Chapter 171: Manuscript of Tianjing Newspaper, the Way of Legalism
After waking up in the early morning, Zhou Tieyi washed up, trained the personal guard formation, and then took half an hour to return to Qilin Pavilion.

Hu Wenlang, Mei Juncang, and Wu Qian were waiting with the drafts of the newspaper in their hands. In addition to these three people, what surprised Zhou Tieyi a little was that Yuchi Jing, the eldest grandson of the Right General's Mansion, was also waiting.

But after thinking about it for a while, he realized that the right general Yuchi Pojun wanted to use him to train his eldest grandson.

The old fox, General You, is really unwilling to suffer any loss and will take every advantage he can.

Zhou Tieyi sat down with everyone. Bai Mei served tea. Zhou Tieyi picked up the newspaper and quickly glanced through it.

Of course he had an idea of ​​what a newspaper looked like.

However, the perfect newspaper layout of later generations may not be suitable for this era.

Food should be eaten bite by bite, and ordinary people's reading habits also need to be in line with the current situation, and then slowly guided and corrected. Therefore, he asked Hu Wenlang and other three to do the typeset work, on the one hand to train them, and on the other hand to be closer to this era.

After reading the manuscript, Zhou Tieyi pondered for a moment.

Then he looked at Hu Wenlang, "What did you decide in the end?"

Mei Juncang was the chief writer of Tianjing News. He wrote most of the articles in this issue. He used vernacular Chinese as much as possible according to his own ideas, but his writing style still retained the characteristics of his preference for using Confucian rhetoric.

This is not a problem. The vernacular movement cannot be achieved in one day. On the contrary, Mei Juncang is objectively promoting the vernacular movement by changing his writing habits bit by bit.

Hu Wenlang was the editor-in-chief. He was responsible for collecting information of all sizes about Tianjing City and handing it over to Mei Juncang to write. Finally, Wu Qian would revise the manuscript to make sure there were no errors.

"Yes."

Hu Wenlang answered honestly, "According to your request, I did not touch the pages of 'Sacred Edict', 'Memorials', and 'Military Affairs'. I kept half of the pages of 'Business'. 'Treasures' and 'Oiran' are all information I collected and handed over to Editor-in-Chief Mei to sort out. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Zhou Tieyi shook his head slightly and looked at Hu Wenlang, because the information Hu Wenlang collected was so good that he even suspected that Hu Wenlang had secretly cultivated an intelligence organization.

I listed more than 20 articles I had written above, all of which were very exciting and attractive, and most of them were things that happened in the past one or two months, ranging from high-ranking officials to ordinary people, and I didn't even need to make many revisions.

However, the necessary changes should still be made, otherwise it would seem that you are incompetent.

Zhou Tieyi took a piece of paper and wrote, "I once heard that Zhao Taisui had seen many courtesans and gradually became dissatisfied with the beauty of women. The monk Shenxiu from the Fahua Temple was handsome and intelligent. After entering the capital, he stayed at the Zhao Mansion in Qinglong City. One day, Zhao Taisui saw the monk Shenxiu and was very happy, saying, 'This man is even more beautiful than women!' He then slept with him day and night, preaching to him, and sleeping with their feet touching. Once, a beautiful maid wanted to enter the room to serve him, and saw the two of them sleeping in each other's arms, and she didn't know where they were sleeping."

"Take it, expand this paragraph and write an article about the Oiran."

While Zhou Tieyi was writing, Hu Wenlang finished reading. After reading it, he looked a little amused. This was obviously a personal vendetta and an opportunity to frame Zhao Taisui.

If other books dared to do this, the Zhao family would definitely destroy them all.

But the Tianjing News was different. It was about the Queen Mother's fight against the Confucian "evil of the country". Between two evils, choose the lesser one. Even if the Zhao family hated it, they would not dare to ruin the Queen Mother's plan and tamper with the first edition of the newspaper.

But our general flag bearer really doesn't want to suffer any loss at all.

"That pen name..."

Hu Wenlang asked in a low voice.

The Zhao family didn't dare to touch the Tianjing News, but they would definitely cause trouble for the person who wrote this article.

"Zhou Shuren."

Zhou Tieyi replied with a smile.

Hu Wenlang nodded. It was obvious that Zhou Tieyi wanted to take responsibility for the incident, so he didn't say much and read the article again.

This is indeed a heart-piercing weapon.

Even if Zhao Taisui and Monk Shenxiu had the mind of a bodhisattva, if this story really spread throughout Tianjing, how could they endure the mocking looks of the people around them?

