Chapter 133 Newspaper

After Zhao Jun came out of the Privy Council, he looked at the time. It was only noon.

His daily schedule now was to get up at 3:30 in the morning, attend the morning court at 4 o'clock, and then go to the Constitutional Council and work until 11 o'clock.

Then he went to teach the children around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and went to the back garden to talk with the emperor and the prime ministers until 7 or 8 o'clock, and went home to use the computer to do work statistics, and went to bed before 9 o'clock.

He slept about six or seven hours a day, and had two or three hours of rest time at noon. Fortunately, he was young and energetic now, so he didn't feel tired, otherwise he would be exhausted.

No wonder people in ancient times said that being a prime minister was tiring. His current power was even greater than that of a prime minister. He often felt dizzy every day when he looked at official documents from all over the country.

In comparison, Zhao Zhen was much more relaxed.

He went to the morning court, then read the documents, listened to classes in the afternoon, or strolled in the back garden.

But he didn't have nothing to do every day. In addition to reading all the documents and handling government affairs, Zhao Zhen also had to attend classes.

In history, Lü Yijian and Wang Zeng were both his imperial teachers.

The other scholars in Tianzhang Pavilion and Longtu Pavilion also had to teach him, and they all taught him Confucian knowledge.

So in history, the emperor's teachers were promoted very quickly. The most typical example was the teachers of Zhu Yunwen in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yunwen directly participated in state affairs as soon as he ascended the throne, conspired to reduce the power of the feudal lords, and then died.

But now that Zhao Jun has come, Zhao Zhen will read the notes in Chongzheng Hall in the morning after the morning court, and go to the back garden to listen to Zhao Jun's lectures in the afternoon, or do something else. Before seven o'clock in the evening, he will listen to Zhao Jun talk about various things, and the day is quite fulfilling.

At this time, there are still two hours before the afternoon class, and Zhao Jun can take a lunch break for a while, but he remembered the article he wrote yesterday, so he set off for the outer city. Because time is tight, he asked someone to prepare a carriage to go there.

About half an hour later, he arrived at the gate of Qiaobeifang Printing Factory in Xiaohengqiao. At this time, the printing workshop was in full swing, and workers came and went to work.

Entering the printing house, Zhao Jun saw Meng Chengqi sitting on a stone bench under the camphor tree in the yard outside, grinning.

Zhao Jun bought the entire printing house, and logically it had nothing to do with Meng Chengqi.

But he liked the lyrics Zhao Jun gave him so much that he volunteered to help in the printing house. At this moment, he was still holding Zhao Jun's manuscript in his hand, intoxicated by it, and slapped the table from time to time and said, "Good lyrics, good lyrics!"

"If Mr. Meng likes it, just take it back and read it slowly. Why come to the printing house every day to help me watch it?"

Zhao Jun walked over and said with a smile.

Meng Chengqi looked up and saw him, and quickly stood up and said, "Mr. Zhao is here."

"Yes."

Zhao Jun nodded and said, "Come and see how the printing is going?"

Meng Chengqi said, "Mr. Zhao is rich and powerful, and he asked brick and tile shops in the city to bake movable type. Now he has bought more than 10,000 movable type. It is not difficult to print this court report. The difficult part is, are you sure you want to use bamboo paper?"

"Yes."

Zhao Jun said, "Hemp paper and parchment paper have their own advantages and disadvantages. If you want to print, parchment paper is better, and Goryeo paper is the best. Unfortunately, hemp paper is slightly rough and parchment paper is too expensive, so bamboo paper is the best."

Meng Chengqi shook his head and said, "But bamboo paper is still very expensive."

"This is because the papermaking process of bamboo paper has not been promoted yet. It will be much better after it is promoted in the future."

Zhao Jun said.

Paper has existed since the Warring States Period. Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty improved the papermaking technique and made hemp paper with hemp as the raw material.

But the surface of hemp paper is rough, and it sticks together when it gets wet, and it is easy to break, which is not suitable for printing industry such as newspapers. As for the newsprint used for newspapers in later generations, it is made of chemical materials, which is definitely impossible with the current industrial level.

However, leather paper is relatively good, with a smooth surface and toughness, and it is not so easy to break when exposed to water. But the cost is very high, because leather paper is mostly made of tree bark and is expensive.

For example, Goryeo paper was introduced from the Song Dynasty. It uses a unique mulberry tree bark in Korea. This paper is as white as jade, with the same luster, and looks like a silk cocoon. It is mostly used as book cover paper. It is a very rare good paper.

Unfortunately, if it is used as a newspaper, the cost is still too high.

Because newspapers are for the general public, they must lower the cost and sell them at a low price to attract people to read. Otherwise, it will be no different from the court newspaper.

So after choosing and choosing, I chose the bamboo paper that appeared in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the Song Dynasty. This paper is called Lianshi paper. It was invented during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and the Later Han Dynasty. It is white in color, smooth on the surface, slightly astringent on the back, and has no grass sticks or hair debris attached. It is a good material for making books.

But this thing was not widely popular until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Therefore, although the cost of bamboo paper is relatively low, it is mainly popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions and is rarely introduced to the north, resulting in a higher cost than hemp paper.

Hearing what Zhao Jun said, Meng Chengqi had to say: "The initial investment is still too large. Can anyone really buy this thing?"

"As long as the news is what the market wants to see, someone will buy it."

Zhao Jun smiled.

"Mr. Zhao is really generous."

