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The popularity of the novel really drove the upsurge of going overseas.Because before going to sea, there was always a kind of fear of the unknown, but now I have the illusion that there are opportunities for development overseas.

……

"Your Highness, we sent someone to Shanghai to contact, and the Four Seas Trading Company gave this." Wu Rui came over with a stack of manuscripts.

Wu Rui is a relative of Zhao Kuangping's middle school classmate.... He used to work as an editor in another newspaper, but was recruited by Zhao Kuangping to be the vice president (deputy editor-in-chief).

Zhao Kuangping took a look, but it was a picture accompanied by an annotation: "This is really interesting."

Wu Rui said: "These are the original manuscripts, which have been transcribed and sent to the Geography Museum of Qintianyuan. The Four Seas Trading Company said, please keep it safe, Your Highness."

Zhao Kuangping took out the middle one casually, and the picture caught his eye.

The large picture shows the whole tree, while the small picture shows details such as leaves, branches, flowers, and fruits.

The text is annotated as——

"Eastern laurel: Found on the west coast of North America, the leaves are similar to laurel, so it is named.

The height of the tree can reach more than ten feet, and the diameter of the tree can reach two and a half feet.The texture is hard and can be used to make furniture.According to the carpenter on board, this wood is an excellent quality for making pianos, but its authenticity is not yet known.

Evergreen all year round, small yellow flowers.

The leaves have the effect of repelling insects, and mosquitoes and fleas do not bite.

Solid round, green when immature, turning purple when ripe.The nuts are edible and should not be eaten raw. The aborigines store them as winter grain.This fruit can be refreshing, roasted and ground into water, its effect is like drinking tea. "

Zhao Kuangping took out another piece of paper——

"Huanmao: It is more common in America and often lives by the water. It has four legs and five toes. It washes fruit like a woman washing clothes. It looks like a cat, hence the name.

The face is black, the forehead and jaw are white.The tail is long and has black and white stripes.

I have never eaten it, so I don't know its meaty taste. "

The so-called raccoons here are actually raccoons.

The more Zhao Kuangping watched it, the more interesting it became. The strange animals and plants overseas made him want to go out to see it.Can't help but ask: "Other publications don't want to publish these?"

Wu Rui said: "When publishing such articles, the text is secondary, and the main thing is to sell pictures. The cost of printing pictures is too high."

Zhao Kuangping made a decision and said: "The other house does not print, we will print. Each issue of the magazine will print two types. Tell Sihai Trading Co., let them bring back the aboriginals from all over the place. When drawing pictures, pay attention to appearance and clothing, text It is necessary to write clearly about its customs. These contents are generally overseas customs, and each issue chooses a picture as the cover."

Books and magazines at this time didn't pay much attention to the cover, they just wrote down the title, author and other information.

If "The Literature and Art of the King of Chu" has a special cover, and uses overseas characters, animals, and plants to make it, it will definitely make readers' eyes shine.

As the cost rises, the price will rise accordingly. Those who can afford it will still buy it, and they may have more desire to buy it.As for those that you can’t afford, you can go to the bookstore to read them. The bookstore not only rents out magazines, but also has outdated newspapers.

"Your Highness, there is a guest asking to see you."

"Please come in."

Jin Shengtan strode into the room, cupped his hands in salute: "My humble servant Zhang Cai, I have seen His Highness the King of Chu."

"Jiu Yang!" Zhao Kuangping said.

Jin Shengtan stroked his beard and laughed loudly: "Zhang Cai is not well-known, so how come he has been admired for so long? I also have an alias, called Kunpeng Sanren."

Zhao Kuangping's eyes lit up, and he didn't care about this person's rudeness, and said happily, "So it's Mr. Kunpeng!"

Jin Shengtan is very well-known in the circle of literary critics. A few days ago, he wrote four reviews, praising Emperor Zhao's four works.One after another, it has been published in newspapers and magazines, attracting more readers to order the next issue of "Chu Wang Literature and Art".

Jin Shengtan didn't play tricks, and directly explained the purpose of his visit: "The King of Chu Magazine is newly established, and it seems that there is still a shortage of people. I am here to recommend myself, and I am willing to review manuscripts for this magazine. I don't know what the King of Chu thinks?"

"Welcome!" Zhao Kuangping was overjoyed.

