An official with a luxurious manor, if placed in modern times, would definitely be seen as a symbol of corruption in the eyes of many people. However, Li Zexuan wasn't afraid of this kind of criticism because every penny he earned was clean. He wasn't afraid of being investigated!
Anyway, a person worked hard to earn money, didn't he just want to enjoy it? He spent his own money to build a manor for himself. What could others say about it?
In the afternoon, Song Xiaosi finally sent news that everything in the workshop was ready. They were waiting for Li Zexuan to personally instruct them on the next step of the task!
Li Zexuan was overjoyed. He quickly put on his cloak and went down Yunshan with Song Xiaosi. They went straight to the workshop.
"Young master, you're here?"
When Uncle Fu saw that Li Zexuan had finally arrived, he hurriedly went up to greet him.
Li Zexuan smiled, looked at Faubert and Liu Yidao, and said,
"Well! Faubert, Master Liu, I heard that everything is ready. You've worked hard these two days! "
The two of them said that it was not hard. Liu Yidao was a little ashamed. He said, "Marquis, it took me nearly two days to carve this seal. Compared with Marquis's speed, my nickname, Liu Yidao, seems to be undeserved!"
Li Zexuan shook his head. "Master Liu, you're just wasting time on an insignificant problem. It's because this marquis is skilled in martial arts that I sometimes move a little faster than ordinary people. Master Liu, for you to carve this seal in two days is already not easy. In all of the Great Tang, the number of people who can do what you have done can be counted on one hand!"
"Marquis, you're flattering me!"
When Liu Yidao heard this, a smile appeared on his face. Then, he quickly replied modestly.
"Ahem! Young master, a batch of watermarked paper has been made this morning. Some of them should have been dried by now. What do you think next … "
Fu Bo coughed dryly and got down to business.
Li Zexuan nodded and said, "Faubert, come with me to take a look!"
They came to a factory on the east side, where the workshop made paper.
"Young Master, this is the water pattern paper. Please take a look and see if the talisman meets the requirements!"
Faubert said to Li Zexuan as he pointed at the sheets of white paper hanging under an old locust tree in the courtyard.
Li Zexuan took a few steps forward and found a piece of dried paper. He took it down from the shelf and looked at it carefully under the sunlight. He saw that on the white paper, there were neatly arranged dark characters — Tang!
After spreading the paper flat, the dark words disappeared again. People who saw it for the first time might find it magical, but for Li Zexuan, a modern person, it was not strange at all. However, he was quite satisfied with the quality of the paper. Just the texture alone was not comparable to that of ordinary paper.
"Yes! That's right! Faubert, next, use the soft steel master plate I gave you yesterday to imprint the pattern on it! The material used to press the steel plate must be heavy. The heavier the better. Otherwise, it won't show the effect! "
Li Zexuan nodded with satisfaction, put down the water pattern paper in his hand, and said to Faubert.
"Yes! I understand young master's meaning. I'll arrange it now! "
Faubert replied with a smile.
Now that the printing technology in the workshop was quite mature, the most difficult part of the concave printing technology was the engraving of the plate. The actual imprinting process was not complicated, so when Li Zexuan roughly explained it, Faubert understood what to do.
Faubert used an hour to set up a temporary concave imprinting workbench. The water pattern paper to be imprinted was fixed. The soft steel master plate was also attached to the bottom of a square boulder. After the master plate was dipped in green ink, it was manually pulled to control the boulder to press on a specific position on the water pattern paper. After the ink in the groove of the master plate had dried, the boulder was pulled up and the first side of the water pattern paper was imprinted.
Using the same method, the second side was quickly imprinted. The tailor in the workshop carefully cut off the imprinted banknote and handed it to Li Zexuan.
"One Tang Yuan! Great Tang's Yanhuang Bank! "
After seeing the well-printed one Tang Yuan banknote in his hand, Li Zexuan felt a sense of accomplishment in his heart. This was the first edition banknote of Great Tang, and also the first edition banknote in the history of China!
He could really leave his name in history!
The color of the Tang Yuan banknote was mainly green, and the patterns on it were very dense. "One Tang Yuan" was written on the bottom left corner, and "Great Tang's Yanhuang Bank" was written on the top of the back. The one Tang Yuan banknote was a little similar to the modern one yuan, but there was no portrait on it, so it looked much simpler.
"Young Master, this old man forgot to ask earlier. What does the 'one tang yuan' written on it mean? And what is Great Tang's Yanhuang Bank? "
Faubert also felt that the banknote in Li Zexuan's hand was very exquisite, but he had some doubts about the words on the banknote.
Li Zexuan's expression turned serious. He dismissed his subordinates and said in a deep voice, "Faubert, Master Liu, come here. I have something to tell you!"
The issue of banknotes was no small matter. The workshop had to make thorough arrangements.
…
In Faubert's "office".
Li Zexuan told Faubert and Master Liu about the banknotes in Yanhuang College.
The two of them were obsessed with technology their whole lives, but they were not good at economics. Therefore, they did not comment on Li Zexuan's actions.
"Young master, although it is indeed more convenient to use Tang Yuan to replace the copper coins in the college, we have to strictly control the workshop. Otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives steals the mother version or the printed banknotes, it will be a big loss for you!"
Having personally experienced the production and printing of banknotes, Faubert knew very well that it was no different from a fantasy for others to imitate banknotes. He was worried that there would be "greedy" people in the workshop.
Li Zexuan nodded and said,
"Faubert, this is also what I want to tell you! In the near future, Faubert, you should organize a group of trustworthy people as soon as possible and set up a separate team to print Tang Yuan for me. You will personally take care of the mother version of Tang Yuan. As for the seal engraved by Master Liu, I will take care of it. In the future, every batch of Tang Yuan will be printed with a number. Faubert, you will regularly check according to the number to prevent someone from secretly stealing it! "
Faubert agreed with him and said, "Young master, this is a brilliant method. In this way, we can prevent many cases of Tang Yuan being stolen!"
"Master Liu, Faubert has a lot of work to do. In the future, you will have to take care of this team of Tang Yuan printing!"
Li Zexuan said to Liu Yidao.
Old Liu had been in the workshop for nearly a year and was considered an old man. In terms of loyalty, there was no doubt.
"Okay! This old man will! "
Liu Yidao replied with a smile.
Li Zexuan nodded and chatted with the two for a while. Then, he left the workshop with the world's first Tang Yuan and went to Yunshan.
…
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