Li An spent less than an hour to finish the simplified first chapter of The Condor Slayers. The reason for simplifying the content was firstly because Li An did not remember all the content. Secondly, it was to save paper. If he were to write down the whole thing from memory, the first chapter would take up a lot of paper. The weight of the newspaper would be too much. Moreover, the novel was too long-winded and difficult to be absorbed. It was not good for cultivating interest in reading. Simplifying the content and getting rid of the dross was the way to go.
At the end of the novel, it was naturally the most classic sentence. If you want to know what happened next, please read the next chapter. In addition, Ang Lee also advertised the industry he controlled to increase the sales of his products.
As for the cost of advertising, Ang Lee felt that it could be offset with the novel he wrote. After all, this was a very popular masterpiece in the future. The royalties alone would naturally be higher. It was completely understandable to offset the advertising cost.
In order to let the readers understand his advertising products, in addition to the text introduction, Ang Lee also engraved a lot of graphics on the wax paper so that the readers could understand the advertisement more intuitively.
In the room, not only was Ang Lee busy, but there were also many scholars learning to write with iron needles. For Ang Lee, it was very easy to write, but in the eyes of these scholars, it was quite difficult. They were used to writing with a brush, and the posture of holding a brush was completely different from an iron pen. If these scholars wanted to learn this craft, they would have to start from scratch.
However, these were all scholars with a certain level of intelligence, and all of them were adults with high IQ. Their learning progress was still very good. Ang Lee only let them watch him write, and did not give any substantial guidance. These people, through careful observation, quickly understood some of the tricks of writing with an iron pen. Although the handwriting was very ugly, like a primary school student who had just learned how to write, at least they could barely use an iron pen. In the future, as long as they practiced more, they would be able to write more beautiful words than Ang Lee.
After finishing his own page, Li An stood up and stretched his back. He then checked on the practice of a few scholars.
"No, no, your writing is too ugly. You need to practice more. Remember, writing with an iron pen is completely different from writing with a brush. The posture of holding the pen is very important. You must do it according to this official's requirements. What about you? The way you hold the pen is wrong. You have to do it like this. "
Ang Lee had become the teacher of the children. He taught these literati how to engrave words on wax paper bit by bit. In order to save effort in the future and for the sake of the news industry of the Tang dynasty, Ang Lee's efforts were absolutely worth it.
"Assistant Minister Li, Li Taibai, and Du Zimei have arrived. They have agreed to join the Tang dynasty's newspaper."
A minor official came to report.
"Haha! That's great. The best scholars of the Tang dynasty have all joined our Tang dynasty's newspaper. Let's go and see them. "
Ang Lee was very happy to have recruited the first batch of talents. As long as he had this first batch of talents, the following work would be easy to carry out.
"Yo, Uncle Taibai, Uncle Zimei, you're all here! In the future, the Tang dynasty's newspapers will depend on you. "
Ang Lee was overjoyed when he received Li Bai and Du Fu.
"You flatter me. May I ask Assistant Minister Li what kind of work we are responsible for and how much our salary is?"
Du Fu was a little short of money recently, so he was more concerned about his salary.
Li Bai was more calm. He didn't take Ang Lee as a leader at all. He walked back and forth in the room to watch.
Ang Lee explained with a smile, "Uncles, you will be the deputy chief editor. Your rank is the upper level of the sixth class. Your salary is the same as other officials of the same rank. As for the work you will be responsible for, you will know it gradually. You are new here, so you'd better familiarize yourself with the environment first. Don't worry about your work. "
"The upper level of the sixth class. Good, really good!"
Li Bai was very happy when he heard that. He said it proudly. Du Fu was also very satisfied. He had stayed in the capital for so long and used all kinds of methods, but he still couldn't get an important position in the imperial court. Even eating became a problem. Now that he suddenly encountered such a good job, he was very happy.
Looking at the happy and satisfied faces of Li Bai and Du Fu, Ang Lee was also happy. He took out the wax paper he had just engraved and showed it to them.
"Assistant Minister Li, what is this?"
Du Fu asked seriously.
