my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 558

Chapter 558

Seeing that everyone was busy, Zhang Anshi had nothing to do, but he put away all his thoughts, stayed quietly in his room, and drafted a charter.

A complete and sound postal system can be described as a magic weapon.

In fact, the most valuable thing in this world is always information.

In an agricultural era, people received information very slowly, and they were separated from each other in large and small villages and manors. The vast majority of people were in a daze. Beautiful rural scene.

But in fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a walking dead.

The progress of society, in fact, often starts with the explosion of information.

The impetus brought to the world by every explosion of information is by no means comparable to some workshops for smelting ironware, or a few railways, although workshops and ironware are also the foundation of this information explosion.

Because once people can obtain information cheaply, it means that even people in the remotest corners of the world can get information thousands of miles away from distant friends or borrowed newspapers, or from other people who read newspapers.

Then, the information that was slowly popular among a few scholar-bureaucrats began to flow among hundreds of times and thousands of people.

What a terrible thing this is, each message, in essence, is equivalent to planting a seed in the hearts of thousands of people.

The common people in the world will no longer just think in a daze, where they will go to look for food tomorrow, and whether their clothes should be mended.

Why don't the men take the Wu hook and collect the fifty states of Guanshan.Such poems, or such ambitions, are no longer exclusive to the scholar class.

People will subconsciously have thoughts one after another, if one day I can also go to sea, how wonderful it would be.

Or, I really want to go to the capital to see and see, to see the market in Qixia, to see the Forbidden City from a distance, or to see the pagoda in Qixia Temple.

The implanted dreams or ambitions will of course be extinguished eventually, after all, the twilight and flame from a small candle cannot last long in the wilderness.

But once you have these thoughts, it is the beginning of thousands of people's changes.

Zhang Anshi plans to expand the printing workshop of Dibao, and the sales volume can no longer be limited to [-] copies, but millions of copies.

Industries that intend to push printing faster, take advantage of scale, and continue to drive down costs.

In addition, he also wanted to promote charcoal brushes. The cost of using brushes is too high, and the paper required is amazing. It can be used by the scholar class, but ordinary people can't accept such a cost.

Small charcoal pencils 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 common characters in the form of pictures, and then send them to the newsstand for sale.

In this era, even the most ordinary people have a huge thirst for knowledge.

Because the cost of receiving knowledge is too high, far beyond the ability of ordinary people to accept.

Because of this, there are many articles on how to improve the literacy rate in the simplest way. There are also newsstands in the world.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were countless people, tens of thousands of people. In Zhu Di's words, there were thousands of miles of mountains and mountains, and billions of people.

But no matter how many people there are, if they are unable to read and write, and cannot have a skill, the number of this population is actually nothing more than a number.

Only by turning them into real people can they draw power.

Time passed silently, and soon, more than a month passed.

During these days, Zhang Anshi had a very fulfilling life. He immersed himself in writing in his duty room every day, and occasionally sent stacks of manuscripts to the post office, and the post office responded according to His Highness Song Wang's ideas.

Some things are really impossible, which simply means that there are difficulties.

Some of them can be done, so I am happy to express my opinion.

There are also, suddenly, greatly inspired, and even more eager.

Every time Zhang Anshi sent someone to send a manuscript, Hu Mu treated it with extreme care. First, he asked someone to transcribe and distribute dozens of copies of the manuscript, but he himself carefully kept the original manuscript.

Slowly, the civil servants found out the strangeness, and asked curiously: "Ambassador...is the original manuscript still sealed?"

Hu Mu just nodded.

The civil official couldn't help saying: "The students don't know what the ambassador's intentions are."

But Hu Mu couldn't help laughing, and said, "Didn't you read these things yourself? How many of us can think of the many ideas in them? Such fantastic ideas are really amazing and unimaginable. I am a scholar. , I have read Confucius and Mencius since I was a child, and I have studied for more than [-] years, but I also know one thing. If such a fantastic idea can be realized, then after thousands of years, this person will be like a saint. Think carefully Think, did Confucius and Mencius leave behind manuscripts?”

When the civil servants listened, they couldn't help being dumbfounded, and shook their heads hastily.

Hu Mu went on to say: "That's because they were not saints when they were alive. When Confucius was alive, although he had three thousand disciples and traveled around the world, he hardly received any courtesy and almost died of depression. What he left in his life Most of the manuscripts were written down by the disciples based on their memories. Today is different, today... I will keep these manuscripts and store them properly, so that one day, they will be taught to others after all ages."

Of course, this is just gossip.

But at this time, in Pingtan Station.

When Xia Xuan arrived in Pingtan after many days of trekking through mountains and rivers, he found that it was just a post station in Fuqing County under Fuzhou Prefecture.

Fuqing County is coastal and mountainous, so three post stations have been set up in the county. In addition to the county seat, there is also a remote village with many mountains, which is the Pingtan post station.

