novelhk Chapter 126 Should we have a secret stash?
Chapter 126 Should we have a secret stash?
Wen Zongji's busy days were not in vain. By the end of April, the Beijing Daily was officially finalized. He immediately had a copy printed and, without lingering, took the freshly printed Beijing Daily to the palace to see the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince took the oddly shaped imperial gazette from Wen Zongji, puzzled: "The paper is so big, it's not as easy to store as the previous gazette booklet, why was it changed to this style?"
Wen Zongji explained: "First of all, the Beijing Daily was a new thing. To capture the public's attention at once, a unique design would be more memorable. Secondly, newspapers are time-sensitive. Over time, these Beijing Dailys are no different from waste paper. I designed the Beijing Daily this way to give buyers the opportunity to reuse it. Whether it's used to cover windows or to wrap things, it's a good use."
The Crown Prince laughed upon hearing this: "You really do plan three steps ahead for every one step you take, you think really far ahead... Please sit for a while, I'll take a look at the capital's gazette first."
Wen Zongji nodded and sat down below the Crown Prince.
A moment later, a young eunuch brought in a cup of tea and gently placed it down, saying, "Lord Wen, please have some tea."
Wen Zongji: "Thank you for your trouble, sir."
"I dare not accept such a title."
The young eunuch replied softly, then bowed and withdrew.
Afterwards, the hall became very quiet. The Crown Prince quietly read the imperial gazette, while Wen Zongji occasionally sipped his tea, waiting for the Crown Prince to finish reading.
After an unknown amount of time, the Crown Prince finally folded up the Imperial Gazette and placed it on his desk. His gaze fell on Wen Zongji, and he praised, "Excellent work. Let's make this the first issue of the Imperial Gazette."
Wen Zongji stood up: "Then I will have the printing house print the Beijing Gazette in batches, and it will be sold in the capital on the first day of the fifth month."
The Crown Prince asked, "Currently, people only know that the Capital Gazette Bureau was newly established by the Office of Transmission, but they don't know what the Capital Gazette is. The common people are even more ignorant. How do you plan to make the people understand it and be willing to spend money to buy the Capital Gazette?"
Wen Zongji said, "I have already thought about this matter. It is impossible for the Capital Gazette Office to sell the Capital Gazette itself; it would be more appropriate to entrust it to major bookstores for sale. Fortunately, I own a bookstore. I can ask the bookstore manager to contact other bookstore managers and have them sell the Capital Gazette in their own bookstores."
Seeing that Wen Zongji had already made up his mind, the Crown Prince didn't say much, but asked, "I feel that the paper of this newspaper is of average quality, so it shouldn't cost much to produce. What price do you plan to set for the newspaper?"
Wen Zongji cupped his hands in greeting: "The Capital Gazette Bureau is newly established. I have heard that all its expenses are covered by the Crown Prince's private treasury?"
This is what he heard later.
The Crown Prince nodded: "That's right. The Office of Transmission is no ordinary government office. Although the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet agreed to my establishment of the Capital Gazette Office, they were ultimately worried that I was too young and inexperienced, which is why they imposed these restrictions. However, the Grand Secretaries are not targeting me. As long as I can get the Capital Gazette Office on the right track, all expenses of the Capital Gazette Office thereafter will naturally be borne by the court."
Wen Zongji looked up at the Crown Prince: "Since the expenses are borne by the Crown Prince, shouldn't any profits made by the Capital Gazette Office also belong to the Crown Prince?"
The crown prince nodded: "Of course."
"Would the Crown Prince like a secret stash of money?"
Upon hearing this, a rare look of bewilderment, befitting his age, appeared on the crown prince's usually composed face: "What do you mean?"
Wen Zongji said, "I have carefully calculated the cost of the Beijing Daily and set the price at three coins per copy. It is still profitable. Moreover, the cost of papermaking and printing decreases as the volume increases. At that time, we can earn a lot of money just by selling the Beijing Daily."
The crown prince remained silent.
Does he want a secret stash of money?
Of course I want it!
As he grew older, he gradually realized that some things required money to accomplish.
The Crown Prince's maternal family is the Zuo family, and they are naturally allies with the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince needs money, the Zuo family will never be stingy.
However, the Crown Prince, who had been taught by Emperor Shun'an since childhood, did not want to get too involved with the Zuo family, nor did he want to rely on the Zuo family too much.
