Lu Shi sent off two visitors.

When saying goodbye, the two revealed their next itinerary.

Gu Hongming will temporarily live in London and make plans to travel to Europe;

As for Zheng Guanying, he should have visited various railways and investment companies, but after listening to Lu Shi's words, he put away those thoughts and returned to China to deal with the follow-up of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway.

Lu Shi returned to his seat and thought about the matter of "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli".

The author of this book, Huang Renyu, is a Chinese-American, so the manuscript is in English, and the title of the book is "1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline".

(1587 = 15th year of Wanli)

The general framework can be used directly.

But this book also has drawbacks,

For example, when quoting historical materials, you will be biased and only quote content that is beneficial to your own point of view.

In some cases, historical materials will even be misinterpreted and misinterpreted, and the theory of "Feng Bao's resignation" is even more ridiculous and generous.

Experts in the history of the Ming Dynasty commented on "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli":

"It is not qualified as an academic monograph."

This is also the limitation of the author Huang Renyu as a Chinese-American when studying historical materials.

Lu Shi muttered: "It's hard to ......"

He wrote down the English title on a piece of paper, followed by the subheadings of each chapter, listing several lines.

At this time, Natsume Soseki returned.

I broke free from the cat leash, rushed into the house, and rolled at Lu Shi's feet.

"Meow~"

Natsume Soseki looked around,

"People are gone?"

He paced behind Lu Shi, and when he saw the content on the paper, he couldn't help but be amazed: "You chose such a difficult content......

Lu Shi stretched,

"Wait, it's still early~"

He folded up the paper, put it aside, and said, "Get down to business." ”

……

Three days later.

Palace of Westminster.

Wardhouse came out of the House of Lords, muttering things like "neurotic" and "waste of time" and walked briskly towards the office.

As soon as he reached the door, he saw Churchill waiting there.

Wardhouse looked up and down,

"I said, are you fat?"

Churchill raised an eyebrow,

"Coming down from the battlefield, caused by not exercising for too long."

He didn't want to bother with his size, so he diverted the topic and said, "By the way, I heard you complain all the time, is there something wrong?" Isn't it ......."

Before he could finish speaking, Wardhouse interrupted: "It's that 'Mo No'." Entered the house and said. ”

He pushed the door open.

Churchill followed up and consciously came to the cigar cabinet to get a cigar, and the thief did not go empty.

Wardhouse didn't even bother to complain,

As he gathered his things, he continued the topic he had just said: "Ten minutes ago, Balfour went crazy again in hysteria. ”

Churchill chuckled,

"Arthur?"

Arthur James Balfour is the nephew and political heir of today's Prime Minister Robert Gascoigne-Cecil.

Wardhouse said "um" and said: "France and the United States are doing things, and Tsarist Russia is also very troublesome. If you want to protect overseas interests, there are too many places to use money, and it is no wonder that the cabinet people are not crazy. ”

Fiscal issues have always been a top priority.

During New Year's Day, the Royal Navy and the Cabinet were at odds over the budget, and Churchill foresaw the current situation.

He said, "Robert is going to get tougher, right? ”

That's a question.

Wardhouse slyly laughed,

"Don't ask me."

He put on his bowler hat, stood by the door, made a "please" gesture to Churchill, and said, "Why, do you want me to carry him out?" ”

Although he trusted Churchill very much, he was not left alone in the office.

Churchill took two more cigars and went out.

He asked, "Where are you going?" ”

"Professor Lu asked me to meet at the café across the river," Wardhouse said. I was a little worried that he would move elsewhere. ”

Oxford, Cambridge open invitations in the newspapers,

Compared with these two schools, the University of London Alliance is a younger brother, the resources are not good, the teachers are not good, and even the degrees are far behind.

It's no wonder Wardhouse is worried.

Churchill shook his head, "I still keep my previous opinion. Professor Lu has a high degree of freedom and respect for his polling projects in London Politics and Economics, which may not be the case when he goes to Oxford or Cambridge. ”

Wardhouse said, "I hope I'm worried." ”

He waved his hand,

"It's almost time, I have to hurry up and save myself from being late."

……

The café is across the river from the Palace of Westminster.

In the box, Scott and Cooper sat across from each other, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper in their hands.

Cooper asked, "You say, what would it be like for Professor Lu to call us over?" Could it be that he has a new work? I've always coveted his "The Mystery of Roger," but the Scotsman has limited space for its supplements......"

A few hundred words are omitted.

