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"Your Majesty will live up to your Majesty's entrustment!" Xie Fu's blood surged, he got off his chair and knelt down to kowtow.

Zhao Han said: "I will send pedestrians to bring your family to Nanjing, and give you a mansion in the capital. The houses in the city are gone, so you can live outside the city."

Zhao Han is naturally happy. This kind of happiness is not only due to the improvement of printing technology.And Xie Fu, who was born as the son of a domestic slave and studied in a new type of middle school, his current invention achievements all show Zhao Han's achievements.

Only the typecasters were injured. If this method is promoted, a large number of typecasters will lose their jobs.

Of course, the new type casting method also needs typewriters, but there are not so many.At the Lijianjing Factory, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Industry, the casters who were dismissed this time were directly thrown to the King of Chu to set up a factory. This solved the unemployment problem, and the King of Chu did not have to bother to recruit people everywhere.

After Zhao Kuangping and Xie Fu resigned, Zhao Han called the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Industry.

The Ministry of Industry is in charge of opening a new type foundry, while the Ministry of Rites is preparing to replace textbooks.

Textbooks to be printed in the future will all use the new type of casting.Moreover, the standard font size is used, and the content of each page of the printed textbook can be increased, and it is concise, easy to read and better identifiable.

Old-fashioned textbooks can still be used, especially for poor children, who can save a lot of textbook fees by buying old books themselves for class.The government is not allowed to forcibly replace new books, and it is not allowed to drive school children out of classrooms who use old books.

It's a printing revolution!

The revolution started long ago, starting with the adoption of European metal alloys and the adoption of European ink formulations.It also started from the printing of textbooks, changing from vertical to horizontal.

A series of inventions by Xie Fu accelerated the printing revolution.

There are too many Chinese characters, unlike twenty or thirty letters in Europe.Therefore, the casting of Chinese movable type has always restricted the development of printing technology, and it is difficult to greatly reduce the cost.And Xie Fu's casting skills, coupled with a set of clear standards, is equivalent to kicking open most of the door with one kick in Chinese printing that opened a door.

Next, we can continue to improve and continue to improve efficiency.

But if you want to achieve leapfrog progress again, you have to wait until the electrical age and use electroplating to cast characters!

Xie Fu's casting method is good enough for this age.

The cost of printing has been reduced by a large amount, even the common people of Shengdou can afford newspapers by themselves without renting newspapers.

The cost of books for school children is no longer so expensive, which is more conducive to the promotion of enlightenment in remote areas, and accelerates the assimilation of foreign races in Chinese civilization.Administrative and military expenditures in remote areas can also be reduced more quickly.

The more Zhao Han thought about it, the more excited he became, and he was too lazy to do his work, so he called the concubines to visit the Imperial Garden together.

Zhao Kuangping, king of Chu, was also very excited, and negotiated with Xie Fu on the patent royalty.5% of the foundry's profits are distributed to Xie Fu every year for a period of 20 years.

Within two years, the king of Chu exclusively enjoyed the patent for casting characters.

Two years later, Xie Fu could sell the casting patent to other businessmen outside Jinling Mansion.Three years later, the casting patents can be sold to businessmen in Jinling Prefecture.

If someone infringes on a patent, businessmen in the relevant area will help to file a lawsuit in order to protect their own interests.

For example, during the exclusive patent period, the king of Chu will be very vigilant, no matter which province he encounters a copycat factory, he will issue a proper complaint.Not only must the other party stop the infringement, but also make the other party make up the patent fee, and the compensation obtained will be distributed through negotiation between King Chu and Xie Fu.

Chapter 984 [The Ministry of Industry also has supporting inventions]

Xie Fu's casting method is not profound and mysterious.

The breakthrough lies in the use of steam engines and steel molds, which can be stamped out of copper molds in large quantities and at low cost.

I heard that a Foshan blacksmith was actually appointed as the deputy supervisor of the Ministry of Industry's Type Foundry.The official typecasters couldn't sit still, and Zhang Shunmin, a doctor in the Ministry of Industry, begged for an interview.

"Why, you also invented a new type of casting method?" Zhao Han asked with a smile.

Zhang Shunmin replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the official craftsman of the Ministry of Industry has indeed invented a new type of casting method."

Zhao Han was pleasantly surprised and asked, "What method?"

