Under the watchful eyes of Xiao Qing and Ning Xuejun, Liang Xiao put down his charcoal pencil and went to the bookshelf to retrieve another round wooden pen, less than half an inch in diameter.
Xiao Qing looked closely and saw that one end of the wooden stick had been sharpened, revealing the core.
"Mix clay with graphite powder and shape it into a core. Then, fire it in a kiln. This way, it can leave marks on paper. By adding the right proportion of clay to the graphite powder, the pencil lead will have a certain hardness. This is the 'pencil' that I instructed the craftsmen at the bookshop to research before I set out on the campaign."
As Liang Xiao explained, he picked up the pencil and wrote on the paper, leaving clear imprints.
"Graphite? Isn't that an ink material that has long been replaced by lampblack ink..." Xiao Qing murmured to himself, brimming with excitement.
Even if graphite were ground to its finest, it would still have a granular texture, and the written characters would not be aesthetically pleasing.
Could this material, long discarded in favor of lampblack ink, find new use with the invention of the pencil?
Liang Xiao shook his head and said, "The 'graphite' used in the past was another name for coal. The main material for the pencils I have is actually 'black lead.' Both can be burned, but black lead is more suitable for making pens."
Xiao Qing was overjoyed. "Then from now on, we'll call black lead graphite, and coal will remain coal~"
Within the topographical maps left by the Dongye clan, there were natural black lead mines!
Xiao Qing had previously felt a slight disappointment that the topographical maps recorded a limited number of high-quality iron ore deposits.
Dozens of natural black lead mines could also prove useful!
From then on, the black lead of the Great Gan Kingdom was officially named "graphite" because of Liang Xiao, but the pens made from it were still called "pencils."
However, the cost of producing pencils was not low. After all, it was entirely done by hand, requiring the shaping of two halves of wood, encasing the graphite, and then gluing the wood together.
The price of graphite in the Great Gan Kingdom was around two hundred coins per jin, and a usable pencil cost over six coins to produce. Liang Xiao priced them at ten coins.
Yet, compared to the expensive "Four Treasures of the Study," the price of pencils was quite affordable.
Good quality ink could cost several taels of silver per jin, the finest ink tens of taels, and a superior inkstone was worth over a hundred taels!
On this day, apart from chatting with the sisters, Xiao Qing spent the rest of her time listening to Liang Xiao explain the new arithmetic methods.
"Brother Xiao is truly a lucky star for the people of Great Gan!" Xiao Qing said with pride.
Liang Xiao smiled and, after a moment of thought, sighed, "Shuang'er, perhaps in a thousand years, the common people will no longer believe in divine right to rule, but will believe that all people are born equal..."
Xiao Qing said gently, "What Brother Xiao truly worries about is that perhaps in just over a decade or two, the people will be as you say. How should Shuang'er position herself then? In fact, this is also something our High Ancestor would have welcomed..."
Liang Xiao was surprised. "What makes you say that?"
"At the founding of the nation, our High Ancestor once mentioned that the people are more important than the ruler, and that the common people and the sovereign should be equal. It was his wish to 'return power to the people.' However, facing the tide of history, he could not go against it and abandon imperial power, allowing those with ulterior motives among the court and the public to exploit the situation. For he knew well that the hearts of the people cannot be satisfied by any reform. It is natural for the monarch to hold supreme power and seek the people's welfare, for water can carry a boat but also capsize it."
Listening to Xiao Qing's explanation, Liang Xiao fell silent.
He believed that the High Ancestor of Great Gan, Xiao Ping'an, was certainly not a transmigrator. Otherwise, many simple inventions could have been promoted to strengthen the nation and stabilize the regime.
As a person of that era, the High Ancestor of Great Gan shared a similar sentiment to his own.
When productivity was insufficient to support reform, forcing the issue would only be counterproductive.
For the High Ancestor of Great Gan to have such insights in that era, and for Prime Minister Zhuo Mingfeng to have recognized the importance of protecting official lands and afforestation early on, and for Gongsun Wuji to have returned military power early and strongly opposed enfeoffment of collateral royal relatives...
The people of this land were indeed fortunate. Without these three romantic rulers and officials, the Great Gan Kingdom would likely not have lasted until Emperor Wen's generation, let alone waited for Xiao Qing's reforms.
As the ruled, the descendants of the common people should not necessarily revere emperors. However, if an emperor could bring them a better life than before, then such an emperor would be worthy of respect from these ancient people.
