The carriage sped along the official road, Lü Yi in it frowned thoughtfully, "Movable type printing, what is that?"
Liang Xiao hadn't gone to the Northern Army camp to muster troops, but had asked him to come over. What was this all about?
As the Marshal of the Northern Army camp and the Hussar General of the Great Gan Kingdom, Lü Yi was always busy, and at least disliked wasting time running around.
If it were anyone else who summoned him like this, they would definitely be disciplined a few times. For example, Lü Changhe had been beaten by him since childhood.
Did Liang Xiao not know how precious this Marshal's time was?
"What good thing does the Marquis of An want to show this Marshal?"
As soon as he got out of the carriage, Lü Yi asked Liang Xiao with a smile. With outsiders present, it was not convenient for him to call Liang Xiao "nephew," lest those aristocratic families complain to Xiao Qing again and impeach him.
After Liang Xiao welcomed Lü Yi into the military camp, he ordered someone to summon three barbarians: Yue Xiu, Yue Chong, and Yue Ming.
Looking at the three burly and steady barbarians, Lü Yi said joyfully, "Are these the barbarian masters you promised to recommend earlier?"
Seeing Liang Xiao nod, Lü Yi was overjoyed and asked again, "And what good thing is movable type printing?"
"Naturally, it's something useful for the Northern Army camp and even the entire Great Gan Kingdom!" Liang Xiao smiled and led Lü Yi and Nan Jiyun to a workshop.
Suppressing his doubts, Lü Yi did not put on the airs of a marshal, but followed behind Liang Xiao, walking silently.
As soon as they entered the workshop, Lü Yi and Nan Jiyun were surprised.
A group of workers were using a board to print on sheet after sheet of paper!
Under the curious gaze of Lü Yi and Nan Jiyun, these ink-covered boards left clear text on the paper.
Lü Yi smiled and said, "This is similar to ordinary printing, isn't it? As long as you make a template for the content you need, you can print it on a large scale. In fact, our common seals work on the same principle."
"This movable type printing is more flexible!"
Liang Xiao walked over with a smile, took a board, placed one side of the iron board over a fire to heat it for a moment, and then gently shook it. All the movable type characters came off the iron board.
Lü Yi then realized that these were special movable type characters, and they were combined together by this iron board with a frame in Liang Xiao's hand!
Nan Jiyun exclaimed, "I seem to understand. These 'single characters' of the Marquis of An can be stored, and if needed in the future, they can be used to assemble and print again at any time, without having to spend time making an entire template! So it's called 'movable type printing,' and these are 'movable type,' which are more practical than fixed templates and can reduce waste!"
Liang Xiao looked at Nan Jiyun with a look of approval and began to explain.
The more Lü Yi listened, the more he could not hide his joy.
He made blank molds of uniform specifications from clay, carved inverted single characters on one end, and the height of the raised strokes was the same as the thickness of the edge of a copper coin. Then, they were fired to harden, becoming individual clay movable type.
To adapt to the needs of typesetting, common characters were usually prepared in multiple copies, even dozens, to be used when repeating in the same edition. For less common characters, if they were not prepared in advance, they could be made and used at any time!
To facilitate retrieving the characters, these clay movable type could be classified by "rhyme" and stored in wooden grids, labeled with paper strips. When typesetting, a framed iron board was used as a base, covered with a medicinal mixture made of pine resin, wax, and paper ash. Then, the required clay movable type were picked out and arranged one by one within the frame.
Once a frame was full, it became an edition. It was then baked, and when the medicinal mixture slightly melted, a flat board was used to press the surface of the type flat. After the medicinal mixture cooled and solidified, the movable type became stable and would not fall off, thus forming a stable printing plate!
When printing, all that was needed was to brush ink on the printing plate, cover it with paper, and apply a certain amount of pressure. For continuous printing, two iron plates could be used simultaneously. One plate would be inked and printed on, while the other would be used for typesetting. The two plates would be used alternately. After printing, the medicinal mixture would be melted by fire, and with a gentle shake of the hand, the movable type would detach from the iron plate and be returned to the original wooden grid according to rhyme, ready for next use.
The entire process was not complicated, and even a martial artist like Lü Yi could understand it!
