Following his past habits, Li Yuanying wouldn’t venture out in the winter. This year was different, though. He felt brimming with energy, not even feeling the cold in the winter. He spent his days bouncing around outside. As the weather grew colder, fewer and fewer people who couldn’t afford thick winter clothing were seen outside.
After the onset of winter, Li Yuanying personally summoned the heads of each charcoal shop. He told them that they could raise prices on premium charcoal as much as they wanted but could not raise prices on regular charcoal. The common people had to be able to afford it. After balancing the charcoal prices and ensuring that no one was artificially inflating the prices, Li Yuanying followed the practice of the past two years and instructed people to send him the registers of widowed, orphaned, and single individuals, as well as families of soldiers. He then organized manpower to go door-to-door to deliver charcoal and winter clothes, making sure no one would freeze. He didn’t know about other places, but he wanted to ensure that no one in Tengzhou would die of cold.
Unexpectedly, a batch of delivered items was returned.
Tang Xuan, who was in charge of implementing this matter, went to Li Yuanying immediately to explain what happened. “They accepted the charcoal but refused the winter clothes. They said you sent them both last year and the year before, and the winter clothes were still new. They could continue to wear them, so they didn’t need new winter clothes this year. They asked us to give them to those who need them more.”
In ordinary households, winter clothes were passed down year after year. Even if they were torn or had some leakage, they would be mended and worn again. Clothes would even be passed down from older brother to younger brother, father to son. Only after being worn by several people in turn would a winter garment be considered fully worn out!
If the items had been sent by someone else, many people would have thought, “Free stuff, why not take it?” and wouldn’t have returned it. But the items were sent by Li Yuanying. Over the past two years, Li Yuanying had instructed people to explain every decree to the common people in detail. The people listened and felt that their Prince Tang had their best interests at heart. Furthermore, their lives were indeed getting better.
People can’t be ungrateful. Li Yuanying had sent charcoal and winter clothes to prevent them from freezing. How could they accept them with a clear conscience? Anyone who secretly kept the clothes would be looked down upon by others.
So, many returned the winter clothes, except those families who had a new baby, as they kept the new clothes for the newborn.
Li Yuanying had always lived a luxurious life and didn’t quite understand these things. He understood after hearing Tang Xuan’s explanation. It seemed that winter clothes didn’t need to be sent out every year.
The newly made winter clothes couldn’t be wasted. Not to mention anything else, there were so many soldiers in Tengzhou, and even more winter clothes would not be enough.
Li Yuanying instructed people to send the returned clothes to the army.
Tang Xuan naturally took the opportunity to spread the news. First, he mentioned that Li Yuanying sent clothes and charcoal to the families of soldiers in Tengzhou, ensuring they were well taken care of and their families were healthy. He also praised Li Yuanying’s good governance, saying that the people in his territory were also conscientious and grateful, otherwise, who would voluntarily return a winter garment that could be sold for a lot of rice?
Li Yuanying did all of this not to win over the people’s hearts or strengthen the army. But since he did it, Tang Xuan felt it was still important to let people know. He praised Li Yuanying’s kindness and praised the families of soldiers for their conscience and gratitude. The soldiers, after receiving the winter clothes and feeling warm, felt the Tengzhou military camp was as warm as home. They felt their blood boil and unanimously promised to serve and protect Tengzhou with loyalty and dedication.
Tang Xuan, a young scholar barely out of his teens, spoke confidently in front of the army, which surprised Li Dekian. Upon inquiry, he learned that Tang Xuan’s ancestors had also produced great generals, with a deep-rooted family tradition. However, in their generation, they had focused on poetry and literature, and no one had emerged as a military talent.
Li Dekian felt that Li Yuanying’s luck was indeed extraordinary. Even Tang Xuan, who seemed gentle and frail, was exceptional in his actions. With just a few words, he had secured the loyalty of the soldiers for Li Yuanying.
After another half a month, Dong Xiao’e reported that there was sufficient manpower after the autumn harvest. All localities had agreed to spare laborers for road construction. The straight road to Chang’an would soon be fully connected.
This road involved many prefectures and counties, and it was not built solely by Fengtai Building. The milestones along the way all recorded the names of those who contributed funds to its construction. Li Yuanying had instructed people to record all the prefectures and counties along the way. He worked with Yan Li’de to design a set of commemorative stamps to celebrate the completion of the straight road. Starting from Chang’an, he set the postage based on units of six post stations, with one extra coin for each additional six post stations.
