Just like the People's Daily in later generations, who among ordinary people, apart from civil servants, would bother to read that kind of stuff?
"If that's the case, then what's so special about newspapers?" Cai Yan continued.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang smiled and said, "Newspapers are aimed at ordinary people, and the content doesn't necessarily have to be related to politics. For example, the Chosen One is very popular right now. If we add some content about the Chosen One, ordinary people will definitely be interested."
"Most importantly, the content recorded in the newspapers is closer to daily life, and the people are more interested in it. In terms of influence, it is far superior to the official gazette."
"After all, the official gazette is mostly studied by civil officials when they have nothing else to do. But newspapers are for the whole country."
"Imagine if one in ten people reads our newspaper. How enormous would our influence be? If someone doesn't like us, we can just say bad things about them in the newspaper. At that time, public opinion can be devastating, and their fate would be almost sealed."
"Therefore, on the surface it is just a piece of paper, but in reality, it will be a powerful weapon to influence public opinion in the future," Lin Yang said slowly.
Upon hearing this, Shi A couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, unsure whether it was from excitement, surprise, or a combination of both.
Although he practices martial arts, it doesn't mean he's stupid. Lin Yang has already explained it so clearly, of course he understands.
If this newspaper is really as Lin Yang said, no, even if it's just one copy for every hundred people, its influence can completely match, or even surpass, those of the imperial court giants.
"Phew, Fei Peng is always so unpredictable, and this time is no exception. If this succeeds, Fei Peng will truly be able to stand on equal footing with those high-ranking officials in the court. However, the content of the newspaper is crucial; it must be captivating." Cai Yan stared wide-eyed at Lin Yang with curiosity.
That's right, just as Cai Yan said, the content must be good, exciting, and engaging!
However, after experiencing the information overload of my previous life, it's not difficult to produce an interesting and engaging newspaper.
Chapter 44: In Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme
"Here, this is the newspaper I prepared. You can take a look first. If you have any suggestions, we can revise it. After all, this is something for the entire nation; one person can't just work on it in isolation," Lin Yang said. He then took out two sample copies.
As soon as he held it in his hands and gently stroked it, before even having a chance to examine the contents, Shi A frowned and said, "The material of this paper isn't very good. The quality is far inferior to that of the official gazette. I estimate that if it's not properly preserved, it will be ruined in a month or two."
Upon hearing this, Cai Yan rolled her eyes at him and said directly, "Don't forget, this is for the common people to see, there's no need to be so particular. Being able to preserve it for a month is enough."
“That’s true,” Shi A nodded.
The first newspaper was small, really small, only 8format, and it only had four pages in total, front and back.
Meanwhile, Cai Yan began to examine the details. Upon taking it over, she was greeted by four solemn and rigid characters written in regular script, which she then subconsciously read aloud.
"The Great Han Daily, what a boastful tone. However, those four words alone are enough to attract some attention," Cai Yan said with a smile.
Indeed, the relatively simple and honest people of this world would naturally be interested in these four characters and want to know their meaning.
"The Chronicles of Emperor Taizu? Could it be a story about Emperor Taizu himself? Let me see!"
Name: Liu Bang
Gender: Male
Place of birth: Pei County
Education level: Guess?
Occupations: Village head, Emperor
It is said that when Emperor Taizu was born, his mother, Liu Ao, rested on the shore of a large marsh and dreamed of having intercourse with a god.
At that time, the founding emperor was about to be born, and by accident, the aura of a true dragon overflowed. Then there was thunder and lightning, the sky darkened, and many strange phenomena occurred, with purple aura stretching hundreds of miles across the sky.
Then, many evil gods saw this and came to disturb him, attempting to kill the ancestor before he was born, so as to absorb his dragon energy.
However, at that moment, rays of divine light emanated from the void. Soon after, a divine dragon suddenly appeared, protecting his mother and fighting against numerous evil gods. Shortly afterward, his mother, Liu Ao, gave birth to Emperor Taizu.
Legend has it that when the founding emperor was born, he stood directly in the void and took nine steps. With each step, the evil gods in the sky diminished by one. At the same time, celestial music filled the air, golden lotuses sprang from the ground, and divine dragons and phoenixes guarded him on both sides.
After nine steps, the sky cleared and the evil spirits retreated. Only the black dragon formed from the dragon energy of the Qin Dynasty remained there, refusing to leave.
Seeing this, Emperor Taizu remained calm, pointing his left hand to the sky and his right hand to the earth, declaring, "Above and below heaven, I alone am supreme." Then, he directly tore the black dragon apart. From that moment on, the fortunes of the pre-Qin dynasty began to decline.
...
Due to space limitations, we'll stop here for today. To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next installment.
"Phew, that's it. And then, we've only reached his childhood. And was it really true that Emperor Taizu was like that back then? Could this be the truth behind the historical record of Taigong seeing a divine dragon lying on his mother, Liu Ao?" Shi A exclaimed repeatedly.
"Moreover, this 'I am the only one who reigns supreme in heaven and earth' is truly domineering and powerful. With a mere flick of the finger, it directly destroyed the black dragon of the Qin Dynasty's national destiny. This must be a sixth-order divine power."
"Moreover, no wonder Emperor Taizu always managed to turn misfortune into good fortune and danger into safety during several life-or-death crises in history. It turns out he was a true Son of Heaven, was it all predetermined from birth?"
Upon hearing this, Cai Yan was too lazy to even bother commenting. That "I am the only one worthy of respect in heaven and earth" nonsense was clearly just the description of Shakyamuni's birth in Buddhist scriptures, wasn't it? Did they really think I wasn't well-read?
Moreover, the claim that a true dragon emperor was born with an aura of dragon energy is only good for fooling uninformed onlookers. And the idea that he was protected by a divine dragon at birth sounds like something out of a roadside storyteller.
"Isn't that a bit much? The founding emperor was able to succeed because he rose up during the first cycle of reincarnation, and then seized the opportunity and fought his way up step by step. How come when it comes to you, Feipeng, it's become a destined true dragon emperor?" Cai Yan complained, speechless.
"Well, there's nothing we can do. The common people just love this kind of thing. Look, even Shi A is quite excited right now, isn't he?" Lin Yang explained, shrugging.
Then, Lin Yang turned to him and asked, "Shi A, what do you think? If the rest of the story is the same, and it continues with his childhood, youth, and the period of warring states, would you be willing to watch it?"
"Yes, definitely," Shi A nodded.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang looked at Cai Yan and said, "That's right. Look at the various legends about Emperor Taizu among the people, there are at least eight or ten thousand. What does this show? It shows that the people really like Emperor Taizu."
"So what about the future? What if you can't write anymore after a while?" Shi A patted his head and asked. It seemed he quite liked this content.
"There's absolutely no need to worry about this. When the time comes, we can collect the thousands of stories about the founding emperor, string them together, and then streamline them into hundreds, or even thousands, of interesting stories, which will be enough to support us for two or three years."
"Moreover, after the Taizu Chronicles are finished, there are still the Guangwu Chronicles, the Wu Chronicles, and so on. Once those are finished, we can start writing the stories of Liu Hou and Xiang Yu. We can easily write those and sustain us for ten years or so without any problem," Lin Yang said confidently.