"Which year was your arm injured?"
In the palace of Mount Jiuhua. Li Shimin received the letters from the princes and princesses, but his attention was focused on a one-armed courier.
The courier said excitedly, "Your Majesty, I was injured in the fourth year of Zhenguan. That year, I followed the army to the north and was injured by the Turks."
"You can be considered a meritorious official!" Li Shimin said emotionally. The Tang dynasty defeated the Eastern Turks, which was a difficult battle. Although the Tang dynasty won, they still suffered great losses.
"It is all thanks to the imperial court's grace that I was able to obtain the post of courier and make a living." The courier was injured in the war and could no longer do manual labor. However, he could easily complete the task of sending letters with only one arm. Moreover, the pay was not bad. However, he did not expect that he would one day send letters to the emperor.
Li Shimin nodded and carefully asked the courier about some details of the courier station's communication. After a long time, he waved his hand and rewarded the courier heavily, allowing him to leave.
"The courier station's communication. My Crown Prince's actions are indeed extraordinary?" Li Shimin said emotionally.
Empress Zhangsun, who was at the side, could not help but worry. She said, "Qian 'er, you are capricious and act alone. The courier station is an important tool of the country. Although it is not very useful in normal times, it is very useful in critical situations. How can it be changed so easily?"
Empress Zhangsun seemed to be reprimanding Li Chengqian, but in fact, she was testing Li Shimin's tone. After all, Li Chengqian's reform of the courier station this time was the focus of the entire country. How could she not have heard of it?
Li Shimin snorted coldly. "What's the use of saying this now? If you stop the courier station now, how can I explain it to the entire country?"
Now that the entire country had enjoyed the convenience of fast communication, if Li Shimin rashly denied it, the people would not be willing.
Empress Zhangsun pleaded, "Qian 'er is eager for quick success and just wants to make some achievements. I hope Your Majesty can forgive him."
Li Shimin couldn't help but fall silent. He had to admit that Li Chengqian had indeed surprised him. He had remained calm and watched Li Chengqian reform the relay station to test Li Chengqian. Originally, he had already prepared to end things for Li Chengqian, but he didn't expect such an unexpected outcome. The relay station's reform was actually well received.
Suddenly, Li Shimin's eyes narrowed as he stared at the small stamp on the envelope delivered by the imperial court's courier. He saw that the stamp was from the School of Mohism, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
"Do you really think that Qian 'er was the only one who did this? Your good son-in-law can't escape the responsibility! "Li Shimin coldly snorted.
He had always felt a sense of familiarity with Li Chengqian's reform of the relay station. Only when he saw the stamp did he realize that this wasn't Mo Jiazi's style.
When he left Chang 'an City, he had already warned Meton not to do anything, but he didn't expect that this kid still couldn't bear the loneliness. As a father, he naturally didn't think that his son had done anything wrong, and this blame could only be placed on Meton.
In Chang 'an City, Meton still didn't know that a small stamp had betrayed him, and he was currently leading Chang' an City to start a stamp-collecting trend.
"That damned bastard stole and tore my stamp!" In the Imperial College, a law student held an envelope without a stamp in his hand and said in grief and indignation.
Because the communication business in Chang 'an City was too popular, and the imperial court had a limited number of couriers, large organizations were often centralized. The Imperial College students' letters were placed in the gatehouse, and they could find the letter themselves.
This caused many people to be excited to see a stamp they liked, and they couldn't help but start to steal it. Ordinary people didn't care if their stamps were stolen, as long as the letter arrived, it was fine. However, stamp enthusiasts couldn't tolerate it.
"Isn't it just a stamp? What's the big deal?" His companion couldn't understand the law student's mentality.
The law student angrily said, "I'm missing a stamp. This time, I specifically ordered my family to paste this stamp on the letter, but I don't know which damned bastard stole it."
"Isn't it just a copper coin? But these stamps have already been used, so they don't have any value. "His companion shook his head.
