Seeing that everyone was busy, Zhang Anshi had nothing to do, but he put all his thoughts away, stayed quietly in his duty room, and drafted a charter.
A complete and sound postal system is a magic weapon.
In fact, the most valuable thing in this world is always the message.
In an agricultural era, people received information very slowly. They were separated from each other in villages and manors of various sizes. Most people were ignorant. On the surface, it seemed that people started working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
Beautiful pastoral scene.
But in fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a zombie.
Social progress actually often begins with the explosion of information.
The driving force that every information explosion brings to the world cannot be compared to a few iron smelting workshops or a few railways, although workshops and iron tools are also the foundation of this information explosion.
Because once people can obtain information cheaply, it means that even people from far and wide can get information thousands of miles away from distant friends, borrowed newspapers, or from other newspaper readers.
Then, the information that was originally only slowly popular among a small number of scholar-bureaucrats began to flow among hundreds of thousands of people.
This is such a terrible thing. Each of these messages is essentially equivalent to planting a seed in the hearts of thousands of people.
People all over the world will no longer just wonder where they will go to find food tomorrow, or whether their clothes at home should be repaired.
Why don't men bring Wu hooks and collect the fifty states of Guanshan? This kind of poetry, or this kind of ambition, is no longer exclusive to the scholar class.
People will unconsciously have thoughts: It would be great if one day I could go to sea.
Or maybe you really want to go to the capital to see the market, see the market in Qixia, take a look at the Forbidden City from a distance, or go to Qixia Temple to see the pagoda.
Of course, each of these implanted dreams or ambitions will eventually be extinguished. After all, the dim light and flame emitted by a small candle cannot last long in the wilderness.
But once you have these thoughts, it is the beginning of change for thousands of people.
Zhang Anshi wants to expand the printing workshop of Di Bao. The sales volume can no longer be limited to 100,000 copies, but one million copies.
We plan to promote the printing industry faster, take advantage of scale, and continue to reduce costs.
In addition, he also wanted to promote charcoal brushes. The cost of using brushes was too high, and the paper required was staggering. If they were used by the scholar class, they could naturally use them freely, but ordinary people really could not afford such a cost.
Small charcoal pencils can save paper and are more convenient.
Of course, Zhang Anshi also planned to ask someone to specially develop a set of cheap enlightenment books, print some simple and commonly used characters in the form of pictures, and then send them to newsstands for sale.
In this era, even the most ordinary people have a huge thirst for knowledge.
This is because the cost of receiving knowledge is too high, far beyond the ability of ordinary people to accept it.
Because of this, there are many articles on how to improve the literacy rate in the simplest way. There are many articles on this world's post stations and newsstands.
The Ming Dynasty has countless people, tens of millions of people. In Zhu Di's words, it is called a country with thousands of miles and billions of people.
But no matter how many people there are, if they cannot read or have any skills, the number of people is actually just a number.
Only by turning them into real people can we draw strength.
Time passed silently, and soon, more than a month passed.
During these days, Zhang Anshi lived a very fulfilling life. He immersed himself in writing in his duty room every day, and occasionally sent stacks of manuscripts to the Postal Department, and the Postal Department responded according to the ideas of His Highness the King of Song.
Some things are really impossible to do, so simply explain the difficulties.
If something can be done, I will naturally express my stance happily.
Others, for a moment, were greatly inspired and became even more eager.
Every time Zhang Anshi sent a manuscript, Hu Mu treated it with great care. He first asked people to copy and distribute dozens of copies of the manuscript, while he himself carefully kept the original manuscript.
Slowly, some civil servants discovered something strange, and they couldn't help but curiously asked: "Ambassador...is the original manuscript still sealed?"
Hu Mu only nodded.
The civil servant couldn't help but say: "The students don't know what the ambassador... wants."
Hu Mu couldn't help but laugh and said: "Have you not read these things yourself? How many of us can think of many of these ideas? Such fantastic ideas are really amazing and unbelievable. I am a scholar.
, I have been reading Confucius and Mencius since I was a child. I have been studying for more than 20 years, but I also know one thing. If such a fantastic idea can still be realized, then thousands of years later, this person will be a saint-like figure. If you think about it carefully
Do you think Confucius and Mencius ever left any manuscripts behind?"
The civil servants couldn't help but be dumbfounded when they heard this, and shook their heads hurriedly.
Hu Mu continued: "That's because they were not saints when they were alive. When Saint Kong was there, although he had three thousand disciples and traveled around the country, he received almost no courtesy. It can be said that he died in depression. What he left in his life is
Most of the canons were written down by the disciples based on their memory. Today is different, today... I will keep all these manuscripts and store them properly so that one day, and after all eternity, they can be taught to others."
Of course, this is just gossip.
At this time, Pingtan Station.
When Xia Xuan arrived in Pingtan after many days of trekking through mountains and rivers, she found that it was just a post station in Fuqing County under Fuzhou Prefecture.
Fuqing County is coastal and mountainous, so there are three post stations in the county. In addition to the county seat, there is also a mountainous rural area, which is Pingtan Post Station.
