"Article 8, popularize post stations." Zhao Kuo said.

From the day there were human beings, there were various means of transmitting information, drumming to transmit sounds, beacon towers, sending letters, and so on.

Every dynasty understands the importance of messaging, especially in times of border warfare or invasion, and receiving news one day earlier and one day later can be a completely different result.

Therefore, even if the large amount of investment is not rewarded every year, none of the successive dynasties has abolished the post system, but has continued to invest money in it.

Generally speaking, the delivery of letters on foot is the mail, and the delivery of letters on horseback is the post, which is collectively called the post station.

Historically, the Qin and Han dynasties set up a post for five miles and a post for thirty miles, and arranged special personnel to transmit documents to ensure the delivery of local contacts, so that the imperial court could get the news in time and respond.

Zhao also had post stations, but they were mainly set up on the border and in major cities to transmit military intelligence, and they were not popularized in all regions, and they did not pass family letters to ordinary people.

If the husband is on the border and the wife misses her husband and wants to send a letter or clothes to the country, she can only walk hundreds of miles to the place where the husband is on the border, or someone from the same village visits her and asks him to help carry it.

In troubled times, the risks of such visits can be imagined.

Even if the wife finally arrives at the place where her husband is on the border after all the hardships, it is very likely that the husband has already died. Just like Meng Jiangnu looking for her husband Fan Xiliang, she could only see the bones piled up under the Great Wall in the end.

Although the story is written about the Qin Dynasty, in fact every country is the same, Qi Liang's wife "cried over her husband's corpse under the city, and ten days later, the city collapsed." "It's not Qin Changcheng who is crying.

"Every county, every county, and every township should establish at least one post station, and the county post station should have at least fifteen horses and five post men. The county post station has at least six horses and two postmen. The township-level post station has at least two horses and a postman. ”

Historically, the first-class post station in the Tang Dynasty had to be equipped with sixty horses and twenty postmen, and Zhao Guo could not afford to play such a big game, so he could only match fifteen horses and five postmen.

It's not that there aren't so many horses, but it's not necessary, these are enough for Zhao Guo's official letters to run.

And more horses will indeed increase the burden on the place, horses are thrown on the grassland, Zhao Guo basically doesn't have to care about it, chase it with soybeans and other concentrates every once in a while, just ensure that you don't lose fat, and there are wild horses that can't be caught.

But in the Central Plains, all the forage had to be supported by Zhao State, plus the cavalry's war horses, and the expenses were a bit large.

So far, the plan to grow grass on the grassland is only a plan, and even grass seeds have not been sown, and there is no trace of alfalfa suitable for pasture.

Zhao Kuo remembered that in history, it was Zhang Qian who went to the Western Regions and arrived in Dawan, where he saw that the horses were eating alfalfa, which was later brought to China, and the Han Dynasty began to grow alfalfa to feed the horses.

But Dawan was too far away from Zhao State, and Zhao State had not returned from the caravan traveling west on the Juyan Ancient Road until now. A month after the departure, a letter was sent, and after that, there was no letter.

Now I don't know if it's dead or alive, the Hexi Corridor is already very, very dangerous in this era, Juyan Ancient Road is surrounded by desert, which is even more dangerous than the Hexi Corridor, Zhao Kuo only hopes that they can return safely.

"In addition to military documents and official documents, all Zhao people can send letters through the post station. To send a letter, you need to buy a special envelope, five dollars each, and one dollar per letter paper. Non-commissioned officers and their relatives who are serving in the military are given the opportunity to send letters free of charge once a year. ”

In this era when the vast majority of people are illiterate, writing letters is a luxury, but if there is an opportunity, even if people ask for someone to find someone, they will find a way to write a letter to their wives who stay at home and to their husbands who are fighting outside the home.

Envelopes and stationery are mainly to recover part of the cost, in addition to the price itself, Zhao Guo can also print the advertisement of Zhao Guo Chamber of Commerce on the envelope to earn some advertising money.

In this way, Zhao Guo only needs to invest about half of the money every year to maintain the post station.

As for making money in reverse, it is impossible if a miracle does not happen. From the beginning of the establishment of the post station, to the next two thousand years, no court has ever made money from this thing.

The officials below did not react much except for discussing how much it would cost and whether Zhao Guo could support it.

So far, all the changes in Zhao State, except for the beginning of the clearing of acres of land, the establishment of agricultural taxes, the construction of colleges, and the popularization of education, none of them have touched their interests, but have given them a lot of benefits.

The clearing of acres of land and the re-establishment of agricultural taxes were also because the upper-class nobles stood on Zhao Kuo's side, and finally it was successfully implemented. The big landlords didn't care about this, and the remaining small landlords didn't have a chance to resist if they wanted to.

As for the construction of the college, although Zhao Guo has been shouting for so long, it is undeniable that until now, Zhao Guo has also built a Handan College......

Not even a second college!

As for the awarding of knighthoods for military merits, there are only benefits and no disadvantages for everyone. Of all the people here, none of the officials were handed down from their ancestors.

Zhao Guo has long abolished the Shiqing Shilu system, if you are lucky, you can pass it on for one or two generations, and if you are unlucky, after the death of someone, Zhao Guo directly took back the title.

It is completely different from the kind of feudal monarchs who have been entrenched for hundreds of years everywhere in the Chu State, so the pressure on the Zhao State to change the law is far less than that of Wu Qi in the Chu State.

"Article 9, in the next five years, all counties and counties in Zhao State will be connected to the official road, and this matter is mainly the responsibility of Wei Qi, with the cooperation of all regions." Zhao Kuo continued.

Up to now, the main official roads of Zhao State, except for the two roads from Jinyang to Shiyi and Shangdang to Handan, which cross the Taihang Mountain, the rest of the roads have been completed.

The materials are sufficient, the manpower is enough, and the multi-line construction is still very fast.

As for the road across the Taihang Mountain, it is really not the reason for the materials and manpower.

No experience, coupled with tools, technology, craftsman level and many other reasons, while building and changing, while changing and building, Chen Heng left the team to come to Handan to participate in the court meeting, only less than half of the construction was built, or half of the relatively easy.

According to the current process, it is very likely that the original plan to build it next year will become a luxury.

As for building the official road into the township and the village, Zhao Kuo didn't dare to think about it.

The difficulty of this thing does not increase exponentially, but exponentially.

It will take five years to spread the official road to the county. It will take not ten years to popularize to the township, but thirty, forty, or even fifty years, and this is still when everything goes smoothly and the territory of Zhao does not change.

As for popularizing it into the country, it is impossible for a hundred years, there are more than a dozen families in some miles, and they still live in the mountain passes, and it takes two or three hours to walk, and the Zhao Kingdom is not rich enough to this extent.