Rome Must Perish-Chapter 314 - 193: Papermaking

The face before him bore a striking resemblance to that Iberian pirate captain, only without the weathered look and considerably more youthful. Maximus blinked, "Of course, I believe you, but your father brought this up a month ago. Is your settlement that far from here?"

With those words, the young man’s confident demeanor quickly deflated. He dared not meet Maximus’s gaze, stammering, "Actually... I set out long ago, but when I was about to reach your camp, the Pannonian Army happened to surround it, so I... I stayed at Uncle Budocaribas’ settlement for a while.

After finally waiting for the Pannonians to retreat, I wanted to come find you, but Uncle Budocaribas said you had been through a long battle and had many things to deal with, so I... I waited a few more days. I didn’t expect you would move here so soon, and moving would be even busier, so I..."

"Rochemnix, you are a child who is very considerate of others! What you did was right. If anything happened to you, I couldn’t explain it to your father." Maximus said kindly, "Did your father tell you what you were supposed to do here?"

"My father wants me to stay with you long-term. If you have any requests for my father, I should return to the settlement immediately to inform my brother." Rochemnix, relieved of his guilt, showed a keen expression, "Don’t worry, I’m fast on mountain paths. I can reach my home settlement within seven days. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Rest assured, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy in the future." Maximus said with a smile, then turned around and added, "Ak Country, Rochemnix will temporarily be assigned to the Department of Secretaries. Take him to familiarize himself with the tribe’s situation over the next few days."

"Yes, leader!" Akegu responded loudly, leading Rochemnix out of the hall.

Maximus fell into contemplation: Did Karsipengpas send his inexperienced youngest son here for training, or was there another motive?...

At this moment, Capito entered the hall, "Leader, you summoned me urgently. What is it?"

Maximus collected his thoughts and said, "Oh, it’s like this. During the Political Affairs Hall meeting the day before yesterday, I forgot something, and you forgot it too. I suddenly remembered today, so I quickly called you over to discuss it."

"What is it?"

"Paper, writing paper! Whether for each department’s office work, workshop duties, or for children’s learning, having a large supply of paper will make everything much more convenient. Since we can no longer acquire papyrus, we will make our own paper."

Capito recalled the previous mentions, looking at the confident young leader, he skeptically asked, "What do we need to do to make paper?"

Maximus did not answer immediately. He glanced around, "Casius, Manas, Valles, you three step out for a moment."

The three youths obediently left the hall.

Then Maximus spoke solemnly, "According to my method, it should be possible to create paper that is much superior to papyrus, more quickly and easily. This will become the unique wealth of our tribe, so the papermaking process will be the most important secret of our Nix Tribe!

You must strictly keep this secret yourself, and ensure that the artisans selected for papermaking also keep this secret. If anyone breaches it, the tribe will impose severe punishment. Can you do it?!"

Maximus spoke with such seriousness that it placed significant pressure on Capito, but he felt excited inside: because Maximus’s emphasis indicated he truly had a way to produce paper!

Capito also responded solemnly, "Leader, I understand. After I return, I’ll immediately devise a set of measures to prevent the papermaking process from leaking, for your review. If this ever happens, I will accept whatever punishment the tribe decides without complaint!"

Maximus watched him for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Very well, proceed as you suggested!"

Maximus had Capito sit down before continuing, "The reason for initial precaution is because the papermaking process is relatively simple, but it’s something no one thought of before..."

Capito sat upright, eagerly listening to Maximus. Being well-educated, he realized that if the leader’s method succeeded, it would greatly facilitate the spread of knowledge within the tribe.

"The entire papermaking process is as follows..." Maximus searched the memories of his previous life, slowly saying, "First, gather sheets of bark, boil water to steam them, then place the steamed bark in river water to clean it, removing the hard shell and impurities on the bark surface... Then soak it in a pool filled with lime water for two or three days, take it out and wash out the lime water, cut the bark into pieces, and pound it into a pulp... Pour the pulp into a stone tank filled with clean water, stir repeatedly with a wooden stick, ensuring the pulp and water mix evenly...

