Since the Tang Dynasty's advanced paper was not enough to be sold overseas, Egypt's papyrus was still very popular. Of course, it was used by the poor and the not-so-rich. The paper used by the higher-ups was already from the Tang Dynasty. Even noble ladies and young ladies could use the Tang Dynasty's papyrus. However, the price was much higher than in the Tang Dynasty. After all, Yang Zhao had not opened his factory overseas. These products were all shipped by merchants from the capital of the Tang Dynasty. After factoring in the transportation fees and profits, the price was naturally much higher.
Ang Lee's fleet had brought a lot of paper with them on this trip to the south. However, these were for the personal use of Ang Lee and his subordinates. They would not be sold as goods. After all, many technicians and Ang Lee needed paper when they were drawing. They also needed paper to write reports to the imperial court. Naturally, they could not be sold. After all, the purpose of Ang Lee's trip was to open up the Maritime Silk Road and gain benefits for the Tang Dynasty, not to sell goods. Ang Lee's fleet was a pioneering team of the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty, not a caravan used to make money.
Papyrus had many limitations. Therefore, most of the time, the higher-ups of Egypt preferred to use parchment and kraft paper instead of papyrus.
Compared to papyrus, parchment and kraft paper were more durable. They were not easy to destroy in a wet environment. They were much more advanced than papyrus.
However, the interesting thing was that parchment was made of sheepskin and cowhide. Kraft paper and cowhide had nothing to do with each other. This was very interesting.
The so-called parchment was made of sheepskin. Sometimes, it was also made of calfskin. The production method was not very difficult. The sheepskin was soaked in lime water, the wool was removed, and both sides were shaved thin. It was stretched, dried, and polished. In this way, it became a thin writing material like paper.
The parchment paper had a compact structure, strong oil resistance, good moisture resistance, impermeability, good elasticity, and high folding resistance. It could be used as a book cover or a book cover to prevent the book from being damaged so easily.
Of course, later generations no longer used sheepskin or calfskin for parchment. After all, technology was improving little by little. Only by using plant materials could the cost be maximized. If they used sheepskin, the cost would be too high.
As for kraft paper, it was completely made of coniferous wood fibers. It was just that this paper was very strong, just like cowhide, so it was named this paper.
In the field of application, kraft paper was very wide. For example, envelopes, asphalt paper, cable protection paper, insulation paper, cement bag paper, and so on, they were all made of kraft paper.
However, there was also a legend that kraft paper was originally made of cowhide. Otherwise, why would it be called kraft paper?
Of course, these were no longer important. Anyway, in the future, whether it was kraft paper or parchment paper, they were all made of plant fibers. It was impossible to use kraft or sheepskin to make paper because the cost was too high. It was simply unaffordable.
Historically, whether it was papyrus, kraft paper, or parchment, they were far inferior to China's paper. This was also the material guarantee for the brilliant development of Hua Xia civilization!
After all, without paper, the development of culture would be greatly restricted. It would not be able to satisfy the needs of most people to learn about culture. This was because learning about culture required paper to spread. Only with a large amount of paper could a sufficient number of literary works be printed, thus promoting the further prosperity of culture.
Before the appearance of paper, the writing materials used in Hua Xia civilization were mainly bamboo slips and a small amount of cloth materials. Bamboo slips were very heavy and extremely troublesome to use, and the cost of cloth was very high. It was not suitable for large-scale popularization. Therefore, this greatly limited the development of Hua Xia civilization.
After the appearance of paper, this situation was greatly alleviated. The most important thing was that paper was not only more convenient and easier to use than bamboo slips, but the price was also cheaper. This was the premise that paper could be popularized on a large scale. Otherwise, if paper was expensive or not easy to use, it would definitely not be popularized.
Paper carried civilization and was an important tool for the development of human civilization. Even if there were more advanced e-books in later generations, the value of paper still could not be replaced.