The distance from Chang’an to Mount Tai was approximately 1,800 li. A normal post station could deliver a letter in a day, traveling six post stations, each about 30 li apart. This meant they could travel 180 li per day. Therefore, for just 10 coins, a letter could be delivered to the end of the straight road within ten days, from Mount Tai to Chang’an!
Li Yuanying was the main investor, so he secretly made the straight road curve slightly, passing by the entrance to Tengzhou before turning towards Mount Tai.
Now, mailboxes had been set up outside the post stations along the way, and specially trained postal carriers and horses were ready to go. If there were many letters, they could also have designated people to collect them and transport them by wagon! Each mailbox was guarded by an old laborer. They didn’t need to do heavy work. They only needed to explain how to operate the mailboxes to those who wanted to send letters and open the mailboxes at regular intervals for postal carriers to collect the letters each day.
Li Yuanying rode his horse on the spacious and flat straight road, his mood soaring. He had seen some scenes of the future in the Library of the Multiverse. The roads there were wider and smoother than this one, and the vehicles on the road were no longer carriages. People could travel not only on land and water but also fly in the sky. They could even explore the vast universe and land on the moon, which illuminated the night sky, to see its dull and uneven surface.
All of that was still far away from the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuanying had never spoken to anyone about those seemingly fantastical scenes. But as his horse hooves pounded on this brand new, straight road, he felt a little closer to all of that. As long as the sons and daughters of the Tang Dynasty could continue to move resolutely in that direction, one day they would reach that future. And they would reach it far ahead of everyone else.
Li Yuanying turned to his companions, “Let’s head back.” He spurred his horse and raced ahead.
Seeing Li Yuanying’s high spirits, the others also laughed and rode forward, catching up with him.
Many people along the way had come out to walk on the newly expanded road. Upon seeing Li Yuanying and his group riding by, they stopped and watched them ride off before continuing their walk.
Just as Li Yuanying returned to the city, Gao Yang and Lu Zhaolin arrived on the road, along with a large group of people, carrying many things. A long line of people and horses marched orderly towards Tengzhou City.
Li Yuanying was planning to check on the progress of printing the postage stamps. When he heard that Gao Yang and her companions had arrived, he immediately turned his horse and went to greet them. The newly married couple radiated happiness, every strand of their hair exuding sweetness. Li Yuanying, though feeling a pang of jealousy, still enthusiastically welcomed his two friends, ordering people to hold a banquet to celebrate their return.
Upon learning that Emperor Li had generously allocated 50 people to him, Li Yuanying was overjoyed. He didn’t even bother to look at the list, their ranks, or their origins. He warmly invited them to have a welcome feast first.
Not all 50 seconded officials were happy to come. But one doesn’t refuse a friendly face. Li Yuanying greeted them so warmly that they couldn’t put on a cold face.
Li Yuanying recognized them one by one. He discovered that some were actually familiar faces, including Wei Ying, Wei Jiu’s brother, and his former classmate Zhang Jianzhi. Though older than him, they had not taken the imperial examination with him. They had obtained their official positions later and had just secured an insignificant post this year. Their jobs were barely warm when they were packed off to Tengzhou!
Li Yuanying could easily warm up to strangers, let alone Wei Ying. He warmly grabbed Wei Ying’s hand and said, “Brother-in-law, you’ve finally arrived. You must have Sister-in-law come and talk with Jiu often.” Wei Ying was several years older than Wei Jiu and had married at the beginning of the year. But they hadn’t been able to return to Tengzhou for their wedding.
Wei Ying had already convinced himself not to compete with Li Yuanying. When Li Yuanying addressed him as brother-in-law and sister-in-law, his face twitched, but he agreed anyway.
Li Yuanying was used to Wei Ying’s bad temper and turned to greet Zhang Jianzhi. He asked Zhang Jianzhi many questions, like whether his hemorrhoids had returned and telling him to move around more and not sit all day. Zhang Jianzhi thought that if Kong Yingda knew Li Yuanying cared about him so much, he wouldn’t know whether to be touched or furious and chase after Li Yuanying to beat him. If he kept talking, everyone would know that Kong Jijiu had hemorrhoids!
After the welcome feast, the awkwardness of their separation disappeared, and the initial unfamiliarity vanished. Everyone had a favorable impression of Li Yuanying. Whether it was genuine or feigned, at least Li Yuanying was enthusiastic towards them. He even painted a rosy picture of the future, assuring them that if they worked hard, he would personally write recommendation letters for them.
