My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 168 Inheritance
Shen Sixiao was in his residence outside the capital, pondering his new name for the newspaper.

Shen Sixiao prided himself on his talent and was very confident in his ability to run a newspaper.

If Su Ze can run a newspaper, and the "New Yuefu Newspaper" can also succeed, then if I, Shen Sixiao, have the talent to run a newspaper, it will surely be a bestseller in the capital.

In order to start a newspaper, Shen Sixiao hired four woodblock engraving craftsmen from the city at high salaries and also purchased some printing equipment.

But after getting all these things done, Shen Sixiao realized a problem: he hadn't even come up with a name for the newspaper.

He naturally didn't want to piggyback on the fame of "Yuefu Xinbao," and after racking his brains for the past few days, he still couldn't come up with a good name.

Just then, Shen Jing, whom he had sent out to gather information, hurriedly returned.

"Master! Something terrible has happened!"

Shen Jing, panting heavily, recounted the story of the Kuwu envoy's tribute mission, and Shen Sixiao immediately felt his hands and feet turn ice cold.

Why now of all times?!

The ships that had gone astray from the Maritime Trade Office returned to port, bringing back the Kuwa envoys who had cut off tribute!
Shen Sixiao knew that the attacks on the opening of Dengzhou and Laizhou ports in recent days had all been in vain.

Shen Sixiao had another thought. Logically, the Maritime Trade Office should have sent such news to the capital by fast horse, but there was no word of it before the delegation arrived in the capital.

Shen Sixiao broke out in a cold sweat.

This must be a setup, and the only person who could get the Maritime Trade Office to block the news is the Emperor.

Thinking of this, Shen Sixiao knew that the situation was hopeless.

He suddenly looked at Shen Jing and said:
"Go and get fifty taels of silver, and set off immediately back to your hometown in Jiaxing!"

Shen Jing's face also turned pale. He understood that Shen Sixiao wanted to sever ties with the censors in the city, and he was the pawn that had been discarded.

Shen Jing quickly said:

"Master, fifty taels of silver is far too little?"

Shen Jing knew that this money was not for the return trip, but to buy out his life of living in anonymity for the rest of his days.

Fifty taels of silver is a huge sum for ordinary people, but he is a scholar, and a scholar's income as a tutor is more than that.

Shen Sixiao's expression also turned somewhat ugly. He hadn't expected that a mere clerk would try to bargain with him, but at this moment, his biggest fear was that Fang Xuemin and other censors would implicate him, so he had no choice but to suppress his anger and say:

"Then one hundred taels!"

Shen Jing still felt it was a bit too little, but seeing Shen Sixiao's expression, he knew that his employer was ruthless, so he had no choice but to agree.
-
On May 3, with the arrival of the Kuwu delegation in the city, the political turmoil surrounding the opening of the port of Dengzhou and Laiyang finally subsided.

Shen Sixiao was not the only one who noticed the emperor's attitude; many officials did as well.

Shen Shu, a supervising secretary of the Six Ministries, started by examining Fang Xuemin's memorial and found errors and omissions in it.

Fang Xuemin deliberately reversed the timeline of the loss of the Maritime Trade Office's ships and Li Wenquan's whaling, attributing the loss of the Maritime Trade Office's ships to helping the emperor whaling.

After Shen Shu reported this matter to the emperor, he impeached Fang Xuemin on the grounds of "rumoring untrue information".

As Shen Shu submitted his memorial, some officials followed suit, and the political climate in the court instantly reversed.

As expected, after Shen Shu submitted his memorial, the emperor was furious and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to confiscate Fang Xuemin's property.

The Imperial Guards also found many letters in Fang Xuemin's home, in which he colluded with other officials. Some of these private letters contained treasonous words, so the emperor expanded the search again.

However, Grand Secretary Li Chunfang stepped forward and pleaded with the emperor not to implicate too many people.

Emperor Longqing then decided to punish only Fang Xuemin and others who led the petition, dismissing them all from their posts and banishing them from the capital.

Upon receiving the news outside the capital, Shen Sixiao once again lamented his own caution. He had communicated with Fang Xuemin verbally through Shen Jing, leaving no written evidence.

Fang Xuemin was loyal enough not to implicate Shen Sixiao.

After much painful reflection, Shen Sixiao decided to continue running the newspaper properly.

He decided to smear Su Ze in the newspaper, attack Su Ze's advocacy of practical learning, and named the newspaper "Gentleman's Newspaper". The first issue of the newspaper was published soon.

Shen Sixiao spent a lot of money, and the craftsmen he hired made a good profit. Moreover, his first issue of the newspaper was distributed for free and sold two hundred copies.

Shen Sixiao was greatly encouraged and devoted more of his energy to running the newspaper.

However, there was also feedback that the political commentary in the Junzi Bao was too much and not as interesting as the Yuefu Xinbao.

In an effort to boost sales, Shen Sixiao, like other newspapers, copied Journey to the West into his own publication.

