Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 117 Donglin also wants to publish a newspaper (Part 6)
"Then Huang Rong said softly, 'When I saw your master's expression that day, I realized that there would be no good outcome between you and me. If you want to kill me, then do it. My mother is here, bury me next to her. After burying me, leave the island quickly and don't let my father see us..."
"Pah!" Storyteller Boss Yan slapped the table weakly and said, "Dear guests, today's The Legend of the Condor Heroes ends here."
"Ah~~ Your Highness's skills in breaking chapters are becoming more and more proficient."
"Yes, yes. Six of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan are dead. It seems that the relationship between Brother Jing and Rong'er is also coming to an end. To think that the chapter is interrupted at this time... Oh, I have to rush to buy a newspaper early tomorrow. I can't wait until noon to listen to the storytelling again."
"That's right, I'm really worried right now. I want to sleep in front of the Jinling Daily Press tonight."
"Ahem..." Clearing his throat, Boss Yan said loudly, "Dear guests, I have some bad news to announce... Jinling Daily Newspaper declares that the censors impeached our editor-in-chief Zhang Yicheng for corruption and bribery... a scumbag, unworthy of a minister... so Zhang Yicheng apologized behind closed doors. Our newspaper is leaderless. Therefore, after today, February 17th, the 36th year of Wanli, we will temporarily suspend publication. When it will resume will depend on when our editor-in-chief resumes his post."
"Ah?! What the hell is this?!"
"That's right, what on earth did Chief Editor Zhang do wrong? Even if he did, can't we just change the Chief Editor?"
"Hahahaha~~" Just as everyone was talking, a man in his thirties stood up. After successfully attracting the attention of everyone in the restaurant lobby, the man said loudly: "This brother just now was wrong. He didn't come here for Editor-in-Chief Zhang, but for Jinling Daily."
"Huh? That's actually what happened. My dear, it seems like you have some information. Can you tell us about it?"
This man in his thirties was Li Guojun. Under the guidance of Cao Huachun, they secretly connected more than 200 teachers from Fangshan School and sneaked into various restaurants in Nanjing City to spread rumors collectively, uh, no, collectively correct the chaos!
"Everyone, the Jinling Daily has been very popular since its founding, right? Since November, the advertisements on page 8 have been increasing, right? The Jinling Daily's revenue has increased, so naturally it has aroused the envy of some people..."
"That's true. Jinling Daily used to have eight pages, and one page of advertisements cost five hundred taels. Now it has expanded to sixteen pages, and two pages are for advertisements, so that alone costs one thousand taels a day. So, if you calculate it this way, that's thirty thousand taels a month."
"Yes, although typesetting costs money, it costs money to pay the authors for their contributions, and printing, paper, and ink all cost money, but no matter how you calculate it, it won't be more than 10,000 taels a month, right? That's a net profit of 20,000 taels. Incredible..."
"Haha, you two have missed the sixth edition of Qinhuai Fengyue. Now, the various brothels in the four provinces of Jiangnan have no patience to wait for the Jinling Daily to introduce them slowly. They are all waiting at the door of the editorial department with large sums of money to ask to cut in line."
" That's true. It seems that Jinling Daily can earn at least 30,000 taels a month, right?"
"It's no wonder some people are jealous of this business that makes so much money."
"Humph, I think these people are too shameless. They earn money with their own ability, and you are jealous. Why don't you start a newspaper yourself? If the stories on it are good, we will buy them. The right way doesn't work, so you have to do some evil ways."
"That's right. The imperial censors in my Ming Dynasty are not good people."
If the ignorant men and women in the countryside heard the word "censor", they would think it was very powerful. But in front of the residents of Nanjing, the censor was really nothing.
The imperial censors in Beijing were all so idle that they could only think of ways to provoke the emperor to punish him. The imperial censors in Nanjing were even more bored. The residents of Nanjing were in close contact with these imperial censors every day, and their impression of these guys was much clearer than that of ordinary people in the countryside.
"Hahahaha~~" After everyone gradually agreed that Jinling Daily was indeed targeted because it made too much money, and that the censors impeached Zhang Yicheng for money. Li Guojun stood up again: "Everyone, it is true that Jinling Daily makes money. But we have to see where the money is spent. As far as I know, the newspaper has never bought an acre of land in the countryside in the past few months!"
"Ah? Where did they take the money? Did they buy ships to become sea traders? Or did they collude with the eunuchs who made the looms to buy looms to enter the market?"
