Huo Taoluo finally came out of the restaurant with a little confusion.

Before this, he had no contact or friendship with Songjiang Army. On the contrary, due to the status of the Songjiang Army as a rebel before accepting Zhao'an, Huo Taoliu was very hostile to the Songjiang Army, even if he was still vigilant now. He also didn't understand why Matsue Jun would take a fancy to himself instead of supporting other candidates who seemed to be more popular and more likely.

However, although he had doubts in his heart, he still saw the current situation very thoroughly.

The conditions of the Songjiang army are very rich, and the sincerity is also full, and he does not even ask him to pay anything first, and he can sit back and enjoy the results. No matter how you look at it, Huo Taoliu feels that he is the one who makes the cheapest. Even if he doesn't succeed in the end, he won't have the slightest loss.

Could it be that he can really sit on the throne of the Minister of War this time?

As he walked slowly home, he pondered this possibility in his heart.

In the next few days, Huo Taoluo, who was affected by this, obviously increased his attention to the Zhongzhou court bureau, and also sent people to secretly monitor Yuan Xingwei's movements. The result made him a little surprised, Yuan Xingwei had met with several powerful forces, and seemed to be running back and forth for the affairs of the Minister of War.

In the end, this trend that triggered the political situation in the imperial capital kicked off in the great court meeting two days later.

One after another, courtiers impeached the Feng family, and fabricated ten pieces of evidence in a row. From lax management of the army, lack of locality, embezzlement and misappropriation of military salaries, all the way to the previous assassination case. Feng Wu probably also knew that it was doomed to be dismissed, and with a little wry smile symbolically justified himself, in the end he still failed to block the surging attacks.

Qian Yuanji watched coldly, and "forced" to announce the decision to dismiss Feng Wu and appoint him to another place.

Regarding the selection of the successor of the Minister of War, it immediately triggered a frenzy of competition among the major forces in the court.

Whether it is other gate valves other than the Feng family, or the two princes, or several major factions in the court, they all want to take this important position into their pockets. The current military undersecretary and several promising generals have also begun to campaign for the position in an attempt to attract more supporters. It's a pity that no one knows, although the old emperor didn't say a word at this moment, and he didn't seem to have thought about who to appoint, he already had an object in his heart.

………

At the end of Huaiyun Street in Zhongzhou, there is a relatively secluded courtyard.

Although this courtyard is not large, it is very stylishly decorated. There are rockeries and small pavilions, and there is a cluster of tender bamboo forests outside the main hall. The breeze blows, and the bamboo shadows sway gently, making a rustling sound, giving people a feeling of beauty. It's a pity that a group of fox friends and gentlemen in the yard ruined this quiet and elegant atmosphere.

"Hou Gongzi, our elegant talk this time has sold six hundred copies!" Brother Gongzi, who is in charge of statistics, has a happy face, and is excited about this unprecedented success.

"That's Hou Gongzi's literary style! The little things that are discussed on the street can be written vividly, as if you have seen it in person! ”

"If you want me to say, the content is still right, it has to be related to Fengyue." Some people also shook their heads and made a fuss with intuitive figures: "You see, this issue of the newspaper wrote about the new Oiran last month, and the number of people who bought the newspaper immediately increased by 30%. In the next issue, you may wish to continue to add this aspect of the content. ”

"By the way, I heard that the new flower of the drunken Red Mansion is unique, and I don't know if it's true or not. The old man was so strict that I didn't dare to pass through the door of the drunken red mansion for two months. Have any of you been there, tell me about it? ”

"Not only is it a poetry and piano, let me tell you, her kung fu in the room is also ......"

Those who understand naturally let out a burst of unbearable laughter, and unconsciously distorted the topic of discussion. Seeing this scene, Hou Fangbai couldn't help but sigh helplessly and shook his head.

Six hundred newspapers may sound like a good thing, but compared to the millions of people in the entire Zhongzhou, it is really like a drop in the ocean. You must know that Zhongzhou has been the imperial capital for 300 years, and the proportion of literate and educated people far exceeds that of other states and counties. Maybe even the guys who work in the shops on the street have read private schools for a few years and know hundreds of big characters. In Hou Fangbai's view, at least the newspaper must be sold to the point where it can sell thousands or even tens of thousands of copies before it can be considered successful.

However, this goal seems too difficult.

Since its inception, Feng Ya Tan has had to release dozens of issues. Hou Fangbai admits that he has put a lot of effort into it, and has also worked hard to study some other newspapers in Zhongzhou, but even so, it can only sell 600 copies. In addition to the cost of pen and ink and printing, in fact, I can't make a lot of spare money.

Most of the people who participate in the partnership are gentlemen who don't worry about eating and drinking at home, because they have nothing to do, they use this new gadget as a signboard to put gold on their faces, or simply think it's fun.

Hou Fangbai is different, although his family background is also good, but it is only compared to ordinary rich peasants. Compared with those who are really rich and have status, it is far worse. The reason for this elegant talk is that I took a fancy to the potential of the newspaper and wanted to make it famous.

Unfortunately, the gap between ideals and reality is a little too big.

