Chapter 132: The Reporter's Work

Princess Xuancheng held a different view on this matter. "Chen'er, I don't think a seven-day cycle is quite appropriate."

"Why is that?" Li Yuechen asked, looking up.

"According to your plan, this newspaper is to be distributed to every prefecture and county. Given the vast distances, it will inevitably require the use of the official postal relay stations. If it were a weekly publication, they would have to travel at the maximum speed of an eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch. Both men and horses would literally be run to death."

Li Yuechen pondered and realized this was indeed true. "What you say makes sense, Eldest Sister. Then what is your opinion?"

"I think a semi-monthly cycle would work," Princess Xuancheng mused. "Publishing an issue on the first and fifteenth of every lunar month should be manageable."

Hearing this, Li Yuechen began to consider it seriously.

This was indeed a problem. Currently, there were not enough funds to establish local stations in every prefecture and county, so they had to rely on couriers to transport large quantities of newspapers, making information dissemination quite troublesome.

To truly improve communication speeds, they would at least have to wait until hot air balloons were invented, which were far faster than horses.

By then, newspaper offices and distribution stations could be established in every prefecture and capital. Not only would this allow for rapid newspaper distribution, but it might even form an intelligence network...

At this thought, Li Yuechen paused abruptly, then violently shook her head. Why did her thoughts suddenly drift in that direction?

This princess has no desire to become a spymaster! This is definitely Father's fault; it was his teachings on imperial statecraft that started warping my way of thinking!

"Very well, let it be as Eldest Sister suggests," Li Yuechen nodded.

Princess Xuancheng's reasoning was sound, so this suggestion should be adopted.

Since it was just the beginning, a semi-monthly publication schedule would suffice. Once communication standards and other technological aspects improved in the future, the frequency could always be increased.

...

The next day, after finishing her morning practice and taking a bath, Li Yuechen hurried over to the Ranshou Hall.

"Father, could you allocate a plot of land within the Imperial City for the newspaper office?" Li Yuechen asked, leaning over the desk.

Wuzetian, seated nearby, paused her brush. "The Imperial City is already packed to capacity. Where on earth is there space for you?"

Li Zhi also wore a troubled expression. "Indeed. The Imperial City is entirely occupied by crucial court organs; it would hardly be proper for Us to arbitrarily evict one of them, would we?"

Hearing their responses, Li Yuechen slid straight off the desk and lay flat on the floor, assuming a posture of utter despair. "Where on earth are we supposed to set up the newspaper office, then?"

"This child! Standing without a proper stance and sitting without a proper posture! Get up at once!" Wuzetian scolded.

"No, lying down is comfortable." Not only did Li Yuechen refuse to get up, but she turned onto her side, propping her head up with her hand and smiling brightly.

Fortunately, knowing when to draw the line, Wuzetian did not scold her further, merely sighing and letting her be.

Li Zhi suddenly thought of something and stopped rolling the health balls in his hand. "Come to think of it, isn't there still a vacant space in front of the Hongwen Hall?"

"Yes, and right next door is the Secretariat (Menxia Sheng)," Wuzetian said with a slightly sarcastic tone. "Does Your Majesty intend to arbitrarily establish a new agency in the Outer Court?"

"And why not?" Li Zhi turned his head with a smile. "In any case, this newspaper office is also a royal institution, so setting it up in the Outer Court poses no problem at all."

At these words, even Li Yuechen couldn't help lifting her head, looking at Li Zhi with eyes full of adoration.

She had to admit that ever since arriving in this era and seeing these historical figures with her own eyes, the one who gave her the greatest impact was Li Zhi.

In various television dramas of the past, he was always portrayed as a giant baby who relied on his wife for everything. But seeing him firsthand, Li Yuechen discovered that her father's mindset was quite avant-garde.

If he had been born in the future, he surely would have achieved great things!

Though unaware of what had just happened, being looked at by his daughter with such adulatory eyes caused Li Zhi to feel somewhat elated, and his expression grew even more unfathomable.

...

With the Emperor's permission, the location for the Datang Daily newspaper office was set within the imperial palace, right in front of the Hongwen Hall, with the Secretariat just next door.

One could easily imagine that in the future, quite a few ministers would wander over here when they had nothing to do.

Ministers of this era almost all shared the exact same lifelong pursuit—leaving their names in the annals of history!

And if this newspaper office succeeded in the future, it would allow their reputations to be passed down among the common people from generation to generation, enduring for all time.

However, neither Li Zhi nor Li Yuechen intended to make a grand fanfare of it; people would naturally figure it out when the time came.

