Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 570 A Win-Win Solution
Upon hearing Feng Guoyong say that ordinary people could make vermicelli at home, Li Shanchang quickly asked a question, "Your Majesty, may I ask how much vermicelli is produced? How many kilograms of potatoes are needed to make one kilogram of vermicelli? This stuff isn't too expensive, is it?"

Lu Jin immediately shook his head and said, "It's not too expensive. I said before that ten catties of potatoes can yield a maximum of two catties of dried starch. You can understand this as the amount of dried starch being the same as the amount of vermicelli. Therefore, to make one catty of vermicelli, you need at least five catties of fresh potatoes."

"If we take the highest yield per mu of this farm as 1500 jin, theoretically it can make 300 jin of vermicelli. Even if the yield per mu is only 1,000 jin, fresh potatoes from one mu can still make 200 jin of vermicelli, which is still higher than the yield per mu of wheat, which is only a little over 100 jin. Therefore, the price is not as expensive as you think."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. This price was indeed a budget-friendly price, affordable for ordinary people.

"Moreover, not only potatoes can produce starch, but sweet potatoes can also be used to make vermicelli. The yield is even higher than that of potatoes, and it is not picky about the soil. It's just that the vermicelli made from sweet potatoes will be a bit yellowish and not as white as potato vermicelli, but they taste almost the same."

“Cassava, which is also a type of tuber, can also be made into vermicelli. That product has a higher yield. However, because cassava is poisonous, it would be best to set up a factory to detoxify it before processing it into vermicelli, so as to prevent people from accidentally ingesting poisonous vermicelli and dying if they did not completely detoxify it themselves,” Lu Jin explained again.

"I see."

"In this way, the price of vermicelli will be even lower, which is a blessing for the common people."

Everyone couldn't help but sigh, "We never imagined that His Majesty had so many deeper intentions behind arranging this family banquet today."

Wang Zhen, the old man, seemed to be deep in thought. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to ask, Your Majesty is very familiar with the crops of Lizhou, and even knows how to make vermicelli and rice noodles. Could it be that Your Majesty has eaten them before?"

Lu Jin casually lied, "Of course I've eaten them. My family had them when I was a child. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are not as easy to store as grains. If they are not stored properly, they will either mold and rot or sprout and become poisonous. Therefore, my elders came up with many ways to store and process them."

"It can be made directly into dry starch, or into vermicelli and dried. It can also be sliced, steamed, and then dried to make dried potatoes, which can be added to dishes in winter. They have a chewy and delicious texture. Sweet potatoes can also be sliced, dried, and stored to make potato chips, or steamed and dried three times to make candied fruit."

"However, these are ultimately processing methods. If you want to store fresh potatoes for the New Year, there are ways. In the Central Plains, you can dig cellars, and south of the Yangtze River, you can build warehouses. In the north and northwest, where the land is drier, you can simply dig a pit in the ground and cover it with sand to store them for a whole year."

"The worst thing for storing fresh potatoes is exposure to light and moisture. If they get damp, they will rot and spoil, and if they are exposed to light, they will turn green and sprout. Green potatoes will produce toxins and become inedible. Therefore, as long as you do the above two things, keep them dry and away from light, and the potatoes can be stored for a whole year."

"I see." Wang Zhen suddenly realized. What he was really curious about was the emperor's background and the origin of the mysterious Gongshu clan, but the emperor was clearly avoiding the topic and had deliberately steered the conversation from his background to the method of storing fresh potatoes. So he couldn't press the matter further, or he would be being tactless.

Li Shanchang, however, had a different focus. After hearing this, he immediately said, "Does His Majesty mean that potatoes and sweet potatoes cannot be used for tax payment? After all, they are not easy to store, and they will become poisonous when exposed to light. Even if they are stored properly, they can only be stored for a year. So even if the court collects them, they will be of no use unless they are immediately made into vermicelli or dried vermicelli."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhen's expression changed drastically, and he began to lament for the people. However, Lu Jin said, "Potatoes and sweet potatoes should certainly not be used to pay taxes. I went to great lengths to have Wang Huanzhang bring these things here so that the people could have enough to eat. In the event of natural disasters or famines, the people would at least have potatoes and sweet potatoes to survive and not resort to cannibalism. They are for war and famine preparedness. If we were to tax potatoes and sweet potatoes, it would go against our original intention."