These newcomers to the official circles weren’t afraid of too much work, just of having nothing to do. Without work, there would be no merit to gain, no achievements to demonstrate their abilities. Since Emperor Li had personally sent them, and Li Yuanying had explained their future plans in detail, they had no reason to hesitate. They rolled up their sleeves and were ready to work!
Looking at the young and ambitious faces, Li Yuanying felt a surge of excitement. He repeatedly toasted the seconded talents, drinking himself tipsy.
Wei Jiu entertained the female guests on the other side, looking for potential candidates who would be willing to work. It was nearly the end of the banquet when someone told her that Li Yuanying was drunk. After sending the women away, she hurried to see Li Yuanying.
Li Yuanying couldn’t really hold his liquor, but he had no self-awareness. Whenever he was happy, he couldn’t resist joining in the fun.
Some people would go wild when drunk, but Li Yuanying was different. When drunk, he was very well-behaved, falling asleep immediately. Only his flushed face revealed his intoxicated state.
Wei Jiu used a warm towel to wipe his face and sat beside the couch, poking his rosy cheeks with her finger.
They weren’t married yet, so she shouldn’t be in Li Yuanying’s room, sitting on his couch, or touching him. But in Tengzhou, they were free to do whatever they wanted and however they wanted. Wei Jiu poked Li Yuanying’s other cheek, making him rub his head against the pillow, looking unhappy. She withdrew her hand and coaxed him, “Sleep. Get a good night’s rest, or you’ll have a headache tomorrow.”
The drunk Li Yuanying was apparently very easy to please. He obediently stopped moving and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The next day when Li Yuanying woke up, his head did indeed ache. He felt better after drinking a bowl of tea. Thinking about his brother’s generosity in sending him people, Li Yuanying immediately ordered someone to grind ink and prepare paper. He wanted to write a letter to Emperor Li. This time, he would praise him for 10,000 words, without repeating a single sentence! This wasn’t flattery. It was his brother’s birthday when he sent the letter, and it wouldn’t be wrong for a younger brother to say something nice to his older brother for his birthday, right?
He had also prepared this year’s birthday present: a set of custom-made postage stamps with gold thread embedded, painted by Yan Li’de and inscribed by Chu Sui-liang. They were highly collectible, and if you wanted to use them to send letters, you could, but you had to be careful not to let others steal them. Though he had made 1,000 sets, this was the first set he sent out. His brother was the first to receive it, demonstrating his sincerity. If others saw it and wanted to buy it, they could buy a set for commemorative purposes. If they found it too expensive, they could buy a set of ordinary postage stamps. Though there was no gold thread, they were still painted by Yan Li’de and inscribed by Chu Sui-liang. The pictures were beautiful, the writing was elegant, and they could still be used to send letters!
Of course, the gold-threaded postage stamps were not the main point. The real point was, the road was finished!
Li Yuanying was full of creative inspiration. He locked himself in and wrote for a whole day. He actually wrote a 10,000-word letter. He excitedly asked Wei Jiu to check for any typos, only allowing her to correct typos, not to change a single word. Otherwise, it wouldn’t reflect his sincere feelings!
Wei Jiu remembered Li Yuanying’s incident of sending the wrong letter, so she couldn’t refuse to help. But after reading 1,000 words, she began to regret it.
Li Yuanying’s writing style had become increasingly elegant, but the core content remained unchanged. It still revolved around themes like, “Brother, you are truly wise and mighty, like a celestial being descending to earth” and “Brother, having you as the Son of Heaven is the blessing of all the people for generations to come.”
Wei Jiu struggled to reach 3,000 words and finally gave up. She said to Li Yuanying in a soft voice, “I’m getting tired. How about asking Mei’niang to take a look tomorrow?”
Li Yuanying knew Wei Jiu was very busy lately, so he nodded in agreement. He would ask Wu Mei to help him proofread tomorrow.
Wu Mei’s acceptance level was much higher than Wei Jiu’s. The next day, after reading the entire letter, she said there were no typos and it could be sent directly to Chang’an.
Li Yuanying was satisfied. He happily sealed the letter and ordered someone to send it to Chang’an, along with the gold-threaded postage stamps.
The first batch of postal carriers trained in Tengzhou were thrilled to learn that their first delivery was to the imperial palace. That was the imperial palace! They had never even seen it, but now they could deliver a letter to the palace. In the future, no matter how many times they had to run back and forth, it would be worth it!
