Dong Wencong rose. As he held an ink stick and slowly ground it, he said, "It's just that the Ministry of Appointments has issued a request. The Cabinet and the Empress Dowager have not made an appearance. It's not a big deal."
Fang Yun was expressionless. "To them, it's just people on the streets, smashing and robbing. It's not worth their time. Oh, I'm being a bit biased. At least the Left Minister's party cares a lot. After all, they can find an opportunity to attack you and me. "
Dong Wencong was silent. He had already discovered Fang Yun's special characteristic. He always stood on the side of the common people and never thought of himself as a bureaucrat.
Afterwards, Fang Yun dipped his brush in ink and began to write a memorial.
Dong Wencong saw that Fang Yun did not let him leave. Furthermore, he thought of what Fang Yun had said earlier and secretly looked at the contents of the memorial.
The memorial said that in order to deal with the chaotic situation in Xiangzhou, it strongly requested that the Cabinet establish a "Xiangzhou Gyeongo Affairs Office," or "Xiangzhou Qing Affairs Office," which would combine military and government. This would prevent Gyeongo's army from crossing the border and would also prevent it from arousing public anger.
The memorial briefly explained what had happened in various places. Although it did not blame anyone, it secretly pointed out that the current situation in Xiangzhou was inseparable from the Cabinet's neglect of Xiangzhou's affairs. If a "temporary military affairs office" had been established earlier to eliminate the effects of Gyeongo's looting, such things would not have happened in various places in Xiangzhou.
Seeing this, Dong Wencong suddenly understood why Fang Yun said that it was a blessing in disguise. The Xiangzhou matter was clearly the work of the Qing officials and Gyeongo officials. However, Fang Yun pushed the blame to the Left Minister. The Xiangzhou office that Fang Yun proposed was of a higher standard than the temporary military affairs office and could continue to exist.
Afterwards, Fang Yun wrote "Chun Wang" and sent the document to Quan Yuan. Quan Yuan's people handed in the memorial.
Written memorials were different from written ones. The contents of written memorials were confidential, but memorials would pass through many hands. Fang Yun purposely let the other officials in Jingguo know the contents of the memorials as soon as possible.
That night, Prime Minister Kang Ha-chuan called for an emergency cabinet meeting. He and Right Prime Minister Cao Dean clearly expressed their support for Fang Yun and requested the Left Prime Minister and Assistant Prime Minister to give an answer. Otherwise, once Xiangzhou fell into chaos, the one to bear the responsibility would not be Fang Yun, but Mount Liu and Si Yueqing.
Soon after, rumors began to spread among Jingguo officials that the reason so many street incidents had occurred in Xiangzhou was because of Fang Yun's secret instigation. He used this to threaten the Cabinet in order to establish the Office of Anti-Qing Affairs and take over the power of Xiangzhou. After that, he could do as he pleased.
However, Mount Liu had not said anything. It was clear that he did not agree with Fang Yun setting up the Qing Affairs Office. Once it was set up, Fang Yun could bypass the Cabinet and completely control the military and politics of Xiangzhou.
That night, Jingguo seemed to be very peaceful.
The Xiangzhou Prefectural Bulletin was separated from the Divine Path and the Literary Bulletin. It was published on the fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth of every month.
On the fifteenth of July, the Xiangzhou Prefectural Bulletin published an article about "What's the harm in letting him have his way?" The next edition of the Xiangzhou Prefectural Bulletin was supposed to be published on the twenty-fifth of July.
However, on the morning of the twenty-first of July, the Bureau of Rites of Xiangzhou suddenly published a supplement to the Xiangzhou Prefectural Bulletin. Moreover, it was no longer distributed to officials of various ranks. It even began to be given away for free in various cities.
This was the first time the Xiangzhou Prefectural Bulletin was made available to the public. It immediately caused a frenzy of fighting.
When Fang Yun received the news, he was still eating. He did not say anything. He only asked Dong Wencong to bring over a copy and then continued eating.
Before long, Dong Wencong brought over two copies of the Xiangzhou Prefectural Bulletin. His face was ashen.
