Promotion Letter for the Chief Executive

Even if it is the Imperial City Division, the investigation of this matter cannot be completed in a short while.

Ping An had no choice but to send Zhao Can a letter to remind him to pay attention to this matter.Purges are inevitable, the most important thing is to let his people stay alone and not get involved in this matter.In addition, if there are useful people who can be kept, try to keep them.In order not to end up with no one available in the court.

Then he sent a letter to Feng Yutang in the northwest, telling him to be careful.

Because whether it is the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Dali Temple, or the Imperial City Division, if you want to investigate this matter, you must start from the northwest.Those who may have something to do with this matter are either important ministers or generals. It is impossible to lock them into Beijing casually, so they can only go there to find evidence in person.

The reason why Ping An made Feng Yutang careful was because Shi Shiwen wanted to go to the northwest in person.He was going to investigate this matter, but he didn't necessarily mean to rectify the Northwest.Feng Yutang is his own person, who knows what he is thinking?

I hope it doesn't affect my layout in the northwest.

But now he is trapped in the palace, what he can do is limited, and it can only be like this temporarily.

Zhao Can's reply came very quickly, which only reassures Ping An that he is already prepared.

In fact, Zhao Can was indeed well prepared.He knew the news in advance, and started to investigate when he was still fighting, and now many things have already been figured out.

The reason why I still wanted to bring it up in the court, and then pushed the matter to the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple for investigation, was mainly because I was afraid that if I did too much, it would arouse the fear and vigilance of others.Especially the emperor, if he knew that his son was so capable, he might not sleep well, right?

Besides, for the current Zhao Can, it is obvious that he has gained a firm foothold in the court.But in fact, the undercurrent surging in private has only just begun.

There are some people who want to step on him, and similarly, there are many people who want to step on him.

If you don't muddy this pool of water, how can you benefit from it?It was for this reason that everyone watched the situation change helplessly.Maybe someone reached out and pushed in private.

However, Zhao Can was also wary of the part about the Imperial City Division in the Ping An Letter.

When Ping An was in the Imperial City Division, he had told him a little bit. At that time, he could already imagine the impact that this institution would bring after its appearance.The past few years have been peaceful, so there is no room for the Imperial City Secretary.But that doesn't mean they can be ignored.

He hopes to use this case to achieve his goals, but if everything is out of his control in the end, it will not be a good thing.

With the support of the emperor, the Imperial City Division is looking forward to making a major case. Who knows what they will do?

But Zhao Can didn't mean to blame Ping An.Because Ping An did not have any malicious intentions in creating the Imperial City Division.Besides, he always felt that since the Imperial City Secretary was a tool and weapon in the hands of the king, it was naturally up to the emperor to decide how to use it.It is not so easy to get out of control.

Anyway, the Imperial City Division will be in his pocket in the future, so it's not bad to try it now.

And for Zhao Can, since he knew it in advance, he could choose to control it.Besides, there is still Wang Congyi who can control it, and Ping An blows the wind in front of the emperor. Even if they can't let them do things according to their own minds, at least they won't exceed too much.

Zhao Can didn't explain these thoughts to Ping An carefully, one reason was that the two of them had very few opportunities to meet each other recently, and the other was that he was afraid that Ping An would think he was too cruel.

Little did he know that Ping An was only worried that he was not cruel enough and involved himself in it.

Because it is necessary to investigate the matter clearly first, so the matter of meritorious deeds and rewards can only be suppressed.After all, a reward has been given now, if it is found out that there is something to do with it, and then deal with it, wouldn't it be a slap in the face of the court and the emperor?

Naturally, the matter of several princes becoming kings was put on hold for the time being.Zhao Can, who hoped to move out of the palace quickly, was very disappointed.

Instead, Ping An bought a house outside the palace.

When Zhao Xuan wooed Ping An back then, she gave him a yard.But Ping An didn't dare to use it, and kept it there.But this time the house was re-bought, not far from the imperial city, very close to Lifang where the princes and nobles lived.

This is Zhao Can's suggestion to him.Because most of the houses that the emperor will give him in the future will be near here, so it will be easier to meet each other then.

As for the money for shopping, it came from the Liu family in Qinzhou.

Now the business of folding fans is not limited to Jiangnan, but also to the capital.And because of Jiangnan as an example, the store just opened, and folding fans became popular in the literati circles of the entire capital.Even on the emperor's table, a few were added.Occasionally, Ping An will find that the ministers also carry it.

Even though it is actually late autumn, it is not suitable to use folding fans at all.

