Chapter 128: The Emperor is Scapegoat

A sudden shout startled everyone.

“Who are you?” The foreman, holding a whip, pointed at Zhu Yunwen with an angry expression.

The eunuch-in-charge’s heart raced, and he quickly stood in front of Zhu Yunwen, shouting to the foreman, “Kneel down! All of you, kneel down! Your Majesty, I’m guilty, I haven’t managed the workshop well.”

The foreman shivered and immediately dropped the whip, kneeling down. Other craftsmen, seeing this, also knelt.

Zhu Yunwen, with a dark expression, walked straight to the craftsman who had been whipped and asked, “What mistake did you make to deserve the whipping?”

Liang datou dared not raise his head and said, “Your Majesty, I carved a character incorrectly, causing the entire plate to be scrapped and delaying progress. Getting whipped is deserved.”

“Hmm, even at this point, you’re still speaking up for the foreman. Doesn’t the whipping hurt?” Zhu Yunwen’s initial anger was considerably reduced by Liang Datou’s words.

Liang Datou slightly raised his head, glimpsed at Zhu Yunwen’s shoes, quickly lowered his head again, and said, “I dare not deceive Your Majesty; it hurts.”

Zhu Yunwen pointed to the whip on the ground, saying, “Pick up the whip and whip back.”

Liang Datou was surprised, raised his head, looked at Zhu Yunwen, with a somewhat dry mouth, shook his head, and said, “Your Majesty, I made a mistake first, and it’s only natural for the foreman to punish me…”

“Are you so afraid of him?” Zhu Yunwen got serious.

Liang Datou struggled for a moment, then picked up the whip, threw it to the ground, knelt in front of Zhu Yunwen, and shouted, “Your Majesty, the foreman is not at fault.”

Zhu Yunwen sighed. This guy was either very tolerant or too afraid. He didn’t utter a word even when whipped, as if he were a tough one who wouldn’t make a sound even when beaten.

“Give me the whip,” Zhu Yunwen said.

He took the whip, tapped the workshop manager’s shoulder, and asked, “Do you know where you went wrong?”

The workshop manager trembled and quickly replied, “Your Majesty, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have whipped Liang Datou. I’m guilty…”

Zhu Yunwen waved the whip over the floor, creating a loud sound, accompanied by a cold tone: “One character wrong, one plate ruined. Doing it again would be enough! Why use the whip? Did you hurt him, and can he still carve with injuries? Besides, explain why I’m being blamed?”

“Ah?” the foreman was puzzled.

Emperor carrying the blame?

Where did this start?

“I heard it clearly outside. You blamed him for delaying the progress, and that’s a disrespect to me. So, were you teaching him a lesson on my behalf?” Zhu Yunwen asked sternly.

The foreman trembled. To put it simply, this was about loyalty to the emperor. On a larger scale, it was about using the emperor’s name to whip the craftsmen. Zhu Yunwen knew very well that many corrupt officials in history behaved this way.

Requisition your house? It’s to find a residence for the emperor.

Requisition your daughter? It’s for the emperor’s entertainment.

Requisition your head? It’s to get rid of anyone who disobeys the emperor.

In short, everything was for the emperor. If you didn’t comply, it meant disrespecting the emperor. So, he would give you one last chance with three options:

Kneel and live.

Die yourself.

The whole family dies.

In history, many eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty behaved this way, like Liu Jin, Qian Ning, and Shang Ming, not to mention Wei Zhongxian, the Nine-Thousand-Year Eunuch.

Of course, it wasn’t exclusive to eunuchs. There were plenty of officials with sound bodies but unsound minds who often used the emperor’s name to suppress and exploit the localities. The most typical example was the arbitrary creation of taxes.

The emperor said he wanted to collect taxes…

Alright.

For the people at the bottom, the suffering and resentment might not be directed at these officials but often at the emperor. In the end, the emperor carries the blame.

Zhu Yunwen knew that these craftsmen might not have any ulterior motives, just hoping to finish carving the block early. However, his unconsciousness was the consciousness of many others.

These people never took things seriously.

