[The event of doubling the monthly pass is coming to an end, so continue to ask for the monthly pass.] This is the first update. 】

From summer to autumn, it is almost a matter of an eye, and from autumn to winter is as fast as flying.

The weather is getting cooler day by day, and the leaves in the courtyard are getting more and more every day. There are a lot of fallen leaves, and it is inevitable that some people will think of using waste.

Next door to the Xuanhui Courtyard is the Herd Pastoral Division. Next door to the main courtyard where Han Gang is located is the office of the herdsmen. Except for the time when Han Gang served as the same group of herdsmen, there were not many times when the master was present in the office of the herdsmen at the end of the day - the herdsmen have always been concurrently appointed by the Privy Council, and the herd envoys are even more privy envoys or privy deputy envoys.

At this time, the shepherds were also absent as usual. I don't know what the officials over there are taking the opportunity to bake, and the fragrance has wafted to the Xuanhui Courtyard.

"What's the shepherd doing?"

It was almost evening, and when he first smelled the fragrance, Shen Kuo immediately felt that he was hungry. Because of the need to respect one's identity, the tone became very unpleasant.

"The third class is fragrant, what about the herds? What can you eat?! ”

Han Gang put down the pen in his hand and said with a smile to Shen Kuo.

"Yukun. You have also been a shepherd. That's not good. ”

Su Song also looked up from the manuscript, took off his glasses by the way, and rubbed his sore eyes.

"Not anymore."

Han Gang looked at the other side, probably deliberately choosing to light a fire under the tree, and the smoke became faint and indistinct after being dispersed by the leaves.

Shen Kuo turned to Su Song: "Brother Zirong, you don't care?!" ”

Su Song shook his head: "That's Xue Shizheng's errand, it's not easy to interfere." ”

Han Gang remembered when he was a child. Sweep up the leaves and bake and eat them without telling your parents. ”

Han Gang said. I think he also roasted sweet potatoes and corn like this back then.

"Oh, I don't know what you baked at that time?" Su Song asked with interest.

Han Gang's heart skipped a beat. Sweet potatoes and corn are not available in this era. I want to introduce it, but I am separated by a whale wave. He shook his head, "What else could it be, hares, pheasants, yellow essences, yams." They were all found in the wilderness. ”

It's not that Han Gang is talking about it, but also in his memory, his two brothers once took him out to catch game when he was still young, and also dug some mountain treasures.

didn't want to talk too much about this, Han Gang said again: "It's better to have someone bring some confectionery." I'm eating on the other side, and I'm hungry here. ”

"It's fine." Su Song nodded, and said honestly and unceremoniously, "Some more tea." ”

"What about you?" Han Gang asked Shen Kuo again.

"Same." Shen Kuo said.

Soon, the three ministers ate tea and pastries. At the time of afternoon tea, the "Editorial Department of Nature" for public and private use was also relaxed.

The fifth issue of Nature is being compiled, and both Shen Kuo and Su Song are here for this. With the help of the two, the quality of this issue has risen to a new level. However, the work of review and proofreading is still overwhelming.

Han Gang, Shen Kuo, and Su Song have all mentioned whether it is time to train a group of editors to replace themselves and handle basic text work. But even the most basic text correction requires sufficient scientific knowledge, and scholars with this ability are less than three-legged toads. Whether it is Han Gang or Su Song, they are not at ease to hand over this work to laymen.

So far, only a few letter-opening documents have been cultivated, and they have been asked to check whether the letters sent in the name of the manuscript are really manuscripts or something unrelated.

Shen Kuo ate another mung bean cake and cleared his mouth with strong tea. Pointing to the mountains of manuscripts on the table: "I don't know how many days it will take to finish it." Just like digging gold in the sand, you may not be able to find a few grains of gold sand in a day. ”

"Be patient in this matter. Ten years of trees, 100 years of people. It really has to wait until it blossoms and bears fruit, just like Yukun said before," Su Song smiled at Han Gang, "It will take ten years of hard work." ”

"It really has to be ten years of work. I'm afraid that the surviving manuscripts will fill several rooms. ”

Shen Kuo glanced at the wooden box where the waste manuscripts were stored on the ground, and all the manuscripts that were collectively rejected by the three of them would be thrown into this wooden box. There are hundreds of manuscripts in the box, but there are many more that have not been reviewed.

Nature is now in its fifth issue, and the responses from previous issues are increasing. Like a tide, it poured into the capital. There is an endless stream of submissions, and after eliminating nearly one-third of the letters asking for officials, currying favor, redressing grievances, asking for help, and full of poems and songs, there are still more than 500 submissions left. And the value of it is actually less than one-tenth.

The submissions that were eliminated and accepted in the previous issues were packaged and stored separately according to the time and whether they were accepted or not. It will not be destroyed. But after a long time, it will inevitably fill several rooms like Shen Kuo said.