With virtuous and learned scholars gathering in the capital, Shen Sixiao decided to seize this opportunity to promote the *Junzi Bao* (Gentleman's Gazette)!
Li Chunfang's residence.

When the steward announced Su Ze's request to see him, Li Chunfang was writing a new chapter of Journey to the West.

Li Chunfang's pen trembled, thinking that Su Ze had come to urge her to finish the manuscript, and she wanted to ask the person in charge to send Su Ze back.

However, the thought that he had just given Su Ze a lot of chapters, and that the newspapers had not yet serialized the latest chapters, gave Grand Secretary Li confidence again.

So he ordered the steward to take Su Ze to his study.

Li Chunfang quickly tidied up her desk and hid the manuscript she had already written before letting Su Ze into the study.

"Grand Secretary Li."

Li Chunfang nodded slightly, waiting for Su Ze to explain his purpose.

But this time, Su Ze kept everyone in suspense. He took out several newspapers from his sleeve and placed them on Li Chunfang's desk.

Upon closer inspection, Li Chunfang realized that these newspapers seemed to be popular tabloids in the capital.

Li Chunfang had heard of some of these newspapers, such as "Junzi Bao," "Wentan Xinbao," and "Jingqi Bao," but not others.

Li Chunfang looked at Su Ze, who then opened the newspapers and saw that each of them had a page serializing Journey to the West.

Seeing her writings widely circulated in the newspapers, Li Chunfang was secretly pleased.

He feigned ignorance and asked:
What's wrong with these newspapers?

Su Ze said:

"Your Excellency, recently, privately printed tabloids in the capital have become increasingly rampant. They directly pirate articles from our 'Yuefu Xinbao,' and even stole your Journey to the West."

Upon hearing this, Li Chunfang sighed and said:
"The theft of seals is rampant in our country, and such things are difficult to eradicate."

What Li Chunfang said was true.

The publishing industry in the Ming Dynasty was very developed, and these pirated books were simply impossible to eradicate.

The collected works of Wang Shizhen, a master of literature, were pirated several times. He reported it to the government, but the government could not do anything about these pirates, and in the end, Wang Shizhen had to withdraw his lawsuit.

Piracy isn't the worst thing.

Some people even use other people's book titles to insert their own personal opinions into the books.

Moreover, Li Chunfang herself is not short of money, and she cares more about the dissemination of her articles, and even has some fondness for piracy.

Su Ze took out a newspaper and said:
"Your Excellency, please look at this newspaper. The craftsman who engraved the plates was not skilled. The story is full of errors and inconsistencies, and there are also many typos."

"Looking at this 'Amazing Newspaper,' it actually puts 'Journey to the West' and lewd articles side by side on the same page, and even changed the book title to 'Journey to the West: Romance,' turning this masterpiece into lewd words."

"Your Excellency, please take another look at this 'Gentleman's Gazette.' It has actually altered the content of 'Journey to the West' without authorization, adding some content that criticizes the government. If this continues, the excellent 'Journey to the West' will become a banned book!"

After carefully reading these articles, even someone as composed as Li Chunfang felt a surge of anger. Su Ze added:
"Lord Li, you selflessly donated your family's collection of books without asking for any reward, but many of our contributors to the Yuefu Xinbao rely on their writing fees to make a living."

“These tabloids’ privately printed articles cut off the income of the new newspaper and also their livelihood.”

"How can the author's hard work be wasted like this?"

Hearing Su Ze say this, Li Chunfang nodded and said, "Then, in Su Zilin's opinion, how should this be handled? Should we report it to the police?"

Su Ze quickly shook his head.

Just kidding, he started the newspaper in the first place to promote intellectual liberation, he can't go back to creating literary inquisitions, can he?

A single newspaper like the "New Yuefu Gazette," especially an official one, could not possibly bear the heavy responsibility of enlightening the people.

Of course, if this disorderly development is allowed to continue, it will not be a good thing in the end.

Su Ze said:

"Su requests the establishment of a copyright and patent office."

"The Copyright and Patent Office?"

Su Ze explained, "The text needs to be printed using woodblock printing, and the copyright is the right to reprint it; that is copyright."

"Anyone who writes a book must register with the government and have their copyright clearly defined."

"If someone pirates a copy, the copyright holder can file a lawsuit with the government, and the profits will be confiscated and given to the copyright holder. This law can serve as a deterrent and also protect the copyright of the author."

"Only in this way can we protect the pens of writers and enable people all over the world to dare to write, to be willing to write, and to make a living by writing books!"

"In addition to copyright, there are also patents."

"The so-called patent is for craftsmanship."

“Since ancient times, craftsmen have kept one or two unique skills to themselves, not only to cherish their own skills, but also to protect their own interests.”

"Su proposes the establishment of a copyright and patent office, granting anyone who improves a technique the exclusive right to profit for ten years, while imitators will be punished as thieves. At that time, craftsmen will surely compete to showcase their skills."