The law student shook his head and said, "You don't understand. These are the first stamps in the history of the Tang dynasty. The theme is the Hundred Schools of Thought, and the artist is the most skilled artist in the Tang dynasty, Mo Jiazi. You can imagine the value of these stamps."
"Yes! I heard that even Mo Jiazi is a crazy stamp enthusiast. Think about it, how can something that can catch Mo Jiazi's eyes be worthless? Besides, even if it's worthless now, it will definitely appreciate a hundred times in the future. " Another law student nodded in agreement. Although Mo Jiazi had already graduated from the Imperial College, he would always be an endless legend to the Imperial College.
"The most hateful thing is that I was so close to being able to collect a full set. Now, all my efforts have been for naught." The head of the Faculty of Law lamented.
"I'm still missing Confucius and Mozi."
"I'm still missing Zhuangzi, Han Feizi, and Huizi."
… … …
Many law students said regretfully.
"If that's the case, why don't you go to the relay station and buy one?" His companion asked.
The law student said hatefully, "Those courier soldiers are despicable. They don't sell one stamp at all. They give you the rest unless you spend a hundred coins to buy one."
The amount of stamps sold was related to the income of the relay station. The relay station would naturally do its best to get the people to buy more stamps. No one cared about buying a stamp for one copper coin, but spending a hundred coins made many people hesitate. After all, that was not a small sum!
Everyone nodded. Stamp collecting was a hobby for them. If they spent a lot of money, they would lose that fun.
Suddenly, a familiar jingle sounded. The law student couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "The courier soldier is here!"
Immediately, a group of law students gathered around. Some wanted to see if there were any letters from their friends or relatives, while many others wanted to see if there were any stamps they liked. As for whether they would ask for them or take the opportunity to buy them, it depended on the situation.
"Haha, I finally have Confucius!" The law student who obtained the stamp he liked was overjoyed. He happily looked at the letter in his hand and couldn't help but attract the envious gazes of others.
"It's actually Gui Guzi again!" There were also many law students who looked at the stamps on their letters with waning interest.
Immediately, some of the supervisors were excited, while others were disappointed. However, there was one person who was on the verge of collapse. That was the supervisor of law who had been searching for the stamp of Zhuangzi. The stamp in his hand was a landscape painting.
"How can this be? Is this still a stamp? Aren't all stamps from the Hundred Schools of Thought? "The law student roared angrily as he held the landscape stamp in his hand.
The courier soldier looked at the enraged law student and chuckled. "Scholar, please don't be angry. The stamps from the Hundred Schools of Thought you mentioned are the first generation of stamps. They have already stopped being printed. The landscape stamp in your hand is the second generation of stamps issued by the relay station. It is the World's Famous Mountains series created by the top artist of our dynasty, Yan Liben.
"Who wants the World's Famous Mountains series? I want the Hundred Schools of Thought!" The law student was frantic. He was just one stamp away from collecting a complete set. He didn't expect the relay station to stop producing stamps.
"Then you'd better hurry up. Now that the stamps from the Hundred Schools of Thought have stopped being produced, there will be one less stamp for each stamp you use. When the time comes, you won't be able to get the stamp you want," the courier soldier said meaningfully.
The law student couldn't help but be moved. He gritted his teeth and immediately spread the word in the Imperial College that he was willing to pay two copper coins for a stamp. However, no one was willing to buy it.
In the next few days, as the first generation of stamps from the Hundred Schools of Thought stopped being printed, the entire Chang 'an City suddenly became a stamp-collecting wave. The price of the stamps from the Hundred Schools of Thought skyrocketed, especially the complete set of stamps from the Hundred Schools of Thought series. The price directly increased by five times, but the demand still couldn't meet the demand.
Moreover, this trend spread directly from Chang 'an City to the Tang dynasty. The entire Tang dynasty quickly became a stamp-collecting trend.
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