The gate of Emperor Chongzhen's Forbidden City was always open for Zhong Jinwei. As soon as the chamberlain notified Marquis Zhongxing to ask for an audience, Emperor Chongzhen would immediately stop what he was doing and send Zhong Jinwei to see him.
This time was no exception. Zhong Jinwei soon arrived at the Wenhua Hall and met Emperor Chongzhen.
Zhong Jinwei first nodded to Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the cabinet on one side, and then looked at Emperor Chongzhen who was waiting for him to say something: "I found something in my house, and I came here to report it to Your Majesty."
"Oh, what is it?" Emperor Chongzhen asked curiously. Zhong Jinwei came to ask to see him. Obviously this thing should be something special.
Zhong Jinwei took out the rolled newspaper from his sleeve, presented it with both hands and said: "My family bought a few newspapers on the street. They were not the Ming Pao newspapers that the imperial court ordered state-owned enterprises to publish. The most important thing is that there was no imperial certificate issued by the imperial court on this newspaper."
Issue number."
When the chamberlain on the side saw Zhong Jinwei's actions, he went over to take the newspaper and presented it to the emperor.
"Oh, what does Master Zhong mean?" Emperor Chongzhen didn't expect it to be a newspaper, so he asked Zhong Jinwei a little strangely.
Zhong Jinwei frowned slightly, feeling that Emperor Chongzhen did not seem to be insensitive to this. He turned to look at Wen Tiren who was standing aside, and found that his face seemed to be making a fuss out of a molehill.
So Zhong Jinwei solemnly said: "Your Majesty, I still don't know whether these illegally published newspapers are only published in the capital, or are they also following the example of "Ming Pao" and distributed nationwide? If they are distributed nationwide, this matter will be serious.
!”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard what Zhong Jinwei said was so serious, he lowered his head and opened the newspaper to see what it contained.
When Wen Tiren heard this, because he could not see the newspaper, he directly asked Zhong Jinwei: "Marquis Zhongxing, but there are slanderous attacks on the government in the newspaper?"
Hearing this, Zhong Jinwei turned to look at Wen Tiren, shook his head and replied: "It seems not."
Wen Tiren couldn't help but shake his head after hearing this, but he didn't say anything.
When Emperor Chongzhen was flipping through the newspaper, he heard the conversation between Zhong Jinwei and Wen Tiren. After listening to the conversation, he had almost finished flipping through the newspaper, so he closed the newspaper directly, then raised his head and asked Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong, since these few days
There's nothing wrong with this newspaper, so why all the fuss?"
After all, in the Ming Dynasty, when large-character posters were posted casually as long as they were not anonymous, it is understandable that Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren did not take it seriously.
Seeing that they were all so disapproving, Zhong Jinwei's face became serious and he said solemnly again: "Your Majesty, if we don't have it now, it doesn't mean there won't be it in the future. If we don't regulate the newspapers when they first come out, when the people of Ming Dynasty get used to these newspapers, they won't be able to
It’s difficult to regulate.”
When he said this, he asked Emperor Chongzhen: "I wonder if your Majesty remembers that when I proposed the publication of newspapers, I said that newspapers should be under the supervision of the imperial court?"
When Zhong Jinwei said this, Emperor Chongzhen remembered it. He smiled and said: "Remember, Master Zhong said that we should control public opinion and guide it well, is that right?"
"Exactly!" Zhong Jinwei's voice rose slightly. He first affirmed, and then said: "Your Majesty, you must not underestimate the power of newspapers! Wasn't the Nanjing Civil Rebellion caused by those members of the Communist Party controlling public opinion?
Well? Wasn't the story of the Denglai Ming Army's resistance against the Japanese also publicized by newspapers? The various policies of the imperial court are now conveyed to the people by newspapers. If the role of newspapers is underestimated, the consequences may be disastrous."
Although Zhong Jinwei exaggerated, he was right to emphasize the power of newspapers.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard what Zhong Jinwei said was so serious and he gave these examples, he stopped smiling and became cautious. He asked Zhong Jinwei: "Why did Master Zhong say it could be catastrophic?"
"Because newspapers may become a tool of party struggle!" Zhong Jinwei's answer was so resounding that Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren were shocked when they heard it.
Before Zhong Jinwei came to the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren both suffered deeply from party strife and knew that party strife had brought great harm to the Ming Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, the press must be controlled. In my hometown, no matter which country, no matter how free it thinks it is, it controls the press." Zhong Jinwei emphasized again.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and praised: "Thanks to Master Zhong's reminder, we were able to detect it in time and prevent it from happening."
He knew in his heart that as long as the court fell into party strife again, no matter how good the current situation was, it would be destroyed.
"Actually, my original idea was to bring all publications, including poetry collections, editorials, etc., under the supervision of the imperial court. However, I estimate that if this policy is to be implemented, it will be opposed by both the government and the public. Therefore, I did not say anything, just
He said that newspapers should be regulated. After all, newspapers are a new thing. If we do this from the beginning, the opposition will be relatively small."
Zhong Jinwei's words left Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren relatively speechless. If they really wanted to do this, the officials in the court would probably object first. Because officials are all literati, and literati have a preference for publishing collections of poems and writing books.
Wen Tiren thought for a moment and said to Zhong Jinwei: "Hou Zhongxing, actually this matter is not as serious as you said. If there is anything wrong with the newspaper, it will be sealed at that time."
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he immediately shook his head and said: "No, as His Majesty said just now, we must guard against minor changes. If things are done, bad effects have already been formed. If we go to seal it again, it is just making up for it, and it is not the best measure."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded repeatedly when he heard this, and asked Zhong Jinwei: "Then how should we handle this matter?"
Zhong Jinwei had already thought of what to do on the way here, and he immediately replied to Emperor Chongzhen: "I have thought about four points. First, someone with high moral character and respect must vouch for the newspaper before the application is allowed to be processed."
"Second, it is necessary to explain what kind of content the newspaper publishes. Only after passing the review can the newspaper be allowed to be processed."
"Third, if something happens to the newspaper, the person who guarantees it will bear corresponding responsibility and be severely punished, which can be monetary, or it can be upgraded to a prison sentence."
"Fourth, national newspapers must be reviewed and approved by the court, while local newspapers can be reviewed by local governments and reported to the court for record."
After listening to Zhong Jinwei's four points, Wen Tiren said again: "Zhongxing Hou, are you too strict?"
Zhong Jinwei looked at Wen Tiren, shook his head and said: "Mr. Wen, it is easy to go from strict to lax, but it is difficult to go from lax to severe. And I think whether strict or lax mainly depends on the management of newspaper content. For example, you can control newspapers that comment on current affairs.
Under strict management, only "Ming Pao" can publish such newspapers; and academic newspapers, that is, various physics, chemistry, medicine and other newspapers, can relax the conditions and allow them to publish more. In the final analysis,
It’s still guided by public opinion.”
Emperor Chongzhen had already made up his mind and said to Wen Tiren: "Wen Qing, just follow what Master Zhong said about this matter, make a regulation and leave it to the Ministry of Rites for execution!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Wen Tiren no longer had any objections and accepted the order directly.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded, forgetting the matter. He turned to Zhong Jinwei and said: "Master Zhong, you came just in time. Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, has come to give a memorial. Come and take a look."