The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 226 The Role of Newspapers

The others were drawn to the sound. Did this person really know what had happened? "Hey bro, do you know something? Tell us!"

The man chuckled and pulled a large sheet of paper from his pocket, then said!

These past few days, His Highness the Crown Prince has inspected the granaries in Shanxi and Henan provinces and discovered that much of the grain is missing. You must know that His Majesty, out of compassion for the people, built these granaries precisely to prevent starvation in the event of famine!

"His Majesty is so benevolent, it's a pity that these corrupt officials actually colluded to sell this grain, and even sold it to our enemies, the Northern Yuan Tartars in the north. Do you think these people deserve to be forgiven?"

Upon hearing this, the crowd was immediately enraged: "These hypocritical bastards, who always claim to be speaking up for the people, who knew they would do such despicable things? Even His Majesty came from a poor background and knows to consider our needs and leave us a way to survive. Are these heartless officials determined to cut off our livelihood?"

At this moment, an old man sighed: "Back then, my family was so poor that we couldn't even afford a meal. To survive, I sold two of my three sons to get two bushels of rice. Unfortunately, even so, my last son starved to death, leaving me all alone. If we had just had a bite to eat back then, things wouldn't be like this!"

After listening, everyone nodded in agreement. The scholar blushed, never expecting to be humiliated one day.

He thought to himself, "I'm a scholar, how could I say such a thing?" He angrily replied, "You're spouting nonsense! Who can prove that what you're saying is true? Maybe you're just repeating hearsay!"

"These officials are all scholars. Scholars take it upon themselves to save the world and the people. How could they do such a thing!"

The man waved the paper in his hand and said, "This newspaper was proposed by His Highness the Crown Prince and personally compiled by the Imperial Censor Liu Bowen. Everything is written in this newspaper, so how could I possibly fabricate anything!"

Everyone was very surprised. This small piece of paper was actually related to His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Liu Bowen. They had never heard of newspapers before, but now they were seeing something new.

"What is this? I've only ever heard of official gazettes before. Could this be some new kind of official gazette?"

Seeing that everyone was interested, the man said cheerfully, "It's normal that you don't know. The Ming Daily has only just started appearing. If it weren't for my brother-in-law being an official in the Censorate, I wouldn't know about this either!"

His Highness the Crown Prince felt that we didn't know much about what was happening in the court, so he compiled the Great Ming Daily. All the events that happened in the court will be written in this newspaper. In addition, there will be some important articles or events that happened in various places.

And there's even a special section dedicated to teaching us to read!

"Your Highness has truly gone to great lengths to do this!"

Everyone was extremely surprised after hearing this.

One person chuckled and said, "Come on, you can't read a single word. Even if I gave you a book, you wouldn't understand it. You really think you're some kind of literary genius!"

The people in the tavern burst into laughter upon hearing this.

The man showed no anger whatsoever, and instead said, "His Highness the Crown Prince has spoken."

All citizens of our Great Ming Dynasty have the right to read and write. If we learn one character today and another tomorrow, it won't be long before we know many characters!

"Those scholars aren't born geniuses; they learned word by word. His Highness the Crown Prince said there will be rewards for those who learn well!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's breathing quickened. Since ancient times, the traditional social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants has never been broken. Everyone envied those who watched from the sidelines, and studying and participating in the imperial examinations was the way to change all of this.

Unfortunately, the cost of education is too high, and not everyone can afford to study.

However, if you are literate, it would be a good choice.

They were extremely anxious listening to what was in the newspaper.

"How much is one of your newspapers? It must be expensive with so many words printed on it. A few days ago, Sanwa's dad bought him a book and even sold his family heirloom bracelet, which was practically an old jade!"

The man smiled and said, "His Highness said this is beneficial to the people of our Great Ming Dynasty, and he won't overcharge us. So, one of these only costs one copper coin, and the price will absolutely not increase!" The people were somewhat surprised to hear this; one copper coin was indeed not expensive. A single copper coin could only buy two steamed buns!

The scholar's face was extremely grim. In his view, reading and writing were sacred things, and only the sons of noble families like his, who passed down the tradition of farming and studying, were qualified to do so.

These peasants have no right to read and write.

What's even more infuriating is that this newspaper only costs one penny! Doesn't that make scholars seem worthless?

The way of the sage cannot be measured by money. Those newspapers are full of nonsense, utterly vulgar. I have no respect for them. After saying this, I turned and left.

Everyone laughed, even though the newspaper article wasn't about the teachings of sages.

But this is exactly what the people like.

Yang Siyi was extremely excited as he watched the newspapers being printed one by one, then packaged and sent to various places. Although the newspapers were not expensive, the quantity was enormous.

The paper wasn't of very high quality, and the ink was very cheap; once the layout was done, it could be printed repeatedly.

Especially with the release of the Daming Daily, more and more people learned about it, even some...

Small vendors will often choose to buy one to take a look.

That's all pure silver.

One copy is issued every three days.

This income is absolutely secure.

The wave of the Da Ming Daily began to spread rapidly throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Shandong territory.

A disciple of Confucius saw the newspapers in the hands of these people.

He was extremely surprised. He had only been gone for a few days, how come he had acquired such a novelty? When he saw the contents, his expression changed drastically.

He hurriedly took the newspaper back to his family home, where some elders of the Kong family gathered, and the atmosphere was extremely heavy.

Such meetings were only attended by highly respected elders within the Confucius family.

Their actions often determine the interests of the entire intellectual community.

Seemingly seeing that no one spoke for a long time and the atmosphere was a bit awkward, an elder of the Kong family said, "Gentlemen, His Highness the Crown Prince has really gone too far in doing this."

The writings are the words of sages; how can they be lightly passed on?

"If everyone in the world could read, who would be content to farm? This would only lead to chaos in our Great Ming Dynasty, and it is ultimately not a long-term solution!"

Although textbooks like the Four Books and Five Classics can be bought in various bookstores, they are quite expensive, but it is impossible to pass the exams and become an official solely by relying on these books.

(End of this chapter)