Chapter 1092
The Man Most Popular with Booksellers
Zhu Qiyu had personally witnessed ministers fighting and killing people. Seeing that Yu Qian and the people from the Censorate were too agitated, he was afraid that they would actually take action and implicate Xue Shao. So he quickly interrupted the argument, put the matter aside, and postponed the discussion.
As soon as the court session ended, the emperor summoned cabinet ministers Xue Shao, Xue Xuan, and Yu Qian to his study. He first calmed Yu Qian, whose face was flushed with anger, before humbly asking, "Grand Secretary Yu, what are your thoughts on the matter of criminal law reform?"
Yu Qian regained his composure and lowered his eyes, saying, "What Minister Xue said does have some merit. Ordinary people are implicated by the system of collective punishment, but the proposed leniency in punishment by others is unacceptable. In my opinion, they are the real traitors..."
Other cabinet ministers also felt that this matter should not be rushed. It could be changed, but it should not be changed in the way that was being argued in court. In fact, not all of Xue Shao's proposals were approved.
However, the practice of holding someone accountable for certain crimes can indeed be changed.
Xue Shao had anticipated this and was not disappointed. In his view, he would be happy as long as there was some change.
Moreover, he agreed with the opinions of ministers such as Yu Qian that the pace of reform should not be too hasty.
Making minor additions or subtractions to the existing laws, with more subtractions than additions, is not difficult to implement; the challenge lies in publicizing them.
Because of the need to publicize the legal provisions, newspapers in various regions published related reports for several days in a row.
Xue Shao wrote down several classic cases in one go, comparing the judgments of the old and new laws, and then submitted them to the newspaper, receiving a large sum of money for the article.
Xi Jin happily took back his royalties, picked up his pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and continued copying.
Because Xue Shao was touring the country, happy Jin was familiar with newspapers in various places. He decided to make several copies of the young master's manuscripts and send them by post through the post station. Although it would take a while, he could still make a profit.
Xue Shao stared in disbelief and asked, "Is the royalties from out of town enough to cover the round-trip postage?"
“Of course, young master, you underestimate your manuscript. This one piece costs eight hundred cash from newspapers in the capital, and five hundred cash from local newspapers. If I send out ten articles at once, it will cost five taels, and twenty articles will cost ten taels. After deducting postage, I will still have more than nine taels left.”
Xue Shao: "Why don't they just buy newspapers in the capital and copy and reprint them? A newspaper only costs three coins."
happy Jin's mouth dropped open, and it took him a while to find his voice: "Young Master, you can't tell outsiders about this idea, or we'll lose a lot of money!"
Xue Shao shook his head. "Whatever makes you happy, but you're not allowed to lie."
happy Jin readily agreed; of course he wouldn't lie, since the newspapers hadn't said the finalized articles could only be given to their company.
Some newspapers did agree to this arrangement, but they also stipulated that it would be the only one in the capital region.
So once he leaves the capital region, who can control him?
He's a really nice person, okay? He only chose one newspaper to submit his article to in one place.
You know, there are so many newspapers nowadays.
At the end of last year, when the imperial court went to war with the grasslands, the Ministry of Works also improved the papermaking formula, which not only greatly reduced the cost of writing paper, but also produced two other types of straw paper.
These two types of paper are relatively soft and have a particularly strong water absorption. The officials in the Ministry of Works used them for a while, but in the end, they felt that the quality was too poor, so they sent them all to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue to be used as draft paper.
Of the six ministries, these two departments generated the most waste paper and used a lot of draft paper.
In the end, the quality was so poor that even the adults disliked using it for drafts, and it ended up being used in the toilet.
Because this paper is mostly made of rice straw and wheat straw, it is bluish-gray in color, with coarse particles but soft and absorbent, hence the name straw paper.
Perhaps because it was too embarrassing, the Ministry of Works changed its tune to say that these two types of paper were originally intended to be made into toilet paper, and then published a formula for improving the paper.
The materials used were all rice straw, wheat straw, tree bark, etc., only the proportions were slightly different.
The process has also been improved. Although the paper produced is still a bit rough, it is perfectly fine for writing. The color is yellowish, but the cost is extremely cheap.
This type of paper is now widely used in newspaper printing.
Because paper was cheap, the price of ink also decreased, so the newspaper industry flourished.
In just six months, countless newspapers have emerged from all over the country.
Some well-connected newspapers would reprint information from the imperial court's official gazette. In addition, poems, essays, policy discussions, and articles and remarks by some court officials could also be found in the newspapers.
Since newspapers became popular, it became even easier for Xue Shao to make money.
Whenever he was short of money, he no longer needed to go to county schools or prefectural schools to find potential clients; instead, he would write directly for newspapers.
Moreover, he has a lot to write about.
