Chapter 55 Chapter 55 How to employ people
The third issue of "Guochao News" has reached a new high in popularity among readers.
Not to mention the imperial poems of the three emperors, each of them has its own style, and everyone seems to be able to get a glimpse of the emperor's own character from the poems.
Advertisements have taken on new forms, including not only text descriptions but also posters.
This advertisement is for a rouge shop. The poster shows Dong Shi who instantly turns into a beautiful woman after using their rouge. People around her can't tell who is Dong Shi and who is Xi Shi.
This painting was not painted by Yonglian, but was painted by a Western painter commissioned by Yanzhipuhua at a high price. The style is somewhat similar to Yonglian's comic strips.
The owner behind this rouge shop is a powerful figure. She is none other than Yunmi's legitimate wife, Uya, who is also Haiwang's daughter.
Yun Mi came to greet Yong Lian personally, saying that it was his own business and he would take care of it. Advertising fees were not a problem. Yong Lian had to give him face, after all, the advertising fees were really generous.
Some readers scoffed at the advertisement in the third issue, thinking it was inappropriate to advertise such women's products in the newspaper.
There were even officials who submitted impeachment petitions. Emperor Qianlong felt quite uncomfortable at first, as he thought a rouge shop was not a respectable place.
But when Yonglian told him the amount of advertising fees, Qianlong stopped talking.
What's wrong with the Rouge Shop? If you dislike rouge, why not tell the women in your family not to use it?
They are all daily necessities for the people, so why distinguish between high and low?
Although the scholars complained a lot, the advertising effect was very good.
Many people who didn't buy the newspaper also heard from others about this rouge shop that could turn ugly women into beautiful women.
The Yunmi couple were overjoyed. When Prince Zhen's wife returned to her parents' home to visit her father, she kept praising the Second Prince for his intelligence.
Hai Wang and Yong Lian had come into contact quite a bit during their previous work on the manufacture of two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicles. Hai Wang wasn't surprised to hear his daughter praise the Second Prince's newspaper.
This is where the benefits of a secret succession come into play. If the Second Prince knew he was the Crown Prince, he would definitely be restricted in what he did. But now that everyone is pretending not to know, the Second Prince doesn't have to worry so much and can fully display his talents.
Whether the emperor supports his son in his heart is one thing, but he must support his son in public.
Everyone else knew that the Second Prince was the future crown prince, so they naturally worked hard.
In this way, it would be easier for the Second Prince to accomplish anything he wanted to do, which would form a virtuous circle. The Emperor would be more satisfied with the Second Prince, and the next time the Second Prince had any ideas, the Emperor would be willing to fully support him...
Take the rumors on the street some time ago, for example. Everyone was worried about the Second Prince and Prince Yi after hearing them.
Rather than persuading the emperor, it is more important to suppress such remarks.
It was the loyal and patriotic Grand Secretary Zhang Tingyu who came up with a solution. He held a banquet at home and invited great scholars such as Fang Bao and Shen Deqian.
When everyone was writing poems and couplets, they inadvertently discussed the imperial poems. Fang Bao put forward a point of view - appreciating imperial poems is different from appreciating other poems. The artistic conception and rhythm are secondary. The most important thing is the emperor's mind in the poems.
To put it bluntly, the emperor wrote poetry not to let everyone know that he was an excellent poet, but to let everyone know that he was an excellent emperor.
On the contrary, those imperial poems full of love and melancholy about spring and autumn are not good. As an emperor, how can he act like a child if he doesn't care about the suffering of the people?
Judging by this standard, most of the current emperor’s poems are good poems.
Zhang Tingyu and others all agreed with Fang Bao's views. Someone present wrote an article and circulated it among scholars.
This view is not to defend the current emperor's poetry, but to propose a new standard of evaluation.
But this was more clever than any defense, and it easily saved the emperor's face without making these literati appear to be fawning and flattering.
