What is the primary function of newspapers? It is to disseminate public opinion.
Whether it's true or false is not important.
"Is it unimportant? Isn't this just fooling the people?" Li Shimin looked at the manuscript written by Ling Yi, and then at the manuscript he had Zhangsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, and Fang Xuanling write.
For a moment, I felt that my values had been greatly impacted.
Ling Yi's manuscript contained not a single truth; it was all fabricated stories.
Shocking! Grandpa Cui Family and his daughter-in-law did this in the middle of the night! Song Family's Young Master and sister-in-law's little affair.
Three generations of the Zheng Family lived together on the same kang (heated brick bed), but they didn't know if their own child was the grandmother or the sister-in-law!
This thing gets in the newspaper? This thing is supposed to be shown to ordinary people?
"Tell me, what do you think the common people will think if they see these things? What will they think of the Cui Family, Song Family, and Zheng Family?"
"That's too insidious!" Du Ruhui muttered beside him.
"Lord Cheng of Lai, you're someone who plays the court game, how dare you call yourself treacherous?" Ling Yi rolled his eyes and said.
"Ahem, but this is all without evidence. What if the Cui Family, Song Family, or Zheng Family cause trouble?" Fang Xuanling coughed lightly.
This kid, why is he spouting such obvious truths?
"Did I say which Cui Family it was? What the common people think is their business, what does it have to do with us? If anyone dares to cause trouble over this, just ask them if they have a guilty conscience."
"If this hadn't happened, why would they take the blame?"
Li Shimin and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance. "Alright," they thought, "If the Cui Family family says this in court later, that's how we'll respond."
The two of them also grasped some of the essence of newspapers.
"Remember, if you have solid evidence, then name names and curse them harshly. If you don't have solid evidence, then curse them indirectly. After all, we haven't explicitly said it's them."
"The goal is singular: to smear the powerful families and let the common people know that they are the parasites on the country and the stumbling blocks hindering the economic development of the Great Tang."
"The people don't have enough to eat or wear because of them; the people have no clothes to wear or houses to live in because of them; even if the people catch a cold or get sick, it's because of them."
"They just kept pushing the dirty water onto them."
We won't say it explicitly, but the meaning is clear.
Li Shimin and Du Ruhui nodded, indicating that they had learned something.
"But even though newspapers are cheap, not many ordinary people can read," Du Ruhui added.
"Isn't that stupid? Find people to read to the common people. Just find some scholars, give them money, and have them read to the common people. Is that even a proper thing to do?"
"Furthermore, to prevent those powerful families from imitating us by starting newspapers, you must issue an imperial edict in advance stating that only the government is allowed to run newspapers, and no other force is permitted to do so privately."
Li Shimin nodded again; this was very important.
"Furthermore, we need to divide the content into separate sections. You see, this section mainly publishes Eight Trigrams information, but the main page should feature some positive content."
"For example, when the government issues new policies, it should explain to the people why these policies are being issued, what their advantages and disadvantages are, and so on."
"As long as the people support us, the opposition from those powerful families is useless. Anyone who opposes us will be put on the newspapers; let's see if they can withstand it."
"For example, if the country wins a battle, then we'll praise it lavishly in the government."
"Use less classical Chinese; ordinary people can't understand it. Use vernacular instead. Look at what you've put together—all that archaic language. Do you think ordinary people can understand that?"
When Li Shimin and Du Ruhui came out of Ling Yi's villa, their minds were practically mush.
"Indeed, extraordinary people do extraordinary things. With this series of actions, those aristocratic families will likely be infamous for eternity," Du Ruhui smile.
There was one more thing Du Ruhui didn't say: it was fortunate that Ling Yi didn't become an official, otherwise they wouldn't have had a chance.
"Hurry back and get on with it. Also, get the bookstore thing Ling Yi mentioned working on as well. The greatest asset of aristocratic families is their monopoly on knowledge."
The word "monopoly" was actually learned by Li Shimin from Ling Yi.
"Now that paper and books are cheap, I want to see how those powerful families will manage to monopolize the market."
The newspaper's operation did not go smoothly; Li Shimin killed many people.
This time, Li Shimin showed no mercy, and the court was packed with people.
While Li Shimin was fiddling with the newspapers, Ling Yi was tinkering with... a steam engine.
Yes, the steam engine—of course, still a theoretical steam engine, all talk and no action; the actual implementers were still these Tang Dynasty craftsmen.
However, Ling Yi did indeed offer a lot of help.
Ling Yi has Personal Space that allows him to freely shape objects, compress any object, and store and release any energy.
Ling Yi only recently discovered that his Personal Space, if properly configured, could be transformed into an automated production factory.
The Personal Space is not static, so not only can items be placed at will, but energy can also Changes at will according to Ling Yi's will.
So Ling Yi tried to create and test some gadgets in his Personal Space.
After several days of tinkering, Ling Yi managed to cobble together a rather odd steam engine in his Personal Space.
Ling Yi knew the principles of a steam engine, but since he had never studied it, he could only test it little by little.
The valve features a cylindrical internal pressure valve, a swing-type lifting and pulling shaft, and a steam inlet valve with a bearing-type folding plate. A safety valve is located at the top...
