By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

June 15th, the fifteenth year of Shun'an

Long queues formed early this morning in front of several bookstores authorized to sell the Beijing Daily.

The passersby were quite surprised: "Why are there so many people?"

Those in the know explained, "Today is the date for the second issue of the Beijing Daily to be published."

"Really? Then I have to buy one too."

Ordinary people who were just passing by ended up joining the queue at the back.

Looking at the long queue ahead, I was a little worried: "With so many people queuing, does the bookstore even have that many Beijing Daily newspapers? What if we come away empty-handed?"

"Brother, you're overthinking it. The first issue of the Beijing Daily sold extremely well. There were even people who came to the capital specifically to buy the Beijing Daily and resell it at high prices in the surrounding prefectures and counties. Even if the Beijing Daily Administration didn't know any of this, just looking at the sales figures of these past two weeks, they should know how popular the Beijing Daily is. They must have prepared enough Beijing Dailys."

A person next to him chimed in: "I'm not worried about not having enough copies of the Beijing Daily. I just think there are too few bookstores that sell it. In such a large city as Beijing, there are only a dozen or so bookstores that are qualified to sell it. I really don't want to have to queue up early every morning."

"Yes, I think it's too little. Could we submit some suggestions to the Beijing Daily's publishing department, such as increasing the number of bookstores selling the Beijing Daily?"

Upon hearing this, the others hesitated: "Is that alright?"

"It should be possible. The Beijing Daily accepts article submissions. We can submit our suggestions as articles. As long as they see them, it might attract their attention."

These words immediately resonated with many: "Together, we'll all be together."

They wished every bookstore in the capital had the right to sell the Beijing Daily.

"The door is open!"

At this moment, the bookstore door, which had been tightly closed, was opened, and the people queuing outside immediately rushed in.

"I want ten copies of the second issue of the Beijing News."

"I want a hundred servings!"

"Three portions!"

Everyone should speak out their needs.

None of the people who lined up so early in the morning bought just one serving.

In a short while, the bookstore sold a thousand copies, and this was just the beginning. People continued to come and go, and most of them specifically asked for the second issue of the Beijing Daily.

There are also people who come because of its reputation, who have only heard of the Beijing Daily but have never read it before. They usually buy the first issue as well.

With the release of the second issue of the Beijing Daily, the first issue was no longer printed. The first issue of the Beijing Daily that bookstores have now are all old stock, and each copy sold is one less available until they are all gone.

The bustling scene at the bookstores was playing out in all the bookstores that were authorized to sell the Beijing Daily.

Meanwhile, the teahouses also began to bustle with activity. Instead of going home to read the Beijing Daily by himself, people would head to the most lively places.

They generously shared the contents of the second issue of the Beijing Daily. Soon they saw that the literature section clearly stated that the Beijing Daily intended to open a "Recommendations by Great Confucian Scholars" section, accepting article submissions from everyone. As long as an article caught the eye of a great Confucian scholar, the Beijing Daily would publish the excellent article in the Beijing Daily, along with the great Confucian scholar's evaluation of the article.

Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a deafening cheer.

"Does this mean we have a chance to receive guidance from a great Confucian scholar?"

"That's right. He's a great Confucian scholar, someone we rarely even get to meet. Now we actually have the opportunity to receive guidance from such a scholar... No, I need to go back and write an article. I need to submit it to the Beijing Gazette."

"Let's go together!"

A new section called "Recommended by Great Confucian Scholars" has completely ignited the passion of book lovers.

As a result, the Beijing Daily saw increasingly booming sales and a surge in submissions to its editorial department.

……

Beijing News

Yao Maofang said, "Sir, we have received more than a dozen letters of advice, all saying that there are too few shops selling the Beijing Gazette and hoping to increase the number of such bookstores. In addition, the letters also mentioned that merchants from other prefectures and counties are buying the Beijing Gazette low and selling it high."

Wen Zongji said, "I understand. I also intend to increase the number of bookstores selling the Beijing Daily in the capital. This matter will be resolved before the next issue of the Beijing Daily is published. As for merchants buying and selling the Beijing Daily at low prices, such things cannot be completely eliminated, but we cannot let them be too arrogant. I already have a solution."

Yao Maofang said admiringly, "Anything that falls into the hands of an adult will be easily resolved; it's not troublesome at all."

Wen Zongji laughed and said, "There's no need to flatter me."

Yao Maofang defended himself, saying, "These are my honest thoughts."

Yao Maofang had long admired Wen Zongji's abilities and was practically a mindless fan of his.

Wen Zongji waved his hand: "Enough with the small talk, go and get to work."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

After Yao Maofang left, Wen Zongji turned to Chang Dong and said, "Have Mao Zheng spread the word that the Beijing Gazette Bureau intends to grant more bookstores the right to sell the Beijing Gazette, but this right cannot be obtained for nothing."

Chang Dong responded, "Yes."

At the same time, Wen Zongji stood up: "Anfeng, come with me to the palace."

Side Hall of Wenyuan Pavilion

The Crown Prince asked, "You said you wanted to sell the license to sell the Beijing Gazette to a bookstore?"

The crown prince was stunned; he hadn't expected it to be done this way.

Nowadays, everyone can see that the qualification to sell the Beijing Daily is highly coveted. It's not that the Beijing Daily needs to cooperate with bookstores anymore; rather, it's that bookstores are going to great lengths to obtain the qualification to sell the Beijing Daily.

Since the roles of offense and defense have changed, how can we let those bookstores get this qualification for nothing?

The Crown Prince pondered for a moment: "How do you plan to sell it? It can't be too high-profile. After all, the Capital Gazette Office is a government agency, and it's a big no-no to compete with the people for profit."

Wen Zongji laughed and said, "This is not competing with the people for profit, but only with the merchants."

The Crown Prince did not correct Wen Zongji's pedantry, but simply said, "As long as you keep things within limits, if you need any help, just tell me, and I will back you up."

Although the Crown Prince was in charge of the Imperial Gazette Bureau, he clearly trusted Wen Zongji and never interfered in its development; everything was arranged by Wen Zongji.

The current popularity of the Beijing Daily has made the Crown Prince even more confident in Wen Zongji's abilities.

Wen Zongji first expressed his gratitude, and then said, "Selling the qualification now is just a test. If other bookstores in the capital can accept it, then I can expand the scope to include the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture."

"Don't you want the Beijing Daily to be confined to the capital city?"

"The Beijing Gazette is intended for all citizens, and I naturally hope that more people will know about it. Moreover, some citizens have reported that merchants are already buying and selling the Beijing Gazette at low prices and then buying it at high prices. If other prefectures and counties also have bookstores selling the Beijing Gazette, then many of these opportunistic merchants can be eliminated."

Of course, it's impossible to completely eliminate it.

This kind of thing is like piracy; you feel uncomfortable looking at it, but there's nothing you can do about it.

The Crown Prince nodded: "Merchants are profit-driven. Without sufficient profit, they will naturally consider whether it is worthwhile to do so."

Wen Zongji cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Highness is wise."

The Crown Prince waved his hand: "No need to flatter me, all of this is thanks to you."