Jin Shengtan suddenly asked: "The "Gourd Baby" on the market is really written by His Majesty?"

Zhao Kuangping couldn't help laughing: "Yes."

"Gourd Baby" has only been published in the past few years. Because it is a children's story, many people do not believe that it is the emperor's work.Because they couldn't figure it out, the local government was very strict and didn't allow Zhao Ziyue or Zhao Yan to sign it, so that no one can be sure of the truth now.

"Written by His Majesty when he was a child?" Jin Shengtan seemed very interested. In other words, he came to the magazine to apply for a job, and one of his purposes was to inquire about "Gourd Baby".

Zhao Kuangping said with a smile: "I heard from my uncle that my father was still a book boy at that time, and he could earn a lot of money for storytelling by telling children "Gourd Baby" in school."

"So that's it!" Jin Shengtan finally figured it out.

He felt that even if the emperor did not rebel, he could live comfortably by writing novels.

"what!"

Jin Shengtan scanned the manuscripts on the table, put on his glasses to examine them carefully, and asked after reading a few, "Aren't these made up?"

Zhao Kuangping said: "From the Four Seas Trading Company."

"Good stuff!" Jin Shengtan said, "It's a pity that there are too many pictures, otherwise it will be a big seller if it is compiled into a book."

In fact, as long as the sales volume is large enough, printing pictures is completely feasible.In the Ming Dynasty, there were many children's literacy books. A small person was drawn next to the word "person" and a mouth was drawn next to the word "kou", which was the same as the literacy books hundreds of years later.

But this kind of overseas scenery and objects is doomed to fail to pay back.There are too many pictures, and they have to be printed carefully. If the price is too high, the sales will drop, and the book has to be printed by the government.

However, Zhao Kuangping thought about it, he could have the official engraving, and ran to beg his father, Emperor Zhao would definitely agree to print this kind of book.

At that time, a batch of official woodcut picture engravings can be printed every few years as a long-term issue.

Zhao Kuangping's magazine, on the other hand, borrows official engraving blocks and prints two or three articles in each issue, without having to bear the cost of engraving pictures at all.Not only "Overseas Scenery", but other content is also available. There are many official engravings, just borrow some and don't wear it out.

Special patterns cannot be printed with movable type, and artisans must be hired to carve them.And the status of the King of Chu is here, his magazine can easily obtain rare engravings, and this alone can throw his colleagues ten blocks away.

Zhao Kuangping has already decided that he will run a magazine now and a newspaper in the future.When he earns enough money, he will set up his own publishing house. He is a man who wants to become a media tycoon!

After becoming a wealthy man, he no longer needs to be greedy for cheap, and no longer needs to borrow engraving plates from the official, but can hire craftsmen to build an engraving plate library.

"Your Highness, someone is sending money again!"

Just as he was talking, someone from the magazine came again and sent the reprint fee for the article.

Whenever there are excellent works, newspapers and magazines like to reprint them.

At the beginning, there was no reprint fee, and many lawsuits were filed. Later, a consensus was gradually formed that reprinting is OK, but money must be paid.These reprint fees are paid according to the market price, and the publication and the author share the profit.

Sometimes, "reprinting is prohibited" is also marked, but the manuscript fee for exclusive publication is higher.

This time Emperor Zhao's article was circulated among the common people.There are countless reprinters, and they are all very honest. They offered sky-high reprint fees on their own initiative. It seems that the price given is too low, and those publications themselves lose face.

Some publishers even came to their door, wanting to buy the complete manuscript of "The Female Consort".

Even the opera writers have been found, and they plan to compile them into operas. The story written by the emperor will definitely be a hit in the theater.

The article "The Emperor's New Clothes" also sparked a wave of fable creation.

Fables originally belonged to the subject of Taoist writing and were not very popular with Confucianism.Now that the emperor personally ended, the Confucian scholars have no psychological burden. This thing is very interesting to create.

Moreover, fables are suitable for children to read, and children's money is always the best!

Zhao Kuangping's newly opened magazine is full of visitors, and people come to visit every day.In the end, he didn't even want to receive them in person, only those well-known cultural figures.

Another day, just after dawn, a visitor squatted on the side of the road, waiting for a long time and finally saw the king of Chu driving.

He rushed forward desperately, but was immediately stopped by the guards.

Although Zhao Han was stingy with his children, he still had to give them a few guards, and the court paid for them.

