After leaving Eunuch Liu's residence, Yan Liqiang returned to his own residence. After eating a sumptuous dinner, he practiced the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing over and over again in the yard, while waiting for news of Eunuch Liu's return.
The Han Empire Times was something he created himself. According to the original plan, Yan Liqiang wanted to wait four years and use this newspaper to save some lives as much as he could. However, in a dangerous place like the Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang found that his idea was still too naive.
The Prime Minister has already seen the value of this newspaper and is ready to snatch it. He has prepared all kinds of means. He not only wants the newspaper, but also cruel means to use the newspaper to take his life. In this situation, Yan Liqiang can only cut the Gordian knot and deliver the newspaper and the newspaper company to the emperor as quickly as possible.
Once the newspaper became the property of the royal family, then the trick that Lin Qingtian and Gu Chunyi were planning to use the newspaper to set a trap for him would no longer be useful. He would have invisibly resolved a fatal move, and eliminated a weak spot and fatal threat. At the same time, this would also earn him a higher evaluation in the emperor's mind and lay a foreshadowing for his departure from the imperial capital and return to Ganzhou. Finally, as long as the "Han Empire Times" was in the hands of the emperor, he would still have the possibility and hope to use and control this newspaper in a few years. This was the purpose and original intention of his creation of the "Han Empire Times".
Since the newspaper is doomed to fail, its value must be maximized.
Yan Liqiang knew that his quick and decisive reaction would definitely catch Lin Qingtian and Gu Chunyi off guard. They had originally given him three days to consider, but they hadn't expected that he would stand on the emperor's side in just one day after returning to Luyuan. At such a critical moment of life and death, he had not considered the possibility of defecting to Lin Qingtian. His reaction would undoubtedly make the other party furious and disrupt their plans and steps. This was exactly what Yan Liqiang needed. If everything went according to the other party's plan, he would have died long ago. Even if he survived in the end, he would have lived like a dog.
The sky gradually darkened, and finally became pitch black. In the middle of the night, the entire deer park was silent, with only the sounds of crickets in the bushes and frogs and toads in the pond. At this time, there was already a chill in the air. Yan Liqiang had already started practicing the fourth round of the Yijing Xisui Jing in the yard. When he was practicing the half-body diagram, he heard the hurried and tiny footsteps coming from outside the yard...
Huangmao had already run to the gate of the yard and barked twice.
The footsteps belonged to Leo.
As soon as Yan Liqiang heard it, he knew that Eunuch Liu was back. He stopped and tidied his clothes. Then he heard a knock on the door. He walked over and opened the door. Little Li was standing outside with a lantern in his hand and a faint layer of sweat on his forehead. "Deputy Manager Yan, Eunuch Liu is back. Please come over. He said he has something to discuss!"
"Okay, let's go now!" Yan Liqiang walked out directly and closed the door.
Little Lizi led the way in a hurry with a lantern. Yan Liqiang followed Little Lizi and soon arrived at Eunuch Liu's residence. Eunuch Liu was sitting in the main hall drinking tea. When he saw Yan Liqiang coming, Eunuch Liu stood up and waved his hand. Little Lizi then obediently retreated and closed the door.
"Eunuch Liu, what does the emperor say?" Yan Liqiang asked directly.
"Your Majesty is meeting with several governors in the imperial study tonight, so I waited for a long time in the palace before I saw His Majesty. After hearing my purpose of visit, His Majesty knew what happened to you today, and he was both angry and happy. You can guess why His Majesty is angry without me telling you, but His Majesty is really happy. I have been with His Majesty for many years and have never seen His Majesty so happy. His Majesty told me that he did not expect that although you, Li Qiang, are young, you are so sensible, loyal, and strong-willed. In this respect, even many ministers in the court cannot compare to you. His Majesty has agreed to accept the newspaper and newspapers presented to you!" Eunuch Liu looked at Yan Liqiang with a flushed face. It is estimated that he also received a lot of praise when he came to the palace this time.
"Then Your Majesty, how will you manage the newspaper and the Han Empire Times?" This question is what Yan Liqiang is most concerned about.
"Your Majesty is going to hand over the newspaper and the Han Empire Times to the Imperial Household Department's Seal and Ribbon Supervisor for management!"
The Imperial Household Department's Seal and Ribbon Supervisor? Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment. The Imperial Household Department's Seal and Ribbon Supervisor was an institution in the palace that served the emperor. The Imperial Household Department was in charge of all matters needed by the palace and the royal family, and was considered the emperor's housekeeper. The Seal and Ribbon Supervisor was the department in the Imperial Household Department that was in charge of the ancient and modern collections of the emperor's affairs, as well as iron certificates, imperial edicts, yellow stickers, seals, books, inspections, collections, and verifications. This newspaper was about writing and publishing, and it was somewhat similar to the job of the Seal and Ribbon Supervisor, which made sense. However, the supervisors of the Imperial Household Department and the Seal and Ribbon Supervisor were both eunuchs around the emperor, so it was a groundbreaking thing for eunuchs to publish a newspaper.