After hearing Su Ze's words, Li Chunfang was somewhat tempted.

Seeing Li Chunfang's expression, Su Ze knew that his plan had successfully moved her.

The reason Su Ze sought out Li Chunfang instead of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng was because they were not creators like Li Chunfang and did not understand the pain of piracy.

In fact, Su Ze didn't expect the copyright and patent office to play a significant role in the beginning.

However, any system must first be established and then gradually improved.

Perhaps at the beginning, the copyright and patent office will not receive any money, but as long as the concept of copyright and patents spreads, people will naturally be willing to invest in writing and technical research.

Of course, Su Ze's main goal was still to secure the craftsman's patent.

There are many government-run workshops in the capital that are under the management of the Ministry of Works. With this copyright and patent bureau, Su Ze could easily get these workshops to allocate funds to reward artisans who improve their techniques.

Once this copyright and patent office is established, cracking down on a few tabloids rampant with piracy will be enough to satisfy Grand Secretary Li.

Li Chunfang nodded and said:

"This method is not bad. Send a memorial to me and I will think of another way."

"Thank you very much, Grand Secretary Li!"

With this in mind, Su Ze wouldn't need to use the system anymore. Li Chunfang had agreed to help, and the matter with the Copyright and Patent Office would definitely be resolved.
-
The next day, Su Ze went to the newspaper office to submit his memorial on establishing a copyright and patent office, but instead encountered Zhang Hong, the eunuch from the Eastern Palace.

Su Ze noticed the injuries on Zhang Hong's face, realizing that he had also suffered as a result of the Crown Prince's punishment by the Imperial Concubine.

Su Ze quickly ushered Zhang Hong into the newspaper office, whereupon Zhang Hong said:
"Does the Crown Prince have something to ask of you?"

Su Ze's expression was strange.

Su Ze recalled that he had just visited Li Chunfang yesterday and tricked her into helping him set up a copyright and patent office.

Today, my good disciple, Little Fatty Jun, came to my door asking for my help.

Is this truly divine retribution?

Su Ze quickly shook his head, trying to shake off these strange thoughts.

Thinking of how Zhu Yijun had been captured by Consort Li and brought to the palace but hadn't implicated him, Su Ze said:

"Thank you for leading the way, Eunuch Zhang."

Zhang Hong led Su Ze to the East Palace, where they saw Zhu Yijun, who had grown taller after the New Year, standing in the Minglun Hall, along with a middle-aged man who bore a resemblance to Zhu Yijun.

The middle-aged man was simply dressed, and upon seeing Su Ze, he quickly bowed and said:

"I am Li Wenquan, the heir of the Marquis of Wuqing. I thank Hanlin Su for his help."

So this is Li Guojiu.

Li Wenquan, looking quite honest, greeted everyone and then stood aside, while Little Fatty Jun rushed up and said:

"Master Su!"

Su Ze hugged the chubby little Jun and comforted him for a while before saying:

"The matter of Dengzhou and Laizhou has been resolved. His Majesty has already issued an edict to comfort the Imperial Uncle Li. Why does Your Highness summon me?"

It seemed that he had been wronged in the palace this time. After a long while, Little Fatty Jun finally spoke:
"Master Su, these censors are truly despicable! My uncle was impeached by them and summoned back to the capital by my maternal grandfather. Now I won't be able to raise enough money for the Hundred Plays Troupe!"

After saying all this, Zhu Yijun burst into tears.

So that’s what happened.

The Lingji Palace Conference is scheduled for the end of May, which is less than a month away.

Zhu Yijun had originally planned that once Li Wenquan's fleet set sail a few more times, they should be able to earn enough money for the Hundred Entertainments Festival.

However, this time, after the censors submitted a memorial, Li Wenquan was summoned back to the capital by the Earl of Wuqing, and the business in Laizhou naturally fell into disarray.

With the deadline fast approaching, Zhu Yijun has no choice but to turn to Su Ze for help in order to conjure up so much silver all at once.

Su Ze asked, "I wonder how much Your Highness still needs?"

Zhu Yijun announced a startling number that even surprised Su Ze.

"The gap is that big?"

Zhu Yijun said, "According to my calculations, we only need to make one more trip to collect this money. Damn it!"

Li Wenquan lowered his head in shame. His eldest nephew had given him the task, and had planned out the detailed steps. He had failed to fulfill the Crown Prince's request, thus delaying his grand plan to make money.

In fact, Li Wenquan also regretted that he was too conservative and did not expand his operations from the beginning, which ultimately delayed things.

Zhu Yijun looked at Su Ze with longing eyes, but Su Ze was also in a dilemma.

Such a large sum of money, even if you robbed a bank, you couldn't raise it!
Just then, Su Ze had a sudden inspiration.

He said to Li Wenquan:
“Uncle Li, I have a way to raise the money Your Highness needs in a short period of time.”

(End of this chapter)