Zhang Shunmin replied: "The original lead movable type, copper movable type, and copper-lead-tin alloy type in the Ming Dynasty are not as good as the European lead alloy movable type formula. After the full use of European lead movable type, according to the characteristics of this alloy, the Ministry of Industry has been improving. The method of casting. Now it has achieved results, and it is called a 'type casting furnace', which can cast fifty or sixty movable types per hour."

"it is good!"

Zhao Han slapped his thigh in approval.

Xie Fu improved the molding technology, while the Ministry of Industry improved the casting technology. The two technologies can be perfectly matched.

Zhang Shunmin continued: "Your Majesty, the reason why the invention of the type-casting furnace has not been reported is because it can be further improved. At present, the hand-clap furnace has been invented, and the Ministry of Industry is improving it into a foot or hand-crank furnace. Once the improvement is successful, movable type The casting efficiency can be increased by at least several times, even more than ten times!"

"Is the improvement work complicated?" Zhao Han asked.

Zhang Shunmin sorted out his words and said: "It's not complicated, but it's not simple either. Occasionally, I have to consult with the bachelors from the Physics Department of Qintian Academy. At present, we have a clue, and the general structure has been designed."

If this kind of movable type casting technology is thoroughly improved, it can cast seven or eight hundred characters per hour. It was used in the late Qing Dynasty.It does not have high requirements for science and technology, but the premise is to have fine type and lead alloy movable type formula.

There is also a more complex upgraded version of this technology, the "Thomson Automatic Type Foundry", which has been used from the early years of the Republic of China to the new China, and can cast 15000 Chinese movable types every day!That is, more than 600 pieces per hour. It seems that the efficiency has been reduced, but it can be used directly after casting, and there is no need for the typewriter to polish it later.

Zhao Han said: "The casting furnace has been improved, and everyone involved will give a big reward!"

Unlike private inventions, official inventions are patented automatically by the unit to which they belong.

Xie Fu invented the casting method, in fact, the patent should also belong to Xie's factory.But the Xie family went too far, not only taking away the patent, but also occupying the right to authorize the patent, which is in violation of the "Datong Patent Law".Even if there is no royal family to come forward, whoever wins the lawsuit may lose or win.

Zhang Shunmin continued: "There are officials and craftsmen in the Ministry of Industry who proposed to use movable type to make dead plates."

"Dead version?" Zhao Han didn't understand.

Zhang Shunmin said: "The engraving block can be printed repeatedly, and the movable type can be disassembled at will. Can the engraving block and the movable type take advantage of each other? The typesetting of the movable type is cumbersome, and it will be dismantled after printing, and it will be retyped after the next printing. Therefore, the official craftsman of the Ministry of Industry So he came up with the idea of ​​first using movable type for typesetting, and then using movable type to make clay molds to pour lead plates. The movable type can be removed and reused, thus saving the number of movable type. The lead plate is used for printing, and can be stored after printing. There is no need for typesetting, just take out the stereotypes and print again.”

This is the real printing plate ah!

Zhao Han asked, "Has it been invented?"

Zhang Shunmin said: "Two years ago, an official craftsman proposed this idea, but there are still many problems in the specific research, and these problems are being solved step by step."

This kind of clay mold and lead plate technology has only existed for 40 years in history. "Zi Linxi News" and "Shen Shen" first used this thing.

But it has huge flaws:

First, the clay mold must be broken when casting the stereotype, so the clay mold cannot be preserved, it is a one-time consumable, and the stereotype cannot be cast repeatedly;

Second, although stereotypes can be preserved, they are fragile and easy to break, and they will be damaged if you do not pay attention during use or handling.

The later improvement method was to replace the mud mold with special thick paper, that is, the paper type stereotype.

A set of paper molds can be repeatedly cast into lead plates more than ten times, and it is convenient for long-distance transportation.After the typesetting and printing in Nanjing, it is only necessary to transport the paper pattern to Beijing, and then it can be quickly cast and printed, and then it can be quickly cast and printed in Xi'an.

To print a book, only dozens of sets of paper types are needed to meet the needs of all parts of the country, and the typesetting work only needs to be done once.It is also possible to make a few more sets of paper patterns. As long as they are kept properly, they can be used after 20 years.

Xie Fu improved the font, and the Ministry of Industry improved the casting furnace, and then developed the casting technology.

Three technologies can be perfectly matched.

Especially pouring technology, that is an epoch-making revolution, and the cost of book printing can be reduced to an infinitely low level.

It should not be difficult to research and develop clay mold lead plates.But this kind of technology has too many flaws, and I don't know how many years it will take to evolve into a paper-type stereotype.Another time and space took 40 years, this time and space may take 20 years, or it may take more than 100 years.

