This characteristic makes the opinions and power of a few people like Ma Shen and Li Jing seem so insignificant.

Of course, the provincial government is competent after all, and they quickly gave a watertight and tactful solution:

First, the province redefined the scope of "newspaper ban", and only leaflets that published serious topics such as government decrees, classics, and current affairs were strictly prohibited.

Secondly, poetry, songs, novels, store advertisements, event arrangements, etc., when distributed regularly in printed form, are not counted as covered by the newspaper prohibitions... provided that the former do not contain prohibited content and the latter do not contain false information... just treat them as privately printed books and print them separately.

Finally, the provincial government left some room - the so-called strict prohibition did not mean that it was absolutely not allowed to happen. As long as it was approved by the emperor, reviewed by the provincial government and the Privy Council, and reported to the Honglu Temple, a new report could be formulated.

In the first round, Li Jing, Ma Shen and the Southern Taoism school were defeated.

But then, the price of paper in Tokyo, which was already somewhat expensive, really became more expensive. After the explanation of the provincial government on the newspaper ban was published in the new official gazette in late January, the regular shops, warehouses, and trading companies that had tasted the sweetness of the Cuju list immediately established their own tabloids... Although the provincial government said that it was not a newspaper, the people of Tokyo still habitually called it a newspaper.

Among them, the newspapers of warehouses and trading companies were relatively neat, and were only issued internally to record commercial information such as where there was a lot of rain or where the roads were difficult to travel. However, the official shops were a lot more ridiculous. Some directly printed "Water Margin" like the Cuju match list, but only had their own unique advertisements on the back; some simply edited "Journey to the West Conquering the Demons", and still had their own advertisements on the back; and some simply used Tang poetry, Thousand Character Classic and the like as rafts, which was even more effective.

In addition, some serious things also appeared. For example, Lu Benzhong came forward to set up two tabloids... One specializes in discussing poetry, and the other specializes in geography, customs and interesting news. However, it is not known whether they have any relationship with Emperor Zhao.

At the very end, of course, monks and Taoists are indispensable. "Mulian Saves His Mother" is accompanied by Buddhist scriptures, and "The Legend of White Snake" is accompanied by Yin and Yang and Eight Diagrams. It is really a series of surprising moves.

And it seems that this thing will spread quickly, and even Jiangnan will quickly come up with some tricks.

But this situation was definitely something that the instigators such as Li Jing brothers and Ma Shen could never have imagined.

After the Taoist school failed in its attack on the newspaper ban, the second round began soon. This time, it was Liu Ji, the deputy prime minister of the capital province, and Yan Xiaozhong of Kaifeng Prefecture who jumped out.

Liu Ji wrote a letter through the capital province, suggesting that after the spring ploughing, the technology of raising chickens in mulberry-based fish ponds that the government had used in the harem should be promoted on a large scale in Kaifeng Prefecture.

This time, the matter finally touched Emperor Zhao's heart. After returning to Beijing, Emperor Zhao, who had been staying in the harem to write books, issued an edict to ask all the ministers and the prefect of Kaifeng, Yan Xiaozhong, to go to the stone pavilion in the harem to discuss the matter.

It is already the end of January. Spring has not yet fully warmed up, but the flowers have already bloomed. The tense political atmosphere caused by the three major cases last winter has finally shown signs of loosening, and the atmosphere of political unity seems to be returning.

"I object."

Li Guang, the Chief Censor, made a solemn protest, saying, "This move will waste people's time and money and will ultimately be useless."

Emperor Zhao sat still, and everyone from Prime Minister Zhao Ding down to the others looked half frowning and half solemn when facing the censor.

"Mr. Liu, I was taught to seek truth from facts. May I ask, have you calculated clearly the benefits to people's livelihood if this matter is promoted?"

In front of the stone pavilion where the south wind was blowing gently, Li Guang ignored the reactions of the people around him and continued to question Liu Ji proudly:

"How much manpower does it take to grow mulberry trees, raise fish and feed chickens here? Have you calculated the cost of clothing, food and salaries for the hundreds of eunuchs?"

"Even if the chickens and fish from the harem are cheap, once they come out, they are snapped up by the regular shops on Ma Xing Street outside Donghua Gate, so much so that they have to bribe the eunuchs. But how can ordinary people sell their products as quickly as those in the palace?"

"There is such a large open space. The harem can be cleaned up. Which common people would not plant crops with such open space?"

"Besides, digging a pond and transplanting mulberry trees will take time and effort, money and materials. How can ordinary people afford it?"

"More importantly, the harem doesn't have to pay taxes. So, do the common people want this?"

After a series of inquiries, Emperor Zhao remained seated motionless, and the other ministers also remained expressionless.

Of course, when asked, Liu Ji naturally turned around and said calmly: "Li Zhongcheng, do you think we don't know what you said? Even the emperor doesn't know this truth? If not, why did the emperor only introduce the mulberry-fish pond a few times in the court newspapers, but not directly convey it? And why did we only mention it today?"

Li Guang finally paused slightly, and instinctively looked at Emperor Zhao, but Emperor Zhao just smiled at him: "Li Qing, you still haven't said one bad thing... that is, mulberry farmers are the most important in the world. Although the mulberry-based fish ponds here in the harem are derived from the layout of some manors in the south with narrow fields, whether they can be implemented and adapted in the north still needs to be verified. Otherwise, once implemented, the result will be that the local climate and soil are not suitable, which will be a real disaster... However, in the past few years, with the stable production here in the harem, a few local wealthy families have also successfully imitated them. Regardless of other things for the time being, at least we can draw the conclusion here that the method of growing chickens, mulberry trees, and fishing in parallel along the Yellow River can still succeed."

Li Guang was a little embarrassed, but he still nodded, then quickly turned to look at Liu Ji, who gave him less pressure.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!