My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 48 Daming Daily and Daming Monthly!
Putting down the newspaper in his hand, Zhu Cilang looked at Xue Guoguan and asked:

"How many copies of the Ming Daily can be printed tomorrow?"

Xue Guo contemplated for a moment and then said:

"I'm a little rusty at first, so I can only print about 500 copies, but I'll be able to print more in the future."

Zhu Cilang nodded.

It was already good enough if we could print 500 copies at the beginning, after all, there were not many printing presses at that time.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang asked again:

"What do you think is a reasonable price for Ming Daily?"

Xue Guoguan hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"Your Highness, you said before that newspapers aren't meant to make money, but simply to convey the court's will and ideas, right?"

"That's right!"

Zhu Cilang nodded and motioned Xue Guoguan to continue.

Xue Guoguan continued:
"In that case, then I suggest that the price of two cents is the most appropriate!"

"Two cents is the price of a sesame seed bun in the market now, even ordinary people can afford it, which will make it easier for the Ming Daily to circulate."

"Also, as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had previously instructed, this old minister has reserved a portion of space on the back of the Daming Daily and written the words 'For Rent' on it."

"Once the Daming Daily spreads and has a certain influence, merchants in the capital will definitely come to us and buy these pages for rent."

"I should be able to receive quite a bit of silver by then, which will help make up for the losses a little."

The Ming Daily, which cost two cents a copy, is actually no different from a newspaper that cost two yuan a copy in later generations.

But you have to know that the printing costs in ancient times are completely different from those in later generations.

In later generations, the cost of printing a newspaper was only a few cents at most.

But in the Ming Dynasty, the cost of this newspaper might be close to ten yuan!

This doesn’t even include labor costs!

This means that the Ming Daily is now selling at a complete loss!
To be honest, Zhu Cilang thought that a reasonable price should be around five cents, but he didn't expect that Xue Guoguan actually wanted to set the price at two cents.

A copy of the Ming Daily would cost eight cents.

but
Zhu Cilang can still afford to lose this little money!

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang nodded and said:
"In that case, let's do as you say. Let's set the price of the Ming Daily at two cents!"

"His Royal Highness the Prince is wise!"

Xue Guoguan flattered him appropriately, then seemed to have thought of something and continued:

"By the way, I have another suggestion!"

Zhu Cilang didn't say anything, just nodded.

Xue Guoguan continued:
"This suggestion is about the sale of the Daming Daily. I feel that the Daming Daily should be sold in a unique way and not just displayed at the entrance like other commodities."

"We can't send officials to sell them, because ordinary people's first reaction when they see officials is to hide."

"It just so happened that during the day, this old minister saw a group of little beggars in the city."

"I had a sudden idea and gathered those little beggars together. I also had someone make them a set of clothes with the words of the Ming Daily printed on them."

"The results were very good. These little beggars all looked completely different."

"So this old minister wants to let these little beggars specialize in selling the Ming Daily."

"For every copy of the Ming Daily sold, we'll give them a penny as a commission. This will also provide them with a livelihood. What do you think, Your Highness?"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he was speechless for a moment.

Because Xue Guoguan's suggestion was exactly what he thought.
He originally planned to gather all the little beggars in the capital and have them specialize in selling the Ming Daily.

Firstly, ordinary people would not reject the approach of children, and secondly, it can be regarded as giving these children a job to make a living. Unexpectedly, Xue Guoguan also thought the same thing!

I have to say, this guy is indeed a talent!
Then, Zhu Cilang nodded and said:
"Just do as you say!"

"Also, tomorrow morning, send a copy of the Daming Daily to all the major teahouses and restaurants in the capital, and tell them that they can only talk about what's in the Daming Daily tomorrow."

"Send a few more people to post copies of the Daming Daily in densely populated areas, and then assign people to stand nearby and explain the contents to those around them."

"In short, everyone in the entire capital must know about the existence of the Daming Daily tomorrow!"

After hearing Zhu Cilang's instructions, Xue Guoguan scratched his head in embarrassment.

Because he had already given all the instructions for this matter, and just needed to start the action early tomorrow morning.

But considering the Crown Prince's face, Xue Guoguan still bowed and said:

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I know what to do!"

After a pause, Zhu Cilang seemed to have thought of something, and then continued:

"It shouldn't be a problem for the Daming Daily to spread throughout the capital, but this is not the only thing I want. I want the Daming Daily to appear in every prefecture and county of Daming."

"And it must be posted at the entrance of every county government office so that all citizens can see it."

When Xue Guoguan heard this, he suddenly looked a little embarrassed.

But before he could speak, Zhu Cilang continued:

"I know what you want to say. You just want to tell me that this is simply impossible."

"After all, the Ming Dynasty is so vast. Some places are blocked by mountains and rivers, and some places are very remote and may take two or three months to reach."

"Delivering the Ming Daily to every county is simply a pipe dream, isn't it?"

Xue Guoguan really wanted to say that it was right, but his reason told him not to say that.

So Xue Guoguan hurriedly shook his head.

"I, this old minister, would never dare to have such thoughts!"

Zhu Cilang ignored Xue Guoguan and continued:

"I've already considered this. At the end of each month, the Daming Daily will reprint all the Daming Daily editions from the previous month and combine them into the Daming Monthly Newspaper!"

"Then we will send people to deliver the Daming Monthly Report to the governor's office in each province. The local governor's office will then distribute it to the prefect's office, and the prefect's office will distribute it to the county government."

"This way, we can ensure that people from all over the Ming Dynasty can read the Ming Daily!"

"It may take several months for the documents to be delivered to remote areas, but it doesn't matter if they are a little late, as long as we can ensure that they can see it in the end."

Xue Guoguan was completely shocked!

He really couldn't believe that the prince in front of him was so smart, because even he hadn't thought of this method!
You know, he is only thirteen or fourteen years old now!

If he were to ascend the throne after he came of age, all the civil and military officials in the court would be in trouble.

After coming back to his senses, Xue Guoguan hurriedly bowed and said:
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I know what to do!"

"If you have no other instructions, I will take my leave. The Daming Daily still needs my supervision!"

Although the Daming Daily was produced, it was the first time after all, so Xue Guoguan still planned to supervise the printing personally.

To avoid any trouble!
"Go! Thank you for your hard work!"

Zhu Cilang then turned to Ma Bao who was standing at the door and said:

"Ma Bao, go get some tribute tea from Yunnan and have Master Xue take it away!"

When Ma Bao heard this, he ran away quickly.

(End of this chapter)