"Well, it seems that this boss is a man who is good at business." After giving a thumbs up to his colleague from Fangshan School, Li Guojun said, "Didn't you notice the introduction of Fangshan School published in the previous issues of Jinling Daily? This school adopts about a thousand orphans every year and hires teachers to teach them to read and write. They don't expect them to achieve great success in the imperial examinations in the future, but they want to teach them some skills so that they won't be displaced like their fathers in the future..."
"Oh, I know about this matter and I have seen it. How come? My dear, is the Jinling Daily related to the Fangshan School?"
"Of course it is related. Think about it. Every year, there are about a thousand orphans who need food, clothing, and education every day. Have you ever raised a scholar in your family? The cost of raising a scholar is not low! And the operation of Fangshan School depends entirely on the support of Jinling Daily!"
"I see! This newspaper has really done a great good deed!"
"Yes, it really is worthy of being a newspaper named after us, Jinling!"
"Editor-in-Chief Zhang is really a good person! He is a blessing to all families!"
"Hey! These censors want to impeach such a good man. They are really not human beings!"
"That's right. I'm already upset that I can't listen to Master's The Legend of the Condor Heroes anymore. Now I'm thinking about what will happen to those children who have just settled down in Fangshan if the newspaper goes bankrupt? What a sin!"
…
"Eunuch Cao, the atmosphere in Nanjing has become tense. The people don't need us to guide them. When they get together, they can spontaneously curse the censors. According to the latest news yesterday, a censor from the Nanjing Censorate was holding a banquet in a restaurant. When he heard people in the hall cursing at them, he went out to argue with them and was beaten!"
"Well, the one who beat him up wasn't one of ours, right?"
"Absolutely not!"
"Okay, Captain Tian, pass the message down and prepare for the real launch!"
"Uh...Eunuch Cao, should I ask His Highness for instructions on this matter?"
"Why would I ask His Highness for permission? I did this all by myself from the beginning to the end. Even if I fail in the future, I will be the only one to be punished by beating. I have no knowledge of this matter at all!"
"I understand. I deeply admire Eunuch Cao's loyalty. In that case, I will make the arrangements."
"Well, Captain Tian. I only have one thing to say: don't let anyone die!"
…
On February 20, Jinling Daily announced that it would temporarily stop publishing. Suddenly, the countryside in the four provinces south of the Yangtze River was in turmoil.
February 20th to 25th was the time when Cao Huachun, Tian Ergeng and others, relying on the teachers of Fangshan School, prepared public opinion in major restaurants in Nanjing.
On the afternoon of the 25th, some Nanjing citizens, out of righteous indignation, spontaneously beat up a censor from the Censorate. Then, Cao Huachun and others knew that it was time to act.
Of course, in the evening, some of Zhu Youdong's personal troops and some teachers from Fangshan School went out together to cause trouble near the Censorate in Nanjing and the homes of various censors.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was a loser before he traveled through time, and he never paid attention to any manners or styles when doing things. None of his civil officials participated in this event. The main players were poor scholars who had failed to pass the imperial examination for many years, the children of various clerks, and the soldiers who were called teachers but were actually soldiers - what they did was very exciting.
The gate of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate was completely buried in feces, and the old soldier guarding the gate was pulled out directly. No one made things difficult for him, but instead, starting from his gatehouse and all the way to the lobby of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the bodies of dead dogs and cats were hung everywhere...
More than a dozen imperial censors were pulled out of their warm beds in the dark night. They were beaten severely and threatened. What these imperial censors could not bear the most was that their families were also affected: other adult men in the family were also beaten, and the little boys and women in the family had half of their hair shaved off...
There were also a dozen or so imperial censors or secretaries who were even worse off. In addition to the above treatment, their various romantic times, places, and girls in the brothels outside, or their acceptance of bribes (not necessarily true), were all painted on the doors and walls with bright red paint!
Nanjing was the capital after all, and it had all kinds of government offices. In addition to the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the six-department censors, there were also various censors and inspectors of Yingtian Prefecture in Nanjing. So in a broad sense, there were at least a hundred censors in Nanjing.
But Cao Huachun and Tian Ergeng only severely punished about 20 people. Moreover, these 20 people were not necessarily the ones who impeached Zhang Yicheng with the most vicious words. In fact, among these people, there were 4 or 5 censors who did not participate in this matter at all!
