After leaving the British government residence, Zhu Biao's face suddenly turned cold.
"Li Heng, has the assassin captured on the battleship been sent to Yingtian Mansion?"
Zhu Biao asked lightly to Li Heng, the prince's internal officer behind him.
"Go back to Your Highness the Crown Prince. At your request, Commander Tong sent someone back in advance."
"Well, the leaders of those who incited the rebellion have captured three. Why don't you wait for them to be sent over for interrogation?"
Li Heng paused and asked hesitantly.
"No need, it's just a peasant uprising instigated by a powerful family. It's time to exterminate the entire clan and confiscate everything. Now, Gu Gu just wants to interrogate the assassin in person."
Zhu Biao spoke coldly, got on the prince's exclusive chariot, and headed towards the Jinyiwei Prison.
Squeak!
Pushing open the door of Jinyiwei Prison, Zhu Biao looked at the bloody killer who had been tortured.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
When the Jin Yiwei in charge of the prison saw it was Zhu Biao, his expression immediately changed and he saluted respectfully to Zhu Biao.
"Um."
"Go down, I will interrogate this thief myself."
Zhu Biao waved his hand and said.
"promise!"
All the royal guards responded and retreated one after another.
"Come."
"Tell me, who sent you to assassinate the British Duke."
Zhu Biao looked at the assassin, sat on a chair, and asked coldly.
"hehe."
"Zhu Biao, the crown prince of the Zhu family."
"Do you think I will betray my employer?"
"Don't even think about it!"
"You, the Zhu family royal family, oppress the good, act tyrannically, and squeeze the wealth of the people. Sooner or later you will be overthrown by the villagers."
The assassin sneered and smiled disdainfully.
"My Zhu family oppresses good people?"
"Is my Zhu family being domineering?"
"My Zhu family is exploiting the people?"
"It seems that you are not only an assassin hired by those people, but also a pious defender."
Zhu Biao sneered.
"Use pliers, crush one of his fingers, and then put it in salt water."
"Oh, by the way, remember, this method is called saline disinfection."
Zhu Biao waved his hand, and the two chamberlains behind him immediately stepped forward, preparing to begin the execution.
When the other person slanders you in a way that ignores the facts, don't try to give any explanation. Just let the other person scream until he can no longer say any slanderous words, and then ask him to reorganize his words.
"Zhu Biao, you...ah!"
boom! boom! boom!
One of the assassin's index fingers had been crushed piece by piece by the chamberlain's pliers, and screams like those of a slaughtered pig continued to sound.
In the continuous painful torture, the assassin's face first turned red, then gradually turned pale, and his whole body was twitching.
"You still have nine fingers and ten toes. Gu advises you to organize your language. In the end, do you want to cooperate with Gu and tell Gu the truth?"
Zhu Biao said coldly. He had always advocated avoiding the use of capital punishment as much as possible, as long as the three clans were implicated. The torture would end later. However, Zhu Biao also did not mind letting the person who really annoyed him experience all the torture.
British government.
Xiao Han had a good sleep and took the medicine brought from Liu Xiang, and his condition suddenly improved a lot.
Sitting in his yard, Xiao Han frowned slightly.
Daming's current state seems to be very good, but in fact it has huge problems.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty had just emerged from the war to unify the world for a short time, and then launched a war against the Xia Kingdom, the Duan family, and the Liang King.
Although the war ended quickly and the Ming Dynasty was promoting treasure banknotes, it did not cause a huge economic blow.
However, Zhu Biao implemented the reform of the imperial examination, which resulted in a tense relationship between the Ming Dynasty and powerful families at this time, making the Ming Dynasty, which was originally stable, seem a bit unstable.
Every three days, a peasant uprising will break out in a certain place. These people originally lived in an unstable place during the war in the late Yuan Dynasty. Later, they barely stabilized. However, for unknown reasons, the relief grains that were supposed to be distributed were delayed. By then, half of the family had starved to death.
