Daming: Mixed in Dangzhi County, Beiping

"The hallucination must be an hallucination. Your Majesty is busy with government affairs, and the prince is busy with cabinet memorials. How could he come to the house... Keep sleeping, keep sleeping..."

After saying that, Guo An chuckled, then lay down again and slowly closed his eyes.

Zhu Di: "..."

Zhu Gaochi: "..."

Behind them, Xu Yong and Guo Ang looked anxious.

"Master, master!"

"Don't be noisy!"

Guo An frowned slightly and waved his hand casually, but did not open his eyes.

"I have been thinking hard these past few days and I am very tired. If there is nothing important, please let me rest for a while!"

Seeing this, the corner of Zhu Di's mouth twitched slightly, "Guo Qing's life is really leisurely, which makes us extremely envious!"

"Don't be leisurely, don't be leisurely...don't make noise..."

As he spoke, Guo An suddenly felt something was wrong, and his eyes slowly opened a slit.

The next moment, he quickly widened his eyes and stood up quickly.

"I have met Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! I didn't know that His Majesty and His Royal Highness were coming, so it was a sin for me to miss you from afar."

"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, I seemed to have seen you two just now, but I thought I was dreaming and hallucinating. I didn't expect that Your Majesty and Your Highness the Crown Prince are really here.

Your Majesty, there is so much unrest outside now. You two are both rich and powerful. Why did you suddenly come to Weichen? "

"Hum..."

Zhu Di snorted at Guo An with disdain and sat directly on the soft chair where Guo An had just been lying on.

"Guo Qing wrote such a large memorial. It shows that Guo Qing is concerned about the political affairs of the court. How could we not come in person?"

"This……"

Guo An couldn't help but sneer on his face, "Your Majesty will send someone to summon the minister, and the minister will come to the palace to see your Majesty. How dare you trouble your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Guo Qing is not afraid of assassins?"

Zhu Di said teasingly.

Guo An hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, Wei Chen will go out in three carriages, so that they can't guess which carriage Wei Chen is on!"

Zhu Di couldn't help but said: "Guo Qing is also the Marquis of Dinghai in the Ming Dynasty and the commander of Shenji Camp. Why is he still so timid?"

"Your Majesty, I forgive you. I am ashamed!"

Guo An couldn't help but apologize with shame on his face.

"okay!"

Zhu Di waved his hand and said directly without any worries in his heart: "We are here this time because those temples occupy a large amount of land!"

"Please show your majesty!"

Guo An looked solemn and said respectfully.

Zhu Di said: "Now that Guo Qing has reported it, those temples are the cancer of our Ming Dynasty.

In this way, Guo Qing must have a solution in mind, and we want to hear Guo Qing's method! "

"Solution?"

A trace of doubt flashed in Guo An's eyes, "Your Majesty, those temples enjoy a special status in our Ming Dynasty. Not only are they exempted from official corvee, but they can also enjoy a lot of incense money on weekdays, but they are still greedy and occupy so many acres of land... …

Temples that exploited the common people in this way, Wei Chen thought that we could take this opportunity of Tianxi Temple to take back the acres occupied by those temples and distribute them to the poor people who had no land and were trapped by corvee labor! "

"Is this Guo Qing's strategy?"

Zhu Di looked at Guo An calmly, without any expression.

Guo An was startled and quickly apologized, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I am not questioning His Majesty the Great Great Ancestor's order. It's just that the temples now are different from those when His Majesty the Great Great Ancestor was still alive. They have changed!"

That's why Wei Chen is so angry..."

"Okay, we don't mean to blame you!"

Zhu Di waved his hand casually, "Today's temples have indeed changed!"

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

Guo An's face lit up and he quickly bowed his hands in salute.

Then, he continued: "This method is just my humble opinion. If Your Majesty agrees, I suggest that some local officials can use the legitimate reasons for changing the name to report this matter to the court!"

There was a strange flash in Zhu Di's eyes, but he still nodded slowly, "Yes!"

Guo An added: "Your Majesty, I remember that Master Daoyan seems to be in the East Palace. It is about the temple, and Master Daoyan must have a better strategy!"

"What Guo Qing said is absolutely true!"

Zhu Di's eyes lit up and he nodded slightly.

Then, he asked again: "In addition, Guo Qing's memorial can resolve those rumors. How is it different from the current newspaper?"

In fact, things like newspapers appeared in the Tang Dynasty.

The prefectures of the Han Dynasty would send people to set up special "residences" in the capital, which were equivalent to the current news agencies in Beijing, mainly to convey court affairs and news to major prefectures.All the emperor's edicts, the memorials of major officials, and matters large and small such as appointments, removals, and transfers are all content that the officials need to collect and copy.

In the Tang Dynasty, vassal towns emerged, and then there was a formal dibao.

At that time, the "Di Bao" was copied within the imperial court, and later posted directly outside the palace gate so that everyone could copy it.

This model is very much like the press conference of future generations.

Guo An remembered that the earliest record in the Tang Dynasty was Sun Qiao's "Jingwei Ji·Reading Kaiyuan Miscellaneous News" during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. It recorded that one day a Beijing official performed a grand shooting ceremony in the south of Anfu Tower, or One day the emperor returned from the east, but the rewards were different... One day the emperor personally plowed his land, performed the Nine Push Ceremony, etc...