"This is wax paper. We will rely on it to print newspapers in the future. Come on, let's have a try now."
Ang Lee explained. He put the engraved wax paper into the template, and then gently put it down. Finally, he used a cylindrical roller covered with ink to roll it over the wax paper.
"Okay, one side has been printed."
Ang Lee lifted the template. The first piece of paper below had been printed with small words. It was the simplified version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes written by Ang Lee.
Because the first issue of the newspaper would be issued in 1,000 sets, they had to print 1,000 copies of the same paper.
"Do you understand now? Printing with wax paper is just that simple. Moreover, the handwriting can be smaller and clearer. All of you, come over here and do some printing. You must master mimeographing. This is the most basic technique that all of you must master. This is the most basic skill that all of you must have as an employee of Tang Newspaper.
Ang Lee only printed one page, and then he handed the rest of the printing task to others.
All the newly recruited talents, including Li Bai and Du Fu, came to try printing. Such a simple printing technique was not difficult for them. Soon, all of them learned the printing technique.
"The Legend of the Condor Heroes, what is this? Is it a story?"
Li Bai picked up a piece of printed paper and whispered to Du Fu next to him.
"Brother Taibai, I have read half of it. It is written well. It is very interesting. Don't talk. Keep reading."
Du Fu was a little fascinated by the novel and was not willing to talk to Li Bai.
Li Bai felt bored. He also squatted down and read the novel carefully.
"If you want to know what will happen, please read the next chapter. That's it."
Li Bai and Du Fu looked at each other and felt a little unsatisfied. It was really maddening to read half of the novel and then suddenly lose the rest of the content.
"Uncles, this is a serialized novel. There will be some content in each issue of the newspaper in order to increase the sales of the newspaper. If you want to write something, you can also write something. There will be royalties."
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"How will the royalties be calculated?"
Du Fu was afraid of being poor. When he heard that he could write something and get royalties, he was very happy and asked hurriedly.
"There are no detailed rules for this at present. It mainly depends on the number of words and the level. If it is written well, I will pay more. If it is not, I will pay less."
Ang Lee said honestly. As for the standards of royalties, they had not been set yet. It would be worked out step by step according to the specific situation after the newspaper was published.
As for Li Bai and Du Fu's work, they were mainly responsible for the typesetting and checking. When the wrong words were published, they would be corrected immediately. In addition, they had to write more standard articles and poems to increase the cultural level of the Tang dynasty newspaper.
"Assistant Minister Li, the manuscripts of His Majesty and the six princes have been sent here."
A little eunuch brought in the manuscripts written by Li Longji and the six princes and handed them to Ang Lee in person.
"Assistant Minister Li, this is the record of the strange things that happened in the capital in the last two days."
A staff member handed in the manuscripts.
Ang Lee looked at the large number of manuscripts in his hand and sighed inwardly, "I'll be busy tonight. I won't be able to sleep!"
Before his subordinates were proficient in using the iron pen, the task of engraving on the wax paper could only be completed by Ang Lee alone. Naturally, it would be very difficult!
When Ang Lee began to engrave on the wax paper with great difficulty, the many staff members he recruited also began to gradually familiarize themselves with the various work and equipment of the newspaper office. They also tried it themselves so that they could know what to do. Every time Ang Lee engraved a piece of paper, these staff members would use the machine to print it. It was very tiring to print a thousand copies of the newspaper.
Ang Lee worked hard for several hours and finished all the manuscripts at midnight. Many staff members were working hard to carry the paper and ink and print the wax paper engraved by Ang Lee.
In order to save paper, the newspapers were printed on the front and back side. This way, a piece of paper could increase the printing capacity by two times, and a newspaper of the same weight would have double the internal capacity.
During the printing process, no mistakes could be made. They had to print strictly according to the number on the bottom right corner. Otherwise, the printed newspaper would be extremely chaotic. They had to absolutely prevent printing on the front and back side to avoid affecting the reading experience of the readers.
After Ang Lee finished his work, he took a nap in the room. He enjoyed listening to the staff members busy printing and felt that it was a very pleasant feeling.
