After handing Liang Zhu over to Teacher Li, Mo Jiazi did not take it to heart. Instead, he gave Teacher Li full authority and focused on preparing for the second exhibition of Mo's techniques.
In the seventh year of Zhenguan, on the second day of February, the first exhibition of Mo's techniques became a hit. The power of Mo's techniques appeared in the Tang dynasty for the first time and shocked the world. This year's exhibition was also set on the second day of February. After the continuous publicity of Mo's magazine, it was already widely known.
The excitement of the first exhibition of Mo's techniques made everyone feel regretful. Naturally, the second exhibition was highly anticipated. The citizens of Chang 'an were all eager for it. Even many people in Luoyang came after hearing the news. They did not want to miss this grand occasion.
However, Meton was full of confidence, while Teacher Li was on guard. He kept inquiring about the Confucian magazine.
"Teacher, the Wei family not only poached people from Mo's magazine, but they also poached many skilled craftsmen from the major booksellers in Chang 'an. It seems that the Wei family came with ill intentions," Mochi said with a serious face.
Teacher Li smiled bitterly and said, "Not only did they come with ill intentions, but they also came with tit for tat with Mo's magazine. As far as the Old Man knows, White Horse Academy, Yingtian Academy, and the major literary masters in Chang 'an and Luoyang have all written articles for Mo's magazine. This time, Mo's magazine came prepared!"
Teacher Li had been running Mo's magazine for nearly a year and had his own connections. Naturally, the Wei family's actions could not be hidden from his eyes.
"Teacher, do you have a countermeasure?" Mochi asked anxiously.
Teacher Li shook his head and said, "The most precious thing about Mo's magazine is the news from all over the world from Mo Jiazi. How can it be solved by a few articles written by a few literati? The core of Mo's magazine is now in Chang 'an and Luoyang. The news from the other channels is extremely slow. Immediately organize people and send them to the ten channels of the Tang dynasty to expand their sources of information and ensure that they are in an invincible position. "
Mochi nodded solemnly.
"Apart from that, didn't Meton invite the Legalists to enter the Mo Magazine? In my opinion, the most appropriate thing to do now is to invite Han Fuzi to use the case of the Han family's daughter as an example and open up a Legalist column," Teacher Li said.
The Wei family had a group of literary masters waving flags and shouting battle cries for them. Mo Magazine naturally did not dare to be negligent. The Legalist's Han Zheng's reputation was not any weaker than these literary masters. Furthermore, half of the editors of Mo Magazine had been poached by the Wei family, so Han Zheng's addition could make up for the gap in Mo Magazine. It was killing two birds with one stone.
After doing all this, Teacher Li felt relieved. Although the Mo Journal was founded by the Mo Family, the Mo Family did not use it to publicize the Mo Family. Instead, the things they reported were very neutral. This was also the reason why the Mo Journal was so popular.
"I don't believe that a few literati can support a newspaper!" Master Li said angrily in his heart.
"Master Li, Third Brother! Not good! There are many customers in Chang 'an City who want to cancel their subscriptions to Mo Jiazi! "A younger brother of Mo Jiazi rushed in and said in a panic.
"Cancel their subscriptions to the Mo Journal?" Mochi suddenly panicked. The Mo Journal relied on its large sales to attract so many advertisers. If the subscriptions to the Mo Journal fell, those advertisers would definitely turn to his family.
"It must be those old fogeys who incited them!" Master Li shouted angrily.
Most of the people who cancelled their subscriptions to the Mo Journal were students, yamen officials, and literati. Previously, these people had no choice but to read the Mo Journal. Now that the Confucian journal was about to be established, these people immediately turned hostile and abandoned the Mo Journal.
However, fortune did not come in pairs and misfortune did not come singly. Soon, there was news that the merchants in Chang 'an City who placed advertisements were also cutting off their sponsorship.
"Who are they?" Master Li asked angrily.