At this time, another scholar came out and told them that it was the corruption of the Ming Dynasty that caused corrupt officials to run rampant and deprived them of life-saving food. As luck would have it, it was at this time that someone climbed up and shouted, announcing that they would create Daming resisted, so he directly chose to join without any hesitation.
After all, if you just sit and wait, you won't be able to wait for land or food, but if you join the rebellion, you can still get a bite of food every day.
They followed the leaders and shouted that the Ming Dynasty was cruel and corrupt, oppressed the people, plundered the people's wealth, and set their ambition to overthrow the corrupt Ming Dynasty. However, they never thought about who caused this situation and whether overthrowing the Ming Dynasty could change it. everything.
This is also the most helpless place in all dynasties since ancient times. The common people's education is too low and they cannot understand various written notices. They can only rely on the scholars around them to read them. By controlling most of the scholars' powerful families, they can successfully control public opinion. , as long as the powerful family is willing, they can direct and act on their own and arrange peasant uprisings again and again.
Now the Ming Dynasty is facing the same situation. Xiao Han went out with the army, and successively destroyed the Xia Kingdom, the Duan family and the Liang King. Doing small tricks makes Ming exhausted.
Anyway, if you direct and stage a peasant uprising, you only need to invest in the initial stage, but you can later use various means to collect a large amount of land that has been abandoned for various reasons, and increase your own tenants.
It can be said that when the family prospers, the family makes money, and when it falls, the family makes money with blood.
"Perhaps it's time to publish a newspaper."
Xiao Han pinched his chin and muttered to himself.
If it were before, there would be no point in running a newspaper. The common people didn't know how to read. If you run a newspaper, it would just be a confrontation with the literati.
Therefore, since ancient times, on the one hand, because it is not easy to make paper, and on the other hand, because it cannot be conveyed directly, dynasties have been more inclined to send special personnel to interpret the messages conveyed by the court, instead of letting the people read them directly.
But things are different now. The Ming Dynasty alphabet has been popularized to a certain extent. As long as the pinyin of the Ming Dynasty alphabet is included in newspapers, although it is still not easy for ordinary people to read it in full, they can still barely understand it.
This allowed Ming Dynasty to transmit information directly to the people everywhere without having to go through the mouths of literati in various places. This would be a powerful blow to the monopoly of public opinion by powerful people in various places.
"Well, in order to make it easier to use paper, we need to build a special paper production line to reduce costs and increase efficiency."
Xiao Han narrowed his eyes and said.
By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the cost of papermaking was actually not as high as before. The so-called Tang poetry, Song poetry, Yuan Quming, etc. are because the paper in the Ming Dynasty was relatively cheap. Otherwise, if the paper was still valuable, such extremely expensive Even if rich people can afford to write in the literary form of paper, people outside will look down upon it, and it is impossible for it to spread.
The reason why Xiao Han wants to build a production line of his own is mainly to save money. He does not lose money by running a newspaper just to stir up public opinion. Since he wants to make money, of course it is more cost-effective to directly make the paper himself, and he can successfully avoid it. There is a problem of those powerful people joining forces with wealthy businessmen to set their own paper prices too high.
However, papermaking cannot be done in your own house. This business is very polluting. You have to live in this British government house. Although the place is big enough, there is no need to sacrifice your living conditions. inside.
"Zouyi."
Xiao Han called out to Ruoyi who was busy not far away.
"Your Highness."
Ruoyi responded and hurried over with a plate of fruit and placed it in front of Xiao Han.
"Go to the house to get some treasure money. I plan to buy a piece of land on the outskirts of Jinling City."
Xiao Han grabbed a peeled orange and said as he ate it.
"Well, how much land does Your Highness plan to ask for?"
Zoey asked while taking an orange and helping Xiao Han peel it.
"Probably...it should be a hundred acres no matter what. Remember to take some extra cash."
Xiao Han said while eating oranges.
"oh?"
"Fengxue, do you want to take out a restaurant in the city?"
"Why don't you just come to me?"
"Do you want to build yourself a manor outside?"
But at this time, Zhu Biao opened the door and walked in, smiling at Xiao Han.
