Tiger Owl

Chapter 319 Woodblock Printing
As night fell, the Lantern Festival was ablaze with lights, a dazzling spectacle, and teeming with people. The ceasefire seemed to have ignited the enthusiasm of all the people and merchants, making tonight's Lantern Festival more grand and lively than any previous year.

The third floor of Xunyang Grand Restaurant was a huge, elegant room filled with all kinds of food and drinks. Five women stood on either side of Gan Ning, admiring the dazzling, star-like lights below.

At this moment, Xiao Qiao gently tugged at Cao Jie and whispered something. Cao Jie nodded repeatedly, then took Sun Shangxiang's hand and said, "Sister Shangxiang, let's go downstairs to play!"

Sun Shangxiang was taken aback, glanced at Cao Jie, and smiled. "Okay!" She also took Cao Jie's hand and quickly followed him downstairs.

At the entrance of the restaurant, the three of them were selecting lanterns and various trinkets, just like last year, except that last year it was Xu Wei and this year it was Cao Jie.

Cao Jie had spoken with Da Qiao that morning, and she had let go of her resentment. She addressed Da Qiao as "Sister Shangxiang" repeatedly, her smile bright and sincere. Sun Shangxiang was a straightforward person, and although her hatred for the Cao family would not disappear, at least she no longer felt dissatisfied with Cao Jie. She smiled and chatted and laughed with Da Qiao.

Gan Ning witnessed this scene and gained a new appreciation for Cao Jie. No wonder she became empress in history; her emotional intelligence far surpassed that of her peers.

After the Lantern Festival, various parts of Western Chu entered a rare period of rest and recuperation. Gan Ning's focus gradually expanded from solely military affairs to other areas, and he began to plan many projects that he had ideas for before but had not yet had time to implement.

That morning, Gan Ning met with Zhang Zhongjing. Zhang Zhongjing had been serving as the head of medical school in Nanchang for many years. He was very low-key and devoted almost all his time to writing books and teaching students, cultivating a large number of outstanding students. Many military doctors in the army were trained by Zhang Zhongjing.

Zhang Zhongjing looked much older than when they first met in Jiangxia County; his hair and beard were all white, and his eyes were full of wrinkles.

He respectfully placed his book, *Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases*, on Gan Ning's desk. "Lord Chu, this is the culmination of my life's work! I have finally finished writing it. It consists of two books: *Treatise on Febrile Diseases* and *Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber*, totaling sixteen volumes, collectively known as *Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases*."

Gan Ning looked at the sixteen volumes of works piled on the table and asked, "How many books did you copy in total?"

"Nine copies were made in total, and this one was given to the Marquis of Chu himself."

Gan Ning suddenly had an idea: "If I were to spread this Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases throughout the world, would you be willing, sir?"

A look of delight flashed in Zhang Zhongjing's eyes. "Being able to save more patients is, of course, my lifelong wish!"

Gan Ning nodded. "Leave this matter to me. Sir, you have worked hard all these years. Please take a good rest."

Zhang Zhongjing took his leave and left. Gan Ning lowered his head and pondered in silence. He was thinking about printing. Printing did not appear suddenly, but evolved over thousands of years. Initially, it was bronze inscription, also called bell and tripod inscription, which refers to the inscriptions cast on bronzes of the Yin and Zhou dynasties. Later, the characters were gradually engraved on stone tablets, such as the rubbings of Emperor Ling and the calligraphy of the Wei stele. Then, stone slab printing appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the emergence of wooden block printing truly became a major invention that pushed medieval civilization to its peak.

Of course, the emergence of woodblock printing is closely related to the great development of papermaking, and even more so to political stability. Only when the political situation is stable, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and culture develops greatly can craftsmen settle down to study the techniques for preserving culture. If it weren't for the three hundred years of dark wars during the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, woodblock printing would probably have emerged long ago.