Yuchi Jing's scalp tingled as he watched from the side. Suddenly, he felt fortunate that Zhou Tieyi had plotted against him by borrowing his grandfather's teaching stick, which only hurt his skin and not his mind.

If he really plotted against me like he plotted against Zhao Taisui, I would either have to fight to the death with Zhou Tieyi or leave Tianjing.

Zhou Tieyi looked at Yuchi Jing again, and Yuchi Jing hurriedly handed over the manuscript he had written, fearing that if he was a little slow, Zhou Tieyi would have some bad thoughts.

Zhou Tieyi took the article and read it carefully.

Yuchi Jing asked in a low voice, "How is the writing?"

Zhou Tieyi pondered for a moment and said, "Not bad, but it won't work."

"what?"

Yuchi Jing was a little doubtful about himself. Why was it not good enough even though he wrote well?
"The Right General wants you to put down his name?"

Hearing Zhou Tieyi's question, Yuchi Jing nodded.

"This article is neither elegant nor vulgar, it's just average, so it's not acceptable."

Zhou Tieyi explained the reason seriously.

"You don't usually ride in that kind of rented carriage, do you?"

Tianjing consists of four cities and one mountain, covering a vast area. There are countless merchants coming and going. They have no residence or vehicles here, so Tianjing naturally operated a horse-drawn carriage rental business.

Yuchi Jing was stunned. Of course he had heard of renting a carriage, but as the eldest son of the Yuchi family, he had never ridden in a rented carriage, not even once.

Zhou Tieyi continued, "Go take a ride in a rented carriage and talk to the drivers. The military stories they want to see are what you want to write about."

Coachman is one of the professions that comes into contact with all kinds of people, and can almost represent the main audience of newspapers.

Yuchi Jing looked thoughtful, then nodded and said, "I understand. Can you hand in your manuscript in three days?"

Zhou Tieyi did not refuse. There were still many things to be done for the newspaper. According to his plan, it would be extremely fast to publish the first edition on the day when his brother and Shenxiu had the gambling fight.

He looked at the scholar's gown that Yuchi Jing was wearing and said, "Go back and change your clothes. This suit doesn't suit you."

Yuchi Jing looked at his scholar's gown and actually felt that it was not suitable for him, but no one had ever told him this in person.

After processing the first round of newspaper manuscripts, Zhou Tieyi looked at Hu Wenlang and asked, "What did the novelist say?"

When it comes to the distribution of any thing, sometimes the channel is more important than the thing itself.

Therefore, in the past, for companies like Moutai, the channel dealers made no less money than the Moutai factory.

Expanding distribution channels means paving the way for the distribution of newspapers, and novelists who have great influence on the urban middle class are one of the most important channels.

If every novel teahouse could sell newspapers, then the sales volume of newspapers would definitely not be low.

Zhou Tieyi remembered that in his previous life, during the late Qing Dynasty, when modern newspapers were first published, sales were not high.

There are several reasons for this.

First, the price is high, beyond the affordability of ordinary citizens.

Second, it is too professional and not entertaining enough. Ordinary people find it boring and cannot understand most of the content.

Third, there are no large sales channels. If you want to buy a newspaper, you need to go to a large professional bookstore, which is too troublesome for ordinary people.

Fourth, the printing efficiency is too low and the output is not enough to cover the entire citizen class.

These are all problems that need to be solved one by one. Zhou Tieyi does not expect his "Tianjing News" to become popular in Tianjin from the beginning, but with more than 10 million people, selling a few thousand to tens of thousands of copies is enough to prove the success of the first stage. After all, the resources and knowledge he has are far beyond the group of people who ran the newspaper in the beginning.

When Hu Wenlang heard Zhou Tieyi asking him, he answered seriously, "I have been in contact these two days, but..."

Zhou Tieyi sneered, "But they called you a running dog, right?"

Hu Wenlang looked embarrassed. Before, the novelist had always followed the Confucian school. Now that he had "defected" to become Zhou Tieyi's disciple, he was naturally a traitor.

Zhou Tieyi interrupted and said, "Just tell me how many people are still waiting and watching." Novelists are not the kind of school with backbone. They have always been a school of "seeking fame" and "passing off the fake as the real". The reason why they don't join his side now is, first, they can't see the specific benefits, and second, the Confucianism is too powerful and they dare not act rashly.

Hu Wenlang carefully recalled the letters and people he had contacted in the past few days and replied, "At least 70%."

"Go make contact again and write down the names of those stubborn people for me. I will deal with them!"

Zhou Tieyi said murderously.

This time he won't cut the meat with a soft knife.

He can cut flesh with a soft knife, but his energy is limited and time is tight. It would be unwise to waste his energy and time on a group of novelists.