"Your Highness, I need to see you. I haven't been able to see you a few days ago. Today, I have no choice but to crash into a car..." The visitor was still yelling after being pushed to the ground.

Zhao Kuangping asked the guard to let go, and asked, "What do you want to see me for?"

"It's a big deal," said the visitor. "I have invented a new type of casting method, which can quickly cast large quantities of movable type. I am from Foshan. I have applied for a patent, but I don't want to cooperate with Foshan merchants because they often deceive inventors. In the next book, I want to dedicate the patent to Long Live, but I have no choice but to see the sky. I heard that the King of Chu is running a magazine, and I will dedicate the patent to His Highness the King of Chu today!"

It is said to be contribution, but it is actually cooperation.

This is due to Zhao Han's prestige and credit, otherwise, who would take the initiative to invest in technology and do business with the prince in partnership?

Zhao Kuangping was dubious: "What kind of new casting method?"

The visitor said: "A steam engine is required. First cast and engrave a steel mold, then use the steel mold to punch a copper mold, and then use the copper mold to make movable type in batches. This is hundreds of times faster than the traditional casting method, and the movable type produced is clear. There are only nuances in each type!"

Chapter 983 [Printing Revolution]

Although Zhao Kuangping is focused on making money, he knows what is a big thing and what is a small thing.

Just like when he discovered a loophole in the prince's business before, his first reaction was not to take advantage of the loophole, but to go to his father to tell the matter, to see if the loophole could be plugged.

When he met the inventor this time, Zhao Kuangping immediately took him into the palace to face the saint.

"Grassmen thank the rich, kowtow to the Lord Long Live!" The inventor bowed down when he saw the emperor.

Zhao Han attached great importance to this matter and put aside all his official duties to meet him.He smiled and said: "There is no need to salute, just flatten yourself quickly."

The guard moved the seat, and Xie Fu sat down in panic.

"Come closer, don't sit too far away," Zhao Han said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Xie Fu was both excited and apprehensive, he got closer to the emperor, his mind went blank, he was so excited that he didn't know his last name.

Zhao Han asked: "How did you make this set of characters? Do you have drawings?"

Xie Fu quickly stood up and said, "The drawing is with the palace man."

The guard directly came over with a stack of drawings, and there were drawings for each step.

Firstly, select [-]-refined refined steel, and use traditional methods to cast and engrave steel molds.Then use the great power of the steam engine to directly stamp out the copper mold with the steel mold.With the copper mold, the traditional method is used to cast movable type, and the metal movable type adopts European alloy formula.

This set of casting method seems to be more complicated than the traditional casting method, but it is actually used to increase the efficiency by hundreds of times, and the error of the cast metal movable type is extremely small.

Another time and space also appeared, probably during the Opium War, it was invented by the Englishman Dale specially for Chinese movable type.However, it only took more than ten years before it was eliminated by American Jiang Beili's technology. The Yankees directly adopted the electroplating movable type method, which was lower in cost and higher in efficiency, and was used by Chinese publishing houses until the Republic of China.

As for Gutenberg's metal movable type formula, it has long been no secret.

Gutenberg was involved in a power struggle in his later years and was exiled by the church.His printing factory workers were scattered all over Europe, and his metal movable type formula and printing ink formula also spread.European missionaries brought these technologies to Asia, and there were printing factories in Manila and Coconut City, mainly printing books such as the Bible.

After China occupied Manila and Coconut City, it also took over the printing factory and reprinted Chinese textbooks for various subjects.

European metal and ink formulas have spread to the mainland, and are now widely used in China.

Gutenberg metal type formula is: lead (80%), antimony (12%), tin (8%).Good inking performance, low melting point, short solidification time, and the cast movable type is full and clear.This alloy ratio has been used until modern times.

Gutenberg's printing ink formula is: linseed oil, turpentine, and carbon black are mixed to prepare oily ink.As a solvent, linseed oil has low surface tension, and turpentine oil further reduces the tension, and at the same time, the adhesion performance is also improved, and very small and clear Chinese characters can be printed.

Combining these two formulas, the content of Chinese characters in the previous three or four pages can now be accommodated in one page, and it is more clear to read.

After the lead alloy movable type was produced, even the copper movable type of the Chinese official printing factory was ordered by Zhao Han to be melted to make copper coins.There is no need to hide anything, Chinese copper movable type is not as easy to use as European lead alloy movable type.