Isn’t it just a carving block? If it’s wrong, we’ll start over. If it takes too long, we can work extra tomorrow and make up for it. So why make everything about the emperor?

“Foreman, go kneel outside for two hours. The rest of you, continue carving,” Zhu Yunwen ordered.

The people thanked him and went back to their work.

The foreman ran to the alley and knelt down.

The eunuch-in-charge walked to the side, placed the whip on the ground, and sternly said, “You, this time, the emperor spared you. If you behave this way again next time, not even deities can save you. Reflect on your actions.”

Zhu Yunwen looked at Liang Datou sitting on a long bench, picked up a wooden block, securely positioned it at both ends of the plate, and held a flat chisel knife in his left hand, placing it at the edge of the characters. With a small hammer in his right hand, he gently tapped the flat chisel knife, scraping off wood shavings. After carving a character, he switched to a pointed knife to refine the details.

“Is there a technique for engraving?” Zhu Yunwen, seeing Liang Datou’s skillful handiwork, quickly engraved a character and asked.

Liang Datou, with a slight smile, replied, “Your Majesty, there’s no special technique, but the masters have passed down some sayings.”

“Oh? Is it a secret technique? If it’s a secret, then I won’t inquire further.”

Zhu Yunwen picked up a flat chisel knife and carefully examined it, saying.

Liang Datou shook his head repeatedly, saying, “It’s not a secret. It’s just sixteen words: the knife hangs steeply, entry is precise, the descent is powerful, and the retrieval is nimble. These sayings may sound easy, but to truly achieve them, it takes at least five years of experience.”

Zhu Yunwen nodded earnestly.

This is the same as ‘easier said than done.’

Engraving is divided into Yin carving and Yang carving.

When the characters are carved inwards, it’s called Yin carving(intaglio).

When the characters are carved outwards, it’s called Yang carving(relief printing).

Yin carving is simple, but in terms of aesthetics and effects, it’s not as good as Yang carving.

The Directorate of Ceremonial’s printing office uses Yang carving.

Engraving must avoid distractions and interruptions. For high standards, if a single character is carved incorrectly, the entire plate is ruined, and it needs to be re-engraved.

If the requirements are not high, you can fill the gaps next to the wrong character.

Zhu Yunwen glanced at the craftsmen’s engraving, didn’t disturb them further and proceeded to the printing room.

Printing is relatively simple. It involves fixing the engraved plate. Printing craftsmen dip a brush into an appropriate amount of ink, apply it evenly to the raised engraved surface, place a white paper over it, use a long brush to wipe the back of the paper, remove the sheet, and lay it flat for drying.

Afterward comes the bookbinding.

Initially, there was simple board binding, which essentially involves threading bamboo strips…

Later, scroll binding, whirlwind binding, and accordion binding were introduced. Then, people became familiar with thread binding.

Zhu Yunwen walked through the workshop and gained a more intuitive understanding of the art of printing, further admiring the wisdom of the ancient people.

“Your Majesty, is it that the dishes don’t suit your taste today?”

Ma Enhui saw that Zhu Yunwen had barely eaten and put down his chopsticks, she couldn’t help but ask.

Zhu Yunwen shook his head and sighed, “Empress, these craftsmen work tirelessly. If they waste a character or spoil a plate, they’ll be whipped. Not to mention, let’s talk about their contributions. The court prints so many books through this workshop. Yet, they earn only one taels and five maces of silver per month, day in and day out, year after year.”

“I’ve improved the living conditions within the palace, yet these craftsmen receive no more than two taels of silver a month, even less than a palace maid. How can I enjoy my meal? when they’ve given so much, and what has our Ming Dynasty given them in return? With a family of six, they can barely earn four taels a month. If you divide it among them, it’s only a little over twenty wen a day!”

“They carve out culture but live in darkness. Empress, you might not be aware that some of these craftsmen can’t even afford candles at home! Such talents, such treatment, this is not the Ming Dynasty I desire!”

PS1: I forgot to mention earlier, the manuscript is reverse-pasted onto the wooden block.

PS2: Thanks to all the readers for your continuous support. If you have monthly or recommendation votes, please support it. Well, for friends who have channels for speedier updates, please use them boldly.

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