Facts have proved that Li Zhen still underestimated Wei Yuan's motivation.
It was already evening when Li Zhen and Wei Yuan met, and then they welcomed the eunuch and sent him away. The sky was completely dark. Wei Yuan and Li Zhen discussed the matter of dealing with La Er, Bao Ling and others, and confirmed the newspaper's It was already late at night. At this time, Wei Yuan did not find a place to rest after leaving. He actually spent the night looking for old friends in Guangzhou and got help from eight like-minded celebrities.
August 13th, early morning.
Wei Yuan and Ye Chengzhong chose the address where they would run the newspaper. Jiuzhou Daily was located in a mansion in the south of the city.
Wei Yuan took eight like-minded people and all moved in.
Next, Wei Yuan asked the craftsmen to prepare the plaque for 'Jiuzhou Daily'. The four characters of Jiuzhou Daily were written by Wei Yuan, an old antique. After solving the problem of the plaque, Wei Yuan spent another afternoon recruiting apprentices, using Wei Yuan's influence , twenty people came to apply for the job that afternoon, wanting to work with Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan did not want too many people to participate for the time being, so he only selected four people with good conduct and knowledge, and then began to prepare the tools for printing the newspaper, etc., to prepare for the printing of the newspaper.
After nightfall, the first newspaper came out.
Because it was the first newspaper, there was not much content on it, only articles written by Wei Yuan alone.
Even so, the writing is sharp and sharp.
Wei Yuan's article followed Li Zhen's guidance and criticized the government. The content of the article was about Russell, Bao Ling and others being sent back to Beijing. Wei Yuan also pointed the finger at the officials in the court and bluntly criticized the ministers in the court for being weak. Incompetent, he also accused the ministers of deceiving the emperor. Wei Yuan also pointed out that the foreign barbarians were capricious and should not be gullible. He also wanted to execute Russell, Bao Ling and others on the spot in Guangzhou, so that the foreign barbarians would see the courage of the Qing Dynasty and not dare to act casually. Invasion.
The article is powerful, inspiring, and very cynical.
After Li Zhen read the article, he immediately laughed.
Wei Yuan's article was exactly what he wanted. Wei Yuan stood up and shouted loudly, calling on the court to kill the leaders of the British and French coalition forces. He immediately raised his hopes, but the court must have turned a blind eye and would still let Russell, Bao Ling and others go. , after the results came out, the Manchu people were completely disappointed.
This situation was created painstakingly by Li Zhen.
Ye Chengzhong was very excited after reading the article, and organized people to prepare it for publication.
Li Zhen asked Ye Cheng to remain silent and not move for the time being.
Early the next morning, Li Zhen organized his soldiers to spread the news that Wei Yuan had arrived in Guangzhou, and also spread the news that Wei Yuan had become the editor-in-chief of "Jiuzhou Daily". Li Zhen also asked the soldiers to post notices in the city, announcing that They filled the streets and alleys, telling the people in the city that Wei Yuan had a new article coming out, and the article would be published in the 'Jiuzhou Daily'.
In fact, most common people don't know who Wei Yuan is, but scholars are different. A famous person like Wei Yuan is rare. If he can get comments from Wei Yuan, his future will definitely be bright.
The scholars were extremely excited when they learned that Wei Yuan had a new work.
All day long, the city was full of news about Wei Yuan.
After Li Zhen's hype and momentum, Wei Yuan has become a figure talked about by the people in the streets and alleys. The Jiuzhou Daily has also gained a certain degree of popularity, at least letting the people in the streets and alleys know that there is such a thing. However, the scholars are different and started to do so in private. Ask when Wei Yuan's article will be published.
Li Zhen seized the opportunity and announced in the evening that Jiuzhou Daily would be sold in the early morning of August 15th.
The price of newspapers is not high, a newspaper costs ten cents.
Ordinary people are not interested in newspapers, but scholars are certainly not stingy.
In the early morning of August 15th, neatly dressed scholars stood in line outside the office gate of Jiuzhou Daily. The queue was very long. Li Zhen had expected that the scene might be heated last night and had already sent soldiers to maintain order at the gate, so he did not show up. The situation is out of control.
Far away from the gate of Jiuzhou Daily, Li Zhen and Ye Chengzhong were wearing ordinary clothes and watching from outside.
Ye Chengzhong smiled and said: "Sir, letting Mr. Wei stay in Guangzhou this time and take charge of Jiuzhou Daily is really a stroke of genius. With Mr. Wei here, Guangzhou Daily will become a place where celebrities from all over the world gather, and more celebrities will gather in the future. Here it is.”
Li Zhen nodded and said: "Within half a year, Jiuzhou Daily will cover the entire Guangdong."
"Sir, we have started selling newspapers." Ye Chengzhong suddenly said.
Li Zhen looked up and found that the door of Jiuzhou Daily opened, and four people holding newspapers came out. Wei Yuan and eight celebrities followed behind, looking at the people outside with smiles. As soon as Wei Yuan appeared, the scene became even more heated.
Scholars and scholars shouted loudly and rushed to buy newspapers.
Li Zhen looked at this scene, as if he had met a star chaser in his previous life, and was enthusiastic and excited.
Ye Chengzhong was also dumbfounded and said: "Sir, this, this, is too hot."
Li Zhen laughed and was very satisfied with such a scene. For Li Zhen, the greater the influence of Wei Yuan, the greater the help to him. As long as Li Zhen consciously guides him, Jiuzhou Daily will definitely become a sharp weapon in his hands.
"Good, good, it is indeed Mr. Wei Da's article."
A scholar bought a newspaper and stood aside, shaking his head as he read it, nodding his head in praise.
Such situations are becoming more and more common.
Li Zhen had 500 copies of the newspaper printed, which was not much, and they were all sold out in less than two hours.
At this time, there were still some scholars wandering outside. Li Zhen led Ye Chengzhong straight into the gate of Jiuzhou Daily. Some scholars knew about Li Zhen, and they were even more excited when they saw Li Zhen entering. On the one hand, the famous scholars Wei Yuan, on the other hand, is Admiral Li Zhen. No matter who he is related to, he can always be connected to the other side.
This time, the scholars outside were even more excited.
Li Zhen and Ye Chengzhong walked up, and Wei Yuan and other celebrities immediately greeted them and bowed to Li Zhen.
Wei Yuan stroked his long beard that fluttered under his chin and said with a smile: "Hongyi, I didn't expect that so many scholars would come to buy the newspaper. It's very gratifying. I have decided to print another thousand copies so that all All the scholars bought newspapers."
"No, Mr. Wei, please don't be impatient."
Li Zhen stretched out his hand to stop it and said: "The number of newspapers printed for the first time should not be too large. Five hundred points should not be more or less. It is just right. Some readers will not get it. Next time they will buy the newspaper earlier and get more. Maximize the mobilization of people who buy newspapers. The foreigners being sent to Beijing is just the beginning. Your old article is also the first one, and there will be countless follow-up articles, so don’t rush it for the time being."
Wei Yuan nodded and said: "It makes sense, I'll do as you say."
Li Zhen said: "Mr. Wei, the scholars know the news that Russell, Bao Ling and others were sent back to Beijing, and read your article. They must have feelings in their hearts. Next, Jiuzhou Daily can publish a notice to welcome scholars. If Mr. Wei thinks the writing is good, he can give a certain financial reward. However, the operation process needs to be determined to avoid errors. "
Wei Yuan said happily: "Hongyi, your mind is really bright, I admire you."
Li Zhen smiled, talked to Wei Yuan and the people behind him for a while, and then left with Ye Chengzhong.