Xia Xuan didn't delay. When he arrived here, he immediately came to the post station. There were nine people in the post station. The post station was a student from a mathematics school. There was also a gatekeeper and an old post station who was in charge of the station's food affairs. The pawns were those who stayed in the post station at the beginning.

Other than that, most of the other seven people came from all over the world.

There are two townships at the bottom of Pingtan post, and three people are in charge of one township. Therefore, among the three people, a chief official was appointed, and another official was in charge of the newsstand.

Of course, the work of the newsstand is relatively free at this time, and all the books and newspapers are transported by other people in the county, so he only needs to guard the newsstand.

But it's not in vain to do such an easy job, because this person is also responsible for some clerical and accounting work.To put it bluntly, anyway, people make the best use of them and do everything.

As for the postman, in addition to supervising the work of the postmen, he is also responsible for the horse affairs in the station. Of course, the old postmen and the clerks at the newsstand will also share some.

However, although there are few people, it is said that some people will be expanded in the future.

Because Pingtan Station is about to repair and build some buildings, the room to be repaired is the guest room. This room was originally responsible for picking up and dropping off officials and family members, but now it has to be changed.

Regardless of whether you are an official family member or a scholar rushing for an exam, you will have to pay for accommodation when you come. The past business travelers who did not accept hospitality in the past are now willing to accept it, and just pay for accommodation and meals.

This Yicheng is very friendly and talkative. It may be that the station has not accepted newcomers for a long time, so he started to make big cakes for Xia Xuan as soon as he came: "The Pingtan Hotel will open after it is repaired, and the business must be good." It will be bad, to be honest, this is also the main business of our postal department, don't underestimate this, in the past, the post station accommodation was just posted for officials and scholars for nothing, and all supplies were provided by the post station. But now it's time to collect money...it's different."

Xia Xuan couldn't help but said: "But I see that there are also many inns in the county."

"It's different." Yi Cheng said: "In the future, here, the main hospitality 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 different places. We are familiar with each other, and in this world, there will eventually be places that are not peaceful. When people go to a foreign land, they will inevitably feel uneasy. They may not dare to live in other inns, but the hotel in our inn is different. We belong to the post office, and there are people all over the world. If they were all bad guys, we wouldn't be bad guys either! And all the hotels in the post office, whether it's in Pingtan or Beiping, have clearly marked prices, not one cent more, not one penny less, you say... Will it be lively in the future? ?"

Xia Xuan has also traveled, but the ones he travels to and from are all big cities, so it doesn't really matter which inn he stays in.

But now thinking about Yicheng's words carefully, and thinking about this journey, most of them are barren mountains and wild mountains, which is really the case.

He is a young man with a big heart, but most of the merchants carry gold and silver, or hold goods, so they will naturally be extremely cautious.

Looking at Xia Xuan's expression, Yi Cheng knew that his words just now had been approved.He smiled and said with his hands behind his back: "You work hard. In the future, when the hotel is repaired, you will be in charge of the hotel. Then the Post Office will recruit a few more people, and I will teach a few people to help you."

While he was talking, there happened to be a senior official hovering outside the door. Upon hearing this, he rushed in and shouted angrily: "Liu Yicheng, you didn't say that at the beginning, when you said If I work hard, teach me to take care of it.”

Suddenly, Yi Cheng's face turned blue and red, and he was embarrassed, so he said perfunctorily: "Ahem... let the newcomer Xiaoxia familiarize himself with the business first, there is a shortage of manpower in Tannan now, Deng Da, you are in charge of Tan Nan’s chief official, tomorrow you will take him to get acquainted with him.”

…………

The next day, Xia Xuan set off.

He followed Deng Da, the chief official, and learned that Deng Da was also from Jiangxi, so he couldn't help but get close.

But Xia Xuan felt a little regretful, because he probably knew that what he wanted to do was actually just running errands.

I used mules and horses to hunch the letterheads and some packages that I sorted out early in the morning, roughly planned the route to deliver the letters and packages, and started to set off.

"Mr. Deng, have you ever read a book?"

"Yes."

"I don't know one thing." Xia Xuan couldn't help but wondered: "Since Deng is a scholar, why did he assign Deng to run errands? Could it be that Deng offended the postman?"

Deng Da smiled, and led the horse. At this time, the two of them came to a stream. In this kind of place, there are not everywhere roads. Deng Da wanted to lead the mule and horse to wade across the stream, but the mule and horse refused. , Deng Da patted it a few times, the mule and horse became honest, let out a mournful cry, and obediently went into the water leisurely.

After crossing the creek, Deng Da smiled and said, "All of us postmen have such high salaries, and all of us recruit people who can write and count. 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 being impulsive, since he was a child, he didn't know what it was to be afraid.

The only thing I regret is... I shouldn't be reckless and come to hang out in such a remote place.

After walking for a while, Deng Da actually took out a map and carefully identified the location of the map. In the map, there were also many marks densely packed, and there were even various numbers.

After looking at it carefully, he said, "Go north, go to Qianhe Village first."

