Chapter 136 Printing
After discussions with two female advisers, Paul proposed his new ideas at a regular meeting of the Government Council.
He emphasized two points: health care and printing industry.
The Government Administration officials who attended the meeting took turns to experience a microscope, and they all exclaimed that it was incredible. They did not expect that there was another world in the tiniest places that the human eye could not touch.
Someone said to Paul: "This will cause a big earthquake in the academic world. I suggest you send your new discovery to the headquarters of the Church of the Holy Spirit. They will definitely build a building for you in the central square of the Holy City. of the statue.”
"Haha, really?" Paul scratched his head a little embarrassed, after all, he was not the one who really invented the microscope.
In addition to widely publicizing hygiene concepts and popularizing scientific nursing methods such as disinfection and antibacterial methods, Paul also asked the Government Administration Council to provide material and financial support for two female consultants to cultivate a group of "professional" Medical personnel, and set up health clinics in every village and town, and dispatch medical personnel to station. Of course, money is still required at this stage.
However, compared to scientific and technological things such as microscopes and microorganisms, officials are obviously more interested in the profitable printing industry.
Think about it, printing words and pictures on pieces of worthless paper, and then binding them into books, immediately turns them into books that previously required a lot of manual labor to copy, a book. The price difference from a pile of paper is huge.
And printed books have two huge advantages over handwritten books:
The first is quality. Copyists often make typos, smears and other defects when copying books. With printing technology, as long as there are no errors on the printing plate, there will be no errors in the text on the book. If you hire a skilled engraver to make the printed characters neat and beautiful, you will definitely be able to outshine traditional handwritten books.
The second is cost. The scribes hired by the traditional book copying industry must be good at writing and their own cultural level cannot be too low. In this era when literacy is considered a talent, hiring such a large group of people is a big deal. The price is huge. There is also the time cost, and the difference is even greater.
This is simply a way to get money...ah no, it is a great progress in the history of human civilization.
"Gentlemen, the printing technology we can use now is only a very rudimentary technology. I call it engraving printing. At this stage, it can only be used to respond to emergencies. Engraving is still very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Yes, a large book like the Holy Scriptures may take a long time to engrave.”
Paul introduced his improvement plan to everyone: “My idea is to develop a machine that can engrave words or letters. Tools that can be freely combined and arranged are what I call movable type printing.”
He explained the principle of movable type printing to everyone, which caused another burst of surprise from the officials.
Finally, Paul took out a stack of paper and handed it to the officials of the Ministry of Industry. It contained a detailed description of the principles of movable type printing and the structure of the original printing press. He ordered: "Give this to the craftsmen in the machinery factory. , mobilized manpower to cast a batch of movable type, and built a printing press. "
It is troublesome to cast metal movable type. If the movable type is not cast neatly, it will seriously affect the typesetting of the text. Special printing ink had to be developed. In Paul’s memory, the printing ink invented by Gutenberg at that time seemed to be composed of linseed oil, lamp black, varnish and other raw materials. It could stick to both metal and paper. superior.
If you just cast metal movable type, you still have to apply ink and wipe paper by hand. The characteristics of ink make this work not easy, but having a printing press can greatly save time and effort. .
The most original movable type printing press in the West seems to have been modified from a screw down flax press. This mechanical structure is simple. It has a heavy base with two columns on the side. There is a crossbeam on top, and there is a rotatable wooden spiral passing through the crossbeam, which can push down the reinforced pressure plate or top plate that can slide between the columns. Anyone who wants to apply pressure evenly on a flat surface can It's tempting to think of taking advantage of this simple device.
The structural diagram of the printing press that Paul gave to the craftsmen was based on this equipment.
He announced: "Once the printing press is successfully developed, we will build a printing factory, promote this technology to the private sector, and vigorously promote cultural and educational undertakings in the territory."
"In addition to this In addition, I have already commissioned Queller Foster to bring a large number of southern books from the south, including poetry, prose, novels, etc. We can print these books in large quantities, bind them beautifully, and then transport them to the south. Sell it to nobles and wealthy people who like arty things.”
This is another source of wealth. At the regular meeting, Paul also got three pieces of news that made him happy.
The first good news was that Hansel, who went to the royal capital again, sent a letter. It said that this time he had recruited more talents, including several alchemists. In addition to talents, he also gathered a large number of people. Refugees, prepare to be sent to the Northwest Bay together.
The war in the south created a lot of refugees heading north, which gave the northern lords a lot of headaches. It was already very "laborious" to keep their subjects full, so there was no "extra" food to help them. These refugees, and the influx of refugees, have continued to worsen the security situation in major territories.
Now Hansel is making a big show of recruiting refugees, and has also set up reception stations on several traffic arteries. The lords, big and small, are looking at fools' jokes while organizing people to remove the refugees in their territories. The refugees were tied up and sent to his reception center.
“The letter said that the first batch of people coming over may be six to seven hundred people. Do we have the ability to accept this batch of refugees?”
“The Government Affairs Council has already made preparations to accommodate refugees. In preparation, considering that due to customs and other reasons, they are likely to conflict with the locals in their lives, we have built a group of temporary residences on the south bank of the Vis River for them to live in. We have also notified factory owners and farms in various places. Lords, let them come and recruit men.”
Director Ford gave Paul a satisfactory answer on behalf of the Government Administration Council.
The second good news is that the ordnance factory has improved the formula of gunpowder. Theoretically, the best gunpowder formula is a combination ratio of nitrate, sulfur and charcoal of 78.74%: 11.84%: 11.32%, that is, this gunpowder generates the most gas, releases the most heat, has the highest temperature rise, and is most lethal. The most powerful.
The craftsmen did not know this chemical knowledge, but they still relied on a large number of experiments to summarize the best gunpowder formulas for muskets and artillery respectively. The ratio of nitrate, sulfur and carbon for gun propellant is: 75%: 10%: 15%. The ratio of nitrate, sulfur and charcoal for gun powder is 78%: 8%: 14%.
After this improvement, not only the power of gunpowder was improved, but also the service life of guns was extended.
The magicians also designed a set of gunpowder grinding and stirring equipment driven by water power, which greatly improved the efficiency and precision of gunpowder generation and saved a lot of manpower.
The third good news is that the craftsmen in the ordnance factory have finally produced reliable springs. The ordnance masters from the royal capital have brought advanced heat treatment technology and have made a great contribution in this regard. With the spring, the first flintlock gun was assembled. Combined with the improved quality of gunpowder, the firing rate reached more than 80%.
Paul ordered to continue to urge ordnance factories to improve flintlock muskets. With flintlock muskets, soldiers can line up more closely, thereby greatly increasing the density of firepower and avoiding interference from weather factors to a certain extent. Sooner or later, he will have to equip all his troops with flintlock muskets.
Paul suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "I suddenly thought of another idea to make money. Now that we have good springs, can we make a shock-absorbing device for our carriage? The current carriage is really hard to sit on. Uncomfortable. ”
Using springs to make carriage shock absorbers is a money-making tool for people traveling across the world. How could he let it go?
Officials from the Ministry of Industry said that they would immediately convey Paul's idea to the craftsmen in the machinery factory. In fact, springs are not necessarily needed to dampen carriages. There are already various shock-absorbing measures in the world.
After arranging a series of things, Paul decided to set off for Fulan Port again, because two new sailing ships were built, and one of them would soon go south to open up a new route. He wanted to take a look. " Expedition" lineup.
Unexpectedly, this time the female consultant Ladi actually offered to go with him.
The female consultant said to Paul solemnly:
"Your Majesty, you may encounter some bad things on the road during this trip."
(This chapter End)