My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 226 The Rotary Printing Press and the New Officers of the Future
After the sales of "Yuefu Xinbao" increased, Luo Wanhua suggested to Su Ze that the original publication every three days be changed to every two days.

However, Su Ze refused at the time.

The reason is simple: as the number of prints increased, the printing houses could no longer keep up with the pace.

Woodblock printing was still too inefficient.

To speed up the printing process, Luo Wanhua came up with the idea of ​​increasing the number of woodblock engravers to produce more woodblocks for simultaneous printing.

However, this resulted in further increases in costs, with major newspapers vying for woodblock engravers, making the already scarce woodblock engravers even more scarce.

Moreover, with more woodblock engravers, more errors and omissions appeared in the newspaper, leading to a decline in the printing quality of the "Yuefu Xinbao" and drawing considerable criticism.

Under these circumstances, Su Ze had no choice but to take back control of the newspaper and begin to improve the printing press.

Su Ze's solution was to offer a reward to the craftsmen.

As a result, a craftsman reported today that he had created a new printing press.

After returning from paying his respects at the Duke of Cheng's mansion, Su Ze brought Luo Wanhua to the printing workshop.

The craftsman, named Zhang Bi, was a woodblock printing apprentice. He led the two to a strange device.

Luo Wanhua looked at the strange machine. Two wooden cylinders were tightly pressed together and connected to each other by a series of transmission gears. There was a huge rocker arm on the side of the machine. It was unlike any other printing press he had ever seen.

How do you print with this machine?

Zhang Bi immediately called his companion, who poured ink into the ink cartridge next to the cylinder, then stuffed paper between the two cylinders, and then Zhang Bi began to turn the joystick.

Two cylinders carrying the paper moved forward, leaving blurry writing on the front of the paper.

Luo Wanhua then noticed that one of the wooden cylinders had words carved on it; it was a cylindrical engraving!
Luo Wanhua also thought it was a clever idea.

Originally, woodblock printing required craftsmen to apply ink, print, and press the paper to produce text.

This machine automatically applies ink while the cylindrical engraving plate is rotating, allowing for continuous printing during this process.

But seeing the blurry handwriting, Luo Wanhua was disappointed again.

With such blurry handwriting, it's impossible to sell it as a newspaper.

Seeing Luo Wanhua's expression, Zhang Bi also felt somewhat discouraged.

He had only completed half of his research on the rotary printing press, but he had run out of funding and his own mentor was against it. That's why he was so eager to ask Su Ze for credit and gain further support.

But it's still only a semi-finished product, so it seems Luo Wanhua's attitude isn't very satisfactory.

Su Ze asked:
"Zhang Bi, how did you come up with this idea?"

Hearing Su Ze's question, Zhang Bi's hope was rekindled, and he quickly replied:

"To Su Hanlin, the inspiration for this humble man came from seeing the hair removal machine that won the Huayang Award."

Hair removal machine?
Su Ze then remembered that the first Huayang Award was given to the craftsman who invented the roller hair removal machine.

Yes, it's the same as printing rollers, but Zhang Bi thought of using cylindrical engraving plates to continuously print newspapers.

There are indeed many clever people in this world!
Su Ze sighed.

Zhang Bi honestly said:

"Su Hanlin, Editor-in-Chief Luo, actually this printing press is still a semi-finished product, it's just that I've run out of money."

Su Ze said to Zhang Bi:

What difficulties did you encounter?

Zhang Bi said:

"First of all, cylindrical engravings are more difficult to carve than ordinary engravings. I have tried to teach many people, but very few can learn it."

"Then came the ink. I tried many methods, but the ink was still unclear and prone to smudging."

Su Ze looked at Zhang Bi. Unlike ordinary craftsmen, he had a more scholarly air about him, and he was also very poised and generous in front of Su Ze and Luo Wanhua, without the awkwardness of those craftsmen.

Su Ze asked curiously, "Can you read? How many years have you been learning craftsmanship?"

