For the current Ming Dynasty, in Zhu Ying's eyes, the most important thing is to "move".

This movement does not simply refer to the flow of population, but is more about the people having more choices.

The population of the society consists of 80% farmers.

So what is the mental outlook of a farmer?

Work from sunrise to sunset, rest from sunset to sunrise, the heavy workload has bent my back.

There is no need to argue about being hardworking, because lazy people will really starve to death.

The food reserves at home must be carefully calculated. After all, a family is not just three people as people in later generations would think. It can easily be six or seven people, or even more than ten.

The whole family lived on those few acres of thin land.

Any hope for the future is too far away. Being able to have a full meal every day is the greatest pursuit.

This is not just the idea of ​​a few people, but covers 80% of the people in the territories of the Ming Dynasty.

In a small village near the capital.

"Dad! Dad!"

A teenage boy ran towards his own field excitedly.

The old man looked up and cursed, "You son of a bitch, why are you going to the village so early in the morning to see the excitement? Are you trying to tire an old man like me to death?"

The young man stopped and took a few breaths. "Dad, the village has issued a notice to recruit workers here. Not only will we have two meals a day, but we can also earn sixty cents a month."

The old man frowned and said, "Is this a lie? How can there be such a good thing in the world? Not only is the meal provided, but you also get sixty cents?"

"Where did these guys come from, kidnappers?"

Seeing that his father didn't believe him, the young man quickly explained: "It was a notice posted by the government at the entrance of the village, saying that they were going to build a cement factory. I don't know what it is."

"Someone read the notice and I listened to it several times. It was confirmed that meals were provided and the salary was 60 cents per month."

"Anyone who has the strength can go."

When the old man heard that it was the official who said it, he couldn't help but ask, "Is there really such a good thing?"

The young man was anxious: "Dad, aren't those seeds we planted that are said to produce a lot of food also distributed for free by the officials? This is a great opportunity. If we miss it, it will be gone."

The old man hesitated after hearing this.

There are seven people in the family now, and the eldest son is the only labor force that can help. If he goes out like this, all the work will be on my own.

The youngest son is only eight years old. Although he can work in the fields, he does not have enough strength.

After hesitating for a while and seeing the desire in his eldest son's eyes, the old man gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, go ahead and do it. If you are lying, then come back quickly."

The young man smiled and said, "Okay, Dad, just rest assured. When the wages are paid, I will bring them all back home."

As factories opened, many workers began to pour in.

With the minimum standard of security system, after entering the factory, one can bring great improvement to the living conditions of his family.

It is not difficult to guess that with the influx of farmers' labor, the price of food will also rise.

These are all within controllable range.

At this time, you will find one thing, that is, the mental outlook of many people has undergone earth-shaking changes in just over a month.

The life was originally lifeless and depressing, with no future in sight.

The current changes are positive changes. Even the people working in the fields seem to be working harder with every swing of the hoe.

This is just the situation in the countryside. The changes in the city are completely different every few days.

As the court reports spread, the news that caused a sensation in the capital continued to happen across the country.

It spread to thirteen provinces at an alarming rate.

Not only in the Ming Dynasty, but even abroad, small tributary states and even grassland tribes began to read the news in the court bulletins.

Official bulletins are nothing new in today's era, but after becoming popular, they are almost the only source of information.

Considering the current status of the Ming Dynasty, it is conceivable that all countries and all nobles will strive to collect court reports.

A three-cent official report could be worth up to thirty taels of gold when sent overseas.

The profits involved are enough to drive ordinary businessmen crazy.

“This is too exaggerated.”

Zhu Ying was a little confused when he got the news.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that one tael of gold was equal to four taels of silver.

More than 20 years later, due to tribute trade, a large number of foreign officials transported silver to the Ming Dynasty, which was then exchanged for gold and shipped out, making the current amount of gold equivalent to approximately eight taels of silver.

In other words, if a three-cent report was transported far enough, it could be exchanged for two hundred and forty taels of silver.

One tael of silver is worth a thousand coins.

The profits involved are so terrifying and appalling.

As soon as Zhu Ying received the news, he went straight to the old man and told him about it without any hesitation.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened: "Grandson, a court report and thirty taels of gold, where did this fool come from?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was aware of the output of the official reports.

Hundreds of thousands of copies are printed every day, and this number is constantly increasing.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the news, he didn't dare to believe it at first, but he understood more clearly that his eldest grandson would never lie to him.

Zhu Ying smiled bitterly and said, "Grandpa, I never expected such a thing. Those foreign lands would admire our Ming Dynasty so much."

"Thirty taels of gold is probably just an exception, but generally speaking, the price won't be much lower."

"They have been cut off from news for a long time. Our imperial reports are all about the major events related to the rise and fall of the country. For some small countries on the edge of the border, this news is worth a thousand gold."

"Although it is indeed a bit exaggerated, it is just that we underestimated their eagerness to learn about the latest developments of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and asked his eldest grandson, "What do you think about this matter?"

He didn't believe that his eldest grandson would just sit there and do nothing when the benefits were so great.

As expected, Zhu Ying said without hesitation: "First, we must crack down on the merchants selling court newspapers."

"The main targets are the border areas. All merchants entering and leaving will be strictly searched. If any crime occurs, they must be severely punished."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "With such huge benefits, there will definitely be many people who will take risks to make huge profits. Besides, this official report is just a piece of paper, it is too easy to hide it."

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "My grandson understands that the attack is not a clean one, but this also limits the amount they can carry each time."

"As such, the price of the official newspaper that is leaked to the public will only show an upward trend."

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw his eldest grandson's smile, he already understood what he was thinking.

This is clearly an opportunity to raise the price of the official newspaper.

