Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter 60 The Provocation of the Top Class

Chapter Sixty: The Provocation of the Top Class

Ye Ru did not reveal his name, but spent ten taels of silver to buy ten sheets of Xuan paper. After all, he was the one who caused the high price of Xuan paper.

After obtaining the Xuan paper, he bought carving knives, wooden boards, and other necessities, and then returned to his study at Wenxing Private School. Due to the need for secrecy, Ye Ru returned in the middle of the night without telling anyone. After writing the Huangting Jing once, his spirits recovered slightly, and he began to prepare for movable type printing.

Movable type printing was invented by Bi Sheng, an inventor during the Northern Song Dynasty. In that world, China was the first country to invent printing. Printing is one of the Four Great Inventions of ancient China, the other three being gunpowder, papermaking, and the compass.

Ye Ru's invention of printing fundamentally eliminated the obstacles imposed on him by the Legalists and eradicated their monopoly on publishing.

"I never expected that you could lecture in front of such a great scholar, and do it so well. It's truly remarkable."

When Ye Ru returned to his residence, Xiao Bai darted out from his sleeve and gave him a thumbs up.

"I thought you had run away."

Ye Ru joked, he always felt that Xiao Bai's origins were very mysterious.

"Run? With a great Confucian scholar personally present, where can I run to? Of course, I'll hide my aura and go into hiding. Otherwise, if those old scholars catch me, I'll probably be skinned alive. The imperial examination is in half a month. Instead of studying, what are you planning to do?"

When it saw Ye Ru holding a shovel and a bucket, it asked in confusion.

“I want to create a new printing technique. The current printing technique is too cumbersome and inefficient. Most importantly, I want to publish some periodicals, but I am blocked by the Legalists of the All Saints Academy. I need leverage to negotiate with them.”

Ye Ru pondered for a moment before replying.

"Printing technology? Are you kidding me? Even the Mohists, who specialize in technology, might not be able to do it. You, all by yourself? If you can do it, I'll pluck all the hair off my body and give it to you."

Little White waved its little paws, almost bursting into laughter at Ye Ru's comical appearance, before saying with disdain.

“I know you don’t believe me, but you just wait and see. I need to find some clay to carve the words first, and then I’ll fire the clay into a hard blank.”

Ye Ru opened Shen Kuo's "Dream Pool Essays" in the Siku Quanshu and began to carefully read about the process of making movable type printing.

With a playful look on his face, Xiao Bai slipped back into Ye Ru's sleeve. Now, he needed a proper title.

After watching the refining process, Ye Ru walked towards a small river near Qingyun County.

The soil there is of better quality; it won't crack when burned.

The soil wasn't hard to dig. After filling a bucket, Ye Ru casually found a spot by the river and began to carve words on it with a carving knife.

There's a specific technique to this calligraphy; it must be measured with a copper coin so that the height of the characters is the same as the thickness of the coin's edge.

After all the preparations were completed, Ye Ru began to fire the pot.

With the storage bracelet, carrying materials became much more convenient for Ye Ru. After eating two bites of steamed bun, the first batch of clay had hardened. Ye Ru then sorted the clay movable type according to rhyme and placed it into the wooden grid, and tore the Xuan paper into small strips to indicate the type.

"We're still missing some rosin, but where in Qingyun County can we find pine trees? And they're not sold in stores either."

Ye Ru frowned, finding himself in a difficult situation.

The rosin needed to be of the highest quality and had to be purchased from the prefectural government, as the county government simply didn't have it.

After finishing all these tasks, it was almost evening. Ye Ru had no choice but to give up, put all the items into his storage bracelet, stretched, and swaggered back to his residence with Xiao Bai.

Among them, Xiaobai scoffed at Ye Ru's actions and planned to see Ye Ru make a fool of himself.

After all, creating this printing technique is extremely difficult; no one has succeeded in a thousand years. He didn't believe Ye Ru had the ability to do so.

"Young Master Ye Ru, you're finally back! Everyone in the Wilderness Class looks up to you as a role model."

Upon hearing that Ye Ru had returned, Su Tongyao rushed to Ye Ru's dormitory before he could even settle in, and carefully helped him make his bed.

"Tong Yao, what happened to your face?"

Ye Ru sensed that something was wrong with Su Tongyao, and then looked at her more closely. When he saw that Su Tongyao's face was a little bluish, he frowned and asked.

"No...it's okay."

Su Tongyao's small hands, which were tidying the bed, froze slightly. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Ye Ru.

"Tell me quickly, what happened?"

Ye Ru was stunned for a moment, then immediately became serious.

Although Ye Ru's words weren't overly serious, they still made Su Tongyao blush slightly. She then gently bit her red lips and whispered:

"Lin Yanze from the Heavenly Class said you were a fame-seeker, and the people from the Wilderness Class were indignant, so they sought out Wen Dou from the Heavenly Class."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ru's expression turned somewhat unpleasant:

"and then?"

"Later, Lin Yanzhe fought with Zhao Cheng and Qian Weiwen. Lin Yanzhe injured Shudan and he is now recuperating in their school dormitory."

Ye Ru's face turned completely gloomy, and then he said:

"When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"It happened the day before yesterday. Because I didn't want to cause you any trouble... and we heard you were lecturing, we went to confront him, but who knew..."

"I originally thought these people in the top class were decent gentlemen, but they've really gone too far!"

Seeing Su Tongyao's appearance, Ye Ru felt a pang of heartache. Then, with a hint of coldness in his eyes, he led Su Tongyao to Qian Wei's schoolhouse in Zhao City.

"How are you doing?"

When Ye Ru arrived at Qian Wei's dormitory, he saw the two lying motionless on the bed, surrounded by their classmates from the "Desolate" class, all of whom were extremely angry. Ye Ru quickly approached them, then took their hands and patiently examined them.

"It's nothing serious, I'll be fine after a few days of rest, cough cough."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Cheng couldn't help but cough a few times, and there was a faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. Clearly, his inner tube was damaged, which was why he was like this.

"Those people in the top class are bastards. They go around saying that you are not as good as Lin Yanze, that you are not as good as him in any way. You can go to give lectures, but can he? This is called judging others by one's own petty standards. It is a disgrace to us scholars!"

When Qian Wei saw Zhao Cheng vomit blood, his anger intensified, and he cursed.

"Yes, the top-tier students have always acted with impunity, relying on their profound knowledge. This time, they've gone even further!"

A classmate from the "Desolate" class angrily retorted.

Closing his eyes, Ye Ru took a deep breath, suppressing the rage within him:

"How many of our 'Wilderness' class members were injured?"

"All ten of them lost because of a book-writing contest. They knew you were away, so they took the opportunity to attack us."

Qian Wei said.

"Um……"

Ye Ru narrowed his eyes slightly, then nodded, and slowly turned around under everyone's gaze.

"What are you going to do?"

Seeing Ye Ru's appearance, Qian Wei quickly said something.

"He outwitted ten of my 'Desolate' class with his literary skills, and I'll outwit one of his 'Heaven' class with my literary skills!"

The faint sound sent a jolt through the blood of these students in the "Desolate Class."