Cao Mengde was shocked when he heard this. He had left Wei State in the first place to avoid being granted the title of Prime Minister by His Majesty. Now His Majesty asked him to take the position of Prime Minister. Cao Mengde himself was a little hesitant about whether to accept the position of Prime Minister.

Chu Fan seemed to see through Cao Mengde's thoughts and said slowly, "Lord Cao, you can go to the Royal Government Affairs Office to hang out today. I hope you can give me a clear answer tomorrow."

Cao Mengde pondered for a moment, then bowed and replied, "This old minister will carefully consider this matter and will give Your Majesty a satisfactory answer tomorrow."

After saying that, Cao Mengde left the palace. As for His Majesty's suggestion that he go to the Royal Government Affairs Office to hang out, Cao Mengde knew in his heart that this was a hint from His Majesty. It was obvious that many changes had taken place in the Wei State, and the ministers in the court might not be aware of many things.

Moreover, after he left Wei, his clansmen no longer dared to ask the eunuchs in the palace about the news in the palace, so even his own Cao family did not know anything that happened in the palace during this period.

Cao Mengde wondered in his heart what kind of plan His Majesty was planning during this period. It couldn't be as simple as leaving Liu Xueyu in Shu and then recalling him to Wei.

After arriving at the Royal Government Affairs Office, when Chu Anping learned that Cao Mengde was asked by His Majesty to come to the Royal Government Affairs Office, Chu Anping immediately understood that His Majesty wanted the Cao family to participate in Wei's preparations for the unification of the Shengwu Continent.

After all, the Cao family has been following the Chu family since the Chu family was still a sect. If Your Majesty wants to launch a war to unify the Shengwu Continent, and Your Majesty's action will obviously be successful, and when the Wei Kingdom really conquers all the countries on the Shengwu Continent and achieves the unification of the Shengwu Continent, the family that leads this plan with Your Majesty will be able to obtain huge benefits, and such benefits may very likely greatly enhance the status of their own family members in this world.

After Chu Anping welcomed Cao Mengde into the Royal Government Affairs Office, he gave Cao Mengde a detailed introduction to His Majesty's strategy against Japan and how to attack the Xiongnu and the strategic subordinates of the Gan Kingdom in the future, as well as the matter of Lin Pingzhi of the Huang Kingdom. He also explained everything to Cao Mengde, such as letting the empress of the Canglan Empire return to her country, fighting for power and keeping Liu Ruyan of the Canglan Empire by His Majesty's side.

After listening to Chu Anping's words, Cao Mengde immediately knew that His Majesty wanted to disrupt the current stable situation in Shengwu Continent, and then when Shengwu Continent fell into chaos, Wei State would take the opportunity to expand.

Only then did Cao Mengde realize how petty his plan to make Shu a vassal state of Wei was, and how insignificant it was compared to the grand ambitions of Your Majesty.

At this point, Cao Mengde no longer had any concerns about His Majesty appointing him as Prime Minister of Wei. Instead, he felt an unprecedented surge of passion. After all, being able to contribute to Wei's grand ambitions was his lifelong honor. Furthermore, if Wei could truly unify the Shengwu Continent, the Cao family would also gain significant benefits and status.

The next day, Cao Mengde came to the palace and calmly accepted the position of prime minister granted by His Majesty. Qin Hui, who was at home, felt relieved after learning that his position as prime minister had been stripped away. His Majesty also appointed him to a new position, responsible for editing Confucian textbooks for the upcoming university. He was also an official of the third rank. Although his power was not as great as that of the prime minister, he was lucky to be able to keep his life.

Cao Mengde asked, "Shouldn't your Majesty's removal of the Prime Minister be announced at court? Wouldn't such a casual move cause dissatisfaction among the court officials? Furthermore, if some officials in the court were unaware of Qin Hui's removal and continued to bribe him, wouldn't that cause unnecessary chaos?"

Chu Fan also knew Cao Mengde's concerns. If he did not make a formal announcement at the court meeting, it might indeed cause turmoil in the court. Even if Qin Hui left Kaifeng and went to other cities to spread rumors and cheat, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, Chu Fan also had his own solution. Chu Fan said to Cao Mengde, "In fact, it is not difficult to solve this problem. We just need to let the people of Wei know that the position of Prime Minister has been changed. Then, even if I don't announce it at the court, it will not cause chaos."

Cao Mengde replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, if you can make sure that all the people of Wei know about this, then there will be no need to convene a court meeting."

Chu Fan said, "Actually, all we need to do is start a newspaper."

Cao Mengde asked doubtfully, "Your Majesty, are you talking about that kind of official report?"

Chu Fan shook his head and replied, "It's not a court bulletin, but a newspaper for all the people of Wei. Court bulletins are only delivered to officials, and often if officials privately change the content, the people won't know. The newspaper I want to start will be directly for the people, letting them know what's going on in the court, eliminating information asymmetry, and ensuring that the court's orders can be accurately transmitted to every corner."

Cao Mengde thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if we only convey news from the court, the people may not care, or even feel that it has nothing to do with them. Moreover, the court is only able to share limited information with the people. How can we attract their attention?"

Chu Fan said, "This is actually very simple. All we need to do is include things that interest the people in the newspaper, such as stories written by scholars, folk rumors, anecdotes, or even some practical life tips and agricultural knowledge. This will not only attract people to read, but also allow them to benefit from it.

Even if the common people were illiterate, they could still ask the storytellers in Wei to read the newspapers. This way, the storytellers could spread the imperial decrees, enrich their stories, and attract more listeners. The common people could also clearly understand the decisions and trends of the imperial court and avoid being misled.

Finally, another point is that after obtaining newspapers, even those who were previously illiterate can learn some basic words from them and gradually improve their cultural level.

Cao Mengde's eyes gleamed after hearing this. "Your Majesty's words are indeed feasible," he said. "Papermaking in Wei is now quite mature, and the movable type printing technique Your Majesty taught us is also fully developed. Therefore, the cost of producing a newspaper is now quite low. However, if you want the people of Wei to be able to read newspapers, you will need a very large number of copies. And it's not just a matter of printing one copy at a time; it requires continuous printing and distribution."