A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 226 Club

After listening to Wu Huaiyu's thoughts, the school clerk Laiji said, "Isn't that the Han Dynasty's mansion newspaper?"

In the Han Dynasty, the parallel system of prefectures and states was implemented. Each prefecture had an office in Chang'an, the capital city, called a mansion, and sent permanent representatives. Edicts, official documents such as ministers' memorials, and political information such as major events of the court were written on bamboo slips or silk, and were sent by couriers to various counties via post roads.

"My newspaper is more than that."

Of course Huaiyu was not interested in making such a copy.

His idea of ​​running a newspaper actually came from the inspiration he had acquired during this period of time when he was engaged in books. Books are expensive, and paper is also expensive. Culture and academics are actually in the hands of very few people.

Mastering academics naturally also has a high voice.

Huaiyu didn't think about fighting for the right to speak. This is a very dangerous thing. The imperial courts of all dynasties have been suppressing those aristocrats who mastered academics, and the struggle inside is extremely cruel and fierce.

What he was thinking of was just to slowly put his eyes on his body first, don't touch the academic rights for now, and touch the right to participate in public opinion.

"What is the difference?"

"The content is different. The newspaper I plan to run is tentatively called the Beijing News. It not only transcribes the public content of the imperial court, such as the emperor's decree, officials' memorials, and the appointment, dismissal and transfer of relevant officials, but also plans to add some poems, songs, and geographical magazines. , even miscellaneous anecdotes, and such as prices in various places, "

He didn't plan to comment on current affairs right away. These are too dangerous, and ordinary people are not qualified to discuss state affairs.But make a few more pages, such as poems and songs, legends and strange novels, and some prices, etc. Naturally, these can be published, and it is estimated that they can attract some people.

After all, compared to traditional books, this kind of book is not only newsy about current events, but also has some essays and stories, which is also relatively novel.

"If there is such a Beijing News, published every five to ten days, with a copy of about [-] to [-] words, would you be willing to buy it?"

Laiji was surprised by this idea.

"One issue every five to ten days, long-term printing, each copy of [-] to [-] words, can this be done?"

A very skilled copyist can copy at most [-] to [-] characters a day, while an ordinary copyist may be able to copy [-] words a day.

"It needs to be transcribed, edited, proofread, and then transcribed and proofread after the manuscript is published. It is published every five to ten days. Can't you make many copies?"

One hundred scribes can make at most two or three hundred copies a day, but it takes longer to edit and proofread the manuscript.

In the past, the Di Bao was to copy some official documents of the imperial court and pass them on quickly, and the counties sent people to copy them, that is, just copy one or two copies.

Now that we want to produce so much content and sell it, it is naturally impossible to just one or two copies. It must be in the same quantity as selling books.

Selling books is different. After a book is edited and finalized, it can be copied and sold at the same time. Since this newspaper is to publish official documents of the imperial court, etc., it must be time-sensitive.

"One issue every five days is better," Huaiyu also said, "As for the question of copying, I actually have another idea, engraving and printing."

"What is woodblock printing?"

"It is to carve a template and then print it, just like stamping with a seal. Carving a template in this way can cover hundreds or even thousands of sheets,"

The people of the Tang Dynasty did not have engraving and printing. In this era, both books and scriptures in temples and temples were hand-copied.Even the scriptures such as Shangshu, Zhouyi and Shijing are hand-copied.

Officials will carve some stone scriptures as models.

In contrast, woodblock printing is definitely very advantageous in printing those large-volume books. Engraving a pair of plates can be used repeatedly, and as long as the plates are corrected, there is no need to proofread every book. , You don't even need people who can read and write to print books.

This can bring down the price of books and expand the spread of culture.

Of course, woodblock printing still has some technical problems to be solved, and woodblock printing is not a problem. After all, it is the same as engraving seals. Engraving also has Yin and Yang texts, and superior craftsmen are not a problem at all.

The main problem is the ink.

Inkpad is used for stamping and ink is used for writing, but ink is needed for printing, not ordinary ink.

Huaiyu thinks that this is not a problem, so she spends money, finds those ink-making craftsmen, and offers huge rewards for them to study and work hard with a purpose, it must not be a problem.

