In Li Shimin's life, he has seen too many righteous and impassioned courtiers, but like Li Mu, it is still rare for people to act like this every time they 'speak righteously'. Among them, Li Mu is the only one who is contrived and does not make him feel annoying. Because of Li Mu's righteous words and impassionedness, he has not been disappointed so far, while the others have been empty words nine times out of ten.

"Then tell me, how does this Datang Daily work for the people, for me, and for Datang?"

"Your Majesty, this is also an inspiration that came to me by chance. On that day, you told your ministers that in the local area, the power of the family of the gate lords is greater than that of the imperial court. Why is this happening? The minister thought that it was nothing more than because the court was far away, and the gate valve family was close to the people. There is a decree in the imperial court, and the people don't know or know it late, and what major events happen, they are all known by the gate valve family first, and then selectively inform the people. Over time, a sense of alienation will arise in the hearts of the people. ”

The minister thought, how can we cross the family of gate lords and let the court establish a direct communication channel with the people? It happened that the minister was assassinated and wanted revenge, so he came up with this idea. If the imperial court can run a newspaper and directly inform the people of the major events in the court, so that the gate valve family cannot intervene, wouldn't it be possible to bypass them? Wouldn't it be nice if there would be anything in the future that the people would know together with the gate valve family? ”

After Li Shimin heard this, he pondered for a while and said: "But after all, the people are the people, and it is unnecessary to know the major affairs of the DPRK and China, and it is also inappropriate. ”

The eldest grandson Wuji also nodded, and Li Mu said: "Your Majesty, you misunderstood what the minister meant. As the old saying goes, three people become tigers. Something that didn't happen, as long as someone believes that it happened, will have the effect that it has already happened. On weekdays, the family of gate valves used this trick to distort, deceive, or coax to deceive the court to obtain the popularity that the court should have. After the Datang Daily, the imperial court does not necessarily have to report all major events to the people, but only needs to pick up the relevant ones, such as the imperial court to promote the new type of ploughing, the imperial army to pacify the Turks, and so on is conducive to establishing the prestige of the imperial court and increasing the glory of His Majesty. ”

And if there are any small moves in the gate valve family, they can also be pointed out and corrected in the newspaper, so that their dirty thoughts can not be hidden. From now on, the people can no longer be deceived, and in time, the popularity of the imperial court will definitely surpass the family of gate lords and replace their local advantage! After all, in this world, there are still ordinary people. The minister believes that what the people want is the right way! ”

The four words "the people's will" were in Li Shimin's mind, he glanced at the eldest grandson Wuji and asked, "What do you think of the auxiliary machine?" ”

The eldest grandson Wuji was very shocked in his heart, he didn't expect Li Mu to be able to think of the level of people's hearts and hopes at such a young age. He is now more and more jealous of Li Mu, and his heart is also uncertain, not knowing whether to support or oppose. He subconsciously felt that he should not support it, but reason told him that Li Mu's move was to suppress the gate valve family, and Yu Longyou's nobles were very beneficial and should be supported.

After thinking for a while, the eldest grandson Wuji did not express his position directly, but asked: "Although this move is good, there are two problems to be solved. ”

Li Mudao: "I don't know what Uncle Guo said? ”

"The first problem is money. At present, the treasury is not very full, and the printing of newspapers is expensive. Craftsmen, ink, paper, etc., all cost money, and if you do it occasionally, you can afford it, but if you print it every day, you can't afford it. Moreover, if this newspaper is only distributed in Chang'an City, its usefulness is limited, but if it is distributed all over the world, my Datang territory is vast, how can it be quickly disseminated? ”

Li Mu listened to it, and secretly gave a thumbs up in his heart, the eldest grandson Wuji was worthy of being Li Shimin's most confidant, and his vision was really different, and he was able to find the two biggest problems in the circulation of the newspaper in such a short period of time, and each of them hit the nail on the head. But Li Mu had already thought about these two questions, so it was not difficult to answer.

"There is no need to worry about money, the minister has already calculated the cost. Newspapers are used to convey information, so good paper is not used. The coarsest paper can also be printed. If 10,000 copies are printed at a time, the cost is less than one article. A penny is not a big burden for literate people. Besides, the newspaper is not a word that disappears after reading it once, and can be circulated. The minister thinks that everyone has the nature to spread the news, and after a person reads the newspaper and learns new news, he will definitely be unable to help but inform those who don't know the news, so it doesn't matter if he can't read, as long as the news is spread, the goal will be achieved. ”

"And the newspaper can make money." Li Mu pointed to the place that was circled by lace in the Datang Daily, and said, "Your Majesty, Uncle Guo, please look here." This is what the minister thought of, a way to make money. This place of lace is called "advertisement", which means "wide and widespread". Chen gave an example, a merchant from Luoyang came to Chang'an to open a shop, and his biggest concern should be that the people of Chang'an did not know that he had opened a shop and did not know where his shop was, but if he published the news in Datang Daily, the people of Chang'an would know about his shop after reading the newspaper, and if they needed it, they would buy it. Printing newspapers requires money, so naturally you can't help him for free, so ......"

"This merchant is going to pay, right?" The eldest grandson Wuji took the sentence and said with a smile: "You kid, how can you make money in your head!" ”

Li Mu said with a smile: "Isn't this a poor and scared since I was a child, after opening my mind, the first thing that comes to mind when I look at anything is to make money." ”

Li Shimin, as an emperor whose treasury and internal funds are never full, was also very moved when he heard this, and said: "How much money can you earn from this 'advertisement'?" Will anyone pay to advertise? ”

"Your Majesty, when it comes to making money, the minister is very confident. If it is operated properly, this advertisement alone, the annual income is definitely not under the Bashang Wine Workshop. ”

When Li Shimin heard this, his eyes lit up, and he said, "You mean, this advertisement can earn 100,000 net profits a year?" ”

"Maybe more than that."

Now Li Shimin was really interested and asked, "You say, how to operate properly." ”

"Three conditions are needed, one, the support of His Majesty. Second, it is forbidden for private newspapers to be run by the private sector. Third, it is also what the minister once said, the government resolutely prohibits private printing. No matter what identity you are, you will be punished as a rebel. ”

"Rebellion?" Eldest Sun Wuji frowned and said, "It's a bit exaggerated." ”

"Nope." Li Mu said solemnly: "Uncle Guo, when I talked about printing before, I said that printing is difficult to imitate, but it is a weapon for the imperial court to break the monopoly of knowledge on the family of gate lords. And as I said, if you want to print books, you can leave it to the printing superintendent. As long as they follow the rules, they pay, and the printing superintendent can print for them. If someone wants to publicize the news, they can advertise it in the newspaper, but under such conditions, if someone wants to print books or newspapers without permission, what will be his purpose? I can't think of a plausible explanation. ”