After handing the supplements to Fang Yun, Dong Wencong said angrily, "The Bureau of Rites and some of the officials of the Literary Institute have gone too far. They actually dared to print supplements and give them to these people without the approval of the prefectural government and the Governor's Office. They must be severely punished."
Fang Yun nodded. He listened as he flipped through the pages, one breath at a time. Soon, he had finished reading the entirety of the Xiangzhou Prefectural Bulletin.
There were many articles in the Xiangzhou Prefectural Bulletin today, but all of them were saying three things. The first was that Gyeongo was very good. The second was that Jingguo was very bad. The third was that those who opposed Gyeongo and supported Jingguo were all thieves of Xiangzhou.
A rare trace of gloom flashed past Fang Yun's eyes.
"To think that Xiangzhou has become so corrupted." Fang Yun sighed softly. It was only today that he discovered that Xiangzhou was far more chaotic than what the outside world and what he had previously understood.
Dong Wencong was taken aback. He had known Fang Yun for many years. The only time he had seen Fang Yun with such a serious expression was when he made a bet with the Daemonic Realm.
After a moment of hesitation, Dong Wencong said, "It's just a supplement. Why do you place so much importance on it?"
Fang Yun glanced at Dong Wencong and sighed inside. The officials and scholars of this era still did not understand the power of the media. Even if Gyeongo used the power of newspapers, it was only by accident. Back then, ancient Huaxia had collapsed as a superpower in the north. The main reason was that the internal bureaucrats had worked together to push down the walls. However, the greatest influence on the populace was the power of the media. They propagated in all directions that were beneficial to the change of dynasty, hastening the collapse of the country. The former superpower had succeeded in changing dynasties, but it did not change for the better as the populace had imagined. After struggling for over twenty years, the average income per person had actually been surpassed by ancient Huaxia. Ancient Huaxia had a large population, so the average income per person had always been pitifully low.
Change was the right thing to do, but the power of change could not be grasped by ambitious people.
"Publications like the court bulletin are very important. In the future, this will be an extremely powerful force. It is precisely because of this that we cannot allow our enemies to grasp the Xiangzhou court bulletin. Right now, it seems like a small matter in one prefecture, but I can guarantee that this will become a heavy stroke in history," Fang Yundao said.
After all, Dong Wencong was from Hanlin. There were many things that he did not understand because he had never studied before. Now that Fang Yun had pointed it out, he immediately understood. He said, "I can't see which aspect of this matter is so important. Since you are so sure, I can only guess that there will be a court bulletin specifically for the public in the future. It will be equivalent to the various countries' own newspapers or private newspapers."
Fang Yun nodded. "That's what I meant. The tide of history is vast and mighty. We cannot go against it. "
Dong Wencong's expression changed. "If private newspapers really do appear in the future, and you and I obstruct the Xiangzhou court bulletin, I'm afraid that we will be cursed for eternity."
Fang Yun smiled. "Why is it that when something happened to the papermaking workshop, the first thing the commoners did was curse the merchants, but the government instead?"
"This …" Dong Wencong vaguely guessed at something, but he couldn't figure it out.
"This time's publication will definitely not be reviewed by the Notre-Dame. Find someone you can trust and ask the Notre-Dame's Punishment Hall to immediately send people to investigate. After that, you just have to follow me." Fang Yun's smile had a different meaning.
Dong Wencong frowned slightly. Although he did not understand Fang Yun's intentions, he immediately said, "Don't worry, I'll send a letter right away."
"You can't send a letter. Only the two of you can talk in person. Don't leave behind any evidence," Fang Yundao said.
"Alright, please wait a moment." Dong Wencong left hurriedly after saying this, returning not long after.
"Just wait. Servants, serve tea," Fang Yundao said.
The two of them discussed government affairs as they waited.
Four hours later, the two of them received a letter from the Notre-Dame. The Punishment Hall's people were about to arrive in Xiangzhou to investigate this matter. Fang Yun and Dong Wencong were requested to cooperate.
After Fang Yun sent a letter to ask about the relevant details, he stood up and said, "Let's go. Come with me to welcome the Punishment Hall's special envoy."
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