On the evening of May 29, 1882, Ding Yuntong personally signed and secretly issued a holy decree to the news media across the country through Propaganda Minister Chen Kuilong:

Fengtian carrier, the emperor edict said: In view of the particularly serious railway traffic accident in the Zhengzhou section of the 6.23 railway, public opinion at home and abroad tends to be complicated, and all local media, including sub-newspapers and sub-newspapers and subordinate news magazines, should quickly cool down the reports related to the accident, except for positive reports and dynamic news released by authoritative departments, no longer make any reports and do not make any comments. Chin this.

Of course, this ban order actually has no legal basis, strictly speaking, it is illegal, and it is also shady, so it can only be concealed and conveyed secretly, and the Imperial News Agency and the official are not mentioned a word.

Even so, this ban order was like a big guillotine, cutting off the surging public opinion and severely breaking the backbone of those intellectuals who just wanted to straighten up.

Newspapers and media in various places have taken down the original heavy reports of Jihua, and the removed the > of the

Instead, there is a series of positive reports to promote positive energy. All the newspapers began to run the "Bravo" series.

< parents who take the lead in paid leave and delay retirement, I applaud you! ＞；

;

< Kangding Psychiatric Hospital, for many years, has provided free assistance to petitioners for mental illness and maintained social stability, and the people thank you! ＞；

< the county magistrate Zhang was busy helping the people who were accidentally burned at the demolition site, and the masses expressed their touch! ＞

of social righteousness;

;

;

, , < sang songs in the prosperous era, and the common people were also happy, yes! ＞

For a time, the news and public opinion were clean and clean, innocent, the breeze came slowly, the water waves were not prosperous, inside and outside the Great Wall, up and down the big river, the spring was bright and beautiful, and the flowers were in full bloom. The economic development of all parts of the country has been reported frequently, and the masses have praised the government policies to warm people's hearts, and they are happy to build a beautiful homeland, and they are happy to be harmonious and prosperous.

"Silence has finally returned. Ding Yuntong said with emotion.

However, under the calm water, there are undercurrents, especially the in Shanghai. In the past year or so, public opinion in China's newspapers and media has been rigidly circled, and all unofficial speech and ideas that run counter to official ideology have been strictly controlled.

But not without exception, was a foreign-owned newspaper owned by British businessman Anas Mecha. Because of his foreign investment background, he sometimes cooperated with the government's news control, and sometimes did not cooperate, which made Ding Yuntong extremely dissatisfied.

In this train rear-end accident, jumping up and down, fanning the flames, and being extremely active. After the ban order was issued, although after several negotiations, the did not report on the matter on a large page, but it still insinuated and punned, referring to Sang scolding Huai and refusing harmony.

This made Ding Yuntong determined to drive out of China.

You must know that Ding Yuntong's dislike for this newspaper has not been a day.

The was founded on April 30, 1872 (March 23, the 11th year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty), and was initially a double daily magazine, and was changed to a daily newspaper from No. 5. It has always adhered to the tenet of "not doing evil", and at the same time refused the intervention of government power, and always adhered to the principles of freedom of speech, independent press, and open-mindedness. This has always been in conflict with Ding Yuntong's policy of controlling the news media and indiscriminately brainwashing the people. The most prominent manifestation of this is the frequent publication of news that makes the Chinese government feel "unpleasant", such as the huge fortune of a senior official, or the negative news of a certain official's children.

Ding Yuntong's principle is: Whether it is good or bad, if I want the people to know, let them know. I don't want the people to know, they can't know.

Reason?

This is called a violation of the "relevant laws" of the "relevant departments".

As for which department the "relevant departments" are and which laws are the "relevant laws", then the people don't need to know, let you know, what am I doing as a dictatorship?

On June 2, the Propaganda Department ordered that the publication of would be temporarily banned and ordered to suspend business for rectification because the news published on the contained pornographic, obscene, vulgar, and reactionary content.

immediately contacted the British Embassy in Beijing, claiming that it had been treated unfairly, and asked for help. The British Minister, Sir Wittoma, immediately expressed his "solemn concern" to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the matter.

After consultations and negotiations between the two sides, China resumed the approval of the publication of , but explicitly stated that "self-censorship is an unchangeable legal requirement." ＂

The matter subsided for only a few days, and on June 8, the began publishing editorials, large criticisms .

The editorial said:

Is doing business or politics? If it is business, it must be solved through commercial means, but if it wants to affect the overall political situation in China, it will completely change the nature of the incident, and the Chinese people have to be vigilant.

How big China's doors should be opened, how the roads should be paved, it is up to the Chinese themselves to design and arrange, and what the outside world says, can only be used as a reference.

asking China to abolish censorship and allow people to have unlimited access to reactionary and obscene content, which is pure nonsense. The Chinese people will not agree. The Chinese people do not want confrontation, but they are not afraid of any trouble, and Chinese society must be united.

While the government used populism to encircle and suppress on a large scale, it began to exert constant pressure on : the postal department no longer handles the business of mailing newspapers to other places for ; Domestic companies and enterprises are prohibited from publishing advertisements on ; Government agencies prohibit contact with journalists; Register, track and monitor readers who subscribe to .

On the other hand, Ding Yuntong ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make it clear to the UK: "China's press censorship system is an internal affair and belongs to China's sovereignty, and the sovereignty issue cannot be negotiated." ＂

This is a hard hand, and a soft hand, China has hinted that China is willing to sign an agreement to lease land north of Kowloon and south of the Shenzhen River in view of the long-standing request of the British side, taking into account the practical difficulties of Hong Kong's livelihood aspects, especially population growth, and the inability to provide food self-sufficiency. But signing such an agreement requires a good atmosphere.

After experiencing pressure from many sides, encountered unprecedented difficulties. The newspaper's Chinese editors received physical threats, and the government even hired a group of young hooligans to besiege, attack, and harass the editors' families in the name of patriotic students.

Every time these people participate in a mission, they will get five dimes of copper coins, so they are also called "pentagons".

The "Pentagons" harassed these poor families day and night, and painted large red and dazzling characters on the gate with cinnabar:

"Foreign slaves", "traitors", "traitors", "lackeys", "dead family", "having a son without asshole" and so on, are full of dazzling and rich vocabulary.

Under the personal attacks and personal insults led by the government, the Chinese employees who were in fact unable to work, and had to quit their jobs for themselves and their families.

At this time, the British Embassy in China also advised "for safety reasons, you can take a temporary break for a while". Although the British government acted out of political interest, it has also been criticized by domestic media for cooperating with the Chinese government's speech control and censorship.

By June 17, had finally closed its doors and issued a brief statement that it would have to withdraw from Chinese mainland because of its adherence to its values and its refusal to accept the Chinese government><'s censorship. The newspaper will be relocated to Hong Kong.

This newspaper, which has always advocated freedom, democracy, and constitutionalism, was finally driven out because of the thorn in Ding Yuntong's eyes and flesh. On the day closed, there were even people who came to the newspaper office to lay flowers, but were stopped by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and told that they needed to apply to the government in advance to lay flowers.

The closure of the also caused the British government to be blamed, and although Sir Wittoma, who was in charge of the matter, insisted that "the must be sacrificed for the sake of Hong Kong's interests", he resigned as minister on June 19 in order to calm public opinion, and this post will be replaced by Sir Pashali.

That night, Ding Yuntong personally wrote an editorial for the : " is gone, and Pasha Li is here, which is very good, very good, both of which are worth celebrating." ＂

But his heart has flown to distant London.

According to the report sent back from the UK, Tang Shaoyi is in talks with Rothschild, and he doesn't know what the outcome will be.