Chapter 72 Grassroots Officials in the Han Dynasty (Updated on New Year’s Day)


    After walking for a day, by the afternoon, some people were already tired.


    ?Zhang Zhao sent people to explore the road ahead. After a while, he reported back that there was a post station three miles ahead where they could rest. So Feiqian''s group suddenly became more energetic and sped up and rushed forward.


    In ancient times, a post station was a small grassroots management center that was used to deliver messages, receive officials, and repair and maintain official channels.


    ?Generally, inns have areas for rest and accommodation, which are convenient for officials and other people who come and go to stop and change horses. Normally, the inn will have some soldiers to maintain the security of the inn, so normally when you arrive at the inn, you will enter the military protection area. Some thieves will not have the courage to come and steal and rob. It is safer than the wilderness. many.


    ?However, when Fei Qian and his party arrived at the inn, Zhang Zhao went over to negotiate first, and soon came back disappointed, saying: "This is actually a private inn!"


    Private stations are opened by private individuals and are registered with the government. They are considered as a supplement to official stations.


    As early as the Qin Dynasty, great emphasis was placed on the transmission of military intelligence. In the Han Dynasty, "mail was changed to postal service", that is, human walking delivery was replaced by horseback express delivery, and "one post within thirty miles" was stipulated. The delivery interval was from the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The 25 kilometers were expanded to 150 kilometers.


    Later, I felt that the delivery of official military information was a little too simple, so in order to meet the needs of national management, the post station was gradually transformed into an institution that had the function of welcoming and sending off officials and envoys. Even the big post station near Luoyang also received foreign envoys. function.


    However, because the national power was limited to a certain amount, it had to be used, and disasters occurred frequently during the Eastern Han Dynasty, which ensured the normal operation of post stations across the country. The post stations that were originally government-run gradually allowed some local posts with better reputations and better family backgrounds to Wealthy local personnel are involved in the establishment and management.


    ?Like the one Fei Qian encountered this time is the Private Station.


    Official posts like Zhang Zhao, who have official duties, can eat and rest for free, but private posts are a little different. After all, they are responsible for their own profits and losses, so normally, except for some big officials or important people who can be reimbursed by the government, As for expenses, no matter what the reason is, a petty official like Zhang Zhao has to pay for accommodation and food out of his own pocket.


    ?Zhang Zhao, who came from a poor place in Bingzhou, was naturally used to living a poor life on a budget, so he was naturally a little unhappy that someone who could eat from an official family had to pay for it.


    Fei Qian smiled and said, "It doesn''t matter. The sun is about to set and it''s too late to rush to the next station. It''s better to rest here." So he asked Uncle Fu to pay the money for everyone.


    ??Anyway, although Fei Qian doesn''t have much money, he still has some thanks to Cui Hou. When Cui Hou said goodbye that day, because Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun and others were waiting behind him, Cui Hou didn''t say much at that time. He just said that he had prepared some traveling supplies for Fei Qian. When Fei Qian set off, he took a look. In addition to some common items, Cui Hou also specially prepared some small silver beans and gold leaves.


    I have to say that Cui Hou is a businessman after all, and he is still careful. Although the five-baht copper coin is the most useful, it is bulky after all. If you carry a large piece of gold and silver when you go out, firstly, it will easily arouse jealousy and cause trouble. Secondly, when you really need to use it, you will not be able to find it in some small shops...


    ?Just like later generations who would bring a check for one million to eat chuanchuan and pay with the check after eating, the owner of the chuanchuan shop would probably want to stab someone in the heart with a bamboo skewer...


    So a relatively small amount of silver beans and gold leaves are the best must-haves for traveling.


    ? It''s easy to talk to someone who has money, so the vehicles and people were settled in a short time. The postmaster in the post station was very discerning and saw that the money was sneaked out by Fei, so he stepped forward to say hello.


    The postmaster in the Han Dynasty was actually a medium-sized official. He could be regarded as a grassroots cadre. He also managed more than a dozen people under his command.


    For example, Liu Bang served as the chief of the pavilion in the earliest days. At that time, post stations were not developed yet. There was only one post office for five miles and one pavilion for ten miles. Now, there is one post office for thirty miles. If you calculate it this way, the post director of the post station is more than Liu Bang''s official position was even larger at that time. Before Fei Qian could speak to the postmaster, suddenly several soldiers over Zhang Zhao started making a noise.