If he wants to continue to evolve into the Tongzi version, Zhao Han will definitely not see it.Because of its front-end technology, photographic technology (optical, chemical) and electrical technology must be lit.

Either way, Zhao Han couldn't help, he knew nothing about printing.

To tell you the truth, once the printing technique has improved inertia, China's research and development speed will definitely be faster than that of Europe based on the same technology.Because the printing of Chinese characters is too cumbersome, while the European alphabet is simple, the need for improvement in printing in Europe is not so urgent.

Judging from the performance of the officials and craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry, it is clear that what they lack is the formula of European alloy movable type.

With this recipe, all ideas come out.

Taking advantage of the alloy properties of the formula, the research and development of the type casting furnace is a matter of course, but there is no such demand in Europe, because Europeans do not need so many movable types.Chinese character typesetting is also a big problem. Since the European lead alloy formula is easy to use and casting is also convenient, it is natural to think about making a casting type, which is not an urgent need in Europe.

It's like in some tropical areas, the land is cropped three times a year, and even if you lie flat, you can rely on the sky for food.

Countries in the temperate zone need to face various natural disasters. While solving problems, they can drive political and technological development.

It is precisely because of the difficulty of printing Chinese characters that the improvement of printing can be quickly promoted.The premise is that a focus is needed, that is, Gutenberg's alloy formula, and a series of technical improvements are currently being carried out around the alloy formula.

In the Manchu Qing Dynasty in history, foreigners were prohibited from privately making movable type, and the alloy formula has never been introduced.However, missionaries in the Ming Dynasty devoted themselves to writing Chinese religious books, and directly asked Chinese booksellers to help them print them. They had no financial resources and energy to print books by themselves.The Ming and Qing dynasties completely missed the introduction of lead alloy movable type.

It was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty that the imperial court had nothing to do with it, and then movable lead type appeared in China and developed rapidly.

Chu Wang Zhao Kuangping was so busy that he handed over "Chu Wang Wenyi" to Wu Rui and Jin Shengtan.He personally contacted the steam engine manufacturer, and took out the design drawing of the casting machine (actually, the casting mold) to customize a brand new steam casting mold machine.

Then I had to contact the suppliers of raw materials, coal, copper, steel... the money was not enough, so I asked my father for an interest-free loan, and the royal finance directly allocated funds to lend him.

It took two months for the prototype of the steam casting machine to take shape.They also brought in the type casting furnace from the Ministry of Industry, which is a hand-clap type casting furnace that has not yet been improved. It can only cast dozens of movable types in an hour, and it needs to be polished after casting.

Even so, the use of the hand-clap casting furnace has to be paid to the Ministry of Industry for patent fees.

Until autumn, four steam casting machines were brought in, and the foot-operated casting furnace was initially improved.Under the roar of the machine, the copper type molds are stamped and formed one by one, and thrown to the pedal type casting furnace to make lead type. Each type type furnace can produce [-] to [-] types per hour (the perfect improved version can reach [-] to [-] types in the future).

On the contrary, the steel mold used by the steam engine cannot keep up with the speed at all. This thing needs to be carved by hand.

Zhao Han personally inspected the type foundry, looked at the continuous flow of lead type, and praised: "It's really fast, much faster than before!"

Zhao Kuangping said with a smile: "The speed of the steam engine stamping copper fonts is too fast, and this foot-operated type casting furnace can't keep up with it. Erchen ordered four steam machines, in fact, two are more than enough, and the remaining two are not as good as the original price." How about selling it to the Ministry of Industry? Erchen pays the shipping fee."

"Yes." Zhao Han couldn't help laughing.

A group of craftsmen were polishing lead movable type. Zhao Han stooped to pick up a few and found that they were all repeated common characters.

Zhao Han asked, "How many characters are carved on the steel mold?"

Zhao Kuangping said: "These are all refined steels. It is too difficult to engrave characters, and the craftsman's skills are also required. After a few months, only more than 300 steel molds have been engraved."

The steel mold belongs to the consumable parts of the machine. For a character of the same font size, only one engraving is required.Before the steel mold wears out, copper type molds can be punched out in batches, and then the copper type molds can be used to cast lead type.

Zhao Han reminded: "Since the foot-operated type casting furnace cannot keep up with the speed of the steam engine, then the excess copper type molds you produce can be sold to other printing shops, and they can buy them to cast their own characters."

