The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 790 Newspaper Management Strategy
Xiao Xia usually only provides ideas, and then skilled craftsmen implement them. Yun Dingxing is the most outstanding skilled craftsman Xiao Xia has ever met.

Yun Dingxing was also invigorated. The blueprints provided by the emperor allowed him to invent a clock, and he was also looking forward to new ideas emerging.

Xiao Xia waved his hand, and two servants carried over a wooden plank. The plank was very thick and was fixed in place by a base. There were very small round holes on the plank.

Xiao Xia picked up an umbrella and laughed, "If you think of it as a nail, how do we fix this nail to the wooden board?"

Xiao Xia gripped the umbrella tightly and threaded it through the wooden hole. When she loosened her grip, the umbrella got stuck on the wooden board and she couldn't pull it back.

This is actually the principle behind expansion bolts. Xiao Xia smiled slightly, "Now you understand!"

Yun Dingxing suddenly realized, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Make a copper cover for the nail, cut a few slits at the bottom, like an umbrella, so that the copper sheet can be spread out and the nail can be firmly fixed in place and will not fall off easily."

"Exactly!"

Once Yun Dingxing understood the principle, he exclaimed excitedly, "Your Majesty, I will test it as soon as I get back!"

Xiao Xia nodded and then asked, "How is the development of the cavalry crossbow I mentioned last time?"

Xiao Xia had been considering developing a single-handed crossbow for cavalry, similar to a pistol, with a handle and a magazine. Each time an arrow was fired, an arrow would automatically fall from the magazine. A device was designed on the stirrups so that cavalrymen could simply hook and pull on the stirrups with one hand to cock the crossbow.

This way, cavalrymen wouldn't have to put down their lances and could fire crossbows with one hand while running, making them even more formidable.

However, the automatic arrow magazine was not a new invention; it existed as early as the Han Dynasty as the repeating crossbow. As long as the key technology of stringing the arrow in the stirrup was solved, and the crossbow body was slightly modified, it would be successful.

Yun Dingxing sighed slightly, "His Majesty was talking about miniaturizing the repeating crossbow, which can definitely be made, but the range is not enough, only less than fifty paces, which is far from the hundred paces range His Majesty requires. In addition, the crossbow magazine is still a bit bulky."

Xiao Xia had already come up with an idea, and he immediately said, "Let's try changing it to a bronze bow and iron arrows!"

Bronze bows can greatly increase energy storage, while iron arrows can be made smaller, making the quiver more compact.

"Your Majesty, I will try again!"

Xiao Xia slowly said, "The reason you can't solve many of your problems is because you're using the wrong materials. Don't use wood, use metal, such as steel or copper. The rebound force of metal is much stronger than that of wood. The reason why the firing device you mentioned last time couldn't be miniaturized is the same."

Xiao Xia took out a drawing and handed it to him, "I've drawn a sample, go back and try it out!"

"Wei Chen resigns!"

Yun Dingxing took the blueprints and slowly backed away. Xiao Xia rubbed his forehead. He knew many of the principles, but he couldn't do it himself. He hoped Yun Dingxing wouldn't disappoint him.

Yun Dingxing walked out of the imperial study, opened the blueprints, and saw that the blueprints showed a wire-like piece of fine steel, which he twisted into a spiral shape.

The western side clearly states, 'The coil of fine steel wire is gradually bent or stretched; once released, it will spring back to its original shape. The force of this rebound allows the hammer to strike the flint, producing a spark that ignites the tinder.'

Nominally, Xiao Xia asked Yun Dingxing to make the ignition device for the tinderbox, but in reality, he was making technical preparations for the later flintlock musket.

Xiao Xia drew him a spring, and Yun Dingxing immediately understood. He stared at the spring on the drawing with rapt attention; the emperor had opened up a new world for him.

After Yun Dingxing left, Lu Miao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Chancellor Liu and Chancellor Pei have arrived!" "Please invite them in!"

