is also a scholar, after all, someone has to recommend it, otherwise it is not easy to become an official and prosper the family. ”

After hearing that everyone finished speaking, they sighed again, and the woman in the Qinglou still had a good impression of this kind of infatuated scholar after all.

"I'm tired of hearing that everyone is preparing pen and ink. ”

The old man had two words for the scholar. ”

The young man looked at the scholar who was reading on the side of the street, and he was inexplicably touched, and he waved his pen.

......

"There is a golden house in the book, and there is Yan Ruyu in the book. ”

The scholar looked at the young man in the distance and was a little puzzled, and when his eyes fell on the note sandwiched on the page, he did subconsciously read lightly, and when he opened the second half, there was still a sentence.

"There is no one in the cold window for ten years, and the title of the gold list is known to the world. ”

Looking at the first half of the sentence, the corner of the scholar's mouth was bitter, but when he saw the second half of the sentence, his whole body couldn't stop trembling slightly, although he didn't know what the gold list in the "Gold List Title" was, but the sentence of the ten-year cold window was indeed deeply touched, and finally the "world knows" is indeed like Hong Zhong Dalu echoing in his ears.

Following

Inside the vermilion palace walls,

The young man in the python robe stepped up the steps, and Qin Qingtang, who was wearing a purple suit half a step behind him, looked at the thick pile of paper seals in his hand, looked at the Taihe Hall at the end of the white jade steps, and saw thousands of students from the poor family standing in the court hall in a trance.