Zhao Kuangping explained: "Erchen has also thought about it, but Erchen's fonts are all produced according to standard font sizes. Some are similar to traditional fonts, and some are very different from traditional fonts, so they can only be used. Erchen contacted several companies. , they are also willing to buy, but only buy a few commonly used typefaces with high consumption."

"Market replacement is also a problem." Zhao Han nodded.

For the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Rites, and the Supervisor of Rituals, updating equipment is a matter of the emperor's word.

But for private printing companies, they have to measure profits.Lead movable type has been introduced to China for many years, and some small workshops are still using old movable type, and the materials are various, such as wooden movable type, copper movable type, lead movable type, and tin movable type (these Chinese metal movable type are basically alloys, but they are similar to European formulas. different, insufficient printing clarity).

On the contrary, European inks are popularized rapidly, and the old-fashioned printing inks are almost no longer produced.

It may take a long time for the standard font size formulated by Xie Fu to be completely accepted by the market.The adoption of this standard in official textbooks can promote market replacement, but it is only a promotion.It is impossible for the old movable type that people have worked so hard to cast in the warehouse to be dusty, and they will be discarded when they are seriously worn out.

Of course, with the combination of the two casting technologies, the movable type is explosively cheaper than before.

With the cheap movable type produced by the king of Chu, printing companies must vote with their feet.In the next one or two years, the entire Jinling Mansion will no longer make their own movable type, and it would be great to go directly to the King of Chu to buy new, high-quality and cheap movable type.

Chapter 985 [Rubber and Mayan Temple]

Seeing the roaring steam engine, Zhao Han thought of rubber again.

He has already written to the Four Seas Trading Company, asking Li Quan to inquire about rubber by the way when he goes to America for trade.

Since I don't know the Latin name of rubber, and I don't know what rubber is called in America, I can only describe its characteristics: it is extremely flexible and comes from the sap of a tree.

Li Quan issued a reward last year. If anyone can provide accurate information, he can give priority to buying a batch of his goods.

Although this violated the agreement with Mexican officials and bypassed the auction for private transactions, Li Quan promised to compensate the officials for some loss of benefits.

In just one year, Li Quan came to America again and obtained relevant information very smoothly.Moreover, there were more than one or two cluers, and a total of six merchants brought definite news.

Banderas town (Puerto Vallarta).

A Spanish mixed-race businessman from Costa Rica held a small ball bigger than a fist and said: "This kind of ball is very common in some indigenous tribes. They are used for kicking and playing. It is a toy for children."

Another businessman from Guatemala took out a pair of rubber-soled shoes and said, "These are Mayan indigenous shoes, and the soles are similar to what you described."

Rubber products were discovered by Spanish colonists as early as 100 years ago.

And, not only from South America, but also in Central America in abundance.The aborigines in Central and South America applied rubber juice to cloth to make clothes to prevent rainwater from drenching.Or make it into a long strip and tie it to the handle of the tool, which is a stretchable rubber rope. The Mayans even used rubber as the sole.

Native Americans, of course, did not understand vulcanized rubber, but they could achieve a similar effect by adding various organic compounds.The most common way is to directly mix the juice of a certain kind of vine of Convolvulaceae with rubber. This mixture is very durable after solidification.

The first unlucky Portuguese to bring a rubber-coated waterproof suit back to Europe was indicted as a wizard.The Spaniards, who were the first to see rubber balls in America, also thought they were witchcraft.

It took another 30 years for French scientists and military officers to find out the source of rubber.

It took another 70 years before French scientists brought back detailed information on rubber trees from America.

It took another 100 years for French scientists to invent a solvent that can soften rubber.

After more than 100 years, there was a British scientist who made rubber into an eraser, which was specially used to erase pencil writing.

Rubber is used in industry, and the time is even later.

Li Quan asked: "How are these things made?"

Mexican businessmen shook their heads one after another. They had only seen indigenous people using it, but they didn't know the source of rubber products.

In any case, as long as there is news, this is a task entrusted by His Majesty.

Li Quan fulfilled his promise and sold a batch of goods to these merchants before the auction.Moreover, each businessman provides a buddy, and Li Quan hires these people to lead the way to find rubber trees.

The expedition leader is Wang Lian, a veteran with a primary school education.

The vice-captain's name is Cheng Jingming, who is the brother from Suzhou.The friends all went to study electricity, but he couldn't stay idle, and went to America as an adventurer with the ship.