20demayo Chapter 128 Merging into the Eastern Palace
Chapter 128 Merging into the Eastern Palace
Wenyuan Pavilion
Several Grand Secretaries, led by Wu Yangeng, worked here, and the Crown Prince also listened to their discussions on politics here.
The appointment and removal of officials and the decision-making of various major events in the entire Chu state are all decided here.
At this moment, having just finished discussing the selection of imperial censors to be sent to inspect the local areas, the tense atmosphere in the room immediately dissipated, and the expressions of the few people who had been at odds just moments before softened again.
During this brief pause, the Crown Prince said, "Grand Secretaries, I intend to transfer the Capital Gazette Bureau to the Crown Prince's jurisdiction. From now on, everything concerning the Capital Gazette Bureau will be the responsibility of the Crown Prince."
Upon hearing this, Han Shize, the Minister of Rites, was the first to ask, "May I ask why the Crown Prince has suddenly made such a decision?"
The Crown Prince said, "I initially agreed to cover all the expenses of the Capital Gazette Bureau until it was on the right track, after which the Ministry of Revenue would take over. However, I have been thinking about it these days and feel that since all the expenses of the Capital Gazette Bureau are now coming from the Eastern Palace, why bother with all that trouble? From now on, the Eastern Palace will continue to be responsible for it."
"I have heard that the Imperial Gazette Bureau plans to publish the Imperial Gazette on the first day of the fifth month. That Lord Wen has ordered the printing press to print several thousand copies. The expenses will likely be considerable. Can the Crown Prince afford it?"
The Crown Prince said, "Wen Zongji is a capable man. With him in charge of the Capital Gazette Bureau, I believe it won't be long before the bureau becomes self-sufficient. Perhaps in a few months, the Eastern Palace will have additional revenue from the Capital Gazette Bureau."
The Crown Prince made it very clear that he had personally promoted the establishment of the Capital Gazette Bureau, and he had confidence in it and was willing to gamble on its future.
Zuo Weifeng stroked his beard and laughed, "Since the Crown Prince is already willing to do so, we will agree. I'm sure Lord Zhou of the Ministry of Revenue will also gladly agree."
Everyone laughed upon hearing this.
Everyone in the court knew that the Minister of Revenue was a greedy and cunning man.
Wu Yangeng's gaze fell on the Crown Prince, his expression calm: "The Capital Gazette Bureau is under the Crown Prince's control. Since the Crown Prince intends to take full responsibility for the Capital Gazette Bureau, the Cabinet will naturally not obstruct him."
Wu Yangeng was the Grand Secretary, and his words set the course for this matter.
From this day forward, the Imperial Gazette Office will be under the full authority of the Crown Prince. The Office of Transmission will have no power to interfere with the Imperial Gazette Office, let alone the Ministry of Revenue, which has little to do with it.
Soon, the cabinet issued the decree, which was then disseminated throughout the government and the public.
When Zhou Shiyue, the Minister of Revenue, learned of this, he frowned slightly.
Someone nearby asked, "The Ministry of Revenue has one less expense; shouldn't Your Excellency be happy?"
Zhou Shiyue shook his head: "You have never had contact with the Crown Prince. I know him quite well. Don't underestimate him because of his young age. He is already very mature and experienced in handling affairs. When the Crown Prince saw that I was unwilling to add burden to the Ministry of Revenue, he took the initiative to back down and promised that the Eastern Palace would temporarily take care of all the expenses of the Capital Gazette Bureau in order to ensure the smooth establishment of the Bureau."
"This was originally just a temporary measure. Both the Crown Prince and I know that as long as the Beijing Gazette is not too badly done, the Beijing Gazette Bureau will continue to exist, and all its expenses will eventually be borne by the Ministry of Revenue."
"But today the Crown Prince took the initiative to request to take charge of the Capital Gazette Bureau. What was originally a stopgap measure has become a fixed order. The reason why the Crown Prince made such a change is not simply because the Capital Gazette Bureau is important to him. It is more likely that the Crown Prince believes that the Capital Gazette Bureau can bring benefits to the Eastern Palace, so he took the Capital Gazette Bureau into his possession in advance."
