Wei Wan stayed in Gonggao Hou Kingdom for another two days, and reminisced with Han Tui. Both of them made contributions during the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. Recalling the past, he sighed.

Lao Han naturally begged in every way, hoping that he would say a few good words to His Majesty and help him to save Zhou Yafu, which made Wei Wan smile bitterly and mumble and dare not respond.

Before leaving, Wei Wan saw the paper made by Han Yan, which was made of rotten fishing nets, cloth paper made of rags, and elm bark. I don’t know what paper is called. Most of them are rough on the surface. Although they can write on it, the dipping effect is not good, but it doesn’t matter. If you can write, it is better than bamboo slips.

If Han Yan increases the production of paper, I believe that bamboo slips will be replaced within a few years.

What the ancient man lacked the most was trees. Raw materials were not money. As long as he mastered the manufacturing technology, except for the wages and taxes of hiring workers, he would almost be a business without any capital.

In fact, the imperial court also made paper, and there were official workshops. The ones made were sesame fiber paper, which had rough texture, small quantity, high cost, and not easy to popularize.

To put it bluntly, this kind of paper is not actually paper, it is just a by-product of drifting silk. But it is this kind of rough paper that is comparable to gold.

Wei Wan held the elm paper and said silently. He borrowed Han Tuidang's brush to write on it. If he used too much ink, the characters would be rendered around and he couldn't see what they were writing. However, for those who have used brushes for a long time, this brushwork still has this strength.

Recently, it was popular for the Han Dynasty to use brushes to write on bamboo slips because it was too tiring to carve with a knife pen. However, this kind of brush calligraphy was only circulated among the princes. Ordinary people did not have brushes, and they could not use brushes. The sword pen gene passed down from their bones is what they are familiar with.

Wei Wan's mind was a little complicated. His evil disciple seemed to have suddenly received the initiation of the gods. There was a dragon bone water cart in front of him. Later, he helped him solve the affairs of King Chuan and King Hejian. If there was paper, he would do everything that ordinary people could not think of.

The best is better than the blue. I am about to be beaten by the Yangtze River on the beach. My teacher can only look back and watch a moment of silence. I can't wait for me.

Looking down at the brown elm paper, Wei Wan suddenly thought of Emperor Jing, who was buried in bamboo slips all day long in Weiyang Palace, and his four subordinates who were working. Their only job was to organize piles of bamboo slips, then hand them in front of him, and then take them away after the instructions were completed. He would be sweating all over the past day. If there was paper, he would probably not be so annoyed.

After thinking a lot, I finally made up my mind and said, "Put your paper to Your Majesty, and I will offer it to the court to make a secret recipe. I will ask Your Majesty to compensate you."

"..." Han Yan was stunned, his eyes widened, and he was caught off guard. You took away the things I had worked hard for several months, "Teacher, you must be teasing me."

"I will ask Your Majesty to let you make papers special. Apart from the paper made by the court, you will sell folk papers exclusively." As he said that, Wei Wan handed over the elm paper and a brush, signaling you to write the secret recipe for manufacturing quickly, and I was in a hurry to go back to Chang'an.

After a pause, when Han Yan wanted to refute, he interrupted him with a raised hand, "Don't think I don't understand the tricks. Today's paper price is comparable to gold. If you control the secret recipe for papermaking, this huge profit is comparable to that of Emperor Wen's reward for Deng Tong with coins, allowing him to open up copper mines and make coins. But if you don't have an emperor as your backer, it will be a disaster sooner or later to master such benefits. It's better to present the secret recipe to His Majesty for a guarantee."

Upon hearing this, Han Yan could no longer say what he wanted to say.

He traveled through more than half a year and had a deep understanding of the great man. The upper class ruled the lower class, the nobles slaughtered the people, and the ordinary people didn't even think about it. It was all patents of the upper class. The first thing to do with good things is that you must first respect the emperor before it will be your turn, otherwise it would be unfaithful and disrespectful.