He could write everything from supernatural tales to policy essays and poems.
Although the price of an article is not as high as that of a private individual, he can mass-produce them and saves the process of finding clients.
He had several names in the newspaper industry, and these names were not related to each other. Apart from happy Jin, no one knew that they were the same person.
This has resulted in some of his pseudonyms being particularly valuable, such as those used for writing policy essays, poems, and lyrics.
Privately, some people contacted happy Jin through the newspaper, hoping to ask him to write a few articles.
No one knew that Xue Shao was behind the number.
When Xue Shao heard that it was a price quote, he knew this line of work well. It was just writing an article for someone, with the authorship rights going to someone else.
He agreed to anything as long as the price was right.
Xi Jin felt resentful for the young master, believing that the fame had been earned by those rich young men.
Therefore, he preferred to copy more manuscripts and send them to various newspapers to earn a meager fee rather than give away his son's authorship rights.
“I have heard your articles being recited in restaurants more than once, and several of them were written by you, young master. Those mediocre people use your articles to show off everywhere, but you have nothing,” Xi Jin said unwillingly. “The title of genius should belong to you.”
"What's the use of this fame? They just use articles to appease teachers or to boast at literary gatherings and poetry parties. The money they earn is what really matters." Xue Shao doesn't accept just any topic.
The articles he writes for others are mostly about learning and showing off; if a topic seems to be asking for talent, he will refuse.
In his words, his articles could bring joy and pride to buyers, but not harm other innocent people.
Therefore, the articles he wrote were suitable for dissemination in restaurants, literary gatherings, and poetry recitals, and were also suitable for teachers to use in instructing students, but they were definitely not suitable for use in the imperial examinations for selecting talents.
The flourishing development of newspapers has led to the development of literature and the activity of ideas.
Those who govern a country often feel that the people are foolish and can be easily lured or deceived to drive them.
But Xue Shao disagreed.
The Xue family has been engaged in the education industry for generations. His father and great-uncle were both teachers, and their most common saying was "education should be provided to all without discrimination."
My great-uncle never thought that the sons of powerful officials were more intelligent, or that the sons of poor people were dull.
Having grown up with his great-uncle and father, Xue Shao deeply understood this from a young age.
The sons of the county magistrate and county lieutenant who were admitted to the county school through imperial favor were not as learned as the sons of small landlords in the countryside.
Some young masters and noblemen even had learning abilities that were not as good as their pageboys.
When he was five or six years old, he saw pageboys squatting outside the windows of the county school listening to the lessons, and then writing articles for their young masters to answer the teacher's questions.
It is evident that a person's intelligence is unrelated to their birth. With the commencement of land surveys and population censuses, the number of people recorded in the Ministry of Revenue's Yellow Register increased significantly.
The population has increased from over 60 million to over 80 million today. Xue Shao believes that once the national census is completed, the population can increase by another 20 million.
The Ming Dynasty had a population of tens of millions; how many wise and talented people were hidden among them?
If these people could be used for the country and bring benefits to the people, how powerful and prosperous could our Great Ming Dynasty become?
Therefore, intellectual development is imperative, and education is an essential measure.
Xue Shao invested almost all of his wealth into education.
He would throw in any little money he had, causing Xi Jin, who was always by his side, endless worry.
Fortunately, although their young master spends money like water, he is also very good at making money.
Soon, as the winds of legal reform swept across the entire Ming Dynasty, Xue Shao's name also spread throughout the entire Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the classic cases he wrote under his real name are very important in terms of precedents under both laws.
Not only did newspapers across the country rush to publish it, but prefects and magistrates in various places also took it out to study it one by one, treating it as a precedent.
As a result, a bookseller came to Xue Shao's door, wanting to buy his manuscript for printing.
Coincidentally, the Ministry of Justice also came to Xue Shao, asking him to organize the manuscript. The Ministry of Justice planned to publish a comprehensive collection of case precedents in conjunction with the Ministry of Rites.
The former has money, while the latter is doing unpaid labor.
But this didn't stump Xue Shao.
He first gave the bookseller a stack of papers with twenty case studies explained in simple terms, only with some language modifications to the case studies given to major newspapers.
Then he carefully wrote a separate book for the Ministry of Justice, containing the same twenty cases, with detailed legal provisions applied in them. The Minister of Justice couldn't stop reading it once he started.
Finally, this case study book, jointly published by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites, was designated as essential reading for criminal investigators. It was then promoted from the imperial court to local authorities, and eventually became a must-read for prefects and magistrates in various regions.
Academies in various regions also purchased this book.
The bookstore didn't make any money printing this book, so naturally, Xue Shao didn't have any money either.
On the other hand, abridged case study books published by booksellers have taken advantage of this trend and sold extremely well, especially among the general public.