Since Confucianism calls itself the "unparalleled jester", and I accept this title, it would be a shame for my reputation if I don't act tyrannically.

I can tolerate your indecision as novelists and wait and see the situation.

But within Tianjing, anyone who dares to wholeheartedly surrender to Confucianism, get out of here, otherwise don’t blame Zhou for his weak sword!

At this time, the dandy solution is actually the best option, which is to catch the big and let the small go.

Seeing the murderous intent in Zhou Tieyi's eyes, Hu Wenlang sighed in his heart, but he was born as a novelist after all, so he naturally had to consider his own genre. He cupped his hands and said, "I'll try again."

After instructing Hu Wenlang, Zhou Tieyi thought for a moment and said to Wu Qian, "Go to the palace and tell the eunuch Feng Zikuan that I want to borrow his power tomorrow. Then, notify all the major chambers of commerce in Tianjing and have a banquet at Wangluo Garden in Xuanwu City. Tell them that I, Zhou Tieyi, have a message from the palace. Oh, and notify Hao Ren to bring the share certificates subscribed by the military heroes and the equity agreement I wrote."

"Yes."

Wu Qian bowed and said.

Zhou Tieyi took another look at his clerk and asked, "How is your practice of the Legalist school going?"

When Wu Qian heard this question, he could hardly hide his joy on his face and said, "I was already close to the perfection of the ninth-rank 'Ming Ling' of the Legalists. With the Si Lu's annotations to the Great Xia Tian Constitution given by the General Flag, I have already broken through to the eighth-rank 'Li Hai'."

Zhou Tieyi nodded slightly and looked at his disciple Mei Juncang.

As one of the Nine Great Schools, the predecessor had naturally heard some things about the Legalists, such as knowing about the sixth level of the Legalists, 'Dongyou'. At this stage, the Legalists' eyes can directly see through people's hearts, and they also have a certain ability to control ghosts, which the Legalists call 'ghost messenger'.

But it would be better if someone could explain more details to you.

Wu Qian’s previous knowledge was limited, and he would not have been able to understand it even if he was a lawmaker.

Mei Juncang was originally at the seventh level of Confucianism, and had an understanding of the teachings of various schools of thought. In addition, he had a sage father, and now that he had turned to Legalism, he must have gone back and carefully read Mei Qingchen's notes on Legalism, so he should know more clearly.

Mei Juncang knew that the teacher was asking about the Legalists, so he bowed and said, "I just happened to enter the ninth level of the Legalists, Mingling. At this stage, being familiar with the law and understanding the regulations can activate people's thinking ability. At the same time, with the help of the laws that the other party has violated, the criminal can be restricted to a certain extent."

Zhou Tieyi nodded and said, "Go on."

"The eighth level of Legalism is called 'benefit and harm'. Legalism believes that people's hearts are both good and evil, and it is difficult to govern them with just Confucian 'benevolence and righteousness'. They must be guided by benefit and prohibited by punishment."

Zhou Tieyi smiled and said, "This view coincides with mine."

There is a famous story in the previous life, Shang Yang's "Moving Wood to Establish Trust", which is to let ordinary people move wood from the South Gate to the North Gate, and reward them with fifty gold. At first, no one could believe such a good thing. Finally, one person could not bear the temptation of the fifty gold and moved the wood from the South Gate to the North Gate. Shang Yang did give the fifty gold and established the prestige of his decree.

Although this story is about "trust", it also cannot escape the word "profit".

Prohibition by punishment is even simpler and more brutal. It is to tell everyone clearly that in addition to the survival of the fittest, human society has another set of conventional rules.

Therefore, humans are social animals, not ferocious beasts.

"At this stage, the Legalists are best at 'seeking benefits and avoiding harm'. They have a certain ability to perceive danger and know how to avoid it. At the same time, they can use 'benefits' such as money, treasures, and promises to drive others to believe in them."

"The seventh rank of Legalism's 'power'. To be able to cultivate to the seventh rank of Legalism, one must be an official, or at least an elder of a clan, with clear power and be universally recognized."

Wu Qian added quietly, "So after the Legalists' ninth-rank 'Ming Ling' is issued, everyone will pass the judicial examination and enter the official career."

Mei Juncang waited for Wu Qian to finish speaking before continuing, "The seventh-rank 'power' of the Legalists varies according to the authority they exercise. For example, if they work in the Ministry of Justice, they will have many means such as 'shackles' and 'whippings'. If they have an imperial order, these means can even kill a mid-rank cultivator."

Zhou Tieyi nodded slightly. There are many practitioners in this world, and the upper nine families in the court are definitely the most powerful ones, otherwise it would not be their turn to sit in the court, while others can only stay in the martial arts world.

