Zhongshu Sheren, who is responsible for the communiqué, described the situation in 1511:

"Everyone who runs a newspaper is a local gentry or wealthy businessman, such as Huizhou merchants, Shanxi merchants, etc. They are all wealthy owners, but they are not short of money."

Yan Chongxin has been basically in charge of money and food in the cabinet these years. When he heard this, his eyes lit up:

"Looking at it this way, all the deposits added together may be enough to cover the tea tax."

Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, salt and tea, one is the most popular, the other is the most expensive, and they are the most intensive in collecting commercial taxes.

Compared with the previous dynasties Chongzhen and Tianqi, the Shaowu Dynasty collected commercial taxes the most.

Among the fourteen official departments of finance and taxation, one is responsible for collecting commercial taxes.

Each county has set up branches responsible for collecting commercial and agricultural taxes, and will never let the local governments get their hands on them.

In the sixteenth year of Shaowu alone, the tea tax in the entire Ming Dynasty exceeded one million yuan, reaching a huge two million yuan.

But among them, the main production areas come from Anhui, Fujian, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other places.

As long as the tea is harvested, a commercial tax is levied immediately, which is called tea tax; if it is exported, it is a customs tax, and if it is sold locally, it is a sitting tax.

In other words, just tea has to be taxed three or four times, or even four or five times, which can be said to be a treasure of the imperial court.

As for wine, most of it is sold locally, and only a few can be circulated. Although the tax is high, it cannot be exported, and the sales share is also small, at most one million yuan a year.

"Since they are not short of money? Why not collect it annually?"

Zhu Mou nodded in agreement, and then showed a smile: "As far as I know, a newspaper can cost as much as a penny or as little as ten yuan. If you sell several copies a month, the profit in a year is not small!"

Yan Chongxin laughed softly and said: "If you kill the chicken to retrieve the eggs, it is not impossible, but you have to pay attention to the steady flow of water in everything."

"The deposit of one thousand yuan is just the threshold. If you want to run a newspaper, you must pay a tax of one hundred yuan a year."

"No matter how good or bad the business is."

At these words, everyone nodded.

To put it bluntly, the most taboo thing in the officialdom, especially the central court, is the imbalance of power, so newspapers are naturally not happy about it.

There are many restrictions, which coincide with the emperor.

Du Yinxi optimistically said: "There are 1,600 counties and 400 prefectures in the country. If each prefecture has one newspaper, it can earn 40,000 yuan a year. It is simple and convenient."

"And if it's thousands of copies, that would be huge."

These words made everyone chuckle.

However, everyone still has a consensus: commercial taxes do make money.

Afterwards, the person in charge of the communiqué, Zhongshu Sheren, carefully explained the management details.

First of all, newspapers cannot involve the emperor or slander important members of the court.

"Wait a minute -" Feng Xianzong raised an objection in the first article: "As far as I know, newspapers also have the responsibility of supervising officials and making them restrained."

"In my opinion, let's set the grade at the fourth grade, right?"

"But -" Zhu Mou nodded and said, "It doesn't involve the provincial government, but it's just a people-friendly official like the prefect, so it's feasible."

Zhongshu Sheren could only continue:

Second, you must not spread rumors or slander others.

Third, newspapers must not insult literary style and morals...

Fourth, newspapers are not allowed to cross county lines for the first three years...

The terms and conditions are extremely detailed.

"What if officials also run newspapers at home?"

Du Yinxi saw the loophole: "It is not a good way to use this to attack political opponents."

"That's what you are saying." Zhongshu Sheren explained: "According to the rules of the imperial court, officials basically work in different places, and newspapers do not leave the county for the time being, so it is unnecessary to attack colleagues."

Talking about this, Yan Chongxin added: "Officials are not allowed to write articles or other things without permission and report them to the public, and they must use their real names."

After struggling for half an hour, the discussion on the newspaper's management rules was completed.

The cabinet was then submitted to the emperor.

After reading it several times, the emperor added another one: "Adopt a responsibility system."