Zhang Bi said:

“Reporting to Hanlin Su, I, a humble commoner, have only attended elementary school and have been learning craftsmanship for less than a year.”

"?"

Zhang Bi said:

"When I was young, I received some education. My parents left me the wish that I study for the imperial examinations, but I failed the county examinations several times."

"He's actually a craftsman who's been to school," Su Ze asked in surprise.

"Then why become a craftsman?"

Zhang Bi said:

"It was after listening to Su Hanlin's theory of the four classes of morality that I decided to become a craftsman."

"I have no talent for studying, but I have loved these crafts and crafts since I was a child. However, I was never going to take this step."

"But after listening to Su Hanlin's moral teachings, I realized that craftsmen have their own virtues, and being a good craftsman is also beneficial to the court."

"The imperial court also lifted the restrictions on artisans, so I decided to become an apprentice artisan."

That's it!

Su Ze never expected that the seeds he sowed at the Lingji Palace Conference would now bear fruit.

Zhang Bi can be considered a new type of craftsman.

No wonder he was able to invent the rotary printing press.

Su Ze decided to help him, so he said, "The handwriting is unclear, is it a problem with the ink?"

"ink?"

Su Ze nodded and said:

"Is water-based ink used for printing now? Water-based ink is prone to smudging, and you have to press hard to make the characters clear. Have you ever thought about other inks?"

"Other inks?"

Su Ze pointed at Zhang Bi's clothes and said:

What's that stain on your clothes?

Zhang Bi looked at an oil stain and said:
"Reporting to Su Hanlin, these are oil stains, whale oil used to lubricate machines."

Is oil more likely to stain clothes than water?

"what!?"

Zhang Bi was struck dumb, and he rushed to the ink cartridge.

Su Ze said again:
"Wait a minute."

"You say that cylinder engraving is not easy to learn, but do you know about movable type?"

Zhang Bi nodded repeatedly.

Su Ze said, "What if we use a roller to hold the movable type in place?"

Zhang Bi began to tremble all over, and he suddenly lowered his voice and said:

"Su Hanlin, this way, the printing shop won't need any more woodblock engravers! This is wonderful!"

Su Ze glanced at Zhang Bi; he was indeed a smart man, understanding things immediately.

Su Ze said, "It's not that easy. Clay movable type can't withstand long-term use, and the writing won't be clear. You can try making movable type with metal."

"The ink also needs to be tested and mixed."

Su Ze patted him on the shoulder and said, "If you need the funds, just ask the printing house for them. Once you finish it, I'll help you apply for the Huayang Award."
-
After returning to the newspaper office from the printing workshop, Luo Wanhua kept thinking.

Although he didn't understand technology, he sensed that Zhang Bi's new machine might affect the entire Ming Dynasty.

However, Luo Wanhua couldn't clearly explain how to change the Ming Dynasty.

But everything Su Ze did was profoundly changing the Ming Dynasty, a fact acknowledged by officials in the capital.

It's not easy for an ordinary person to accomplish even one thing, but Su Ze managed to get things done by submitting several memorials every month.

Moreover, Su Ze's affairs encompassed everything from officialdom and military affairs to finance; he could easily resolve any problem. This accumulated experience led to officials focusing their attacks on Duke Dingguo, Xu Wenbi, during the recent military supervisory incident, while few attacked Su Ze.

When Su Ze returned to the newspaper office, he found that someone was already waiting for him.

"Brother Zhonghua (Shen Li's courtesy name), what brings you here?"

Shen Li is known for his good temper, but today he said angrily:
"If I hadn't come soon, Brother Zilin would have filled our Imperial Academy to the brim."

Su Ze smiled awkwardly. His original intention was not to trick Shen Li, but among all the government offices in the capital, only the Imperial Academy had so many empty rooms, so he could only squeeze them into the Imperial Academy.

