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墨書 Inktalez
"Good afternoon, everyone at Ancestors!" White Jade greeted cheerfully as the live stream began on time.
Hearing the louder noises outside, Ying Zheng realized that Heavenscape was broadcasting. He set down the heavy bamboo slips in his hands and stretched his sore neck and shoulders, surrounded by a large pile of work that needed to be addressed. This workaholic finally allowed himself a moment of rest while Heavenscape was playing.
Liu Che was discussing strategies for attacking the Xiongnu with Wei Qing, gleefully saying, "I wonder what content Heavenscape will show this time." The last broadcast featured the emperor who met an untimely end, Hu Hai, and Yang Guang's actions were truly astonishing, not to mention how their father had executed them.
"In the period from Pre-Qin to Wei Jin, people generally used bamboo slips or wooden tablets for writing."
The video on Heavenscape began with a serene bamboo forest, where someone was cutting down bamboo, processing it to straighten and prepare it; then cutting it into appropriately sized pieces; followed by boiling the bamboo pieces with insect-repelling herbs.
"So this is what the nobles use!" A man quickly patted his son's head and urged, "Remember how to do this! We can sell it for money later!"
People from various dynasties spoke similarly to those around them, watching intently as Heavenscape showed the process of boiling bamboo, drying it, scraping off the green skin, drilling holes, and binding it into books... They wished the video would play slower so they could memorize every detail and never forget.
"Apart from bamboo slips, there's another writing material called Silk Manuscript."
Images of Silk Manuscript appeared on Heavenscape.
"Compared to the bulkiness and difficulty of preserving bamboo slips, Silk Manuscript is lightweight. However, it's too expensive for anyone but nobles and royalty to afford."
"Although bamboo slips are somewhat cheaper than Silk Manuscript, they are still beyond the means of common people."
"And bamboo slips are really heavy. Take my brother Zheng for example; a roll of bamboo slip weighs about 0.3 kilograms. He has to read 1 to 2 stones a day. In the Qin Dynasty, 1 stone is equivalent to over 60 pounds today. My brother Zheng has it tough!"
"It seems this young one holds His Majesty in high regard," Wang Jian chuckled while stroking his beard.
Most subjects feared him now; Ying Zheng didn't mind that this descendant from a millennium later admired him. However, hearing them refer to him as 'my brother Zheng' made his ears slightly redden in embarrassment.
"Dang dang dang~ So today we present one of the four great inventions that propelled world development: papermaking!"
"Paper materials are easy to find and can be produced in large quantities, which means they are inexpensive! Plus, they're very convenient to carry."
As White Jade spoke, images of paper appeared on Heavenscape, its pristine whiteness causing a collective intake of breath among scholars and literati.
"Remember his name—Cai Lun!"
"It was he who summarized previous experiences and improved papermaking techniques, greatly advancing global science, economy, and technology—an incredibly significant invention!"
In the Eastern Han, Cai Lun stared blankly at Heavenscape. Who were they talking about? Was it him?
Indeed, he had recently been researching something easier for writing and had made some progress; so this was what later generations called "paper."
"During the Western Han period, people already understood basic papermaking methods. By the time of the Eastern Han, eunuch Cai Lun absorbed past experiences and improved papermaking processes using materials like tree bark, hemp fibers, old cloths, and discarded fishing nets—greatly enhancing paper quality."
Following this was a video showing the papermaking process.
After paper became available, dynasties like that of Li Shimin leisurely enjoyed tea with Empress Changsun, commenting that "paper is indeed useful."
The early Han Dynasty and previous dynasties hurriedly instructed their subordinates: "Quickly remember this!"
During the Qin Dynasty under Ying Zheng, Meng Tian invented the brush pen; thus they managed to keep up with progress despite being rushed. Earlier dynasties were practically burning their carving knives in haste.
White Jade paused briefly before saying compassionately, "There's no need to rush; after it's finished broadcasting, I'll replay the tutorial at a slower speed."
"What did she just say?!" Liu Che exclaimed in shock.
