"As expected of Qi Shaobao!"
Cao Xing sighed, but then he said, "No, it's Grand Guardian Qi. Duke Dingbei is really amazing!"
After the news about Qi Jiguang spread, Qi Jiguang immediately became the idol of countless people.
Qi Mansion.
Qi Jiguang's mansion was arranged by the emperor. Now the plaque at the door had been changed to Duke Dingbei. The gatekeeper's aura was not ordinary.
He raised his head and his aura increased greatly. Now he was the gatekeeper of Duke Dingbei.
The housekeeper, Qi An, quickly walked to the backyard with a newspaper in his hand.
Seeing the maid Meixiang sitting in the yard in a daze, Qi An looked at Meixiang anxiously and asked, "Is Master Hou up?"
Meixiang shook her head directly. "Not yet. Uncle An, what's wrong?
Why are you in such a hurry? What's the matter? "
Qi An sighed and sat on the stone bench in the yard. He reached for a pot of tea on the stone table and took a sip. Then he said, "Look at it yourself!" Saying this, he put the newspaper on the table.
Slightly stunned, Meixiang reached out and picked up the newspaper. Then she was attracted by it.
This, this … Meixiang looked at it for a long time before she reacted. "This is Master Hou!"
Looking at Meixiang's excited look, Qi An felt very uneasy in his heart. He was an old man in the Qi family. When he was young, he served the master. Now he was old and served the young master.
He was definitely a person who had been through a lot. This newspaper seemed to be praising his Master Hou, but it could easily cause trouble for his Master Hou!
If a dike is higher than the shore, the waves will destroy it. If a talent is higher than the masses, people will not be able to do it. If a beauty can topple a country, people will be lustful.
Although Qi An had never been educated, he still knew this sentence. His family's Marquis was already at the heart of the struggle, and his generals were not favored. Now that he was being praised by this newspaper, he was afraid that he would be in trouble.
As soon as he saw the newspaper, Qi An brought the newspaper he bought to find his Master Hou, but Master Hou was not up yet.
Usually, Qi An would knock on the door with the newspaper. But this time, Master Hou had been away from home for so long. The couple had been separated for so long. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Even a fool would know what they had done last night.
If she didn't get up now, she might have done it a few more times in the morning. Qi An felt that Madam would definitely hate him if he disturbed her at this time.
Qi Jiguang only woke up when the sun was high in the sky. Seeing Qi Jiguang walk out of the door, Qi An did not disturb him. Instead, he watched as Meixiang helped Qi Jiguang wash up.
After washing up, Qi Jiguang glanced at Qi An and asked with a smile, "Uncle An, what are you holding in your hand?"
Qi An handed the newspaper to Qi Jiguang and said, "It's a newspaper!"
Qi Jiguang was stunned. What was a newspaper?
However, Qi Jiguang still reached out to take it and read it. But halfway through, Qi Jiguang's face darkened. Who is this?
Does he have a grudge against me?
At this time, Madam Wang, who had been nourished by Qi Jiguang for a night, also came out of the room.
Seeing Qi Jiguang holding a piece of paper in a daze, and his face darkened, Madam Wang reached out and took the newspaper from Qi Jiguang's hand.
After a quick glance, Madam Wang's face also darkened.
Two words flashed in Madam Wang's mind, and that was: overpraise to death!
In fact, her husband had lived peacefully for so many years and became an official. In addition to being good at fighting, it had a lot to do with his image and position.
Basically, the impression that Qi Jiguang gave others was that he was sensible and generous, but he also had the vulgarity of a martial artist. He had no bottom line and would do anything.
For example, because he was afraid of Zhang Juzheng's flattery, he sent women and fur seal kidneys to him.
Everyone knew that Qi Jiguang had sent a pair of twin Hu girls to Zhang Juzheng.
However, this newspaper portrayed her husband as a famous general with great patriotism. It said that he had made up his mind when he was young and worked hard for it. This was all too familiar.
Madam Wang was well-versed in history books. This was about Yue Fei, and it was extremely flattering.
Glancing at Qi An, Madam Wang asked in a deep voice, "Have you found out who did it?"
"Madam, we don't know who did it yet. This morning, there were many people selling newspapers on the street. One copy costs two copper coins." When Qi An said this, he was about to cry. "Now, it's probably sold all over the capital."
Qi Jiguang and Madam Wang looked at each other and saw the disbelief in each other's eyes.
If it was someone who posted it on the streets, it would be understandable. However, it was obviously done on purpose to sell it on such a large scale.
Qi Jiguang looked at Qi An. "Go and find out who did it."
"Yes, Marquis!" Qi An agreed and turned to walk out.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Palace.
Zhu Yijun had woken up early and jogged around the palace. His appetite was good, and the porridge cooked by the imperial chef was very good. Zhu Yijun drank an extra bowl.
Glancing at Xu De, who was waiting on him, Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "How long has it been since you last entered the palace?"
"Replying Imperial Majesty, it's been a while!" Xu De hurriedly replied.
Zhu Yijun nodded. "The newspaper is on sale today. Aren't you afraid that it won't sell?"