"In addition, with the promotion of new crops, when corn, potatoes and other crops are promoted throughout the country, and with the abolition of the poll tax, the people will no longer have to worry about food. The restrictions on population growth will also be lifted. As long as a child is born, there will be something to eat. At that time, the population will explode. My ultimate goal is for this population!"

Lu Jin sighed and said, "Since Hu Yuan usurped the throne, many of our Han people have been slaughtered. Hu Yuan's rule over the country was even more brutal and inhumane, resulting in a population at the end of the Yuan Dynasty that was not as large as at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. The number of people in the country was less than 80 million, which was less than half the population of the Southern Song Dynasty. Nine out of ten houses in Henan were empty, and everywhere was desolate."

"For the land outside the pass to achieve long-term stability, it also needs to be occupied by people. Only with people to cultivate the land can food and soldiers be provided. Only with food and soldiers can the army be stationed for a long time. Only with an army stationed can there be stability. The country urgently needs people now. If no one occupies the land, no matter how much land we conquer, we will definitely not be able to hold it in the future."

Li Shanchang suddenly realized that after following Lu Jin for so many years, he could now see that the emperor's ambitions were not just about unifying the world and recovering lost territories. Lu Jin's ambitions were much greater; he wanted to expand into even more land.

This can be seen from Lu Jin's migration to Southeast Asia and Chengzhou (Hokkaido), and the establishment of a colonial outpost in Lizhou. To occupy these lands, a large number of immigrants are needed. The emperor is now promoting new crops and abolishing the poll tax. In fact, the ultimate goal is to increase the population and occupy more land!
Upon realizing this, Li Shanchang immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your subject understands."

Lu Jin nodded and said, "As for the tax collection issue that Prime Minister Li mentioned, let's take the most barren mountainous areas as an example. Suppose a family in the mountains only has thirty mu of mountain land. They can't possibly use all thirty mu of mountain land to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes. They must grow some corn or beans. The imperial court can collect taxes on grains such as corn or beans. Corn can be dried and stored for at least three years."

"In addition, in the Northwest and other places, the main crops grown in different places are different. The court should also collect taxes according to local conditions and not be too rigid. In particular, in Shaanxi, Hetao, Shanxi and other places, the climate is dry and water is very scarce. The most suitable crops to grow are millet (millet and sorghum), sorghum, wheat, oats, corn, potatoes and other crops. Moreover, the output is not as good as that in Jiangnan."

"The imperial court should set tax standards based on the types of crops produced locally, the degree of soil infertility, and the average grain yield per mu, and should not be too rigid."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this emperor was a benevolent ruler, and the people of the world were truly blessed. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Li Shanchang nodded again and said, "Your Majesty, I understand. I will certainly urge the provincial administration offices in the northwestern provinces to formulate tax policies."

Lu Jin nodded in agreement, saying, "Prime Minister Li is mature and prudent in governing; I trust him."

Upon hearing this praise, Li Shanchang was overjoyed and immediately tried to ingratiate himself with the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I have another matter to discuss."

"What is it? Tell me."

"His Majesty just said that there would be a reward for anyone who could guess which dish contained a potato. I wonder if His Majesty's reward still stands?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin burst into laughter, “Hahaha, the reward is of course valid. However, Li Xiang is not the only one who guessed that it was vermicelli. How about this, I will reward each of you with twenty catties of dried vermicelli. Don’t think it’s too little, after all, I didn’t make much today. Take it back and eat it first.”

Everyone quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty!"

Li Shanchang was happy to accept it. All he wanted was the emperor's reward. What it was or how valuable it was didn't matter. On the contrary, twenty catties of vermicelli, a common food, showed his closeness to the emperor and the emperor's favor. Twenty catties of vermicelli was not something that anyone could just get if they wanted it.
After a while, having eaten and drunk their fill, Empress Zhang had her maids bring tea after finishing this home-style meal. Liao Yongzhong also lit a pipe of tobacco. Just then, Wang Zhen asked curiously.

"Your Majesty, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to make movable type. I wonder how the work is going?"

Lu Jin took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and shook his head, saying, "We just found an antimony mine in Hunan last month, but we haven't started working on it yet. We're just about to get started."

Wang Zhen didn't know what antimony ore was, nor did he know its connection to lead movable type. However, after hesitating for a moment, he still said, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to say this, since we haven't even started making lead type yet, it would be best not to. I have actually tried making copper movable type before, but the effect of this type of metal movable type is not good, especially the problem of ink absorption. The ink will condense into ink droplets on the surface of the copper type, and it cannot spread like the ink spread by wooden movable type. Metal movable type cannot absorb ink, so when it is printed on paper, the characters will become a mess. It is far less useful than clay or wooden movable type."