In the future, when the technology matures, movable type printing can also be upgraded.

"Erlang plans to print many copies of this Beijing newspaper?"

"If it's published every five days and uses engraving printing, it should start with selling two to three thousand copies per issue."

Laiji widened his eyes.

Two to three thousand copies, published every five days, six copies a month, 72 copies a year, each with [-] to [-] words, even if only [-] copies are published, isn't that [-] to [-] million words a year?

can not imagine.

"Can't do it?"

"It's up to people."

Lai Ji became a little excited, "If you can really figure out the technique of woodblock printing, then why not just print books directly, then one or two hundred characters per page will be printed continuously, and there will be no mistakes, my God..."

"Shishilang, let me solve the technical problem of engraving and printing. You first bring Zhang Chengde, Liu Xu and others to compile a sample issue for me to take a look at."

The engraving and printing technology will definitely not come out at once. First, we will use the old method to make a mansion newspaper. "At the beginning, the content can be less, about [-] characters in half a page, and the front and back pages are [-] to [-] characters. Let's make a ten-page one first.

The first half of the content copied the imperial edicts, imperial edicts, memorials, appointment and dismissal of officials, etc., and the rest published some poems, songs, novels and essays, and then published some prices in various places. Come and send some to the six ministries of the three provinces, etc., and sell the rest to see how it works. "

Lai Ji was amazed by Wu Huaiyu's idea, but he was also very excited. He felt that if this could be done, it would be absolutely amazing, especially if the engraving and printing technique could be produced, then the prices of books in the world would be greatly reduced. , There will be many people who can read books.

Huaiyu called the persons in charge of the paper, ink, brush and inkstone workshops and bookstores under the Bureau of Economics and Economics to express his thoughts.

"Whoever can find ink that can be printed, I will reward him with [-] yuan, and even hire an official for him."

The bounty made everyone's faces turn red with excitement, and each of them patted their chests and expressed that they must solve this problem for the museum owner.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon.

The sun was still high, so Huaiyu got off work and went home on time, while other officials in the bureau took the initiative to stay and work another hour.

The benefits given by the owner of the museum are so good that everyone is embarrassed to get off work.

Huaiyu doesn't care about this.

He will leave when the time comes, but he greatly appreciates these hardworking subordinates, and especially asked Laiji to record overtime for everyone,

If you work overtime, you will be paid overtime.

Riding back to Yongxingfang Shouyanghou Mansion.

Wu Chengli, the hunchback, came to lead the horse immediately. Huaiyi once thought it was inappropriate for Wu Cheng to be a hunchback and ugly as a concierge, but Wu Huaiyu didn't care.

After telling the young Turkic slave to wash and feed the horse well, Huaiyu went to her courtyard.

"Alang is back."

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he met a tall girl, Huaiyu looked at her, "Sword Thirteen?"

"Ah Lang, this servant is Jian Shiyi."

Another girl stepped forward, "Ah Lang, this servant is Jian Shisan."

Looking at these two tall girls who looked alike, Huaiyu was a little helpless, "I suggest that next time you embroider your own names on your clothes, or you won't be able to tell them apart."

"Okay, Aaron."

When Fan Xuanfu passed through the door, he not only brought three younger sisters as dowry, but also brought 24 sword maidservants along with him, making the backyard full of the Fan family.

Huaiyu has not recognized all these 24 sword maids until now, mainly because they usually wear the same clothes, but they are about the same height, short, fat and thin, all of them are about fifteen or sixteen years old, tall, long-legged and thin-waisted, this is really messed up Bewildered.

It's even harder to remember the name.

So they simply named them another row, from Sword 24 to Sword [-].

These girls accompany Fan Xuanfu and sisters every day, practicing swords, riding horses and playing ball. There was originally a polo field in this house. Everything is available.

When other women play polo, they ride donkeys or play polo,

But the sisters of the Fan family all play polo on horses.
There are ten people in a polo team, and they just form two teams against each other, and there are even eight substitutes.

On the double-goal court, Fan Xuanfu and the others galloped their horses, vigorously rode their horses and waved their crescent sticks, and competed for the polo. Huaiyu was a little worried to see that this sport was too fierce.

