They don't want me to try anymore.

Richard began to review the previous simulations.

Small countries have tried all sorts of tactics: becoming strong on their own, forming alliances with larger countries through marriage, and instigating rebellions in their colonies. Some succeeded, some failed.

This time, considering his recent good relationship with Luvia, he plans to try taking the route within the Empire!

Humanity is bound to fight amongst itself whenever its population exceeds two, and an empire as large as this is no exception. He has always tried to resist the empire through external forces; is it possible that he can exploit the empire's internal conflicts to save Connaught?

In a sense, this can be seen as a roundabout way to achieve our goal!

Of course, if he takes this route, he will inevitably have to stay in the Empire to develop... I have a feeling that this will annoy Alice and Veronica.

As for Elsa, she hasn't been seen since the first time, and nobody knows where she went...

But simulations are meant to involve trying different routes, and there's no way around that.

I can only try to make up for it in real life later.

After his rambling thoughts subsided, Richard made his choice.

You studied diligently at St. Goethe and graduated a year early, but instead of returning home immediately, you stayed within the Empire to develop your career.

As a member of a foreign royal family, you cannot become a formal official of the empire, nor do you wish to remain in Saint Gothic as a teacher.

[Therefore, you turned your attention to commerce and soon discovered that imperial law did not prohibit foreigners from establishing newspapers within the territory.]

Yes, Richard is going to enter the media industry!

Although theoretically he was more suited to developing transmigrator industries such as trains and ships, upon closer reflection, wouldn't doing these things in the Empire directly increase the Empire's strength?

Once the empire's power expands, won't it be even more eager to invade Connaught? Moreover, these technologies might even be used to attack Vanderbilt. Richard already feels guilty towards Alice, so he can't agree to this!

Conversely, the media industry, represented by newspapers, presents a completely different picture.

First, it does not directly improve the empire's technological strength; even if it has some indirect effect, it is extremely limited.

Secondly, the media industry naturally possesses weapon-like attributes, just as gold and silver are naturally currencies.

A newspaper, no matter what ideals its founders hold, will inevitably become a weapon of a nation or a faction as long as it gains influence over time and its staff does not collectively emigrate to Mars.

...Not to mention that some newspapers were created from the very beginning as weapons.

This phenomenon is so widespread and taken for granted that it cannot be called decadence, but only a normal stage of development.

In this era, the various human nations, led by the empire, generally did not attach enough importance to the media landscape—which was also related to the relatively primitive state of the newspaper industry itself.

This gave Richard an opening.

If he can master this weapon, he could potentially influence the Empire's policies!

[You have begun a series of preparations]

[Due to the intense competition and complex relationships in Idaril, you choose to return to the province of Virginia, taking your first step back in Nyon, a city with maxed-out reputation.]

Regarding funding, after understanding your intentions, Alice enclosed a check for five thousand gold coins, thus completely resolving this issue.

You used your connections to acquire a piece of land and also purchased a batch of the most advanced printing presses available at the time.

You bought almost every newspaper available on the market and analyzed their advantages and disadvantages...

Richard, having lived through more than a decade, still had a fairly clear understanding of the current state of newspapers in circulation.

These newspapers are mainly divided into two categories: one is newspapers issued by legitimate large companies, imperial officials, or high-end clubs, and the other is various cheap tabloids with Liu Bei as their theme.

The latter is free in form but also crudely made, with generally low-quality and explicit content that is not suitable for public consumption and is easily subject to official crackdowns.

...However, Richard still saw quite a few students buying these kinds of tabloids at St. Goethe.

Yes, they must be using it for harsh criticism!

As for the former type of newspaper, perhaps because the operators and the target audience are all nobles or respectable people, the content is often lengthy and lifeless, with academic value but absolutely no reading experience, and the price is also very expensive, with narrow subscription channels or even deliberately set barriers.

