Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1352

Upon hearing Wei Wu's question, Mao Xiang hesitated for a moment, but quickly spoke.

"Regarding the ink issue, I didn't make things up in the Fengxian Hall. The consumption and the printing bureau's records do match up."

Upon hearing this, Wei Wu knew that Mao Xiang had misunderstood and thought that he was questioning the previous court discussion.

So Wei Wu quickly spoke up to explain.

"No, that's not it. What I want to ask is about the process by which the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigated the color-changing ink, and the more detailed the better."

"For example, how did the Imperial Guards who went to the Ministry of Works and the Bureau of Printing determine the consumption of color-changing ink?"

Upon hearing Wei Wu's explanation, Mao Xiang realized that this was what Wei Wu wanted to ask, so he quickly replied:

"This is confirmed by the scale inside the oil drum."

"Huh? There's a gauge inside the oil drum?"

Mao Xiang's answer surprised Wei Wu, who had no idea that there were any scales inside the barrels of color-changing ink!

When he previously demonstrated the color-changing ink to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, he opened a bucket, and there were no markings inside.

How come the oil drums had markings inside when they reached the Ministry of Works?

Just as Wei Wu was filled with doubt, Mao Xiang's next words revealed the answer to him.

"The oil drum originally did not have a scale inside; it was just added by the Ministry of Industry to facilitate the use and consumption of ink."

"The engraving was specially arranged by craftsmen on the inner wall of the oil drum, and a new measuring tape was also specially requested from the Academy of Sciences."

After hearing Mao Xiang's explanation, Wei Wu finally understood that it was something the Ministry of Works had created themselves.

Having understood this, Wei Wu couldn't help but have a question arise in his mind, so he spoke again:

"If the engraving was done by craftsmen sent by the Ministry of Works, is it possible that the scale was tampered with and is not accurate enough?"

The color-changing ink was stored in the Ministry of Works, and the people who engraved the scales were also from the Ministry of Works, so it was very easy for them to tamper with it.

However, Mao Xiang's answer refuted Wei Wu's question.

"The Imperial Guard who was investigating this point also thought of it, because the color-changing ink is the raw material for banknotes and is very precious."

"He dared not pour out the ink inside, but fortunately there wasn't much ink left in the bucket, so he could see the complete scale by tilting it slightly."

"I even compared it with the new measuring tape from the Academy of Sciences, and there was no difference between the markings inside the bucket and the markings on the measuring tape."

After hearing Mao Xiang's description, Wei Wu frowned even more deeply. To be honest, he was also a little confused at this moment.

The measuring tape produced by the Academy of Sciences is definitely not faulty, and the Imperial Guards also checked it; the markings on the oil drum are the same as those on the measuring tape.

Meanwhile, the ink consumption issue matches the records from the printing bureau, indicating that there is no problem with the ink.

But it's even less likely that Wei Wu's side will have any problems. So where did he get all those extra silver notes from, with the color-changing ink?

Imitation?

Impossible. This thing is considered cutting-edge technology in later generations. If it were so easy to imitate, wouldn't counterfeit money be everywhere?

Thinking of this, Wei Wu turned to look at Mao Xiang and asked a question.

"Old Mao, do you have any of the silver notes that those people who exchanged for cash brought out?"

"some."

Mao Xiang nodded, then took out a silver note from his pocket and handed it to Wei Wu.

Wei Wu took the silver note, got up, went to the wall, placed it next to the firelight, and examined it carefully, turning it over and over.

The result left him somewhat helpless, because the color-changing ink on the banknote was definitely not a counterfeit; it was the same kind he had taken out.

The color-changing ink in his possession was in the system space and could not be stolen, yet the Ministry of Industry could not find any problem with it.

So, where did this extra color-changing ink come from? Could it just appear out of thin air?

While pondering this question, Wei Wu slowly took a step back and sat down in his seat, falling into deep thought.