“Don’t worry, I’m giving the noble families a concession in this matter. You are all my important officials. How can I not leave you the best pasture?”

Seeing that Cai Mao, Mi Zhu, Huang Zu, Kuai Yue and other representatives of aristocratic families in the hall were unable to sit still and looked like they were going to fight for the grasslands on the southern steppes of the desert, Liu Wu smiled and tried to comfort them.

Upon hearing Liu Wu’s statement, Cai Mao, Mi Zhu, Huang Zu, Kuai Yue and other representatives of aristocratic families were immediately pleased.

At this moment, they just felt that they had made the right choice in choosing Liu Wu.

The representatives of the aristocratic families were all happy, and there was also a smile in Liu Wu’s eyes.

If possible, he actually didn’t want to deal with the aristocratic families.

The reason for this is that the aristocratic families have not yet caused any harm to his power.

On the contrary, a number of aristocratic families such as Cai Mao, Mi Zhu, Huang Zu, and Kuai Yue all supported him, making his power even stronger.

However, the existence of aristocratic families in the late Han Dynasty did cause great harm to both the imperial court and the people.

For the imperial court: The aristocratic families have weakened the imperial court’s ruling power by monopolizing official positions and controlling the selection of the imperial court. They gather the masses, have their own retainers, loyal soldiers and private retainers, serve the aristocratic families, but not the imperial court, and even provide conditions for separatism. Today’s separatism is a manifestation of the economic expansion and development of the manor aristocratic families, which will undoubtedly aggravate the ruling crisis of the imperial court. Although Liu Wu cannot see it now, this hidden danger has always existed, but it has not yet appeared.

As for the common people: the aristocratic families wantonly annexed land, resulting in a large population and small land for the common people, who were exploited by the aristocratic families. They used economic and extra-economic means to seize more and more land, and also enjoyed the privilege of not paying taxes or performing corvée labor, which led to financial difficulties and a heavy burden on the common people. When encountering major disasters, the common people often had no place to live, and peasant uprisings occurred frequently.

The existence of aristocratic families in the late Han Dynasty seriously hindered the development and progress of society and caused great harm to the court and the people.

Therefore, this is also the reason why Liu Wu wanted to take down the aristocratic families.

However, compared to hard measures, making the wealthy and powerful families feel profitable and give up their land is obviously a more subtle and effective way.

Inside the hall, everyone was very happy listening to Liu Wu’s words.

Liu Wu then looked at Zhuge Liang and said:

“This move of mine will benefit the noble families of the world. I will let all the noble families under my command know about it. Kong Ming, I will leave this matter to you. Do it as soon as possible. The sooner the better!”

Zhuge Liang listened to Liu Wu’s words and hurriedly bowed and said:

“Don’t worry, my king. I will ask your majesty for instructions when I return and issue an official notice to all prefectures and counties!”

“Official notice?”

When Liu Wu heard Zhuge Liang’s propaganda methods, he frowned and shook his head.

Zhuge Liang was stunned and asked in confusion: “Using the court notice to announce the king’s strategy should be the fastest way, right?”

“No, my plan is not sufficiently interpreted through official court documents. Let’s create a newspaper.” Liu Wu told Zhuge Liang a new word, which made Zhuge Liang confused.

He bowed to Liu Wu and said, “May I ask your Majesty, what is a newspaper?”

“A newspaper is another name for a court bulletin. However, unlike a court bulletin, a newspaper is used to publish fresh news and events. It is not only used for official documents of the court, but also for publishing folk deeds, anecdotes, etc.”

Liu Wu popularized the functions of newspapers in later generations for Zhuge Liang and others.

There were newspapers in ancient times, and the predecessor of later newspapers was the official gazette. It originated in the Western Han Dynasty, when local counties set up official gazettes in the capital Chang’an. Officials regularly wrote down the emperor’s edicts and court orders on bamboo slips or silk, which were then delivered to various places by messengers. The official documents and court news copied by these official gazetteers were called official gazettes.

Ancient newspapers refer to various types of newspapers published in feudal society that mainly publish official documents, official dynamics and court news.

Later, with the invention of papermaking, official reports were gradually copied on paper. In the Song Dynasty, the official report publishing system was more complete, and there appeared official reports published under the unified management of the central government departments. In addition, illegal unofficial newspapers called “tabloids” also appeared in the Song Dynasty.

However, Liu Wu wanted to replace the current official reports with newspapers from later generations.

Why?

Because this was also Liu Wu’s move to restrict the aristocratic families.