Just when he couldn't help sighing, Hou Fangbai didn't know that a big opportunity that belonged to him was about to come.

"Excuse me, is Hou Gongzi, the editor-in-chief of Feng Yatan, here?"

Someone knocked on the door outside the courtyard, alarming these boys who were discussing in the courtyard which restaurant to drink at night.

Since the establishment of Feng Ya Tan, there has been more than one person who comes to the door after reading the newspaper. Some are simply curious, or come to show support, and some want to post their articles on it to become famous. Hou Fangbai didn't think much about it, and motioned for his subordinates to welcome the people outside the courtyard in.

It's none other than Yuan Xingwei, who sneaked out after looking at his free time.

According to Chen Wu, Fengya's talk is not formal. Due to the limitations of funds, manuscripts, and various other reasons, the issuance time is very uncertain. When you are diligent, you may have one issue a week, and when you are slow, you may not have one a month. Because of this, Yuan Xingwei is also ready to come to the air this time. Unexpectedly, I was very lucky, and I met Hou Fangbai for the first time.

"Brother Tai came to the door, I don't know if you have any advice?"

Seeing Yuan Xingwei come in, he looked around with a little curiosity, and Hou Fangbai, who was irritable because of the bleak future of Feng Ya's talk, was a little impatient, and asked with a little urging.

"I don't dare to give advice, but after reading Hou Gongzi's elegant talk before, I do have some ideas."

Yuan Xingwei felt that Hou Fangbai seemed to be in a displeased, but he was not angry, and presented a handwritten letter from Chen Wu with a smile, which briefly mentioned some newspaper characteristics, layouts and various content forms in the real world before traveling. Although several places are only shallow, for Hou Fangbai, it is tantamount to opening another skylight. After a cursory glance, his expression changed from the original nonchalance, to surprise and thought, and finally to ecstasy.

What makes Hou Fangbai agree even more is that Chen Wu depicts the prospect and importance of the newspaper at the back of the handbook!

At this stage, in Zhongzhou, newspapers are still only at the level of newspaper operators entertaining themselves. There is no unified model, no fixed distribution time, basically the newspaper publisher writes what he wants, and then spreads it in a small circle, which should be an alternative book or poetry collection. However, in Chen Wu's description, newspapers can speed up the dissemination of information, publicize the government's policies and functions, and even guide and control the direction of public opinion!

Before he kidnapped Hou Fangbai into Songjiang, Chen Wu naturally wouldn't shake everything out. But even if only these things in front of him are read, it is enough for Hou Fangbai to realize that the person who wrote the letter knows the newspaper far above himself.

"Brother Tai is really talented!"

Hou Fangbai, who admired it extremely much, couldn't help but bow deeply to Yuan Xingwei, and even moved the idea of giving up the position of editor-in-chief of Fengyuetan to the person in front of him.

"I did not write what is written in this handwriting, but it is the plan of my Lord."

Seeing that Hou Fangbai was really moved, Yuan Xingwei threw out the truth at the right time.

Hou Fangbai was stunned for a moment, and looked Yuan Xingwei up and down a few times. He who has been mixing in Zhongzhou all the year round, quickly noticed something, his face was a lot more solemn, and asked, "Dare to ask, where is Brother Tai from?" ”

He originally thought that Yuan Xingwei came to talk about this newspaper in his personal capacity, but now it seems that he has other plans.

With a little reserve, Yuan Xingwei said: "I am from Songjiang, and I am the subordinate of Chen Wu, the governor of Songjiang and the envoy of Tiannan, and I am also the director of the Songjiang Internal Affairs Bureau. ”

In the first half of the sentence, he heard that Hou Fangbai had nothing in his ears, but the position of the director of the Songjiang Internal Affairs Agency in the back made him gasp with a "hiss".

That's a few high-ranking officials in a county!

"Disrespectful, disrespectful."

He saluted again, looking more and more surprised.

The matter of the Songjiang Army was so fierce last year, and Hou Fangbai naturally knew about it. Later, I learned that Songjiang Jun accepted Zhao'an, and he also wrote a poem for it, which was posted on Fengya Talk, and was pleased with the political situation of the empire. However, what is the purpose of such a state and county governor who is far away in the southeast of the empire and has traveled thousands of miles to the imperial capital to find him?

Is it possible?

Thinking of the things on the handbook just now, Hou Fangbai vaguely guessed something.

"I'm not going around in circles." Seeing that the editor-in-chief of the elegant conversation seemed to have an understanding on his face, Yuan Xingwei smiled and directly asked: "The governor of my family, I am going to publish a comprehensive newspaper led by the government. This newspaper will involve several sections of news, finance, military, and people's livelihood, and will be comprehensively promoted by the Songjiang Army, at least covering Songjiang and Tiannan counties. As early as a few months ago, the Governor had recruited more than a dozen people for preliminary preparations, and now there is a shortage of editors-in-chief. ”

He looked at Hou Fangbai with meaningful eyes.

The Songjiang Army came forward to promote, and at least two counties were fully covered!

After realizing how big this opportunity was, Hou Fangbai's blood surged, and it only took a second to make the decision to recommend himself!