"Whatever Brother Xiao does or chooses in the future, Shuang'er will support him wholeheartedly, hoping only to usher in a truly peaceful and prosperous era." Xiao Qing leaned into his embrace, comforting him softly.
Liang Xiao felt touched and a pang of heartache. He comforted her, "A peaceful and prosperous era is within reach. How could I, your husband, fail Shuang'er!"
Only then did Xiao Qing's eyebrows curve into a smile, her face radiating happiness.
On this morning, the Anguo Bookshop finally launched its new book, "Great Gan Arithmetic," priced at seventy coins!
With teaching progressing from simple to complex and accompanied by straightforward content, it was enough to enable the common people to quickly grasp the most basic numbers and the usage of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Some literate commoners tried buying a copy and found that it was only half the thickness of their copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
This was not due to Liang Xiao cutting corners, but because there were other arithmetic books in the Great Gan Kingdom, and there was no need for him to elaborate.
Promoting numbers and symbols to improve the efficiency of daily life was the immediate priority.
Xiao Qing, accompanied by Liang Xiao, specifically went to visit Yue Lian and her son.
The fifth son, Qiu Hanhai, and the sixth son, Liang Cangsheng, were sleeping soundly.
"Grandpa said that among the six children, young Cangsheng resembles you most from when you were a child?" Xiao Qing noticed Liang Cangsheng's lips curving slightly and couldn't help but look at Liang Xiao with a half-smile.
Liang Xiao grinned. "They all resemble me, but the sixth one resembles me too much!"
He was a little worried that this sixth son might become as shameless as him in the future...
Xiao Qing covered her mouth and giggled for a moment before saying to Yue Lian, "Young Hanhai, as the heir of the former dynasty, will you accept the enfeoffment?"
Yue Lian solemnly agreed.
Although the Great Heng Kingdom was a thing of the past, if the Great Gan Kingdom treated the former dynasty's royal family well and declared itself the successor to the Great Heng Kingdom's legitimacy, it could appease all the remnants of the Great Heng Kingdom and earn greater respect from the populace. Even if someone rebelled, using the former dynasty's name would be meaningless.
At the suggestion of Ding Wuyi, the Great Gan Kingdom also established the Mid-Autumn Festival, where families reunited to admire the moon and eat mooncakes.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiao Qing specially brought the two imperial guard commanders to the Liang residence for a family reunion.
The next day, at the imperial court.
"Princess Xiyue, Yue Lian, is indeed the last surviving bloodline of the former dynasty. She has already pledged allegiance to Great Gan. I bestowed marriage upon her, and she became wedded to my loyal minister Liang Xiao! They now have offspring. I have decided to allow their eldest son, Hanhai, to take the surname 'Qiu' and be granted the title of 'Marquis Guixin,' with an estate of two thousand households. Zuo Wushang and Hong Qu, who assisted Great Gan in defeating the barbarians, are hereby granted the titles of 'Marquis Guiyi' respectively. What say you, all my ministers?"
The officials stared at Liang Xiao and Xiao Qing in shock, and then suddenly understood.
Dugu Qun felt shock and anger in his heart.
Zuo Wushang, who had collaborated with the Dugu family before, was indeed still alive and had become Liang Xiao's sharp weapon against the barbarians and the Spring Return Sect!!
"Your Majesty is wise, and the realm submits to you!" Grand Tutor Dugu Qun and Grand Tutor He Wanli simultaneously stepped forward to support the decree.
Xiao Qing saw this and smiled.
These two old rascals were rarely so agreeable!
The civil and military officials had no objections. As Xiao Qing was about to issue the decree, He Wanli immediately stepped forward.
"Marquis consort has served the nation and the people, defeated the barbarians, and brought the former dynasty's remnants under control, his merits are unparalleled. We humbly request Your Majesty to grant the Marquis consort the Nine Bestowals!"
After He Wanli stepped forward, Dugu Qun and others also stepped forward to echo his plea.
Wang Canghai and others pondered.
Liang Xiao, however, frowned.
The Nine Bestowals, something familiar?
Wang Mang, Cao Cao, Sima Yi, Shi Le, Erzhu Rong, Liu Yu, Gao Huan, Li Yuan...
Even if this group of old rascals didn't know these people, they had at least read his "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and knew of Cao Cao, right?