Li Ruo Lian frowned and thought for a while, then asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you have any doubts about anyone?"

Chongzhen smiled and said, "Yes, Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen is the most suspicious; the next most suspicious are the bandits and the Jiannu spies in Beijing."

"As for who it is, you will find out once you check."

Li Ruo Lian nodded thoughtfully, "I'll take my leave."

After Chongzhen had a simple breakfast, he remembered something and told Wang Chengen, "Go to Kunning Palace."

Kunning Palace was the sleeping palace of Empress Zhou, also known as the "Central Palace."

Queen Zhou was a little surprised by Chongzhen's arrival. Normally at this time, His Majesty was either in court or dealing with memorials.

What are you doing in Kunning Palace?

Could it be...

Queen Zhou looked at the rising sun in the sky and her face suddenly turned red.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Queen Zhou, dressed in white, walked in front of Chongzhen with elegant steps and performed the harem etiquette.

Although Queen Zhou was already 33 years old, her skin was smooth and white, just like a jade.

Chongzhen looked at the beauty in front of him, and the fatigue in his heart instantly dissipated. He dismissed his attendants, grasped Empress Zhou's soft and warm little hand, and sat on the warm couch.

Queen Zhou's face flushed and she seemed a little at a loss.

Although they were an old couple, Chongzhen rarely looked at her so carefully.

"Zi Tong knows about the Earl of Jiading, right?"

Queen Zhou was shocked...

The news of Chongzhen's blatant robbery last night had already spread throughout the harem, and the first person he robbed was the emperor's father-in-law!

Queen Zhou tapped her chin and said, "Your Majesty, I have heard something."

"Will you blame me?"

"Your Majesty is the ruler of a country and needs to be far-sighted. I am not qualified to comment on your actions."

"You are the mother of the world, the mistress of the six palaces, and my first wife. What's wrong with you speaking a few words from the heart to me?"

Empress Zhou's eyes were like water, and she lowered her head and thought for a while: "The Earl of Jiading is my father, so he should play a leading role."

Chongzhen touched Queen Zhou's beautiful hair and felt very pleased.

He stood up, picked up a newspaper and asked, "Zi Tong, how is your writing?"

Dibao is a general term for newspapers in ancient China, and this name first appeared in the Song Dynasty. Dibao in the Ming Dynasty was not for the common people, but a newspaper within the court, circulated only among officials.

Some businessmen would spend money to buy newspapers from officials in order to learn about court information.

Empress Zhou lowered her head, a little ashamed: "Although I can read and write, my writing is not very good."

"That's it!"

All right?

Queen Zhou was a little confused. The emperor's style of doing things recently was completely different from before, as if he had become a different person.

Chongzhen smiled faintly: "I plan to print a batch of court reports, and the first issue will be written by the Queen."

"Palace report? Your Majesty, absolutely not!"

Queen Zhou refused without hesitation.

The Dibao is an official newspaper, and the information it conveys is closely related to the court. If she were to be the chief editor, it would break the rule that the harem does not interfere in politics.

Secondly, she had never written a court report and was afraid of making a fool of herself and getting into trouble.

Besides, she had no idea what to write.

Chongzhen patted the empress on the shoulder and consoled her: "This imperial report is not that imperial report."

"I intend to sell this batch of court newspapers to the people for free, so that they can understand the court and finally support the court."

Queen Zhou bit her lip and understood Chongzhen's intention.

"But Your Majesty... my mind is empty, there is nothing in it."

Chongzhen picked up a piece of rice paper and divided it into sections according to the sections of the newspaper in his previous life.

After the division was completed, he introduced them one by one: "Zi Tong, I have drawn six areas here."

"The first area is the court, where you can write about my will, official promotions, and punishments; the second area is current events, where you can write about the major events that happened yesterday; the third area is military affairs, where you can write about the battle between our Ming army and the bandits; the fourth area is people's livelihood, where you can write about grain prices, vegetable prices, cloth prices, etc.; the fifth area is stories, and you can write about anything here, including royal affairs, harem affairs, folk affairs, and even legendary stories."

"The last one is the financial section, which contains the exchange rates of copper coins, silver and gold, etc."

"When writing, try to use plain language. Avoid using complicated words, as ordinary people will not understand."

Even though Queen Zhou was smart and clever, she was confused by Chongzhen's thoughts. It took her a while to understand.

"Your Majesty, I seem to understand, but I also seem not to understand."

"What didn't you understand?"

"Your Majesty, what's the use of the official newspaper you mentioned? We are already short of money, and printing it will cost another fortune. It's not cost-effective."

"The queen should think long-term and not be afraid to spend money,"

Then he told the Queen about the newspaper's influence on public opinion.

After waking up this morning, Chongzhen always felt that something was missing. In his previous life, he was a teacher. The first thing he did when he got up early and arrived at the office was to make tea, and the second thing he did was to read the newspaper.

Today I was looking for a newspaper out of habit, and suddenly I remembered that I had traveled through time.

newspaper!

Chongzhen was full of confidence in this epoch-making weapon of public opinion.

If he were to travel back to the Qing Dynasty, Chongzhen might give up this idea because there were too many illiterate people in the Qing Dynasty.

The literacy rate of the people in the Ming Dynasty was very high. The imperial court stipulated the admission age for community schools as "children under the age of 15 in the society." That is, children under the age of 15 could participate, and there was no need for examinations for admission. There was no limit on the number of students admitted, and anyone who was willing to study could participate.

What do we rely on to defend the city?

determination!

It's not just his determination, but also the determination of all civil and military officials and millions of people in the capital.

As long as we are determined to defend the city, Beijing will definitely be indestructible.

How to make the people trust the emperor and the court?

public opinion!

Attack the heart first!

Logically speaking, the editors of newspapers should have looked for the writers in the Hanlin Academy, but after careful consideration, Chongzhen gave up on the Hanlin Academy.

Let’s not talk about the fact that intellectuals are harming the country. Once this power is given to them, these people will definitely engage in private activities.

Not only will what is written not have any positive effect, it may even have a counterproductive effect.

After listening to Emperor Chongzhen's explanation, Queen Zhou was stunned for a long time. She could not figure out why her husband would have such an idea.

"Your Majesty, I understand. Does this newspaper have a name?"

Chongzhen thought for a moment and said, "The name of the country is too formal, and any other name would seem informal."

"Let's call this official report Chongzhen Seventeenth Year!"

"Yes, I will write it right away."

"After you finish writing, show me the draft. If there are no problems, have the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Household Department print it."

In the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the Silijian Sutra Factory, there were other institutions such as the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Rites, and the Imperial Household Information Office at the central level; and temples and local bookstores at the local level.

"Then have the Royal Guards go out on the street and find some teenagers to sell them. Each copy of the court report will be sold for two cents. One cent will go to the court, and the other will go to the seller."

At first, Chongzhen planned to give away newspapers for free and then sell them when the volume increased. Considering that no one would cherish newspapers given for free, it was better to sell them at a low price. The Ming Dynasty's monetary system was based on silver, and copper coins were not valuable, so it would not be a burden for ordinary people to buy them.

"I obey your command."