Xiao Xia organized his thoughts. Today was enough to keep him busy, but after unifying the world, he had higher goals and ideals, which made him even busier.

A short while later, Liu Wenjing and Pei Ju entered, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Please be seated, Your Excellencies!"

Xiao Xia invited the two to sit down, then took out the paper that He Chou had delivered that morning and handed it to them with a smile, saying, "Take a look at this paper, it only costs two coins a sheet."

Both of them were shocked. It was only two coins a sheet. Could it be straw paper?
Straw paper also cost two coins a large sheet, but it was very rough and could only be used to cover windows or by wealthy families for using the outhouse; it was completely unsuitable for writing.

"It's only slightly inferior to hemp paper, but it's perfectly fine for writing."

The two exchanged a glance, then suddenly realized what was going on. Liu Wenjing smiled and said, "Your Majesty intends to use it to publish a newspaper?"

Running newspapers was not a new thing. Xiao Xia had "Zouwen Zaoyue" in Jiangnan, which was published every month. It compiled the government decrees of the month into one issue and distributed them to various prefectures and counties. However, at that time, woodblock printing was used and the paper was too expensive, so it did not become popular among the people.

A few months ago, Xiao Xia once again proposed starting a newspaper. Newspapers could convey important information from the court to gentry and scholars across the country, preventing local officials from secretly complying with the court's demands and thus contributing to centralized power.

The government council unanimously agreed to start a newspaper, but the problem was that paper was too expensive and production was low, so Xiao Xia ordered He Chou to find a way to solve the problem.

Xiao Xia nodded. "Two coins for a sheet of paper. One sheet can be printed on all four sides, making it a newspaper. I've already thought of a name for it: 'The Capital Morning Post'."

Pei Ju hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, there are many troublesome things about using movable type printing. For example, a single character '之' can be found in hundreds of times in a newspaper, so we need to prepare a lot of them, and picking out the characters is a major problem."

Xiao Xia waved her hand, "These are not problems. It will be a little slow at first, but it will be fast after you get used to it. Where to put each word? The word picker knows. One person picks the words and the other typesets them. It can be completed in half an hour!"

Liu Wenjing thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, why not start by publishing a ten-day report, one issue per ten days, to collect all the major events and various government orders and imperial edicts that happen in that ten days and distribute them to local governments? Then, once you've mastered that, you can start publishing a daily newspaper, covering literature, lifestyle, market information, and so on. This would be a newspaper for ordinary people, and everyone could buy it."

Xiao Xia nodded. "What Prime Minister Liu said makes sense. We should run the official gazette for three months first, and then start working on the daily newspaper."

Pei Ju quickly replied, "This humble servant recommends Chu Liang from the Hongwen Academy to run the newspaper. He is currently in charge of printing the court's books and drawings. He is a sharp-minded, insightful, and knowledgeable individual, making him very suitable for running a newspaper!"

Xiao Xia said with delight, "We can give him a try. Promote him to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and let him focus on running the newspaper. Prime Minister Pei, running a newspaper falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, so you will be in charge of arranging its establishment!"

"Your humble servant will certainly do his best!"

. . . . . . .

Emerging from the Imperial Study, Liu Wenjing asked with a smile, "Prime Minister Pei, where do you plan to begin with the newspaper project?"

Pei Ju sighed and said, "Of course, we have to solve the problem of movable type printing first. If we can't solve the problem of movable type printing, it will be impossible to publish a daily newspaper."

Liu Wenjing smiled slightly and said, "I suggest that Prime Minister Pei can hand over the movable type printing to He Chou. Printing is the responsibility of their Craftsmanship Bureau. Prime Minister Pei should talk to Chu Liang about the newspaper business, including the venue, personnel, paper, ink, and financial expenditures. As for the specifics, Chu Liang can discuss them with He Chou himself. Prime Minister Pei doesn't need to worry about it. This year's autumn examinations in various prefectures and next year's imperial examinations are the important matters for the Ministry of Rites!"

(End of this chapter)