Chapter 126: It is not that easy to promote this patchwork quilt, picking up the cloth...

This patchwork quilt is not easy to make. You have to pick up the cloth, wash it, iron it, match the patterns... and finally sew it piece by piece according to the size of a two or three-year-old child.

Because it was made for the princess' little daughter, the ladies were very careful and did not dare to be careless. They even spent several days trying to figure out the patterns, until they had arranged the scraps of cloth in various colors into a nice pattern before they decided on it.

Every morning, Yang Erniu, Aunt Wang and others would wrap their heads tightly and walk through the frozen ground to the commune. As soon as they entered the commune, the warmth hit them. There were already many farmers sitting inside busy with their work. The sound of spinning and talking echoed in the big house. The snow in the stove in the corner of the house slowly melted and emitted hot steam.

Sometimes the sound of students reading could be heard from next door. Every time this happened, Yang Erniu would put down her needlework, look up and listen carefully. When she recognized her daughter's voice, a smile would appear on her face and she would continue to work with her head down.

After a busy winter, with a short break due to the New Year, it was not until February that this jacket was finished. Although it was not as fine as the ones made by the palace embroiderers, it was as exquisite and beautiful as possible.

Yang Erniu and Aunt Wang, as representatives, wrapped the hundred-family clothes carefully in cloth, and when eunuch Guanzhuang came to the rouge cabinet to check on the preparations for spring ploughing, they stopped him and asked him to take them to the princess.

Eunuch Guanzhuang took out the patchwork quilt and shook it: "It still looks like this. Fine, it's a token of your kindness after all. I'll take it back later."

He inquired carefully about the spring ploughing at the counter and told the village heads to make good preparations. If anyone needed to borrow farm tools, they should process it quickly at the counter so as not to delay the farming season.

After confirming it, he rode back to the princess's mansion.

When we arrived at the princess's mansion, it was already dark. It was the time for the guard change at the princess's mansion, and the guards and servants were changing shifts.

When eunuch Guanzhuang saw the imperial guard Huang Zhong walking out of the palace, he immediately stepped forward to greet him, "Master Huang, are you going home?"

"Well, it's time to change shifts. Have you just come back from the farm?"

"Yes, yes, I'm going to check on the preparations for spring ploughing."

Huang Zhong glanced at the mud on the eunuch Guanzhuang's trouser legs and saw that he was holding an indigo cloth bundle in his hand.

"What's this?"

"This is it. The farmers, out of gratitude to the princess, made a patchwork quilt for the little princess and asked me to bring it to her."

"Patchwork quilt? These people are quite thoughtful." Huang Zhong seemed to be thinking about something.

"Then I'll go to the mansion first."

"Go ahead."

Huang Zhong watched Eunuch Guanzhuang walk in, but he was not in a hurry to go back. He turned around and walked to the outer courtyard room, picked a chair and sat down, waiting for a while.

But the eunuch Guanzhuang came out with a very happy face. Huang Zhong called him and said, "Looking at your appearance, the princess must be happy."

"Of course, the princess was very happy, and she also gave me some cloth as a reward and asked me to take it to the women in Yanzhidi." Eunuch Guanzhuang smiled and said, "These people are blessed."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they went their separate ways. Huang Zhong, however, was still thinking about this matter, so he returned to his own courtyard on Fuyou Street, quickly finished his meal with his wife, and returned to his study to think about it.

He and Tong Shoulu were both guards of high rank granted by the court when the princess was born. But now Tong Shoulu was more important. He was in charge of the training and patrol of the escort agency on the post road, while he was more responsible for guarding the princess's mansion.

How can he surpass Tong Shoulu and gain the favor of the princess? Huang Zhong thought about it for a long time and now he has a vague idea.

Singing praises and spreading his good name might make the princess happy, and he, the person who brought the good news, might be given more important positions.

On the second day, Huang Zhong brought some good wine and food to visit the deputy governor, Ha Feng. His patron, Gal, was a leader among the elite.

After a few drinks and a bunch of flattering words, Ha Feng laughed out loud. "Lord Galin is indeed favored by the emperor. An official reported him before. What's the matter? Nothing!"

It was said that before, an imperial censor had heard rumors and reported to the emperor, saying that Galin was corrupt and endangered the people. In the end, the Emperor tried to smooth things over and ignored it. Instead, there was a secret memorial to comfort Galin, saying that this was normal. After all, he was promoted quickly and was highly valued, so it was inevitable that some people would be jealous.

Huang Zhong poured wine for Ha Feng and said, "That's right. If we can learn a little bit from Lord Galin, we can be promoted. I heard that Lord Galin often publicized His Majesty's benevolent policies. The people were grateful and His Majesty was also happy when he knew about it."

"It's true. It's all accumulated bit by bit." Ha Feng said.

Huang Zhong had a clear idea of ​​the direction of his future efforts after hearing this. Even good wine needs a bush, and he was just the right person to promote the wine and please his master.

It just so happened that this incident was a good example. The princess built houses for the people, and the people were so grateful that they made patchwork clothes. The princess gave them as a gift in return. What a good material. Huang Zhong then devoted himself to spreading the news for a period of time. For example, he told the lamas when he was burning incense, told the merchants when he was drinking tea in the teahouse, and occasionally mentioned it when he was communicating with the officials of the Dutong Mansion.

