The next day, the first issue of "Da Song Periodical" was quietly published.
After Zhao Jun determined the content of the first edition of the newspaper, the workers in the printing house worked overtime overnight and printed out 5,000 copies the next day.
These 5,000 copies are not for sale, but given away.
There were thousands of tea shops in Bianliang City, as well as countless tea and breakfast stalls. Each one gave out a copy of the tea and placed it on the table for customers to see for free.
For a time, many people in Bianliang saw new things like newspapers.
The morning market in Longjinqiaofang Market is in full swing.
Common people, merchants, and scholars were coming and going. Several neighbors came to the tea shop to have breakfast as usual.
Someone asked, "How's it going? Did they catch the head of the old club?"
"I don't know, I don't think so."
Someone else replied, "That guy was hiding in a brothel with the door half-closed. He was reported and the Kaifeng government went to catch him. But he was a skilled hand and managed to slip past the wall. The Imperial City Bureau couldn't catch him."
"Your news is outdated." The shopkeeper who served them tea was happy and placed the brewed tea on the table. Someone else said indignantly, "How can it be outdated?"
The shopkeeper handed over the newspaper on the counter and said with a smile: "More than a hundred people from the Lao Bashe have been arrested."
At the end he added: "What happened yesterday."
"Oh, I have to take a look then."
When the man saw it was a large piece of paper, he spread it out to look at it, and people around him also came over.
The first thing that caught my eye on the paper was an article signed by Zhao Jun, the director of the Constitutional Court. The title of the article was "Strike hard against evil forces and restore the bright sunshine to Bianliang."
It not only mentioned the recent crackdowns on criminal gangs by the Imperial City Division and Kaifeng Prefecture, but also how many criminals were captured.
It also mentions the crimes committed by these people, such as robbery, murder, usury, protection racket, etc.
The ones beheaded outside the city of Bianliang some time ago were only the first batch. There will be a second and third batch to come. Including the old leader of the Sheikh Mang who had been active in the Longjinqiao Market for many years and committed many evil deeds. He was also captured last night and will be executed next year.
Upon hearing this, the neighbors were overjoyed. The man in front said, "It really happened yesterday. That fat beast has bullied our market for so many years, and now he's finally going to die."
"He's still alive? This guy only relied on his brother who worked in Kaifeng Prefecture to get close to Li Canjun. Li Dewen was even captured by Zhao Zhiyuan. I heard he was skinned alive. That was horrible. Without his backer, how long can he still jump around?"
"Thank goodness, it's only because of the arrival of Magistrate Zhao in Bianliang that these people would have continued to run rampant. My poor nephew, because he offended the fat tiger, was abducted and to this day, we still haven't seen him alive or dead."
"Yes, a great judge has finally arrived in Bianliang. Oh, there's something new in this paper. Our Zhao Qingtian dismissed over a hundred officials from the Salt and Iron Bureau in one go the other day. He's quite courageous."
"What about this?"
"You don't know this, do you? I have a relative who works in the government office. I vaguely heard about it yesterday."
"Does he know why Zhao Qingtian wants to dismiss these officials?"
"How would I know that?"
"It's on this big piece of paper. It says these people are disregarding the orders of the Constitutional Council, defying the government and the Constitutional Council. The leader is Liu Yuanyu, the Deputy Envoy of the Three Departments. The Imperial City Department has ordered an investigation into him."
"Do we still need to investigate Liu Yuanyu? I heard that he's secretly selling banned substances. Many people know about it, but because he's a high-ranking official, no one's watching."
"He's just unlucky. Meeting Zhao Qingtian is a dead end, isn't it?"
"Lao Zhang, let me take a look at this big piece of paper."
Many neighbors were talking about it. Because the noise was so loud, people who were having morning tea nearby heard it and came over out of curiosity.
Soon the newspaper was passed from Zhang San to Li Si, and then to Wang Wu, and finally they started to be snatched away.
The shopkeeper intervened, saying, "Alright, alright. The man who delivered this large piece of paper said that every seven days, this newspaper will be sold in Bianliang for 12 wen a copy. It will contain all the important news from the court and other major events, and it will also contain poetry."
"Then I'll have to buy one. This thing is really interesting. News comes much faster than hearing it from others."
Someone immediately expressed support.
Rumors in Bianliang spread quickly. For example, if more than a hundred officials were dismissed and returned home in disgrace, their families, friends, and servants would always get the news and spread it.
But the speed of word of mouth is much slower than that of news widely publicized in newspapers, so even if it happened the day before yesterday, not many people know about it today.
Now that there were newspapers, news from the imperial court and the marketplace quickly spread throughout Bianliang. For a time, the people applauded Zhao Jun's actions.
What they need is someone who dares to crack down on chaotic officialdom and combat evil forces.
Compared to the common people in Bianliang who were more concerned about the news of the eradication of the evil forces that were closely related to them, another group of people were concerned about much more than that.
The Jinshui River flows into the Jinyao Gate of the outer city, into the Liang Gate of the inner city, then passes through the Xihua Gate of the imperial palace, flows out from the Donghua Gate, and finally reaches the Jiucao Gate.
Outside the Old Cao Gate, golden willows sway in the wind, and colorful dragon boats are tied to the distant shore. A thousand-step rainbow bridge, its jagged, goose-tooth structure, leads directly to the Water Palace. Around the Golden Causeway, graceful fish and dragons play, delicate spring silks and brocades gather, and the sound of silk pipes fills the air. The glorious clear sky seems to glimpse the tranquil waters of Penglai.
From Nanxie Street to Niuxing Street, it is a famous entertainment venue in Bianliang.
On the north bank of the Jinshui River stood the Zhu family's tile house, on the south bank were brothels, and on the northeast bank was the Jingde Temple, with its red walls, gray tiles, and imposing pagoda. Across the river from the temple stood a cluster of brothels, with willows dancing in the autumn breeze below and silk ribbons swaying in the breeze above.
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