Li Hongzhang couldn't have imagined that the so-called "little loach" in his consciousness was actually a big sea dragon! It is not just a breeze and waves, but an uproar, a monstrous wave!

On this day, Tianjin, Beijing, Zhangjiakou, Datong, Lushun, Yantai, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hankou along the rivers and seas, such as Cao Gang, Pingyao Business Gang, and shipping, in more than a dozen core cities, "Guowen Bao" was on sale together!

In just ten days of preparation, Yang Hao threw down nearly 100,000 taels of silver, through the Guò Cao Gang, shipping, Jin merchants, and many of Yan Fu's classmates, fellow villagers, friends, and international students, all of them distributed the 100,000 copies of the first issue of the newspaper that he printed at one time from the world's small printing house.

As far away as Guangzhou, the goods were only obtained yesterday, and the local foreign agents, Jin stores, and Qianzhuang ticket numbers were sold together according to the agreement, and the local scholars, gentlemen, opposition officials, and examinees were given free newspapers, so that in the morning of this day, at least more than 1,000 people saw the newspaper first, and by the afternoon, it had expanded dramatically to tens of thousands!

Within three days, all 100,000 newspapers were sold out!

At such a speed, Yang Hao was also dumbfounded, incredible! He had not foreseen in advance that in this oriental country would wake up, from the emperor to the folk scholars, all walks of life were seeking a way out of the fog and predicament, and they were all in urgent need of understanding the outside world.

Yang Hao's family didn't know that there were countless people who wanted to open their eyes to the outside world these days, but there was no channel. They want to go abroad, and it is extremely difficult to get a passport! In addition to the state-appointed international students and diplomats, it is not easy to study abroad privately, and the cost is also extremely expensive!

In addition, the whole world is excluding Chinese, and the United States even signed an agreement with the Qing government to prohibit Chinese immigration to the United States for 10 years, cutting off this possibility from the policy aspect. Those churches and foreign schools that have been laid out in China for decades, and if ordinary people want to learn something from them, they have to join the religion and follow their calls. was called the ugly name of "two devils" by the villagers, and how many scholars are willing to put down their bodies to bear it?

Yang Hao doesn't know how ** the needs of this group are!

Between this year and next year, the British missionary Timothy Lee and the Chinese Tsai Erkang co-translated "The New History of Taixi", which has been rated as "the most disgusting scum of third-rate historical works" in the field of historiography, has been serialized in Shanghai's "Universal Gazette" since March, and it has been very popular! Even after the First Sino-Japanese War, the book was published in its entirety for the first time, with a print run of 30,000 copies, but it was sold out, and many reprints were in short supply, so that many pirates printed it privately to make a profit!

The book recounts the history of the development of Western capitalism since the 19th century, taking the country as the scripture and the events as the weft, recording the history of Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, Turkey, and the United States in the 19th century, such as politics, military, diplomacy, finance, industry and commerce, transportation, education, journalism, society, relief, national issues, and colonies.

Because the author is British, he vigorously advocates the gentle revolutionary path of the British style, such as the reform of the British Parliament in 1832, and he admires it: "In this hundred years, England has benefited the people beyond the reach of other countries, except for the reform of the system in 1832...... The so-called distribution benefits to everyone. ”

The role of religion is more emphasized: "Since ancient times, the great scriptures and great laws that have changed the world are only the best in the extensive practice of teaching." Apparently blazing the trail of missionary forcible promotion and cultural aggression in China.

He was also full of prejudice against the French Revolution and Napoleon, believing that "in two years, the French people died and mutilated many people, and it was a catastrophe unprecedented in Europe, and it was also tragic." The phrase "has never been as good as Napoleon's." ”

Timothy Lee clearly said in the preface: "This book is a lonely lamp in the dark room, a raft in the maze, and a detailed translation, in essence, it is a good medicine to save the people, a strong wall to protect the country, a treasure jade to cure poverty, and the beginning of the new world of China". He also said: "We should regard this book as a great treasure for the revitalization of China." ”

After Timothy Li "painstakingly managed" and "stubbed several times", this book was displayed on the desk of Emperor Guangxu, and it was cited as a classic and read from time to time. In the private sector, it is cited as the "Universal Gazette" with a circulation of only 4,000 copies, and it is still a monthly magazine, and it is also the organ newspaper of the Literature Society, and it has only published two issues, and its influence has not yet been opened.

At this juncture, Yang Hao manipulated with one hand, Yan Fu and a group of unambitious friends as the backbone, and the unprecedented promotion method of the "Guowen Daily" that was born swept all over the world!

Because the content in it can meet the needs of all levels of society, in addition to the stubborn and old-fashioned court officials, all the eunuchs who are a little self-motivated are regarded as rare treasures! The Westernists, the reformists, and the young Zhuang faction have found what they want from them. Folk customs, on the wild history anecdotes, open a school of martial arts novels, all kinds of practical knowledge tips, can't put it down!

At noon on the same day, hundreds of people in the teahouses and restaurants in Tianjin and Beijing read the newspaper at the top of their throats in exchange for a reward for tea and melon seeds. Many storytellers with sharp noses hurriedly asked people to read out the stories inside, and worked overtime to make up jokes, ready to use them as the capital to make a living.