In these days, the spread of news was limited, and it was mostly affected by a small circle of people. Huang Zhong was so determined and spared no effort to spread the news, and even the capital city heard about it. It was not just his efforts. After the spring, there were many merchants from Guihua traveling between Kulun and the capital, and they were also happy to spread such things. Some of them were from Dashengkui, and they praised their masters. The rest of the merchants had also received favors from the princess and were walking on the Jingyang Road requested by the princess! They were also happy to see it happen.

In the end, even Emperor Kangxi heard about it.

"The fourth girl is now in good shape." Emperor Kangxi sighed with Concubine Yi when he came to rest in her palace. "When she first got married, she looked so weak and frail. I was worried about her."

Concubine Yi moved a plate of honeydew melons forward and said with a smile, "A good father will have a good son. She can be as elegant as she is today, all thanks to the grace of Your Majesty in raising her."

As he said this, he picked up a piece of melon with the golden fork and put it to Kangxi's mouth, although he knew in his heart that Kangxi didn't really care.

Kangxi ate and closed his eyes to rest: "Very good, you finally listened to my teachings."

That delicate and sensitive little girl is now the fourth princess praised by the people on the grassland. The fourth son Yinzhen was rewarded by him with words to be modest and not impetuous, and now he is much calmer and less impetuous.

If Baocheng could understand my good intentions, he would change everything... Forget it, I don't want to think about this.

Kangxi shook his head gently and gathered his thoughts.

The good words and deeds of the Fourth Princess can be regarded as an example of harmony between the Manchus, Mongols and the Han people. Perhaps she could be mentioned when negotiating with Mongolian princes and nobles.

When Muxue received the reward and letter from Emperor Kangxi, telling her that she had done a good job and asking her to continue to show kindness, she was a little confused.

How come such a small matter was reported to the capital and resulted in Emperor Kangxi bestowing gifts?

Emperor Kangxi rewarded the little princess with some silver and silk, and also gave her a set of gold necklaces, gold earrings, and gold bracelets, all of which were made by the emperor, engraved with auspicious words, and were extremely exquisite. Mu Xue ordered the little princess's nanny to keep them well and wear them during the New Year.

It was not difficult to trace the cause of the incident. Soon, Mu Xue found out that it was the guard Huang Zhong who did the "good deed".

She knew that Huang Zhong was good at networking and could build good relationships with all kinds of people, but she didn't expect that he also had the talent to be a propaganda committee member.

She summoned Huang Zhong and said, "I didn't know you had the ability to spread your fame like this."

Huang Zhong knelt on the ground, weighing the tone of the princess' words, and slapped himself: "I don't know why I like to talk so much. But what the princess did is indeed a good thing."

It got quiet.

For a long time, the princess said nothing. Huang Zhong stared at the floral pattern on the carpet, cold sweat quietly covering his back.

Just as he was about to kowtow and apologize, the princess finally spoke: "Good things and bad things are often just a thought away. The key is to find the right balance."

It is difficult to say whether the spread of reputation is good or bad.

Mu Xue was cautious by nature, and she had rarely been in the limelight before. She actually didn't like this feeling, but from another perspective, some fame was necessary. With such a reputation as a foundation, she wanted to do something that would benefit the country and the people, but might be a little ahead of the times, and perhaps she would get more help.

She deliberately taught him a serious lesson: "If something like this happens again, you must report it to me, and I will decide whether to spread it. Otherwise, I will punish you severely. In addition, when spreading it, you must keep the direction fixed."

It is fine to say that she is virtuous and shares happiness with the people; it is fine to say that she makes the people enjoy the grace of heaven; but any suggestion that she interferes in military and political affairs must never be publicized.

It will be very troublesome if the propaganda orientation is deviated.

Huang Zhong was frightened by her and kowtowed repeatedly, chewing his head until it made a banging sound: "I will definitely obey the princess's order and will not act on my own."

"Okay, you always remember this." Mu Xue put her hands on the armrest of the throne. "Since you have such talent, in addition to guarding the princess's mansion, I will give you an extra job."

"I thank the princess for her appreciation." Huang Zhong glanced at him quickly, "What instructions do you have for me, princess?"

"Let's publish a newspaper," Mu Xue said, "You will be in charge of it, let's call it Guihua Newspaper."

Make the best use of everything and it is safer to take publicity into your own hands.

At that time, the official newspapers in the capital were already popular. They were simple in style and were managed by the court. They would publish some imperial edicts, official promotions and appointments, etc. When Huang Zhong was in the capital, he had read the official newspapers. At that time, the imperial examination was held, and the official newspapers listed the names of the successful candidates.

He readily agreed and thought about how to make this official newspaper. He needed paper, ink, and printing. The tools could be easily solved. Dashengkui had a wide range of business channels, so it was not difficult to get a movable type printing machine, ink, etc. There was no need to worry about being idle when not making the official newspaper. There were many temples in Guihua, and they needed to print banners and scriptures with the six-character mantra, so they could always use them.

"Please rest assured, Princess. I will prepare it carefully and make this report as good as the official reports in the capital."

Mu Xue pointed out, "But this newspaper is slightly different from the official reports in the capital. First, you have to decide the format for me, and clearly list the title and date. As for the date of publication, it will be about once a month, with an additional edition for special occasions. It must be in all three languages."

There are not many literate people nowadays. The only ones who can understand it are officials, some senior shopkeepers and people in her school.

Thinking of this, Mu Xue added, "Also, the writing style should be as brief and easy to read as possible. You seem to be quite familiar with teahouses, so after the newspaper comes out, you can organize people to tell the story in the teahouse like storytelling, so that they can all understand. There are some other details, you can discuss with the secretaries."