Meng Chengqi gave a thumbs up and said: "Just buying a printing house is thousands of strings of cash, and it costs a lot to make movable type, and also buy bamboo paper. I'm afraid the cost of each copy is more than 30 wen."

"You can't calculate it that way."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said: "The printing shop is a fixed investment. The real cost is paper, ink and printing investment. This bamboo paper costs 5 cents a piece and costs about 10 cents. If I sell it, I plan to sell it for 12 cents. It is a bit expensive. Some people can afford it, but they are the only ones who are literate."

There is a record of the case of Su Shunqin selling waste paper in the Song Dynasty. At that time, the three provinces paper was worth 20 cents each, the new tube paper was worth 10 cents each, and the bamboo paper was worth 5 cents each. But that is the best quality official paper, and the low-quality large paper used by ordinary people only costs 0.115 cents each.

The Lianshi paper used in newspapers was called Takeshita paper at the time, also known as bamboo paper, and the cost was indeed relatively high. However, the audience of the newspaper itself was not dock coolies, but those who had the leisure to drink tea in teahouses.

These people are commonly known as the well-off families of the Song Dynasty. They are not particularly wealthy, but their annual family income is more than 100 yuan. Only these people are literate, and they like to read poems and novels, are keen on current affairs news, and chat with others in the market.

The emergence of newspapers will obviously enrich their daily lives, and these people have the most contact with the bottom. They are the majority group in Bianliang. They often receive new knowledge, which can easily be spread to the people at the bottom through them, thereby conducting public opinion and politics. , military guidance.

Therefore, newspapers did not appear in ancient times, mainly because the audience was limited and the cost was high. Zhao Jun's initial investment was basically tens of thousands of yuan. If the newspaper could not become an instant hit and become popular in Bianliang, with a cost of nearly 10 yuan per page, he would probably lose money.

The two people reached the backyard as they spoke.

The backyard is busy.

Typesetting is currently underway. Workers are arranging movable types of different sizes, intending to print them into a large four-character poster about two feet wide (63CM) and three feet long (95CM).

Zhao Jun came over and took a look. He designed the first version of the newspaper himself.

The cover is naturally the biggest news in Bianliang recently - Kaifeng Mansion and the Imperial City Division launched a heavy blow against the evil forces.

Yesterday, he sent someone to send over the article he had written. It has been typed today. In addition to the news about Wuyou Cave and Guifan Tower, it also contains news about other underworld groups recently destroyed by the government.

The content is to introduce how these people harm the people. There are many living examples in it, and then it encourages the people to report it.

The back is divided into four sections, including a poetry section, a gossip section, an advertising section, and a novel section. However, the advertising section and novel section are currently blank. It says that we are looking for advertisers and welcome submissions.

Newspapers themselves need to be timely, but how can there be so much news every day?

Therefore, Zhao Jun plans to publish an issue first to see the market effect, and then invite some people like Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongyan to write articles in the newspaper. Tentatively, one issue will be published every seven days, and the other six days will be used to collect news and publicize it widely.

"Yeah, well done."

Zhao Jun saw that the typesetting effect was very good, nodded with satisfaction and said: "When the first version is printed, send it to me for a look. Once it is confirmed that there is no need to modify it, it will be officially published."

Meng Chengqi smiled and said: "Although this printing shop is no longer mine, for this poem, I promise to run it beautifully for Mr. Zhao."

"I can rest assured that my boss will do his job."

Zhao Jun also laughed.

Meng Chengqi joked: "Now I am not the boss, the young master is the boss. By the way, where the young master lives, I guess the first edition will be printed tomorrow, and I will send it to the young master then."

"Just send it to the Imperial City Division."

Zhao Jun said casually.

"Imperial City Secretary?"

Meng Chengqi thought he heard wrongly and asked in surprise: "Is it the Imperial City Secretary of Donghua Gate?"

Now Huangcheng Division has opened two branches in the north and south of the city, one in North Town Fusi and one in South Town Fusi, so he asked this.

Zhao Jun nodded and said, "Yes."

"Forehead"

Meng Chengqi was a little panicked and said tremblingly: "This Donghua Gate is the gate of the palace. How can I, a commoner, get in?"

"It's okay. When the time comes, just say that I asked you to send it here."

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "By the way, Mr. Meng, how do you think about what I told you last time? I met Li today. He is not in good health. I asked him to go home to recuperate for a while without going to hospital." It’s worth it. When the time comes, you can go directly to Prime Minister Li’s residence and talk to him, and just say it was me.”

Meng Chengqi became even more panicked. He lowered his head unconsciously and asked tentatively: "I wonder what Mr. Zhao does?"

"oh."

Zhao Jun thought for a while and said: "Last time I just told you that my name is Zhao Hanlong, but I forgot to tell you that my name is Zhao Jun, with the courtesy name Hanlong. I am currently the President of the Constitutional Yuan and the Imperial City Secretary."

Meng Chengqi: "."

"alright."

Seeing that the printing shop was doing well, Zhao Jun patted Meng Cheng on the shoulder and said, "I have something else to do in the afternoon, so I'll leave the printing shop to you."

Meng Chengqi forced a smile, his attitude was clearly respectful, and he lowered his eyebrows and said, "Yes, yes."

"Then I'll leave first."

Zhao Jun turned around and left, leaving Meng Chengqi standing dumbly in the courtyard.

This big guy.

I really didn't lie to him.

If you say you plan to reform the food system, you must reform it.

I have something to do in the afternoon, so I won't come back until after 8 o'clock.