Xia Xuan didn't waste any time. When he got here, he immediately went to the inn station. There were nine people in the inn. The Yi Cheng was a student from a mathematics school, and there was also an old innkeeper who was the janitor and in charge of the inn's food affairs.
He was the one who stayed at the inn from the beginning.
In addition, the other seven people mostly come from all over the world.
Below Pingtan Station, there are two townships, and three people are responsible for each township. Therefore, among these three people, there is a chief official, and another official is responsible for the newsstand.
Of course, the work of the newsstand was relatively leisurely at this time. Someone from the county was responsible for the transportation of all books and newspapers. He only had to guard the newsstand.
But doing such a light job is not in vain, because this person is also responsible for some clerical and accounting work. To put it bluntly, anyway, people do their best and do a little bit of everything.
As for the postmaster, in addition to supervising the work of the postmen, he is also responsible for the horse affairs at the station. Of course, the old postmen and the clerks at the newsstand will also share some of this.
However, although there are only a few people, I heard that some people will be expanded in the future.
Because Pingtan Station is about to renovate and build some buildings, what needs to be renovated is the guest room. This guest room was originally used to transport officials and their families, but now it needs to be changed.
Regardless of whether you are an official's family member or a scholar rushing to take the exam, you must pay for accommodation when you come. Business travelers who did not accept hospitality in the past are now willing to accept it, and just pay for accommodation and meals.
This post manager was very friendly and talkative. Maybe it was because the post station hadn't accepted new people for a long time, so he started to talk about Xia Xuan's pie as soon as he arrived: "Then Pingtan Hotel will open after repairs. The business will definitely not be good."
It will be different, to be honest, this is also the main business of our postal department. Don’t underestimate this. In the past, the accommodation in this post was given to officials and scholars for free. All supplies were the responsibility of the post.
But now that I have to collect money...it's different."
Xia Xuan couldn't help but said: "But I see that there are many inns in the county."
"This is different." Yi Cheng said: "In the future, the main reception here will be business travelers. Think about it, who are the people staying in the inn? They are all foreigners! When these foreigners arrive, they will live in a different place.
Familiar, and there will always be uneven places in this world. When people go to a foreign land, they will inevitably feel uneasy. They may not dare to stay in other inns, but our hotel in the post station is different. We are affiliated with the Postal Department. People all over the world
If they were all bad guys, we wouldn’t be bad guys either! Moreover, all the hotels in the Post Office, whether in Pingtan or Peiping, have clearly marked prices, not one penny more, not a penny less, you think... can it be less lively in the future?
?"
Xia Xuan has also traveled, but he only traveled to big cities, so it doesn't really matter which inn he stayed in.
But now I think carefully about Yi Cheng's words, and think about the barren mountains and ridges along the way. It's really like this.
He is a young man with a big heart, but most of those business travelers are carrying gold and silver or carrying goods as collateral, so they are naturally extremely cautious.
Looking at Xia Xuan's expression, the Yi Cheng knew that what he had just said was recognized. He smiled and said with his hands behind his back: "You work hard, and in the future, when this hotel is repaired, you will be responsible for it.
When the time comes, the Postal Department will recruit a few more people, and I will teach a few people to help you."
As he was speaking, there happened to be a long official lingering outside the door. As soon as he heard this, he rushed in and shouted angrily: "Liu Yicheng, that's not what you said at the beginning. When you said
If I work hard, I will be taught how to take care of it."
Yi Cheng's face suddenly turned green and red. Feeling embarrassed, he said perfunctorily: "Ahem... let the new Xiaoxia get familiar with the business first. Tannan is short of manpower now. Deng Da, you are in charge of Tannan."
The chief official of Nan, tomorrow you will take him to get acquainted with him."
…………
The next day, Xia Xuan set out.
He followed the chief official Deng Da and learned that Deng Da was also from Jiangxi, so he couldn't help but get close to him.
However, Xia Xuan regretted it a little, because he probably knew that what he had to do was just running errands.
I sorted out the letter paper and some packages early in the morning, packed them with mules, horses and camels, roughly planned the route to deliver the letters and packages, and started to set off.
"Chief Deng, have you ever read a book?"
"yes."
"I don't understand something." Xia Xuan couldn't help but wonder: "Since Chief Deng is a scholar, why did he assign Chief Deng to be responsible for running errands? Could it be that Chief Deng offended the postman?"
Dengda smiled and led the horse. At this time, the two of them came to a stream. In this kind of place, there are not roads everywhere. Dengda wanted to lead the mules and horses to wade across the stream, but the mules and horses refused. , Dengda slapped it a few times, and then the horse became obedient, let out a mournful cry, and then swam down into the water obediently.
After crossing the stream, Deng Da smiled and said: "We postmen all have such high salaries, and we recruit people who can write and calculate. Do you really think that sending this letter is as simple as running errands?"
Xia Xuan frowned and shook his head. In fact, he really regretted it.
It's not that he regrets acting out of impulse. Since he was a child, he didn't know what fear was.
The only thing I regret is... I shouldn't have been so reckless as to come to such a remote place to hang out.
