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

Chapter 132: Decision on the Future of the Newspaper

Chengqingfang Street, in an alley near the imperial city.

In the back garden of the residence of Fu Han, the Left Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites.

Fu Han and his eldest son Fu Yuan were sitting in the pavilion drinking tea. Fu Yuan smiled and said, "Dad, please take a step back. Tomorrow the court will recommend the chief examiner for the Jiwei Examination. Please don't argue with him."

Fu Han was a little confused and asked, "Why?"

His eldest son was very smart, but he just didn't want to study or take the imperial examinations. Instead, he had a special interest in business. Fu Han was always helpless.

Fu Yuan asked Fu Han, "You want to compete for the position of chief examiner for the imperial examination, just to enrich your political capital, and the ultimate goal is to make further progress."

"There is only one person standing in your way, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Cheng Minzheng."

"In one go, give him the position of Chief Examiner of this year's exam, and then get rid of him. Then the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites will be yours."

Fu Han smiled bitterly and said, "It's easy as you say, but how can it be that easy?"

Fu Yuan smiled and said, "Didn't you make a guarantee?"

"Otherwise, why would you introduce Cheng Minzheng to those scholars?"

Fu Han looked at his eldest son in astonishment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Do you see what Dad is going to do? But it's not easy."

Fu Yuan took a sip of tea and said calmly, "I'll help you. It's not a difficult task."

……

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month in the twelfth year of Hongzhi, the highlight is the court attendance, during which the chief examiner for the Jiwei examination of the twelfth year of Hongzhi will be selected.

Once this position is chosen, all the candidates in the country will be students of this examiner. The benefits will be enormous, and everyone will be vying for this position.

The most qualified person was naturally the official from the Ministry of Rites. However, surprisingly, Fu Han, the Left Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites, gave up this opportunity and actually took the initiative to recommend his rival, Cheng Minzheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, which was really surprising.

As expected, the chief examiner of the Jiwei Examination fell to Cheng Minzheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

All the officials for the Spring Examination have been appointed today.

Yuan Fang, the censor of the Censorate, stepped out and bowed to Emperor Hongzhi, saying, "Your Majesty, a new business has sprouted among the people recently, and it's called newspapers."

"Its contents are varied. If they are allowed to spread, they may have the effect of criticizing the government. Although it may not seem to be a big problem at the moment, in the long run, there will be hidden dangers. We must guard against it."

"Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to issue an edict to reprimand this newspaper and order it to close down as soon as possible."

Emperor Hongzhi signaled Censor Yuan Fang to return to his post, saying that this was not a matter of state affairs and would not be discussed at the meeting.

After the court was dismissed, Emperor Hongzhi summoned the six ministries of the cabinet individually to discuss whether newspapers should be closed.

Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, believes that there is no need to make a fuss. Judging from the current content of the newspapers, most of them are current affairs gossip and do not involve criticizing political affairs and bureaucracy. There is nothing wrong in giving ordinary people an additional entertainment and starting a public discussion.

However, if they want to impose restrictions and controls, the government needs to warn people in advance to prevent those with ulterior motives from publishing sensitive matters in newspapers.

The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War believed that newspapers should be banned in a one-size-fits-all manner, and that it would be better to eliminate them now rather than risk them becoming a scourge in the future.

Both sides had their own reasons, and Emperor Hongzhi was unable to make a decision for a while and could only put the issue aside for the time being.

……

The newspaper office opened on the 13th of the first lunar month, and by the 16th, in just three days, it had already earned 200 taels of silver. This horrific income left Chen Ce dumbfounded.

Chen Ce did not even bother to calculate the cost and directly gave all the 200 taels of silver to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao didn't intend to take it. After all, the five hundred taels were his investment. Besides, he only made two hundred taels. Why should he give it all to himself? Don't you want a share of the profits, little brother? Chen Ce smiled and said, "You invested a lot, so of course I'll pick you up first. This is what you deserve. You will make more money later. I'm not in a hurry."

After listening to Chen Ce's heartfelt words, Zhu Houzhao could not accept it anymore.

Chen Ce advised: "It's okay, just treat it as pocket money. The daily newspaper business has income, and you still have a surplus of 500 taels, which is enough. Don't be polite with me. We are friends, aren't we?"

"What's mine is yours."

Zhu Houzhao was even more moved. He sniffed and said, "Okay! I'll take it first."

Zhu Houzhao left the courtyard and couldn't help but praise Liu Jin: "How about this friend of mine?"

Liu Jin hurriedly said, "Mr. Chen is really loyal! I really envy you for having such a close friend."

Looking at Zhu Houzhao's departing back, Chen Ce sighed softly.

Sorry to take advantage of you again.

Newspapers make money, but I also have to guard against the crises lurking beneath the newspapers.

He knew Zhu Houzhao's character too well. After earning so much money, Zhu Houzhao would definitely show off to his father, the emperor and his mother.

According to Chen Ce's calculations, the development of the newspaper in three days was enough to make the people above begin to pay attention to the crisis that the newspaper would bring to the censors in the future.

Maybe someone has already started suggesting to the court that the newspaper be closed down.

If they let the newspaper develop freely, they must be afraid that one day the newspaper would threaten and shake their foundation, so Chen Ce gave Zhu Houzhao all the profits at once.

The purpose is to let the Crown Prince show off to his father.

When Emperor Hongzhi knew that the newspaper belonged to his beloved son, he was determined to keep the newspaper and prevent it from closing down.

Otherwise, if the civil officials had put pressure on Emperor Hongzhi, they might have been able to close the newspaper.

Chen Ce predicted the crisis in advance, so... he could only make use of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a little.

Chen Ce knew Zhu Houzhao's every word and action very well. Having made such a fortune, it was impossible for him not to show off.

After returning to the harem, Zhu Houzhao felt a little unsteady when he walked.

The Zhang brothers happened to come out of Kunning Palace at this time. Seeing their arrogant nephew Zhu Houzhao, Zhang Heling smiled and said, "Nephew, did you make money from the profitable business you mentioned last time?"

He originally planned to advise his inexperienced nephew, the prince, that this was his responsibility as an uncle!
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Even if you are a prince, the common people will not give you face.

Unless you can swallow your pride and rob like us!
Don't care about your reputation!

But you are the prince, and you are destined not to do such a thing. In this case, what can you do to make a lot of money?

Do you really think that business outside is easy to do?
Zhang Yanling echoed his elder brother and earnestly educated Zhu Houzhao: "My nephew, don't blame your two uncles for being nagging, and don't blame your two uncles for being stingy."

"This money is not so easy to earn. In today's world, making money is as difficult as eating shit!"

"Want to make a huge profit? That's even harder. You're still young. Don't dream too much. Be down-to-earth."

Zhu Houzhao raised the bag of silver in his hand and said to the Zhang brothers, "Uncles, this is what I earned in three days. I don't think it's that difficult to make money."

"How come in your mouth, making money is like eating shit?"

The Zhang brothers stretched their heads like giraffes to look at the white silver in the bag. It would have been fine if they hadn't looked, but when they saw it, they immediately gasped and exclaimed, "How many days did you earn this?"

(End of this chapter)