Next, we need to make wooden frames, stretch tightly woven linen on the frames, submerge the linen-covered frames in the tank, then pull them out, allowing the water to drain automatically while the pulp spreads over the frames... Next, lay a felt over the frame, press it firmly for a while to absorb the water content from the pulp and make the pulp adhere more tightly... Finally, take the frames out into the sun to dry, gently peel the pulp off the frame, and it becomes a sheet of writable paper..."

Capito listened intently, memorizing as he went. After hearing everything, he recalled it carefully and said, "Leader, could you repeat it once more? There are some parts I didn’t quite remember clearly."

Maximus patiently repeated it, and once Capito indicated he understood completely, he reminded, "There are some points to note during papermaking... One is the choice of bark; there are many kinds of trees in these mountains. Which ones are suitable for papermaking and which are not, you need to explore.

My suggestion is that bark which is white, long and soft, yet durable, should be the best material for papermaking. Another point is that we’ll need to add an adhesive to the pulp—"

"Ad—he—sive?" Capito felt puzzled by the unfamiliar term.

"Uh... it’s like a snot-like sticky liquid. Mixing it into the pulp allows the pulp and water to remain suspended on the water surface, rather than sinking, making it easier for us to scoop with the frame. With this adhesive, the finished paper will have tighter cohesion, making it less prone to breaking...

Uh... You can send people to the mountains to search for sap from certain grasses, flowers, shrubs, and other plants, which are relatively thick and easy to extract. This can be extracted and used as the adhesive for papermaking.

Oh, you might also ask Emmerich, the Druid familiar with the local flora and fauna. He should be able to provide the correct answer... In conclusion, what I shared are the basic steps of papermaking. To produce paper, and quality paper, will require the responsible artisans to persevere in practice and exploration! You may tell them if they succeed in producing writable paper, the tribe will promote them by one rank as a recognition for their significant contribution!"

"Leader, rest assured, with these papermaking processes and suggestions you provided, I believe the artisans will surely be able to produce paper!" Capito wasn’t merely flattering. After hearing Maximus’s words, he felt that this young leader wasn’t speaking casually, but was presenting very meticulous and highly feasible steps, making him very curious, "Leader, may I ask where you learned this papermaking method?"

Maximus smiled mysteriously, "If I said the Divine told me in a dream, would you believe it?"

Capito was momentarily stunned, but upon reflection, his heart was suddenly a tumultuous sea...

After more than a year of close companionship, he was quite clear about the young leader’s background: an enslaved child of a Roman noble, later becoming a gladiator slave. He had never once left Campania his entire life, and in Italy, no one had yet been heard of making new paper. Rome still imported large quantities of papyrus from Egypt every year, so how could an ordinary young slave have learned papermaking technology?!

...Reflecting carefully again, Maximus’s first nineteen years were no different from thousands of home-born slaves in Rome, but after following those gladiators in the revolt, he became markedly different from others. While other leaders pillaged, he focused on reorganizing the group; while other leaders hesitated at city attacks, he consistently led and captured two cities by surprise; and when other leaders were intoxicated by victory, he saw the larger picture and resolutely led the group here; not to mention the Political Affairs Hall and the Twenty Peerage System he established for the tribe...all unprecedented systems!

Is this something a newly adult slave could achieve? Perhaps he truly was favored by the Divine, instructed by the Divine?!

Capito’s gaze at Maximus changed.

.....................

"Hi, I’m Akegu, what’s your name—" Just as they exited the hall, Akegu asked enthusiastically, but then paused, realizing he spoke in Latin and the other might not understand, while he hadn’t learned Illyrian yet, scratching his head awkwardly.

To his surprise, the youth replied in slightly awkward Latin, "Hello, Akegu, my name is Rochemnix."

Seeing Akegu’s look of surprise, he explained with a hint of pride, "My mother is Latin, so I can speak Latin. Otherwise, my father wouldn’t have sent me here."