Fenghou

Chapter 804 Newspapers
In order to recapture Shazhou, Cao Changchun almost frantically mobilized his entire [-] troops. When he marched into Dunhuang County, the logistics and supplies were ambushed by Xizhou troops. The left-wing general Kemer surrendered, which seriously affected Cao Changchun's morale. The remaining army was defeated shortly after the enemy launched an attack. Cao Changchun died of his injuries in Jiayuguan.

The Xizhou army marched southward, and the herdsmen along the way surrendered one after another. Tens of thousands of troops came to the city of Zhangye. Cao Changchun’s brother Cao Wanlong surrendered the city. Cao An, the eldest son, fled the city south under the protection of three hundred guards. The scene of Lanzhou City.

The news reached Jingzhao three days later, but at the same time there was another unfortunate news. When Cao An was still unable to be rescued, he finally suffered from heart and lung failure and died in Lanzhou.

Chen Qing was very sad when he received the news. He knew that Cao Changchun was a very proud person. Although Cao Changchun flatly rejected his rescue, it didn't mean that he didn't need his own help. He arranged for his son to flee to Lanzhou in a critical moment. It was his trust in himself, but it was a pity that his son encountered a blizzard in the end and could not be saved.

This made Chen Qing regret and blame himself. At the same time, he was also very worried about the safety of Liangzhou City. There was no news from Liangzhou City until now. Since Cao An did not flee to Liangzhou, it is very likely that Liangzhou also fell.

Now it's not just Liangzhou. If the Xizhou army captures Dadouba Valley and passes through Dadouba Valley to attack the traditional sphere of influence of the Yellow-headed Uyghur, then its own salt field will also be seriously threatened, as well as the Hehuang Valley. , [-]% of my military rations come from the Hehuang Valley,
In the official room, Chen Qing paced back and forth in annoyance. He had never cared about the safety of the Hexi Corridor, but now he suddenly discovered that the safety of the Hexi Corridor actually affects his whole body.

He originally planned to attack Datong Mansion next year, but now, the Hexi Corridor is not safe, which has affected his plan for next year.

At this time, Chao Qing said at the door: "Jun Wang, today's "Beijing News" is out."

Chen Qing nodded, "Bring it in!"

Yang Tianfang and his party arrived in Jingzhao [-] days ago. Chen Qing immediately accommodated them and gave them generous treatment. A scribe with a sharp article was the main writer, and dozens of scouts were recruited to inquire about the news.

Chen Qing took over the "Beijing News" and opened it. The current "Beijing News" is exactly the same as the "Beijing News" issued by Bianliang during the Xuanhe period. It is the size of two A3 papers and is currently divided into six pages. Events, local news, and various advertisements.

The first day of publication was unprecedentedly grand, selling [-] copies, and now the daily circulation is stable at about [-] copies, covering the entire Guanzhong and Shaanxi, and even the "Beijing News" appeared on Hedong Road and Sichuan Road. It's only about three days apart, but this is already the limit.

But compared to the time when Bianliang's "Beijing News" was delivered to Taiyuan ten days later, this is a great improvement.

This is what Chen Qing came up with, asking the "Beijing News" to be printed at the first watch of the day before, and not released until noon the next day. The time of the Beijing News is only three days later than that of Jingzhao City.

Chen Qing looked at the newspaper, and the headlines on the front page read that the yellow-headed Uyghur army was defeated and the great chief Cao Changchun passed away, but he didn't mention the matter of Cao An, only worried about the safety of Liangzhou and Hehuang.

Chen Qing glanced at it in a hurry, and then turned to the third page on the back, which was the literature column. Chen Qing liked the column of Yi An's commentary, that is, Li Qingzhao's commentary on poetry. Today's commentary is Yue Fei's "Manjianghong", this poem It was written five years ago, and it has aroused great repercussions in Lin'an and other places in the south.

