While Fang Yun and Yan Yukong were delivering the letter, most of the people in Ding County poured out of the city gate and watched a scene that the people of Xiangzhou had never seen before.
Except for scholars with a Jinshi degree or higher, the Xuanwu Army collectively half-knelt, apologized to the people of Ding County who were looted, and took out some treasures as compensation.
Governor Dong Wencong and Governor Fang Shouye personally accepted the apology of the Xuanwu Army and expressed their willingness to resettle the people who were looted.
After apologizing, the Xuanwu Army left in a hurry without looking back, looking extremely embarrassed.
The people of Ding County were extremely excited. Just a few days ago, they had cursed the Ding County magistrate, the governor, Fang Yun, and even the king and the queen mother because they had been robbed. They believed that Xiangzhou would be better off returning to Qing State, as at least it would not be robbed by Qing State's army.
But today, everything that happened before their eyes shocked them, making them realize that Qing State seemed to no longer be the Qing State of the past, and Jing State was no longer the Jing State of the past.
Afterwards, Dong Wencong, Fang Shouye and others returned to Baling City.
When he returned to Baling City, it was already night. Dong Wencong came to Fang Yun's study alone, knocked on the door and entered.
"I'm Dong Wencong, your humble servant. I'm honored to meet the Governor." Dong Wencong walked into the study with a smile.
"Please sit down." Fang Yun said casually.
"I dare not." Dong Wencong said.
"What about the situation in Ding County? Someone mentioned it on the discussion board." Fang Yun said.
"The Xuanwu Army delayed for a long time, but no one from the Qing Kingdom came. They gave up their fantasy and half-knelt to apologize. Alas, those Xiangzhou people said that after being Xiangzhou people for so many years, this was the first time they knew what it meant to be proud." Dong Wencong was quite emotional. He was obviously a middle-aged man, but he looked like an old man looking back on the past.
"Well, that's good. Starting today, put aside all the clutter and start preparing for the Mid-Autumn Literary Festival on August 15th. At that time, politicians and scholars from various countries will come, so we can't be careless." Fang Yun said.
Dong Wencong was stunned and asked, "I don't quite understand. Although the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important annual literary gatherings of the human race, only Kong City usually invites dignitaries from various countries to make it extra grand. Baling City has a mediocre status in the human race, and the annual Mid-Autumn Festival is no different from other festivals. Are you planning to hold a grand Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Fang Yun nodded gently and said, "I plan to solve some problems at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Haven't people in Xiangzhou always been clamoring to make Yueyang Tower more famous than Yellow Crane Tower? This year is the best opportunity."
Dong Wencong said, "I will mobilize all forces to prepare, but... can you reveal the specific scale? Is it at the level of a great scholar, or at the level of a monarch, or at the level of a semi-saint?"
Fang Yun did not answer immediately. He thought for a moment and said, "Above the king."
Dong Wencong showed a look of delight. He had originally thought that only ordinary great scholars would participate. But now that it was at the level of monarchs, it meant that this literary gathering might be able to invite monarchs of various countries, heads of aristocratic families, literary masters, or great figures at the level of virtual saints, and there would be quite a few of them.
"This is unprecedented in the history of Baling City. I will make every effort to prepare and will not allow any mistakes in the writing."
Fang Yun shook his head and said, "You can't prevent mistakes. What you need to do is to think about how to fix them after they occur."
Dong Wencong immediately understood Fang Yun's hidden meaning and asked in a low voice, "Did something big happen that day?"
Fang Yun did not answer. Dong Wencong was just hesitating whether to ask. Fang Yun took out a piece of paper from the desk, handed it to Dong Wencong, and said, "This is the front page headline of tomorrow's Min Bao."
Dong Wencong had been waiting for the headlines. Almost all his hairs stood on end. Every strand of talent in his body seemed to be ready, and he quickly stretched out his hands.
Dong Wencong took the page of paper and looked at it. His eyes widened and his breathing became rapid.
After reading it three times, Dong Wencong looked up at Fang Yun and said in surprise and joy, "Sir, is this true?"
"Of course." Fang Yun said.
"Okay! Okay! Okay! I'll hand it over to the editorial office of Minbao right away!" Dong Wencong lifted the front of his robe and trotted out of Fang Yun's study. The officials in the provincial government were stunned. A dignified Hanlin governor would be like this. If the news got out, he would definitely be reprimanded by the cabinet.
Early morning of August 12th.
The sun seemed to be afraid of the coolness of autumn, hiding at the end of the east and refusing to come out.
At daybreak, long queues formed at the doors of literary academies and bookstores across Xiangzhou, especially outside the Wenyuan Bookstore in Baling City. The queue had started last night, and by five in the morning, there were more than 30,000 people at the door, including more than 3,000 from outside Xiangzhou.
With the lesson learned from the last time, the prefect and county magistrate of Baling were treating the situation as if they were facing a powerful enemy. They had already dispatched thousands of soldiers to the scene to maintain order and also opened fifty sales points.
At 5:30 in the morning, the number of people in front of the State Academy of Literature bookstore reached 50,000.
At six o'clock, when the Wenyuan Bookstore officially opened for sale, the entire street in front of the State Wenyuan was packed with people. The total number of people exceeded 100,000, and more than 10,000 came from outside Xiangzhou, most of whom were from Jingguo, and there were even some booksellers from other places.
A few days ago, after the news that the first issue of "Min Bao" was no longer for sale spread, scholars from all over the human race rushed to buy "Min Bao". The purchase price has skyrocketed and has now risen to thirty taels of silver per copy, and is still rising.
The annual income of a skilled worker in Baling City was less than fifteen taels of silver.
Many people actually began to resell the first issue of "Min Bao", buying it from people in Xiangzhou at a low price and then selling it at a high price.
However, more than half of the people in Xiangzhou cherish this copy of "Minbao" and keep it as a collection, and only a few are willing to sell it.
Even so, the market for reselling "Min Bao" was worth tens of millions of silver, which attracted many people to participate.
The smartest people have already hoarded thousands of copies of "Min Bao" at low prices, waiting for the right time to sell them. Once they sell them, they can get a return of thousands of times.
“It’s on sale!”
More than 100,000 people suddenly became excited. They stretched their heads and looked forward, and saw ox carts coming out. Each ox cart was loaded with a mountain of newspapers. Many people showed expectant eyes.
Some people seem to see mountains of silver coming towards them, some people seem to see a wide road to the imperial examination, and some people seem to see the future of their children...
The people present began to line up to buy the "Min Bao" with different purposes.
The flow of people in front of the State Academy of Literature's bookstore has exceeded that of most sales scenes of "Wen Bao" and "Sheng Dao".
The student Yang Lin stood at the head of a team, watching with a smile as the officers unloaded thick newspapers from the cart.
On the second day of August when the "Min Bao" went on sale, he was the first one to queue up because he wanted to buy the "Wen Bao" and "Sheng Dao", but by accident he bought the first copy of the "Min Bao" in the history of the human race, making him a celebrity among his neighbors and friends, and already well-known throughout the entire Baling City.
Some literary gatherings that would not have originally invited him also sent him invitations, allowing him to be proud among his relatives and friends.
Someone even offered 1,200 taels of silver to buy his first copy of Min Bao, but he refused. He once half-jokingly told his relatives and friends that he would pass down the Min Bao as a family heirloom to his descendants.
Today, he was once again at the front of the line. Some people nearby recognized him as the first person to buy "Min Bao" and talked about him in a low voice, which made Yang Lin feel extremely satisfied.
When Min Bao went on sale, he couldn't wait to pay for the first copy and quickly read the front-page headlines.
.(To be continued.)