When the number becomes smaller, it means that the official reports become more valuable and can be sold at a good price outside.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a smile, "What price do you plan to sell it for, grandson?"

Zhu Ying thought about it and said, "One tael of silver."

"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised. This was not in line with his eldest grandson's temperament.

Zhu Ying smiled and began to explain.

It turns out that when I saw this way to make money, I initially planned to buy it at a high price.

But Zhu Ying soon discovered that such a high price was tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, and it was difficult to maintain long-term business.

I calculated the cost and transportation in my mind, and the price of one or two taels of silver was the most reasonable.

The most important thing is that Zhu Ying’s target is not just the great nobles and wealthy people.

His sights also included the wealthy families and small nobles in some small countries.

The price of one tael of silver is affordable for slightly wealthier people. After knowing that information about the Ming Dynasty can be sold so easily, they must take advantage of this opportunity.

Others are doing the same thing anyway.

You can be bolder and directly set up a liaison office in other small countries to specifically deliver official bulletins.

As long as the quantity is controlled well, regardless of other things, at the current transportation speed, it can be sold for ten or twenty years.

This is almost free money.

How quickly is the gazette published?

Now there is a new issue every three days, and there are at least hundreds of new contents a year.

At this rate, the seemingly insignificant one or two taels of silver can actually bring in a hundred taels every year.

Just one household.

In a small country, the gap between the rich and the poor is huge, with at least hundreds of sales targets.

There are so many countries surrounding the Ming Dynasty. How many are there in the Western Regions alone?

The profit here can only be described in two words: horrible!!!

If things go wrong, it could even be comparable to the current annual income of the Ming Dynasty.

Let the national treasury double directly.

After listening to his eldest grandson's story, Zhu Yuanzhang felt it was a little unbelievable, even false, dreamy and exaggerated.

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Then let's just issue an edict."

Zhu Ying nodded heavily.

Regarding the sale of official newspapers, who is the biggest beneficiary on the grassland?

That’s right, it’s the Shanxi merchants.

Through their own channels and connections, they began to promote the Imperial Gazette to the nobles of various grassland tribes.

Because of language communication, they even sent literate Chinese people to help with recitation.

It is an extremely considerate service.

However, in just half a month, the business became more and more prosperous, especially the huge profits, which was equivalent to making money for free.

This day, Shanxi border.

"Master, Master, it's bad. The young master has been arrested while leading the team."

A servant hurriedly shouted towards the yard.

This is the Hou family’s courtyard.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Hou stepped forward and grabbed the servant by the collar: "Tell me, what happened? How could Wen'er be arrested?"

The servant said tremblingly, "Master, it was the new officials who came. They didn't recognize our Hou family at all. The young master led the caravan there as usual, and they were captured just like that."

Mr. Hou asked, "What crime did they arrest him on?"

The servant quickly replied, "They said that it was forbidden to sell court newspapers to outsiders. There were many court newspapers in the young master's carriage, so he was arrested."

Old Man Hou's face was gloomy. He didn't expect the court's counterattack to come so quickly.

A large number of garrisons in Shanxi were withdrawn to fight against Japan, and the new garrisons were unable to establish communication links in a short period of time.

Because no one knows whether there are Jinyiwei from the imperial court lurking among the chiefs of these garrisons.

The court's attitude towards Shanxi merchants is now very clear. It is almost aiming to kill them all, so one must be much more careful when coming into contact with them.

At least we have to find out the details.

Some information is not easy to find out. Although there are connections in the military, it takes time to go back and forth.

Now it seems that things may be difficult.

"Let's go, prepare the carriage immediately. I have to go to the magistrate right away."

Mr. Hou ordered.

It’s not that he can’t bear to part with his son. After all, he has many sons, and the death of one or two is not unacceptable.

The key is to know the current situation and how the court conducts the review.

No matter how powerful a businessman is or how much money he has, he does not have an army that he can directly control.

The Eight Major Shanxi Merchants were indeed powerful, but openly speaking, any garrison could easily massacre them all.

The main reason why they are difficult to deal with now is because they are secretive and have the complicated relationships behind them.

Many former members of the tribe migrated due to arrangements by the imperial court.

So I changed my household registration.

Even if it is found out, since it previously belonged to Jin, there is nothing to worry about. The scope involved is too wide and the court cannot deal with them one by one.

This time, arresting people directly was a bit passive.

This is a small border town, with only about seven or eight thousand households in the entire town.

The real core members of the Hou family, one of the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants, are all hiding here.

Logically speaking, there was a reshuffle of soldiers in the city, so there was no reason why the head of the Hou family would not know about it.

He got on a carriage and hurried to the county magistrate's office.

"stop!"

Only halfway through the journey, Mr. Hou stopped the carriage.

"Master, what do you want me to do?" the servant asked hurriedly.

Old Man Hou looked at the somewhat desolate scene ahead and frowned.

There was no difference here from usual, but he felt a palpitation in his heart.

After a moment's hesitation, he told the coachman, "Keep driving to the county magistrate's office. I will be there soon."

This place is only a few hundred meters away from the government office, just around two bends.

The coachman didn't dare ask any more questions and just took it as a yes.

"Drive slowly, don't drive too fast."

"Yes, sir."

Seeing the carriage moving, Mr. Hou ordered a man to follow quickly and check what was going on.

As it turned out, Mr. Hou's caution saved his life again.

At the corner of the wall, the man who was sent over seemed to have seen something and waved his hands vigorously, indicating danger.

"Walk!"

When Mr. Hou saw this, he left quickly without even turning back.

And in an invisible place, the groom had fallen in a pool of blood.

Even the man who was following was shot to death by several arrows.

"Damn it, this old guy got away again."