This legal reform mainly focuses on the reform of the joint liability system for minor crimes such as theft, evasion of duty, and tax evasion, all of which are closely related to people's livelihoods.
Xue Shao believes that legal reform should not only be known and learned by officials, but also by the general public.
If a local government makes a wrong judgment, the people should at least know that they have been wronged and that the law has been applied incorrectly, so that they can seek justice for themselves.
Ordinary people generally don't have a deep understanding of complex concepts, and they can't read profound books, so the manuscripts that publishers receive are easy to understand.
At Pan Yun's suggestion, he also converted the semi-vernacular Chinese into vernacular Chinese, so that even people who have never been to school can understand it when they hear it being read.
Therefore, this book is very popular among the public and has sold a lot of books.
Without any official promotion, its sales rivaled those of the "Great Proclamation" published with great enthusiasm by Emperor Taizu Gao.
It is worth noting that the Great Proclamation was always the best-selling book in the Ming Dynasty.
Because of possessing a copy of the "Great Proclamation," you can have your punishment reduced by one degree after committing a crime, which is practically a weaker version of a "get-out-of-jail-free card."
Therefore, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, even the sales of primers like the Analects have not matched those of the Great Proclamation.
Because only learned people would buy the Analects, but even if no one in the family could read, they would still hoard a copy of the Great Proclamation after learning about its benefits.
Now, a newly published book, "Case Studies of New and Old Laws," is selling almost as well as this year's "Da Gao" and even more than "The Analects."
The impoverished Xue Shao suddenly became rich through royalties.
Not to mention other officials, even his own uncle Xue Xuan couldn't help but glance at him.
So when I got home that night, I sat at my desk and pondered for a long time. Then I took out my ink stick, ground the ink, spread out a piece of white paper, and started writing.
He doesn't write case precedents; he wants to write about methods for investigating criminal cases.
It's not about making money, but mainly about popularizing the elements of case investigation.
Of course, this happened a year later. At that time, Xue Shao was not yet a favorite of booksellers, but he was a favorite of major newspapers.
Several newspaper staff members were always squatting outside his rented house. As soon as he opened the door, they would rush over enthusiastically, carry his things, and occasionally stuff some random things into his hands.
For example, a head of cabbage, a small bag of rice, a basket of eggs, or even a bunch of flowers.
When asked, they said it was grown at their employer's house and brought it to Minister Xue to try.
Pan Yun, who was invited to visit, was stunned and couldn't help but say, "You're even more popular than me!"
Xue Shao smiled and stuffed the flowers into her hands. She hugged the things in her arms tightly, kicked open the door and went in: "That's because you didn't reveal your identity as the Imperial Advisor. If you had said that you were the Imperial Advisor, they would have immediately abandoned me and rushed to pursue you."
"Businessmen pursue profit, but newspaper workers are somewhat stubborn. They not only pursue profit, but also value faith, and you are now their faith."
It was Pan Yun who promoted the development of the newspaper industry.
Pan Yun smiled, glanced at the rose in her hand, and raised an eyebrow: "Who would send roses to a vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue and a censor of the Censorate?"
Chrysanthemums are usually given as gifts, right?
“Chrysanthemums are precious, so I don’t accept them when they are given to me. But roses can be cut and put in vases and live for a long time. These flowers are both beautiful and easy to grow, so I never refuse when they are given to me. Therefore, people who grow roses at home often cut branches and give them to me.”
Zhang Liuzhen helped carry the things inside, glanced around the house, and couldn't help but laugh, "I didn't expect that a high-ranking official like the Vice Minister of Revenue would live in such a small house. Is there only one courtyard here?"
Xue Shao nodded: "There are only two or three old servants at home, so we don't need a big courtyard. This is just right."
It had only been half a month since Pan Yun's birthday celebration. Just yesterday, Pan Yun had seen Miao Zhen and the other two off, and Xue Shao's legal reforms had just been passed. Pan Yun then brought Zhang Liuzhen to visit as guests.
Actually, Zhang Liuzhen needed to speak with Xue Shao and asked Pan Yun to act as a middleman.
Xue Shao's house had only one courtyard. There was a small hut next to the gate, which was where the gatekeeper lived and kept watch at night. Opposite was the stable with two horses inside.
On the same side as the stables are a woodshed and a side room, and opposite are two side rooms.
Besides the main hall in the center, there are two rooms on the left and right sides of the main house. Xue Shao uses one room as a bedroom and the other as a study.
The kitchen is behind the main house.
Behind it is a half-courtyard with a well in it. A porch built along the eaves of the main house served as the kitchen and tea room.
Directly opposite was a wall, beneath which were two rows of vegetable plots, lush and green at the moment, with two rows of bean trellises covered in bean vines and bearing bean pods—a scene full of vitality. (End of Chapter)