Even Hai Wang, who usually didn't like these Han ministers, had to admire their methods.
Little did he know that Fang Bao didn't really want to get involved in this matter at first. The emperor's poems were indeed ordinary and the rumors were true.
But during a class discussing Confucius's theory of poetry, the Second Prince brought up the differences between the poetry of poets, the poetry of literati, and the poetry of emperors. In order to prove his point, the Second Prince, who had always been a perfunctory reader, also dug up many arguments.
The second prince's performance in class was not outstanding, and some of his views were even inconsistent with the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism advocated by Fang Bao.
But this time the old man was somewhat moved. The Second Prince was so sincere and filial that he came up with this method to restore the emperor's reputation.
He was willing to help the Second Prince, both to fulfill his filial piety and to maintain the Emperor's reputation.
The reason why Fang Bao was moved by Yonglian was, of course, because he didn't know that Yonglian was the sponsor of "Guochao News".
The second prince’s name was not in the newspaper.
Because Mr. Fang Bao was a serious teacher with conservative views, little gossip was exchanged in his class, let alone conversation about other topics like in math class. It was normal for Fang Bao to remain in the dark.
Qianlong had no intention of telling him, for fear that the old man would say that Yonglian was not doing his job properly.
In comparison, Agui knew a lot, after all, the first issue of "Guochao News" interviewed Agui's father.
Yonglian immediately approached Agui and asked him to ask Akundun if he was willing to be interviewed.
Akdon was not very happy at first, as people subconsciously reject unfamiliar things. But he could not resist Agui's soft persuasion, and he persuaded his father with both emotional and logical persuasion.
Agui had also heard the rumors some time ago. He was worried about the Second Prince and the newspaper. The imperial poem was not important, but the newspaper must be saved!
While Han officials were trying to change the tide of events, Agui was also speaking on behalf of the imperial poems among the students of the Imperial College.
But Agui would just close his eyes and praise, and even took out the "Complete Works of Leshantang" that the emperor had previously awarded to his family, so that everyone could appreciate the emperor's poems.
It happened that at this time Qianlong received memorials from Shanxi Governor Shi Lin and Shandong Governor Fa Min, requesting that all localities publish Qianlong's "Complete Works of Leshan Hall" so that scholars could study the emperor's poems like the Five Classics.
Qianlong quickly issued an edict, stating that his poems could not be compared with the Five Classics and did not need to be specially published and circulated. It was sufficient for him to occasionally publish a few poems in newspapers to demonstrate his love for the people.
Because of Qianlong's modesty in the edict, he received praise from the literati.
Hongxi's actions did not cause any harm to Emperor Qianlong and his son, except for exposing his own evil intentions.
"Guochao News" is still in full swing, and starting from March, other provinces also began to officially publish it.
Originally, the governors of some provinces were not very supportive of this matter. The Ministry of Internal Affairs had to send someone to review it, recruit people to sell it in various places, and guard against small workshops printing it privately. Finally, someone had to send a copy back to Beijing for archiving, which added a lot of workload.
However, within a month, local governments realized the benefits of this newspaper. Not only did they earn back the money they invested in the local government, but they also earned back the money they earned from copying the newspaper.
In provinces with more developed commerce such as Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian, the price of advertising is also very high. In some cases, the price of placing an advertisement in a newspaper has been raised to 100 taels.
After learning the news, Emperor Qianlong criticized the local officials in his imperial edict, saying that they could not make money from this. The effect of the advertisement was there, and one hundred taels was the upper limit. If they gave more and the effect was not achieved, these merchants would put the blame on the court.
What Qianlong was actually afraid of was that local merchants would use this as an excuse to honor local officials, and the amount they reported was one hundred taels, but in fact it was several times more.
When the truth comes out one day, they will push the blame onto the editorial team of Guochao News and say that Yonglian is using this to make money. That will cause huge trouble.
When he met his son at Changchun Xianguan in the evening, Qianlong told him about his father's painstaking efforts.