In these years, people cherish words and paper, no one treats bundles of newspapers as selling waste, but there are many literati, take a newspaper as a condiment, call friends to convene a wine bureau, everyone eats wine and appreciates literature together, thinking that it is an elegant thing.

When it was time to have dinner, Li Hongzhang was finally shocked by the news from various places, and he got up and asked loudly: "What? They sent newspapers all over the country?! Where did Yan Youling get such skills? And how did they do it?! ”

Zhang Peilun said with a bitter face: "Not only the provinces, but also the palace, the emperor and the West Palace. In addition, it is Seoul, North Korea, Tokyo, Japan, and there are people who have trafficked in the past, which shows that its layout is not a day, and the plan is extensive, and it is by no means a small fight! ”

"Good boy! It seems that the old man really underestimated you! ”

Li Hongzhang was bold enough, he didn't get angry, and he still had a trace of interest, and asked: "Is there any news from the palace?" What did the Summer Palace say to the emperor? ”

Zhang Peilun said with a strange expression: "The emperor is very appreciative of this, and thinks that this newspaper is appreciated by both the elegant and the vulgar, which is orthodox and more broad-minded." It's a pity that the rhetoric is poor and not elegant enough. Xigong listened to someone finish reading a chapter of "The Legend of the Great Song Heroes", and the comment said that it was a bit interesting. ”

"It's kind of interesting."

Li Hongzhang realized something, stroked his beard and smiled. He didn't worry about anything else, he didn't care about the attacks of political opponents, but he just wanted to see Cixi's meaning clearly. As for the tossing of Emperor Guangxu and the Qingliu gang of the Imperial Party, he only watched it as a joke. Who has the final say in this Great Qing Kingdom, it is not based on which one sits on the throne of the Nine Dragons, the Queen Mother of the West, who is far away in the Summer Palace, is the real speaker.

Right now, Weng Tongyi's gang is jumping very happily, purging the emperor to let go of his hands and feet, and Cixi also intends to relax the reins and let them perform well.

But in this way, it is really difficult for him to kill and suppress, as long as the "National News Daily" does not reveal the meaning of having no father and no king, he can only watch it first.

Li Hongzhang came out of the grassroots level, and his ability to settle accounts is not comparable to ordinary people, so after a little thought, he became a bamboo in his chest, and snorted coldly: "I want to see how many silver dollars those boys have to throw in!" ”

With such a nationwide distribution and such a low price, it will definitely lose money! It's up to them to see if they can support it.

Lord Zhongtang couldn't have imagined that Yang Hao's series of operations were not aimed at him at all! When the next morning, the headquarters of the British Concession's "Guowen Bao" began to have an endless stream of people coming to the door, businessmen wanted to spend money on advertising, literati wanted to make friends with Yan Fu and several editors-in-chief, everyone discussed the current situation of the article, and many dignitaries and nobles posted invitations to seek the complete book of the articles in it, Yang Hao hid at home and stroked his palms and laughed: "The big thing has happened!" ”

To run this newspaper, what he wants is influence, prestige, and the hearts of contemporary young elites!

Next spring, it will be the imperial examination. History is not unexpected, so after the First Sino----Japanese War, although Kang Youwei touted his role in touting the role of Kang Youwei, it was actually a joint letter of more than 1,550 people from 18 provinces. All of them are young Zhuang factions with influence and appeal, and they are enterprising and driven. If you make good use of this force, you can become a new force to overthrow the rule of the Qing court!

With the spread of the influence of the "National News", he can form a small circle that is regarded by everyone as a forerunner who can see the future of the country, and as long as he can attract one-tenth of them, he can form a powerful force! When the time comes, inducing education and leading them onto the revolutionary road will be many times stronger than Sun Dacang's party line!

The best thing is that at the moment, except for him, no one knows that two months later, there will be a Sino-Japanese War that will change the world, and no one expected the final result! The tremendous changes brought about by that have made countless aspiring young people at a loss. And he, before a single qiē happens, build up the momentum first, and when the time comes, he will be able to get the biggest harvest!

Fueled by countless well-intentioned people, the Japanese espionage case quickly spread to all parts of the country from the official gossip and exclusively disclosed by the "Guowen Bao". The cause and effect, the impact caused, and the possible threat have been repeatedly rendered, and they have immediately become the hottest words on the streets.

The whole country cursed Japan in unison, an immature vicious dog, the Japanese prostitution business in the major concessions plummeted, attacks and expulsion of Japanese businessmen emerged one after another, and countless officials and scholars wrote to the imperial court, demanding severe punishment and no loans!

Weng Tongyi and other emperors' Qingliu main battle faction urged the emperor to issue an order to punish all those who committed the Ming canonical punishment and shoot them all! However, the interrogation of Japan only received a painless "apology", and the "Guowen Bao" analyzed that it was not sincere at all, and did not meet the Cheng dù of "apology" at all, and its government and cabinet had no repentance, which caused a lot of condemnation from all levels to the top!

Yang Hao went one step further and boldly deduced that the Japanese might soon deny it outright, distort the report in foreign newspapers and periodicals, and use this as an excuse to provoke disputes.

All this, one after another, gradually pushed Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Group to the cusp. Under the attitude of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Li Zhongtang had to make a gesture and ordered that in a few days, the Beiyang Navy Division would parade!

At the same time, Japan's Ito cabinet has also been completely forced into a corner!