In addition, there is a big surprise.Xu Wenmei used the Liu family's channel to send a letter to Ping An from Jiangnan!

According to him, he originally planned to follow the route of the Imperial City Division, but he didn't know who could be trusted.After all, when I was in the northwest, Feng Yutang was there, so I didn't have to worry about this at all, but now it's different.In case the letter is sent to Shi Shiwen, it is tantamount to sending it to the emperor.

Ping An is not surprised that Xu Wenmei can guess that the folding fan has something to do with her.

However, he also felt that it would be a little troublesome to communicate with Xu Wenmei in the future.However, he soon realized that Zhao Can also had arrangements in Jiangnan, so he would definitely send news on a regular basis, maybe he could ask him for help. ——In the past, Pingan was worried that Zhao Can would know about Xu Wenmei, but now she was not afraid.

Then Xu Wenmei also talked about what happened after she arrived in Jiangnan in the letter.

He got involved with Wen Chengbi through the folding fan.Fortunately, Wen Chengbi has been fooled, and he will never reveal his identity.With the Wen family leading the way, he soon gained a certain reputation among the scholars in Jiangnan.

Then Xu Wenmei took this opportunity to win over the Wen family, several aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River, and the Liu family's folding fan shop. Together, they founded a newspaper called "Poems and Essays".It is specially used to publish the excellent poems and essays that appear on the literary fairs with great influence in the south of the Yangtze River.

Because of its background and the fact that it has attracted a large number of well-known scholars, this newspaper was quickly recognized by scholars in the south of the Yangtze River.It is currently a bi-daily magazine with a circulation of [-] copies. It is placed in folding fan shops, bookstores and shops specializing in pens, inks, papers and inkstones. Basically, it will be sold out once it is printed.

According to Xu Wenmei, the reason why only [-] copies can be printed is because there is something wrong with the ink used now.After it is printed, it does not dry for a long time, so more processes are required, and it needs to be dried separately.In this way, it will naturally take more time and reduce the printing volume.

Therefore, they are researching ink and preparing to come up with quick-drying ink, and the printing volume can be increased by then.

The method of making ink has never been studied.Although he likes a lot of unpopular knowledge, he is not all-rounder after all, so he can't help him in this matter.

The first issue of "Poems and Essays" is also attached with the letter, saying that please correct it safely and see if there is anything that can be adjusted.

After Ping An read the letter, he was very pleased.The master is indeed a master. He went to Jiangnan alone, but he was able to open up the situation in such a short period of time. As he himself said, he has his own way.It is a good thing for Ping An that he can gain a firm foothold there.

Then he unfolded "Poems and Essays" and took a look.

Of course, what Ping An depends on is not the above articles, but the layout of the newspaper, the content of each page and so on.

Although when Xu Wenmei left, he gave Xu Wenmei a plan for the newspaper.And also hand-drawn a newspaper typesetting and handed it to Xu Wenmei as a reference.But no matter what it is, it is not enough to complete the plan. There will always be many unexpected accidents, so adjustments need to be made at any time.

This is also what Xu Wenmei meant by sending him the newspaper.

But after Ping An read it, he found that he couldn't hear any opinions at all.Because Xu Wenmei considered everything comprehensively.Even the position of the advertisement was vacated. The advertisement of Fengyue Wubian was published in the first issue. Ping An thought it might be a friendly sponsorship.

After reading it, Ping An rolled his eyes, took the newspaper and went to the Primordial Hall.

Hearing that it was something new in Jiangnan, the emperor was also very interested. After reading it, he said, "This is interesting. In the past, I heard that after these literati participated in the literary fair, they would sort out everyone's articles and print them into books. So-and-so's collection of singing songs and so-and-so's anthology. The Linchuan school in the former dynasty had published many such books. However, it is novel and interesting to select the outstanding ones and publish them in this way, and some people write articles for comment. .”

I have heard of this Ping An, but he showed it to the emperor, naturally not because it was interesting.Ping An said with a smile, "Your Majesty, even though Jiangnan is full of literary styles, the capital is under the feet of the emperor. How can we lose to them?"

"You mean, let the capital also run a newspaper?" The emperor quickly heard the implication.

Ping An nodded, "As the saying goes, there is no second place in literature, and it is also said that scholars are inferior to each other. Scholars in different regions are even more hostile to each other and often fight with each other. I think these scholars are all self-reliant, contemptuous of the world, and occasionally Will write some satirical articles. Instead of letting them mess around, it's better to let them go to the newspapers to argue. At least it's under our control."

