Chapter 49 Chapter 49 Advertise
"Just because of the Empress Dowager's birthday, the Emperor gave the young princes another day off. He keeps making exceptions like this. What should we do?"
After Yonghuang and Yonglian went to Shoukang Palace, Mingrui and Erdeng'e also returned home. On his way back to the Hanlin Academy, Chen Dehua met Agui, who had come to teach Manchu.
Ah Gui laughed and said, "It's just a one-day holiday. The princes only have five days off each year, and even with the Emperor's birthday, it's only six days. When I was a child, I still had ten days of rest each year. The princes are really hard-working..."
As the two walked and talked, a guard passed by. Ah Gui suddenly raised his voice, "The princes being able to show filial piety to the Empress Dowager and make her happy is as meaningful as studying. This also proves that the Emperor is truly filial and a role model for his subjects."
Chen Dehua: “???”
No longer having to teach in the Shangshufang, Agui returned to the Ministry of War to continue his work.
He took the provincial examination last year and passed as a Juren. He could have easily chosen not to take the exam, since he already had a job. But after ten years of hard study, he was eager to test his abilities.
For a Manchu, passing the imperial examination at this age was extremely rare. Not only was his father Akten satisfied, but Emperor Qianlong was also pleased, and he was even more confident that Akten would teach the two princes.
Qianlong always attached great importance to his children's Manchu education, and he also asked Agui to explain the meaning of many scriptures that the Han teachers wanted to explain.
For the Empress Dowager's birthday, Yonghuang and Yonglian both prepared gifts. Yonghuang copied a scroll of the Diamond Sutra to pray for the Empress Dowager, while Yonglian painted a family portrait, including the Empress Dowager, Khan Ama, the Empress, his fifth uncle, his fifth aunt, and his brothers and sisters of the same generation.
Yonglian spent the better part of a month on this painting, even having a foreign master help guide him. Although it was drawn with charcoal, it's incredibly lifelike, capturing every detail of each character's features.
The Empress Dowager was extremely happy, and even Hong Zhou, Wu Zaku and others kept praising Yonglian for his talent.
Qianlong was delighted to hear this and immediately ordered the Imperial Household Department to frame the painting and hang it in the front hall of Shoukang Palace.
Niu Lun wrote a poem for the Queen Mother. This was the first time the little girl wrote a poem. She was afraid that her writing was childish and was a little shy.
After she finished reading, the few people present who understood poetry just wanted to say that her level was not much worse than that of the emperor.
Qianlong had a filter when he read his daughter's poems. He was so proud that he wanted to let all the civil and military officials see them.
Yonghuang's calligraphy was good, so Qianlong asked Yonghuang to copy more of his sister's poems and distribute them to the princes of the royal family.
Seeing that Khan Ama loved to show off so much, Yonglian had an idea in his mind. After the banquet was over in the evening, he ran to find Khan Ama.
"We can publish something similar to a palace gazette, which would publish poems and articles by the Khan, Ama, and other members of the royal family. This would allow more scholars to witness the royal family's talent and wisdom, and also serve to educate the common people."
Qianlong's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Then he shook his head and said, "The printing costs are too high. The imperial treasury doesn't have that much money, and the Ministry of Revenue is certainly not going to pay for it." Because court reports were mostly circulated among officials, they were usually copied by hired personnel. Only local yamen with a large number of officials would print them locally. Simply copying or printing court reports was a significant expense for local yamen. If they were asked to pay for it specifically to promote the imperial poems, they would certainly not be happy.
Yonglian said, "This newspaper is different from the imperial gazette. You have to pay to buy it. Those scholars will definitely want to read the poems written by the emperor and the princes. There is no worry about it not being able to sell."
Qianlong tapped his son on the top of his head and said, "You little brat, if you don't know, you'd think our family is short of money."
"You're not saying that. The treasury doesn't have that much money." Yonglian puffed out his cheeks. "I heard there are quite a few newspaper houses among the people. We can ask them to print the newspapers. Not only can they promote your poems and articles, but they can also advertise some workshops and shops."
Qianlong thought about it and thought that if this newspaper was sold to scholars, it would be effective to advertise some shops selling the four treasures of the study in it.