Yan Liqiang originally thought that the Emperor would hand over the newspaper matter to some agency in the court, but unexpectedly, the Emperor directly handed the newspaper matter over to the eunuchs around him to manage. After just a quick thought, Yan Liqiang understood the Emperor's intention. It was indeed a good move to hand over the newspaper to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Seal Bureau for management. In this way, the possibility of Lin Qingtian and the court agencies to intervene was completely eliminated. Moreover, the eunuchs in the palace were almost the most loyal group of people to the Emperor in the entire Han Empire. If he handed it over to them, there would be no need to worry about any mistakes.
"That's good. It's really appropriate to have the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department and the Seal Bureau to manage this newspaper and the newspaper company!" Yan Liqiang nodded. Having such an arrangement was already the best outcome at the moment.
"From now on, the job of the Seal and Ribbon Office will have one more task. His Majesty has given us a nominal title in the Seal and Ribbon Office, and also allowed us to set up a courtyard in the Deer Garden and set up a newspaper office. From now on, the newspaper will still be managed by us, and we won't have to bother others..." At this point, Eunuch Liu had a smug look on his face, "Originally, my family was only slightly literate, but I didn't expect that His Majesty would assign us such a job, specifically managing a group of writers. It's quite interesting..."
"There are many talented people in the Yinshou Bureau. As long as you transfer two assistants from the Yinshou Bureau to manage the writers of the newspaper, and clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments, you don't need to worry too much!"
Since Lin Qingtian also saw the value of the newspaper, and now the "Han Empire Times" is in the hands of the emperor again, according to Lin Qingtian's character, Yan Liqiang dares to be 100% sure that within a few days, the second newspaper in the imperial capital will definitely be born. By then, the two newspapers will compete with each other, and the Seal Supervisor and Eunuch Liu will not dare to completely mess up the good cards in the emperor's hand and make a fool of themselves. Naturally, they will try their best. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the future quality of the "Han Empire Times", at least it will not be worse than it is now.
"That's right, that's right. No matter what business you run, the hardest thing to establish is rules. Now that you've established the rules, everything will go smoothly. Just follow your rules. If the people below dare to mess up for us, we'll skin them alive!" Eunuch Liu took a sip of tea and smacked his lips with satisfaction. "It's too late tonight to mobilize people. For now, only Your Majesty knows about this. We still have Li Qiang, you know. Tomorrow morning, we'll transfer a banner of troops from Luyuan to take over the newspaper office first. Once we occupy the place, we won't be afraid of anyone using any tricks or doing anything weird!"
"Well, I will write a letter here tonight. Please send someone capable to deliver it to Longqi Mountain Manor and give it to Manager Fang. Inform Manager Fang and tell him to be prepared. Manager Fang is a reliable person. Remind him and ask him to be careful in the manor tonight to avoid being taken advantage of by others..."
"Not bad, not bad, you are really thoughtful!" Eunuch Liu nodded and looked at Yan Liqiang with a smile, then opened an ancient wooden box on the table next to him, took out an exquisite jade box sealed with white wax and a seal stamp on the white wax, and handed it to Yan Liqiang, "This is what His Majesty asked me to give you!"
Just by looking at the jade box, you can tell that the things inside it are definitely of great value, otherwise they would not be preserved so carefully.
"Ah, eunuch also brought me something from His Majesty?" Yan Liqiang took the jade box carefully and held it in his hand with a flattered look on his face.
"You are loyal to His Majesty, how could His Majesty not know this? This is His Majesty's praise to you, Li Qiang!"
"I wonder what's inside this jade box?"
"Inside the jade box is the Dragon Tiger Golden Pill, which is a holy medicine. Taking one Dragon Tiger Golden Pill can make a Dragon Tiger Warrior advance to a martial artist in one day, raising his realm by a whole level. You can imagine how precious this thing is. It is simply priceless. Even in the royal family, it is a precious item. Every Dragon Tiger Golden Pill is carefully collected and registered, and only awarded to meritorious royal children. His Majesty said that if you take this Dragon Tiger Golden Pill and advance to a martial artist, you will have two more chances of winning the blind competition a few days later..."
"Li Qiang will definitely live up to your majesty's expectations..." Yan Li Qiang's face was filled with tears of gratitude, partly genuine and partly fake, partly because he was moved, and partly because he knew that this was the emperor's way of repaying his choice...
After receiving the Dragon Tiger Golden Pill, Yan Liqiang found some writing brush and, under the watchful eyes of Eunuch Liu, he wrote a letter to Fang Beidou, explaining his decision and asking Fang Beidou to make the corresponding preparations...
After writing the letter and sealing it, Yan Liqiang gave it to Eunuch Liu, and then he returned to his own courtyard with the Dragon Tiger Golden Pill...
Nothing happened that night. Yan Liqiang continued to work on the sixth floor of the crystal tower in the sword cave for several hours. When he found that he still hadn't found a solution, he temporarily came back to his senses.
The next day, before dawn, Eunuch Liu selected a group of elite soldiers in the Deer Park, and then he and Yan Liqiang headed straight for Longqi Mountain...
(End of this chapter)