"If there is an error, such as a loss caused by rumors, the editor-in-chief and the shareholders will be jointly responsible."

Once the process was detailed, I thought the public opinion would calm down a bit, but I didn't expect it to become even more violent.

Because everything is formal and transparent.

Everyone is not afraid of having a lot of money, but they are afraid of operating in secret.

In just one month, more than 30 newspapers were registered in Beijing.

Obviously, Beijing has a population of one million and all kinds of people. Even though there are not many literate people, the market is vast enough for newspapers to make a living.

"We are selling newspapers. Wen Cai Bao, the latest novel about the Three Kingdoms, you can read it to your heart's content——"

"Gods and ghosts, Nezha is making trouble in the sea, the story of the gods is in Yaxianji——"

"A sow came out of Wanping County and gave birth to nine piglets in a row. The exclusive secret recipe is in Xiahuazhai..."

"Oh, it's quite lively."

King Qi sat by the window, looking at the scenery on the street, and heard a lot of shouts in his ears.

Children of all kinds, holding newspapers in their arms, shouting different slogans, shouted loudly in the streets and alleys.

Some of the passers-by stopped to buy, while others kept scratching their heads and asking questions.

When Zhu Cunhua saw it, he felt extremely sad for a moment.

At the beginning of the year, the emperor decided to get married in the twelfth lunar month.

He felt uncomfortable thinking about having someone to control him at home in the future.

But at the same time, after getting married, he would be able to join a vassal and control a country with great power, which made him itchy.

"Sir, these days, there are so many newspapers that people can't even read them."

The waiter brought some snacks and said softly: "In the past, there was only one communiqué to read, and it was all about the imperial court. If you only read one for half a month, it would have lost its taste."

"It's good now. There are all kinds of newspapers. Why, ghosts, gods, Three Kingdoms, etc., if you are literate, you can read them by yourself. A newspaper only has about ten words. If you go to a bookstore, you won't be able to spend a few bucks."

The waiter recounted his joy.

With the development of the commodity economy, especially grain from the south, it is continuously transported to Beijing through sea transportation, resulting in the long-term stability of grain prices in the capital.

In other words, as more people engage in handicrafts and commerce, market culture rises, and many people's material base is satisfied, their spirits begin to feel empty.

But now the emergence of newspapers has quickly filled the gap, making them happy.

In the past, drama and other genres also emerged in the capital.

There are no less than a hundred teahouses and restaurants with stage sets in Beijing, which can be said to be very lively.

"Does this newspaper make money?"

King Qi sipped the tea and asked with a chuckle.

"Look what you said, if we don't make money, how can there be so many people doing it?"

The waiter felt that this young man was probably a very unscrupulous person and didn't even know this bit of common sense.

"Don't forget that there are many newspapers on the market, but more people buy them. Restaurants and teahouses of all sizes must have tea doctors to read and interpret them, and many people will listen to them."

"And each newspaper publishes different things. Some are novels, and some are short stories. I also heard that there are some obscene newspapers, such as Jin Ping Mei..."

"Everyone must buy at least three to five copies. Do you want to make money?"

King Qi listened with a smile on his face.

He is also planning to start a newspaper.

As for the content posted, it is naturally not about politics, but articles about casual chatting, such as cricket fighting and dog fighting.

In the entire capital, there are no less than 100,000 people who have fun like this, and they are all wealthy owners. If everyone buys one, wouldn't that mean they are getting rich?

The more he thought about it, the more he thought it was feasible.

As a vassal king, although he will go to the country in the future, now he can only receive a salary every year. After excluding some daily expenses, there is not much left at all.

It is important to find a source of wealth.

Moreover, when he goes to Qi State in the future, he will also need to have an informant in Beijing to keep an eye on major domestic events.

And what could be better than a newspaper?

The more he thought about it, he got up and went down the stairs.

On the other hand, he bumped into a noble gentleman.

Grandson of the King of Chu.

The old King of Chu passed away in the early years of Shaowu. Because he died at an advanced age, the prince was almost sixty when he came to the throne.
To be continued...