After walking for a while, Dengda actually took out a map and carefully identified the location of the map. There were also many marks densely packed in the map, even in various numbers.
After looking at it carefully, he said: "Go north and go to Qianhe Village first."
Under the scorching sun, the two walked quickly and finally arrived at Qianhe Village.
When they saw the postman coming, many people in the village became happy.
Most of them were in ragged clothes, but there were many people gathered there. Some of them were at home, so they couldn't help but have hope, but they didn't exchange letters with anyone. Perhaps there was nothing good to say in this small village, even if a few came. Even foreigners can't help but come and take a look at the excitement.
Immediately, Deng Da sent two letters.
But those who had received the faith were overjoyed, but the crowd did not disperse.
But everyone was still gathering together. As for Deng Da, he seemed to be very familiar with them. He greeted each other and could actually name many people directly.
The one who opened the letter first was an old woman. The old woman trembled slightly and delivered the letter to Deng Da.
Deng Da took the letter casually and began to read to the old woman: "My mother Jin An, my son is away, he is fine, and he is in Fuzhou City..."
After the recitation, people still refused to disperse and seemed to start talking about this person in Fuzhou City. For a while, it was noisy.
Deng Da finished reading another letter, then stood up and said: "It's getting late, and I have to go to Aoqian later. By the way, are there any signs with our postal code in this village? We need to hurry up. If you don't register again, it will be inconvenient to send letters in the future. If anyone has ordered the Di newspaper, let me know."
An old man laughed: "They're all dead, they're all dead. Although our place is remote and there are not many young and strong people outside, but hanging up, isn't it one more thing to think about? Who knows if there will be one of us outside? Where are the distant relatives?"
Everyone laughed happily.
Another person said: "My daughter got married in Putian County, but she didn't know. She didn't know if there was a post station, and I don't know if she was willing to write a letter. Alas, she hasn't come home to visit her in the past two years..."
As he said this, everyone sighed again.
Deng Da said: "Don't worry, there are also inns in Putian County. Maybe...she hasn't decided what to write yet."
The old woman pulled Deng Da and said: "Mr. Deng, if you must please reply to my son a letter... I bought stamps a long time ago..."
Deng Da rolled up his sleeves, took out charcoal and paper from the mail bag, and then said: "You tell me, I will write..."
Finally...it was with the support of many people that Deng Da and Xia Xuan set off again.
Xia Xuan had been watching this village silently since he arrived. When he left, he lowered his head and thought deeply.
But he couldn't help but have many questions, so he asked Deng Da: "Chief official, just to send these two letters..."
Deng Da seemed to understand what he meant at once and said with a smile: "Don't you know? In the past, there was not a single letter in this village for several years in a row, but now, there are actually two letters a day...
…”
Xia Xuan's thoughts did not change for a while, so he said blankly: "What the chief official means..."
At this time, Deng Da had a very gentle smile on his face. Although his face was burnt red by the early scorching sun, there was no hint of impatience.
He said: "It didn't exist before, and it may not exist in the future. Everyone knows its convenience, so naturally it will exist."
He looked at Xia Xuan's face, which was both novel and awe-inspiring, and said, "Did you know that the village in front of you is a fishing village, um... it's a Dan people, do the Dan people know?"
Xia Xuan shook his head blankly.
Deng Da continued to smile and said: "Actually, they are what people often call untouchables. Almost all of their people live on the boat. On weekdays, even the government will never care about them. Even if they have disputes with others on the shore, the government will
Almost favoring the other side.”
Xia Xuan frowned and said, "Fishing for the rest of your life?"
"Exactly." Deng Da said: "In other villages, even if there is no scholar now, there can always be a few scholars for hundreds of years. But in that place, there has never been a scholar for thousands of years. But you
Do you know or not...someone actually ordered the Di newspaper right here."
Xia Xuan exclaimed: "Ah... are they literate?"
Deng Da said: "For them, literacy is different from us scholars. We need a teacher, pen, ink, paper and inkstone to be literate. But some of them use tree branches to draw on the beach.
When I had questions, I would catch passers-by and ask for advice. I could barely recognize a few words and understand a few common words. Then I read the Di newspaper vaguely, and slowly I understood everything.
"
Xia Xuan was even more surprised and couldn't help but ask: "A person passing by can actually read?"
Deng Da almost rolled his eyes at him and said angrily: "This passerby is actually me."
Xia Xuan: "..."
After walking some more, it was actually only three days ago, but Xia Xuan was already on the verge of falling apart. He was shuddering, and his legs and feet began to limp a little.
Dunda simply let him sit on the mule horse.
He muttered: "When I first came here, I was actually the same as you, but after doing this kind of thing for some time, I didn't feel it was hard anymore. But now that I have become familiar with the people here, every time I go there
Everywhere I go in the village, I always feel happy to see people, and I can't help but feel satisfied. When I meet some people and meet a 'scholar' like me, they are willing to come and ask for advice, which is even more amazing."
After a pause, he glanced at Xia Xuan, who was listening to him carefully, and said with some emotion: "I used to think that people were stupid because they refused to study, but now I think about it, it's because they can't.
Reading makes you stupid just now. You will understand slowly in the future."