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Chapter 89 Newspapers
"I have one more thing..." Now that the emperor had arranged the use of the imperial palace, Li Zhi was happy to have some leisure time, but he didn't leave. He reached out and took out a question book from his arms and handed it over carefully.

"You want to run a newspaper!" Why do two people communicate face to face through text? This is the rule of officialdom. As the saying goes, it is called black and white, so as to distinguish responsibilities.Hong Tao opened the question book and looked at it, rubbing his cheeks rather sadly.

The newspaper thing was indeed mentioned by me and Li Zhi. At that time, we had nothing to do in the Siyi Pavilion and we always wanted to talk about something, and it had to be a topic that would interest cultural people. As we were chatting, we came here.

"My dear friend has been idle at home for many years. However, his sincerity is still there and he has some extravagant wealth. He would like to repay His Majesty's grace of pardon in a small way."

"Have I seen this person before?"

Li Zhi's answer was quite tactful. After listening for a long time, Hong Tao couldn't figure out who had such courage, but he understood one thing. This person owed him a favor, agreed with his philosophy of governing the country, and planned to repay the favor with a newspaper.

"Your Majesty has seen it, Tongzhou Macheng."

"Oh, Ma Jinglun, right?" The literati in the Ming Dynasty used more trouble to address each other than the people in the Song Dynasty.

This habit is simply torture for Hong Tao, but fortunately there is a reminder of the place name so that he will not completely forget it. Isn't it Ma Jinglun who took the risk of being caught and took Li Zhi into his home.

"Does he know the harm of newspapers?" Upon closer inspection, it was Chen Ju who pardoned Ma Jinglun for harboring serious crimes committed by the imperial court, but he could still be blamed for it.

But there is no need to be so urgent in repaying a favor, and there is no need to be so desperate.If the newspaper was so easy to start, it would have been published long ago without waiting for him to volunteer.

In the Ming Dynasty, where the cultural environment was relatively harsh, the prospect of running a newspaper was not very good, and it would provoke impeachment from the officials and censors in minutes.There is currently no way for me to defend myself desperately, and I even have to draw a clear line at the critical moment to avoid poking a hornet's nest prematurely.

"Cheng Suo has an old illness that has not been cured for a long time. He feels that his time is running out and he does not want to be idle in this life. Please be considerate of his heart."

Li Zhi's answer was quite convincing. He said that Ma Jinglun was seriously ill and probably couldn't be cured, and he was just waiting to die one day.But I want to do something before I die, or realize my lifelong ambition.As for whether it's dangerous or not, he's almost dead anyway, so do whatever you want.

"I will order Zhao Shizhen to secretly supervise the manufacturing of the printing press and deliver the ink to Ma Jinglun's house, and then write him the details of the newspaper. But there is a condition you need to agree to, otherwise you will not get any help."

Death warrior, Hong Tao felt that this was the only title that was more in line with Ma Jinglun's current situation.Since they are all dead soldiers, the risks can no longer be considered.But apart from the dead, the living had to continue to live, so they had to be more cautious.

"Your Majesty, please speak. I am willing to obey!" Not only did Ma Jinglun have the courage to die, it seemed that Li Zhi was also infected, or he was infected. Once gone, there will be no return.

"Don't get too involved in the court battles. It's okay to tell the story, but avoid discussing it, and don't extend it. You and Ma Jinglun are both useful talents. Don't talk about life and death lightly. Living is more useful to me and the Ming Dynasty. I will ask the imperial doctor to give you some advice. Ma Jinglun diagnosed and treated him and told him not to die in a hurry. This is an oral instruction. If he violates it, his family will be confiscated and his family will be destroyed!"

It's a pity that Hong Tao doesn't have the role of carrying explosive packs yet. He can run a newspaper, but he has to do it according to his own wishes and develop it as an academic exchange platform first.It’s okay to play around with political issues and try to get the heat, but you must not get involved in factional struggles, let alone become a tool for interest groups to attack each other. "The debate between psychology and learning..." Li Zhi seemed to understand, but he was not sure of the boundaries, so he raised a relatively sensitive topic again.

"Dispute! The reason is unclear. The Taizhou School must be carried forward in the hands of Li Shiqian! But you must remember my words, academic disputes are okay, but they must not involve the court, otherwise there will be real dangers of death. Everyone will Without it, how can we talk about ideas?”

When Li Zhi asked, an idea suddenly came to Hong Tao's mind.Newspapers are not completely useless. If they can provoke an academic dispute between Taizhou School and Donglin Academy, they can attract some attention to themselves.

However, it is easy to confuse academic disputes with political disputes. In this regard, we must repeatedly emphasize our stance, draw clear red lines, and explain the consequences, so as not to turn a good thing into a bad thing.

"His Majesty's behavior is similar to that of chess. There are many strange moves and eccentric moves. However, the battle in the court cannot be entirely based on surprise. If you use it too much, there will be no surprises. What should we do?"

Li Zhi must have understood everything this time. He did not say whether he could do it or not. Instead, he started gesticulating to the emperor and asked a very presumptuous question: how to continue after the three blows.

"Hahaha...Master Li, there is some truth in the chess style, but it cannot be taken seriously. There is no conclusion yet on whether people are inherently good or evil at first, so how can one determine a person's character based on a mere chessboard. It's useless to talk too much. You, I, you and your ministers, please be patient for the time being. Wait and see how many strange tricks I have left."

This was something Hong Tao didn't expect. The old man wanted to figure himself out by playing chess.Is it right or not? I can only say that the truth is correct, but it is too superficial and incomplete.

Just like words are like people, as a professional politician, if you can't even hide your thoughts securely and can be seen through just writing a word, drawing a picture, playing chess, or reciting a poem, how can there be any party strife?

There are so many institutions that study sociology and psychology in later generations, but no one dares to say that they have thoroughly studied human thinking. In fact, it is never possible to thoroughly study it.Because human thinking is affected by many dynamic parameters, there is great chance, and basically no rules can be found.

"...Everything is entirely up to His Majesty. I will forgive you. Such good news must be known to the city as soon as possible. Resign!"

Facing another unfamiliar face of the young emperor, Li Zhi could only secretly feel guilty even if he didn't want to admit that he had made a mistake.This smiling, carefree, and domineering face has indeed never been seen before. It just confirms the emperor's statement from the side, that a person cannot be judged by his appearance!
"Wait a minute, there is no rush to run a newspaper. If you don't have a printing press, you can get twice the result with half the effort just by engraving. I have something else to ask. Do you know who Chen Yongbin is?"

"...But Chen Yutai, the censor of Youdu, who is governor of Yunnan?" Upon hearing this name, Li Zhi's expression became obviously more solemn, and he hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Exactly!"

"I and he are from the same hometown, but we have few contacts and don't know much about the war in Yunnan." Seeing the emperor's expressionless expression, Li Zhi became even more cautious. He didn't want to say a single more word and only admitted his unavoidable place of origin.

(End of this chapter)