After sharing a midday meal with her parents at Renshou Hall, Li Yuechen boarded a carriage and headed straight out of the palace to Xijian Ward.

Seeing the Princess arrive, Lai Cao hurried out to pay his respects. "I was unaware Your Excellency would visit today. What are your orders?"

Walking inward, Li Yuechen nodded. "Well, your connections are broad enough. Find me some people to act as reporters."

Entering the room, Li Yuechen sat down, and Lai Cao hastily served a cup of yogurt. "May I ask, Your Highness, what kind of work does a 'reporter' handle?"

"Simply put, walking through the markets and gathering some gossip and rumors," Li Yuechen thought for a moment. "Oh, and it doesn't matter if they aren't deeply educated, but they must be literate. When the time comes..."

Seated in her chair, Li Yuechen roughly explained the primary duties of a reporter.

For now, reporters didn't need to conduct formal interviews; they just needed to record minor gossip and marketplace rumors.

As for the main section, it would be dedicated to publishing court policies and similar matters, which would naturally be handled by the editor-in-chief, Princess Yiyang, and editor Shangguan Wan'er.

Hearing her explanation, Lai Cao immediately offered, "Your Highness, my good-for-nothing son can do this work. Though his education is not high, he is literate."

"You only have one son, don't you?" Li Yuechen mused. "For this task, we will need at least a dozen people. The Eastern Capital is so vast that a single person is not enough."

Lai Cao put on a flattering smile. "Rest assured, Your Highness. I dare not speak for other matters, but leave this entirely to your humble servant!"

"Good!" Li Yuechen nodded. "I still trust you in these matters."

She then discussed with him the qualities required for a reporter, the types of information they should collect, and so forth.

By afternoon, she rose to leave, preparing to return to the palace.

As she was about to depart, she saw Wu Gouzi running out of the courtyard holding a spear-staff.

Drenched in sweat, he bowed to Li Yuechen. "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Rise." Li Yuechen looked at the wooden staff in his hand. "Why have you taken an interest in martial arts lately?"

Wu Gouzi wiped the sweat from his brow. "I... wish to protect Your Highness in the future."

"Protect me?"

Li Yuechen raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down.

His still-slender frame now showed a hint of muscle, likely due to the better meals lately, unlike his original appearance resembling a withered hemp stalk.

Yet compared to children of his age like Liu Huang, who had enjoyed a comfortable upbringing since childhood, there was still a significant gap.

Nodding slightly, Li Yuechen had no desire to dampen his enthusiasm. "Then you must work hard."

With a wave of her hand, she turned and left, followed by Fu.

Wu Gouzi bowed. "Safe journey, Your Highness!"

At the same time, he thought to himself: Rest assured, Your Highness, I will surely work hard.

Meanwhile, sitting inside the carriage, Li Yuechen looked down at her hands and clenched her fists tightly, producing a series of popping sounds.

She knew very well that if her physique continued to develop at this rate, in a few years, very few people in the entire world would be able to defeat her in combat.

Last year, at the age of seven, she already possessed strength rivalling that of an adult. Now at eight, she could personally feel that her strength had grown considerably compared to the previous year.

One could say that most ordinary adults stood no chance against her in an arm-wrestling match.

Li Yuechen had even conducted her own experiments; she could now perform dozens of one-handed hand-stand push-ups using just her five fingers.

She could do this with either hand, not to mention movements like the human flag, which were a breeze for her.

Li Yuechen estimated that in a few more years, she would be able to pull off movie-style feats, like lifting someone into the air by the throat with one hand.

It was a pity there were no Olympic Games in this era; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have any trouble winning a weightlifting championship.

...

The next day, Li Yuechen had no classes to attend. After lunch, she pulled Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Yiyang over to try writing articles intended for future publication in the newspaper.

To be honest, both of them possessed fine literary talent, but these articles...

"Eldest Sister, this writing is far too obscure, resembling parallel prose," Li Yuechen shook her head. "The audience for the newspaper consists of people from all over the world, many of whom have low literacy levels. Therefore, the writing style should be as vernacular and accessible as possible."

In truth, the vernacular of this era was not as colloquial as that of the future, but writing in heavily stylized parallel prose was indeed going too far.

Forget those who were illiterate; even for those holding official posts in the court, anyone with slightly lower cultural proficiency would find it incomprehensible.

When all was said and done, essays of this era relied far too heavily on classical allusions, to the extent that understanding a piece of writing required an extensive reading background.

One had to have read a sufficient number of various classical texts just to grasp what an article was trying to convey.

