Chapter 29: I’ll Buy the Rights to Your First Thirty Chapters!

After leaving the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Biao patted Zhu Di on the head and said with a smile, "Fourth brother, you must thank Mr. Qin properly. If he hadn't recommended you to Father for the position of Riverway Governor, how could you have been granted an exception to establish your own manor early and enter the imperial court?"

Zhu Di bowed excitedly to Qin Feng and said, "Teacher, thank you for bringing me to the Fengtian Hall today. Only then was I able to be entrusted with such an important task by Father."

Qin Feng replied, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Prince of Yan, this is not the time for us to celebrate. The riverway is a matter of great significance, and I fear those officials involved in its affairs will not simply sit by and wait for their doom."

Zhu Biao frowned and asked, "Sir, do you think they will take drastic action?"

"By having the Prince of Yan serve as the Riverway Governor, I may have seemingly silenced the court officials and nobles, but I have also placed the Prince of Yan in an extremely dangerous position."

As soon as Qin Feng finished speaking, the expressions of Zhu Biao and Zhu Di changed drastically.

A dangerous position? Could these officials actually intend to harm a prince?

Qin Feng continued, "These corrupt officials are worried that their schemes will be exposed, so they may very well take hostile action against me and the Prince of Yan."

Zhu Di said angrily, "How dare they! To harm a prince is a crime punishable by the execution of one's entire clan!"

"If they want to survive, they will want us dead!"

Zhu Biao and Zhu Di were both startled, their expressions growing increasingly tense.

"Mr. Qin, I will ask Father to lend his imperial guards to you and the fourth brother to ensure your safety."

Qin Feng said, "They can protect us for a while, but not for a lifetime! The Prince of Yan and I must make thorough preparations before heading to the riverway to assume our posts."

Zhu Di asked with concern, "Teacher, how shall we protect ourselves?"

"By spending money to hire martial arts masters to protect us!" After saying this, Qin Feng looked toward Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao said with a guileless expression, "Why is the teacher looking at me?"

Qin Feng spread his hands and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Prince of Yan fears for his life; do you not wish to save him?"

"When the fourth brother is in trouble, I naturally wish to help him, but I do not know any martial arts masters!"

Qin Feng smiled and said, "That is easily solved; leave it to me. However, finding such masters always requires silver for bribes and arrangements."

Zhu Biao finally realized that Qin Feng was trying to get money out of him. He said with a bitter smile, "Mr. Qin, my manor has significant expenses; in truth, I do not have much in savings."

Having said this, Zhu Biao reached toward his waist, but Qin Feng snatched his pouch away before he could react.

Qin Feng remarked, "Silver alone is not enough; I have other uses for the money. If you and the Prince of Yan trust me, I can assemble martial arts masters from all walks of life in the capital within a month! But before that, I must trouble the Crown Prince to secure us more time before we are required to depart for the riverway."

Seeing Qin Feng's mysterious demeanor, Zhu Biao asked curiously, "Sir, why not tell us your plan first?"

"It's a secret!"

Qin Feng stuffed the silver he had obtained from Zhu Biao into his own belt. At the same time, he reached toward Zhu Di’s waist and swiped some silver from him as well. Zhu Biao and Zhu Di could only watch helplessly as Qin Feng pocketed their money—those were the personal savings they had accumulated over a long time!

...

With the silver obtained from Zhu Biao and Zhu Di, Qin Feng found a printing house in the capital and rented it. In the current Ming Dynasty, information was severely restricted. What he intended to do was to make information transparent and accessible. The most important tool for recording information was media, and in ancient times, the only medium available was the newspaper.

Qin Feng planned to use the money to start a newspaper, dedicated to recording national events, and then circulate these printed papers among the common people. By selling the printed papers cheaply, he could ensure that every subject of the Ming Dynasty could have a copy. In this way, Qin Feng would possess the top-tier traffic pool in the entire country. When the time came, he could use that traffic to earn advertising revenue from merchants.

He possessed modern internet business thinking and could completely outperform all wealthy merchants in commerce. The gap between rich and poor was primarily a gap in thinking! While the ancients were stuck in the backward commercial logic of buying low and selling high, Qin Feng had already begun to play the game of traffic.

However, after having these advanced ideas, he suddenly realized the newspaper currently lacked content. He summoned Zhu Biao and the other princes, asking if there was any gossip in the palace lately.

"Gossip? Are you referring to the Eight Trigrams of Heaven and Earth?"

Qin Feng: "..."

"Are there any strange tales or news in the palace?"

Zhu Biao said, "I heard that Father recently summoned a Mr. Luo to tell stories. Mr. Luo is a man of great literary talent, and Father has always appreciated him."

"Mr. Luo? Which Mr. Luo?"

"I know! It's the Mr. Luo who is currently writing the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'!"

Qin Feng’s eyes lit up. Three Kingdoms? Romance? Could it be Luo Guanzhong, the author of the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*?

Still troubled by the lack of content for his newspaper, Qin Feng quickly asked, "Where is this Mr. Luo now?"

"If he hasn't left yet, Mr. Luo should still be in the capital."

Qin Feng knew well the identity of Luo Guanzhong, who had once been a strategist for Zhang Shicheng. Now that Old Zhu had conquered the world, it was impossible for him to have a chance at an official career. Thus, Qin Feng sent people to inquire everywhere in the capital. Finally, his efforts were rewarded; he found Luo Guanzhong telling stories in a tea house.

When Qin Feng saw Luo Guanzhong, the man appeared dejected and unfulfilled. He was already nearly fifty years old and, beyond writing stories, he had no other aspirations. After his teacher, Shi Nai'an, passed away, he had spent his time editing *Water Margin* and writing other tales. He had once been a strategist eager to serve a wise ruler, but now he could only make a living as a storyteller.

"Sir, your storytelling is truly brilliant. Have you never thought about letting more people hear these stories?"

The white-haired Luo Guanzhong slowly looked up to see Qin Feng smiling at him. He sighed deeply and intended to leave the tea house, but was blocked by Qin Feng.

"Sir, could the stories you tell be serialized in my newspaper? I will pay you by the word."

Luo Guanzhong looked at Qin Feng in confusion. Qin Feng did not care about that; he dragged Luo Guanzhong straight to the printing house. Luo Guanzhong could ensure the content output; as long as he cooperated, the newspaper would certainly become a household name.

"Young Master, why have you brought me here?"

Qin Feng said, "The content of your stories is magnificent, and even the current Emperor enjoys them so much. Why not print them and let everyone in the world read them?"

Luo Guanzhong rolled his eyes and said, "I haven't finished writing it yet."

"You can write slowly, but the content you have already written can be serialized in the newspaper first, allowing others to read the exciting parts!"

Luo Guanzhong was still somewhat bewildered.

"You can't just rely on storytelling to get by, can you? I have some silver here; how about I buy the copyright to your first thirty chapters?"

Luo Guanzhong: "???"