"Ah! Excuse me for a moment. I almost forgot that I still have to teach the students! "
Assistant Lecturer Mou exclaimed when he saw the time. After bidding farewell to everyone, he hurried to the Imperial College. While he was in a hurry, an idea popped up in his mind. Since Datang Daily is offering a high price for everyone's essays, should I give it a try?
Unlike Wang Yalun, who was well-off, Assistant Lecturer Mou's salary was relatively low. If his essay was accepted, he could become famous and earn money to support his family. Wouldn't that be perfect?
With that in mind, Assistant Lecturer Mou quickened his pace.
…
"Good morning, Sir!"
Assistant Lecturer Mou had almost doubled the usual 30-minute journey. He stood on the podium and coughed dryly.
"Ahem! Sir, I was delayed by something earlier. In the afternoon, everyone will study by themselves and revise what I explained this morning! "
Assistant Lecturer Mou's mind was elsewhere. He cleverly copied Li Zexuan's lazy trick and told the students to study by themselves.
Although the students were puzzled, they did not ask too much and could only obey obediently.
Assistant Lecturer Mou saw that everything was settled. He asked a few students to keep an eye on the situation and then hurried to his office. He remembered that Datang Daily had written that submissions should be submitted as early as possible. If he went back now and sent it to Qiqu Culture, it might be published tomorrow.
…
In a restaurant in Dongshi City.
"Ah! So there was a massacre in Xinfeng County recently. No wonder I saw so many officials when I went to my child's second aunt's house last time! "
"That's right! This family is so pitiful! "
"Big Dog Wang, what are you talking about? Why don't I understand? "
"Haha, Zhao Laoer, didn't you read today's newspaper?"
"What newspaper?"
"Here! That's the one. This morning, there were children hawking this all over the capital. Didn't you buy one? "
"Oh my, it's such a big piece of paper with so many words. I can't afford it! What's written on it? Is it as good as what you said? "
"Haha, Zhao Laoer, you're wrong this time. This newspaper isn't expensive. It only costs five copper coins. How is it? Are you surprised? Haha, let me tell you, the things written in the newspaper are really f * cking interesting. For example, let me read to you, 'Drunken Scholar Encounters Brothel's Top Courtesan and Actually Commits Such a Despicable Act!'. What do you think? Do you want to see it? "
The eyes of the man named Zhao Er immediately lit up. He hurriedly nodded like a chick pecking at rice and said with a lewd smile, "Yes, yes, yes. Brother Da Gou, quickly tell me what happened next."
Seeing Zhao Laoer's anxious face, Wang Da Gou's vanity was greatly satisfied. He smiled proudly and said, "Hehe, then let me tell you. Two days ago, a drunken scholar wandered into Peace Square …"
As Wang Da Gou spoke, more and more people gathered around the table. The newcomers didn't know what Wang Da Gou was talking about. After asking, they understood that it was an interesting story from Datang Daily. After getting to the bottom of it, they were naturally surprised by the low price of Datang Daily. They all secretly made up their minds that if they met a child selling newspapers tomorrow, they would definitely buy a copy. It would be stupid not to buy such an interesting and cheap newspaper.
…
This interesting phenomenon was rapidly spreading to all parts of Chang 'an. The novel thing called newspapers was also quietly entering the lives of the people of Tang Empire.
"Brother Ma, how's the sales of today's newspaper?"
Li Zexuan went straight to the workshop after class. He went to the back hall and found Ma Zhou.
"Lord Jue, you're here."
Ma Zhou first bowed to Li Zexuan. Then he said with a flushed face, "This morning, the sales of the newspaper weren't good. After all, it was just launched. Many people still don't know what a newspaper is. Those who were willing to spend money to buy it at that time were mostly greedy for the cheap price of the newspaper, not because of the content of the newspaper. Therefore, in one morning, only less than 400 copies of the newspaper were sold. However, when it was close to noon, a few groups of people suddenly came. They all seemed to be from rich and powerful families. Each of them bought dozens of copies, and they seemed to already know the content of the newspaper. Before Lord Jue came, all the newspapers today were sold out. "
The more Ma Zhou spoke, the more excited he became. He was indeed excited. First of all, the good sales of the newspaper were an affirmation of his hard work. Second of all, in the first edition of the newspaper, there were many proud works that he had been brewing for a long time. Now, they were widely praised in Chang 'an. His political views and ambitions would be read by countless people. He was very likely to become famous in one fell swoop.
Li Zexuan looked at the excited Ma Zhou and smiled meaningfully. "Haha, now that Brother Ma is going to become a big celebrity in Chang 'an, it won't be long before the officials in the imperial court know that there is such a talented and virtuous person among the people. At that time, maybe His Majesty will also be alarmed. Brother Ma's day of meteoric success will not be far away. Haha!"
Li Zexuan was right. Gold would shine no matter where it was. If Li Er knew about Ma Zhou, this kind of genius, he would definitely spare no effort to recruit him. According to the historical records, in the fifth year of Zhenguan, Li Er requested that every official in the imperial court write an article about the gains and losses of the current political situation. At that time, Ma Zhou was only a follower of Chang He. (This person was very important. He was a trusted aide of Taizong. That year, when the Xuanwu Gate was changed, Chang He was the one who guarded the Xuanwu Gate). Chang He was a military general and did not know how to write. When he saw that the Emperor wanted him to write an article, he could not help but feel anxious.
When Ma Zhou heard this news, he wanted to repay the Emperor's kindness and took the initiative to write the article for Chang He. Chang He was very happy and let Ma Zhou write it for him. A few days later, Chang He presented the article that Ma Zhou had written about the current political situation to Li Er. After Li Er read it, he was shocked. He knew that Chang He was not good at writing. How could he write such a thorough article? He did not believe that this was written by Chang He and asked Chang He if he had written it. Chang He was an honest person and did not take credit for himself. He honestly told Li Er.
When Li Er heard that there was such a genius under Chang He, he was very happy and immediately wanted to meet this genius. He did what he thought and ordered someone to call Ma Zhou over from Chang He's residence. However, he did not expect that Ma Zhou would be so arrogant. The attendant that was sent over came back alone. Not only was Li Er not angry, he sent someone to invite Ma Zhou again. After sending out four envoys, he finally managed to invite the arrogant Ma Zhou to the imperial palace.
This was the famous story of "Taizong's Fourth Invitation to Ma Zhou" in history. Li Zexuan had heard their history teacher talk about it in his previous life. Therefore, he purposely said it today to see how Ma Zhou would respond. In fact, he was not confident that he could keep Ma Zhou. After all, the temple of Qiqu Culture was still too small and could not accommodate a great god like Ma Zhou. Compared to Li Er's great temple, Qiqu Culture did not have any attraction.
What kind of person was Ma Zhou? Naturally, he could tell that there was another meaning in Li Zexuan's words. He was stunned. After a moment, he solemnly cupped his hands and said, "What are you talking about, Lord Jue? Ma Zhou was just a homeless scholar in Chang 'an. I am indebted to Lord Jue for not abandoning me and being willing to help me in a business together. That is how Ma Zhou is today. Now that Qiqu Culture has just taken shape, I will definitely not leave! "
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
