"The evidence is conclusive that Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, collaborated with the enemy. The entire clan is in custody and is to be executed?"
"How is this possible? This is the Duke of a dynasty. It has been passed down since the founding of the ancestors. How can a Duke who has been with the country for more than two hundred years collaborate with the enemy!"
"The traitor deserved his death, but he just killed the whole clan? Shouldn't he kill the nine clans?"
"It's hard to kill the entire clan. Think about it, Zhu Chunchen's wife is Princess An Ning of the Wanli Dynasty and is your Majesty's biological aunt. How can you kill her?"
"Humph, the King of Jin is a vassal king, and he can collaborate with the enemy. The Duke of the country is noble, but can he be more noble than the prince? The Ming Dynasty has reached this point, and it is all the fault of itself!"
"Do you want to die? We can discuss the affairs of the imperial court? If someone is interested in saying this, you will inevitably suffer a physical disaster."
"You can't say that. There are dozens of vassal kings, but there are only five lords. Although their status is not as noble as that of a vassal king, their rights, freedoms, etc. are not comparable to that of a vassal king."
"Hey, I don't pay attention to these. It's good for us if one of these moths dies. What I'm more concerned about is what's going on with Kong Shangda and Confucius!"
"Just wait, the newspaper will probably be out tomorrow!"
…
The people were talking a lot, some were angry at Zhu Chunchen for his misfortune, some were scolding him, and some were praising the emperor's sage.
But more people are speculating on why Kong Shangda was executed at the Meridian Gate and the authenticity of the Longjing Pass battle report.
At noon, another incident exploded in Beijing.
The streets and alleys of the entire capital were covered with notices announcing the use of punctuation marks, which roughly meant that the imperial court had new regulations on the reading of couplets.
Next year's scientific examinations at all levels will use the new sentence reading method. Any test papers that do not use the new regulations will be directly treated as fraud.
"What are you doing? The new regulations have just come out now. This is a knife to the neck. The court doesn't consider us at all!"
"That is, the sentence reading method that has been used for many years can be changed by just changing it?"
"Five pieces of silver? Why don't you rob it? Don't buy it. Don't buy it. As long as none of us buy it, will the court judge us all as cheating?"
"That is, when the time comes, we will see whether it is us who is embarrassed or the court who is embarrassed. We must work together!"
…
The scholars and scholars all complained after reading the notice, and then dispersed.
Two quarters of an hour later, the entire front door of Daming Daily was crowded with people from Beijing.
"Old Zhao, didn't you say you won't buy it? What are you kidding about? You're still a gentleman, bah!"
"Didn't you also say boycott? Boss, let alone second brother, I have already guessed your little thoughts.
We don’t buy it and we don’t use it. If you use it yourself, then the top pick will be yours? Bah, you can't even win the exam! "
"Give me a copy, it's one tael of silver!"
"I'll give you twenty taels of silver a book, and I want ten copies. Don't worry, I understand the rules, and I won't resell them!"
"You bastard, you are awesome if you have money. Have you considered us?"
"Despicable, raise the price so that we can't afford it, and then they can get the upper hand by buying it. As expected, the more money you have, the more despicable it is!"
"It's true that the imperial court can't build more carving workshops? How many people are there in the entire city of Beijing? How many people are there in the entire Ming Dynasty?"
"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. Do you know where this is? This used to be the imperial court's scripture factory, which was responsible for the printing of scriptures and the printing of books, Buddhist scriptures, Taoist canons, and vassal collections.
It is said that there are nearly 10,000 craftsmen and servants of all kinds in the palace. If they can’t be printed here, where else can they be printed? "
…
For a time, the entire Daming Daily was packed with people, including scholars, wealthy businessmen, and many ordinary people.
Some of them were carrying whole ingots of silver, some were broken pieces of silver, and more were carrying copper coins in small pockets.
These copper coins are either covered with oil stains, stained with blood, or covered with patina.
From these copper coins, we can see how difficult life is for the people.
It was related to their children's future, so they spent their savings.
If Chongzhen saw it, he would probably think of the saying in later generations that children should not be allowed to lose at the starting line. Of course, this is only the case at the feet of the emperor.
Although it was crowded, there was no trouble. Daming Daily was a business under Dongchang, and it had already spread throughout Beijing in the past few days.
Anyone who dares to cause trouble here is already tired of living.
"Everyone, everyone, please listen to what I have to say!"
In the crowd of people, a person walked out of the Daming Daily.
"Dear fellow citizens, I am the director of the Daming Daily. There are still five months left before the Chinese New Year. This book of punctuation marks is not in a hurry.
This is the largest economics factory in the entire Ming Dynasty. It may not be enough to satisfy the entire Ming Dynasty.
But it is still enough to satisfy the needs of Beijing. You can buy it in five or six days at most.
I've said something ugly before. This book was ordered by His Majesty. It costs five coins a copy. Don't think about taking advantage of your status to rob, jump in line, or resell.
If you are caught, don’t even think about taking the scientific examination for three years! It's all gone!
If you really have no place to go, then go out for a walk in the city. I estimate that the nine gates will be opened by now! "
"Oh, by the way, remember to buy the Daming Daily. The issues you discussed in the past few days will be printed next. You will not be disappointed. Don't miss it!"
After the boss finished speaking, he turned around and stepped through the gate, leaving the street full of stunned people.
"The city gate is open?"
"Really? Why didn't you hear the news? You wouldn't fool us, would you?"
"It's finally opening, woo hoo... My dad went out to work half a month ago, and the city gate was suddenly closed. I don't know if my dad is still alive!"
"What does the Master's last words mean? Does it mean that tomorrow's Daming Daily will publish why Master Kong Shangda was beaten with a cane?"
"The city gate is open. Do you have any friends going to Longjing Pass to verify the authenticity of the battle report for yourself?"
"What can we do there? What does authenticity have to do with us? Why not stay in the capital and take a look at Old Master Kong's problem? I always feel that there may be a shocking secret in it!"
"I feel the same way. The imperial guards in front of the Confucius Mansion have all withdrawn, but the door of the Confucius Mansion is still closed. Could it be that the Confucius Mansion is related to Duke Cheng Guo's collusion with the enemy?"
…
With the assurance from the headmaster and the news that the city gate was open, the crowded crowd slowly dispersed, but there were still many people waiting at the door.
The opening of the city gate is not only a great joy for the people in Beijing, but also for people outside the city. It feels very uncomfortable to have a home and not be able to return.
A large number of people came out, some to go to farmland, some to relax, and more to distant counties.
An hour or two later, a large number of caravans and crowds came from all directions, and the team lined up several miles away.
The entry of the caravan brought more news about the war.
There were discussions everywhere in restaurants, teahouses and street corners.