The Great Chu Dynasty was not convicted of words, and there was no literary prison for the time being, so the scribes were very courageous.There was also someone who wrote an article on the Golden Luan Hall to mock the imperial court. In the end, although his fame was revoked and he would never be used, there was no fear of his life.

That was the first scholar in the Great Chu Dynasty who passed the general examination but failed to be a Jinshi.

Therefore, although the imperial court relies on scholars to govern as officials, in fact, more often, these scholars in the field are actually a headache for the imperial court.Because you can't control what people say.In order to gain fame, many people will write some articles criticizing the court and current affairs, and sensationalize the public.

So the emperor was very interested in the control that Ping An said, "How to control? According to what you said, the newspapers in Jiangnan are also run by the people. If the capital is run by the government, I'm afraid it's not appropriate."

Moreover, it is really outrageous for these scribes to quarrel in the government-run newspaper.

"That's natural." Ping An said, "It's not that the imperial court can't run newspapers, but the content can't be the same. Doesn't the imperial court also have mansion newspapers now? But it's just for officials to read. So what I mean is that the imperial court can officially run a newspaper. Specially inform the imperial court decrees and news from various places for the common people to read. As for these folk newspapers, it is to restrict their discussion of political affairs."

The emperor frowned slightly, "Notifying the imperial government's decrees and news from all over the world, isn't this what the imperial court wants to let the people know? There will be a lot of discussions at that time, I'm afraid it's not appropriate."

At this time, what we pay attention to is the policy of ignoring the people.People don't need to understand anything, they just need to be obedient.After thousands of years of accumulation, common people are indeed used to this.

But that doesn't mean they don't have ideas.

Therefore, Ping An does not agree with this approach.After all, you can't change other people's minds, so you don't know what they think.Can all problems be solved by hiding it?Isn't it the same if someone talks about it?

Moreover, the scholars of the literati discussed it much more powerfully than ordinary people!

So Ping An slowed down his tone and said, "Actually, the people are very reasonable. As long as they can clearly explain the government orders, they will naturally follow them. It is much better than letting the people-friendly officials introduce them one by one. Besides, the Great Chu is so big, but His Majesty lives in the deep palace, so he can’t see how life is going outside. It’s up to the officials to decide whether it’s good or not. If the people don’t know about the government’s government orders, Wouldn’t it just be fooled by officials? Even if someone takes money and breaks the law, it’s hard to find out.”

From ancient times to the present, the word "official administration" has been a headache for all dynasties.In the previous history, there was an era of high salaries and high salaries, and the official salaries were generous, but would corruption and bribery be eradicated?No.There have also been times when the bureaucracy was harsh, and the salaries of the officials were only enough to eat, and the corruption became more serious, otherwise they would not be able to survive.

In short, no matter how the court manages, it cannot be avoided at all.Even sometimes, the local officials below colluded layer by layer, and the officials protected each other, and the roots were rotten, and the court still didn't know anything about it.This kind of case has happened several times, and each time it was not known until the people changed the court, and the final result was naturally shocking.

Dozens of hundreds of human lives, even if you just look at the numbers, it is embarrassing.

The emperor was not stupid, so he naturally worried about this issue.So when Ping An said this, he felt that it made some sense, but he said, "Since ancient times, it has been a serious crime for people to sue officials. Even if the people know about it, I'm afraid they just dare to be angry and dare not speak up."

"But it's better than not knowing?" Ping An said, "If you know, someone may stand up. If you don't know, then they will be deceived and fooled all the time, and they won't even understand until they die."

In fact, the practice of suing officials as a crime is inherently problematic. It is something that the ruling class created to consolidate its position.But Ping An also knew that this kind of thing should not be rushed. His purpose now was to run a newspaper and let the common people understand the important affairs of the country.This also coincides with his previous plan of "laying the foundation".

Therefore, at this stage, Ping An must act in a low-key manner, and must not involve politics in the slightest, let alone arouse the vigilance of the official group.

At this point, the emperor and Ping An are on the same line.

All the people in the world are his people, and the things corrupted by officials will not be used to honor him.Therefore, the emperor also hoped that all officials would be clean and honest.It would be great if the common people could also help to supervise.

So the emperor thought about it and decided to discuss this matter.But before that, he asked Ping'an County to write a charter.