"No, I plan to develop a Ming Dynasty newspaper, but in order to prevent the wealthy businessmen and aristocratic families who run the paper business from causing trouble, I plan to build a paper production line on a piece of land."
Xiao Han shook his head and said.
"newspaper?"
"what is that?"
Zhu Biao sat next to Xiao Han, grabbed an apple and said.
"It is a uniformly printed notice that publishes some of our deeds in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, in order to break the control of public opinion by those powerful families."
Xiao Han said.
"This is okay, but I'm afraid the people won't understand it."
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up and he said.
"This is not simple. Don't we have the pinyin of Ming Dynasty? Put it directly on it, so people can understand it directly."
"Otherwise, why do you think I worked so hard on this thing in the first place?"
"As long as the people have the ability to distinguish right from wrong, they will naturally no longer be led by the noses of those aristocratic families as before, and will completely become a mob controlled by them at will."
Xiao Han chuckled.
"Hahaha!"
"Okay, okay, this is a good move. It can draw fire under the cauldron and greatly alleviate the situation where powerful people from aristocratic families secretly spread rumors and stir up trouble against our Ming Dynasty and incite rebellion."
"You don't need to buy this land. I'll go back and take a look and allocate a piece of it for you. Now the Ming Dynasty is full of waste and is waiting for development. There is only so much land."
"By the way, Fengxue, what kind of land do you want?"
Zhu Biao laughed and nodded in agreement.
"It's best to be close to the river. As you know, papermaking produces a lot of wastewater. Especially since I produce it directly on the production line, the wastewater generated is not a small amount. It must be discharged through big rivers. Just go into the sea."
Xiao Han said, not being polite to Zhu Biao.
The reason why he didn't go to Zhu Biao directly before was because he didn't think it was necessary. After all, Zhu Biao had a lot of things going on every day, and he could solve them himself if he could. But now that Zhu Biao took the initiative, Xiao Han would not be polite.
"Then...what should we write about in our first newspapers?"
Zhu Biao rubbed his hands slightly. He felt that this matter had great potential.
"The first batch, of course, goes straight to the point, directly recording what Ming Dynasty has done recently, as well as the benefits of some policies to the people."
"Let the common people understand that we, the Ming Dynasty, share the world with the common people, and the Ming Dynasty court is the one that truly cares for the common people, not the home of those scholar-bureaucrats."
Xiao Han chuckled.
"Then how do you plan to price this newspaper and how often it will be published? If you set a high price, those people may not be able to afford it. After all, although paper is not expensive for us, especially if it is published too frequently, people may not be willing to do it. purchase."
Zhu Biao looked at Xiao Han and asked.
"It can't be too expensive. My idea is to make it 50% more expensive than the paper consumed and the ink used for printing. It will be released on a trial basis in Jinling first, and it will be released about once a month."
"Paper is not cheap, but the cost of production line production can be lower than normal production, so people will be willing to buy it."
"As long as my reputation in Daming News spreads, those people chatting in wine shops and teahouses will most likely not be willing to miss it. After all, this is high-quality conversation material for them to brag about."
"By spreading the news through them, we, the Ming Dynasty, can print less."
"In addition, I also plan to create a special section for some local advertisements, such as stories about brothel courtesans. I believe that as long as the price is right, those brothels will be willing to spend money to be published in the newspaper."
"Such tidbits can also increase the interest of the newspaper, so that some people who are not originally interested in our Ming Dynasty policies will be willing to buy it and read it."
Xiao Han thought for a moment and said.
"hiss!"
"If I didn't say that it would be up to you to get the money, you are really a ghost."
"Oh, after hearing what you said, I suddenly don't want to run this newspaper for you. Brother, let's discuss something. You will be responsible for making paper. How about I run this newspaper?"
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up slightly.
Hearing Xiao Han mention this, even Zhu Biao, who was not very sensitive to the economy, immediately became active. This was a blackmail from those powerful families and wealthy businessmen... ah no, it was a weapon to make money.
What?