"Isn't Han just Han? Why mention both Eastern Han and Western Han?!"
Wei Qing also had a serious expression, slightly organizing his chaotic thoughts.
"It might be your descendants..."
Wei Qing didn't dare to finish his sentence, but Liu Che already understood; there must be a problem with the descendants, but what could it be?
The Xiongnu?
Liu Che gritted his teeth, thinking it was probably that unruly group of Xiongnu!
At that moment, a barrage floated by on Heavenscape, shimmering with golden light and marked with a super VIP label.
So dazzling.
White Jade felt as if his eyes were being blinded.
[Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che: What do Western Han and Eastern Han mean?]
"Your Majesty, look!"
Liu Che looked up and was also momentarily dazzled by the golden light.
"How did my words appear on Heavenscape?"
"Well... Your Majesty, we'll discuss that question later; let's continue with this episode on papermaking."
"Oh? He can actually communicate with future generations on Heavenscape?"
Liu Bang lay on the grass, lazily sunbathing with a blade of grass in his mouth. Seeing the barrage from Emperor Wu of Han, he smiled at Xiao He beside him and said, "Emperor Wu of Han must be a descendant of our Han Dynasty. The Martial Emperor is impressive; just hearing about him shows his capability!"
"Could it be that he fought against the Xiongnu? Hahaha, that's just like you, my lord!"
"But how do we get onto Heavenscape? My lord, give it a try..."
Xiao He shook his head helplessly and continued to take notes on the papermaking steps being shown on Heavenscape.
[Han Gaozu Liu Bang: Hey hey hey, Liu Che, I am your ancestor.]
Liu Che: ...
What to do? This sounds so annoying and infuriating, but he is indeed his ancestor; it's frustrating but he has to endure it.
"Pfft..." Cheng Yaojin rushed over, just taking a sip of tea when he saw the barrage and almost spat it out.
Zhu Di directly sent a long string of "hahahaha" in the barrage.
"Fourth Brother, how did you send that?" Zhu Biao asked.
"I just thought about sending it to Heavenscape in my mind."
They weren't the only ones thinking this; soon there were so many barrages appearing on Heavenscape that it was about to flood the screen.
White Jade glanced over and said, "Everyone, please try not to flood the screen; if you have anything to discuss, you can do so in the comments section~"
After watching the papermaking video for a while, White Jade continued, "Due to the limitations of bamboo slips and silk manuscripts as well as political policies and such, it was extremely difficult for common people to learn to read and write."
"But the emergence of paper made knowledge much easier to spread."
The video transitioned from a cart full of bamboo slips to a large silk manuscript, and finally words floated onto pristine paper. As the paper turned over and landed in someone's hand, it transformed into a thin little book no larger than a palm!
Ying Zheng suddenly stood up, staring intently at the little book in the palm of his hand. Slowly calming down, he spoke with some difficulty: "Send Mohism into the palace to study papermaking."
Ordinary people often see paper as nothing special—just more convenient for writing—yet great figures like Ying Zheng, Liu Che, and Confucius could see how much upheaval this small piece of paper could bring about.
"Cai Lun is known as the 'Saint of Paper,' and the paper he improved is called Caihou Paper."
On October 19, 2010, at the "International Manufacturing Innovation Festival," the organizers invited all founding members of the "Global Chamber of Commerce Alliance" to jointly establish the "Cai Lun Award," named after the inventor of papermaking from the Four Great Inventions.
Originally, White Jade wanted to refer to the "Paper God," but considering the ancient context, she changed her words to something less extreme, yet it still stirred up a storm.
"Nonsense! How can a eunuch be called a saint?!"
"How can he compare to the sages?"
White Jade rolled her eyes; most of these comments were from scholars of the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties—a bunch of old, pedantic Confucians.
She opened her mouth and retorted, "Oh, so if he can't be called a saint, you can? If you're so capable, why don't you ascend to heaven and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun?"
"Cai Lun was able to invent papermaking; why can't you? You think it's easy? Do you want me to slap you awake?"
"If you're so talented, why don't you stop using paper?"
