Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 76 The Bizarre Ming Dynasty Newspaper Group (A Righteous Request for Monthly Tickets!)

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When Zhu Youjian led Zhou Yu to the imperial desk, Gao Shiming had already finished explaining the matter and quietly returned to the hall, standing aside.

On the large imperial desk, there was a small mountain of official gazettes.

Zhu Youjian picked up a few documents at random and quickly browsed through them.

The more I looked, the more amazed I became.

The newspaper industry in the Ming Dynasty was really... too developed.

In terms of form, they are mainly divided into two types: "official gazette" and "cheat sheets".

As the name suggests, the official gazette is a newspaper issued by the government, and its content mainly falls into four categories.

Firstly, there were "palace gate notices," which were roughly equivalent to official announcements, mostly concerning the promotion and removal of officials. For example, the official gazette of August 24th clearly stated his ascension to the throne and the change of reign title.

Secondly, there are "imperial edicts," which mainly consist of various decrees from the emperor, including rewards, commendations, and reprimands. Surprisingly, the fact that he recently bestowed a plaque upon Li Guopu is also included in this list.

Thirdly, there was the section on "Memorials and Memorials," which alarmed Zhu Youjian. It contained memorials and petitions submitted by court officials, and... most of them were published verbatim, without a single alteration or omission!
He even saw Mao Wenlong's "Five Unjust Matters" in one of the official gazettes!

Zhu Youjian's pupils suddenly contracted.

This document was supposed to be kept secret and not distributed, how could it possibly appear in the official gazette?!
Damn... he was even thinking of sending spies to the Later Jin.

The Later Jin, on the other hand, sent people to Beijing to buy a few newspapers, and they found out everything.

This secrecy system is utter garbage!

The last category is "strange tales," such as a cow giving birth to a two-headed calf in a certain place, or a white divine horse being discovered in another place, etc., which are all trivial things.

After quickly flipping through a few documents, Zhu Youjian put down the official gazette in his hand, looked up at Gao Shiming, and his voice was already somewhat cold.

"This official gazette contains almost everything, including important military and national affairs. It even leaks the memorials left by me. Is there no one to do anything about it?"

Gao Shiming bowed and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, this matter... has indeed been addressed by someone. During the Wanli era, a censor reported on this matter, and Emperor Wanli even banned it for a period of time, but it was met with fierce opposition from all the civil officials, and in the end, it was dropped."

He paused, as if recalling something.

"At that time, there was a censor... I can't remember his name now, but he said something that I still remember to this day."

"If the imperial examinations are forbidden to be copied and transmitted, people will be deaf for life and live in eternal darkness."

Gao Shiming lowered his voice even further: "Your Majesty, that sentence was published verbatim in the official gazette the next day. For a time, public opinion in both capitals was in an uproar, and since then, the matter of banning the newspaper has been dropped."

Zhu Youjian remained silent.

The feelings have been changed, but not completely, right?

He had a clearer idea of ​​what he was about to do, so he simply read through the remaining gazettes one by one.

Zhou Yu, standing to the side, showed no interest in these dry official gazettes. She picked up the shorter stack of newspapers next to her.

They were engrossed in reading it for a while, occasionally letting out a small exclamation. After finishing one copy, they couldn't wait to switch to another.

Zhu Youjian looked at it carefully for a while, but his doubts grew stronger. He couldn't help but look up again and ask, "Gao Shiming, why are the contents of these different official gazettes different even though they were published on the same day?"

Gao Shiming cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, there are various kinds of official gazettes. Some are government-run, and some are privately run."

He carefully pulled one out of the pile of papers and handed it over: "Your Majesty, please take a look. This is the official report issued by the Office of Transmission."

Zhu Youjian took it and saw that the official gazette was thick, the handwriting was clear, and the contents were the most detailed, with all kinds of official documents and reports.

Gao Shiming then pulled out a few thinner copies: "These copies were copied by the private newspaper offices."

“They usually get the draft from the Ministry of Justice in the morning, then hire people to copy it, and then send most of it to various places, with only a small portion sold on the street.”

"Among them, some were subscribed to by officials in the capital, and others by officials in various provinces. Each newspaper office would select content from the Tongzhengsi (Office of Transmission) according to the preferences of its customers. Therefore, the content of each official gazette was different."

Zhu Youjian then realized what was going on.

It turns out that newspapers in the Ming Dynasty were still operating on a customized service model.

But he had another question:

"Why copy by hand? Wouldn't woodblock printing be much faster?"

"Your Majesty, the official gazettes of the Office of Transmission have a uniform format and are issued late, hence the use of woodblock printing."

"For private newspapers, the circulation is small and they need to be timely. Hiring impoverished scholars in the capital to copy the articles by hand is faster and cheaper than using molds and carving plates."

"What about movable type printing?" Zhu Youjian pressed.

Gao Shiming smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the movable type is unevenly colored, so the printed things are blurry and unclear. Those officials who subscribe to the official gazette will not appreciate them."

