Chapter 100 Don't look at me, my dad is listening to Zhao Xiaolang...
"Newspaper? What newspaper?" Su Shi replied, somewhat taken aback. "I mean, why don't you compile it into a book? Like 'The Collection of Snowflakes'."
What Fusu was unaware of was just how renowned "The Collection of Snowflakes" was among scholars. It was spearheaded by three top scholars, co-authored by students, personally recommended by officials in the imperial court, and praised as an auspicious new crop that kept the people warm... It had all the advantages it deserved.
In Bianjing (Kaifeng), all literate people, regardless of their inner thoughts, outwardly praised the book without criticizing it. Even the Imperial Academy's printing presses were rushing to print it, as bookstores in other regions were demanding it. Zhang Zai, the chief editor, became famous overnight, sitting confidently among a group of newly appointed scholars.
Su Shi had only added one article last time, missing out on the full spectacle, which he deeply regretted. He had originally intended to persuade Fusu to repeat the trick and hire him as an editor. However, Fusu's wild ideas led him astray.
"Newspaper, newspaper..." he murmured twice, "Is it like the official gazette? Except the official gazette is only for officials, while the newspaper is for soldiers and civilians?"
Fusu nodded: "Yes."
Most of those present had read the official gazette, and even those who hadn't knew what it was. Upon hearing this, they all praised Fusu's idea.
Fusu himself was not so optimistic.
"Do you think it can be done?" he asked.
Fan Chunren retorted, "What are you worried about?"
“There are many.” Fusu stretched out her delicate white hand and began to count on her fingers one by one: “Whether the printing technology can keep up; what content should be published, whether soldiers and civilians can understand it; whether the content needs to be reviewed; whether it should be state-run or privately-run; how to make a profit…”
As I kept breaking them apart, one hand wasn't enough.
Everyone suddenly realized what he meant and frowned. Oh right, so there's so much to consider when running a newspaper.
Su Shi, however, seemed unconcerned: "Why think so much? Let's try two sessions first. If it fails, we can just pretend it never happened. We can still gain some fame and reputation by saying that we care about the education of the people. Either way, we won't lose anything."
Fusu immediately glared at Su Shi.
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
But Su Shi's interruption dispelled much of the uncertainty in his mind. Indeed, if the newspaper couldn't be published, they should cut their losses and print it as a book to distribute to the soldiers, without compromising their original purpose.
Wouldn't it be better if it were accomplished?
Zeng Gong had already noted down the difficulties Fusu mentioned: "For the uncertainties, let's discuss them together and draft a preliminary plan, just like the original food committee. If we can't decide on something, we can consult others later."
"In your opinion, Zhao Xiaolang, should newspapers be state-run or privately-run?"
The Song Dynasty saw unprecedented heights in commerce and publishing. Private sector involvement was more than sufficient to run newspapers. However, Fusu pondered for a moment: "Government-run operations are still preferable."
If it's a privately owned newspaper, driven by profit considerations, it will always have some degree of personal agenda involved. However, since their newspapers still have a public service aspect, having the government take over is the best option.
"However, if any members of the public want to start their own newspaper after reading our posts, we don't need to stop them."
Neither Su Shi nor Yan Jidao understood these matters. Zhang Zai, having never served in the imperial court, was also unsure of what to do. Fan Chunren and Zeng Gong, whose families held official positions, exchanged a glance and nodded.
Zeng Gong circled the words "government-run".
How often is it published? What is the price?
Fusu said, "Every soldier in the army will receive one for free; this was originally planned. If the common people want to buy them..."
He gestured: "Three coins? Five coins?"
"...It's a bit too high."
"Two articles it is then," Fusu said without much hesitation. "Published every seven days, four times a month. What do you think of this frequency?"
"How about more frequently?"
“If it’s too frequent, the content and quality might not be able to keep up. If this newspaper is published every seven days for ten years, that’s 52 copies a year, and 52 copies in ten years. If it’s doubled, that’s more than 1,000 copies. Even the Book of Poetry wouldn’t be enough to fill it. I’m afraid we’ll really have to use the Book of Documents and the Book of Rites to make up the numbers in the future.”
There's another implicit problem that Fusu didn't voice: the total amount of cultural products produced in this era. In his second life, information was readily available, and the world was interconnected. Newspapers alone, filled with news and anecdotes from various countries, could fill an entire issue. But in the Song Dynasty now, the total population capable of engaging in cultural creation is not large.
If the newspaper can continue operating smoothly, it will definitely need to attract submissions from outside. However, that's a matter for the future; the content of the first few issues will certainly serve as a model.
So the question is, what kind of content should be published in the newspaper?
Now that this was the topic, Su Shi finally had a say. His eyes lit up, and he said enthusiastically, "Could we reserve a space to publish articles?"
Fusu: "Hmm? You want to publish it?"
