Chapter 155
155
The second prince was afraid that there might be spies sent by the enemy country in the capital, so he entered the palace to report to the emperor, who immediately conducted a thorough investigation of the entire city. He might be able to find their hideout and rescue the third prince.
When the third prince disappeared, the emperor had already sent people to search the entire place, but they did not find the third prince. Even if he was caught by spies sent by the enemy country, he was probably taken out of the city. Who knows, they might use the third prince to make deals with them in the future.
The second prince said that he wanted to investigate the matter again thoroughly and he wanted to do it personally.
Seeing that he was so worried about the safety of the Third Prince, the Emperor nodded with satisfaction, "I didn't expect that your Third Brother loves to oppose you, but you still care about him. You are a good brother."
The Second Prince: "He is my brother after all. He is still young and ignorant. I don't blame him. I am not only thinking about my third brother, but also about the safety of my father and the people. If spies from the enemy country can enter and leave the capital at will, it will cause panic among the people."
The emperor allowed him to search the entire city, but he had to wait until after he attended the celebration ceremony.
The second prince thought that he had just killed those spies and should pursue them to prevent them from escaping. He did not stop for a moment and immediately went to search the whole city.
This search actually found seven spies, but did not find the third prince.
Among the seven spies, one was left alive, and the rest committed suicide by taking poison the moment they were caught. Only that one spy had his chin pinched by the second prince, which dislocated his jaw, preventing him from having the chance to swallow the poison.
However, this spy was very stubborn and no matter how he was interrogated, nothing useful could be obtained from him.
Although nothing could be learned from the question, this was still a great achievement for the Second Prince. The Emperor rewarded the Second Prince with many things and even asked Cheng Yeran to write about this matter in the newspaper. Both sides of the newspaper were filled with the Second Prince's achievements.
When Cheng Yeran learned that the Second Prince would rest at home for a while after his return, he specially sent a letter to the Second Prince, wanting to do an exclusive interview at the Prince's Mansion.
The second prince knew that it was the emperor's intention for him to come here, so he also met him.
But when the Second Prince saw him, he looked him up and down, frowned and said, "Why weren't you there last time?"
"Last time? Which time?" Cheng Yeran thought of Yang Shiming's meeting with the Second Prince. Maybe the Second Prince was talking about that time. He explained, "During the period when I was an official in the court, it was normal that the Second Prince had not met me."
The second prince nodded and did not bring up the topic any more. Instead, he said, "I have read your newspaper. It is well done. I will tell you my experience without reservation, but I have one request."
"What's the request?" Cheng Yeran asked.
"My deputy general, Deputy General Shao, has also made a lot of efforts. We cannot just write about my achievements. Her contributions must also be spread and let the world know about them." said the second prince.
Cheng Yeran had learned before that the second prince's deputy general was Shao Hui's sister. "That's natural, but the emperor said he wanted to write about you, so I will give her some space appropriately."
He took out a pen and paper and said, "Why don't you invite your deputy general over here? If you two accept my interview together, I can write a more detailed article."
The Second Prince had seen many officials before, and they all looked down on his deputy general because she was a woman. He said this to test Cheng Yeran and see Cheng Yeran's attitude. Cheng Yeran's answer made him very satisfied, and he also appreciated Cheng Yeran a little more. "I'll ask someone to invite her over. She is a good general, but everyone cares more about her identity as a woman and her father. There are also many people who speculate about our relationship, saying that she will definitely marry me and become my prince consort in the future. These rumors have overshadowed her achievements, which is very unfair to her."
Cheng Yeran also looked at him with a higher opinion, thinking that it was not easy for an ancient person to have such an idea.
Originally, Cheng Yeran had heard rumors about the two of them and really thought they were lovers, but when he met Shao Hui's sister Shao Xi, he realized that the way they got along was more like good friends.
Shao Xi is like the calm and collected heroine in TV dramas, she is very rational when answering questions and speaks logically, the two of them together make a brave and resourceful couple.
The second prince is responsible for bravery, and she is responsible for strategy, but she has also practiced martial arts and is very skilled.
Cheng Yeran listened for the whole day, listening to how to kill the enemy on the battlefield and how to use strategies to lure the enemy. He was so excited that after this issue of the newspaper came out, people all over the country were talking about the Second Prince and Shao Xi, and many people regarded them as idols.
During this period, another incident occurred. The enemy country sent a letter to the emperor to discuss cooperation. They said that they had captured the third prince and wanted to exchange him for the spy, otherwise they would kill the third prince.
But at this time, the spy died in the cell. He was tortured too harshly during the interrogation and could not hold on. The wound became infected and he lost his life.
Although the emperor had no feelings for the third prince, he had to get him back. The second prince said that he had someone pretend to be a spy and send him in for exchange. If the exchange was discovered, he would take the third prince back.
The emperor saw that he had just returned and didn't want him to go through any more trouble, so he sent someone else. However, the second prince said that he was worried about his younger brother and insisted on going there in person. The emperor finally agreed.
…
Cheng Yeran's news department has received so many letters recently that the whole house is filled with them.