He paused, then added, "However, some tabloids that cater specifically to the amusement of ordinary people often use movable type."

As he spoke, he took a few newspapers from the stack of tabloids and presented them to Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian took a look and, sure enough, the paper of these tabloids was like coarse paper, of poor quality, and the writing on it was uneven, with many parts already blurred.

The content above is even more diverse, completely following the market-driven approach.

He saw articles like "The Water Ghost of Tonghui River Claims a Life at Midnight" and "The Fox Demon of Xishan Causes Trouble, the Scholar's Soul Dies in the Desolate Suburbs." He even found a detailed description of the Wanggongchang explosion in a newspaper called "The Celestial Changes," which exaggerated its eeriness and terror. This stuff was somewhat reminiscent of the five-yuan copies of "Story Collection" and "Suspense World" he used to buy from street vendors when he was a child in his previous life.

We can only be thankful that there isn't a magazine like "Yilin" that promotes Western or Jurchen culture yet.

He casually handed the newspaper about the fox demon eating people back to Zhou Yu, who was engrossed in reading it, and then fell into deep thought.

This game of chess is so complex, where should we place our pieces?

The matter of the leaked official gazette can be put aside for now.

Anyway, it's been so many years since the leaks were like sieves, the Later Jin and the Mongols probably already know what they should and shouldn't know.

His most important task right now is to make his voice heard on this vast network of public opinion that has already been established!

Only in this way can he gain greater benefits in the battlefield he has designated.

Otherwise, even if he could win every battle in the court with his ruthless methods, he would most likely lose his reputation.

He had no desire to become the Tianqi Emperor, forcibly pushing the entire country forward through violence and espionage.

While such an approach may succeed, the internal friction, corruption, and spontaneous, passive resistance from the civil service group during the process cause enormous damage to the country.

Just look at how Taicang's annual revenue dropped from over seven million taels in the first year of the Wanli reign to less than three million three hundred thousand taels today, and you'll understand.

Civil officials may bow their heads before a knife, but they can use countless ways of "non-violent non-cooperation" to express their dissatisfaction and undermine the emperor's decrees.

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Gao Shiming, are there any well-known novelists in or around the capital these days?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Shiming's face showed a hint of embarrassment: "Your Majesty, I...I usually read more Taoist classics, and as for novels, I'm really..."

"I know! I know!"

Zhou Yu, who was standing to the side, finally finished reading the last tabloid in her hand. She looked up, her eyes sparkling, like a child eager for praise, and counted on her fingers:
"The books by the Master of Mohanzhai are the best!"

"I've read the story of Jiang Xingge reuniting with the pearl-embroidered shirt in his 'Stories to Awaken the World' several times!"

"And Du Shiniang from 'Stories to Warn the World' is truly remarkable."

"I heard that he recently wrote another book called 'Stories to Awaken the World,' but unfortunately it's not available in the capital yet. My father has already sent someone to the south to buy it."

"And...and Master Jikong's 'First Collection of Amazing Stories' is also very good! The story of the merchant who married a ghost wife in it scared me so much that I couldn't sleep well for several days."

She racked her brains, her brows furrowed, trying hard to recall, and finally came up with another one.

"Oh, right! There's also Mr. Lu Renlong's 'Xing Shi Yan,' which tells the story of a bully who tortured a confession and caused the death of his loyal servant. It's also very well written!"

Zhu Youjian looked at Zhou Yu, who was talking non-stop as if reciting a familiar story, and couldn't help but find it amusing: "How do you know so much?"

Zhou Yu then realized she had been somewhat out of line, and lowered her head in embarrassment, her voice barely audible: "Back in my youth, when I had nothing to do at home... I just... I just..."

Zhu Youjian laughed and stopped teasing her, instead asking, "Where are these gentlemen you mentioned now?"

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and said, "They should... they should all be people from the Southern Zhili region. Their books are usually printed in the south first, and it often takes a long time before they can be bought in the capital."

The smile on Zhu Youjian's face slowly faded.

Southern Zhili...

It's Southern Zhili again.

This is just like Xu Guangqi; distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.

Once an imperial decree is issued, the person will leisurely stroll over from the other side, and two months will have passed.

We must seize control of public opinion as soon as possible.

It's better to act sooner rather than later; turn this pen into your own weapon before the real storm arrives!

"Then... are there no famous novelists in Beizhili?" he asked, unwilling to give up.

Zhou Yu hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head: "It seems...it seems like it really isn't?"

Zhu Youjian sighed.

This mighty capital of the Ming Dynasty, right under the emperor's nose, is like a cultural wasteland.

He picked up the few poorly printed tabloids on the emperor's desk and shoved them all into Gao Shiming's hands.

"Go and give it to Wang Tiqian."

"Have him send someone to find every single editor of these tabloids for me."

"Once you have gathered them all, arrange a time for them to come to the palace together to see me."

"I... obey your order."

Zhu Youjian stood up, stretched, and slowly walked to the palace entrance.

Looking at the starry sky, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "What turbulent times..."

(End of this chapter)