It can be seen that Cooper is very regretful.

Scott reassured, "You, don't think so much. "The Mystery of Roger" is written as a narrative ruse and is not suitable for serialization. ”

Cooper nodded reluctantly, and shook his head again,

"Why is it not suitable for serialization?"

Scott laughed,

"Don't take it seriously~Don't take it seriously~"

The relationship between the two is very good, and talking and laughing does not affect the relationship.

After a few minutes, the door of the private room was pushed open, and Lu Shi and Wardhouse stood in the doorway.

Lu Shi stepped forward,

"Two, long waiting."

The four of them shook hands in turn and sat down.

Scott couldn't wait to say: "Lu, you are really not authentic, how can such a good article as "I Have a Dream" be published in the old-fashioned "Daily Telegraph"? This is a naked pearl cast into the dark! ”

Lu Shi looked at the other party's distressed appearance, and wanted to laugh a little,

He replied: "It was an impromptu speech, and the manuscript was compiled by Cambridge University, and I couldn't do anything about it." ”

Scott sighed when he heard this,

"Alas......"

Wardhouse saw that there were two editors-in-chief at the scene, and knew that Lu Shi was not looking for himself to resign, so he put down the big stone in his heart,

He was a little more relaxed, so he took the initiative to ask, "Professor Lu, what are you looking for us?" ”

Lu Shi said: "Sir, you are the honorary president of the University of London Union, in charge of the affairs of the school, have you ever thought of publishing periodicals, magazines, and newspapers in the name of the school? In this way, it can expand its influence and compete with Oxford and Cambridge. ”

The atmosphere in the box instantly became a little weird.

The corners of Wardhouse's mouth twitched,

"Who's going to fight against?"

He thought he had misheard.

As a result, Lu Shi repeated with certainty: "Fight with Oxford and Cambridge." ”

Wardhouse said, "Are you kidding? ”

Lu Shi is puzzled,

"With so many universities in London forming alliances, don't they have that kind of mind?"

This stopped Waldhouse.

I have to admit that there are certain political considerations for the establishment of the University of London Alliance, but the main reason is still in education.

Oxford and Cambridge are quite good,

Is London bad?

Scott on the side asked, "Lu, do you have any ideas?" ”

Lu Shi nodded and said his idea about the tabloid.

hear out

"Hiss......"

"Hiss......"

Scott and Cooper gasped at the same time.

Neither of them expected that a Chinese would be not conservative at all, even more open than the British.

Cooper said, "That's a really ...... idea It's ......."

He didn't know what to say.

Scott, who was next to him, said: "If you think about it, there must be room for this kind of newspaper." ”

Because of the battle between Lu Shi and Doyle, the sales of the Manchester Guardian soared, which made Scott begin to consider a fundamental question -

What is the purpose of the people reading the newspaper?

In the past, he always felt that people read newspapers in order to receive information.

But now, his mind has changed.

"Reading the newspaper itself is also a form of entertainment," he said. ”

Cooper let out an "um" and whispered, "I agree with you." ”

Scott was surprised,

"You agree?"

Cooper couldn't help but laugh,

"What? Do you think I'm going to object? As a journalist, if I don't even have the slightest sensitivity, I'll just quit my position as editor-in-chief. If you think about it, what has become of Le Figaro now, but it sells ridiculously well......"

"Le Figaro", a comprehensive daily newspaper in France, is based on Figaro, the protagonist of the famous play "The Marriage of Figaro" by the French playwright Beaumarchais.

Figaro is a highly respected literary figure in the French literary tradition, and many literary masters, including Zola, Molière, and Gide, have written with him as the protagonist.

Therefore, the name of "Le Figaro" sounds very literary.

But it was such a literary newspaper that began to take the commercialization route of the Riba people-

Crazy print ads.

On the surface, it is a thick stack, but the actual content is pitiful, and the news has to be found through the cracks of the advertisement.

But that's what the people eat,

There is no price increase for the increase~

Those ad pages are torn up and used as toilet paper.

The success of Le Figaro has hit the entire newspaper industry, making the editors of various newspapers reflect on what the basic function of a newspaper is.

Deliver a message?

Entertainment?

Toilet paper?

……

As a result, the editors began to show their talents, and all kinds of strange newspapers sprung up.

Wardhouse suddenly said, "I support Professor Lu. ”

Scott:???

Cooper: ???

Land Hours: ???

All three were a little confused by Wardhouse's sudden statement.

