Peasant Woman's Decreed Life as a Wife

Chapter 2139: Chapter 2136: Consent

Emperor Xuanming read his report in the morning and had finished watching the recent drama in the capital, which opened his eyes. Feeling quite displeased, upon seeing Chu Heng’s suggestion, he just felt like laughing out loud.

As a result, when Chu Heng had an audience, Emperor Xuanming was in a good mood and even ordered the eunuch to serve him tea and grant him a seat.

Chu Heng naturally accepted with gratitude, and there was a joyful expression on his face.

“Minister Chu, regarding the official newspaper you mentioned, how do you plan to draft it? Is there a procedure in place?” Emperor Xuanming did not want to hear empty words; he wanted to know how much preparation Chu Heng had done.

This time, by using Chu Heng, all officials tightened up naturally, which pleased him.

But this was not enough, for these officials might soon unite and confront him, the Emperor.

Nowadays, the imperial power is not weak, but neither is the noble family; it can only be said that they are evenly matched. He could no longer endure being constantly pressured by the court ministers and naturally wanted to strengthen the imperial power.

“Your Majesty, I have done some analyses. Since it is an official newspaper, naturally it must be established across the whole of Great Chu. But when calculated, it costs a lot of silver, and coupled with some disturbances in Beirong, which are not stable, the Ministry of Revenue’s expenses are quite high this year. Though the taxes of this year have just been collected, they need to be prepared for the barracks in case of turmoil at the Border Pass.” Chu Heng spoke with grandeur, knowing that the Ministry of Revenue didn’t have much money. He had to keep some for times when weapons improvement required the Ministry to allocate funds to the Ministry of War.

But of course, he wouldn’t say this to Emperor Xuanming.

“Therefore, I propose to first open a pilot in the capital, where the expenditure of taels of silver wouldn’t be too much, and the Ministry of Revenue can fully afford it. The official newspaper from the capital, through the post stations, would be sent nationwide. Then, the scribal offices in various areas would be able to reproduce, print, and sell based on local needs, which not only promptly disseminates the capital’s news but also recoups some costs.”

“When the government factories across the nation are established, it’s never too late to organize local official newspapers with the factory profits.” Chu Heng knew that currently, Emperor Xuanming most wanted to gather talent. Next year marks the three-yearly provincial examinations, and the following year the metropolitan examinations. Emperor Xuanming needed fresh talent and naturally had to first inform the people nationwide about what kind of talent he required.

He wanted to avoid these potential talents becoming merely disciples of the ministers before the metropolitan exams had even begun. Then, it would be a question of whether they would be the Emperor’s talents or officials of the noble family.

After hearing him out, Emperor Xuanming realized starting a newspaper wouldn’t cost too much silver while achieving the desired effect, leaving him satisfied and increasingly kind towards Chu Heng.

“Not bad.” Emperor Xuanming nodded.

“If that’s the case, then Minister Chu, together with Elder Zhong, will be fully responsible for this official newspaper matter.” Soon after Emperor Xuanming finished speaking, He Dequan arrived, announcing that Elder Zhong had come.

Although Elder Zhong was old, he still had seven or eight years before retirement and had the energy to work.

Upon entering and hearing Emperor Xuanming’s instructions for the newspaper matter.

He pondered it, quickly understanding the imperial intention.

This official newspaper, ultimately, served as the Emperor’s tool for asserting his voice, gathering popular support, achieving multiple goals.

Previously, no courtiers had considered using such a method to control public opinion directly. He found it ingenious, while also seeing Chu Heng as daring.

But the larger trend was clear; the Emperor’s intentions were evident, and although he was from the noble family himself, he knew stabilizing the noble family meant not struggling against the Emperor but maintaining balance. Clearly, the Emperor was set on his course.