Ang Lee was still very familiar with papermaking. There were many papermaking workshops in Chang 'an City in the Tang dynasty. Ang Lee had personally visited them, so of course, he was very familiar with them. However, Ang Lee did not know much about Egyptian papyrus. He did not know how these papers were made. He only knew a general process.
"Xiaolu, do you want to see how these papyrus were turned into papyrus?"
Ang Lee asked.
Li Xiaolu quickly smiled and nodded. "Of course, I want to. I'm just afraid that others may not show it to us!"
Obviously, any kind of technology was confidential and could not be casually revealed to outsiders. Otherwise, if this confidential technology was known to the world, there would soon be a large number of people imitating it. In this way, the people who originally possessed this technology would lose huge benefits.
However, Ang Lee was not worried about this because he had a way to persuade the people who possessed this technology. After all, Ang Lee's identity and ability were extremely strong. No one dared to suspect that Ang Lee wanted to steal the secrets of papyrus. After all, Ang Lee had too many secret technologies, and any of these technologies were far more valuable than papyrus.
"You may not show it to us, haha! As long as I show up, who dares to say no? I heard that Osman's subordinates control a papyrus workshop not far from here. Let's go now and see who dares to disagree. "
Ang Lee said very domineeringly.
Li Xiaolu smiled slightly and cast an envious and worshipful gaze at Ang Lee, nodding to show that she was willing to accompany him.
Soon, Ang Lee took Li Xiaolu to a papyrus workshop under Osman's control. Because Ang Lee's activities were within Egypt, in addition to the Tang dynasty's soldiers and horses, there were also many Osman's troops and officials who could speak the Tang dynasty's language.
When Ang Lee made this request, the officials under Osman's command naturally expressed their conditioned reflex to oppose it. This was because papyrus production was a very important industry under Osman's command. If this secret was leaked, it would cause huge losses to Osman, and this was a responsibility that his subordinates could not bear.
Hearing this, Ang Lee looked at Osman's subordinate unhappily and reprimanded, "Isn't it just papyrus? It's a very important industry in your eyes, but in the eyes of the Tang dynasty, it's a pile of garbage, a pile of useless garbage. It won't be long before people stop buying papyrus, because we have better and cheaper paper in the Tang dynasty."
As he spoke, Ang Lee took out a piece of paper and put it in front of Osman's subordinate. He said sternly, "This is the paper invented by the Tang dynasty. In Chang 'an, it's only a silver coin for a dozen of such thick ones. It's much cheaper than your papyrus, and it's also more useful than your papyrus. Do you think I will covet your papyrus technology? I just want to take a look. In addition, I also know how this papyrus is made. It's just using the tubers of sand grass, and then …"
After Ang Lee finished speaking, Osman's subordinate looked at Ang Lee in surprise. He never thought that Ang Lee would be so familiar with the process of papyrus production. Although what he said was general, what he said was basically correct. This surprised him too much.
Although he was surprised, he had to agree to avoid making Ang Lee unhappy. Moreover, he also knew that the performance of papyrus was far inferior to that of the Tang dynasty's paper. It was only a matter of time before it would be eliminated. Moreover, Ang Lee was such a noble person, and the Tang dynasty also had countless advanced technologies. There was really no need for him to learn papyrus technology. It was simply a tiring and unrewarding task. Only a fool would do it.
Ang Lee's scolding made Osman's subordinate obediently lead the way. This made Ang Lee very happy. Li Xiaolu beside him was also very happy. She felt that it was very interesting to be with Ang Lee.
They chose to build the papyrus workshop near the sea because the transportation here was more convenient. After the papyrus was produced, it could be transported to the various small countries along the Mediterranean Sea by ship. From there, they could earn a sum of money and provide sufficient financial resources for Osman.
Ang Lee and his group of several hundred people quickly arrived at the papyrus workshop. Under the guidance of Osman's subordinate, Ang Lee smoothly entered. Because it was a production workshop, the interior was relatively dirty and messy. In order not to disturb the craftsmen inside, Ang Lee only brought ten guards into the workshop. The rest of the guards all stayed outside and surrounded the workshop so that not even a fly could enter.