You should know that he had invented Xuan paper before. Now Xuan paper has become very popular everywhere, and the price is continuously decreasing. Many people can afford to use Xuan paper. If he also invented movable type printing.

Then newspapers in later generations could be born naturally.

And would modern newspapers, appearing in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, a period dominated by feudal and aristocratic families, have had a great impact on the aristocratic families?

Just Liu Wu could think of it, and the cheap newspaper he launched would have huge benefits for future generations.

First, the cost of cultural communication has been reduced.

The emergence of movable type printing will greatly reduce the cost of copying books and information. The popularization of rice paper will also allow more people to afford the cost of writing and reading, which will greatly promote the dissemination of culture and the popularization of knowledge. The knowledge and culture that were originally monopolized by aristocratic families will be more widely spread among the people, allowing many lower-class people to have books to read. Even if they just hold a cheap newspaper and recognize the words on it, many illiterate people can learn to read!
Secondly, crack down on the knowledge monopoly of aristocratic families.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, aristocratic families maintained their status by controlling book resources. The promotion of cheap newspapers would break this knowledge monopoly, allowing more people to have the opportunity to receive education and improve their social status, thus weakening the advantages of aristocratic families in the fields of reading and knowledge.

Secondly, enhance people’s identification with Liu Wu.

As an important tool for information dissemination, newspapers can promptly convey Liu Wu’s policies and national developments, and strengthen the connection between imperial power and the people. If newspapers can widely disseminate the positive image of imperial power and the country’s achievements, it will help enhance the people’s sense of identity with Liu Wu, thereby weakening the influence of aristocratic families in the local area.

Finally, the popularization of newspapers can even promote the ideological awakening of the people.

With the popularization of knowledge and the dissemination of information, people’s minds will gradually awaken, and they will begin to pay more attention to their own rights and interests and the fate of the country. This will lay the foundation for future rule, and in the long run, it will also pose a threat to the status of aristocratic families.

Therefore, in Liu Wu’s view, the launch of the newspaper will have an impact on the aristocratic families in many aspects.

There are many benefits to weakening their status and influence.

Inside the hall, even though Zhuge Liang was extremely intelligent, he did not sense anything wrong with Liu Wu’s words that “newspapers are used to publish fresh news and events. They are not only used for official court documents, but can also publish folk deeds, anecdotes, etc.”

Similarly, Mi Zhu, Cai Mao, Kuai Yue, Huang Zu and others in the hall also felt that Liu Wu’s newspaper was nothing big, and even unnecessary. Since they already had the official bulletin, why would they need to set up another newspaper?

However, none of them opposed Liu Wu.

Zhuge Liang agreed directly and said:
“Yes!” Next, Liu Wu dealt with some government affairs and asked the already excited and absent-minded people, especially Mi Zhu, Cai Mao, Huang Zu and others to disperse.

“My lord, I don’t know what to do about the newspaper you mentioned, but what is its meaning?”

Zhuge Liang stayed and bowed to Liu Wu and asked.

Although Zhuge Liang did not find anything wrong with the newspaper, his sense as a top wise man made him feel that today’s actions seemed a little unusual.

Liu Wu did not hesitate to demonstrate movable type printing, one of the four great inventions of ancient times, to Zhuge Liang.

As one of the four great inventions of China, movable type printing is of great significance.

It can be said that it is an important milestone in the history of human civilization.

The invention of movable type printing not only greatly improved printing efficiency, but also enabled books and documents to be spread more quickly and widely. Before this, the reproduction of ancient books mainly relied on hand copying, which was extremely inefficient and costly, resulting in limited knowledge dissemination and only a few people having access to books. The emergence of movable type printing greatly reduced the cost of copying books, allowing knowledge to be spread more widely among the people, promoting the popularization and development of culture.

In addition, movable type printing also promoted the exchange and integration of different cultures. With the widespread dissemination of printed materials, cultures from different regions began to contact and integrate with each other, forming a more colorful cultural landscape.

Therefore, it can be said that movable type printing not only promoted the progress of human civilization, but also laid a solid foundation for the prosperity and development of world culture.

Its significance is profound and extremely significant.

When Zhuge Liang saw that Liu Wu ordered carpenters to make wooden blanks of uniform specifications, engraved single words in reverse on one end, sorted the blanks and placed them in a wooden grid, and then brushed ink on the plate, covered them with paper, and applied a certain amount of pressure, a passage from the “Book of Songs” with hundreds of words appeared in front of him, Zhuge Liang’s eyes of surprise and confusion froze for an instant.