This was indeed a problem encountered when ancient China first started researching movable type. Due to historical and technological inertia, ancient China had always used water-based ink, which was pine soot ink mixed with water, and had never considered using oil-based ink.

Previously, the earliest inventor of movable type was Bi Sheng of the Northern Song Dynasty, who used clay movable type, also called pottery movable type. The clay was first used to make the type molds, and then fired into hard pottery. Later, Wang Zhen invented wooden movable type.

Both types of movable type have natural water absorption properties, so there were no problems when using water-based ink. However, due to the surface tension of the liquid on the metal, the ink could not spread evenly on the metal surface. Water-based ink was no longer suitable for the metal movable type era, so ink-based ink had to be used.

However, few people had studied this issue before. As for large-scale production of metal movable type, that was beyond the capabilities of ordinary private printing workshops or booksellers. Don't forget that the Song Dynasty couldn't even afford to make copper coins and had to use iron coins, eventually leading to the invention of paper money. They didn't even have copper for minting coins, so where would they find the resources to cast type? Since no one was casting metal movable type, they naturally didn't encounter the problems of ink and water. However, these were not difficulties for Lu Jin.

Lu Jin immediately shook his head and said, "Of course I know that water and ink won't work. This is very basic knowledge in the subject of Gongshu Physics, which is related to the surface tension of liquids. However, since I have decided to do it, I naturally have a solution. Since water and ink won't work, why can't we use ink?"

"Ink?" Wang Zhen immediately became interested upon hearing this, as he had indeed not thought of it before.

"Yes, it's ink. The ink used in traditional printing is similar to that used for writing. It's made by mixing pine soot ink with water, which is called water-based ink. Since you can mix ink with water, you can naturally mix it with oil as well."

"For example, flaxseed oil is used as a base, and the oil adheres better to the metal surface. When the ink is mixed with oil, it can be spread evenly on the lead type."

"Adding boiled tung oil further enhances the drying speed of the ink, while also making the printed characters jet black and glossy. It also forms a protective layer, so that even if the book is soaked in water, the ink will not smudge or spread. Adding a small amount of turpentine further enhances the ink's permeability, allowing it to penetrate the paper base and improve its ink adhesion."

"A blended oil made from these three oils, when mixed with soot ink, can be used for printing on metal printing plates."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhen was initially puzzled but impressed. However, after careful consideration, he realized that Lu Jin's words did indeed make sense, and he suddenly understood, saying, "If we follow Your Majesty's method, it might truly be feasible. It seems Your Majesty truly foresaw this problem long ago, however..."

"But what? Please feel free to speak, sir."

Wang Zhen then said, "I have another question. I heard that His Majesty ordered the production of movable lead type for the purpose of printing a large number of textbooks, possibly even tens of millions of copies. This is what I don't understand. If it is for large-scale printing, shouldn't woodblock printing be more appropriate?"

"Both woodblock printing and movable type have their advantages and disadvantages, and there is no superiority or inferiority between them. It is purely a matter of need. Your Majesty is clearly more suited to woodblock printing for printing books, so why abandon woodblock printing and create movable type?"

Yes, speaking of this issue, the others were also puzzled. Most of them had read books and naturally knew the differences in book printing. So everyone looked at Lu Jin.

Regarding this question, Lu Jin could understand their doubts.

As we all know, in this era, woodblock printing was the most suitable method for printing books in terms of volume. Woodblock printing had better printing quality, but the cost was too high. After all, a set of printing plates had to be made for each book. If too few books were printed, the cost of making the printing plates could not be recovered.

It was precisely because of the cost limitations of woodblock printing that movable type printing, which was more flexible, emerged. Movable type printing had poor quality and often produced errors and omissions. Its main advantages were low cost, flexible typesetting, and the ability to disassemble and reuse movable type. However, in terms of printing quality, especially in large-scale printing, movable type printing could not compare with woodblock printing.

Therefore, even in the Qing Dynasty, before the introduction of advanced Western printing technology to China, woodblock printing was never truly eliminated. Some important or high-end books still used woodblock printing.

However, although woodblock printing is expensive, if it's like Lu Jin printing, printing hundreds of millions of copies at once, then the cost of woodblock printing becomes negligible, and the printing quality is better. So why insist on using movable type instead of woodblock printing? That's what puzzled them.