"Khan Ama, you are the best. You are the best Ama in the world." Upon hearing this, Yonglian immediately hugged Khan Ama's arm and acted coquettishly.
The Queen also said, "Your Majesty is really worried."
Qianlong thought that there were too many lessons from the past, and he certainly couldn't just watch his son jump into the pit.
"Yonglian is so stupid, can I not worry about him?" Qianlong said with an impatient look.
Yonglian thought, "It's okay if he's stupid. If he's too capable, it's hard to slack off. Just like my sixteenth and seventeenth uncles, they were so capable that they were always busy."
But Seventeenth Uncle's hard work was not in vain. He not only led the Imperial Household Department and the Military Academy to manufacture the flintlock rifle designed by Dai Zi, but also studied the breech-loading rifle. I heard that there has been progress.
The Old Summer Palace was large, so Emperor Qianlong asked Yunlu to teach the children in the Shangshufang how to use the new flintlock rifle. This rifle was much easier to use than the matchlock rifle and was more suitable for shooting at moving targets.
Yonghuang and Yonglian had a foundation in the art and were able to pick it up quickly. However, the three Mongolian children had never used a musket before and were initially frightened by the flintlock rifle.
In this matter, the three of them started from the same point and all learned from scratch.
Dadu's advantage was gone, and the young boy was a little anxious. The more anxious he was, the less he could learn, and Yunlu criticized him several times.
Alawangbu is a little timid and always nervous when holding a gun.
Balzhuer became the one who learned the fastest, and Yunlu praised Balzhuer in front of Qianlong.
Qianlong laughed and said, "They all get along well with you. You like everyone you see."
"Your Majesty is right. Their family tradition is good, and the boys are lively, cheerful and good at speaking. My two sons-in-law never miss any etiquette during festivals, and they are also very obedient to their wives. I often advise my fourth girl not to be too spoiled." Yunlu said with a smile.
Qianlong thought that his son Niu Lun was not a spoiled person, and if he met a gentle prince consort, their life would surely be a sweet one.
"It's just that Balzhuer is a child with no ambition. I heard that his ambition is to become a royal guard." Qianlong heard this from Fuheng, who of course knew it from Mingrui.
Yunlu laughed, "The Imperial Guard is great! It's right under your nose. You keep an eye on it every day, so you don't have to worry about him going out and messing around."
If it were an ordinary princess, this would be enough for her husband. But Qianlong was counting on Balzhuer to assist Yonglian in the future, so he felt safe using his brother-in-law.
Yonglian seemed to have understood his painstaking efforts and allowed Mingrui and Balzhuer to get in touch and get to know each other.
When Qianlong learned about this from Fuheng, he thought that although Yonglian was just getting by in other matters, he was really talented in employing people.
For a king, this is the most important talent.
In addition to allowing Mingrui to contact Balzhuer, Yonglian also put a lot of thought into the division of labor among the editorial team of "Guochao News".
The two most important groups of people are: one is responsible for advertising and investment promotion, and the other is responsible for the "Jinshi Interviews".
Yonglian assigned Yonghuang's brother Changming to the advertising team, a lucrative position that would have made it easy for him to profit. However, as long as Changming still cared about his cousin Yonghuang, he wouldn't be too greedy.
Otherwise, not only the Fucha family would be in trouble, but Yonghuang would also be implicated.
At present, Chang Ming seems to be a very honest and upright young man. He is well aware of the kindness of the second prince to their family, and also knows the difficulties of the eldest prince in the palace, so he is very cautious in doing things.
Yonglian called the people in charge of interviews "reporters". If they wanted to interview well-educated people, they naturally had to have some knowledge of literature and writing, and their background could not be too low, otherwise they would be looked down upon during the interview, and those arrogant civil servants might not be willing to cooperate.
In order to select a reporter, Yonglian asked Hongxiao to arrange an exam, and finally selected a scribe named Gao Jin.