In the Song Dynasty, with the rise of merchants, there were merchants who specialized in copying Di newspapers and selling them for profit. Many officials were willing to spend money to buy them to save trouble.

And now...

"Your Majesty, I remember that the General Affairs Department of the Ming Dynasty was responsible for the publication and distribution of Di Bao.

Moreover, "Di Bao" is still handwritten or printed on woodblocks. Only one "Di Bao" appears every few days. It is also extremely messy and can only be viewed by the chief officials of each state? "

Zhu Di nodded slightly and said: "The "Di Bao" is a record of the emperor's edicts, ministers' reports, and important court events such as the appointment, dismissal, transfer, removal, rewards and punishments, and laws and regulations. It only needs to be handed over to the major officials of the Ming Dynasty. Just watch!”

Guo An smiled softly and said: "Your Majesty, the newspaper we are talking about can also be called a newspaper. It uses movable type printing to print a large number of newspapers, which consumes less manpower and is faster.

In addition, the things written in newspapers not only include the major government affairs of the court, such as His Majesty's edicts, the appointment, removal, transfer, removal, rewards and punishments of all officials, decrees, etc., but also the great talents, gentry, or the capital. News and happenings from major merchants, shops, and shipping companies in the country...

These newspapers will also be sold to various state capitals across the Ming Dynasty at extremely low prices. Not only can officials read them, but also gentry, merchants, and even some ordinary readers! "

"Can ordinary scholars read it? So, how many copies of the Di newspaper are needed...and what's the use of ordinary people reading the Di newspaper?"

Zhu Di frowned slightly, with some confusion in his eyes.

Guo An smiled softly and said: "Your Majesty, if ordinary people can read the Di newspaper, it will be of great use.

For example, this time, the traitor used Tianxi Temple to slander Wei Chen and poured dirty water on Wei Chen's reputation.

Although Wei Chen was quite famous in the Ming Dynasty in the past, those people were illiterate and couldn't distinguish between good and bad, and they liked to follow others' opinions.

As long as there is a thief who slanders a minor official, and the slander is too much, they will start to believe it...

And if there is a newspaper that ordinary people can read... Your Majesty, the newspaper is reviewed by Your Majesty, and all the contents of the newspaper issued by Your Majesty must be accurate and without any untruth.

In this way, as long as a newspaper is published about anything, all officials, gentry, merchants, and even ordinary people throughout the Ming Dynasty can see it...

And those common people are naturally convinced of His Majesty's words..."

On the side, Zhu Gaochi's eyes widened and his face was full of excitement: "If it is really as the teacher said, if there is a newspaper, the matter between the teacher and Tianxi Temple can be solved in an instant?"

Guo An nodded slightly, "It's exactly what His Highness said!"

Of course, it could be solved if a notice was posted in the court, but for so many days, His Majesty did not say a word, so Guo An could only smile bitterly and accept this grievance obediently.

Zhu Di nodded slightly, and he also understood the benefits of reporting to his residence.

But what about money?

"Has Guo Qing ever thought about how low the price would have to be to have a newspaper that could be read by all parts of the Ming Dynasty, even by gentry, merchants, and ordinary scholars? How low would it be for those talented people to be able to afford it?"

Guo Andao said: "Your Majesty, a newspaper costs five cents. Those people can always afford it, right?"

"Five cents?"

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi stared with disbelief on their faces.

"Guo Qing, a copy of the residence newspaper, five cents?"

"Ok!"

Guo An nodded affirmatively.

Zhu Di stared directly at Guo An, "Guo Qing, did you know that only five cents can buy the paper used for a newspaper!"

Guo An nodded again, "Report to Your Majesty, I know!"

Zhu Di was immediately furious, "If that's the case, can you also calculate how much money you will lose every time you sell a Di newspaper?
Moreover, you have to sell to every state capital across the country! "

Guo An seriously corrected him: "Your Majesty, it's all states, counties, and even towns!"

Zhu Di: "..."

On the side, Zhu Gaochi seemed to notice something and looked at Guo An expectantly.

"If we sell it to all counties and villages in the Ming Dynasty, we will need at least millions of Di Bao. In this way, we will lose at least 10 taels of silver a month. No matter how much silver the Japanese silver mine digs out every year, we will still lose money.

According to the teacher's ability to make money, he would definitely not do such a thing. Could it be that the teacher has another plan to turn the loss of this residence into a profit? "

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's eyes lit up and he quickly looked at Guo An.

Guo An smiled lightly, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, in the early stage, the newspaper may lose some money.

However, in just two or three months, Wei Chen will be able to make the newspaper make back all the money it has consumed. "

"How to make money?"

Zhu Di asked hurriedly.

Guo An handed over his hand again, with a face full of sincerity, "Your Majesty, I can't explain this matter clearly to Your Majesty for a while. It's better to wait until the newspaper is founded and I can demonstrate it to Your Majesty."

Zhu Di took a deep breath and asked cautiously, "So, how much silver does Guo Qing need to start a newspaper?"

... (end of this chapter)