Lü Yi could not help but exclaim, "Wonderful! If it were only for printing a few copies, one wouldn't see how efficient movable type printing is. But if thousands or tens of thousands of copies are to be printed, it can greatly save materials and time, and is by no means comparable to the commonly used printing methods!"
The movable type could be disassembled and reused later, or even made and used at any time. It was simply making the best use of everything and recycling!
This way, many things in the future would not require a special plate to be made for printing; movable type printing could be used repeatedly!
Luo Qingxue and the others behind Liang Xiao were full of pride, their eyes flowing.
Even the usually stern Marshal of the Northern Army was impressed by Liang Xiao's intelligence!
"This technology, isn't it afraid of being leaked?" Lü Yi asked with a smile.
Liang Xiao nodded, "Of course. This is just a means to benefit the country and the people. It's inevitable that it will be popularized nationwide, and enemy countries will learn it sooner or later. The important thing is that we can use it first and enjoy it first!"
Technologies like the Mo Dao (long heavy saber) and steel refining, which concerned the survival of the nation, required Liang Xiao to use them cautiously.
"Indeed, movable type printing cannot be hidden, nor should it be hidden. We can use it to showcase the level of the Great Gan Kingdom to the world," Lü Yi was rarely excited.
As the Marshal of the Northern Army, he naturally understood how time-consuming and laborious it was to print and copy official documents daily, and how it even affected the efficiency of military affairs!
With movable type printing, it could be used whenever needed, as freely as one wished!
Lü Yi quickly calmed down, "Marquis of An, you cannot be stingy. Hurry up and bring a few people to give guidance to the Northern Army camp and popularize this movable type printing! By the way, you should also mention it to His Majesty!"
"I had Zhang Yang and Minister Huang try it before I came, and they should be almost done by now," Liang Xiao nodded.
Lü Yi pouted, "Then hurry up and send a few people over. I've picked out ten thousand elite soldiers for you. It's not too much to ask for a few more people from you, is it? We're all friends!"
Jian Qinwan looked at Liang Xiao and Lü Yi with a half-smile.
Even the dignified Marshal of the Northern Army, when facing this flower thief, could not help but reveal his shameless face inadvertently...
At the same time, Xiao Qing was also in the Imperial Study, learning about the progress of movable type printing, and was both surprised and delighted.
Huang Xing and Zhang Yang reported and stood by, waiting for Xiao Qing's instructions.
Wang Canghai said joyfully, "The Marquis of An is truly a heaven-sent genius. Not only can he govern the country, but he can also master such intricate skills?"
Xiao Qing could not hide his smile, "So, my Minister Liang has accidentally made another great contribution? Quickly! All of you, come and praise my good minister. Flattery is fine too!"
Ning Xuejun smiled at Xiao Qing, then at Wang Canghai and the others who praised Liang Xiao with sincere words. Finally, they eagerly left the Imperial Study and went to arrange the promotion.
"Young Master Liang is indeed the lord's perfect match." Ning Xuejun could not help but praise.
Xiao Qing finally returned to her girlish nature, gazing entranced at Liang Xiao's poems and calligraphy hanging on the wall.
"My perfect match is unparalleled in the world, and I also have the protection of General Tian... I just don't know how the treasure progress is. However, I also believe that even without treasures, with my dear elder brother, creating a prosperous era is only a matter of time!"
According to Liang Xiao's suggestion, this kind of thing could be kept secret for the time being, and used by the government first, and then promoted nationwide in a few days.
After much thought, Xiao Qing decided to first issue a decree to announce it nationwide and promote it on a chosen date, to prevent anyone in the court from leaking the technology to foreign countries and snatching the initiative!
Liang Xiao led everyone to the Northern Army camp with Lü Yi.
The ten thousand elite soldiers gathered on the largest parade ground of the military camp were chattering, with worry appearing on most of their faces.
"I heard that the Marquis of An will be leading us. Isn't he a scholar?"
They had been fine following Lü Yi, and for three times the salary, they participated in the test and were assigned to Liang Xiao, the "General Who Guards the East."
As the elite of the elites, if they followed a fool who couldn't train troops or fight battles, even with three times the salary, it would be a disgrace!