Royal Gold Magistrate

That night, the newspaper office was still brightly lit as everyone worked.

Fang Zheng and Li Yuanzhao were also there.

The sales report for the newspaper truly surprised even Fang Zheng.

In less than half a day, it had sold out across the entire city.

According to market research, people from all walks of life were clearly very interested in the newspaper and were looking forward to the second issue tomorrow.

Now, Shen Yi and others in the office were frantically writing tomorrow’s news, to be sent to the printing shop at midnight.

After reading the report, Fang Zheng began inspecting the reporters.

Seeing everyone in good spirits, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but shout, “Keep up the good work, brothers!”

“Work is your life’s stage. Whether you win applause depends on you. If you don’t work hard today, you’ll have to work hard to find a job tomorrow.”

“Tell me loudly, are you happy?”

“Happy!!” Everyone raised their heads and shouted in unison, still looking excited.

Fang Zheng’s mouth twitched.

Good! Interns are the best! Such high work enthusiasm!

“Excellent! I’ll have custom mattresses made for you in the future. When you’re tired, you can sleep right here in the office! Work is good, but you must also take care of your health!”

“Thank you, Lord Fang!”

Clearly, Fang Zheng’s humane management was very popular.

The reporters were delighted. The working conditions were great, and they even got custom mattresses.

Li Yuanzhao frowned. “Old Fang, isn’t this a bit inhumane?”

Fang Zheng put on a pained expression. “Your Highness, I can accept others not understanding, but you too?”

“This is how it is in the early stages of a startup! The newspaper bears your name. Their good days are yet to come!”

“What’s wrong with young people experiencing some hardship? Sweating more now means shedding fewer tears later!”

“Besides, the nightlife is great! It’s a blessing to be able to work here!”

Li Yuanzhao looked at Fang Zheng suspiciously, feeling something was off.

Fang Zheng felt quite innocent about this. There was no choice given the current situation. The newspaper had been launched too hastily, severely lacking in manpower and experience, and the work was time-sensitive with a large workload.

Low efficiency could only be compensated for with time.

He could only give these naive scholars more motivation, and at most, get them some sea cucumbers to nourish their bodies.

…………

The next day, the daily newspaper was released as scheduled.

As soon as it hit the market, it was immediately sold out.

The ancient people, severely lacking in entertainment, rushed for the Crown Prince Daily.

No one had imagined that living in the capital, there were so many fresh stories happening in the city every day that they didn’t know about.

And what curse had befallen Fuyun Temple??

Everyone picked up the newspaper looking for answers.

Those who couldn’t buy it went straight to the newspaper readers to listen to the stories.

On the second day, Fuyun Temple was still shrouded in mystery and negativity.

In just two days, the high monk’s blood had become notorious, with countless people avoiding anything related to it like the plague.

At night, a group of angry middlemen secretly destroyed the newly rebuilt Fuyun Temple.

On the third day, the curse of Fuyun Temple was unveiled.

The reason was that the monks didn’t labor and ate vegetarian food year-round, resulting in poor physical condition and low-quality blood. The article encouraged that labor is most glorious.

Countless people, upon learning the truth, cursed the writer for being shameless and manipulating their emotions, then flocked to Fuyun Temple to burn incense.

When they arrived, they found that all the monks of Fuyun Temple had already returned to secular life…

In three days, the only temple in Banshan District had disappeared without a trace due to “approaching science”.

For several days after that, the Crown Prince Daily’s hot sales grew even more intense, finally being brought up in court.

Emperor Jing held a copy of the newspaper, his eyes flashing with surprise.

It wasn’t because he hadn’t seen the newspaper before. He had received it on the first day of publication and read it with great interest.

But at the same time, he was also somewhat shocked by the newspaper’s influence and was still observing with a cautious attitude.

The newspaper he now held was already the eighth issue.

The news inside always caught his attention. When tired from reviewing memorials, reading the paper was a good way for him to relax.

