Chapter 659: Allure

At present, the News Department has close ties with the Intelligence Department and the Education Department, because the News Department Ambassador is Liu Benshen, formerly the Director of the Internal Affairs Section of the Intelligence Department. The newspaper editor-in-chief — equivalent to a later-era chief editor — is Jiang Hongsheng, formerly a member of the Education Department and previously the Confucian Instructor of Baoanzhou.

Opinions vary on why Liu Benshen was transferred to the News Department. He was considered a capable lieutenant of Intelligence Department Ambassador Wen Daxing, yet he also seemed to subtly threaten Wen Daxing's position, especially now that Wen had lost his right arm and his energy was far from what it used to be.

The Grand General is a man who cherishes old ties; transferring Liu Benshen to the News Department avoided a clash between two tigers, while at the same time it counted as a promotion for Liu Benshen, so he had no grounds to complain.

Liu Benshen's former post was taken over by Li Shouqin, son of the former Garrison Commander of Baoan Guard City, Li Yian, who was under the Intelligence Department — likewise a reserved middle-aged man.

The other former Instructor, Huang Riguang, became the chief writer for the Miscellany & Commentary section. At that moment, holding a manuscript and looking at Jiang Hongsheng before him, he said in astonishment, "Brother Jiang, this… this 'Plum in the Golden Vase Devotee' — what is his background? His manuscripts keep coming in, and they must be published?"

He could not help but wonder. Not long after the newspaper was established in the third month, someone with the pen name 'Sunrise in the East' began submitting pieces from time to time… not submitting, but delivering them. It was said that all his manuscripts were handed personally by News Department Ambassador Liu Benshen to Jiang Hongsheng for publication.

About half a month later, 'Plum in the Golden Vase Devotee' also appeared, receiving the same treatment.

Strange as it was, one must understand that most pen names in the Great Ming at this time were things like Master of the Bamboo-Querying Pavilion, Unfilial Son of Pingjiang, Master of the Fragrant Grass Hut, or Recluse of the Plum Blossom Pavilion — names with a certain artistic conception. 'Sunrise in the East' was a bit odd, but still acceptable. His pen name had a certain mood to it; on reflection, it even carried a heroic spirit.

Moreover, the commentary pieces he wrote were positive and uplifting, promoting righteousness and closely following the main themes. Since the newspaper began circulation, he had amassed a large following among the common people and the military of Xuanfu Garrison.

This 'Plum in the Golden Vase Devotee'…

Never mind his pen name — it was utterly unrefined — and his commentary was sharp and acerbic. Although he mostly sang praises, his writing carried implicit suggestions and criticisms. He even frequently engaged in verbal sparring with 'Sunrise in the East,' stirring up controversy. Had no one known who this 'Plum in the Golden Vase Devotee' was, he might well have been beaten up by certain people.

Perhaps, in the entire News Department, only Ambassador Liu Benshen knew who 'Plum in the Golden Vase Devotee' was, but he remained inscrutable and never breathed a word.

When faced with outside inquiries, the News Department spokesman seized the opportunity to declare: "There have been those with malicious intent who claim that Xuanfu Garrison suppresses dissent, mistreats the gentry and scholars, and stifles speech. The existence of 'Plum in the Golden Vase Devotee' is ironclad proof that such claims are utterly groundless."

He spoke with righteous fervor and concluded, "Welcome to Xuanfu Garrison. Here, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants all find a blessed land."

Huang Riguang also wondered who 'Plum in the Golden Vase Devotee' was — his manuscripts passed without review. Could he have some formidable backing?

Still, he admitted that the current-affairs commentary written by 'Plum in the Golden Vase Devotee,' while stirring controversy, had also greatly increased the volume of submissions to the newspaper. People from all walks of life eagerly submitted pieces. The payment was one incentive, but fame and profit came together — why not enjoy it? Of course, they still had to pass the scrutiny of the copy editor.

Faced with Huang Riguang's question, Jiang Hongsheng gave a wry smile. "Brother Huang, please ask no further."

He then took out another slip of paper with several pen names written on it and said, "Also, from now on, manuscripts from these individuals will receive the same treatment — no additions or deletions. Editor Sun's office will not intervene."

Huang Riguang looked and saw written on the slip: Riding a Crane Down to Yangzhou, Pluck the Bloom When It's Time to Pluck, Nowhere Under Heaven Lacks Han Breeze, Once a Soldier, Old Squad Leader, Fist Strikes the Southern Mountain Foot Kicks the Northern Sea, and other pen names.