There is also a column of novel serialization, which is the novel "Journey to the West". Today's content is the first part of Wukong's Debao in Dragon Palace. Of course, the text is quite different from Wu Chengen's, but the content is the same. The author is Qingyuan Pavilion Master, others don't know who the owner of Qingyuan Pavilion is, but Chen Qing knows very well that it is his wife Zhao Qiaoyun, and the small building where Zhao Qiaoyun lives is called Qingyuan Pavilion.

The outline of the story was dictated by Chen Qing, and then written by Zhao Qiaoyun. As a result, no one expected that the serialization of this novel would become the hot selling point of "Beijing News", and almost all readers were waiting for updates every day.

Looking at the snowflakes outside the window, Chen Qing suppressed the urge to send troops to the Hexi Corridor. The matter of the Hexi Corridor can only be considered in the spring. Now he still has to concentrate on increasing the influence of the "Beijing News".

Chen Qing grabbed the leather jacket on the chair and ordered: "Prepare the car and go to West Street!"

The "Beijing News" newspaper office is located on West Street, covering an area of ​​about ten acres. This land was bought by Chen Qing. In fact, the "Beijing News" was completely invested by Chen Qing himself. Jingzhao runs and develops at an extraordinary speed.

The [-] guan was mainly used to buy land and houses, and the other big thing was to buy the batch of movable type and engraving blocks. The good engravings alone cost more than [-] yuan, and the movable type was tens of thousands. Yang Tianfang only offered [-] guan to sell to Chen. Qing, the price is extremely cheap.

A very important reason is that the ownership of this batch of movable type and engraving blocks is not owned by Yang Tianfang, but the property of the Xiang family. It was originally owned by Yang Tianfang's father, but the Xiang family has already spent [-] yuan to buy it. After they were all taken away by the Jurchens, the movable type and engraving blocks belonged to Yang Tianfang again.

This time when Chen Qing rescued them to Jingzhao, Yang Tianfang was too embarrassed to open his mouth, so he sold them to Chen Qing at a cheap price of [-] guan.

With Chen Qing's financial input and the government's support, in just over [-] days, the "Beijing News" had a circulation of [-] copies, ten cents per copy, and [-] copies per day, just the threshold for capital preservation.

But to Chen Qing, it doesn't matter whether the newspaper makes money or not, the important thing is to master the weapon of public opinion.

The carriage stopped slowly in front of the newspaper office, and Chen Qing stepped out of the carriage, guarded by dozens of cavalrymen holding large shields on both sides.

Yang Tianfang, chief editor, and Liu Zheng, editor-in-chief, came out to welcome them. Yang Tianfang was in charge of the operation of the entire newspaper, but he was not good at content. Coincidentally, Liu Zheng, the editor-in-chief of "Beijing News", opened a school in Jingzhao to make ends meet.When Yang Tianfang found him, he agreed without hesitation.

"See the county king!" The two bowed together.

"You two have worked hard!"

Chen Qing followed them into the mansion. This is a three-entry house converted into a newspaper office. The servant room in front becomes a place for distributing newspapers. The atrium is the copywriting room, which is equivalent to the editorial department. The two large courtyards on the left and right are typesetting rooms. , correction room and printing workshop, and the back house became an engraving room and warehouse.

Chen Qing sat down in the guest room in the front yard, and a tea boy served him tea. He asked with a smile, "Are there any difficulties now?"

Yang Tianfang said with a wry smile: "The biggest problem now is the shortage of manpower and movable type, which leads to the inability to increase the number of printings."

"why?"

"The reason is actually very simple. We actually print more than one movable type master every day. Otherwise, how can we print [-] copies of newspapers with one movable type master? The only way is to make ten movable type printing plates. Ten people will print at the same time, and each person will print [-] copies , this plan is actually very tight. It is best to have [-] people print at the same time, and each person prints [-] copies. Then it can be completed in an hour. This requires [-] movable type masters, and then a lot of movable type. Typesetter, engraver."

Speaking of this, Yang Tianfang sighed again: "But there are too many people, we can't afford it."

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "There is a solution! If you don't have enough movable type, go to Bashu, go to Jiangnan to buy, you will definitely be able to buy it. As for the printing staff, I don't know how you print it. Take me to have a look!"

(End of this chapter)