Chapter 472 Different Mood
Midsummer, early June.

The Shanglinyuan area is lush and green, except for the area around the Sijin Duwei Yamen, where black smoke billows every day.

Ma Liang was driving on the road in the Duwei Mansion.

I was reading a volume of court bulletin in my hand. This was the first edition of the court bulletin published this month.

The paper used is produced in Guanzhong, which is just barely usable.

The official gazette was printed on both sides, using woodblock printing.

The front side contains the relatively important imperial edicts issued by the Shangshu Xingtai in the past; the back side contains the shogunate's various teachings, orders and warnings on criminals and cases.

The Grand Marshal went out on daily inspections. Although the officials in the Three Prefectures were always vigilant and conscientious, there were always some who made fools of themselves.

Ma Liang studied the information on both sides, referred to his own memory, and re-analyzed the attitude of the shogunate.

Seeing that there was nothing extra that required vigilance or attention, he stared at the official report in a daze.

Woodblock printing, low-quality paper, and ink were used to produce more than a thousand copies of official bulletins at a time.

If nothing unexpected happens, the magazine will be published monthly starting from this month.

In the future, as the scale of papermaking expands and the number of woodblock printing technicians increases, it may be possible to publish two or three magazines a month.

The official gazette can be printed, but what about the classics and literary books?

Ma Liang just felt empty inside, and became more convinced of Zhuge Liang's warning before he left.

Zhuge Liang repeatedly told him to be careful and perform his duties, believing that the Grand Marshal would not easily leave Sanfu this year.

If you relax for a moment and are unlucky, Da Sima will pass by you and come in to have a quick meal with you.

"Captain?"

Ma Liang suddenly heard someone calling him, so he looked in the direction of the voice and saw that they had already arrived at the foundry. He then came to his senses and put away the official bulletin which was two feet two inches wide and three feet three inches long.

He got off the carriage and walked into the large wooden shed, where he could smell the distinct odor of molten copper, copper powder, and various substances burning.

After looking up at the height of the ceiling, Ma Liang took a step forward and walked inside.

The wide and long shed was built along the stone embankment of the river channel, and the machinery was driven by water. Ma Liang could hear the friction sound of grinding the burrs of copper coins in the distance.

The sound was far away, but it made him very irritated.

Holding back his unhappiness, he began to review the copper coins produced yesterday.

The officials began to operate the scales they brought with them. The 100-cent and 50-cent coins sent to Shuzhong must have sufficient weight, and the surface of the coins must be clear and beautiful.

Some of the officials then took out the coins and cut them open for examination.

Ma Liang would personally check, sign and stamp each batch of copper coins that were sealed and sent out.

It will be opened after arriving in Chengdu. When there is a problem with the copper coins and heads are chopped off, Ma Liang will definitely be the first in line and no one can grab it.

Therefore, he was not in a hurry at all and allowed his subordinates to screen it carefully.

But in my mind, I was still thinking about the printing of the official newspaper.

In the city of Chang'an, there is the office of the Inspector of the Imperial Guards.

Zhong Yao was in a bad mood. In front of him were two pages of official newspapers, one front and one back, covering the entire table.

The official report was in the orthodox Jinjian script. Seeing the exquisite calligraphy and carving, one could guess that it was the work of the Grand Historian Wengong, who never showed his face.

Many scholars bought official newspapers and could learn calligraphy by reading them at home. This made Zhong Yao feel ashamed and resentful for selling out at a low price and ruining his family.

The shogunate sold the golden books at a low price, and his regular script became worthless as well.

As he was feeling depressed and angry, Chief Clerk Yang Guang stepped into the side door of the study and said, "Sir, Chen Changwen from Yingchuan has sent a letter asking to see you."

"not see."

Zhong Yao sneered and said hastily, "Just say that I am busy with official duties and will leave for the Xiongnu royal court in Xihe with Cai Zhaoji and Wang Zhongxuan tomorrow as invited."

The Huns' June festival is about to be held, and these people are going to record the Huns' songs and dances.

This was originally the task assigned to Cai Zhaoji, but Cai Zhaoji was also given the task of recompiling the New Book of Han, and many people began to approach Cai Zhaoji.

Just saying a few nice words to your ancestors can be many times more important than their lifetime struggles, and can also save future generations a lot of struggle.

Anyone who is a little smart will know that the so-called New Book of Han is different from the Book of Han. The original Book of Han can be called the Former Han Book, and the New Book of Han is the Later Han Book.