"Of course we can't advertise for free. Isn't it too much to charge a little money for each advertisement?" Yonglian smiled. "We can also publish missing person notices, lost items notices, and so on. We can charge according to the amount of space occupied. This way, not only will we not lose money, we might even make back the money we spent on copying the court gazette."
Qianlong: "...This matter is not easy to handle. I will summon your uncle Hongxiao to the palace later, and you can discuss it with him."
When Yonglian heard this, he knew there was something interesting going on, and happily agreed, "Don't forget, all the scholars in the world are waiting to read your poems."
Qianlong snorted, "Not everyone can read my poems." He would certainly select them for publication, highlighting his diligence and love for the people. Those poems that came from his heart and expressed his true feelings would not be shown to the common people. An emperor still had to have a certain aura of mystery.
Hongxiao served as a guard at the Qianqing Gate last year. When it was his turn to be on duty, Emperor Qianlong summoned him to the Yangxin Palace.
"I don't have time to bother with the newspaper Yonglian wants to publish. You are good at poetry and prose, so you are suitable to be in charge of this matter. You two should discuss it and write a charter for me later." Qianlong said.
When Hongxiao heard about the format of the newspaper, he was also very interested and couldn't wait to meet Yonglian.
"Go find him in the Shangshufang. They should be practicing calligraphy right now." Qianlong waved his hand.
Hong Xiao agreed and went to the Shangshufang.
The master had already left, and the four children were writing. Yonglian couldn't sit still, so he went to Erden'e and Mingrui to ask about the newspaper office in the capital.
There were both official and private newspaper offices in the capital. In addition to officials who needed court reports, some gentry would also pay to purchase court reports to obtain first-hand information from the court.
In the past two years, officials and gentry in the north have been required to serve and pay taxes together. In order to know the court's policies in advance, many gentry would buy official bulletins to see where the imperial envoys such as Nianqin were.
Erdeng'e's father, Yongchang, was transferred to the post of Governor of Zhili two years ago. The Governor's Office also needed a court report, so Erdeng'e was more familiar with it.
Hongxiao saw it from outside the window and knocked on it.
Yonghuang and Yonglian were both surprised to see him.
Erdeng'e, who was closest to the door, immediately went to open it. Yonglian hurriedly asked, "Uncle Hongxiao, are you here to discuss publishing a newspaper with us?"
Hong Xiao said, "My royal brother only asked me to discuss this with you."
"It's the same, let's discuss it together." Yonglian asked Hongxiao to sit in the master's seat and ordered someone to pour tea.
Yonghuang, Mingrui and others also thought that the newspaper format was very novel, but they were worried that scholars would not be willing to spend money on it. After all, the imperial poems had no practical use, so it would not matter if they knew about it a few days later.
Hong Xiao thought for a while and said, "Then I can publish some chapter-based novels in the newspapers. To know what happens next, please listen to the next chapter. I'm sure readers will rush to buy them." He didn't know about others, but he couldn't stop reading novels. If he was interrupted in the middle, he would be anxious to know the subsequent plot.
Yonglian clapped his hands and said, "That's a good idea! This is called serialization!"
“You can also publish some anecdotes,” Mingrui said.
Yonglian took out a pen and paper and wrote down everyone's ideas.
"Since the people who buy newspapers are mainly scholars, it would be better to let those who have passed the imperial examinations give them some advice on how to prepare for the exam." Yonghuang also suggested.
"Brother, you're so smart!" Yonglian said with a smile, "Let's create a section called... Interviews with Jinshi Scholars!"
Everyone thinks that this section must be very popular. In the minds of scholars, the imperial examination is the most important thing. Who doesn’t want to see the success stories of the successful candidates?
"I heard from my royal brother that in order to make money, you want this newspaper to promote your workshop and shop?" Hong Xiao looked at Yonglian.
Yonglian nodded and said, "Let's call this form advertising. Let it be known to the public."
"In this case, local newspapers will need to print their own papers," Hong Xiao said. "How will the court supervise and control this?"