However, Lu Jin smiled and said, "Of course I know the advantages and disadvantages of the two printing techniques, but why can't we combine the advantages of woodblock printing and movable type, and remove the disadvantage of high cost of woodblock printing? Wouldn't that be better?"

Wang Zhen was taken aback upon hearing this. "If we could combine the two advantages while reducing costs, that would be ideal. But everyone thinks that way, everyone wants to gain benefits without suffering losses, yet no one can actually do it. What does Your Majesty mean by this?"

Lu Jin said, “Why can’t we do it? We can make metal movable type first, then use the metal movable type for typesetting, use the movable type to press out a paper mold, or paper template, and then use the paper template to cast a whole block of lead type, just like woodblock printing. When printing, we can directly use this whole block of lead type for printing, while the movable type can be directly disassembled and re-typeset. This way, we can ensure the flexibility of movable type typesetting, as well as the printing quality and quantity of woodblock printing.”

"As for the price and cost, these lead plates can be melted down and recast after they are discarded, so the materials will not be wasted, and it will only cost money for the welding work."

"There's no need to preserve the movable type and printing plates. A few printing plates can print hundreds of millions of copies. And even if the printing plate is damaged, as long as the paper mold is still there, a new printing plate can be cast. Even if the paper mold is also damaged, you can just press another one out with movable type. This plate-making method has a negligible cost. It retains the flexible layout of movable type and is also very suitable for large-scale printing. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. It wasn't that they couldn't understand; on the contrary, they understood it very quickly. In fact, what Lu Jin was talking about was very similar to the ancient process of casting copper coins. First, a coin mold (movable type) was made, then the coin mold was used to make a coin template (paper mold), and finally, the coin template (paper mold) was used to mass-produce coins (a whole metal printing plate).

If you do it this way, you only need to keep the paper template in the middle, which is indeed very inexpensive.

It wasn't that they couldn't understand, but rather that they felt the emperor's idea was too far-fetched and fantastical. However, upon closer examination, it wasn't entirely impossible.

After calming his shocked and excited state of mind, Wang Zhen quickly asked again, "Your Majesty's method is too far-fetched. Theoretically speaking, it is indeed feasible, and the cost may be lower than woodblock printing. However, a high-quality wooden woodblock can print tens of thousands of copies. If the woodblock is properly maintained, it can even print tens of thousands of copies. How many times can the metal woodblock you mentioned be printed?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "If we only use lead and tin to cast the characters, it is indeed not high quality. It can probably be printed 50,000 to 100,000 times. However, I sent people to find antimony mines in Hunan. By adding 3% antimony to the lead and tin, we can greatly enhance the hardness and wear resistance of the lead plate, which can increase the number of printings of a lead plate to 500,000 times."

"so much?!"

"What is antimony?" everyone asked in shock.

"Antimony is also a low-melting-point metal similar to lead and tin, but it is different from lead and tin." Lu Jin didn't explain much; they hadn't studied chemistry, so it was difficult for him to explain this to them.

Wang Zhen then asked, "But how can a mold made of paper withstand the high temperature of lead? Even if the temperature required to melt lead and tin is not as high as that of gold, silver, copper, or iron, it would still be easy to ignite paper, wouldn't it?"

Lu Jin immediately added, "I didn't explain clearly earlier. The paper mold I was referring to is a thick paper made by mixing lime, gypsum, and kaolin into the pulp. Each sheet of paper is seven or eight millimeters thick, just like, just like the thickness of chopsticks."

"You've all seen the adobe houses in the countryside, right? Straw is added to the adobe bricks to prevent the mud from cracking. This paper mold is the same idea. The kaolin, lime, and gypsum inside are the mud in those adobe bricks, while the paper pulp is the straw in the adobe bricks. The lime, gypsum, and kaolin are used to withstand the high temperature of casting, and the paper pulp is used to shape it and prevent the cardboard from cracking. The principle is the same."

"This does sound feasible; it's definitely worth a try," Wang Zhen said excitedly. "When does Your Majesty plan to have this lead plate made?"

Lu Jin immediately smiled and said, "What, is the old gentleman interested in this and would like to participate as well?"

Wang Zhen also smiled and said, "That is indeed the intention."

“That’s easy. We can have a few students work with the old master. He has experience with movable type and created a rhyme plate. He can definitely give them some guidance.”

"Then this old man thanks Your Majesty very much," Wang Zhen said with delight upon hearing this.

(End of this chapter)