"Sister, I purposely used up all the money and rations. The relay station was already out of rations. Then, I proposed the method of reforming the relay station. You don't know the expressions of the officials at that time. I really gained a lot of face this time." In the Mo clan, Li Chengqian changed his serious expression in the court and became as excited as a child.
This time, he proposed the method of reforming the relay station. It could be said that it was reasonable and practical. In reality, he had gained face in front of the officials.
"Brother, don't be careless. The matter of reforming the relay station must be done perfectly. Only then will there be nothing to worry about." Princess Changle was naturally happy for Li Chengqian and reminded him.
"Of course I understand. With Teacher Shen's plan and General Su who is good at changing the situation, this matter will definitely be done well." Li Chengqian said proudly. He believed that after the matter of the relay station, the officials in the court would not dare to slight him.
Meton shook his head and said, "Your Highness, you cannot be careless. As long as it involves money, corruption cannot be prevented. If we let the relay station receive and send letters by itself, we will need to come up with a more detailed plan."
Li Chengqian became serious. He clasped his hands towards Meton and asked, "Please teach me, brother-in-law."
"In order to prevent corruption in the relay station, we must not let the relay station receive money by itself. I have thought for a long time and decided to imitate the banknote system. We will design a stamp system for the relay station. Each stamp will be printed with an exquisite design and the amount of money to replace money. If the people want to send letters, they will first have to go to the relay station to buy stamps and paste them on the envelope. Then, the relay station will stamp them. In this way, without stamps, the letter cannot be sent. We only need to give the relay station the stamps and take the money. This way, we can prevent the relay station from embezzling money. "Meton thought of the stamps that were commonly seen in the future and said seriously.
"Stamps!"
Li Chengqian carefully thought about the use of stamps. His eyes lit up. Although he was young, he was still a corrupt person.
Many seemingly good policies often failed because of corruption. Naturally, the achievements that he had carefully prepared naturally could not be stained because of corruption.
"Secondly, we have to prevent the courier from slacking off. We have to record the serial number in detail every time we transport the goods. Every time we transport the goods, we have to stamp the local courier station's official seal to prevent the letter from being lost. When the letter is sent to the recipient, we have to ask them to personally sign or stamp their fingerprint on the receipt for future verification. This is to prevent the courier from slacking off, and it can also be used as a basis to reward the courier." In order to be perfect, Meton actually brought out the courier delivery system of the modern era.
"In addition, in order to make delivery more convenient, you can give each county a number. For example, since Chang 'an is the first in the world, it can be numbered 100000, and Luoyang can be numbered 200000. In this way, even if the courier is illiterate, as long as he knows these ten numbers, he can quickly know the address of the letter," Merton said.
"Wonderful!" Li Chengqian slapped the table and exclaimed. In this way, the operation of the relay station would be greatly simplified.
"In addition, there are also some commoners who suddenly leave or move and are unable to find the recipient. At this time, the original letter must be returned to the sender.
"Letters are the easiest to get wet, so the carriage used to deliver the letter must be sealed and waterproof."
…
Meton went on and on about the various postal and courier measures of the modern era. Li Chengqian was instantly enlightened.
"The Mo Family's revival is indeed well-deserved. I am impressed. " Li Chengqian sighed. After Meton's advice, he realized that it was easier said than done. There were too many things to consider if one wanted to do a good job.
Princess Changle nodded and said, "This is also the reason why Imperial Father wants you to be a regent. He wants you to know how difficult it is to govern the world."
"I naturally understand Imperial Father's intentions, which is why I am striving to make a contribution." Li Chengqian nodded.
"However, there is one more thing that I need to trouble brother-in-law with!" Li Chengqian said with a troubled expression.
"Your Highness, please speak. As long as I am able to do it, I will not hesitate to do so. "Meton said boldly.
"The purpose of the reform of the relay station is to save money for the imperial court. However, according to Teacher Shen's calculations, it seems that it is difficult to maintain the income of the relay station just by delivering letters." Li Chengqian said with a troubled expression.
"Do you think that just delivering letters costs one copper coin and buying envelopes doesn't cost money? It is also the income of the relay station!" Meton said with disappointment.
"Ah! Isn't that a disguised charge? "Li Chengqian was stunned. They claimed that one copper coin was enough to deliver letters. Why did they charge money for envelopes?
"Let's make the envelopes cheaper. One copper coin for a few envelopes. Furthermore, letters are extremely private matters. Who would want others to read them? What's the point of spending this money?" Meton shook his head.
Princess Changle nodded solemnly. Back then, the letters that Meton sent to her were not only sealed, they were also encrypted. This was the reason why she and Meton were able to communicate secretly. Otherwise, how would she, a princess with a strict upbringing, have the courage to communicate with Meton?
"But if that's the case, wouldn't it be …" Li Chengqian was still hesitant for the sake of his own political achievements.
"If they want to save more money, or if they just want to tell us that they are safe, they don't have to use envelopes. The relay station can sell postcards directly. They can print the stamps and the letter directly on a card. This way, one copper coin is enough to pass through the entire country." Merton said.
"That's the only way. But even so, it's still not enough!" Li Chengqian frowned. But how much money could they make from selling envelopes?
"Then I'll find another source of income for you. The newspapers of the Mo Periodical are only sold for one copper coin in Chang 'an City. However, when they are shipped to other places, the price soars by ten times. In that case, it's better to sell them to the newly established relay station. They can sell them at a fixed price of two copper coins. This way, the relay station will have another source of income." Merton said. He had long wanted to expand the influence of the Mo Periodical to the entire Tang dynasty. However, he was unable to do so. The reformation of the relay station was just what he wanted.
Li Chengqian's eyes couldn't help but light up. If the Mo Journals were to be sold through relay stations, then wouldn't the Confucian journals also follow suit? This wouldn't be one, but two unexpected fortunes. In this way, the funds needed for the relay stations would be more or less insufficient.
As for other express delivery services, Meton did not recommend them to Li Chengqian. After all, the relay station had just been established. It was already too busy to deliver letters and newspapers.
"It's all thanks to brother-in-law's help. Next time, I will definitely thank brother-in-law." Li Chengqian sighed.
Meton waved his hand and said, "No need. When you finish printing the stamps, remember to give me a set. The first set of stamps of the Tang dynasty is very memorable."
Meton thought of the fun of collecting stamps in the future and could not help but smile.
Li Chengqian had an idea and said, "Since brother-in-law said that you want to print exquisite patterns on the stamps, and no artist in the world is as amazing as brother-in-law's painting skills, why don't I give the design of the first issue of stamps to brother-in-law?"
"Leave it to me!" Meton could not help but be tempted. "Well, I won't decline."
As for the theme of the stamps, he thought about it and secretly decided.
"Let's use the Hundred Schools of Thought as the theme."
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