When autumn begins, the bleak atmosphere of the plants and trees is filled with faint fragrance. At the height of the jujube tree outside the door, the large red dates that cannot be picked blew by the wind and hung on the branches. Bangbangbang fell to the ground continuously. The soft dates are still intact, but the hard dates have to be scarred. In less than a day, they will be surrounded by ants and gnaw on a black hole, and even the slaves will not pick them up to eat them.

Han Yan suddenly smiled and took the brush and started writing the manufacturing process. He said with a rumor: "Teacher, although I am your disciple, you can't force it..."

"It's good that you can figure it out." Wei Wan answered the question irrelevantly, using the special official-mouthed way to resolve the embarrassment, and he felt relieved. He could only feel sorry for his lord's fortune and loyalty to the lord.

As he was writing, Han Yan looked up and asked, "Teacher, Your Majesty asked you to scold me. When you go back, you say I made paper. Will Your Majesty remove me from being disrespectful?"

"Putting paper is your filial piety, I will show your love for you." Wei Wan tidied up her sleeves. After a while, when Han Yan finished writing, she picked up the elm paper and looked at it for a few times. Her handwriting was twisted like a bug, but she could barely see it clearly. She curled her lips and ordered: "You must practice calligraphy frequently. Your papermaker can't write, which makes people laugh out loud."

"It won't take many years to use the brush. When the Han people can use the brush, I will make the pencil." Han Yan murmured to himself.

Wei Wan ignored his silence and packed his luggage to go back to Chang'an. It has been a while since he came out, and the accumulated official duties are enough to have a headache for a while. Besides, it is about to be the first month of the year, so I have to rush back before the Spring Festival.

Send Wei Wan out of the city and watch the carriage run over the smoke and dust that has been lifted disappear at the end of his sight. Han Yan sighed, "It's good to be an emperor." It's so cool to have so many loyal people serving you."

...

At this time, the Han Dynasty was still following the Zhuanxu calendar. The 10th month of the lunar calendar is the beginning of the year and the Spring Festival will be celebrated on the first day of the 10th month.

But unlike later generations, the Spring Festival this year is not a good day for the people.

On the first day of the first lunar month, the second day of the second lunar month, and the third day of the third lunar month, these times belong to the yang in the yang and are deemed to the day of disaster.

In the words of Han, our lives are like bamboo. They are originally smooth, but when they encounter festivals, the place is a bump. Therefore, this kind of day is called a festival, which is the most unlucky. So people come up with various ways to celebrate festivals, such as exorcising ghosts and evil spirits, praying for blessings and good fortune, and worshiping ancestors in order to seek peace.

However, the Han Dynasty has also changed over the years, because the Spring Festival is in autumn, which is the season of harvest. With the evolution of customs, the New Year also transforms from the theory of ghosts and gods to humanization. The solemn and mysterious atmosphere of the Qin Dynasty gradually faded, and replaced by a more joyful atmosphere.

Just looking at the bustling crowds in the city, the lively atmosphere is marked by the Chinese New Year.

As the Spring Festival approaches, merchants who sell goods in the market on weekdays are also allowed to come to the street to sell goods. Some vendors carry various gadgets, big brooms, needlework, wooden combing, etc., and shout at home and alleys.

Occasionally, I can see the people gathered together and talk and laughed. There was a minor official among them, and everyone was in harmony and there was no difference in rank.

This is an envoy sent by the government. He patrolled the city, gathered the crowd with wooden bells in his hand, asked the people about what happened this year, and asked everyone about the songs in the fields. He would gather these things and report them to the officials in charge of the music, compile them into songs, and report them to the emperor.

So there is a saying: "The king knows the world without looking at the door."

After wandering around the city, Han Yan actually had nothing to buy. On a whim, he moved to the place where he hired workers in the market.

As the soul of modern people, apart from parents and relatives, everyone in modern society is selfish and traveling back to the slave society, probably because they cannot quit being an "master".

Of course, Han Yan didn't want to abuse others, but just wanted to buy a few slaves as a team so that someone could use them. He also enjoyed Wei Wan's long-lasting care and loyalty to Emperor Jing of Han.

Every year end, the government will settle the people who have not paid tuition or land tax for a year, and those who cannot pay can be paid are official slaves and force them to work hard in various yamen... Being an official slave is really unreliable, and anyone who wants to bully him will bully him.