Yonglian said: "Each local newspaper office shall appoint a reviewer. The contents to be published by the imperial court shall be stamped with the imperial seal. The contents to be published by local official newspaper offices shall also be stamped with the seal of the local government. Newspapers without the seal shall not be published or distributed."
The newspaper industry must be controlled by the government. Once the people start using newspapers to make money, even if there are no reactionary remarks, Khan Ama will not agree to the newspaper's continued existence.
Hong Xiao thought for a moment and said, "We can't let a local official be the reviewer. He has to be from the Imperial Household Department. Only then can we feel at ease."
Yonglian frowned, "Doesn't this require too many people?"
"It would be better if there were more. Many bondservants of the upper three banners have no jobs, so this is a good way for them to make money," said Hong Xiao.
When it was time for dinner, before everyone had finished their discussion, Hongxiao stayed in the Shangshufang to have dinner with his nephews.
Yonglian suggested a trial run in Zhili to first calculate costs and secondly to gauge readers' feedback on the newspaper. He then made adjustments and rolled it out to other provinces.
Hongxiao went back to write a memorial, and after waiting for Emperor Qianlong's approval, he could start forming a team.
Qianlong did not expect that Yonghuang, Mingrui and others also participated in the discussion.
Yonglian is not afraid at all that others will take away his credit. Moreover, if this newspaper is established, he can use it to gather his own team and even place his own people in the local area. But why did this kid pull Yonghuang into it as well?
Yonglian had no intention of taking charge of this matter. Running a newspaper is not an easy job. He now has to study and take care of the Huimin Canteen. How could he have the energy to take care of this matter?
He thought Khan Ama would let Hongxiao take charge, but he didn't expect that after reading Hongxiao's memorial, Khan Ama actually asked him what kind of manpower he wanted?
"Son, you don't know? You should ask Uncle Hongxiao."
"You were the one who brought up this matter. Do you still want to be a hands-off boss?" Qianlong frowned.
"I just gave an idea. The follow-up matters will depend on Khan Ama's arrangements." Yonglian muttered.
"I will put you in charge and let Hongxiao help you." Qianlong said.
"My son is still young." Yonglian said, "How can an eight-year-old prince take on an errand?"
"It will be nine years old next year."
"Nine years old is still a child!" Yonglian rolled his eyes. "How about letting my eldest brother take care of it? He will be eleven next year."
"No!" Qianlong became even angrier when he heard this. "You came up with this idea, why should you give it to your elder brother?"
Yonglian: "...but my son doesn't have time."
"You have time to sleep but no time to take care of these things?" Qianlong was furious with his lazy son.
Yonglian: “…”
"With your Uncle Hongxiao's help, you won't be burdened." Seeing his son's frown, Qianlong pinched his cheek. "I'm not asking you to print or proofread, I'm just checking. If it doesn't turn out the way you want, you can adjust it early and hand it over to someone else. It would be difficult for you to interfere then."
"All right."
Qianlong: “…”
Brothers of Khan's generation were always vying for the job, and the emperor wouldn't necessarily respond to them. But when it came to him, he pushed the job into his son's hands, and his son was reluctant.
After a few years, when he has more brothers, Yonglian will realize how good he is to him.
Because Yonglian wanted to discuss something with Hongxiao, he asked Qianlong to agree to let him go to Prince Yi's Mansion.
After all, the Shangshufang is not a place to discuss things, and Hongxiao cannot go to the prince's residence casually.
This time, they will go to Prince Yi's Mansion first. Once the team is assembled, Qianlong will arrange a room for them in the Imperial Household Department.
Yonglian was very happy to be able to visit Uncle Hongxiao's house.
He wanted to take Yonghuang with him, but was ruthlessly rejected by Qianlong.
Yonglian could only promise his elder brother that he would bring him some delicious and fun things when he returned.
Yonghuang felt a little disappointed, but could only comfort himself in his heart that homework was important. He also promised Yonglian that he would write down the notes and wait for Yonglian to come back and read them.
On the day of his departure, Fu Wen and five or six other imperial guards came to pay their respects to Yonglian, saying, "The Emperor has ordered us servants to be at the service of the prince."
Together with the eunuchs, the coachman, and a clerk from the book editing office, the group set off in a mighty procession.
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