"With Qi Shaobao's help, it will definitely sell!" Xu De said with a smile.
That's right. The newspaper was made by Zhu Yijun. Or rather, it was Zhu Yijun who made the inner court do it.
With this incident, Zhu Yijun planned to shape Qi Jiguang into a flag bearer of the New Honours.
The victory in the northwest this time had brought too many benefits to Zhu Yijun. It was also his idea to take this opportunity to launch the newspaper.
"Imperial Majesty, Duke Dingbei is outside asking for an audience!" Zhang Jing walked in from outside and said respectfully.
"He came quite fast!" Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Let him in!"
Not long after, Qi Jiguang walked in from outside. The expression on his face was very serious. After bowing to Zhu Yijun, Qi Jiguang presented a newspaper and said, "Your Majesty, someone has maliciously praised me to death."
"I request for the closure of this Daming Daily Press. They actually dared to use the name of Daming. This is really deceiving the Emperor.
They printed this kind of thing without authorization and maliciously praised the ministers of the imperial court. This is a serious crime.
I request that the people of Daming Daily Press be arrested and interrogated. We must find out who is behind this. "
Listening to Qi Jiguang's words, the expressions of the people in the hall were a little strange.
Xu De looked at Qi Jiguang with a wronged and puzzled look. Duke Dingbei, do we have such a big grudge?
I just asked someone to praise you, and I even asked someone to write it in a good way. How could you say such things?
Zhu Yijun looked like he couldn't hold back his laughter, but then it became a little awkward.
He looked at Qi Jiguang helplessly. Is it really okay for you to say such things?
This is not giving me any leeway!
In fact, Qi Jiguang certainly knew that it was not good to say such things. He also guessed that this Daming Daily Press must have a big backer behind it, but he also knew that he had no other choice!
If he didn't express his stance, he was afraid that he would be suspected by the Emperor!
Although the Emperor was young and wise, a general who was suspected would not have a good ending. Qi Jiguang couldn't be careless even if he didn't want to.
Zhu Yijun glanced at the newspaper and nodded with satisfaction. He said with a smile, "Well written. Duke Dingbei, I think it's well written!
You are so well written. Look at this sentence, 'Have little ambition, but have a firm heart. Learn from the old days of dancing at the sound of the rooster. Study diligently every day, and you will achieve something.'
How well written. "
After listening to Zhu Yijun's words, Qi Jiguang was a little hesitant. There seemed to be something wrong with the Emperor's words!
Zhu Yijun glanced at Qi Jiguang and said with some playfulness, "I think the person who wrote this should not be like what you said. He should have written it with good intentions. After all, you have made great contributions to the country.
After doing so many things, he still needs to let people know. What do you think? "
Qi Jiguang was not a fool. Of course, he understood the Emperor's meaning.
According to the Emperor's words, there were two possibilities for this matter. One was that the person who did this had a great background, and had already told the Emperor before doing it. The other possibility was that this matter was done by the Emperor.
Thinking of this, Qi Jiguang hurriedly bowed and said, "This subject is slow-witted. If Your Majesty is wise and farsighted, you can help this subject clear up my doubts. This subject still misunderstood the Daming Daily News. This subject is truly ashamed.
After this subject returns, I will definitely go to the Daming Daily News to apologize! "
Zhu Yijun glanced at Qi Jiguang and helplessly shook his head. This was Qi Taibao. Daming Duke Dingbei, where was your integrity?
However, Zhu Yijun also knew that this person didn't care about integrity at all. Thus, he pointed to Xu De and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Xu De, the eunuch of the Department of Rites, the commander of the inner factory."
"You may not be familiar with the inner factory, but you will understand in the future."
"That's right, the Daming Daily News that you mentioned is run by the inner factory."
Although Qi Jiguang didn't know what the inner factory was, he knew of Dongchang. This inner factory sounded similar to Dongchang. Clearly, this Xu De's position wasn't low!
Thus, Qi Jiguang's face revealed a smile and very formally apologized to Xu De.
"This Qi is slow-witted and has misunderstood Eunuch Xu's good intentions. Eunuch Xu, please don't take it to heart.
In the future, this Qi will definitely pay a visit to apologize. I hope that Eunuch Xu will not lower himself to my level. "
Xu De hurriedly reached out to stop Qi Jiguang. He knew very well how important this North Placid Marquis was to the Imperial Majesty. "North Placid Marquis is too serious. Speaking of which, it is my family's fault. I really shouldn't have informed North Placid Marquis in advance. If anyone wants to apologize, it should be me."
Zhu Yijun shook his head helplessly and directly said to the two of them, "Alright, Xu De, go out and do what you need to do. If there are no problems here in the capital, the inner factory will push the newspaper out. Daming Daily News has to be sold in all thirteen provinces."
"Yes, Imperial Majesty, this servant will do it immediately!" After saying this, Xu De bowed and left.
After waiting for Xu De to leave, Zhu Yijun glanced at Qi Jiguang and thought for a moment. He smiled and said, "The newspaper is my idea. Don't think too much about it. Put your heart at ease.
You came at the right time. I have something to discuss with you. "