Therefore, he really needed a way to acquire money that was uniquely his own.
only……
The Crown Prince shook his head: "If the Capital Gazette Bureau can really make money by selling the Capital Gazette, the Ministry of Revenue will not let go of this lucrative opportunity."
Wen Zongji said, "So you have to eat the meat first when no one is paying attention."
The crown prince looked at him and asked, "What should we do?"
"Go to the cabinet and play the victim, tell them that the expenses of the Beijing Gazette Bureau have exceeded the Crown Prince's expectations, and that the Crown Prince's finances won't last long, so let the Ministry of Revenue take over. Do you think the Crown Prince will take over?"
The Crown Prince immediately shook his head: "The Minister of Revenue is in charge of the purse strings. He is like a mythical creature that only takes in money and never gives it out. It was because he didn't want the Ministry of Revenue to have an extra burden that I suggested that we bear the expenses of the Beijing Gazette Bureau ourselves. Once it is confirmed that the Beijing Gazette Bureau is useful to the court, the Ministry of Revenue will then take charge of it."
Wen Zongji seized on the key point: "So, none of you gentlemen have ever considered that the Capital Gazette Office could actually contribute to the national treasury?"
"Of course," the Crown Prince said, "apart from the Ministry of Revenue, no other government office has the responsibility to contribute to the national treasury."
After all, anything that could generate revenue for the imperial court fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue.
Wen Zongji said, "Then there's no need to play the victim. All of you Grand Secretaries are old foxes; being too deliberate will only make you look foolish. Your Highness, please speak frankly. The Capital Gazette Bureau is currently short-staffed and will definitely need to expand its recruitment next month. To alleviate the pressure on the Eastern Palace, you have decided to set a price for the Capital Gazette and sell it to the people. From now on, the Capital Gazette Bureau will be completely under the Eastern Palace's control and will be responsible for its own profits and losses."
The Crown Prince agreed: "It's indeed not easy to be cunning when facing the Grand Secretaries."
"But you're advising me like this because you believe the Beijing Gazette will gain the people's approval?"
Wen Zongji pointed to the imperial gazette on the table: "What does the Crown Prince think?"
The Crown Prince then recalled the contents of the capital's gazette he had just seen and smiled, "The contents are indeed quite good, so I will trust you this once."
……
After seeing Wen Zongji off, the Crown Prince did not go directly to the Grand Secretariat, but instead went to the Linhua Hall.
"Father, I wish to formally place the Capital Gazette Bureau under the jurisdiction of the Crown Prince's Palace."
Emperor Shun'an was taken aback: "Why such a sudden decision?"
His initial idea was the same as the Crown Prince's: the Crown Prince would first oversee the Beijing Gazette Bureau, and once everything was on track, it would be handed over to others to manage.
The crown prince cannot compete with officials for power; he only needs to demonstrate his abilities as the heir apparent to the throne to all civil and military officials.
The Crown Prince said, "Wen Zongji has learned that I am currently responsible for all the expenses of the Capital Gazette Office. He plans to set the price of the Capital Gazette at three copper coins and sell it to the people. In this way, the Capital Gazette Office will have accounts in the future, avoiding trouble with the Ministry of Revenue. It would be better to simply merge it into the Eastern Palace."
Emperor Shun'an said, "Three coins? It doesn't sound like much, but the people of the capital aren't as wealthy as you imagine. Even living under the emperor's nose, many people still try to make every coin count. Would they really be willing to spend three coins on a mere copy of the Beijing Gazette, which is neither edible nor drinkable?"
The Crown Prince said, "Wen Zongji did assure me that we could make a lot of money."
Emperor Shun'an laughed: "You actually believe him."
"If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them."
Emperor Shun'an said nothing: "Since you trust him, I will naturally not stop you. However, you will have to persuade the cabinet yourself."
The Imperial Gazette Office was, after all, an official department, and its inclusion in the Crown Prince's Palace required the Cabinet's approval.
Emperor Shun'an is highly respected; if he issues an edict, the cabinet will certainly comply.
However, Emperor Shun'an did not have this idea. Whether it was the establishment of the Capital Report Office or the transfer of the Capital Report Office to the Eastern Palace, he always let the Crown Prince negotiate with the Cabinet himself.
The Crown Prince was fully aware of this; he had only informed Emperor Shun'an beforehand and had never intended for the emperor to help him.
"Your subject understands."