    ? It turned out that after Fei Qian asked Uncle Fu to pay the silver, these soldiers thought they could at least have a full meal, but unexpectedly they were served a bowl of millet rice and wheat rice. After they devoured it, when they wanted to add more, they were told that they had to pay more.


    These soldiers are not willing to do anything. Besides, they saw that Uncle Fu gave three silver beans. If they can have a good banquet in Luoyang, then here there is neither meat nor wine, just millet and rice. He couldn''t keep enough food and rice, so he thought it was the inn that was trying to trick people, so they started to make a fuss.


    Seeing this, the postmaster of the post station screamed and screamed. He also banged the pots of millet and wheat rice, saying how big the pots were. He also said that the millet and wheat used were carefully selected and were not refined. Containing chaff, one stone of coarse corn can only produce six measures of fine millet...


    Fei Qian found it a bit funny, but he didn’t expect to encounter the “Prawn Incident” in the Three Kingdoms. However, the postmaster of the post station is right about one thing, that is, when ordinary people eat millet, rice and wheat rice, most of them are not willing to remove the husks very cleanly, and often eat them mixed, so refined millet and refined wheat are more expensive.


    ?But no matter what, we can''t use that much money. What''s more, it''s just after the autumn harvest, when the price of food is at its lowest. If we wait until next spring, the price will be about the same.


    Fei Qian felt that there was no need to argue over a few bowls of rice, so he said: "It doesn''t matter to me. In that case, just give me two more bowls of rice according to the price."


    ?Then he turned around and asked the soldiers if two more bowls of rice would be enough.


    The soldiers at the table kept saying that it was enough, and some said that just one pot would be enough. Fei Qian smiled and said it didn''t matter, he had been suffering recently, so he had to eat more to gain strength.


    ?However, the post manager of the post station could not let him think that he was a good money-sucker, so he asked the post director of the post station clearly how much each project cost and what else would be spent -


    The postmaster of the post station was obviously an old man. Barabara talked about a lot, including dinner money, breakfast money for the next day, water and grass money for feeding the horses, money for feeding the horses in the middle of the night, and accommodation money for a few people. If they wanted soldiers at the post station. Helping to guard the items at night requires night watch money...


    The postmaster of the post station smiled and babbled a lot with his fingers. He looked at Fei Qian who was in a daze listening to it. He thought smugly that I have seen a lot just like you. What can you do if you ask me clearly? I''m not confused. I''ll count a few more when I check out tomorrow, but you won''t be able to figure them out either...


    Unexpectedly, after Fei calculated carefully for a while, he asked Uncle Fu to get a pen and paper, list the costs of each item mentioned by the postmaster of the post station, then write down the final result, and said to the postmaster of the post station: "Postmaster, come and see, according to what you just said, this is 2,736 taels of silver. I just gave you three taels of silver beans. According to the current official price of silver, it is 950 taels of silver. Therefore, You still need to find me one hundred and fourteen cents."


    "Ah! What?!" The postmaster of the post station took the paper and calculated hurriedly. He was sweating profusely. After calculating for a long time, he said with a dejected face, "Lang Jun''s calculation is correct..."


    Fei Qian chuckled and said: "In that case, I will leave the rest on the cabinet for now. If we are satisfied tomorrow, maybe we can reward it to you..."


    "Ah! Yes! Sir, please rest assured, I will definitely satisfy you..." The postmaster of the post station said while wiping his sweat and bowing his head. When he turned around and saw the waiter watching the excitement, he immediately stared at him, "You guy You lazy thing, why don''t you go and boil some hot water so that the distinguished guests can freshen up and relieve their fatigue later..."


    The Han Dynasty is too long ago, and there are different opinions and no exact data on the ratio of silver to money. Therefore, it is calculated based on 1:1000 under normal circumstances. In addition, general silver exchange shops will charge some fire fees, that is, handling fees, so here it is calculated based on 1:950. Forget it... If there is a generous house that can provide more detailed historical records, the author will correct it... Please vote for recommendations and favorites... Today is New Year''s Day, so I will add another chapter... Thanks to Superman Theory Book Friends, and wish you a happy New Year!


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    (End of this chapter)