Runniang, Irina, and the Gao sisters could only watch from the sidelines, not daring to play.

When Fan Xuanfu saw Huaiyu appearing on the sidelines of the field, he called a substitute directly, rode off the field by himself, and went straight to him.

"Erlang, how about playing a few balls together?"

"Forget it," Huaiyu shook his head. Polo is a very intense and exciting sport. It is very enjoyable to watch, but it is also easy to get injured. He is a man playing with a group of women. It doesn't matter if he wins or loses.

"I've made an appointment with Li Sanniang from the Yongkang Mansion, and I'll have a match in a few days, and I'll fight here."

Huaiyu felt that Fan Xuanfu seemed to have a bit of a festive relationship with Li Sanniang.

"Okay, then I'll come and cheer you on."

"Erlang, don't you have a polo team? The Li family and the Cheng family all have polo teams."

Huaiyu looked at those tall horses and those vigorous sword maids, but what he thought in his heart was how much it would cost for the twenty or so riders a day.

"Isn't Erlang worried about the money and food expenses for raising horses and players?" Fan Xuanfu said directly, "Chang'an nobles, wealthy families, and snobbish families all have teams."

The polo team has even become one of the symbols of the giants.

"Erlang doesn't have to worry about money and food. I'll take care of it. I'll get Erlang a polo team. Erlang can also play with other players when he's free."

Raising a polo team is not only a symbol of status and strength, but also helps the interaction between nobles.

Huaiyu had no interest at all.

After Fan Xuanfu told him many benefits of the polo team, he suddenly had an idea.

"Okay, then let's have a polo team,"

"Really?"

"Well, but since you want to play, you have to play something famous. I plan to build a big polo field, and then we will have a polo league with various teams in Chang'an.
When playing games, you can also invite the people of Chang'an to watch. "

Fan Xuanfu didn't understand the meaning for a while, polo was just a sport among the nobles, why did they invite the common people to watch, and why did they even hold some kind of league.

What Huaiyu thinks is that since Chang'an has such a strong polo atmosphere, let's make it bigger and have a league. At that time, it will not only allow the Wu family to take the opportunity to increase their reputation, but also collect tickets, and even engage in some horse betting. You can also attract vendors to buy and sell like temple fairs.

The proceeds will be divided among the league players, and even bonuses can be set up. In this way, playing polo is not just a noble sport for pure consumption. Fame and profit.

If the Wu family polo team becomes a famous team in the league at that time, wouldn't the Wu family also gain fame and fortune?
Today's Shouyang Hou Mansion and his Wu Huaiyu can only be said to be well-known in Chang'an City, they are small upstarts among the nobles, and they are far away from those powerful and aristocratic families.

Even if there is Zhou Guogong's warrior uncle, Ying Guogong Fan Xing's father-in-law, Qi Guogong Qin Qiong's adoptive father, he is still just a small nobleman.

"At that time, we can hold another women's polo league. Our team will definitely win the championship," Fan Xuanfu was very excited. She planned to personally lead the Wu family women's polo team to win the first place.

"My lady, let me figure it out, today is a good day, why don't we go soak in warm soup, later in the evening..."

Fan Xuanfu looked at her husband, "Is it really a good day?"

"Well, it's an auspicious day for Guanyin to give birth to a child."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xuanfu immediately took Wu Huaiyu's hand and walked away, "Then hurry up."

"Does it have to wait until night is the auspicious time?" Fan Xuanfu asked as he walked.

"Well, today's auspicious day is an auspicious time."

"Then don't delay."

Fan Xuanfu has not moved since his marriage, but he is in a hurry.

Hearing this, I didn't want to delay for a moment.

"Don't worry, let's soak in warm soup and relax."

"It's never too late to soak after you're done."

"That won't work. Afterwards, you'd better lie down and rest, let alone do strenuous exercise, and you can't play polo. It's also best not to ride a horse.

Don't practice swords.

Not even punching. "

"I promise you everything, but you have to give me a son first!" Fan Xuanfu was full of expectation. "When I get pregnant, I will let my younger sisters and Run Niang serve you."

(End of this chapter)