"May I ask Your Majesty, what exactly is this... Great Han Times?"
Looking at the contents of the plan, Cao Song looked at Liu Hong with some confusion.
"This is a new propaganda medium! Some government affairs can be printed on it so that the people can truly understand the government's policies, so as to prevent anyone from interfering, misinterpreting the government's orders, and misleading the people!"
You can also promote other things, such as heroic tales, folk anecdotes, life tips, and how to farm, etc.!
Liu Hong then told everyone about some things concerning the newspaper.
Cao Song's eyes lit up. "Hmm, Your Majesty's idea is simply brilliant! With this newspaper, scholars can truly know everything happening in the world without leaving their homes!"
"Yes, and it can also completely control public opinion in the hands of the court, so as to prevent villains from attacking the court with rumors. It will definitely become the best tool for guiding public opinion!"
Xi Zhicai also exclaimed in admiration that since he took charge of the Military and Political Affairs Department, no one understood the importance of propaganda and the terrifying power of public opinion better than him.
As the saying goes, "three men can make a tiger," meaning that if you want to ruin someone, besides killing them, the most ruthless way is to make them lose all their reputation.
Now that newspapers are prevalent, everything will be under the control of the imperial court, and it will be easy to deal with anyone it wants.
Liu Hong smiled and looked at the people present, saying with a laugh:
"You are right, which is why I have summoned you here to discuss the promotion of newspapers and how to get the people to accept and believe the contents of the newspapers as quickly as possible!"
"Your Majesty is right. The emergence of this new type of carrier must first be accepted by the people!"
The three nodded and began to think about this method.
"I believe that before establishing newspapers, we should first publish some interesting articles to attract people to buy and read them!"
"Your Majesty, are you referring to those heroic tales?" Xi Zhicai couldn't help but ask.
Liu Hong smiled and nodded, "Those things are definitely indispensable! But right now there's something even more exciting!"
"Oh? Your Majesty is referring to the matter concerning Chu Qian?"
Cao Song looked at Liu Hong and asked curiously.
Liu Hong smiled and nodded, "That's right, Chu Qian has now become a household name in Luoyang! People will naturally be very interested in his story and his specific experiences on the grasslands!"
"Your Majesty's idea is excellent; it can quickly boost the newspaper's profile!"
The three of them agreed with Liu Hong's idea.
"Your Majesty, I wonder how much this newspaper costs? If it's too expensive, I'm afraid many people won't buy it?"
Thinking of the price of fifty coins for a single sheet of ink paper, Xi Zhicai couldn't help but show a hint of worry on his face.
"Hmm, Zhicai is right. Newspapers shouldn't be too expensive, otherwise it's not good for publicity!"
Hearing Xi Zhicai's concerns, Liu Hong nodded and began to ponder.
Cao Song said, "Your Majesty, I think it would be better to price it at ten coins per page. This way, the newspaper will still make a profit, and the people will be able to afford it!"
Now that Cao Song knows the true cost of papermaking, he believes that after deducting various expenses, the cost of a single page of newspaper is only about one qian (a unit of currency), and selling it for ten qian would still yield a very considerable profit.
Xi Zhicai hurriedly said, "No, ten coins is equivalent to a day's food for a young adult. Many people will certainly not be willing to buy it, and this will definitely affect the sales volume!"
Liu Hong nodded. "Yes, Zhicai is right. Newspapers are all about small profits and quick turnover. Only when more people buy them can they fulfill their purpose and make more money!"
Cao Song nodded, then asked, "Your Majesty is right. I wonder how Your Majesty thinks the price should be set?"
Liu Hong thought for a moment, then said, "Let's set the price at two coins per sheet for these individual small newspapers."
As for the larger sheet of paper that will later be combined into four pages, it will be priced at five qian per sheet!
"Two coins...?"
Upon hearing the price set by the emperor, Cao Song was momentarily stunned.
"Your Majesty, isn't two coins a bit too low?"
You must understand that the people in the imperial court don't yet know the true cost of papermaking. If newspapers were sold for two coins a sheet, they would see a loss of forty coins per page after accounting for printing costs. I'm afraid they wouldn't agree to that!
Cao Song looked at Liu Hong with a worried expression. If 60,000 newspapers were printed every day, outsiders would think that they would lose more than two million yuan every day. As the printing scale expanded, the losses would only increase.
The Grand Tutor and the Three Dukes would not agree to handing over the newspaper office to the imperial court.
The court officials would certainly not agree to handing it over to the royal trading company.
Because the current papermaking scale is still small, with a daily output of 200,000 sheets, it is barely enough for Luoyang and the surrounding areas.
If we have to allocate 60,000 pages of paper every day to make newspapers, how much money will we lose?
If you do the math, the losses will only be greater!
Now that the Royal Merchant Guild and the officials have become a community of shared interests, they naturally wouldn't support a money-losing industry.
Furthermore, papermaking remains the Royal Trading Company's primary source of revenue, and the cost of papermaking was something that could never be disclosed until all industries were developed.
Liu Hong was naturally aware of the key points: one was that prices could not be raised, and the other was that prices could not be lowered.
Liu Hong thought for a moment, then said, "How about this, the Royal Trading Company should immediately expand the scale of the paper mill and printing plant to increase the production of ink and paper as soon as possible."
Construction of the Chang'an branch factory should begin immediately, and efforts should be made to reduce ink and paper prices as much as possible by the end of the year!
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