The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 363 Thirty years in Hedong Thirty years in Hexi
Zhu Xiongying seemed reluctant on the surface, but he was actually very happy.

Weekly newspapers represent the right to public opinion, and you can imagine how important they are.

The emperor gave it to him without a second thought, which shows his trust in him.

And he can also convey his ideas to the people of the world through weekly reports.

He was already prepared to write an article every week under a pseudonym to promote his political ideas.

Over time, many people will inevitably be affected.

When these people enter the court in the future, they will be his most capable assistants.

He told Chen Jingke his idea: "Hey, do you think it is feasible?"

Chen Jingke thought about it for a moment and said seriously, "It's feasible, but the weekly newspaper's selection criteria will be very strict. Do you have that level?"

Zhu Xiongying: "..."

Okay, okay, you are all targeting me, right?

Don't look down on the young and poor, you will regret it in the future.

The two chatted and laughed for a while, then started discussing business.

First determine which department this weekly report will be placed under.

Originally, Zhu Xiongying was planning to place it under the Ministry of Rites, which would be considered a professional match.

"I heard that Xie Jin did a good job in Liaodong. This time he was promoted, just the right level to be transferred to the Ministry of Rites."

Chen Jingke disagreed: "The Ministry of Rites controls the imperial examinations, and if they control the public opinion, their influence will be too great."

"Why not give it to the Hanlin Academy? It can be considered as a form of compensation to them."

Why would he say that?

Historically, the Hanlin Academy was a place to nurture reputation and the cradle of cabinet officials.

After Chen Jingke's reforms, the Hanlin Academy became a pure literary academy.

The most important job on weekdays is to organize various ancient books and compile history books.

To some extent, going to the Hanlin Academy is a bit like being exiled.

But despite its awkward status, not everyone can enter.

Those who can be "exiled" there are basically well-educated people. Those who go there without any level of ability will be ostracized by the group.

It seems like a circle of its own.

Based on this situation, the Hanlin Academy gradually became a place for officials who had real talent but were a bit naive.

This group of people are the best editors, and handing over the weekly report to them is a professional match.

"But they can only be used to review manuscripts, and administrative management must be done by separate officials."

After listening to his analysis, Zhu Xiongying nodded and said, "You said a lot, you are right, let's leave it at that."

Chen Jingke: "..."

Then, Zhu Xiongying wrote an edict, asked Zhu Biao to stamp it, and sent it to the cabinet.

In the past, the emperor could just give an order directly, but now it must first be approved by the cabinet and filed.

However, the prestige of the imperial power is now great enough, and the cabinet will naturally not sing a different tune on such matters.

What's more, this was proposed by Chen Jingke, so no one would object.

Once the cabinet agrees, the rest is easy.

They didn't have to worry about allocating craftsmen and copper materials to make the type molds, so they just issued an order to the Ministry of Works.

Chen Jingke designed a new set of fonts. Unlike the previous large characters, the new fonts were only the size of soybeans.

Standard teeny tiny print.

The purpose is naturally to save paper.

If we still use the previous large font size, the amount of paper used will increase several times, and the cost will be so high that it will affect the distribution of newspapers.

According to preliminary estimates, in order to realize his plan, the number of fonts required would be as high as 400,000.

To this end, the Ministry of Industry selected the most elite craftsmen, but it still took several months to complete the task.

However, Chen Jingke was not in a hurry. He let Fang Xiaoru fight against Neo-Confucianism first.

Besides, Xie Jin hasn't come back yet, so there's no need to rush.

As for the problem of poor ink absorption ability of metal type mentioned by Zhu Biao, it can be easily solved.

Ink has no other special features except its strong ability to absorb ink.

It was designed for metal type.

Moreover, ink was not invented by Chen Jingke.

In fact, the use of oil in ink began as early as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but it only served as a thickener and was added in smaller quantities.

People in the community have long tried to see what the effect would be if more oil was added.

Then I found that the cost had increased and it was even more inconvenient to use.

The first is that grinding is more troublesome, and the second is that the writing effect is not good.

When writing with a brush on paper, especially writing or painting on rice paper, the effect of smoke ink is much better than that of ink.

So, the ink thing was put on hold.

In terms of printing technology, movable type printing is in an awkward position. It is indeed technologically advanced, but not practical.

The main reason is that fonts are too difficult to make, often costing hundreds of thousands or even millions of them.

Even if iron molds are used, the cost is not affordable for ordinary people.

