Yun Suifeng Qu

Chapter 177 The Newspaper Background Is Terrifying

"Interesting, truly interesting!"

After finishing this section of "A Ghost Story," the Empress looked at Chu Chen with great interest and said with a smile, "Sometimes I really want to see what's inside your head, filled with such useful yet strange ideas."

"It makes me so curious to take a look."

"Your Majesty is too kind."

Chu Chen was slightly startled and quickly replied respectfully.

A hint of satisfaction flashed in the Empress's eyes, and she smiled, "This Yun Yue Bao is indeed extraordinary. The content of the first issue suits all the masses and is most suitable for promotion."

"So, how often do you plan to publish this newspaper, and how many copies will be printed each time?"

Chu Chen calmed his mind, thought for a moment, and replied, "Replying to Your Majesty, based on current production capacity, the Yun Yue Bao can currently only be published every fifteen days, with a print run of no more than one hundred thousand copies. Any more and we won't be able to produce them."

"Ten thousand every half month?"

The Empress frowned, dissatisfied with this output, but she also knew that on one hand, the technology needed to be kept secret, and on the other hand, production was indeed limited.

The most significant constraint was the number of craftsmen. Fewer craftsmen meant fewer printing presses could be manufactured, and with only a dozen or so presses producing each day, how could demand be met?

As for recruiting craftsmen, there were concerns about secrecy. And pulling more people from the Ministry of Works would be problematic, as the Ministry of Works was already short-handed, and taking more would delay their work.

"Then so be it. However, the number of trustworthy craftsmen still needs to be expanded."

The Empress sighed and instructed.

"I naturally understand this, Your Majesty. I already have an idea. I want to have apprentices from the Ministry of Works who have studied for more than five years participate in internal assessments."

"If they pass, they will be given a graduation certificate, allowing them to become craftsmen directly without their master's permission."

"I believe this should solve some of the shortage of craftsmen."

Chu Chen nodded and explained his temporary emergency solution.

As for the long term, they would naturally have to find ways to increase the number of qualified craftsmen. There were no shortcuts in this regard.

"That is good." The Empress nodded, then said, "Of the initial one hundred thousand copies of Yun Yue Bao to be printed, eighty thousand will be sold in Shuangyue City and the surrounding four garrison cities, and the remaining twenty thousand will be distributed to all counties and prefectures nationwide."

"Understood!"

Chu Chen cupped his hands and accepted.

Just as Chu Chen thought he could go home without further ado, as he reached the door, the Empress suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "I heard from Xin Yue that you have a small portion of the second issue of the storybook? Send it to me later. It would be interesting to flip through it when I have free time."

"Your subject obeys the decree!"

What else could Chu Chen say? Even the Empress couldn't resist the charm of the "A Ghost Story" storybook. How could others resist it?

Princess Xin Yue did not accompany him this time. After leaving the imperial city, Chu Chen returned to the Prime Minister's residence and, with no immediate tasks, seized the time to cultivate by consuming elixirs.

Chu Chen had already moved a day prior, from the Chu residence to the Prime Minister's residence. The printing house was being managed by others, so Chu Chen did not need to personally oversee it.

A few days later, the Yun Yue Bao reached its print run of one hundred thousand copies. It was then handed over to the Imperial Guards, who were responsible for designating personnel to sell it.

Following Chu Chen's instructions, the Imperial Guards summoned officials from the Orphanage and assigned this task to the orphans taken in and raised by the government.

With the promise of a one-copper reward for every ten copies sold, the orphans from the Orphanage did not object. They happily shouted the slogans taught by the Imperial Guards on the streets.

In Shuangyue City, on the day of sale, in the streets and alleys, dozens of children, with cloth bags slung over their shoulders, filled with newspapers.

They walked at a leisurely pace, shouting, "Get your newspapers! Get your newspapers! Freshly printed Yun Yue Bao! It records important court affairs, domestic events, government policies, and even the movements of surrounding countries, as well as interesting storybooks!"

"Don't miss out! One copy of Yun Yue Bao only costs two copper coins! Yun Yue Bao is packed with content, and for two copper coins, you won't lose out or be cheated!"

On the streets, passersby, whether pedestrians or shopkeepers, were all drawn by the children's shouts.

"Yun Yue Bao? What is that? Looking at the appearance of the paper in the bag, it seems to be written content."

"It records important court affairs and policies? Hiss~ How much power must be behind this Yun Yue Bao? They dare to write these things? Are the officials not going to arrest them?"

"Also, what is a storybook?"

A series of questions arose in people's minds, their curiosity piqued. However, the price of two copper coins was not cheap for ordinary commoners.

Unsure if the Yun Yue Bao was worth the price, no one dared to be the first to try, and they all waited to observe.

They vaguely felt that buying it might cause trouble? After all, it sounded like it contained information that they, as commoners, were not qualified to see or hear.

Those who could afford it were hesitant, while those who couldn't afford it were illiterate.

Fortunately, in any world, there would be no shortage of extravagant rich second-generation individuals.

A wealthy young man, who was idly strolling on the street with two bodyguards, suddenly heard the cries of "Yun Yue Bao" being sold, and his curiosity could not be contained.

"Hey, you little brat over there, sell one of these Yun Yue Bao to this young master!"

"Alright!"

The young newspaper seller happily handed over a copy of Yun Yue Bao and received two copper coins from one of his bodyguards, placing them in another compartment of his cloth bag.

Then, he continued to hawk his wares.

"Young Master, what does this newspaper say?"

"How would I know if I haven't read it yet?" The rich young man glared at him impatiently, then said, "Let's go, book a table at a restaurant first. We'll eat and drink while we peruse this Yun Yue Bao and see what wonders it holds."

The rich young man, relying on his family's influence, believed that merely reading and hearing about court affairs would not cause any trouble.

After finding a restaurant and ordering wine and dishes, the rich young man first took a hearty drink, then contentedly took out the folded newspaper from his embrace.

He spread it out on the table and began to read it carefully.

"This is the Yun Yue Bao? Why are the characters inside all so uniform?"

Before the rich young man could even read the content, he had only a cursory glance and noticed something different.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that among these characters, the same character had the exact same strokes, which greatly astonished him.

Even more surprising to the rich young man was that as he read, he discovered that the Yun Yue Bao actually recorded important court affairs.

One of the matters discussed at the court meeting fifteen days ago was that the current Emperor had agreed to the Prime Minister Chu Chen's establishment of the Imperial Guards. Shortly after its establishment, a shocking corruption case was uncovered.

The rich young man had heard about this case, knowing it involved Zhang Guojin, the Grand Censor of the Censorate, but he never expected it to be written about.