This person is the cousin of the imperial concubine. Although the Gao family has been promoted to the Gaojia clan, Gao Jin was studying at the official school in Xian'an Palace at that time, and was later directly assigned to the book editing office. Gao Bin is now an important official in the court, and Gao Jin's father Gao Shuming is serving in the local government. With this status, those civil officials have more respect for Gao Jin.
As a result, Gao Jin had the opportunity to come into contact with more learned people, which was also very helpful for him to serve as an official in the outer court in the future.
For this reason, the imperial concubine served the queen even more wholeheartedly.
Yonglian actually didn't think so much about it. He chose Gao Jin simply because he wrote articles based on facts and was very suitable to be a reporter.
The questions for the first interview were listed by Yonglian, and the questions for the second month were written in advance by Gao Jin, who reviewed them and made revisions.
By the April issue of "Guochao News", Gao Jin had already figured out the interview routine. When studying for the exam, it would be best to mix one or two questions related to personal life, such as hobbies, living habits, etc.
Not only scholars preparing for the imperial examinations liked to read it, but even officials in the court would buy a copy to understand the temperaments and personalities of their colleagues.
In early April, the palace examination ended, and the top scorer was Zhuang Yougong from Guangdong.
This was the first number one scholar in Guangdong since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, and Emperor Qianlong was very happy.
Even a remote place like Guangdong could produce a top scholar, which shows the prosperity of culture and education in this dynasty.
"Guochao News" immediately arranged an interview with the new top scholar. The newspaper's sales reached a new high in mid-April, and it was reprinted several times in many places.
Zhuang Yougong was very interested in water conservancy, and Gao Jin happened to be the same. The two met through interviews and hit it off immediately. Later, both became famous officials in the Qianlong Dynasty who developed water conservancy and managed rivers.
This is a later story. Gao Jin is now worried about another thing.
Because in the interview with the top scholar, Zhuang Yougong mentioned that he drank something called black wine when he was studying. It could refresh his mind and he could study for three hours in a row after drinking one glass.
Many scholars wanted to know what this black wine was. Those who had connections would ask Zhuang Yougong, and those who couldn't find him would ask Gao Jin.
"I asked him how to make black liquor, but he didn't know. He just said it was brought by foreign merchants."
Lian Hongxiao asked Gao Jin curiously, and Gao Jin had no choice but to answer.
When Hong Xiao heard that it was brought by foreign merchants, he immediately became alert, "Could it be an opium bar?"
"No, no, the inspection in Guangdong is very strict, and this black wine is made from water boiled with small brown beans." Gao Jin said.
When Hongxiao met Yonglian, he mentioned in passing that scholars were now asking around for black wine, and everyone wanted to taste what this refreshing wine tasted like.
When Yonglian heard this, he couldn't help but laugh. If he remembered correctly, when coffee was first introduced to China, it was called black wine.
"Since it was bought from a foreign merchant, the painters at Ruyi Pavilion might know about it." Yonglian said, "I'll ask them tomorrow when I start painting."
Hong Xiao nodded, "If this black wine is really good, we can make it ourselves."
Yonglian said, "When the time comes, put an advertisement in the newspaper. It will definitely be popular."
"The ad has already been put out," Hong Xiao said. "The number one scholar's influence is truly incredible. Just a casual mention of him has already attracted so many people's attention."
The next day, Yonglian asked the foreigners in Ruyi Pavilion about black wine. Most of these people had to stay in Taiwan when they came to the Qing Dynasty.
In Taiwan, coffee is called black wine.
A foreigner introduced the coffee tree to Yonglian, saying, "This plant grows in Libya, and Europe also buys the fruit from there."
"Buy?"
“Yes, most of the coffee trees are in the Ottoman Empire.”
Yonglian nodded thoughtfully, and went to see Khan Ama in the evening, "I want to drink black wine too."
