"I believe that a newspaper is a printed publication that is regularly distributed to the people of the world, mainly to report current events happening in various parts of the world, and has the function of reflecting and guiding public opinion. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info"

To put it bluntly, it is to publish the decrees issued by the imperial court, so that the people can learn about the latest edicts issued by the imperial court without going through the government and only spending two small dollars to buy a newspaper. At the same time, the newspaper also published the living conditions of the people in various parts of the world, what happened, and commented on the social impact. Let the people of the court and other places keep abreast of what is happening in various places, and be fully aware of them through the comments of others published in the newspapers. ”

Li Yu gave an explanation of the function of the newspaper.

"Brother Yu means that the newspaper does not pass through the government, but has the purpose of sending down the upper and lower feelings?" Li Hong asked.

"Exactly!" Li Yu nodded affirmatively and said: "The imperial court can run a newspaper to convey the latest policies for governing the people to the people. Ordinary people can also spend money to run private newspapers, republish the contents of official newspapers, and publish public opinions and interesting stories obtained from non-governmental interviews. ”

"Literati can set up a special publication to print the poems and songs they usually compose, and pass on their literary works to the general public! A master of literature wrote a great work, and a brief introduction to the book could be published in the newspaper, so that the whole world would know about the book without having to be ignored and finally be lost! ”

"Newspapers are widely used, and all states and counties in the world have been founded, and by having someone deliver newspapers from all over the world, they can understand the affairs of the world without leaving home and transmit information to all parts of the world!"

Li Yu was a little excited when he said that, the newspaper Nuochuang is beneficial to the country and the people, and it plays a role in promoting the prosperity of Datang culture.

The predecessors of modern newspapers appeared in the East and the West.

Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire, created the "Daily Chronicle" in 59 B.C., which wrote the events of the city and the country on white wooden boards to inform the citizens. This was the first newspaper in the West, but unfortunately it was only published for a short time before it was discontinued.

The origins of newspapers in country Z are even earlier.

It first appeared in the early Western Han Dynasty called Tongjuanbao, which was set up by the county in Beijing - Di. He was responsible for uploading the reports of the county and other local governors to the central government, and then copying the central edict to the "Tong Shan Bao" of the county.

Datang has a Di Bao, and the "Di Officials" are responsible for disseminating the central edicts of various states and counties.

Whether it was the Tongjuan Bao of the Han Dynasty or the Di Bao of the Tang Dynasty, they were only official newspapers and periodicals that were circulated within the central court and local governments, and they only played the role of a transit station for the central government and issued by the central edict, and were not open to the people.

Li Yu had long been interested in creating a newspaper, and the cheap paper and printing technology needed to run the newspaper were completely solved as early as last year.

In the Tang Dynasty, engraving printing appeared, and the movable type printing technology invented by Bi Sheng in the Song Dynasty had no technical problems in the Tang Dynasty, and it only needed a craftsman to make this idea. Li Yu offered the idea to his palace craftsmen.

Engraving printing is not yet popular, and movable type printing has been born in Yanwangfu for three years. In the Wenfang market of the eastern and western cities, Yanwangfu unified the two cities with cheap and fine paper and printing industry.

The cost of paper is also in Li Yu to find many paper-making craftsmen for two years, and continue to research a variety of low-cost paper. The paper you need for a newspaper doesn't need to be beautiful.

According to what Li Yu learned from the paper mill, the cost of printing a newspaper with a width of 10.5 feet and a height of 14.7 feet is one penny, and a newspaper with two pieces of paper can still be sold for five cents.

Naturally, literate people do not lack these five pennies to buy a newspaper.

"The function of this newspaper is not simple!" Li Xian sighed.

"Brother Yu didn't invite the brothers here to do a newspaper, right?"

Li Yu said with a smile: "What the second brother said is right. I would like to invite my brothers to set up the world's first newspaper to publish the edicts issued by the imperial court to benefit the people, the recent national events and the people's feelings in various places. A section of the newspaper was devoted to the poetry and articles written by the literati. ”

In order to give the brothers a more intuitive feeling of the newspaper, Li Yu ordered the maids to give each brother a sample of the newspaper that had been prepared.

Each newspaper follows the model of later generations, with two sheets folded in half and eight pages. The first and second pages of these trial newspapers were published with the edicts issued by the imperial court in recent months; The third or fourth page is some recent national events in Datang; The fifth or sixth page is the recent public opinion in Chang'an; On pages seven or eight are some poems written by Li Yu, Xin'er and others.

Li Hong, Li Xian and others picked up the newspaper and inspected the contents published on it, from the imperial court decrees, the Tang Dynasty, to the people of Chang'an.

"Brother Yu proposed to run a newspaper, I think it is feasible!" Li Hong nodded, and Li Xian also agreed.

"Since it was Brother Yu who proposed it, can Brother Yu say that the newspaper charter will be issued?"

With the approval of the two brothers, Li Yu said happily: "The newspaper is a joint venture between our brothers and sisters, and I and the three brothers each have 20% of the shares, and the fifth brother and the younger sister each have 10%. The paper needed for the newspaper can be purchased directly from my paper mill at a lower market price, and the printing can also be done by my printing shop. ”

"Running a newspaper requires managers, and I call them editors and editors-in-chief. The editor is responsible for writing the content of each issue of the newspaper, which is then submitted to the editor-in-chief for review. One of the responsibilities of the editor-in-chief is to review the articles submitted by the editors, and after passing them, they can be published in the newspaper; Second, he is responsible for the daily operation and management of the newspaper and recruits talented people to serve as newspaper editors. ”

"Because the editor-in-chief is responsible for the operation of the newspaper, I will select a editor-in-chief from the firm, and as for the editor, in addition to recruiting some talented scholars and literati from the society, the eldest brother and the second brother have many talented people in the mansion, and they can send a few people to serve as editors."

"Because Pingkangfang is one of the gathering places for the lifters, electors and local officials in Beijing and people from all over the world, there is a large flow of people. I intend to open the headquarters of the newspaper office in Pingkangfang, and open newsstands to sell newspapers outside the city gates of the East and West Cities, Chunmingmen and Jinguangmen, etc., which are crowded with many people. I wonder what your brothers think? ”

"Brother Yu's proposal is very good! No opinion for brother! Li Hong and Li Xian replied with a smile, and Li Xian nodded in agreement with the two brothers.

After Li Hong and Li Xian each mentioned some specific things about the newspaper, Li Yu took out the contract for the brother and sister to jointly establish the newspaper, and after the six signed the contract, they sent someone back to their home to get the money.

The younger sister and the fifth brother didn't understand what Li Yu said about the newspaper, and watched the four brothers discuss the matter with wide eyes, and also allocated 10% of the shares.

The four brothers take care of the two younger siblings, and Xu Lun and Ling Yue only need to take one item symbolically to offset one percent of the joint venture funds.

"Can you think of the name of the newspaper?" Li Xian was in a good mood and said with a smile, thinking that he was full of literary talents, and he had to sing and drink with all the attendants in the mansion on weekdays, but it was a pity that no one in the world knew about it. As soon as the newspaper is opened, new works can be published in the newspaper in the future. At that time, who in the world does not know you?

Li Hong was more concerned about the use of the newspaper for the imperial court to understand the people's suffering, and he made up his mind that he would send a talented subordinate official from the East Palace to serve as the editor of the newspaper, publish the imperial court's edict, and petition the people.

Li Yu said happily: "I have thought about it a long time ago, it will be called Royal Weekly, and it will be published every seven days!" ”