Moreover, books printed by movable type printing are not as high quality as those printed by woodblock printing.

So, even though movable type printing was invented, it was never popularized.

It was not until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that, with the influx of large amounts of precious metals, wealthy merchants began to make metal type molds.

Ink finally found its place.

Now that Chen Jingke was publishing a newspaper and using movable type printing, there were no technical obstacles, and there was no need to bring in any black technology from his previous life.

Just integrate the existing technologies.

The trouble is the hundreds of thousands of copper type molds, which are all real money.

But fortunately, the economic situation in Ming Dynasty is very good now.

In overseas trade, shiploads of goods were exchanged for shiploads of precious metals.

Many precious metals were buried in pits by wealthy people who liked to hide their money.

But many of them were taken to the Gold Banknote Bureau and exchanged for Baochao for circulation.

These precious metals will eventually enter the national treasury.

In addition to trade, there are also countless precious metals mined from Japan, Southeast Asia and other places.

Most of them were piled up in the national treasury.

It can be said that what the Ming Dynasty lacks the least now is money.

The money was not released only to prevent inflation.

It was for this reason that his proposal to make 400,000 copper type molds did not arouse any opposition.

The imperial court had too much money to spend, so making molds for printing books was considered a way of making use of waste.

No one paid any attention to the few voices of criticism.

In short, if you have money, you can do whatever you want.

During the process of making the font mold, Xie Jin finally returned to the capital.

Unlike the time when he was demoted, this time when he returned, the officials who came to welcome him filled the pavilion.

If it were the case back then, Xie Jin would definitely be very happy, as he would have friends all over the world.

But this demotion did make him see many things clearly.

What this world lacks the least is flattering the powerful and bullying the weak. When you are successful, you will be surrounded by good people.

He looked around but did not see Fang Xiaoru.

This made him very angry, but he didn't express it on the spot.

He first reported to the Ministry of Personnel, and then went straight to Yiluo Academy, where he happened to see Fang Xiaoru debating with someone about law.

This time the opponent was very strong, and Fang Xiaoru almost couldn't answer several times.

But in the end, they successfully defeated the opponent by relying on their geographical advantage.

He was not proud, but felt even more heavy-hearted. As he had guessed before, as their understanding of materialism deepened, those great scholars who had been silent all along finally joined the debate.

The real masters of science are naturally beyond reproach in terms of academic knowledge, which makes him exhausted to cope with them.

This is not a quarrel. Although the verbal attack is useful, in the end, it is still necessary to use theories to speak.

Fortunately, he had prepared his position before the debate, so he was able to cope with it.

However, although the process was difficult, defeating several great scholars in succession made his reputation even more famous.

No one dares to underestimate his knowledge anymore, and more and more people are beginning to take materialism seriously.

Gradually, more and more people came to the academy to study.

The remaining great scholars who have not yet gone into battle are becoming more cautious about their reputation and are unwilling to go into battle easily.

This gave him a chance to catch his breath.

He gained a lot from debating with these great scholars, as it gave him a deeper understanding of Neo-Confucianism and traditional Confucianism.

I also have some new ideas about materialism.

After watching another opponent leave, he didn't have time to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw a young man step onto the stage while clapping:
"Well, well, well, you are worthy of being Grandmaster Fang. You are so majestic and impressive."

The people around thought that another challenger had arrived and immediately perked up.

Those who knew Xie Jin began to promote him actively.

For a moment, the news that Xie Jin wanted to challenge Fang Xiaoru spread throughout the venue.

However, Fang Xiaoru looked at Xie Jin who was approaching and smiled bitterly:

"Brother Xie, why do you have to wade into this muddy water?"

Xie Jin said sarcastically: "Grandmaster Fang has become famous and is unwilling to acknowledge me as his old friend. Then I will leave?"

Fang Xiaoru was helpless and moved, and bowed and said:

"It's my brother's fault. I apologize to you."

He did not go to greet Xie Jin because he did not want the other party to get involved in this mess.

After all, he is now at war with science, and anyone who is on good terms with him will basically be affected.

Of course, except Chen Jingke.

This is not entirely because Chen Jingke has an extraordinary status in the court, but because he has the entire mathematical system behind him.

Mathematics today is no longer like the little Karami who was bullied and almost expelled from the Imperial College.

But a real tiger.

It's just that it belongs to applied science and has no direct competitive relationship with Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. Naturally, Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism are unwilling to provoke them easily.

But Xie Jin is not Chen Jingke, he is an orthodox literati.

