The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 789 Appointing People Based on Talent
Early that morning, He Chou, the director of the Imperial Workshop, came to see the emperor. Before long, Lu Miao led him into the imperial study.

"I am here to see you, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Xia asked with a smile, "Has Supervisor He brought me some good news?"

He Chou bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought some paper samples for your perusal!"

Several workers presented a stack of paper, which was produced by the Paper Industry Administration in its southern workshops. Due to the extensive use of hydraulic machinery, industries such as rice pounding, flour milling, cotton ginning, and papermaking have all moved to the south. Even mining and smelting have moved to the south, mainly due to the use of large hydraulic blowers.

In the north, the ground freezes in winter, making water-powered operations impossible. As a result, industries that require water power have moved south.

The same applies to papermaking. The most important and tiring part of the papermaking industry is pulping, which involves breaking down plant fibers into pulp. Now, this is all done automatically using water power, saving papermaking workshops half the manpower.

Papermaking technology has always been quite good. The hemp paper produced during the Wei and Jin Dynasties was delicate and smooth, absorbing ink but not staining it, making it a very high-grade paper for official documents. Imperial edicts and various government documents were all made of hemp paper.

However, this type of paper also had a major problem: its high cost made it expensive and difficult to popularize among the general public. Therefore, Xiao Xia ordered the Crafts Bureau to develop a cheaper and more widely available paper.

Xiao Xia took the paper and examined it closely. Although it wasn't as smooth and delicate as hemp paper and was slightly yellowed, it was still quite good. He picked up his pen and wrote a few words on the paper. There was no smudging, so it was perfectly usable for writing.

"Excellent! Excellent! How much does one sheet of this paper cost?"

"Your Majesty, if produced in large quantities, each sheet would cost approximately two coins!"

"So low!"

Xiao Xia was taken aback. The same yellow hemp paper cost ten coins a sheet. "Why is it so cheap?" Xiao Xia asked, puzzled.

He Chou bowed and explained, “Your Majesty, the main reason for the low price is the low cost of raw materials. We use a mixture of reeds, rice straw and bamboo in a ratio of 5:3:2. In contrast, the riverbanks, lakesides and seashores in the south are full of reeds and wormwood. We then use coal briquettes as fuel for steaming and boiling. In addition, the pulping step is done by water-powered pounding. We also have half the number of craftsmen. All these factors combined result in a lower cost. However, we must produce in large quantities to spread the cost.”

Reed stalks are abundant in southern regions and were previously used as fuel. However, with the popularization of honeycomb briquettes, fewer and fewer people burn reed stalks, making them a suitable material for papermaking.

Xiao Xia nodded, "Don't worry! There will be many more places where we need paper in the future."

He Chou bowed respectfully and said, "If there is nothing else, this humble subject will take his leave!"

"Wait a minute!"

Xiao Xia remembered something and asked, "How is the progress on the matter I requested to develop a clock last time?"

"Your Majesty, the bell is currently under the care of Junior Supervisor Yun Dingxing. I may inquire about it."

Yun Dingxing's life was quite unfortunate, with several ups and downs. Although Xiao Xia had a personal grudge against him, after he ascended the throne, Yun Dingxing was like an ant in his eyes, and he couldn't be bothered to care about the past.

The same applies to Wei Chong. Xiao Xia did not become hostile to the Wei family of Jingzhao because of Wei Chong. On the contrary, Wei Chong's son, Wei Ting, is currently serving as a secretary in the Ministry of Rites.

Yun Dingxing was indeed a genius in manufacturing precision machinery. For example, the hydraulic machinery made by Cao Yousi was not precise enough and was a bit rough, but after Yun Dingxing improved it, the precision was greatly improved.

The improved tinder currently used by the army was invented by him. In addition, he is also developing a flint-fired ignition device. Xiao Xia took advantage of his talent and put him in charge of the research and development of various precision machines. Inventing the gravity clock was his first priority.

Xiao Xia nodded, "Summon Supervisor Yun to see me this afternoon!"

"Your humble servant obeys!" "There is one more matter. Although the Ministry of Works is in charge of establishing the Engineering College, your strong cooperation is needed. I hope it can be established before the beginning of spring."

Currently, the Imperial Academy has a college specializing in mathematics, but mathematics mainly studies mathematics and involves calendar systems, surveying, architecture, etc., which is too narrow in scope. Therefore, Xiao Xia requested the establishment of a college of engineering, a college of agriculture, a college of law, and a college of shipbuilding.

In fact, apart from the Qing Dynasty, rulers of all dynasties attached great importance to technological development, mainly for military technology needs. However, due to insufficient understanding and factors such as the loss of technology caused by war, development always stagnated or even regressed.

Of course, it was also related to national strength. Insufficient iron production meant that the limited iron production was mostly used for military purposes. If iron production were sufficient, large iron-hulled ships would have appeared during the Tang and Song dynasties.

The insufficient iron production is also related to resources, such as Liaodong, southern Sichuan, Hetao, and Beiping County, which are not easy to mine.

He Chou bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured that the Engineering College and the Naval Architecture College have been basically prepared and should be established in January next year."

In the afternoon, Yun Dingxing nervously went to see the emperor. In fact, he wanted to be summoned by the emperor, but he was also afraid to see the emperor. He was afraid that the emperor would hold a grudge and he would die without a burial place.

However, on the other hand, if the emperor held a grudge, he would not have been able to appoint him as the Junior Supervisor of Crafts. Perhaps, as Liu Wenjing told him, the emperor valued his abilities and nothing else, which made Yun Dingxing feel a little more at ease.

"Your humble servant, Yun Dingxing, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Yun Dingxing respectfully performed a grand ceremony to pay homage.

Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "Young Master Yun, you may rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Yun Dingxing stood up and stood with his hands at his sides.

Xiao Xia asked with a smile, "How's the gravity clock project going?"

"It's basically a success. I'm currently working on it to make it accurate in timing."

The timekeeping method was the same from the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty: sundials were used, and a large bell would ring at the exact hour to tell the whole city what time it was. However, on cloudy or rainy days, sundials could not be used, and hourglasses or water clocks had to be used instead.

After the invention of the clock, one was placed in each county town, so that everyone could see it clearly, and it would not be affected by cloudy or rainy days.

Xiao Xia was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Have you solved the escapement mechanism problem?"

When a pendulum swings from side to side, it encounters air resistance and eventually stops. Therefore, it must be given energy, which is called potential energy. By pausing briefly at the highest point of the swing, potential energy is generated, and the pendulum will never stop.

This requires an escapement mechanism, which is essentially a piece of iron that blocks the large gear. The pendulum is very heavy and drives the gear to rotate. The iron piece cannot stop the gear from rotating, but it acts as an obstacle, causing the pendulum to pause at its highest point and generate potential energy. This potential energy precisely counteracts the friction of the air.

Therefore, it must be very precise, which is precisely Yun Dingxing's strength.

Yun Dingxing bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the problem has been solved. After another month of debugging, it will be ready. It can be put into use in Luoyang on the first day of the Lunar New Year next year!"

"I'm really looking forward to it. Also, I have two new ideas that you can try!"

(End of this chapter)