The officials below were quietly waiting for Emperor Jing to finish reading the newspaper.

Emperor Jing put down the paper and praised, “This newspaper is very innovative. There are so many things happening in the capital that I didn’t know about. It’s really eye-opening.”

“My dear ministers, you’ve brought the newspaper to me today. Do you have anything to say?”

“Your Majesty, the newspaper is good, but its influence is too great. It should be strictly regulated, and rules should be drafted.”

“I agree. If someone fabricates stories and manipulates the people, it could turn a good thing bad. Of course, this newspaper is run by the Crown Prince, so we are quite reassured.”

“The worry is that others might also start newspapers!”

Li Yansong said, “Your Majesty, this newspaper is excellent. We all enjoy reading it very much.”

“There are quite a few excellent works by scholars that have caught my eye. However… I’m concerned that openly selling it in the Crown Prince’s name might invite criticism from across the land.”

Fang Zheng immediately spoke up loudly, “Minister Li’s words are biased!”

“This newspaper only costs five coins per copy, excellent quality at a low price. With such a large sheet of paper plus ink and labor costs, it’s already operating at a loss!”

“This isn’t commerce, it’s charity!”

Surprisingly, although everyone disliked Fang Zheng, no one came forward to rebut him this time.

The reason was simple: although they had some objections, they all liked reading the newspaper, and some even secretly wanted to do it themselves.

But they didn’t know where to start.

Fang Zheng continued, “Your Majesty, while the newspaper is good, as my colleagues have said, it could potentially be exploited by those with ill intentions.”

“I suggest that from today onwards, every new newspaper established must be approved and registered with the palace to prevent social unrest.”

“Detailed regulations will certainly be planned in the future, but we’re still in the exploratory stage. I will assist the Crown Prince in completing this, and when finished, we’ll present it to Your Majesty for review.”

Emperor Jing nodded, looking at Li Yuanzhao approvingly, then his gaze immediately sharpened.

Li Yuanzhao was still in a daze. Driven by curiosity, he had been running around with the reporters every day, and was particularly tired.

The benefits were also obvious – he had seen a lot of the dangers of the world and all sorts of bizarre incidents.

Emperor Jing turned his head and looked at Fang Zheng, “Minister Fang has thought it through thoroughly. We’ll follow your suggestion. From now on, all new newspapers established across the country must be reported to the palace for my personal review!”

Fang Zheng looked around, saw no one objecting, and grinned.

It was time for some shady business.

………………..

In Taoyuan County, at Xueyue Tower.

The Martial Arts Champion Zhou Tie was embracing a woman with a smile on his face, continuously pouring wine into his mouth.

Suddenly, two people burst in from outside, shouting as they entered, “Second Brother! There’s an urgent letter from Xie Xian for you!”

“What the hell ‘Second Brother’! When Zhang Biao’s not here, I’m the Big Brother! Can’t you calm down? Don’t you know to knock before entering?”

Zhou Tie impatiently took the envelope.

He opened it and looked, then smiled.

“Hehehe, good! It’s finally my turn, is it? My peerless martial arts skills have been useless for so long! Today they’ll finally be put to use! Let’s go!”

With that, Zhou Tie left the woman in his arms and strode towards the door.

The woman still sat on the bed, calling out, “My lord, come back again next time.”

Zhou Tie, already at the door, turned back with a flirtatious smile, “Don’t worry, sister-in-law. I’ll be back soon!”

With that, he turned and took big strides towards the stairs.

Then, he missed a step and rolled down.

Xueyue Tower suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of tumbling.

The two lackeys on the second floor were completely dumbfounded.

Rolling all the way to the first floor, Zhou Tie lay on the ground, his face beet red, unable to get up for a long time.

After a while, having thought of an excuse, he slowly propped up his upper body and said resentfully, “I’ve been so weakened by wine and women… From today on… I’ll exercise!”