So many people would rather betray themselves and be slaves to private families. If they are valued by their masters, they might as well entrust them with important tasks, leave their slaves, or even become rich. Even if they are not valued, they have to look at their masters. Being a private slave is more decent than an official slave.

Han Yan is an acquaintance in the market. He often comes to wander around if he has something to do, and he is generous. He always pays money and takes the Jinmao. The merchants and officials who come into contact with him all smile.

"The Prince of Iron is healthy and spends the years happy."

"Wish you good luck."

"The prince's auspiciousness."

Han Yan would respond with a smile to these people who greeted them, very friendly to the people. The idea of ​​equality that everyone was educated in their bones has not been worn out. This is probably the biggest difference between him and the Han ruling class.

When the employed official saw Han Yan coming in, he quickly stood up and saluted, and said, "Criminal Yan, if you don't come again, I will go to Gonggao Marquis' Mansion to find you."

"Well." Han Yan nodded and looked at the people in the room. There were four people chatting and resting. There was another one tied against the wall, ragged clothes, and vaguely wounded. He was out of place with the others and looked coldly.

This man's hair is thick, his face is full of beard, his forehead is wide, and his eyes are deep. He looks like a Hu person.

A few days ago, the Huns plundered the border and attacked the Han Dynasty and entered Shangjun, almost penetrated into Chang'an City. More than 2,000 soldiers died. This is all the current hatred, so the people naturally don't like him.

Seeing Han Yan looking at him with interest, it was like looking at a toy. The Hu man actually glared at him, his eyes were like copper bells, and his face was full of evil spirits.

"You dare!" The little official shouted loudly and shook the roof, took out a horse whip from under the desk and whipped it up.

The sound of pia~pia~'s whip shocked the ground, but the Hu man gritted his teeth and said nothing, even though the blood marks on his chest were still unwilling to give in.

"Stop fighting." Han Yan was very uncomfortable with this kind of abuse scene. Clear words echoed in the room, causing the clerk to stop and come over and smiled and said, "Criminal, I just know that you want to buy him, so I didn't dare to take heavy measures. If you break it, it's worthless..."

"Our Gonggao Hou Kingdom is in the Great Han Dynasty and is a distance from the north. How could there be Hu people?"

"I don't know that he was arrested through our Gonggao Marquis Kingdom. He did not send a message when he entered the city, nor did he have an identity certificate, so he could only be treated as a hooligan. During this period, the censor arrived at our Gonggao Marquis Kingdom, and there were Kings of Chuan and Kings of Hejian. In order not to cause trouble, the county magistrate ordered soldiers to arrest him, and even dispatched the guards of the Gonggao Marquis Palace. Sixteen people blocked him and arrested him back."

"Then do you ask clearly?"

"He was stubborn and didn't want to say that as usual, alien refugees like him would report directly to the county magistrate and deal with it in detail. However, recently everyone knows that Prince Yan is eager for slaves, so we..." The clerk pretended to be silly and smiled, with a sound of "hehe" in his mouth.

In fact, even if this Hu man did not handle it in detail, he would be beaten to an official slave. It was not the turn to sell himself. However, in the land of Gonggao Marquis Country, Han Yan was a land tyrant. The officials and people who grew up here naturally had to please him. It was the instinct of the officials to attract the flames and possess the power. This minor official did a good job because Han Yan really remembered him.

The reason why he dared to sell this Hu man to Han Yan was probably the essence of his leadership's thoughts, because Han Tuidang had the blood of the Huns, and his father Han Wangxin once defected to the Huns. When he was in the 14th year of Emperor Xiaowen, Han Tuidang and Han Yingcai led their subordinates to the Han Dynasty. One was the Marquis of Gonggao and the other was the Marquis of Xiangcheng.

Do people in Hu meet Hu people?

Maybe that's what the little official thinks.

But he didn't waste his time.

"I bought this person and helped me go to Gonggao Marquis' Mansion to call the guards and get him back."

"Here." The little official took half of the golden pill handed over by Han Yan with a happy look on his face.
Chapter completed!