For example, in Idaril, there is a newspaper called Son of the Sun, published once a week. The front page headline is even embossed in gold. It can only be ordered through an introduction from someone of high status. The delivery address is limited to a few neighborhoods where nobles and the wealthy live. If the customer is not in these areas, a servant must be sent to pick it up in person with a signature or seal.

To be honest, Richard felt that this kind of business model was no longer a newspaper; it was practically heading towards becoming a luxury brand.

So, let's get back to the question itself.

Which type of newspaper should Richard choose to develop his business with?

the answer is……

I won't choose either category!

If you're going to play something, play something new!

But before he could take any action, someone came to visit him first.

News of your desire to start a newspaper spread throughout Virginia's newspaper industry, and a baron calling himself Jack approached you.

He is the owner of the largest newspaper in Virginia. He has come to persuade you to give up starting a new newspaper. In compensation, he is willing to sell you shares of his newspaper and provide additional dividends on top of that.

From a purely financial perspective, this is a good option...

But I'm not short of money!

If I want money, I can just turn around and say to Van Dane, "Alice, I don't want to work hard anymore!"

You rejected Jack's suggestion, declared your intention to create an unprecedented newspaper, and instead invited Jack to invest in the company.

Jack looked at you like you were an idiot.

Then he started being sarcastic, basically saying that your ideas were too naive and destined to fail.

How could you bear this injustice?

After several rounds of back-and-forth banter, you made a bet with Jack, saying your new newspaper would sell a full 10,000 copies in six months! The stake was 3,000 gold coins.

The bet spread quickly, attracting a lot of attention, but almost everyone thought you'd lost your mind.

But you took this as motivation, became excited, and prepared to go all out!

Update tonight as well.

As the title suggests. I worked a little late last night, so I probably won't have time to update by noon. I'll update again tonight.

Adding words, adding words, adding words, adding purple sweet potato, not purple sweet potato, not purple sweet potato, not purple sweet potato, not purple sweet potato, not Thanos, not purple sweet potato, not purple sweet potato, not word count, not word count, not word count, adding words, adding words, adding words, adding words

Chapter Eighty: Shock! Rika looked at the silence, while Luvia wept!

What is Richard doing?

Why are you suddenly interested in running a newspaper?

In the luxurious mansion near Saint Goethe, Luvia was quite puzzled.

Despite her confusion, she was still very happy.

After all, this time, Richard didn't leave the Empire after graduation, nor was he inexplicably teleported to God's Grace Island!

She finally managed to reach it!

Since that's the case... well, it doesn't matter what they do, as long as they're happy.

Furthermore, Luvia discovered that she could gain something called "favorability" by giving Richard gifts or helping him accomplish certain tasks.

A woman's intuition told her that this thing was very useful!

Then we can't wait any longer...

Luvia has sent you 1,000 gold coins as an investment for your business opening.

Luvia has contacted two arms companies for you, and the latter has promised to have their mid-level employees subscribe to your new newspaper as soon as possible.

Your affection level for Luvia has increased.

A familiar unfolding...

Richard tried to politely decline.

Luvia took leave and came to Nyon to personally teach you swordsmanship.

Your affection level for Luvia has increased.

Wow, you can do that?!

It is impossible to guard against it!

Richard scratched his head, speechless for a moment.

To be honest, he was mentally prepared for this kind of development.

After all, Luvia's intentions were quite clear during the first simulation. Now that she's delivered herself to his doorstep, how could he not make a move?

Ah, the woman who lusts after me, she can figure it out in no time.

Based on past experience, the next step is for him to keep receiving gifts and increasing his favorability, until he has no choice but to accept the marriage proposal.

But Richard was not about to give in!

It's not that he hates Luvia so much that he doesn't want to get close to her in the simulation—he wouldn't go that far just because of Yukiko.

But this time he wants to stir up the situation in the empire. What if he gets too close to Luvia and it affects his future actions?

What if, for the sake of profit, the two of them turn against each other and become bitter enemies in the future? The damage would be immense then.