"It's okay to talk about a few rooms." Han Gang said, "In addition to those messy letters, those who can contribute to Nature now are those who are interested in studying things. No matter what your heart is or what your knowledge is, you can be encouraged. It's a little sad to say that just accept it like this and there is no response. ”

"What then? It's impossible to reply to them all. I said sorry at the end of each issue, right? ”

According to Han Gang's proposal, an apology statement is now published on the last page of each issue, apologizing for not being able to reply. Not being able to reply may be a reality, but the human heart must be taken into account.

Su Song also shook his head. It is indeed impossible to reply to the letter one by one. He wrote about encouraging those who have a heart for something but don't know where to start, but the reality doesn't allow it.

Nowadays, the vast majority of private messages are handed over by trustees. Some are asked by relatives and friends, while others are passed on by merchants who have a steady flow of business routes. Although the ministers can occasionally borrow the post of the imperial court, it is absolutely impossible to reply to such a large number of letters.

Moreover, the contributors come from Tiannan and Haibei, and now there are submissions from Longxi and Fujian as far away, and it is conceivable that in the future, there will be submissions from Lingnan and even Ganliang. Not to mention mathematics, physics and chemistry, it is to record the unique geographical features of each place, and you can enter the geography subject in "Nature". How do you reply in that case?

Han Gang knew that the distribution and inclusion of "Nature" required a postal system that could be used throughout the country. But he didn't expect it to be needed so soon. Originally, he was mentally prepared to not be qualified to submit for two or three years in a row. But now, the situation is much more optimistic than he expected, and the percentage of letters sent in is much higher than expected. It is estimated that after two or three years, it will have to be changed to a monthly magazine before the next page can be arranged.

"If you can borrow the post of the imperial court and handle the private postal service, it would be good." Han Gang decided to beat the drum first, there was no need to delay it any longer, "Ready-made post wagons and horses, accustomed routes, and a large number of people." ”

"Impossible, how could the imperial court agree. Not to mention interfering with the delivery of military intelligence, it is ...... expense" Shen Kuo stopped as he spoke, and asked Han Gang in surprise: "Do you want to collect money?!" ”

"Of course you have to collect money. Sending from Tokyo to Jiaozhou is one price, and from Tokyo to Nanjing is another. The farther the journey, the higher the shipping price. But no matter how far or near the distance is, the post transmission of the imperial court must be faster than that of the people who entrust people to bring letters. Seeing that Shen Kuo wanted to speak, Han Gang added, "I mean the average speed." ”

The people are all sending letters by the way, and it is impossible to send them like the post transmission, the purpose is to send the letter, and it can be sent down in one trip. There are some who will be faster than the court's pace, but many more will be slower, and much slower.

Shen Kuo frowned: "Even if you collect money, the message from the post station can only be sent to the post house." Or do you send it to the government and then notify someone to pick it up? ”

"Of course not." Han Gang explained, "Roads, prefectures, counties, and townships have set up special post offices, and letters are forwarded layer by layer, and letters are also received layer by layer. Just like the yamen, the township, the county supervisor, the state and the county, and then to the middle of the road, and finally to the capital at the end. Isn't that what Ekiten is used for? ”

"Yukun, to put it bluntly." Su Song said, put down the tea cup in his hand, and put on a posture of listening to his ears.

"If Han Gang is in the township of Longxi County, Gongzhou, there is a letter to be sent to Ningyuan County in the same state. The letter can be delivered to the post office in the township, and the payment is paid. Then, on the same day, the post office in the township sent the letter to the county post office, and the county post office sent it to the higher post office in the prefecture, where it was sorted. It was determined that it was Ningyuan County in this state, and then it was sent down by the person in charge of this line and transmitted to Ningyuan County. ”

"What's next? How to send? Su Song asked.

"When you go to the city, you have to be prepared. Every house must have a house number. Carriages, squares, alleys, and then the first few households in the alleys. For example, on the middle of the house, the main gate is opened in the north pavilion lane of Xuanhua Fang, so it is the first compartment of the right army in the old city of Kaifeng Mansion No. 1 Xuanhua Fang Beiting Lane...... Count the first one from the east. Han Gang smiled at Shen Kuo and continued to say to Su Song, "As long as you know the house number, the post office in this city will be able to deliver the letter to the house smoothly." ”

"If it's a letter sent on this road, it will be forwarded one more time in the middle of the road. If it is separated by several roads, it is transferred from the capital. Isn't that so? Su Song said and asked Han Gang.

Han Gang nodded, "Actually, in the southeast, Hebei, the Central Plains, the southwest, and such a large region, there must be a transshipment center. lest the letter sent by the two Zhejiang provinces to Jiangdong have to go to the capital. ”

"What about the countryside?" Su Song asked again.

"It is impossible to reach the village by mail. However, each village can set up a special mailbox at the post office in the township or town to store its own mail. When someone from the village goes to the township or town, they can take it back by the way. The mailbox can be locked, and the post office and the village can take one each, so that it will not be stolen by outsiders. ”

"It's nice to be in the township. I really don't need to go to the village. ”

Su Song closed his eyes and went through it in his mind. He nodded quickly. There is a post system that has been formed, and it is still very easy to incorporate the private postal service. A postal system that reaches the township and town level can be imagined as important to the country.