Then, Liu Wu took out another piece of rice paper, brushed ink on the pattern, covered it with paper, and applied a certain amount of pressure.

Then another passage from the Book of Songs with hundreds of words appeared before him.

The difference in time was only a few breaths, and Zhuge Liang was completely dumbfounded.

Liu Wu smiled and adjusted the order of the words engraved on the wooden block, and a new article appeared in front of Zhuge Liang.

At this time, Zhuge Liang was holding three pieces of rice paper, his whole body trembling, looking at Liu Wu in disbelief.

As a top wise man, Zhuge Liang must have known what movable type printing meant at this time.

“Kong Ming, this is movable type printing, it is the magic art of creation for the common people. You must use it well. Newspapers use this. When you set up newspapers in various places, you must first announce that I want to exchange grasslands for the land in the hands of wealthy families.” Liu Wu told Zhuge Liang the importance of the establishment of this newspaper.

Although he just set up this newspaper casually, it is undeniable that if newspapers in later generations had really appeared in the late Han Dynasty, it would have been a blessing for tens of millions of Han people of that era.

Because the content of newspapers can be rich and colorful. It will not only include interpretations of the court’s policies and laws, but can even include various types of knowledge and cultural information on agriculture, finance, military, etc. that are found in later newspapers, covering all aspects of the Han Dynasty’s politics, economy, military, sports, entertainment, culture, literature, and art.

This is what Liu Wu hoped for.

However, Zhuge Liang was stunned by the future prospects of movable type printing.

Three days passed in a flash.

During these three days, Zhuge Liang did not care about anything else. Instead, he was busy with the newspaper that Liu Wu hoped for.

In Xiangyang City, the streets are bustling with people coming and going.

Ever since Liu Wu made Xiangyang his capital, the city has become more prosperous and the population has increased.

On one side of the main street, there is a tall building with the words “The World’s No. 1 Newspaper” written on it. Although this is surprising, it only attracts a few more glances and does not cause a sensation.

However, when Liu Wu arrived with Guan Yu, Pang Tong, Mi Zhu, Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and other top dignitaries from Xiangyang, it caused a sensation among the surrounding people.

Now Liu Wu’s prestige in Xiangyang City is extremely high.

The sight of Liu Wu was enough to attract the people of Xiangyang City to watch.

However, what attracted the people around to watch and stop was that Liu Wu was actually going to cut the ribbon for this “number one newspaper in the world.”

This has attracted many people’s attention to newspapers.

Not only the people around looked at them sideways, but Mi Zhu, Cai Mao, Kuai Yue, Huang Zu and others also looked at the newspaper office curiously. They didn’t know why Liu Wu attached so much importance to this newspaper and even invited them all to come.

“I have met the king and all the nobles. I have been appointed by the king to be the owner of the world’s number one newspaper. Now, the newspaper has launched its first edition. The price is low, only two coins are required. The news in the newspaper will definitely make readers worthwhile. Okay, next, the king will cut the ribbon first.”

Zhuge Liang, wearing a feather fan and a royal turban, personally pushed out the newspaper and asked Liu Wu to cut the ribbon.

Zhuge Liang’s words caused an uproar among the noble families and common people who were watching.

Zhuge Liang’s status in Xiangyang was not low, but he was the owner of a museum and personally promoted newspapers. They were really shocked.

However, both the noble families present and the onlookers became curious. What was in this newspaper that made Zhuge Liang praise it so much and only charge two coins for it?
Liu Wu just smiled and didn’t say anything. He personally cut the ribbon for the newspaper.

As the red silk was cut, everyone around cheered.

One by one, the servants came into the crowd with stacks of newspapers and started selling them.

Mi Zhu, Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others as well as the onlookers, all took out two coins. They wanted to see what new things would happen in this newspaper which was personally edited by Zhuge Liang and had Liu Wu personally cutting the ribbon.

However, when Mi Zhu, Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and the onlookers took the newspapers from the servants, they all exclaimed in surprise.

This newspaper is actually made of fine rice paper.

What shocked the people even more was that a large newspaper was actually filled with fonts. The appearance of no less than 500 words alone made the people who paid for the newspaper happy, feeling that their money was not wasted, even though they had not yet read the content.

You know, books are extremely precious, but newspapers are so luxurious.

However, after seeing the headlines and contents in the newspapers, Mi Zhu, Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and the onlookers all became agitated. (End of this chapter)