Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 113 Chen Ce's Business Concept

The new year passed quickly, and all the departments of the Ming Dynasty resumed work, and the imperial machine began to operate in an orderly manner again.

The twelfth year of Hongzhi arrived. At the beginning of the year, the busiest department was undoubtedly the Ministry of Rites, which presided over the Spring Examination. During this period, the Ministry of Rites had to recommend the chief officer, chief examiner, and examiners of the examination, and was very busy every day.

As the Minister of Personnel and others died of the "plague", the six ministries of the imperial court could not be without high-ranking officials at the ministerial level, so the first small court meeting after the New Year re-elected the Minister of Personnel, Ni Yue.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Chen Ce.

Chen Ce was paying attention to two pieces of news. One of them was undoubtedly the aftermath of the assassination of several high-ranking officials in the court.

However, the court is still very secretive, and it seems that no useful information can be found.

The second is the matter of making money. In the past, Chen Ce was content as long as he had enough money to spend. When he was about to die, making more money would not mean much to him.

The profit from the 1,800 taels of rice from the farming racks sold by Zhu Houzhao was enough for Chen Ce to live on for the rest of his life.

But I didn't expect that I would have to keep a group of spies.

This group of spies were loyal and ruthless enough. Five of them assassinated high-ranking officials in the court. Even though they had escaped, they still chose to commit suicide in the end, leaving no chance for the other party.

Chen Ce felt that it was really necessary to keep such a loyal private organization in his hands. There was nothing wrong with controlling a secret force. The most important thing was that it was a responsibility.

Wang Yue left himself with a heavy responsibility.

An annual salary of three or four thousand taels of silver is not a small sum of money. It cannot be earned through normal means, so the only option is to do business.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Chen Ce stayed at home and locked himself in his study, writing about his ideas for running a newspaper.

A newspaper must be divided into sections and must proceed step by step. If it establishes politics right away, it would be tantamount to seeking its own death. The goal that Chen Ce set for the newspaper in the early stages was to focus on news without mixing in any political affairs. Otherwise, the newspaper would not be able to develop because of government control.

In the early stage, the main focus was on making money. If no money could be made, then the emerging newspaper industry would lose its meaning, not to mention any follow-up matters.

There should also be divisions in sections. It is always about news sales, the focus is on sales, and sales capabilities are required.

Fortunately, it was now the Ming Dynasty, the cost of paper was not high, and printing technology was highly developed, providing all convenient conditions for the establishment of a newspaper.

Which sections should be set up to attract people?

Gossip entertainment is of course the main sales content, followed by curiosity. These two points are the most attractive in any era.

But a newspaper cannot have only these two sections. The content is too little and it needs other sections to fill the gap.

The third section Chen Ce wanted to focus on women for the time being, including brothels, stories of various pretty ladies, and rankings of their talent and beauty. There wasn't much of this kind of content, but it was eye-catching enough.

The fourth one is naturally the imperial examination. The imperial examination was too important in the hearts of scholars in the Ming Dynasty. Predicting the top scorer in the imperial examination and analyzing the potential of each scholar, etc., will probably arouse more discussion.

Chen Ce still had some ideas, such as the death of a certain politician, his merits and demerits, etc. These were things that the people loved to watch, but he did not get the court's approval, so he could only bury these ideas in his heart for the time being.

These are the things that have been finalized for the time being. Chen Ce has no idea whether it will be successful or not. He also has no idea whether the people of the Ming Dynasty can accept this new thing. He just has to give it a try.

If you don't make money, no matter how much you think, it's all in vain. If you can make money, you can slowly enrich the content of the newspaper later.

After finalizing his idea, Chen Ce got up and went out. As soon as he reached the courtyard, he found that it was snowing again.

He held an oil-paper umbrella, wore a green double-breasted robe, and a plush cloak that had turned white from countless washes. He walked out of the mansion and headed straight for Rongxing Bookstore.

Wang Defa was eating his lunch. When he saw a customer coming outside, he quickly put his bowl aside, wiped his mouth casually, and said warmly, "Sir, please take a look. Our restaurant's Rebirth..." "Mr. Li, you are here?"

Chen Ce was slightly stunned, but he quickly reacted and said, "My last name is not Li, but Chen Ce, with the courtesy name Chunjian."

amount.

Wang Defa had forgotten about the pen name and said awkwardly, "I was prejudiced. Sorry, sorry."

"Mr. Chen, is there something wrong?"

Chen Ce saw that he was eating, so he said, "We'll talk in detail after you finish eating."

"No, no, we're almost done eating, let's go to the backyard and take a walk."

Wang Defa warmly and respectfully invited Chen Ce to go to the backyard and asked his wife to come over to look after the store.

The room in the central hall of the backyard is not big. The front door is the storefront, and the back door is where the family lives. This was the case for many shops in the Ming Dynasty.

This store was rented by Wang Defa, who had a difficult life. He fled from Henan to Shuntian Prefecture and worked as a beggar, night watchman and many other menial jobs. He saved some money through hard work and frugality and opened a bookstore.

Although Chen Ce didn't really want to hear about his past, he was polite and patient enough to listen to him.

Wang Defa sighed and said, "I am so long-winded. Mr. Chen, is there anything you want to talk to me about?"

Chen Ce nodded and said, "Do you remember what I told you a few years ago that I have some business ideas? I need someone to help me, and I want to ask for your advice."

What Wang Defa is concerned about is how much money he has to pay. Chen Ce understands his caution and difficulty, as ordinary people have a weak ability to resist risks.

Chen Ce shook his head slightly and said, "If you help me with my work, I will give you a salary. You don't need to invest."

The reason he came to see Wang Defa today was because he had been working in the book printing business in Shuntian Prefecture for some time, and Chen Ce had some ideas he wanted to share with him to find out and fill in the gaps. After all, things that he came up with alone would probably have loopholes.

"Before I say anything, I want to sign a contract with you to ensure that our conversation will not be heard by a third person."

"Ah?" Wang De was stunned for a moment, but still nodded and said, "Okay!"

"I plan to create a newspaper. It will be divided into four sections for the time being: gossip and entertainment. For example, a man from a certain family spends a fortune on prostitutes, a woman from a certain family likes a scholar but is stopped by her parents, etc."

"The curious section, such as someone seeing strange phenomena in a certain place, etc."

These things were extremely attractive, and even without Chen Ce explaining in detail, they had already piqued Wang Defa's interest.

There was a strange light in Wang Defa's eyes, his face was flushed, his eyes were glowing green, and his body was shaking with excitement. It was obvious that he admired Chen Ce's business idea very much!
Wang Defa said with emotion: "Mr. Chen, no wonder you don't want to write a book. You are really... really a business genius!"

"If I had a brain like yours, I would have become rich by now."

Chen Ce didn't want to hear him flatter and brag about himself, so he asked Wang Defa, "Based on your experience, is there anything wrong with this?"

Wang Defa thought about it seriously, then cupped his hands and said, "I dare not say what I am lacking, but I have a few questions."

Chen Ce nodded: "You say."

(End of this chapter)