He had never heard of Riding a Crane Down to Yangzhou or Pluck the Bloom When It's Time to Pluck. Nowhere Under Heaven Lacks Han Breeze and Once a Soldier he had occasionally seen in the military newspaper distributed at the Xuanfu Garrison parade ground. Old Squad Leader and Fist Strikes the Southern Mountain Foot Kicks the Northern Sea had appeared fleetingly in the military paper as well.

And now they were moving over to the current-affairs newspaper too?

From 'Sunrise in the East' to 'Fist Strikes the Southern Mountain Foot Kicks the Northern Sea,' all the pen names were a jumbled mess. Who were these people? Huang Riguang was inwardly puzzled.

Early in the morning on the twenty-fourth, the square at the rear gate of the newspaper office was packed with rows of delivery carts. All these carts were drawn by tall, sturdy horses, capable of swiftly delivering newspapers to every road and every corner of Xuanfu Garrison.

"Giddyap, giddyap."

The delivery carts, exuding the fragrance of ink, set out in batches. Some headed to the various newspaper-selling kiosks in the garrison city; others went to the different routes of Xuanfu Garrison. Most importantly, they raced without pause along the newly built official roads toward the Eastern Route — after all, the literacy rate there was far too high, and it was the main market for newspaper purchases.

The Xuanzhen Times was published once every six days. Each copy cost one copper coin or five ge of grain coupons — for within Xuanfu Garrison, the purchasing power of grain coupons was higher than that of silver or copper coins.

Buyers had no objection to this price. After all, books in the Great Ming had always been expensive, while one issue of the Xuanzhen Times was divided into many sections — how many characters it contained! It was an incredible value.

"Line up. Han registry holders have priority."

Unlike newspapers of later ages, the sales staff of Xuanfu Garrison at present were brimming with a sense of superiority. Newspaper kiosks were set up on Changping Street, the east-west avenue at the Drum Tower, Anyuan Street, and other places in the garrison city. Buyers had to queue, and Han registry holders had priority, as did the proprietors of tea houses and wine shops.

Watching the people ahead of them swaggeringly make their priority purchases, the naturalized subjects and temporary residents further back in line watched anxiously, fearing that by the time their turn came, the newspapers would be gone.

Among these people, many were even resident personnel dispatched from Datong Garrison, Shanxi Garrison, and the Xuan-Da region. At present, one of their critical tasks in Xuanfu Garrison was to buy newspapers. The moment a newspaper was purchased, they would immediately employ every means to send it swiftly into their masters' hands.

Over the past few months, the allure of the newspaper had drawn the attention of more and more people. Under intense public demand, this was also one of the reasons the print run of the Xuanzhen Times kept increasing.

Seeing the profits to be made from newspapers, many people within the garrison had already applied to start their own papers. In the capital, too, some were brewing plans. The previous month, the Sanjin Commercial News had made its grand debut.

"Master, Master, the newspaper has been bought!"

A servant rushed joyfully into the Provincial Governor's residence and called out to Provincial Governor Zhu, who was pacing anxiously inside the hall.

Seeing the servant's manner, Zhu Zhifeng glared at him. "So flustered and crude."

Then, unable to wait any longer, he said, "Bring it here, quickly."

Taking the newspaper and smelling the faint scent of ink upon it, Zhu Zhifeng's spirits lifted.

The newspaper in his hands had a layout quite similar to those of later ages. The typeface used copper movable type. China's movable-type printing technique was first recorded in Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays during the Song dynasty, predating the West by roughly four hundred years. Thereafter came forms such as "clay movable type," "porcelain type," "wooden movable type," "copper movable type," "lead movable type," and "tin movable type."

Copper movable type had been fairly popular during the Hongzhi reign of the Ming in places like Wuxi, Suzhou, Changshu, and Nanjing in Jiangsu. Quite a few wealthy merchants manufactured copper movable type to print books, the most famous among them being the Hua and An families of Wuxi.

By the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns, however, as economic capacity declined and the cost of copper movable-type printing came to be seen as too great, people mostly used wooden movable type. This cheaper method of printing was common; the gazettes issued to the public were even copied by hand, supporting countless copyists in the capital.

Yet wooden movable-type printing produced poor quality — crooked characters and smeared ink. Therefore, Wang Dou still felt it better to use copper movable-type printing. In establishing the newspaper, his first consideration was not cost.