Ping An said, "The specific matters need to be deliberated, but this is what I think. First, let the literati in the capital run their own private newspaper and compete with Jiangnan. Maybe it can be extended to all regions or even states in the future, so that the literati will have something to do." I have done it. And when they get used to the newspaper, they will say it in the newspaper when they have any ideas, and it will be more convenient for the imperial court to monitor public opinion. As for the imperial court’s newspaper, we can wait until later.”

"Why is this?"

"After all, it is a new-style thing. Let people explore the way ahead, and the court princes must be at ease." Ping An said.

He can say that the government will run a newspaper as soon as it comes up, will it arouse the vigilance of some people?Moreover, the efficiency of the court's affairs has always been so outrageous.When they get it right, it may not be until next year or the next year.And when the time comes, who will be in charge of this newspaper will also be a headache.There is bound to be a dispute.

In this process, let a hundred flowers bloom in private newspapers.By then, everyone will get used to the existence of newspapers, and even if the contents of government-run newspapers are somewhat sensitive, most people will agree.

The emperor finally agreed with Ping An's statement.

But he didn't forget that Ping'an's words hadn't finished yet, "You said earlier that the imperial court controlled the newspapers, what are you going to do?"

Sure enough, for the emperor, controlling everything is the most important thing.He didn't want the newspapers to be full of things criticizing the court and insinuating himself.

Pingan said, "At that time, we can formulate legal provisions to restrict them. Well, let's call it the "Regulations on the Management of Huangchu News."

"news?"

"This newspaper is full of new things. It comes out every two days. It's news. Fresh knowledge." Ping An said.

The emperor found this statement very interesting, nodded and said, "Alright, you should pay more attention to this matter."

Definitely.Although Ping An will hand over the dominance of private newspapers, it does not mean that he will not supervise.With Xu Wenmei watching in Jiangnan, he must have gone to Beijing himself.Just looking for something to do.

Ping An is very excited.

After he returned to Beijing, he handed over all his affairs, and only went to the Benchu ​​Hall to stand guard every day.Maybe for other people who want to climb up, this kind of treatment is what they can't wait for.After all, who doesn't like being able to feel a sense of presence in front of the emperor every day?

But Ping An felt very bored.If he wants to gain a sense of presence, even if he doesn't meet, he can guarantee that his name and news will always appear in the eyes and ears of the emperor, so he doesn't need to stay there every day. Comfortable.

Especially after thinking clearly before, and feeling that the current steps should not be taken too far, and the foundation should be laid first, Ping An is even more at a loss.

Because although he figured it out in theory, in fact he didn't know what he should do.

Now that Ping An knows it, it is good to start with education.Anyway, the imperial court needs talents and attaches great importance to this aspect.The most important thing is that this matter is not sensitive, and it does not touch the taboos of some people, so it is not easy to be suppressed.

Let's run the newspaper for now.

Because of the emperor's cooperation, Jiangnan's "Poems and Essays" had already spread to the capital before Ping'an's plan was written, which aroused great repercussions.According to the Department of the Imperial City, the scribes in the capital seem to gather frequently to discuss this newspaper recently, and it seems that they also want to organize a copy to fight in the ring.

Even many ministers of the DPRK and China have seen this newspaper.

Because the imperial examinations also include poetry and fu, most of the officials at this moment are also talented people, and they often have meetings to write poems and essays, which are then sung by others.So for this newspaper, everyone loves it very much.If there is such a newspaper in the capital, maybe these officials will also write letters and contribute articles.

The conditions are ripe.

Ping An concealed his identity, secretly contacted several scribes, supported and pushed them to start a newspaper.

Because of Ping An's idea, they also found some well-known literati and aristocratic families in the capital to join in and raise funds.At the same time, it also advertises to those stores.Because of Jiangnan's template, it is much easier to do this.So it didn't take long for "Beijing Wencui" to be released.

Ping An took the first issue of the newspaper and entered the palace.

After the emperor read it, his first comment was, "This newspaper doesn't seem to be the same as "Poems and Essays"?"

This is natural.In fact, this is almost entirely due to Ping An.What those people made before is simply a replica of "Poems and Essays", without any innovation.This saves energy, but Ping An can imagine how Jiangnan will be ridiculed when he finds out.

So he persuaded Zhongren, and under his leadership, he reorganized each page of the newspaper, and even added illustrations, which looked rich in pictures and texts, completely different from "Poetry and Essays".

Now being pointed out by the emperor, Ping An couldn't help but feel a little proud, "It's a little different. Since it's a ring, you can't be the same as others."

There are no intellectual property protection laws these days, but piracy and plagiarism are also shameful.

Ping An stroked his chin, wondering whether to add this article to the news regulations.