"Assistant Minister Li, all the newspapers have been printed."
The small official said.
Ang Lee opened his eyes and ordered, "Immediately organize the newspapers according to the order. Separate the one thousand copies so that they can be sold tomorrow."
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li."
The staff members began to busy themselves again. They printed the stacks of newspapers and organized them into one thousand copies that could be sold directly.
"Assistant Minister Li, a hundred copies have been prepared. Take a look."
Ang Lee picked up a newspaper and browsed through it from beginning to end. He nodded and said, "Not bad. This is the feeling I want. It's already very good to be able to do this at the beginning. We can gradually improve in the future."
"Assistant Minister Li, how should we sell it tomorrow morning? What's the appropriate price?"
The small official asked.
"The first issue of the newspaper is free of charge. Tomorrow morning, you spread these newspapers out. You must have them in all the prosperous places in the capital. Put a copy in all the good taverns, restaurants, and brothels. Put a copy in all the government offices. Leave ten copies and send them to the Imperial Palace for His Majesty and the princes."
Ang Lee said.
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li. Your humble servant understands."
Ang Lee yawned and looked at the crowd. "It's getting late. You should all rest! I'm going back. "
After working for half the night, Ang Lee was sleepy and tired. He had no energy at all. He fell asleep immediately after he went back.
The next morning, Ang Lee was still catching up on his sleep. He would not get up until noon. He had to make up for what he had lost. Overworking would lead to an early death. Ang Lee did not want to die early. Therefore, whenever he had the chance, he would be lazy and rest more.
However, the rest of the staff went to work on time. They were now familiar with the work and only needed to go out and distribute the newspapers. All the work was done by Li Bai and Du Fu.
The two of them had slightly different personalities, so they were responsible for different tasks.
Du Fu and Du Zimei stayed in the newspaper office to teach a group of people how to engrave on wax paper. Although Du Fu did not need to do this work, he was very interested in it and wanted to learn as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Li Bai was not willing to learn how to engrave. He led another group of people with a large number of newspapers to all the prosperous areas in the capital. He gave the newspapers to the teahouses, restaurants, and brothels for free. Each place could only place one copy at most. After all, there were only a thousand copies, which was not a lot.
In the beginning, the people did not think much of the newspapers when they saw them. They thought that it was just some paper with printed words. However, after reading the content, they were gradually attracted.
The first page was written by the Emperor Li Longji. The second page was written by several princes. After reading these articles, the people in the capital gradually understood that the rumors in the capital were deliberately spread by the assassins. The purpose was to drive a wedge between the emperor and his subjects in the Tang dynasty, so that they could destroy the Tang Empire.
After reading the articles written by the Emperor and the princes, the people in the capital began to scold the Tubo assassins for being shameless. They even decided to supervise each other. As long as someone was found to be spreading rumors, they would immediately be sent to the yamen.
The later pages were about the strange things that happened in the capital recently. Some of these strange things were known to the people, some were not known to them, or they did not know enough details. There were also some rumors that had been spread and changed. These strange things were able to arouse the interest of the bored people. After all, there were still many people who liked to gossip.
Then, there were the beautiful articles published by the scholars in the capital. Because it was the first time the newspaper was published, there was no formal invitation to write. The content was relatively small. They simply printed a few beautiful poems written by Li Bai. That was how they dealt with it.
Finally, there was the serial novel written by Ang Lee, the first chapter of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and some advertising content in the gaps of each page.
After reading the newspaper, many people in the capital had a strong interest in it. The articles written by the Emperor and the princes satisfied the people's need to care about national affairs. The strange things in the capital satisfied the people's need to gossip. As for The Legend of the Condor Heroes written by Ang Lee, many people wanted to continue reading it. Even if they wanted to know what happened next, please read the next chapter. These few words were enough to scold Ang Lee ten thousand times in their hearts.
In the Zichen Hall of the Imperial Palace, Li Longji read several memorials. He felt a little tired, so he put down the memorials and asked a little eunuch to bring the newspaper that was sent to the palace in the morning to read.
"Everyone, this old servant just read some of it. This newspaper is really good. It's worth reading."
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