He divided the news department into several departments, including those responsible for interviewing reporters and writing articles, the department responsible for reviewing articles, the department responsible for typesetting, the department responsible for reading and selecting letters, and the department responsible for liaison with the printing department.
Selection Letter
IA
The department in charge told Cheng Yeran that there were a lot of trivial matters that were annoying and time-consuming. They asked Cheng Yeran if he could explain them in the newspaper and not send letters for trivial matters.
After Cheng Yeran read the trivial matters they mentioned, he said, "The masses trust us, we can't think they are troublesome. You pick out these trivial matters and classify them. I will report to the emperor and ask him to assign more people to us, so you won't be so busy."
They didn't understand why Cheng Yeran wanted to do such a time-consuming task, but when they heard that Cheng Yeran had assigned people to them, their resentment was reduced a lot.
On weekdays, Cheng Li Yeran is very nice to the people in his department. The salary of their department is much higher than that of officials of the same level, and there is also a bonus system, where the more you work, the more you earn.
In addition to these benefits provided by the court, Cheng Yeran would also bring them some snacks and food on weekdays, and said that he would apply for vacations for them in the future and try to get them a publicly funded trip every year.
They knew that the emperor valued him, and if he applied, the emperor would most likely agree. Cheng Yeran was so good to them, so they would naturally obey Cheng Yeran's command wholeheartedly.
Cheng Yeran took some of the letters to see the emperor and suggested to the emperor that they should start a daily newspaper in the capital. They had received a lot of letters, and if they published a newspaper once a month, they would not be able to report on all of them.
The emperor asked him what the contents of the letters were, one a day, and whether he could finish writing them.
Cheng Yeran said, "Some are small matters, such as someone stealing his chickens and the government not caring, or someone's signboard is too big and covers the window of his shop. There are also major events such as the destruction of a family and the death of a person. Major events are written on the second page of the monthly report, and minor events are written on the daily report. Of course, this requires Your Majesty to send more people to our department."
"It's just a trivial matter. There's no need to waste manpower." The emperor didn't care and even felt that it was cheap for their newspapers to report these things.
"What seem like trivial matters to us are huge matters to ordinary people. Some people may be crushed by these trivial matters." Cheng Yeran thought of some future adjustment columns. Many things may seem small, but ordinary people cannot solve them by themselves. They need reporters to help report them in order to get attention.
Nowadays, government officials in various places are unwilling to take care of the people's affairs. In some places, when people go to report a case, they have to be beaten with ten boards before they can speak out their grievances. If the case is exposed in the newspapers, we will see if those officials dare to fool the people and the court again in the future.
We will start with a daily newspaper for the capital, and then we can start local daily newspapers. Each place will have to set up its own news department, which will create a number of jobs.
What the emperor wants is peace and prosperity for the country. If he only reports on superficial prosperity, he cannot truly achieve peace and prosperity for the country. So he let Cheng Yeran try it first, but he doesn't have to publish a daily newspaper from the beginning. He can publish every five or ten days. When new candidates come in next year, he can let him select more people to publish a daily newspaper.
Cheng Yeran said that the preliminary work would take a long time. First, some events would be accumulated, enough to publish the newspaper for a while, and then printing and selling would begin.
This can also become a source of income for the news department. Daily newspapers can not only help people solve their problems, but people also like to read about other people's trivial matters, so sales will be very high.
According to Cheng Yeran's observation, there were many people who could read in this era. Even in their village, more than half of the men could read. For example, Yuanbao's family did not expect him to take the imperial examination when he was a child. They just wanted him to learn to write some basic characters.
Even the villages treat children like this, let alone the counties and cities. If they can read, they will buy newspapers to read, which may bring them a considerable income.
When he got home from get off work, he found the house was very lively today. Lin Yu had prepared a wedding dress for Liu Ya, and Liu Ya was trying it on.
Liu Ya usually likes gorgeous and bright clothes. This time she is going to marry into the palace, so naturally she has to dress decently. Lin Yu specially referred to the styles of wedding dresses worn by many high-ranking officials' daughters, and then made some improvements. The clothes he made are definitely unique and beautiful in the capital.
After Liu Ya put on the dress, she spun around happily. "I used to think that getting married was not a good thing, but it actually has one advantage, which is that I can wear a beautiful wedding dress."
Lin Yu and Shen Yuntang couldn't help but laugh at him. Cheng Yeran saw how happy he was and asked him, "You seem so happy recently. Are you looking forward to marrying the prince?"
Liu Ya was happy recently because she heard that the enemy country admitted that they had captured the third prince, so she no longer had to worry. "If I marry into the palace, I will have countless wealth and glory in the future. I am naturally looking forward to it."
"What about the prince? Do you like him?" Cheng Yeran asked him.
Liu Ya was a little angry, "Cousin, you are too nosy. How can a man ask me such a question?"
Shen Yuntang also said to him: "You asked too directly."
"I'm just worried that he will jump into the fire pit." Cheng Yeran said.
"I am very satisfied with this marriage. You don't have to worry about me." Liu Ya said and ran into the house to change clothes.
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