The people of the Song Dynasty loved poetry, almost to the core.
For example, the lyrics of Liu Sanbian.
At one time, paper was very expensive in Bianliang. From the royal family and nobles to the common people, especially the young ladies in brothels and the beauties in the boudoirs, everyone liked it.
Even when Liu Yong was at the peak of his career, a saying spread in the market: "Where there is a well, there is Liu; where there is wine, there is poetry."
Compared to poetry, ci not only has a different flavor when read, but can also be sung with a tune.
Therefore, the lyrics of the Song Dynasty are actually the same as modern lyrics. Whether it is brothels or the rich and powerful, they are all elegant because of the beautiful lyrics and music sung by singing girls.
It is not only loved by brothels and the homes of the rich and powerful, but also by ordinary people.
For example, at the Bianliang Bridgehead, there are four channels and twelve roads.
For two hundred years, the Bianhe River has been shrouded in sand, grass, and mist, morning after morning. How can later kings learn from their predecessors? Look at the ruined tree on the Sui Dynasty embankment.
Under the bridge, flower boats drift melodiously, boatmen row at the bow, and girls sing lyrical songs at the stern, all in a beautiful and charming atmosphere. Green willows and red peach blossoms line the shore, ancient temples stand tall, whitewashed walls and black tiles, and smoke curls from cooking fires – this is the grand scene of Bianliang poetry.
The merchant girl knows nothing of the sorrow of her country's demise, yet across the river she still sings "The Flower of the Back Courtyard"! Thus, in Bianliang and later in Lin'an during the Southern Song Dynasty, this poem accompanied the prosperity of the Song Dynasty, as well as its rise and fall.
Meng Chengqi was a great book collector and naturally loved poetry. After reading just a few of the poems Zhao Jun gave him, he was so excited that he wanted to write his own name on the author's signature and have them sung all over the world.
It’s a pity that I can’t sign it.
The other party is a bit awesome, and I'm afraid that good poetry is not something you can buy with money.
Meng Chengqi was quite regretful and said to Zhao Jun, "Young Master Zhao is so talented! It's truly enviable. If you buy this printing house, I'm afraid it will become like what happened to Liu Sanbian back then. Paper in Bianliang will be very expensive."
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Master, you are so kind. Poetry is just a way to pass the time, not a great talent. If you like it, I will sell it in your bookstore."
Meng Chengqi thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "If Mr. Zhao wants to buy this printing house, that's fine, but I have an unwelcome request."
"oh?"
Zhao Jun asked in surprise, "Is there something wrong with the boss?"
Meng Chengqi put on a smile and said, "I would like to become a shareholder with you. From now on, your poetry will be managed by us."
He then added with an embarrassed look, "Of course, Mr. Zhao is a man of great literary talent. If he buys this printing house, I think he will have no worries about not having work in the market in the future. But I am a businessman after all, and business is business. If Mr. Zhao doesn't want to do this, then forget it."
At first, Meng Chengqi was reluctant to sell the printing house. After all, although it was a loss, the Meng family was a wealthy family and could afford the loss. In particular, he was afraid that the printing house would be bought by some people who did not love books.
But now that he saw that Zhao Jun was also a man of letters, and had such great literary talent, he readily agreed to sell the printing house, which was a money-losing business.
It's just businessmen pursuing profit.
Although Meng Chengqi was reluctant to sell the printing house in the past, under the pressure from his father, he would probably sell everything.
Now, after seeing the poems given by Zhao Jun, Meng Chengqi realized that this printing house would probably not lose money in the future. Instead, like when Liu Yong was in Bianliang, the new poems would become popular throughout Tokyo.
As a businessman, he certainly wanted to get involved and make money together.
"Are you pricing merchant shares?"
Zhao Jun thought that he set up a printing factory mainly in order to publish a newspaper in the future and occupy the high ground of public opinion.
There will be many benefits when the newspaper spreads in the future.
For example, if the Song Dynasty became militarily powerful and was about to start destroying the Western Xia and Liao, it could use newspapers to guide public opinion, portraying the Western Xia and Liao as enemies, mobilizing the enthusiasm of the people, recruiting more soldiers, and fighting wars, which would be very helpful.
Also, if they plan to open up the world's seas in the future, they can also use newspapers to publicize that there is gold everywhere on the other side of the sea, so as to attract landless people to explore overseas and ease the increasingly acute internal contradictions.
This is what the West has done historically.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the West was in the Age of Exploration. The propaganda in the West was that the East was full of gold, which made the people of the old colonial powers in Europe excited, and their citizens went out to sea to seek gold.
After going overseas for a period of time, a large amount of land resources were developed and fed back to the country, giving rise to a large number of adventures and works, which in turn continued to stimulate people to take risks. This marked the beginning of the Western colonial era, the discovery of the New World, and the colonization of the world.
Although Zhao Jun did not necessarily want to colonize the entire world, at least the surrounding countries had to be occupied by the Han people. For example, the northeast and northwest had been Chinese territories since ancient times.
The Song Dynasty only had an area of more than two million square kilometers, so the territory must be restored to the level of the New China era.
Therefore, the public opinion offensive is indispensable.
He plagiarized poems in order to make money. Now Zhao Zhen has no money, the treasury is empty, and he has to face the upcoming war with Western Xia. I am afraid that the financial expenditure of the Song Dynasty will be in deficit again in the future.
The Imperial City Administration currently has more than one million strings of cash collected from confiscated property, but this can only cover five years of expenses. If this continues, the funds will be exhausted sooner or later, so it is necessary to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
Therefore, it’s not that Zhao Jun likes to copy poems, but there are really not many things that can make money on hand, so he can only copy some poems for use.
Moreover, Zhao Jun had no intention of plagiarizing the Northern Song Dynasty, or relying on plagiarism to become famous. He took a pseudonym like Lu Xun or Zhou Shuren from Zhejiang, copied some poems from the Southern Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, and made a small fortune first.
Secondly, in order to build the reputation of the newspaper, he planned to use poetry, serials and the like to attract a large number of readers after the newspaper was launched in the future.
This was also a common marketing method used in the golden age of newspapers in later generations.
For example, the works of Jin Yong and Gu Long were serialized in newspapers, attracting countless readers to subscribe to newspapers every year.
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