Seeing Su Ze smile, Shen Li became even more angry and said:
"His Majesty has decreed the establishment of the Military Academy, but the limited manpower within the Imperial Academy is insufficient to accomplish this. I have come today to seek help from Brother Zilin!"

The Military Academy was established by imperial decree, and since the students here would be sons of nobles and military households, it certainly couldn't be treated casually.

This was no longer something that Shen Li, the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, could handle with a group of students.

But the emperor has already issued a decree that if the venue issue cannot be resolved, then he himself will be the one to suffer.

Su Ze looked at Shen Li and said, "Brother Zhonghua, do you have any work to do in this martial arts academy?"

Shen Li shook her head.

The Military Supervisory Commission was of extremely high rank, with the emperor himself serving as its director and Xu Wenbi, a hereditary noble and high-ranking official and Duke of Dingguo, serving as its deputy director.

Only Su Ze, a civil official, held an awkward position as "instructor," and even the imperial edict did not specify his rank.

Su Ze continued, "In that case, why doesn't Brother Zhonghua petition His Majesty to separate the Military Academy from the Imperial Academy?"

Shen Li understood instantly and looked at Su Ze.

The reason why the emperor did not allow the Imperial Academy to interfere in the affairs of the Military Academy is actually quite easy to understand.

The emperor himself served as the director of the Military Academy, so the students of the Military Academy could also call themselves the emperor's disciples.

This was Emperor Longqing's plan to reorganize the military and reorganize the nobles and garrison officers.

Why would ordinary civil servants be allowed to get involved in something like this?
Shen Li suddenly remembered a rumor that the memorial submitted by the Duke of Dingguo and Su Ze was probably the emperor's original intention.

After the Tumu Crisis, the power of the nobility declined, and emperors of successive dynasties wanted to revive their power.

However, the result was that the nobles were truly hopeless and incompetent.

Emperors throughout history abandoned the practice of appointing meritorious officials and instead strengthened the power of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Eastern Depot, supporting eunuchs to check and balance the power of the outer court.

After Su Ze's explanation, Shen Li fully understood the emperor's subtle thoughts.

He took a breath and said:

“I understand, Brother Zilin. I will submit a memorial to His Majesty requesting that the Military Affairs Bureau be separated from the military.

Su Ze nodded and said:

"Then please have Brother Zhonghua draft the memorial, and I, Su, will also sign it."

Hearing that Su Ze would also co-sign, Shen Li felt more at ease. He quickly got up to take his leave and returned to the Imperial Academy to draft a memorial.
-
After seeing Shen Li off, Luo Wanhua was busy editing the new issue of the newspaper. Su Ze returned to his seat and looked at the settlement report from the previous memorial.

The emperor agreed to establish a Military Academy within the Imperial Academy, but soon separated it from the Academy.

Two years later, the new class of officers trained by the Military Academy began to enter the Ming Dynasty's military system.

Five years later, the new officer system began to replace the old garrison system, representing the voices of nobles and officers, and the military theory and technology of the Ming Dynasty developed rapidly.

A fierce conflict erupted between the new officer corps and the civilian officer corps.

[Ming Dynasty +2]

Only the national fortune +2?

Su Ze thought about it and concluded that it must be the last sentence: the struggle between the new military officer group and the civilian group had cost the nation some of its lifespan.

Sure enough, military academies are able to unite people and cultivate a class of officers.

This is the power of education.

The military officer corps was an extremely important force in the evolution of modern history, and many ruling groups in modern history were military officer corps.

The rise of military officers will inevitably lead to conflict with the civil service group that currently controls the court.

This is the general trend of history.

Of course, that happened much later.

The following day, Shen Li, the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, submitted a memorial to the court, requesting that the Military Academy be separated from the Imperial Academy and run as an independent school.

Su Ze then submitted a memorial in support, and the two memorials were quickly delivered to the emperor's desk.

This time, all four cabinet ministers remained silent.

The Longqing Emperor readily approved Shen Li's memorial and issued an edict to separate a portion of the Imperial Academy and establish the Military Academy.