Why is Zhou Shiyue called Pixiu?
Not only because he only takes in and doesn't give out, but also because of his keen insight.
He sensed something unusual just from the Crown Prince's demand for the Capital Gazette Office.
"Could it be because the Imperial Gazette Bureau is the first task the Emperor assigned to the Crown Prince, that the Crown Prince attaches such importance to it?"
Zhou Shiyue shook his head, offering no further explanation, and asked, "What has the Beijing Gazette Bureau been up to lately?"
"The Beijing Gazette Bureau has decided to officially launch the Beijing Gazette on the first day of the fifth lunar month, and has already signed contracts with more than a dozen bookstores in the capital to sell the Beijing Gazette."
Zhou Shiyue immediately interrupted: "For sale?"
"Exactly. The Capital Gazette is different from the Imperial Gazette. The Capital Gazette Office does not intend to distribute it for free, but rather sets the price at three copper coins per copy... Your Excellency, the Crown Prince suddenly requested that the Capital Gazette Office be transferred to the Eastern Palace. Could it be because the Crown Prince thinks he can make a profit through the Capital Gazette? But a copy of the Capital Gazette only costs three copper coins, and ten thousand copies would only amount to thirty taels of silver. After deducting labor costs, the profit should not even reach ten taels of silver. What profit is there to be made?"
Zhou Shiyue's eyes flickered: "But what if it were 100,000 copies, or a million copies? Moreover, the Beijing Daily is newly published, and everything is still in the exploratory stage. It's not published very often each month. Once everything is on track and the Beijing Daily becomes published daily like the Imperial Gazette, how much profit will be generated?"
Upon hearing this, the person beside him choked: "Sir, do you have such high hopes for the Beijing Daily?"
After all, to achieve what Zhou Shiyue said, the Beijing Daily must gain the approval of the people and become famous.
After all, no matter how big Beijing is, there are only so many people, and the market's purchasing power is limited.
Zhou Shiyue put down the official documents, stood up and looked into the distance: "Let's see, let's see if this Wen Zhanggao, who got lucky and married the Princess of Anhe County and was personally selected by the Emperor as the third-ranked scholar in the palace examination, can make the capital newspaper as good as that."
……
The reactions to this decree within the Office of Transmission were not uniform. The people in the Office of Records were already xenophobic towards the Office of the Imperial Gazette, and now that they learned that the Office of the Imperial Gazette belonged to the Crown Prince, they only discussed it briefly, and their attitude remained consistent.
As for the higher-ups in the Office of Transmission, they cared even less about it.
They were well aware that the Imperial Gazette Office was a testing ground placed by the Crown Prince within the Court of General Affairs, and that no one had the right to interfere in its affairs until it achieved results.
This decree merely brings the matter into the open.
On the contrary, the staff within the Beijing Daily were very excited when they learned about this.
"My lord, will we be under the Crown Prince's jurisdiction from now on?"
Wen Zongji nodded: "That's right."
He hadn't expected the Crown Prince to act so quickly, completing the matter in just one day.
Perhaps this is the ability of a crown prince without competitive pressure; the cabinet took the demands made on the crown prince more seriously and was more tolerant than Wen Zongji had imagined.
"So we'll still be working in the Ministry of Justice from now on?"
Wen Zongji said, "Since the Crown Prince didn't say anything, he should still be in the Office of Transmission."
After all, they would need to review various memorials from the Office of Transmission in the future. These memorials were very important and not suitable to be taken out of the Office of Transmission. It would be more convenient to leave them there.
As for the fact that they don't get along with the other people in the Office of Transmission, it's simply because the Office of the Imperial Gazette hasn't made a name for itself yet. Once they run the Imperial Gazette well, their relationships with their colleagues will naturally improve.
After all, with the Beijing Gazette Office being merged into the Eastern Palace, there was little chance for other staff members of their Court of Transmission to compete.
Everyone trusted Wen Zongji, and seeing that he spoke calmly, they felt relieved.
Anyway, Wen Zongji is there for everything.