Heaven knows how many times Ling Yi, a complete Physics Little White, tested before he finally managed to cobble together this steam engine that looked like two pressure cookers connected together.
After Simulation the operation several times within the Personal Space to confirm that the steam engine could indeed work properly.
They then began using the lifting and pushing shafts of the steam engine as the power rod, transmission gears, and the transmission gears connected to bearings with iron wheels.
As steam continuously enters, the lifting drive shaft, acting as a power output transmission device, drives the transmission gears, which in turn drive the bearings, causing the iron wheel to begin to rotate slowly.
With the main power unit sorted out, the rest becomes much easier.
Ling Yi added two more iron wheels to the front to control the direction, and used machine-compressed iron to make the Dragon Bones frame of the vehicle, then covered it with another layer of Ironhide...
After this whole ordeal, Ling Yi's DIY version of the steam car was completely completed.
As for the power, it's quite strong. After all, it was DIY-made in Personal Space. All the materials were conceived from the mind and are invisible, yet they are all quite perfect.
Especially super-compressed iron, in terms of strength and wear resistance, is probably unmatched even by later super-strength alloys.
To reduce weight, the wheels and bearings are designed with a hollow interior.
Despite its tank-like appearance, this vehicle actually weighs less than a ton.
When Ling Yi drove this car around town, he instantly became the most dazzling guy in the entire Chang'an City.
Goodness, the noise this car makes when it starts is so loud that it can be heard for most of the neighborhood.
Two plumes of thick, grayish-white smoke billowed as the car Keep Running along, turning the entire street into a scene resembling Immortal Realm.
Ash smoke is the residue from burning coal.
But since it's a DIY car, there will always be one problem or another.
The car isn't agile enough when turning; it needs to be fixed. The brakes aren't responsive enough; they need to be fixed. The ride is too bumpy; the shock absorption is inadequate. It needs to be fixed!
This revision took Ling Yi another month.
This is even with Ling Yi having a personal, or rather, a personal space.
It's easy to imagine that even if the steel produced in that era met the required standards, turning the steam locomotive from theory into reality wouldn't have been easy.
Looking at the brand-new steam locomotive gleaming with a silvery metallic sheen, Ling Yi felt a surge of accomplishment.
This car looks remarkably like a Ferrari sports car from later generations, except for the two large chimneys at the rear, making it look somewhat out of place.
Moreover, this car has a very slow start-up speed, taking ten minutes to accelerate to 30 kilometers per hour, and its top speed is only around 80 kilometers per hour.
Even so, it was still much faster than ancient horse-drawn carriages.
The key point is, this thing is cool.
Upon hearing the commotion, Li Shimin and others rushed over to visit.
After trying it out, Li Shimin was incredibly envious.
"Name your price. How much is this car? I absolutely must have one."
Li Shimin stared intently at Ling Yi and spoke.
"This car can only be driven on the concrete surfaces of Chang'an; it can't be driven outside at all," Ling Yi explained.
After all, it had iron wheels, and the roads in ancient times simply wouldn't have been able to handle it.
But if you put rails on it, there won't be a problem.
Thinking of railway tracks, Ling Yi couldn't help but think of trains.
If steam locomotives can be made, then making trains shouldn't be a problem either.
"You can play with this car for now; I'm going to study trains."
Ling Yi tossed the car to Li Shimin and ran back to his villa.
"What's a train? A train that's on fire?" Li Shimin asked Cheng Yaojin beside him.
"We'll know about trains and such once Ling Yi finishes his research. Um, Your Majesty, may this old minister drive this vehicle?"
"What do you think? This belongs to me!" Li Shimin said proudly.
Then, following Ling Yi's example, he opened the car's trunk, added a few shovelfuls of coal to the stove, and started the car.
As the power gradually increased, the car began to move slowly and then gradually accelerated. Cheng Yaojin followed behind, his eyes filled with envy.
He exchanged glances with Li Jing, Du Ruhui, and the others, and then walked towards Ling Yi's manor without prior arrangement.
They were determined to have this car, even if it meant resorting to shameless tactics and throwing tantrums.
However, when they arrived outside Ling Yi's villa, they found a whole row of steam locomotives parked in front of the villa.
Upon seeing Cheng Yaojin and his companions, Master Zhang hurriedly ran over and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, esteemed gentlemen."
"My young master said that these carriages are gifts for you gentlemen."
"Haha, sir, you are very generous. Then I, Old Cheng, will gladly accept your offer."
Everyone was extremely happy.
But starting the car still requires some work.
After all, this steam locomotive burns coal, and if the temperature doesn't rise, the locomotive won't be able to move.
Meanwhile, Ling Yi was transforming into a tech whiz, drawing up blueprints for a train in the villa.
Ling Yi realized that you can't just blindly rush into anything.
If he had had blueprints when building steam locomotives, he could have saved a lot of Kung Fu Hustle.
There's no such thing as a formal or informal blueprint; the key is to have a framework in your mind, a general direction.
The steam engine already existed; it was simply a matter of enlarging it several times to increase its power.
Train carriages and train wheels are easy to make; after all, Ling Yi had seen these in his previous life, and Imitation them.
If you can't do it, try it a few more times.
The most troublesome part is the train's control system.
Once this thing gets going, you can't just brake or slow down whenever you want.
"Damn, this is way too much trouble!"