Osman's subordinate led the way in front and constantly scolded the craftsmen to be careful not to get dirty. Otherwise, they would be in trouble.
Ang Lee held Li Xiaolu's hand and strolled inside. From time to time, he would look at the craftsmen who were working and look at the half-finished papyrus.
"Assistant Minister Li, it's so dirty in here! There's also a strange smell. "
After Li Xiaolu entered the workshop, she suddenly realized that she had come to the wrong place. He didn't seem to like this place. That's right, he didn't like it at all. This was very normal. In the world, no woman would be willing to work in a workshop. Even in the future, women hated workshops very much. They would rather sell themselves than work in a workshop. This was because the workshop's environment was always the worst, and the treatment was also the worst. There was no job worse than a workshop in the world.
However, in order to accompany Ang Lee, she came to the workshop to take a look. Fortunately, she was only here to take a look. If she had to work here all year round, she definitely wouldn't be able to bear it.
"It seems that the production of papyrus is really troublesome. Xiaolu, let's start from the beginning and look at it step by step. I'll explain it to you, okay?"
Ang Lee said.
Li Xiaolu nodded and said, "Okay, I'll leave it to Assistant Minister Li."
According to the steps of making papyrus, Ang Lee first came to the peeling process. This was the first process of making papyrus, and it was also the simplest process. Ordinary people only needed to look at it to learn. It was to peel off the outer layer of the papyrus. It could be said that it was very simple, but it was a bit tiring.
The peeled inner stem of the papyrus would be transported to the side courtyard by the workers. There, specialized workers would be responsible for slicing the circular inner stem of the papyrus. Of course, they wouldn't be cut into small circular slices horizontally, but into rectangular slices vertically. It looked very much like the flat noodles of the future. Of course, it was much thinner and wider than the flat noodles.
Ang Lee carefully explained these two steps until Li Xiaolu completely understood. Although they had only met by chance, Ang Lee sometimes had the impulse to be a teacher. This feeling was quite good.
Most of the workers in the papyrus workshop were men, and a small number of them were women. However, the rough and tiring work was done by the men, and the women were mainly responsible for the auxiliary work. For example, the parts that required attention would be completed by the women.
Ang Lee looked at the first two processes. Most of the workers were men, and because Li Xiaolu was beautiful and had a delicate fragrance, when Li Xiaolu appeared, all the workers were distracted. Not only were the men distracted, but even the women were distracted.
Osman's subordinates felt that these workers were too rude, and from time to time, they would reprimand the workers with their eyes, telling them to work properly. However, the temptation of a beauty was too great. These workers couldn't control themselves and always secretly glanced at Li Xiaolu. Even if they were reprimanded, it didn't change the slightest.
Because they were distracted while working, several workers cut their hands and bled. However, they didn't feel the pain at all. They still peeked at Li Xiaolu from time to time.
"These bumpkins, I'm afraid they've never seen a beauty as beautiful as Xiaolu in their lives. Just by looking at her, they're stunned. Haha!"
Ang Lee joked with a smile, not angry at all. Although these workers' gazes were a little rude, Li Xiaolu wasn't Ang Lee's wife. She was just a plaything. Wasn't it great to have others envious of your plaything? It was very delightful to be able to see it but not be able to eat it.
After slicing the inner stem of the papyrus, the workers put these small pieces into the pool. These small pieces needed to be soaked in the pool for a week before they could proceed to the next step.
Of course, the manufacturing process in the workshop was continuous. The processed pieces had just been soaked, but the pieces that had been soaked a week ago had already been fished out and the next step had begun.
"Do you know why these small pieces need to be soaked in the water for many days?"
Ang Lee looked at Li Xiaolu and asked.
"Why!"
Li Xiaolu asked.
"It's to remove the sugar inside."
Ang Lee opened his mouth and answered.
"Why? There's sugar in this grass? Is it very sweet?"
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