The pedantic scholars who had never encountered modern critics turned red in the face from her insults. However, even if they understood her words, their impact would be minimal.
In Eastern Han,
Cai Lun knelt in the grand hall.
Han Zhangdi sat on the dragon throne: "Paper Saint?"
His expression was hidden behind a beaded curtain, making it hard to see. "It seems that people in later generations are quite protective of you."
"I dare not..." Cai Lun was already in tears. He knew he was not a good person and had caused many innocent deaths. How could he claim to be a Paper Saint?
Han Zhangdi watched him closely; recently, Empress Dou had been getting quite close to him... His Consort Song had just given birth to the crown prince, which made one think twice about it. However, Cai Lun's reputation had spread far and wide; it was difficult to handle now.
Well then...
Finally, he said, "You may leave. From now on, I will entrust you with matters related to papermaking."
Cai Lun deeply bowed and left. Since people in later generations had crowned him with such a title, he would have to live up to it—he would reform himself and rise as Wang Cai!
At this moment, there was an uproar in the Heavenscape; one person's words could counter a hundred.
Cheng Yaojin exclaimed, "Wow, this girl is strong!"
Li Shimin remarked, "Fortunately, My Loyal Minister Wei did not say such things about me." Although Wei Zheng's criticisms could be bothersome at times, they were ultimately for his own good. Maiden Fuyu's sarcastic remarks were truly unbearable.
"Only women and petty men are hard to raise!"
"This girl is exposing herself; she is losing her virtue!"
"Oh dear, oh dear! A girl losing her virtue!"
Zhu Di commented, "This tone makes one feel an impulse to hit someone."
Ying Zheng frowned as he watched White Jade being besieged. Just as he was about to say something, she opened her mouth again and unleashed a barrage of words.
"Cai Lun is called the Paper Saint; so what? It's not like I’m calling myself that—it's how the whole world sees it."
"Who are you anyway? Oh my goodness! I’ve searched through history but found nothing about you! Wow! Turns out you're just a bunch of insignificant people who aren't even recorded in history books."
"My lord!"
"Come quickly! My lord is spitting blood!"
White Jade opened her mouth and silenced the crowd, the barrage of comments quieted significantly.
Ah, how lonely it is to be invincible.
At that moment, a dazzling golden comment floated by.
[Qin Shi Huang: A bunch of incompetent fools.]
It was a confirmation from Qin Shi Huang.
Ahhh! White Jade internally squealed like a groundhog; Qin Shi Huang spoke for me, hehe.
A group of sycophants who feared the strong immediately fell silent upon seeing Qin Shi Huang's comment.
White Jade glanced at everyone's progress records; they were all nearly done, just needing the experiment.
Looking at her points, she found quite a lot. Their contributions, emotional values, and world development progress could all be exchanged for White Jade's points, which could be converted into cash and other items.
Clicking to redeem cash, 1... 2... 3... so many digits! White Jade covered her little heart with both hands, ahhh! I'm going to get rich!
Of course, if I get rich, I have to go shopping!
So...
While Ying Zheng was in a meeting with everyone, he suddenly received a stack of A4 paper and... lamb soup?
"What is this?"
The sudden appearance of these items startled everyone, and their eyes were glued to the pristine white paper.
"Is this paper?"
Ying Zheng pulled out a sheet; it had a wonderful texture and weighed just slightly more than a feather. He wrote a few characters on it; it didn’t bleed through, and the strokes were smooth.
Ying Zheng distributed some paper for Mohism research and sent a few sheets to Li Si.
Since Li Si was exposed for colluding with Zhao Gao and Hu Hai, although His Majesty did not punish him severely, guilt had already caused him to lose several pounds. Even though he was attached to power, he would never do anything detrimental to Great Qin, after all, he had invested so much effort in building it up. But his love for Great Qin also meant that its downfall would weigh heavily on him.
After receiving the paper and the order from Ying Zheng to continue working, Li Si was deeply moved; he vowed to do even more for His Majesty.
It's rolling! It's rolling!
Other ministers: Don't come near me!!!
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