Gan Ning had been thinking about inventing woodblock printing for the past two years, but the wars kept him too busy to do so. This war with Cao Cao made Gan Ning realize his weakness: his soft power was too weak.

Liu Bei's capture of Nanzheng County in Hanzhong alone was enough to shake the Central Plains, while Liu Bei's repeated victories over Cao Cao's army left the Central Plains completely undisturbed. This shows that Liu Bei's influence was too weak.

To increase influence, one must either gradually build a reputation or produce something that shocks the world. Cochin rice is one example, and printing is another.

Gan Ning pulled the rope, and soon Ma Liang rushed over, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Marquis of Chu!"

Gan Ning smiled slightly and asked, "Ji Chang, you've been with me for several years now. Have you considered doing something independently?" Gan Ning had two clerks, Lu Xun and Ma Liang. Lu Xun had already been transferred to the Military Advisor's Mansion at the beginning of the year to serve as the Military Advisor's Attendant, assisting Military Advisor Pang Tong and in charge of intelligence.

Ma Liang, on the other hand, was more inclined towards literature, extremely intelligent, quick to learn new things, and meticulous in his work. Gan Ning then considered entrusting the printing technology to him.

Ma Liang was both nervous and excited. Would he finally have the opportunity to work independently? He quickly bowed and said, "This humble servant will obey the Lord of Chu's arrangements!"

Gan Ning nodded. "I'm planning to establish a Compilation Bureau under the Sima Mansion, and I'm considering having you serve as its director!"

Ma Liang hesitated for a moment. He was only in his early twenties and had almost no experience. He was afraid that he would be unable to handle the position of the head of the department. Ma Liang was well aware of his own limitations.

"I have no experience as a chief officer. If I am appointed as the chief officer in one step, I am afraid I will not do a good job and will disappoint the Marquis of Chu."

Gan Ning smiled slightly and said, "What I want you to do doesn't require any experience; you are perfectly capable of it!"

Ma Liang was thrilled. Since the Marquis of Chu valued him so much, he stopped being coy and immediately bowed, saying, "This humble servant will certainly not disappoint the Marquis of Chu!"

Gan Ning nodded, "Go and find Li Zhuan first!"

Li Zhuan was Gan Ning's chief craftsman, especially in the area of ​​mechanical inventions. Gan Ning was responsible for coming up with the ideas, while Li Zhuan was responsible for bringing them to fruition. Over the years, the two had worked together very well.

Gan Ning pointed to the sixteen volumes of "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" in the box next to him and said to the two of them, "These are sixteen volumes of medical books written by Zhang Zhongjing. I hope that they can spread throughout the world so that every doctor can have a set to save the people. Unfortunately, copying one copy takes too much time. If I rely solely on copying, my dream cannot be realized. So I want to record it in another way."

Gan Ning pointed to a rough sketch he had drawn on the spot and showed it to the two of them. "This is a wooden board. Use a carving knife to carve the characters '木' (wood) in relief on the board, then brush it with ink, cover it with hemp paper, and press it. The characters '木' on the board will be printed on the paper."

Ma Liang suddenly blurted out, "It's actually just rubbing!"

Gan Ning nodded. "It's the rubbings that appeared during the reign of Emperor Ling, but rubbings were made on stone tablets. What I'm considering now is woodblock printing, but the principle is the same."

"Woodblock printing!"

Ma Liang and Li Zhuan exchanged a glance. They had never heard of this before, but they both understood the Marquis of Chu's intention: to replace the huge stone tablet with a one-foot-long wooden board and carve relief characters on it with a carving knife. The two understood immediately.

Li Zhuan nodded slightly, "Reporting to Lord Chu, I understand a little."

Gan Ning smiled and said, "You two will be in charge of this matter together. You can discuss it together and figure it out together. After the first rubbing is printed, I will teach you how to bind it into a book."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Both of them were extremely excited. They both knew that this was a groundbreaking invention!

(End of this chapter)