Chapter 109 Papermaking and Printing

The first year Roman came to Sige Town, he developed a strong aversion to the summer here.

He never thought that a season could torture him like this.

There was no wind at all.

Nothing could be done.

It was so hot that it was hard to breathe.

The land was scorching hot.

It was hotter than the hottest summer.

The light was distorted by the high temperature, and there was a sense of shaking when looking into the distance.

The newly located residential area, those neatly arranged and regular red brick houses were like burned brick kilns, with gossamer floating above.

The residents there also fled the brick houses one after another - this was not the fault of the brick houses.

In fact, those thick and solid buildings had good insulation and heat preservation effects - because their previous shacks were even worse.

The thin thatched roof could not prevent the high temperature, and there were dense thatched piles and livestock next to it. The smoke from cooking could not float away, and the smell of fermented feces lingered in the nose. How could people not want to escape from the suffocating and suffocating environment?

In previous years, the farmers would flee their homes during the hottest time and flee to the riverside under the shade of trees.

There would be some coolness there, and they could wash themselves with clear river water, and even catch fresh river fish to eat.

But since the lord came, no one has gone fishing or hunting.

It's not a ban, but there is no time or energy.

Now all of them are wearing linen shorts and shorts given to them by the lord, saying that they are special summer clothes.

Some well-informed people know that these are the linens shipped from merchant ships.

Their lord summoned dozens of craftsmen with tailoring skills to make them day and night - specially sewn for them, slaves and freemen.

He gave everyone a summer dress, from the oldest to the youngest, all in the same style.

Everyone wore the same clothes at once.

The farmers found it quite fresh, and even the slaves who had just arrived in the town of Sger couldn't help but proudly puffed up their chests when they saw themselves wearing the same clothes as the freemen.

What does clothing represent?

Family heritage!

When a farmer is sick, he can sell his clothes in the most difficult time and get a few kilograms of grain. As long as he is not frozen to death, he can survive for ten more days.

Although this method is like drinking poison to quench thirst.

But living at the bottom of society, clothes are really regarded as equivalent.

In order to save money, in previous years, only one or two sets of clothes were worn back and forth, from spring to autumn - in winter, wool sweaters and sheepskin coats that have been treasured for many years were taken out.

A sheepskin coat and a wool sweater that is warm enough cost five or six copper coins, and clothes made of flax also cost one or two.

Many families raise sheep and grow flax, which can greatly save family expenses.

Now, after they finish work, they not only have three free meals, but also get a piece of clothing each, which can be regarded as a dream-level life.

Because it is a rest period, it is not that they don’t work - their master said so, and the work meals are still provided as usual.

Breakfast is fresh, lunch is made in the morning, and dinner is what is left over from lunch.

No one has any objections, it’s good to have something to eat.

The water of the river flows quietly beside us, winding and twisting. On the surface of the river, fish raise their tails and splash water, and then disappear.

No one cares. They have been tired for too long and just want to rest.

They either sit by the river, lean against the tree, or lie on the grass.

Looking along the coast, the shade of the trees sway. Some places have a large number of people, while others have a sparse number of people.

The breeze blows from the direction of the winding river, and the leaves make a rustling sound.

The weather is still hot and humid, but everyone is full of comfort in their hearts. They wear comfortable linen summer clothes and don’t have to worry about future survival.

There are no worries, no idleness, and no sorrow.

No one even speaks.

Everyone quietly enjoys this quiet and peaceful moment.

…

The three-day vacation is gone in a flash.

The "Twilight of the Summer" is still baking the earth, getting more and more intense.

Roman despises the legends of the gods and disdains the church. He just wants to give them two punches.

But at this moment, he was somewhat skeptical about life. Was there really some reason that caused this scorching hot weather?

Roman had not forgotten the scenery of the Grand Dukedom. He was born in the Grand Dukedom of the Split Armor in this life.

The Black Iron Kingdom occupied the best central valley in the entire land and maintained the order of the conquerors.

