I

Zhenjiang.

The catering and entertainment business of Daming Zhenjiang Water Station, which is making a lot of money every day, has been sold to private merchants—in fact, it was originally contracted by private parties, and the restaurant and passenger ships were all purchased by the owner. After the Datong court forcibly took over, the original Investors redeem at half price.

However, the horses and fast boats in Zhenjiang Water Station are still preserved, and the government provides funds to support them.

This situation is very common, including some post stations abolished by Chongzhen, which were also restored by the Datong New Dynasty. A lot of low-level meticulous work was converted into a post office on the spot, saving the trouble of having no place to settle.

The postmen belonged to the officials, and the postmen were only contract workers.

This treatment is not bad. The ordinary postmen of Ming Dynasty are often in the nature of corvee. The more remote the place, the more this is the case, because there is no oil and water, and there is food and drink for the officials who come and go. The local finances cannot afford it, and they need to rely on the postmen to pay for themselves.

So no one is willing to be a postman, and can only be used as a kind of corvee, forcing the people to work in the post. After a few years of being a postman, his family is often ruined.

Now, the various post stations, catering, accommodation and postal services of the Datong Dynasty have been divested.

All the catering in the post station is left to private management, and officials who come and go have to pay for their own food and accommodation. The days of eating and drinking for free are gone forever.

Early in the morning, Zhenjiang Water Station became lively.

The postmaster congratulated Yipeng and ordered the postmen to replace the plaque, and the sign of "Zhenjiang Water Station" became "Zhenjiang Post Station".

The shopkeeper of the restaurant next door came to watch the excitement and said, "Master He, why did you change the brand for no reason?"

He Yipeng said with a smile: "Your Majesty has an order. From now on, the post station will also serve as an errand for the letter bureau, and the common people can also deliver letters to the post station. The general rule is that it will be handled by the private letter bureau, except that the post station must post stamps when delivering letters."

"That's rare, show me the stamps." The shopkeeper was quite curious.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, both the official and the private sector had express delivery services.

The official express delivery business is the most developed in Liaodong, and it is divided into express delivery offices and express delivery shops. The courier office is responsible for the delivery of official materials, and the courier shop is responsible for the delivery of letters and official documents.

The private express business is most developed in Jiangnan and Shanxi, and its name is "Xinju". The main customers are gentry merchants, who not only help deliver letters, but also occasionally deliver goods, which can be regarded as SF Express and Debang in the Ming Dynasty.

There are three payment methods for private express delivery: payment by sending, payment by cash on delivery, half of each payment for receiving and sending.

Unknown customers must pay when sending.

Familiar old customers can not only pay in cash on delivery, but also keep accounts and make quarterly or annual settlement payments.

The beacon fire lasted for three months, and the family letter was worth ten thousand gold. The war caused most of the national credit bureaus to close down, and even if they didn't close down, they continued to shrink their business. In the past few years, they have finally begun to recover.

Now, the government actually entered the express delivery industry and introduced some damn stamps.

"Here, this is it." He Yipeng took out a page of stamps.

The shopkeeper asked, "How much is it?"

He Yipeng said: "It depends on the weight of the letter and the length of the journey. For a letter in the province that does not exceed six taels, a five-cent stamp is enough. The heavier the letter and the farther it is mailed, the more expensive the stamp is, and the letter is not allowed to arrive. Payment. Moreover, no more than one catty will be accepted, if you want to send something, go to the private letter bureau."

This is also to generate income for the station system, otherwise the expenses will be too high, after all, there are so many postmen to support. Unlike Daming, postmen had to pay back money, but now they are paid.

An official ship came, and the postman stood on the ship and shouted: "Come and help me get things!"

"Come on!" He Yipeng responded.

The Zhenjiang postmen ran quickly, carrying a sack, and the postmen disembarked with their official documents.

He Yipeng asked: "What's in this sack?"

"Newspaper," said the postman, "there will be no mansion newspaper in the future. It will be renamed "Datong Monthly Newspaper", and it will be printed more than before. Local yamen, each yamen will distribute a copy for free. Notice boards everywhere will also post a copy." One copy is for the common people to read. The rest will be sold on consignment at the post station, and every time a newspaper is sold, the post station will get two cents. If it can’t be sold, it will be taken back to Nanjing after two months.”

He Yipeng nodded: "Understood."

The postman said: "The ones left in Zhenjiang Prefecture will be sent all the way to Shanghai."

The level of the Zhenjiang post station is also very high, and the post station official ships from Nanjing will go north along the canal after arriving here. The things in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River need to be forwarded by Zhenjiang Station.

The postman then took out more than a dozen official documents and said: "Send these two copies to the Zhenjiang government office, this one to the Zhenjiang government court, and this one to the post stations in various places. The rest are not from the Zhenjiang government office, so send them out together." .You sign for it, and sign for it after the newspapers are counted."

He Yipeng verified the official documents and newspapers, and quickly stamped and signed them.

The postman got the signature form, returned to the ship immediately, and went to eat in the shop after storing it.

The Datong Navy has finally been dismantled, and now only half of it remains. The cut-off ships were not sold, but their weapons were dismantled and thrown directly into the station system, and some sailors were also turned into postmen.

He Yipeng opened the newspaper curiously, and the shopkeeper also came to take a look, completely ignoring the business of his own restaurant.