The Book of the Former Han Dynasty marks the beginning of a new dynasty, and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty is similar, both being summaries of the previous dynasties.

Seeing that Zhong Yao's attitude was clear, he was unwilling to have anything to do with his fellow townsmen from Yingchuan.

Yang Guang was also happy to see this happen, so he stopped speaking for Chen Qun and left with Chen Qun's visiting card.

Chen Qun returned empty-handed and sat in his narrow cart back to the small courtyard he rented.

The small courtyard is located in the suburbs of the university town, but is actually also in Chang'an City, which is too large.

Outside the university town, many areas within Chang'an City have been reclaimed into fields; only some ancient building areas have been abandoned because their foundations were compacted very tightly and it was inconvenient to reclaim them.

Many small courtyards were built on this ancient foundation this year and are available for rent.

Only people like Chen Qun who are rich but have no status can live in a small courtyard with private space, otherwise they can only squeeze into a large dormitory bed.

In a courtyard not far away, Gao Rou held the imperial report in both hands and carefully read the imperial edicts and decrees on it.

Even Kong Rong's recommendation could not get him into government service; he already knew that he was imprisoned.

Although the shogunate did not issue any decree to ban factions, it restricted scholars who were related to Wang Yun's three clans in various ways.

However, the news that Kong Rong failed in his recommendation spread widely, and no one dared to recommend or employ Gao Rou.

But this...can it be difficult for Gao Rou?
Gao Rou had a strong character. He read the official bulletin slowly and steadily, and from time to time he would pick up a pen to write down his thoughts on the equally rough paper.

He had his own way to circumvent the restrictions and enter the government. As long as the shogunate did not have an official list of people banned by the government, he would have a way to enter the government by creating an established fact.

As long as you enter the officialdom, it really doesn’t matter whether you get promoted or not.

The most important thing for the Gao family now is to join the shogunate, and the shogunate has promoted and established a policy of conferring titles based on merit and granting positions based on titles.

This means that as long as he enters the officialdom and works hard to accumulate merits, he will naturally be tied to the policies of the shogunate.

By that time, when he has accumulated enough merits, he will be promoted to a new position, which means that he can still make steady progress. If he accumulates enough merits but is suppressed instead... he will be like an iron bead or copper bean in the meshing of gears, and even if he is shattered, the gears will be damaged.

There are people in the shogunate who love the shogunate and will stand up to speak up for him when the time comes.

Therefore, Gao Rou, who was already of a low status, was extremely patient at this moment. He studied carefully, accumulating and increasing his own understanding and knowledge of the shogunate.

But Chen Qun is different. He fell straight down from a high position and is still in a daze. He can't accept it.

I really want to leave Guanzhong, but I am afraid that all the obstacles before me are tests from the shogunate... If I really leave now, the official careers of my descendants will be over.

"It's really exquisite."

Gao Rou praised softly, rolled up her sleeves, took out another piece of silk book, spread it out, ground ink, and prepared to write a letter to Yuan Tan who was far away in Jiaozhou.

The construction of Hebei Trading House has begun, and the financial resources of Hebei have reasonably emerged in Chang'an, and Gao Rou's living standards have also improved rapidly.

But he only obtained some money and supplies through the Hebei Trading House, and during this period he only maintained contact with Jiaozhou.

He didn't need to worry about Hebei, all he had to do was to maintain a close bond with Yuan Tan.

In the future, when Jiaozhou comes under the rule of the shogunate, he can also hold an official position and be incorporated into it.

By that time, it would be impossible for the shogunate to eliminate him alone.

In such a large shogunate, there is always room for a small figure like him.

Soon the silk book was finished, folded and sealed with a lacquer seal, then Gao Rou stood up and stretched his hands and feet.

After the warm-up exercise, he took the sword from the wall and danced and waved the sword in the house.

He waited until his collar was soaked with sweat before he wiped the sword, sheathed it, and went out to sit quietly in the yard. Looking at the vegetable garden, he began to meditate using the method of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect.

I don't know if it works or not, but some scholars from Shu and the Five Pecks of Rice Taoist who moved to Chang'an practiced in this way.

But Gao Rou felt that this would keep him happy and relaxed, so he persisted.

Meditate and contemplate every day, and don't interact with most mediocre people.

In such an environment without interference from worldly things, his mind became more clear and his intuition became sharper.

This led to a strong research interest in the shogunate's system of granting official titles based on titles, and it was discovered that there was a huge monster hidden behind this system.

(End of this chapter)