However, Emperor Longqing understood the resistance involved. He heeded Su Ze's suggestion in his memorial and placed the Military Supervisory Commission under the Ministry of War, which was a compromise with the Ministry of War.

As expected, the opposition within the Ministry of War diminished considerably.

The Longqing Emperor was very pleased with Shen Li's memorial and had his name written on the screen in the Imperial Study.

Shen Li is already considered to be "favored by the emperor," and he will have the opportunity for promotion if a suitable position is available in the future.
-
With the Lunar New Year approaching, the newspaper published its last issue on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, and finally it was time for the holiday break.

The last issue of the "Yuefu Xinbao" this year also featured color New Year pictures. Su Ze even stuffed a piece of red paper into the newspaper as a good omen, which subscribers could cut into paper-cut window decorations.

The festive atmosphere in Beijing this year is going to be even stronger.

Chinese New Year is only truly celebrated when you have money; otherwise, it's just a period of hardship.

In the third year of the Longqing reign, there were many things that could be recorded in history for the imperial court, but for the common people, "the third year of the Longqing reign was a year without disasters."

The battle at Dongshengwei did not affect the capital, and the rice price riots were easily quelled by the Crown Prince.

The third year of the Longqing reign was a year of favorable weather and abundant harvests. Although a few places suffered from disasters, most places had a bumper harvest.

More and more new things are appearing in the capital, and the prices of many things are getting lower and lower.

In particular, the price of sugar, after experiencing a rollercoaster ride of price increases, suddenly plummeted before the Lunar New Year.

Many people in the capital also went out to buy candy for the New Year.

Su Ze locked up the newspaper office. The Crown Prince's palace had already given everyone a holiday. When he returned home, Zhao Lingxian, heavily pregnant, was directing the maids and servants to prepare for the New Year.

Su Ze went to greet his wife, who was eight months pregnant and whose position was now stable.

Su Ze understands that pregnant women also need appropriate exercise, so he doesn't object to his wife being busy.

After entrusting the task of supervising the work to her maid, Zhao Lingxian pulled Su Ze to the inner study.

The inner study was the lady of the house's study, where she handled household chores.

Zhao Lingxian took out a stack of account books and said:
"My lord, these are the annual accounts of the estates outside the city, the shops inside the city, and the shops that have invested in the Eastern Palace."

Su Ze felt a headache coming on just looking at these ledgers. He shook his head and said:
Is there a problem with the ledgers?

Zhao Lingxian shook her head and said:
"They wouldn't dare tamper with the Su family's account books; there's nothing wrong with them."

Zhao Lingxian hesitated for a moment before saying, "Husband, my brother came by again today."

Su Ze pulled his wife into his arms and asked, "Is your brother-in-law here to borrow money again?"

Su Ze had only met his brother-in-law, Zhao Lingyun, at the wedding banquet. Zhao Lingyun was the eldest son of his wife's branch of the family, but he was not good at studying.

His wife looked grim because ten days ago, Zhao Lingyun had come to borrow money, and after discussing it with Su Ze, Zhao Lingxian lent him one hundred silver dollars.

Zhao Lingxian said:
"My lord, you also know about that hundred silver dollars."

Zhao Lingxian carefully observed her husband's expression. Although she was using her dowry and the money was borrowed, it was still a taboo subject.

Su Ze frowned slightly. One hundred silver dollars was a lot, but it was not an astronomical figure for the Su family.

Su Ze knew that the family's shops were quite profitable, and the loans between his wife and relatives were just normal social interactions.

Seeing his wife's worried expression, Su Ze said:

"Is it because my brother-in-law lost money and can't make up for the shortfall?"

Zhao Lingxian shook her head. She took out a money box, which was filled with gleaming silver dollars.

Zhao Lingxian said:
“My brother came to visit today and brought back one hundred and fifty silver dollars. He not only returned the silver dollars, but also said that the fifty silver dollars were our dividends from our investment.”

(End of this chapter)