"Legalist power works best with positions in the Ministry of Justice, but it can also be useful with other positions. For example, if a seventh-rank Legalist's power is used with an official in charge of water conservancy, they can mobilize a portion of the rivers and lakes under their jurisdiction. Of course, if they are only seventh-rank practitioners, they are limited to condensing water whips and the like."

Zhou Tieyi understood what Mei Juncang meant. Practicing any path to a certain extent would strengthen one's abilities at the beginning.

If a practitioner is a third-grade legalist, even if he is only in charge of the hydrology of a small river, he can lift up the river and condense it into a water whip to hit people.

"The sixth-grade 'Dongyou' of the Legalists can examine people's hearts..."

Mei Juncang raised his eyes. He now had a vision, which was equivalent to being born with the ability to penetrate the depths of the universe. That was why he was able to reach the ninth level of the Legalist school within ten days. Even though he was not as good as Zhou Tieyi who reached the ninth level of martial arts in six days, he was still considered the destined son of the Legalist school.

"What is the difference between '洞幽' and '通达'?"

Zhou Tieyi asked in detail.

Mei Juncang smiled and said, "The merchant's 'comprehension' is to use one's own heart to ponder and reflect, while the legalist's 'insight' is to scold and examine."

After that, he looked at Wu Qian next to him and asked seriously, "Student Wu, may I ask what you had for dinner this morning?"

Wu Qian was scrutinized by Mei Juncang's clear eyes, and a captivating force rushed into his heart. Even though he was an eighth-rank legalist, he could not resist it at all. He could only answer, "I ate a bowl of soy milk, two fried dough sticks, a small dish of pickled mustard, and a boiled egg."

With Mei Juncang's demonstration, Zhou Tieyi understood.

Dongyou is more powerful and direct than Tongda.

When it comes to seeing into people's hearts, if a merchant's sixth-grade Tongda is matched against a Legalist's sixth-grade Dongyou, Tongda is not necessarily weaker and can have a more concealed effect.

Sure enough, there are no useless skills, only useless people.

"Dongyou has the power to interrogate people's minds, and naturally has the power to restrict people's minds, which can shock the opponent's mind. In addition, Dongyou also has the ability to control ghosts and refine ghost messengers, but I don't have this ability yet, so I dare not speak nonsense."

During the day, the Fa family was in the court, with officials driving and escorting them, and at night, they were protected by ghost officials they made themselves...

So how afraid are the Legalists of being beaten by others?
Zhou Tieyi smiled in his heart. It turned out that legislating and convicting people were thankless jobs.

"In addition to being able to see into people's hearts, Dongyou can also see loopholes in the rules, disharmony in space, especially the boundary between the Yang world and the underworld, hence the name Dongyou."

This is Dongyou's third ability. Together with the previous two abilities, it has all three means of control, attack, and detection, which are indeed enough to divide the middle and lower grades.

"The main method of the fifth-grade Legalist 'borrowing momentum' is to accumulate one's own power, and then burst it out in an instant, briefly magnifying one's own advantages or the enemy's disadvantages. Similarly, it can also slightly affect the changes in the environment of heaven and earth, but it needs to go with the flow. At the same time, 'borrowing momentum' can greatly increase the survival ability of Legalist practitioners. Borrowing momentum in different environments can even change one's flesh and blood body to make up for one's own shortcomings."

"Transform into flesh and blood?"

Zhou Tieyi asked another question.

Mei Juncang explained, "For example, in water, the Fajia can temporarily transform their own flesh and blood into water, so that they will not have weaknesses such as the five internal organs."

"Because the objects of 'borrowing power' are different and the positions of the practitioners of the Legalist School are different, the other methods are also different, making it difficult to discuss in detail."

"The fourth rank of the Legalists is 'Manipulation Technique'. Here, my father only recorded 'Be careful of the Legalists playing with people's minds and manipulating their subordinates'. The specific situation was not specified."

"The remaining three grades are called 'rules', the second grade is called 'strong country', and the first grade is called 'great governance'."

As for the third level of the Legalists, Mei Juncang could only give a name.

But it's just a name, but for Zhou Tieyi, it's enough to guess a lot of useful things.

Combined with the characteristics of the Legalists that he had learned in his previous life, it was obvious that the third level of the Legalists was the practice of the three elements of law, magic, and power. After completing the practice of the three elements of law, magic, and power, the Legalists would have the ability to completely change the "rules" of a country, hence the second-level "strong country".

In previous lives, people like Shang Yang all perfected the three elements of legalism: law, magic and power, and then used them to make a country strong.

(End of this chapter)