Holding the newspaper, Provincial Governor Zhu reclined contentedly in his chair and put on his spectacles. This item, once called aidai in the Great Ming, had originally been tied to the ears with thin cords. But one day, out of boredom, Wang Dou had ordered craftsmen to make temple pieces in the style of later ages and renamed them spectacles.

They quickly became popular, and a related spectacle factory was even established. After all, in the Great Ming, there were plenty of wealthy people who were nearsighted or farsighted.

On this matter, Provincial Governor Zhu had once scolded Wang Dou for neglecting proper duties — a dignified marquis, dabbling in bizarre tricks and frivolous crafts — completely forgetting that the convenience he now enjoyed was all thanks to Wang Dou.

He cleared his throat, ordered a servant to brew some fine tea, and excitedly unfolded the newspaper. Sure enough, his proclamation had been published.

The stone in Provincial Governor Zhu's heart finally dropped. Only then did he take a sip of tea and unhurriedly peruse the contents in detail.

The front-page headline was, of course, the proclamation content that Wang Dou had blended together. Provincial Governor Zhu offered no comment.

Then, below it, was the proclamation of Wang Dou's father-in-law, Regional Commander of Xuan-Da, Ji Shiwei: "Alas, the sage has said: the Three Dynasties won the realm through benevolence, and lost it through lack of benevolence; thus it is with the rise and fall, the survival and ruin of states…"

It was undeniable that Wang Dou's father-in-law possessed literary talent. But his piece rambled on for several thousand characters, and the first two thousand still had not gotten to the point. Wang Dou had no choice but to abandon his proclamation.

Provincial Governor Zhu, however, read it with swaying head, exclaiming in admiration, "Lord Ji's essay is marvelous — one could drink wine to it."

Next came Provincial Governor Zhu's own proclamation: "Alas…"

Another several thousand characters.

The more he admired his own essay, the more satisfied Provincial Governor Zhu felt. He lingered long in self-appreciation, while inwardly fuming that his painstakingly crafted, exquisitely written proclamation had been reduced by Wang Dou to just the four characters "Punish Heaven's Enemies by Decree" — not even matching Fu Mingqi.

He snorted. "That Wang Dou — outrageous."

Further on was the proclamation of Datong Provincial Governor Wei Jingyuan: "Our Great Ancestor, the August Emperor, received Heaven's favor and mandate, and possessed the myriad regions. Because the west and north lay close to the barbarian Hu, he established the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission at Ganzhou, the Shanxi Regional Military Commission at Datong, the Wanquan Regional Military Commission at Xuanfu, and beyond the passes, the Daning Regional Military Commission, and at Liaoyang in Liaodong, the Liaodong Regional Military Commission…"

"Though slightly inferior to this old man, it still reveals ample talent."

Provincial Governor Zhu commented.

After that came the proclamation of Du Xun, the Garrison Defense Eunuch of Xuanfu Garrison.

"Let it be known to all you Tartars in Guihua City: our Great Ming Celestial Dynasty is about to dispatch its troops. You had best surrender quickly. Tell the Tartar managers under you to tally up the household registers so we may properly take over and verify them. The chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, and horses inside and outside the city must also be counted — not a single head may be missed. When the celestial troops arrive, you will have nowhere to hide. Once you surrender, all under heaven will be at peace…"

If one were to name pioneers of vernacular writing, the Ming Taizu might count as one, and Eunuch Du likewise grasped its inner essence — but looking at this proclamation, Provincial Governor Zhu let out a scornful laugh, utterly dismissive: "Crude and unrefined, unlettered and unlearned."

The Times was rich in content, but Provincial Governor Zhu quickly turned to the commentary page, where his eyes lit up — it carried an article by "Most Adores Jin Ping Mei." Provincial Governor Zhu felt as though he had found a treasure; he straightened his spectacles and read it carefully, slapping his thigh in approval from time to time.

At first, he had been put off by the pen name "Most Adores Jin Ping Mei," but the content of the commentaries quickly drew him in, and in the end he became thoroughly addicted.

Provincial Governor Zhu often sighed with feeling, not knowing who this "Most Adores Jin Ping Mei" was — otherwise he would certainly want to share wine and cheerful talk with him, and sit knee-to-knee in long conversation.

……

In the capital, Wang Dehua came bounding in with delight: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this issue of the Xuanzhen Times has arrived."

The Chongzhen Emperor said joyfully: "Bring it quickly, let Us see." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes — your support is My greatest motivation.)