The postal carriers, dressed in uniform and riding horses with matching saddles, formed a long line and marched proudly towards Chang’an. Unaware of the truth, the common people saw them and thought they were soldiers going out on a campaign. Upon closer inspection, they realized they weren’t soldiers. After inquiring, they learned that they could now send letters to Chang’an for a few coins!
Most people in Tengzhou already understood what postage stamps and postal carriers were. They were eager to try it out. After all, postage stamps weren’t expensive. They could skip a meal and afford to send several letters.
This was a new invention from Tengzhou. They had to write letters to their relatives and friends to show off!
Some people regretted that letters could only be sent to Chang’an. In this era of inconvenient transportation, if a brother or nephew went far away, they might not be able to see each other for ten or twenty years, or even a lifetime. If the entire Tang Dynasty had such convenient roads and such a convenient and inexpensive way to send letters, even if they couldn’t see each other, they could still communicate regularly to alleviate the pain of separation!
As the year-end approached, everyone had saved up some money. With the release of postage stamps, those with poor families bought stamps with a value of one coin to join in the fun, while the wealthy bought them by the set. If Li Yuanying hadn’t kept the gold-threaded postage stamps for himself, they would definitely have chosen those. After all, a complete set of ordinary stamps only cost 55 coins. What was the point of buying them if they didn’t have gold thread?
Besides family letters, another target group for postage stamps was scholars. They loved to share their works with their friends. Having this delivery channel was extremely convenient for them. Word of mouth among scholars spread rapidly. Even those who had to copy scriptures for money would buy a set of postage stamps, otherwise, how could they call themselves scholars? As soon as they could send letters, they would be the first to send their latest works to their friends!
As a result, the post offices had not yet officially opened their mail delivery services, and the postage stamps had already become the best-selling commodity in Tengzhou.
While Tengzhou was bustling with excitement, preparing for the New Year and the official start of mail delivery on New Year’s Day, Chang’an welcomed the special messengers sent by Li Yuanying.
The postal carrier who was responsible for delivering Li Yuanying’s letter excitedly delivered the letter to the imperial palace post office. He was still overwhelmed with excitement.
In the past, many people were reluctant to take on this kind of back-and-forth job. But now that the roads were smooth and the postal carrier’s待遇 (treatment) was generous, their wives could also receive training to work at the post office. They could sit at the counter and sell postage stamps and guide those who wanted to send letters. It was both respectable and profitable! After a few years, they would be able to save enough money to get their son married and give their daughter a dowry, and their lives would be prosperous!
Just thinking about that future made their hearts burn, and they didn’t even feel tired from riding back and forth every day. They even found the scenery along the way beautiful.
The letter arrived on time. The next day happened to be Emperor Li’s birthday.
The head of the imperial palace post office, as the envoy from Tengzhou, went to the palace to celebrate the birthday. He woke up early, nervously checking his attire several times before heading out anxiously.
At the location of the palace banquet, the Tengzhou envoy was treated the same as the other envoys from the vassal kings, and they were all assigned to the same group. Compared to the piles of birthday gifts behind the other envoys, the items he carried were quite meager: a thick letter, a thin set of gold-threaded postage stamps, and a map of the Chang’an straight road marked with the locations of 60 post stations along the way.
As the saying goes, “As the upper does, so does the lower.” Li Tai and Li Yuanying didn’t get along well. Li Tai’s envoy also looked down on Li Yuanying’s nervous envoy. He sarcastically said, “I heard that among all the vassal kings, Prince Tang is the wealthiest. Why did you only present His Majesty with so little? A few thin pieces of paper as a birthday gift? What do you take His Majesty for?”
The Tengzhou envoy, a rather plump man, looked like a kind-hearted man. He didn’t get angry upon hearing this. He just expressed his trust in Li Yuanying with a confident look, “His Highness must have chosen such a gift for a reason.” Their trust in Li Yuanying was almost blind, not only because he was a prince of the Tang Dynasty but also because he was Li Yuanying—Li Yuanying, who could always achieve good results even when he was being mischievous.
Thinking about this, the Tengzhou envoy’s anxiety and nervousness disappeared, replaced by a straight back and a proud smile.
It was finally their turn for the envoys to present their gifts and enter the palace.
**Author’s Note:**
Fourth nephew: Why do you always drag me out?
Little King: Maybe because you look more like the villain.
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