Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 104, Section 103: Black-Eyed Charcoal Pen
Qin Shi did not arrange anything else, but simply ordered Chi Nu to bring over the discarded silk scroll she had memorized and show it to Hei Mu:

"How long will it take you to look at it before you can draw it exactly as it is?"

Hei Mu glanced cautiously at the silk scroll, then quickly looked away, followed by a careful look at Qin Shi:
"Your Excellency, one glance is enough. However... I am illiterate, and when I trace the characters, I can only see what they mean and trace accordingly."

It really is a human-shaped camera.

Qin Shi was very satisfied: "Then draw it for me. If you really have this ability, I will reward you with gold cakes and meat, and a generous monthly salary."

The other party reluctantly agreed. Now, facing an expensive piece of silk laid out on the table and a strange-looking charcoal pencil, he hesitated for a long time before carefully starting to work.

He also added, "In the past, I drew on linen and on the ground..."

Looking at the charcoal pencil in my hand, it's really useful!
It truly is a prized possession!
Qin Shi also glanced at the pencil beside him.

This was made by the artisans of the Imperial Household Department a few days ago when she was drawing a silk book overnight. Because she was thinking while drawing, she made many mistakes by dipping her brush in ink, which made the book very messy. The wooden strips that she had simply fired were not easy to handle, so she ordered the artisans of the Imperial Household Department to make them overnight.

Since pencil making is not difficult, as it only requires mixing graphite and clay, it was quite successful.

The thickness and color rendering were determined after trying more than a dozen different ratios.

Due to time constraints, the pen lead was made rather thick and needed to be sharpened again. Fortunately, although there was no pencil sharpener available, she didn't have to sharpen the pen herself, so it was still usable.

As for the outer shell of a thick pencil lead, it was simply made by hollowing out a similar bamboo or reed stalk, then wrapping it with burlap.

That was the first generation of charcoal pencils she used.

It is very rough and not durable—but it has its advantages because you don't have to wait for the ink to dry or dip your pen in ink, and it is inexpensive to use.

At this moment, Black Eyes also enjoyed these benefits.

He was illiterate and naturally didn't know the strokes of the characters, so when he tried to draw from memory, his movements were very uncoordinated.

But if you use a brush dipped in ink:
Firstly, whether he can hold a pen or not is another matter entirely.

Secondly, beginners have difficulty controlling the drawing; it might become a mess before the drawing is even finished.

Although the charcoal pencil looks strange, it is a hard pen, so he was extra careful and only needed to draw two strokes to master it.

At this moment, as I immerse myself in writing, the flow is exceptionally smooth.

After the entire silk scroll was completed, Qin Shi had already arranged many things in the palace and was continuing to sketch the curved plow from his memory on the silk scroll.

Ji Heng would certainly value such everyday tools and utensils.

Before that, she first needs to improve the steelmaking technology and significantly increase the productivity of iron smelting so that more basic technologies can be used by the people.

Moreover, although using steel farm tools is extravagant, a curved plow only requires a small plowshare.

Only this insignificant part can be made of hard and durable cast iron; the rest can be made entirely of wood.
Firstly, it avoids breaking the rules and prevents anyone from using the opportunity to cause trouble.

Secondly, it will make it available to more people.

Just then, Black Eyes carefully put down his pen: "Reporting to Your Excellency, I have finished sketching."

The maid carefully presented the silk scroll.

Qin Shi opened his original copy and carefully compared it. He found that apart from the obvious difference in the thickness of the characters at the beginning and the fact that the other party's copy of the characters was a bit crooked, there was no difference at all in the rest of the copy!

She personally delivered the silk scroll to the recipient, and indeed only glanced at it once.

What an amazing talent!
Qin Shi was immediately delighted. He instructed Wu Zi to prepare a reward while gathering up the silk scroll. Then, he earnestly asked Hei Mu:

"I have a few pages of diagrams for you to trace. You can go slowly and be careful, but you absolutely cannot make a single mistake. Can you do it?"

Going to draw is so much easier than doing manual labor! And there's such a generous reward...

A smile that he couldn't hide spread across his dark, honest face as he kowtowed deeply, saying, "I can do it, I can do it!"

With such a powerful talent, it's ironic that it's been hidden away for so long; no matter how you look at it, I feel like I'm far too lucky.

But is it really that lucky?

Her gaze, fixed on the dark-eyed figure below, gradually deepened. Then Qin Shi couldn't help but smile: So what if what he said was a lie? She was in Xianyang, controlled by Ji Heng, the sole master of the entire Qin Dynasty!

No matter how much people complain about the king in private, no one can deny that the entire country is under his strict control.

For Qin Shi, being by Ji Heng's side meant he could arrange anything without restraint, and the feeling of such efficient operation was simply unparalleled.

If that's the case, why should she be so timid and hesitant?
He then suddenly stood up: "Red Woman!"

"Immediately find a side hall for him to paint in. Until he finishes, his meals and chamber pots can only be delivered to the door. He must not have any contact with anyone."

"Also, deploy two squads of guards to protect him."

"I have something important for him to do, so you must make the arrangements properly!"

Chi Nu was quite surprised: Qin Shi had never seemed to be particularly sensitive about sensitive matters, and she thought that he would never have such a mindset about keeping things secret.

Unexpectedly, it has now been put to use on a laborer!

But this does not prevent her from being absolutely obedient.

He immediately bowed his head and said, "Yes."

Qin Shi stood on the high platform, and somehow, her figure seemed to slightly overlap with Ji Heng's.

She gazed intently at the black-eyed man kneeling in fear below, and sighed, "I hope you really are illiterate..."

if not……

Otherwise, any emperor would not have spared his life.

The man with dark eyes in the audience stirred, and then boldly raised his head, wanting to see this distinguished person with a gentle voice.

But when he touched her figure, it was as if he were being pricked by needles. He kowtowed again in a panic and hurriedly explained, "This humble one truly cannot read."

The scent of the bluestone slabs seeped into the flesh of his knees, cool and hard. He knelt there, seemingly oblivious, his heart and mind devoted to serving the king.

Qin Shi looked at him and smiled slightly.

"It's okay if you can read, but it's best if you can't."

……

The woman went to set up the side hall and also to arrange for guards.

Qin Shi returned to the inner palace and finally restarted his phone, whose battery life was extremely precious.

She opened the photo album—the [Maps] album—and a high-definition world map appeared before her.

Qin Shi stared intently, his heart conflicted, hesitating repeatedly.

In the past, King Cheng of the Great Zhou Dynasty followed in the footsteps of King Wu and commissioned the creation of a bronze zun (wine vessel) for the nobleman He, which became known as the He Zun.

Thus, the bronze vessel, later considered a national treasure, clearly bears the core ruling philosophy of King Wu during his sacrificial rites to Heaven—

[Living in this China, governing the people from this place]

That is, to govern the people within the realm of heaven and earth.

China is the most orthodox central location of heaven and earth.

Here I am! Goodnight.

[The next chapter, "Zhai Zi China," will discuss why so many things on a mobile phone cannot be displayed.]

In this era, anyone who shakes the belief in the ruling power is an enemy of the monarchy and must be killed without mercy.

[The ruling ideology of China, like astronomy and calendar systems, is closely related to Confucianism and Legalism. Once shaken, it is like Bruno spreading the heliocentric theory.]

The concepts behind 【Zhai Zi China】 come from Professor Feng Shi's course on ancient astronomy and calendar.