And the Split Armor Territory was the richest land in the Black Iron Kingdom.

The climate there was pleasant and the wilderness was vast. Strange flowers filled the mountains and wilds, and juicy grasses covered the plains until autumn when they gradually withered.

The forests were lush, the rivers were magnificent, the hills and mountains were picturesque, the farms and farmhouses were poetic, and windmills could be seen everywhere. All the scenery had a harmonious and wonderful beauty.

It was neither hot nor cold, and had the advantages of all seasons.

He had heard of the severe cold of the northern land, the heat of the desert royal court, and the four seasons of spring in the amber royal court...

But he had never expected that the climate in Sger Town was so extreme.

Roman had no choice but to extend the vacation time to let those people get through this difficult period.

All construction work had to stop.

If forced labor was imposed, more laborers would die.

But Roman couldn't do nothing.

Coincidentally, the craftsman who had been arranged to make paper had made paper.

Roman checked it and found that the quality was acceptable.

From this moment on, the cost of education in this land would no longer be unacceptably high!

Green and Aaron were not clear about this, Dick and Jet were not clear about this, and neither were Gweil and Nellie.

Only Seth vaguely felt some kind of secret and great power from the thin white paper.

And that feeling, as Roman wrote on the paper, that wrong feeling suddenly expanded, expanded, and stretched to the maximum extent. With a bang, some ideas in his mind were shattered.

He was busy with work, but he also knew that Roman had arranged for someone to make something more than a month ago.

But before he had time to pay attention, the miracle appeared in front of him.

"Paper War..." Seth murmured, a little frightened.

Sinnoh also has papermaking skills, and the Church forbids it from being spread outside, otherwise it will send the Knights of Judgment to attack.

Master Roman cracked the papermaking skills, which might be a disaster for others.

But after all, his surname is Liejia, and it is nothing more than causing a war.

Either the Grand Duke compromises, or the Church compromises.

The Grand Duke of Split Armor could acquiesce to the burning of witches, but he would never let his children be beheaded by the Knights of Judgment.

…

The number of the first batch of paper was not large, only a few hundred sheets.

The production could be increased soon.

Roman didn't care about Sinnoh and the Church.

What the hell, I'll kick you into the garbage heap as soon as I grow up!

He didn't plan to sell it either, it was purely for internal use, so it was even less likely to be leaked.

In this era of inconvenient transportation, the Church had no reason to know about this in a year or two.

It doesn't matter if they know!

It takes time for the army to approach the border.

If this crisis can't be overcome, then what's the point of planting a field? Just plant sweet potatoes!

Half of the paper was allocated to Jimmy, who was asked to make a resident list, record the identity information of all farmers and slaves, and manage them uniformly according to the numbers.

It was too difficult to popularize books, and writing was also a problem.

The content of books in this era was completely copied by hand, which was a huge workload, and literacy was the basic ability of the copyist.

In the town of Sage, there were no more than twenty people who could do the job.

Roman had no books and no hands to do the copying work.

He was going to develop something called lead printing.

To make this thing, he needed to make a mold, a copper plate with letters engraved on it, lead water and ink, and a press - fortunately, these things were not difficult to make.

Others knew nothing about lead printing, so he had to do it himself.

The hall of the Origin Manor became Roman's studio.

He used a sharp carving knife to carve letters on the copper block one by one, and asked others to help him do what they could.

Polish the mold, burn lead and tin into liquid, mix and pour into the mold.

Roman did not do much work, there were only dozens of letter templates to be engraved, and this also included numbers and characters.

After dozens of molds were formed, printing only required permutations and combinations.

It was naturally impossible to print books. To print a complete book, at least tens of thousands of molds were needed, which was time-consuming and laborious.

Roman was not planning to do large-scale printing, as output and manpower were often closely related.

He was only going to print literacy books for enlightenment and literacy.

The initial goal was not high, and it would be enough for everyone in Sige Town to have a literacy book.