The emperor himself wrote a message for the founding of the publication: Di Bao started in Tang Dynasty, flourished in Song Dynasty, and flourished in Ming Dynasty. In the old days, the residence newspaper circulated copies of edicts, official documents, and important events to inform the feudal vassals and local officials. In the Ming Dynasty, gentry and merchants could also see it, so there was a mansion newspaper printed with movable type. I am in harmony with China, and I am born to respond to the people, and the people are the most important things in the world, and I should know the important affairs of the country with my head hanging down. Because of the "Datong Monthly", the government orders can reach the people directly. With this heart and this intention, you know it well and admire it.

The shopkeeper said: "Master He, give me a copy."

He Yipeng glanced at the official document about the newspaper, which gave the selling price, and immediately said, "One copy for thirty cents."

Thirty Wen, according to the price of the Datong New Dynasty, can buy six catties of rice in a good harvest year, and two catties of rice in a disaster season.

But not expensive!

Because if you want to get the manuscript of the former imperial palace newspaper, you need several taels of silver. Obtained that month, a Dibao is about one or two. After two or three months, the movable type printing plate will be released, and at that time it will sell for tens of hundreds of dollars.

The shopkeeper bought a newspaper and went back to the store, only to find that it was divided into several sections.

One section is current political news, and the first news is related to the emperor. The newspaper summary published the content of the court meeting, where the emperor and his officials discussed the post-disaster reconstruction issue, and also discussed the disaster relief gains and losses of the past dynasties.

The emperor emphasized again that in the event of natural disasters, one should not rely on offering sacrifices to the gods, and both the government and the people must contribute. God help those who help themselves. If people do not help themselves, the sky will not help them.

The main content of the report on the court meeting was presented in the form of dialogue, and a comment from the editor-in-chief was added at the end.

The shopkeeper found it very novel. After reading this newspaper, it was like hearing the emperor speak with his own ears. For the first time, he felt so close to the emperor. Some time ago, the emperor visited the north and never disembarked. The shopkeeper felt that the emperor was far away.

"Your Majesty is so wise!" The shopkeeper sighed while holding the newspaper.

A businessman happened to pass by the counter. Hearing this, he couldn't help asking: "What's the matter? Is there any new decree issued?"

The shopkeeper took the newspaper and said, "Please read it, distinguished guest."

The merchant took the newspaper, glanced at it casually, and said happily, "Which newspaper printed this mansion newspaper? It's really novel, and even the details of the court meeting can be obtained."

The shopkeeper was a little speechless: "Please read the first message, it was written by His Majesty himself."

The merchants read it quickly, and then flipped through the pages at the back, and found that there was government auction information, and there was also a military material bidding information.

"Good stuff!"

The merchant was overjoyed and asked, "Where can I buy it?"

The shopkeeper pointed to the inn next door: "I heard that it is sold in all the inns."

The merchant immediately ordered the servant: "Hurry up and buy a copy!"

After ordering food and wine and sitting down, the merchants read carefully, and the more they read, the more pleasantly surprised they were. In the newspaper, he also saw information on the transfer of officials three months ago, all of which were promotions and transfers of officials above rank five—the release was deliberately delayed so that the public would not be informed of the transfer of officials in advance.

The business of Zhenjiang Shuiyi Restaurant is extremely hot, and most of the customers are merchants from other places.

At noon, the news that the post station sold newspapers spread quickly, and they were sold out. The remote places will definitely not be sold out, but the Zhenjiang station, newspapers are definitely in high demand, and they can only apply for an increase in sales next month.

In the lobby of the restaurant, the two business travelers had an argument on the spot because of the contents of the newspaper.

"It turns out that the previous rumors were all false. The newspaper published the royal genealogy. His majesty is the Zhao family of Tianshuitang, Gansu. He moved to Shanxi during the Tang and Song Dynasties, and immigrated to Hebei in the early Ming Dynasty." A businessman said enthusiastically.

The person at the same table said: "Isn't it a descendant of the Zhao Song royal family? Liaodong fierce general Yang Zhenqing, I heard that he is a descendant of the Yang family general, and the general came down to earth to help the old master."

"Hey, it's all made up by the people." The businessman said before.

The businessman at the next table was not happy, and stood up to retort: ​​"My surname is Zhao, and all people surnamed Zhao come from Tianshuitang in Gansu, and the royal family of Zhao and Song also came from Tianshuitang. Today's family has the same ancestor as that of Zhao and Song." .Besides, there are countless descendants of Zhao and Song Dynasties, and it may be some prince who moved to Shanxi."

"It's nonsense, His Majesty has published the newspaper to disassociate himself from it."

"Who said to separate the relationship? Your Majesty only said that he came from Tianshuitang, and his ancestors moved to Shanxi during the Tang and Song Dynasties."

"I moved to Shanxi in the Tang Dynasty, so it doesn't matter if it's Zhao Song!"

"..."

The faces of the people at the two tables were arguing because of a small newspaper.

No matter who wins or loses, everyone knows very well that the "Datong Monthly" will be indispensable in the future, and a lot of information will have to be obtained from this thing.

There are also businessmen who have used their brains. The imperial court can run newspapers, why can't they themselves?

The main content of the previous newspapers was copied from the Di Bao, and it also included some business information, as well as major news, such as the explosion of the Wang Gong Factory.

And the magazines and publications originating from literati gatherings are all poems, novels, and operas.

Why not combine the two genres, report some folk anecdotes, and make it into a reading material that ordinary people prefer to read?

A folk tabloid is about to be born.