"No, it's my father! He has written many articles, all of them are excellent, but unfortunately, few people appreciate them. If they could be published in the newspaper and everyone could read them, how prestigious that would be!"
Su Shi's father was Su Xun, wasn't he?
His article? "On the Six States"?
Fusu immediately nodded: "No problem!"
"Today we cede five cities, tomorrow ten, and we can have a night's rest. But when we look around, the Qin army is already here."
This is truly a masterpiece that everyone in the Song Dynasty, from the emperor to officials to commoners, should read. Moreover, six of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties lived during the Song Dynasty; apart from the young Su Zhe, five of them served as officials in the court. In such a wonderful era, missing their works would be an immense loss.
Do you have any other ideas?
"Since the goal is to enable people to learn to read, shouldn't we also publish some collections of texts like the 'Shuowen Jiezi'?"
"If we're talking about changing customs and traditions, and educating people with etiquette, shouldn't stories like the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars also be included?"
Fusu: "...Let's forget about the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars."
Some of the stories inside are really creepy!
"However, you can write a few similar stories."
After he finished speaking, he noticed that Da Ju was looking at him with a nervous expression. He couldn't help but touch his smooth face and asked with a lot of doubt, "What's wrong?"
He didn't say anything particularly remarkable, did he?
After exchanging glances for a while, Su Shi, the most innocent of them all, finally spoke up: "Young Zhao, you're not talking about that little story from a few days ago about 'Zhuge Liang outwitting Sima Yi,' are you?"
Fusu was immediately dumbfounded: "Of course not!" He was not Luo Guanzhong's favorite.
But everyone looked on with a skeptical expression, so he had to wipe his face and explain, "I was just acting expediently in a hurry, you know. To spread the word about cotton, everyone likes to hear stories about Zhuge Liang, so I..."
Fan Chunren breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
Fusu thought to himself: "It's just a made-up little story, how could it scare you like that? If you were shown the unofficial history from later generations, you would probably... no, it's better not to hurt the enemy a thousand and yourself eight hundred."
To distance himself from Feng Menglong, he said, "How about this? In the first newspaper, I'll publish a rebuttal, refuting the unofficial history I invented myself, what do you say?"
Su Shi once again hit the nail on the head: "You wouldn't be borrowing the east wind for that storybook, would you?"
Fusu's face flushed red when his thoughts were exposed: "I wrote all of this myself. What's wrong with borrowing some popularity?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing!"
Everyone tried to appease Sanyuan, who was about to explode, and then offered their opinions one after another, filling the paper with dense writing.
Fusu picked up the paper and held it in mid-air: "Is this enough?"
"That's enough, that's enough."
In terms of content, it was sufficient to serve as a universally accessible publication for the general public. It included basic literacy education, didactic fables, and advanced works for scholars—featuring columns on the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. It reached all social classes, far exceeding the initial purpose of the publication.
But Fan Chunren sensed something was amiss.
"Zhao Xiaolang, do you mean... you feel it's still not enough?"
“Yes,” Fusu said.
He looked up and met a row of curious eyes: "For example, where are the northernmost, southernmost, easternmost, and westernmost points of the Song Dynasty's territory...?"
This is a geography lesson.
Why does wind and rain occur? How does water condense into vapor and then freeze into ice?
This is a physics lesson.
Why can fire ignite wood, and why do people need to breathe?
These are the courses for chemistry and biology, respectively.
"I want to include all of this content in the publication."
After Fusu finished speaking, he carefully observed the reactions of the crowd, receiving only bewildered glances. He sighed inwardly: Was it really too ahead of its time? To try and popularize physics and chemistry in ancient times, a time that valued humanities.
"Then how about we..."
"I want to see it!" Su Shi suddenly grabbed Fusu's arm and shook it up and down. "There's so much of what you're saying that I don't know! Zhao Xiaolang, you have to go up there!"
Huh?
Fusu was stunned.
Fan Chunren smiled and nodded to Fusu, helping him out of the predicament, saying, "Don't make things difficult for Zhao Xiaolang. Even if everyone wants to see it, whether he can get on the throne depends on the approval of the Privy Council."
What? Everyone wants to see this?
Fusu was completely stunned.
The moment the words "Privy Council" were uttered, the remaining uninformed individuals frantically scanned Fan Chunren and Yan Jidao with their eyes, winking and subtly hinting: "You two are the sons of the Prime Minister, aren't you? The Privy Council's approval is equivalent to your father's approval, isn't it? Remember to say a few good words to them!"
The parties involved all wore wry smiles.
It's no use trying to persuade our dad. He still has to listen to Zhao Xiaolang's dad, and sometimes even Zhao Xiaolang himself!
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Author's Note: Chapter 100! [doge emoji with rose in hand] Thank you all for your support!
As usual, I'm sending out 20 red envelopes. [Let me see]
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