Mo San bitterly revealed the names of a few families.
Master Li said coldly, "These are all businesses controlled by the families of the officials. There are no surprises. However, the Mo Journal is a place where they can come and go as they please. They spread the news that the Mo Journal will no longer cooperate with the merchants who take the initiative to break their contracts."
"What do we do with so many cancellations?" Mo Jiazi's brother, who had come to report, asked.
Master Li snorted coldly and said, "In that case, they will reap what they sow. The second exhibition of the Mo Journal will be held on February 2nd. Who better to participate than those who still support the Mo Journal at this time?"
Mochi's eyes lit up. "What do you mean, Master Li?"
"For those who have long-term subscriptions to the Mo Journal, when the exhibition is held, send each of them an admission ticket according to the address. As for those who cancel their subscriptions, they will reap what they sow." Master Li snorted coldly.
"Master Li is wise!" Mochi nodded his head repeatedly.
At the Quan Residence.
Quan Wanji had just settled down his old friends who had come to Chang 'an City to support him. He took a sip of tea and took a deep breath. Then, he saw Wei Sian walk over with a happy expression.
He was very satisfied with Wei Sian. On one hand, the Wei family had spent a lot of money and effort. On the other hand, Wei Sian and he had a common enemy in Mo Jiazi. This had made their relationship much closer.
"Master Quan! Good news! Many scholars in Chang 'an City have already canceled their subscriptions to the Mo Journal and are now supporting the Confucian Journal! "Wei Sian said excitedly.
Scholars were the biggest consumers of the Mo Journal. Now that the Confucian Journal had not yet been released, there were already so many people supporting it. How could Wei Sian not be excited?
Quan Wanji sneered, "Anyone who reads the books of the sages is a Confucian disciple. How could they not support the Confucian Journal?"
He had already expected this situation. Otherwise, he would not have been so decisive in promoting the establishment of the Confucian Journal.
Wei Sian's face lit up with joy. He said fiercely, "There are no heroes to make a name for themselves. Now that the Confucian Journal is out, the Mo Journal will have no chance to make a comeback."
Quan Wanji nodded. Meton had openly argued with him in the imperial court and caused him to lose one battle after another. This was simply a disgrace to the imperial censor. Now that he had control of public opinion, Mo Jiazi's greatest advantage was gone. When the time came, he would see how Mo Jiazi would continue to show off.
"The first release of the Confucian Journal must be an instant hit. Old Man, have some old friends write some articles," Quan Wanji said.
"Lord Quan, don't be anxious. This one has a piece of shocking news that will definitely make the Confucian Journal an instant hit," Wei Sian said proudly.
"Hm?" Quan Wanji immediately looked over.
Wei Sian chuckled. "According to the report of the Wei Clan's informant, the Mo Family Village is producing a large amount of poison. Lord Quan, how about using this as the headline of the Confucian Journal?"
Back then, the Taiyuan Wang Family was not the only one who had planted informants in the Mo Family Village. All of the aristocratic families in Chang 'an City who had even the slightest interest in the Mo Technique had thought of using this method. Wei Sian did not expect that a chess piece that the Wei Clan had casually planted would actually bring about such explosive news.
"Producing poison? Is this true? "Quan Wanji was shocked and hurriedly asked.
Wei Sian nodded solemnly. "It's absolutely true. According to the report of the Wei Clan's informant, the Mo Family Village once experimented with this poison. Even a pig couldn't withstand it and died in an instant. He was the one who personally buried the pig!"
"Such a strong poison!" Quan Wanji was shocked.
Wei Sian nodded. "And there's a lot of it. The informant reported that the Mo Family Village has produced enough poison to fill a large warehouse."
Quan Wanji closed his eyes and pondered. Then, his gaze sharpened. "Investigate this matter thoroughly and ensure that the evidence is irrefutable. This time, I want to see if Mo Jiazi has a glib tongue."
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