Chapter 699 Newspaper
"No, the proportion of this ink is wrong. Although we added some oil, the dye did not seem to have completely melted. There must be problems!" In a room in the printing workshop, a craftsman covered in ink was arguing with others with red faces, and there were also craftsmen similar to him around, and they were discussing the formula for printing ink.
Although metal movable type has many advantages, it also has some disadvantages, such as the metal surface is too smooth and not easy to ink. Most of the people used in the Central Plains are ink, and most of the people used in printing in later generations are ink. Although Li Zhang knew this, the ratio of ink still requires a lot of experimental comparison, so these craftsmen have been experimenting with this during this period.
When Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, he also encountered the problem of ink drawing. Although the ink drawing properties of clay movable type are better than metal, traditional ink painting is still unable to be used. Therefore, Bi Sheng also improved the formula for printing ink, which is one of the reasons why Li Zhang invited him.
In addition to the problem of printing ink, there are also some processes that need to be improved, such as rapid search of movable type, typewriting, etc. Bi Sheng and others need to simplify these processes as much as possible to speed up the printing speed. These are Bi Sheng's old career, and he was the head of Zhao Zhen, responsible for the craftsmen in charge of the here and the improvement of printing technology, so he quickly integrated into the workshop.
Li Zhang did not stay in the workshop for too long. After Bi Sheng got familiar with the place, he also said goodbye and left. However, he did not go far, but went to a courtyard next to the printing workshop. This was the newspaper that Li Zhang proposed. After all, the printing workshop mainly provides services to the newspaper, and the newspaper also recruits many young people, many of which are students from the Imperial College.
"Mr. Please read this. This is the news I asked the people below to write!" As soon as Li Zhang came to the newspaper, he saw a young official in his thirties immediately ran forward and delivered a stack of articles to him and said.
This young official is named Zhang Fangping. This person has the ability to remember everything he has ever seen. He was once regarded as a genius in the world by Song Shou and Cai Qi. Later, he became a scholar at a young age. Now he is appointed as a writer. Li Zhang has also heard of his fame. So after the newspaper was opened, Li Zhang specially asked Zhang Fangping to take charge of the newspaper. This person not only wrote good articles, but also had a lot of knowledge. He once expressed a very visionary view on Dangxiang and Liao.
It is also worth mentioning that Zhang Fangping is also a friend of Su Shi's father Su Xun. Even the tomb table when Su Xun died was written by Zhang Fangping himself. However, Su Xun has just begun to concentrate on studying, and Su Shi is even a little kid who can only play with mud. When their father and son grow up, it will probably be more than ten years later.
Li Zhang and Zhang Fangping have long been familiar with each other. After all, this newspaper has also spent a lot of effort, so they immediately took the articles from Zhang Fangping and looked at them. These are actually some press releases. Li Zhang is training Zhang Fangping and others to write news during this period, so they usually arrange a few news content and then ask them to write articles and hand them over to themselves.
However, after reading a few articles handed over by Zhang Fangping, Li Zhang couldn't help but frown. Then he said to Zhang Fangping earnestly: "An Dao, your articles are indeed written with brilliant writing and full of flowers. Even if they are placed in the imperial examination, they are quite good articles!"
Hearing Li Zhang's praise, Zhang Fangping couldn't help but smile a little, but he didn't expect that Li Zhang turned his tone and said seriously: "But you probably forgot that our newspaper is not a place for you to show your talents, but to convey information. Your articles are very good at quoting classics, but for those who read very little or even barely read, it is nothing like a heavenly book. How can they understand it? Since they can't understand it, why do they buy newspapers? How can they pass on the news?"
Li Zhang asked Zhang Fangping a lot of questions in a row. He had never considered this issue before. In fact, when they wrote articles, they had already made the case that these articles were for scholars to read, so they did not consider other people at all.
"This... I... the official is wrong, so please punish me!" In the end, Zhang Fangping also hesitated to admit his mistake. He always thought he was extremely smart, but this time he was smart but was mistaken because among the articles he gave to Li Zhang, he was the most difficult to understand.
"Andao, articles do not only rely on citing scriptures to express their talents. It is not easy to write an article in a simple and easy way. Just like the poems of the lay Buddhist Xiangshan, the language is simple and popular, but it is a great poet who can be called together with Li Du!" Li Zhang patted Zhang Wenshi's shoulder and said again.
In fact, he still attaches great importance to Zhang Fangping and Li Zhang. The other party is not only talented, but also young and visionary. He is especially willing to accept new things and is very concerned about the affairs of the newspaper. As long as he can change his writing style, the newspaper will definitely be able to carry forward it in his hands in the future.
"Don't worry, the marquis, the subordinates will definitely not let the marquis down!" Zhang Fangping also regained some confidence at this time and immediately promised again that he had heard Li Zhang talk about the future prospects of the newspaper, so he also wanted to take on the important task of guiding public opinion in the world.
"I believe in your talent. In addition, newspapers do not have to always write political comments, laws, etc. Sometimes they can add some interesting stories, or even legends. This will also attract more people to buy newspapers. Only when more people buy newspapers will the newspaper have greater influence. You need to think of ways slowly." Li Zhang finally reminded him again.
After hearing this, Zhang Fangping nodded repeatedly. He agreed with Li Zhang's idea of the newspaper, that is, to expand the sales of newspapers as much as possible in the early stage. Only when the sales volume increases can the newspapers play a role in guiding public opinion. This is also what Li Zhang values most. After all, not all scholars can be as open-minded as Zhang Fangping.
"Mr. Marquis, how is the printing workshop going? How long will it take to officially publish the newspaper?" Zhang Fangping asked finally. When the newspaper was distributed, he also showed a look of expectation on his face. After all, they have been preparing for the newspaper for so long. Now the most important thing is to wait until the printing workshop can run smoothly.
Chapter completed!