Qianlong: "I heard that black wine is refreshing?"
Yonglian nodded repeatedly, "Although it's a bit addictive, it's just like tea."
Qianlong: "That is indeed suitable for you to drink."
Yonglian: “…”
Qianlong smiled and said, "I have already written to Celeng, asking him to send some beans for cooking black wine."
A month later, Qianlong received coffee beans sent from Guangdong. The coffee beans had been roasted and exuded a unique aroma.
Now that Zhuang Yougong had entered the Southern Study, Emperor Qianlong summoned him, who had drunk coffee, to the tea room to make black wine.
Just then, Hong Zhou came to report on the glass factory, and Qianlong asked him to stay and drink black wine.
"Yonglian gave this wine a transliterated name, coffee." Qianlong said, "This kid, I let him learn painting from a Western painter, and now he is also learning foreign languages."
Hong Zhou: “…” Don’t think I can’t hear you showing off your son’s intelligence and love of studying again.
"It's good to learn foreign languages. We will have to trade with foreigners in the future, and they will inevitably send envoys to pay homage to us. There will be many places where foreign languages are used." Hong Zhou said.
Qianlong nodded and let his two sons go to meet the envoys when the time comes. The young princes of the Qing Dynasty knew them very well, let alone him, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
As the two brothers were talking, a pot of fragrant coffee was brought up.
The young eunuch had already tasted it, and after a quarter of an hour, he didn't feel any discomfort.
The young eunuch thought the black wine had a medicinal scum taste and was not tasty. But he was only a poison tester, so the master had to judge whether it tasted good or not.
Qianlong and Hongzhou each poured a cup and drank it with frowns on their brows.
Hong Zhou looked disgusted and said, "I'm not used to drinking this. I'd rather drink tea."
Qianlong also thought the taste was bad, but after hearing Zhuang Yougong suggest adding sugar, he had a spoonful of sugar added. The taste improved slightly, but he still didn't want to drink it a second time.
"I heard that most of the coffee in our Qing Dynasty was brought by the Dutch. They planted many coffee trees in Java." Qianlong said as he reached for the globe. "The Netherlands is only a small country, but they set up a company in Java and made money by exploiting their land and labor."
"My royal brother wants to do the same?" Hong Zhou knew from his royal brother's tone that he was jealous.
Qianlong nodded and then shook his head. "This matter is not that simple. The people of the Qing Dynasty have guarded their own land for thousands of years. Asking them to cross the ocean to seek a living in a strange place may not be their willingness. I also don't want my people to die in a foreign land. Unless the Qing Dynasty has enough power to protect them..."
Hong Zhou was confused about what his brother meant. "How do you protect me?"
Qianlong said, "I intend to train the navy, select the elite of the Eight Banners, and equip them with the most advanced weapons."
Hong Zhou: "...Brother Emperor, I'm not trying to discourage you. Back then, in the battle with Tongbo, most of the elite Eight Banners died. Now, we don't even have enough elite cavalry. Where are we going to recruit people to form a navy? Not only do we lack people, but we also don't have money. The harvests have been poor in various places over the past two years. You've allocated funds for disaster relief everywhere, and you've also asked us to replace the firearms of the garrisoned cavalry. I'm sure those old men in the Ministry of Revenue won't be willing to spend any more money."
Qianlong: "So, I think we should hand over the tax revenue from the glass factory to the Ministry of Revenue."
Hong Zhou: “…”
It turned out that they were waiting for him here. The tax of the glass factory was paid to the Ministry of Revenue. Under the eyes of hundreds of officials, it was not so easy for these royal family members to make money.
Fortunately, Xinji belongs to the Imperial Household Department, so they are not without money.
Hong Zhou was a good younger brother. He understood his brother's difficulties and agreed immediately.
Qianlong was very satisfied with his fifth brother's performance and immediately decided to give all the remaining coffee beans to Hongzhou.
Hong Zhou: “…”
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