Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 252 246. Studying Journalism

"Newspaper company? Newspaper?"

Huang Quan looked at Feng Xi in surprise, not knowing what he was talking about.

Just now, Feng Xi came to see him in a hurry, and Huang Quan thought something big had happened. But Feng Xi said right away that he wanted to set up a department called "Newspaper Office" which would be specifically responsible for printing "newspapers" and books.

Huang Quan naturally knew what books were, but he had no idea what newspapers were.

"Xiu Yuan, what is a newspaper?"

Huang Quan put down the paper and pen in his hand and looked at Feng Xi. He knew that Feng Xi, as the Grand Commander, would not do such a pointless thing, and there must be a deep meaning behind his suggestion.

"Gong Heng, you also know that if there are any orders from the counties on weekdays, they are all posted for the people to see for themselves, right?"

Feng Xi took the tea brought by the waiter and took a sip.

"Look at this piece of paper. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the text on it was changed to include recent events, new government policies, and some short stories that encourage people to be good?"

Feng Xi pointed to the product of movable type printing that he had just put down on Huang Quan's desk.

"Well... if it can be mass-produced like the Three Character Classic, then this is feasible... but not everyone in the public can read, and paper of this scale would probably be very expensive, right?"

Huang Quan thought about it and felt that being able to deliver effective information to the grassroots people would definitely be a good thing, but he still had to consider the cost.

"No, just like when the list is announced, not everyone can read, and those who can will always tell others the news. So it's OK to sell at a certain ratio based on the size of the local area. The price doesn't need to be too high, as long as it can be calculated to make back the investment."

Feng Xi has vision for the future and knows the importance of discourse power. Before the emergence of the Internet and smartphones, which are game-changers, newspapers and books were the way most people obtained information.

Haven't you seen how far-reaching the influence of digests such as "Some Lin" and "Reading Some" is? In a certain country, dishes have to be washed seven times, toilet water can be drunk directly, oil paper bags next to the sewer, summer camp competitions... This is a very successful propaganda case.

Nowadays, people are quite simple and honest. They don’t have the ability to think independently, but they believe whatever is said. In this case, propaganda to the grassroots is even more important.

Feng Xi naturally knew that the rebellion in Nanzhong started in a way that he was familiar with. Meng Huo was also a little speechless when he said that Liu Chan wanted something like a black dog and a woodcutter. If he could have the right to speak in a similar way earlier, would the news that Meng Huo knew was nonsense be useful?
As paper and printing technology improved, Feng Xi also had the idea of ​​seizing the high ground of discourse power. When the pen was on his side, wouldn't he be able to explain it any way he wanted?

"Hmm... that makes sense. We can try it out first."

Since Feng Xi said so, Huang Quan naturally agreed. Then in the next few days, a new department called "Newspaper Office" appeared. This department was divided into two parts: editing and printing. The editor was responsible for writing daily news and stories, while the printer was responsible for typesetting and printing.

"Newspapers for sale! New newspapers with today's news!" A few days later, some servants came with a basket filled with black and white papers, shouting a new term, which made many people curious and they gathered around to ask questions.

These servants were also servants of the Governor's Mansion. They were specially trained and explained the function and price of newspapers. They also told the people that if anyone was interested, they could go to the newspaper office in the Governor's Mansion to buy newspapers and sell them. The prices of newspapers were also announced.

The price was not high, just the money a child would spend on maltose. Most Jiangling residents were relatively wealthy and could afford this little money. They all bought a newspaper and started reading. Even if someone didn't buy it, they would gather around those who did, begging them to read it or read it together.

As the first issue of the newspaper, the contents above were carefully selected by Feng Xi. First of all, it explained the content of the recent new decree of the Provincial Governor's Office, in case someone didn't know about it, there was nothing much to say about it.

Then there is a short story, also a traditional Chinese fable, the farmer and the snake. However, Feng Xi made some changes to the ending, changing it to the snake biting the farmer to death and then freezing. This time another farmer found it and reported it to the police. The police easily deduced what happened and killed the snake to prevent more people from being harmed.

The reason for this change is naturally self-evident - to tell the people that if something happens, it is best to report it to the authorities to avoid unnecessary disasters.

The next page contains some new things heard from the streets and alleys, which can be regarded as daily news. However, they are all trivial matters in the family. Some people just like to read gossip.

Feng Xi used the last few pages to serialize a novella, "Passing Five Passes and Killing Six Generals". Although everyone is familiar with Guan Yu, not many people know the details. For example, Sun Huan and Pan Jun, who have been dead for a long time, also know about it, but they don't know the relationship between Guan Yu and Hu Ban, otherwise Jiangling would not have been recaptured by Feng Xi so quickly.

The common people were even more so, so Feng Xi simply took advantage of this point, just like writing a novel. In the first issue, he wrote that Guan Yu was surrounded in the hills and was in imminent danger, and then he ended the chapter. This made many people feel itchy and eager to know the subsequent developments.

Nearly a thousand copies of the newspaper were sold out, and the reviews were very good. In fact, the meager profit not only recovered the original investment, but also more than doubled it.

Soon, merchants came to the governor's office to inquire about the sale of newspapers. In this way, the governor's office no longer needed to send people to sell subsequent newspapers, but only needed to give them to civilians to sell spontaneously.

Of course, normal newspapers are one thing, and these newspapers are only a means to stabilize the people of Jingzhou and prevent them from being completely in the dark about the policies from above. They have no effect on Cao Wei and Sun Quan.

After Feng Xi has secured a stable position in the newspaper, he will naturally open up a second front. In the future world, peaceful evolution is the most adept means of some countries, and its main purpose is to beautify themselves, discredit their opponents, and publicize their superiority.

Feng Xi did not need to copy it completely. He only needed to make some artistic processing based on the real situation to shake the people's hearts in Jiangdong and Cao Wei.

And it is very important for this kind of thing to catch people's attention. Feng Xi sat at his desk and wrote furiously. The largest lines of characters on it were:

"Shocked! The secrets that Cao Cao and his wife had to tell. It turns out that Cao Pi also..."

"Sun Quan actually quietly walked into his sister-in-law's room in the middle of the night. Is this a distortion of human nature or a loss of morality?"

(End of this chapter)