What if powerful families and wealthy businessmen also imitated the Ming Dynasty and paid for newspapers?
What a joke, how could Zhu Biao and the others do this kind of business casually?
With an order issued directly from the court, newspapers, like salt and iron, print privately and chop their heads off, but there is no reason to chop them off.
Xiao Han:…
"Can I say no?"
The corner of Xiao Han's mouth twitched slightly. The big brother had booked it in advance before the business started. I had known that I would have done it first before telling him.
"What do you think?"
Zhu Biao grinned, revealing a harmless smile.
"Fengxue, you also know what's going on with our old Zhu family. We are all brothers. What's mine is yours, isn't it?"
Zhu Biao looked at Xiao Han sincerely, moving with emotion and understanding with reason.
"Okay, okay!"
"Don't look at me like that, it's just for you."
"Why are you looking for me this time?"
Xiao Han rolled his eyes, he would really appreciate it if he met such a live father.
"Two things."
"First, you asked Tong Zhangshun to send people to collect evidence of Hu Weiyong's crimes before. Because you went on an expedition, they were all sent to me. I was very angry when I saw it and wanted to kill him, but the time was not ripe yet. I wanted to discuss it with you. When is the best time for us to kill him?"
Zhu Biao asked Xiao Han. It can be said that Zhu Biao was very angry after seeing Hu Weiyong's bad things. Just like Lao Zhu looked at Yang Xian back then, he felt like he had paid wrongly.
"Hu Weiyong, he is indeed a talent. He is still useful for the time being. There is no need to kill him in a hurry."
"Especially, we are currently undergoing the reform of the imperial examination, and the conflict with the powerful family is fierce. I think we still need to maintain the unity within the Huaixi Group first. For the time being, I think we can still let him be rampant for a few more days."
Xiao Han said with a flash of light in his eyes.
"That makes sense, let's just let this guy live for a few days. Anyway, his life has already fallen into his hands. When to cut off the head is just a matter of words."
Zhu Biao nodded. He came to Xiao Han to ask about this matter. That is to say, he did not plan to deal with Hu Weiyong for the time being.
"What about the other thing?"
Xiao Han continued to ask Zhu Biao.
"The other thing is that you came back from the front in a hurry. My father has now returned from Fengyang's hometown and wants to see you. He asked my mother to prepare a table of dishes and planned to invite Uncle Xu and Uncle Chang to have a good meal."
Zhu Biao chuckled.
"Forehead…"
"You should ask them both...not just to meet me, right?"
Xiao Han hesitated slightly.
After returning from the front line, even if Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say anything, Xiao Han planned to visit Zhu Yuanzhang today or tomorrow, but since he called Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, the two prospective father-in-laws, things were not that simple.
"If I'm not wrong, there must be a trace of mother in it."
Xiao Han looked at Zhu Biao and asked.
"Ha ha!"
"I just said I couldn't hide it from you."
"Yes, mother wants to put our marriage on the agenda."
"Since you came back from Fengyang, you have looked for me several times. Now that you are back, I finally have someone to share the pressure with me."
Zhu Biao laughed and reached out to pat Xiao Han on the shoulder.
"call!"
"Let's go. Since dad and mom have said it, let's go quickly and help mom."
Xiao Han stood up and said.
It's time for Queen Ma to put these things into perspective. She can't let this woman who has taken care of herself since she was a child think about these things all the time.
"Too."
"Let's go. I need to talk to dad about the specific situation of the imperial examination reform."
"By the way, remember to send me the palace examination questions tomorrow, and then go with me during the palace examination. If I memorize the wrong answer, you can correct it for me."
Zhu Biao stood up and said to Xiao Han.
Xiao Han:…
"No, brother, since you are going to let me go with you, why do you want me to write test questions? Can't you just let me take the test with you?"
Xiao Han turned around and rolled his eyes.
"How about that?"
"I asked you to take the exam. Doesn't it make me, the prince, very incompetent? Then how can I make them respect and admire me at the same time?"
Zhu Biao said with a smile.
(End of chapter)