If you have anything to do with Fang Xiaoru, you will be attacked.

However, to Xie Jin, this was unforgivable.

One is one, two is two. When have I, Xie Jin, ever been afraid of anything?

You are afraid of implicating me and pretend not to know me. This is an insult to my personality.

That’s why we have this scene before our eyes.

Although he was angry, he was not a pedantic person. He let it go after seeing Fang Xiaoru admit his mistake.

Afterwards, the two of them talked about their current situations in public.

Gradually the people around them also realized that something was wrong. These two didn't seem to be arguing; it was clearly old friends reuniting after a long time.

Xie Jin was actually a good friend of Fang Xiaoru?
Things are complicated.

Those who supported Fang Xiaoru were all smiling.

Although Xie Jin was not known as a great scholar, he was also a famous talent.

His appearance gave Fang Xue, who was isolated, a friend.

Although we don’t know what Xie Jin’s specific attitude is, as long as he does not oppose materialism, it is good news.

Those who oppose materialism are worried.

Materialism is already gaining momentum now, and with Li Jin's goodwill gesture, the situation is not good.

Fang Xiaoru and Xie Jin, however, did not care what others thought and talked about their own situations.

Since agreeing to join Chen Jingke's camp, Xie Jin has been preparing for his return.

He knew very well that with Chen Jingke's status, promoting a low-level official was just a matter of opening his mouth.

As for his previous offense against the powerful and being reprimanded by Lan Yu in court...

It might be a problem for others, but for Chen Jingke it was just a matter of opening his mouth.

Which powerful person would not give him face?

Sure enough, I received a transfer order at the beginning of the year.

After waiting for the new county magistrate to arrive and hand over the affairs, he set out for home and only arrived in Luoyang the day before yesterday.

Then came here.

Hearing this, Fang Xiaoru frowned slightly and said, "You didn't go to visit Chen Bandu?"

Xie Jin said, "I have sent you a visiting card and will come to visit you tomorrow morning."

Fang Xiaoru then nodded and said, "Okay, we can't neglect this matter."

Xie Jin smiled and said, "I am not ignorant of current affairs. How could I not understand such simple social etiquette? But I still thank Brother Fang for his concern."

Fang Xiaoru also laughed and said, "I underestimated you."

Mainly because birds of a feather flock together, many of the people he knows are only knowledgeable but not worldly-wise.

He habitually thought that Xie Jin was also such a person.

However, in fact, Xie Jin was a very wise man.

His biggest shortcoming is that he is too loyal to the king and believes in the relationship between the king and his subjects.

When facing the emperor, he was too outspoken and sometimes did not know how to use roundabout methods, which ultimately led to his death.

Did he really not know that his actions would anger the emperor and bring him death?

With his wisdom, it should be very clear.

But he still chose to do so, and used his life to practice what he believed in.

The two sides reminisced about the past for a while, and seeing that no one else came up to debate, Fang Xiaoru announced the end of the debate for the day.

He also announced that he would entertain his friends tomorrow and would not argue about the law.

Let’s come again the day after tomorrow.

The next day, the two went to meet Chen Jingke together.

After the three of them exchanged a few pleasantries, Chen Jingke got straight to the point and talked about the arrangements for Xie Jin:

"...His Majesty has asked you to be in charge of the Ming Weekly."

We are all educated people, so we naturally know the importance of this thing.

Xie Jin excitedly saluted in the direction of the imperial palace and said, "Your Majesty, your grace is great."

Fang Xiaoru said gloomily: "Why didn't Jingke take out this rare item earlier?"

How could Chen Jingke not understand what he meant? He smiled and said:

"Taking this out too early is not good for you."

Although his fighting arena seemed to be a grand affair, in reality, the only people who could participate in the short term were scholars from around Luoyang.

Dealing with these people is naturally a lot easier.

By the time pressure from outside arrived, materialism had already spread, and it would become much more difficult for rationalism to suppress it.

But the weekly report is different.

This was distributed nationwide. If materialism was published directly on it, it would face suppression from the entire Ming Dynasty's Neo-Confucianism.

Fang Xiaoru naturally understood this truth, and he was just joking.

"But your idea of ​​universal harmony can be published here."

As I said before, with materialism taking the lead, the pressure faced by the Great Harmony Thought is much less.

Directly in newspapers and distributed nationwide.

Chen Jingke said jokingly: "This matter still requires the help of the editor-in-chief of our Daming Weekly."

(End of this chapter)