"Mother, aunt, do you have anything else to do? If not, I will let Ruxue take you around. I still have some things to do here, so it is not convenient for me to accompany you any longer. Ruxue Ruxue...
"
Li Min wanted to call Ruxue in when he spoke. When he said this, the two of them felt that it would be better to bring up the matter as soon as possible.
So Queen Changsun immediately said:
"Actually, we have something to do here today. We want to ask for your opinion."
"Oh? What's going on?"
He thought to himself, why didn't Li Shimin ask his civil and military officials to find a solution? Why should he come here to seek his own advice?
Could it be that Li Shimin had no solution at all, or that all the civil and military officials were idiots?
I'm afraid this is the kind of person.
But since Empress Changsun has spoken, let's listen to what she means.
So Li Min asked: "What is the specific matter? Can you come out of the palace and come here specially?"
The two looked at each other.
Then, Queen Changsun said.
"It's like this. Whenever His Majesty issues decrees to the grassroots, they cannot be implemented very well. Take the last flood in Shandong as an example. Your Majesty allocated a large amount of money and food to the grassroots.
However, the lower-level officials seemed to have misunderstood His Majesty's intentions and used certain funds where they should not have been used.
Recently, after a thorough investigation by officials sent by His Majesty, it became clear that some funds have not been fully implemented.
Some things had caused dissatisfaction among the people before, and His Majesty Long Yan was furious and punished many people."
Concubine Yang continued:
"It is said that it was also found out that Changsun Wuji was acting secretly and not sincerely trying to control the water. The information sent from below was also not implemented! Some officials even took advantage of loopholes to try to evade the court's investigation.
Some officials even say there is an ambiguity and refuse to be punished, which is very uncomfortable.
During this morning's court meeting, Your Majesty tried to solve this problem. No one from the civil and military officials came up with an excellent solution. So my sister and I told Your Majesty that we might be able to get you to help. So here we are!
"
When he heard it, it turned out to be like this.
This Li Shimin also thinks about the people.
What they said is also a shortcoming in ancient times.
Disadvantages that have not been realized since ancient times.
It’s not that there is no way, it’s that the ancients couldn’t think of a better way.
Because some methods could not be used in ancient times, but with him, everything became different.
Ever since, he thought of newspapers, which are similar to novel journals.
Why not promote it?
Newspapers are the best way to unify ideas from top to bottom.
Everyone should have a copy of the newspaper, learn the imperial court's top-down governance spirit, and use his punctuation marks.
In this way, no one will misunderstand the meaning. Therefore, the execution efficiency is improved several times.
In this way, the Tang Dynasty would only become more prosperous and powerful.
So he said, "You have found the right person. I have just the thing to solve this problem."
As soon as he spoke, the faces of the two women instantly turned to joy.
At the same time, Queen Changsun asked:
"What is the solution? Can you solve such troubles for Your Majesty?"
At this time, Li Min took out the novel journal and handed it to Queen Changsun.
"What do you think of this novel journal?"
Empress Changsun was puzzled. Did she want to read a novel to divert her attention?
"It's a good thing, but can it really solve the top-down worries?"
He smiled.
"Yes, it is necessary! However, its name has changed. It is no longer a novel journal. The novel journal seems so informal. I gave it a new name of newspaper."
"What is a newspaper? It is a carrier of reports. It can be correct propaganda. It can be the implementation of policies. It can be some common sense!"
The two asked again: "Then how do you operate this newspaper?"
"Publish and distribute six newspapers every month. Every five days, and order local officials to enforce it. Match the population. The total number of newspapers distributed is 5 million. Write his political views on the newspapers.
You can even record events and major events that will be held in the future on it, or things that make people happy. For example, the victory over the border, or the damage caused by the Daming Palace, or giving certain days and special days a special meaning.
To celebrate? Wait, wait, etc.”
He talked a lot about the benefits of newspapers.
Newspapers are printed publications that are regularly distributed to the public and mainly publish news and commentary on current affairs. They are an important carrier of mass communication and have the function of reflecting and guiding social public opinion.
The latter is the most important function.
His words shocked the two of them. It turns out that newspapers are so useful! At the same time, a lot of confusion followed.
The first is how much does this newspaper cost?
Also, 5 million copies is not a small amount, and it requires a lot of money.
How much money does the court have to allocate to newspapers every year?
All the questions, etc., then appeared in front of us.
Although the national treasury is gradually filling up, the money in the treasury cannot be spent indiscriminately.
But if you don't spend it, the problem will not be solved.
But Li Min did say it was useful.
No matter what, first listen to what he says next, and if it doesn't work, let him think of other ways.
So Queen Changsun asked again: "So how much does this newspaper cost?"
"How much does a newspaper cost? It's hard for me to tell you, but it's cheaper than a novel journal. If you really want to promote the newspaper, then I suggest selling only one article!"
One article?
What can you do with a penny?
This puzzled the two of them.
From ancient times to the present, a piece of paper has never been so cheap. A newspaper with printed text only sells for one penny?
Is he joking?
"Five million copies of a newspaper only sell for one penny each? Five million copies can only be sold at most..."
Queen Changsun must be there because she doesn't know how much the five million copies are worth.
Li Min did the math for her.
"Only selling for five thousand taels!"
Concubine Yang and Empress Changsun were completely shocked.
"Five thousand taels? The cost is more than that, right?"
Queen Changsun asked again.
Those are two pieces of data that don't match at all.
Li Min said:
"If you want everyone to receive the message, it has to be cheap enough, and the 5,000 taels earned from selling five million copies is just the labor cost of selling the newspaper."
That is to say, I only charge 5,000 taels for selling newspapers, and these 5,000 taels are only the workers’ expenses.
"What about the cost? The court won't have to cover the cost, right? After one year, it's a very scary figure."
Concubine Yang asked.
Regarding this issue, Li Min had already had an idea.
So, he was ready to speak his mind.
What he said next directly refreshed their outlook on life.