Under the scorching sun, the two walked quickly and finally arrived at Qianhe Village.

Seeing a postman coming, many people in the village became happy.

Most of them are dressed in rags, but many people gather here. Some of them are away from home, so they inevitably have hope, but they have no correspondence with them. Perhaps this small village is really lacklustre, even if there are a few people here. Outsiders, people can't help but come to have a look at the excitement.

Immediately, Deng Da sent two letters.

But those who got the letter were overjoyed, but the crowd did not disperse.

But everyone still gathered together, as for Deng Da, he seemed to be very familiar with them, greeted each other with them, and was able to directly name many people.

It was an old woman who opened the letter first, and the old woman sent the letter to Deng Da trembling slightly.

Deng Da casually took the letter and began to read to the old woman: "Mother Jin'an, son is away, it's okay, in Fuzhou City..."

After the reading, the people still refused to leave, and seemed to start talking about the people in Fuzhou City, and there was a commotion all of a sudden.

After Deng Da finished reading another letter, he got up and said, "It's getting late, and I have to go to Aoqian later. By the way, is there any signboard with our postal code in this village? Hurry up, If you don’t register, it will be inconvenient to send letters in the future. If someone orders the Dibao, please let me know.”

An old man laughed: "It's all hung up, it's all hung up, although our place is remote, and there are not many young and strong people outside, but hanging up, isn't it one more thought? Who knows if we will have one outside?" What about distant relatives?"

Everyone laughed happily.

Another person said: "My daughter married to Putian County, but she doesn't know. She knows if there is a post station, and she doesn't know if she is willing to write a letter. Hey, it's been two years since I came home to visit my relatives..."

With that said, everyone sighed again.

Deng Da said, "Don't worry, there is also a station in Putian County, maybe...she hasn't decided what to write yet."

The old woman pulled Deng Da and said, "Mr. Deng, I need to trouble you to write back a letter to my son...I bought stamps a long time ago..."

Deng Da rolled up his sleeves, took out charcoal and paper from the mail bag, and immediately said: "You say, I will write..."

In the end... Deng Da and Xia Xuan started their journey again under the crowd of many people.

Xia Xuan has been watching the village silently since he came to this village, and when he left, he lowered his head thoughtfully.

But he couldn't help but have many questions, so he asked Deng Da: "Sir, just to send these two letters..."

Deng Da seemed to understand what he meant immediately, and said with a smile: "You don't know, in the past, there was not a single letter in this village for several years, but now, there are two letters a day... ..."

Xia Xuan's thinking didn't turn around for a while, so he said in a daze: "The chief official means..."

At this time, Deng Da had a very gentle smile on his face. Although his face was glowing red from the early sun, there was no trace of impatience.

He said: "It didn't exist in the past, and it may not exist in the future. Everyone knows its convenience, and naturally, there will be one."

He looked at Xia Xuan's strange and amazed face, and said, "Do you know that the village in front is a fishing village, um...it's the Dan people, do the Dan people know?"

Xia Xuan shook his head blankly.

Deng Da continued to smile and said: "In fact, they are often called untouchables. Almost all of them live on the boat. On weekdays, even the government doesn't care about them. Even if they are on the shore and have disputes with others, the government will It’s almost taking sides as well.”

Xia Xuan frowned and said, "Fishing for a lifetime?"

"Exactly." Deng Da said: "In other villages, even if there is no scholar now, there will always be a few scholars in the past hundred years. But in that place, there has never been a scholar in the past thousands of years. But you Whether you know it or not... in this place, someone actually ordered the residence newspaper."

Xia Xuan exclaimed, "Ah...are they literate?"

Deng Da said: "For them, literacy and other things are different from us scholars. We need a teacher, a pen, ink, paper and inkstone to be able to read. But among them, some people gestured with tree branches on the beach. When I had any doubts, I caught passers-by to ask for advice, and I could barely recognize a few words, understood a few commonly used words, and then read the Dibao, reading it vaguely, and gradually understood everything. "

Xia Xuan was even more surprised, and couldn't help but said, "People passing by can read and write?"

Deng Da almost rolled his eyes at him, and said angrily, "This passer-by is actually me."

Xia Xuan: "..."

After walking some more distances, in fact, it was only three poles in the sun, but Xia Xuan was already on the verge of falling apart.He was fluttering, and his legs and feet began to limp a little.

Deng Da simply let him sit on the mule horse.

He murmured: "When I first came here, I was actually the same as you. However, after doing this kind of thing for a while, I didn't find it hard. But this place has become familiar with people. Every time I go to each other In a village, there are always people who are happy to see people, and I can’t help but feel satisfied. When I meet some people, it’s even more amazing to meet a "scholar" like me who is willing to ask for advice."

After a pause, he glanced at Xia Xuan, who was listening to him carefully, and said with some emotion: "I used to think that the common people were dull because they refused to study, but now I think about it the other way around, it's because they can't read." Reading is just dull. You will gradually understand later.”

(End of this chapter)