Zhao Xu saw that Shen Kuo's face turned a little red, so he stopped teasing him.

He put down the engraved paper in his hand and picked up the paper placed in the box.

After buying the paper, his first feeling was that it was delicate and comfortable.

"It's still Chu Jie paper?" Zhao Xu asked.

"Report to Your Majesty, it is the special Jiaozi Chu peel paper that is the new work of the order!" Shen Kuo replied.

Chuli paper is a paper made of the bark of a mulberry tree as raw material.

Jiaozi of the Song Dynasty has always been printed on Chuli paper in the past.

Last year, when the Song and Liao Jiaozi were printed, they also used Chu velvet paper.

This is because the cherry paper has a very easy-to-identify feature - its paper is relatively thick, and there is also a layer of delicate paper fleece on the paper. The official cherry paper has a very good quality and will not rot easily.

Even farmers can identify the difference between cherry paper and other papers.

However, it is not impossible for people to imitate the crepe paper in the folk. It has appeared last year. The forged crepe paper has almost the same quality as the official paper paper.

It’s also a blessing that their skills in other aspects cannot be broken through.

Otherwise, he might have made the same counterfeit money as Makoto.

Therefore, the order issued by Zhao Xu to the Specialized Manufacturing Military Weapons Bureau was to develop a new paper with obvious characteristics.

Now, the finished product presented by Shen Kuo is still crust paper, which makes Zhao Xu interested.

He held it in his hand, looked at it carefully, and soon discovered the secret.

The paper used by Jiaozi looks smooth, tight and delicate in the sun.

But at the same time, there was a faint yellowish brown color in the gaps in the paper.

Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes: "Have you used the powder filling technique?"

Shen Kuo bowed and said, "Your Majesty is the art of filling powder."

"I have added lime, gambola, etc., added water and applied it finely on the paper, and waited it to dry naturally, and this paper is made of!"

Zhao Xu listened and nodded slightly.

The powder filling method was used in papermaking in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Grind lime and other minerals into powder, add water and apply it to the paper.

When the paper is dried naturally, it will become smooth, flat and tight.

This is nothing strange.

It's just a bit higher.

Therefore, only paper is used in government and palaces.

But Shen Kuo could think of combining powder filling method with pigments to color the crust paper so that it has a light yellowish brown color, which is innovation!

Zhao Xu remembers that in modern times, he had seen the Qing Dynasty imperial paper - five-color powder wax paper.

This kind of paper is a real luxury.

The manufacturing process is complex, the materials are luxurious, and the time is long.

It can be called a ceiling of handmade paper!

But, in fact, the principle of this kind of paper is very simple.

It is made by combining the powder filling method with the waxing method of the Tang Dynasty, and then stacking the process and materials.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu asked, "Have you ever thought about using the 'waxing method' on this paper?"

"In this way, Jiaozi can not only prevent insects, but also have higher recognition!"

Shen Kuo was quite surprised that Zhao Xu actually knew how to make paper. He suddenly became nervous and quickly replied: "I know that your Majesty, I have thought about using the wax method..."

"But if this method is used, the cost of using paper for this jackpot will increase!"

"Oh!" Zhao Xu nodded.

The waxing method was an invention of the palace paper in the Tang Dynasty. As the name suggests, it is to make the paper have good ink absorption, insect-proof and moisture-proof characteristics through the process of waxing on paper.

To date, when the Xuanma Pai was eliminated in the Song Dynasty, the hemp paper used was still made of the waxing method.

Before making wax, products like wax can only be obtained by relying on various natural raw materials to make wax before making industrial wax.

For example, the top candles now are made of ash worms parasitic on ash trees in the primeval forests of Fujian, Jinghu South Road, Guangnan East Road and other places.

Each of these candles is valuable!

I can't even afford the palace!

It can only be used in Jingling Palace.

A relatively cheaper one is to use beeswax from honeycombs to make wax.

But where do so many beehives come from in nature?

Therefore, most candles on the market are made of wax with black beans.

Although this kind of candle is a bit cheaper, it is still not something that ordinary people can afford.

A good candle has a market price of 400 cents, and a little worse one costs 150 cents to 200 cents.

Therefore, in addition to the powerful and powerful, even ordinary officials can only light oil lamps at night.

Such expensive wax, if used on paper and labor costs, will make the price of paper soar to the sky.

When Zhao Xu thought of this, he remembered the modern paraffin method of making wax.

However, paraffin used in the paraffin method is a by-product of petroleum production.

In today's Song Dynasty, only Yanzhou, Shaanxi has oil resources available for exploitation - the person who records and discovers and names oil is Shen Kuo in front of Zhao Xu.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu asked: "Shen Qing, I heard that when I was a beloved minister in Yanzhou in the past year, I discovered something interesting in the local area. You named it 'oil'?"

Shen Kuo immediately raised his chest and replied proudly: "Report to Your Majesty, this is indeed the case!"

"Since I was grateful to me, I wrote a letter to Liu Changzuo, the magistrate of Yanzhou, to discuss with Changzuo, to make the 'oil' in Yanzhou into ink ingots and sell it everywhere..."

"Now Bianjing, there is also this Yanzhou Mo!"

This is his political achievement!

The emergence of Yanzhou Mo has added a best-selling product in Yanzhou.

It also made his reputation change in the Shilin.

Zhao Xu asked: "Can you try to use 'oil' to make wax?"

If successful, it is equivalent to mastering a new short-term monopoly resource.

The wax made from paraffin method should be different from the wax made from other methods in terms of color, gloss and other properties.

This can further improve Jiaozi's anti-counterfeiting performance.

At the same time, Zhao Xu also remembered another possible source of potential wax raw materials - large cetaceans!

Unfortunately, there are fewer large cetaceans in the offshore waters of the Song Dynasty.

To hunt large cetaceans in large quantities, you have to go to the Korean Peninsula, the Sea of ​​Japan and the seas close to the Arctic Circle!

At present, the Navy and Ship Technology of the Song Dynasty did not have the ability to navigate from the ocean. Yes, the ships of the Song Dynasty can now go to Southeast Asia, even voyage from the Indian Ocean, to India, and Dashi.

But, in fact, they are all sailing along the coastline.

Not only the ships of the Song Dynasty, but the whole world is like this.

Want to achieve ocean navigation, especially deep into cold waters where storms occur frequently.

The navigation and shipbuilding technology of the Song Dynasty still need to continue to climb the scientific and technological tree.

On the contrary, the Liao Kingdom in the north...

Considering the Liao people, they have now controlled the route from Goryeo to Japan and even boarded Japan.

Zhao Xu was shocked!

Because he discovered that the Liao people might be easier to open the technical tree of whaling than the Song Dynasty.

This is a bit troublesome!

You must know that whale oil is the most important raw material before and after the Industrial Revolution!

However, it seems that worrying is useless.

If the Liao people really started to hunt whales, the Song Dynasty currently has no ability to stop it.

I can only take one step at a time.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu became a little absent-minded.

He asked Shen Kuo lightly: "My dear, how much does this paper cost now?" Shen Kuo replied: "Your Majesty, each piece of crust paper used by the old friend needs about five cents. Now, the powder filling method is used. The price is two more extra labor costs per piece than in the past!"

Zhao Xu nodded.
To be continued...