Zhao Han looked at a few blueprints and was very curious: "What did you do before?"

Xie Fu said: "Caomin's father used to be a slave of the Xie family in Foshan. When the heavenly soldiers came, my father was released from slavery, but he still worked as a servant in Xie's family. Caomin graduated from middle school and went to work in Xie's iron factory. In the past few years, the grassroots made several inventions, all of which were seized by the Xie family, and each time they only rewarded one tael of silver."

Although patents are good for inventions, they are not necessarily good for inventors.

Xie Fu went on to say: "Later, Cao Min learned to be smart. Mrs. Xie let Cao Min feel at ease to make inventions, and Cao Min used Xie's machine to invent this new type of casting method. The invention was completed, but it was not made public, only that it was not finished yet. Then he fled to Jiangxi due to illness, applied for a patent in Nanchang, and then came to Nanjing by boat."

Fearing that the emperor would feel disloyal to his employer, Xie Fu explained: "Your Majesty, Cao Min's inventions in the past few years have at least earned tens of thousands of taels of silver for the Xie family. But Cao Min does not even have the right to authorize the patent, and has become the property of the young master of the Xie family." Invention. Grassroots... the more I think about it, the more unwilling I am, that's why I ran away this time."

"Are you planning to go back to take revenge in the future?" Zhao Han asked.

Xie Fu shook his head and said, "The Xie family is kind to the Caomin father and son, and now the grievances are settled. The Caomin just want to bring their parents to Nanjing, and they will no longer have any contact with the Xie family."

Zhao Han continued to flip through the blueprints, and found some forms at the back. He was surprised and said, "Hey, this new type of casting method is thoughtful."

Xie Fu explained: "The casting method currently used has unclear specifications and different sizes. Caomin thinks that since the error of steam engine-made characters is small, why not adopt a unified standard? So Caomin secretly counted..."

"Caomin counted 30 books on the market, with a total of more than 120 million characters, all of which are best-selling books. There are only 13 characters that have been used more than 200 times, and more than 25 characters that have been used more than 3700 times, and those that have been used no more than [-] times. There are more than [-]. Therefore, Caomin divides the number of times Chinese characters are used into commonly used characters, spare characters, and rare characters.”

"In the future, when casting movable type, more commonly used characters will be cast, less spare characters will be cast, and rare characters will be cast even less. When printing typesetting, book factories can also follow this standard and place movable types in different categories, and the time for finding and selecting characters will be greatly shortened. "

"In addition, Caomin also compared the books on the market and determined the size of the movable type. It is divided into seven types: obvious, clear, middle, line, solution, annotation, and precious. It is not only convenient for typesetting, but also the printed form is beautiful, concise and easy to read."

Zhao Han exclaimed, "Great kindness!"

Zhao Kuangping said: "Congratulations, father, you have to be big to use it."

Zhao Han said to his son: "I will lend you money, and you set up your own factory to recruit people. First order the steam engine, and then order the casting machine. From now on, the movable type of the Sili Jianjing Factory will be purchased from your foundry. However, The movable type of the printing factory of the Ministry of Rites will definitely not ask you to buy, let the Ministry of Industry use this technology to set up a type foundry."

Then, Zhao Han said to Xie Fu: "If you cooperate with the King of Chu, whether you want to buy a share or buy out the patent, you can discuss it yourself. As for the Ministry of Industry Type Foundry, you will not be given patent fees. I appointed you as the Ministry of Industry Type Foundry Deputy supervisor. Remember, once you become the deputy supervisor of the Ministry of Industry Foundry, you can no longer do business with official status. Your cooperation with the King of Chu can only sell out patents or patent dividends."

Can be an official?

He is also the deputy director of the Ministry of Industry Foundry!

Xie Fu was stunned by happiness in an instant, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, if Cao Min can be the deputy supervisor of the Ministry of Industry, I will donate the patent of casting characters to the king of Chu, without charging a penny for the patent fee!"

Zhao Han said with a smile: "The Zhao family is not the Xie family, and will not take over your invention. You can discuss with the king of Chu yourself how to use the patent. Remember, when you become an official in the Ministry of Industry, don't just lie on your laurels. You must continue to improve the casting Fa, in the future, the name left in history will be Bi Sheng of my Datong dynasty!"