Cooper whispered, "Sir, we haven't discussed the specific rules yet, why don't you ...... How can you be so proactive? ”

Waldhouse embarrassment,

He took the initiative because he had a sense of crisis.

Oxford and Cambridge threw olive branches to Lu Shi, if they didn't express their stance and really let Lu Shi invest in the gentle township of other schools, it would be worth the loss.

If you run a newspaper, you can do it for tens of thousands of pounds or a few thousand pounds.

It is not considered a break when it is used to win over land.

What's more, after listening to Cooper and Scott's evaluation, the tabloids seem to have a market and should not lose money.

It would be better if the influence of the University of London Alliance could be expanded by the way.

Cooper said: "Of course it's a good thing that the Jazz are so supportive. However, borrowing from the publishing house of the University of London Alliance, the newspaper still needs to pay attention to a certain degree of authenticity, otherwise it will cause negative impact and will be very troublesome. ”

Scott nodded,

When he turned to land,

"Lu, what do you think about the layout?"

Lu Shi replied: "First of all, it is only half the size of The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and Manchester Guardian. ”

The other three nodded in agreement,

Since we want to go to the popular line thoroughly, it is necessary to make the newspaper portable.

A big newspaper like The Times, which is suitable for sitting at a table and eating breakfast while reading,

The situation is inherently serious, and it clashes with the temperament of a pastime.

Cooper suggested, "I think it's better to get more illustrations." ”

This experience comes from the Illustrated London News,

The price of this magazine is not low, but it sells very well every Christmas, New Year's Day and other holidays, because the pictures and the word "entertainment" are so closely matched.

Lu Shi also agreed,

The world's first tabloid, the Daily Mirror, was not successful when it was first launched, and was later changed to a halfpenny pictorial,

Cheap + illustrated,

Then it sold out.

Waldhouse asked, "What about the content?" ”

The content of tabloids is generally entertainment news, sports news, gossip scandals, people's livelihood consumption, scandals,

In short, what's so exciting.

However, it is easy to cause problems when universities run tabloids.

Lu Shi said selectively, and then added: ", comics, gender, jokes, common sense of life. ”

Scott clapped his hands,

"Good! It's very interesting to listen to! ”

Wardhouse muttered, "I knew it would have been time for the Craft and Entertainment Academy to be incorporated into the League, and there were a lot of people in those groups who could draw." ”

Lu Shi listened and was powerless to complain.

Cooper couldn't laugh or cry,

"Sir, you're too utilitarian, aren't you?"

Wardhouse touched his nose awkwardly, waved his hand and said, "No, no, I'm also for the good of the alliance~"

The other three didn't bother to talk to him.

Lu Shi said: "Mr. Cooper, Mr. Scott, I invited you here just to ask you to help with the newspaper. After all, the University of London Alliance's publishing houses only make magazines, and you are all experienced journalists who know how to run a newspaper. ”

Scott head,

"Of course, I'll help."

Cooper on the other side also said, "Count me in." Only, what should this newspaper be called? ”

Wardhouse proposed: "The Times of London? ”

Scott immediately vetoed it: "Not good, the Times is not appropriate." ”

Times, corresponding to the English "Times", famous "Times", "New York Times",

On the whole, all the times have the characteristics of comprehensiveness, especially pay attention to the dynamics of the development of the times and related events, and the pattern and intention are relatively high.

This is known as "quality reporting".

But the sales of this kind of newspaper often do not sell, so it has to be changed.

The Times, for example, went popular in 1908.

Wardhouse said, "The Renton Post, how? ”

Cooper sighed, and said that the imagination of politicians is here, why are they all such ordinary names?

Scott said, "Not loud. ”

It's a euphemism, or too ordinary.

Wardhouse was rejected two proposals in a row, and he just threw himself up, saying, "I can't think of any interesting names." ”

It's really hard to think of the name of the newspaper,

It needs to be impressive, but not overly complicated.

Scott said: "I was recently thinking about changing the Manchester Guardian to The Guardian, so I knew it would be difficult to choose a name. Don't be too anxious, slow work can produce fine work~"

Everyone nodded yes.

Half a minute later, Lu Shi said: "Let's call 'The Mirror', the media should reflect the beautiful ideals of society like a mirror." ”

He said this without blushing.

You're pretty thick-skinned......

Cooper, Scott, and Wardhouse all secretly admired.

On the surface, they showed great agreement, and said in unison: "Good name!" ”

(End of chapter)