Thus, the language in the newspaper needed to be more plain, allowing the majority of people to understand it.

At the same time, simpler writing in the newspaper might even enable motivated individuals to learn how to read through it.

Princess Yiyang understood her meaning and nodded. "Understood. Are there any other points to note?"

"Yes!"

Li Yuechen nodded. "Look here, Eldest Sister. The opening shouldn't state that Princess Taiping researched crop yields; rather, it should say that Princess Taiping, under the leadership of the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Empress, set about researching crop yields..."

Hearing this explanation, Princess Yiyang wore a helpless expression.

No wonder this younger sister had been deeply cherished by their parents since childhood; which parents could resist such a daughter?

"Your Highness, wouldn't such blatant flattery displease His Majesty?" Shangguan Wan'er asked.

"Nonsense, this isn't flattery, it's the truth!" Li Yuechen said solemnly. "The publication of the newspaper ultimately serves to let the common people know the wisdom and benevolence of the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Empress, so the articles must highlight this theme..."

Hearing her explanation, Princess Yiyang nodded knowingly.

Although Shangguan Wan'er was exceptionally intelligent, her age limited her; as a nine-year-old girl, she was not yet capable of viewing matters with such complexity, and her face still bore a trace of puzzlement.

No matter, for now she only needed to write articles according to the requirements, and poetry she wrote in the future could also be published in the newspaper.

When she grew older and understood these affairs, she could be promoted to editor-in-chief.

...

The following day, Li Yuechen rose early, led her two elder sisters and Shangguan Wan'er through their usual yoga routine, and ate breakfast.

Just as she was preparing to go out for her physical training, Xiaohhe reminded her, "Your Highness, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival; it is time to chant the scriptures."

"Oh."

Acknowledging the reminder, Li Yuechen put on her Daoist robes and went to chant scriptures.

Whether one attended the news briefings on the first and fifteenth of the month hardly mattered; the court sessions on the new and full moons generally did not debate affairs, consisting merely of work reports.

Officials from all over the capital would come to court on these two days of every month simply to listen to their superiors' work reports and consider how their respective departments should coordinate over the coming half-month.

In short, it was just a formality, and the Zhentian Hall was not large enough to accommodate all of them inside anyway.

Most minor officials listened from outside, standing far enough away that they couldn't even clearly see what the Emperor looked like.

Li Yuechen spent the entire morning chanting scriptures in the Daoist temple.

While chanting, she mused that she should definitely wear women's attire for the banquet that evening.

If she wore men's clothing as an official, once the Emperor descended to dance halfway through the feast, she wouldn't be able to continue eating comfortably.

Wearing women's attire, however, meant attending in her capacity as a princess, allowing her to sit beside her mother, chat, and keep right on eating while the Emperor and officials engaged in their revelry.

Her primary consideration was her greatly increased appetite; Li Yuechen had no wish to go hungry.

She also contemplated whether she should consider opening a livestock farm in the future.

While satisfying her own needs, establishing a farm could also help lower meat prices, which would fundamentally be a good deed.

Having finished her scripture recitation, Li Yuechen returned to Anfudian Palace, ate her meal, and hurriedly called Xiaohhe over to help style her hair.

Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Yiyang were still nearby, experimenting with writing articles in a more vernacular style.

Princess Xuancheng was leafing through mathematical texts, searching for further problems worth solving.

Witnessing this scene, Li Yuechen suddenly felt that she had indeed accomplished a great deal behind the scenes.

Princess Yiyang could become editor-in-chief in the future, and Princess Xuancheng might eventually leverage her mathematical talents to enter the court as an official.

As for Shangguan Wan'er, one could only wonder if she would still become a female chancellor; her own arrival had evidently brought about many changes to this era.

Lost in these musings about the future, she wondered how later generations would evaluate this period of history. Perhaps she might even find a place in the history books!

Noticing the perpetual smile on her face, Xiaohhe could not help asking, "Your Highness, has something wonderful happened?"

"Not really, I was just thinking of something amusing," Li Yuechen smiled. "Oh, and don't make the hair bun too high; just moderate will do."

Xiaohhe acknowledged the instruction without further questions and resumed styling her hair. In about half an hour, a hair bun appropriate for a princess's status was complete.

"Alright, that's fine. Leave the hairpins for later when we attend the banquet tonight," Li Yuechen waved a hand.

If she inserted the pins now, she wouldn't be able to move her head freely, which would be far too cumbersome.

After changing into her formal court robes with hair ornaments, Shangguan Wan'er hurried over. "Your Highness dislikes cosmetics, but applying some floral facial decals would make you look even prettier!"