Text丨Fat Boy Entertainment said
Editor丨Fat Boy Entertainment said
"Once upon a time, the carriage was slow, the letters were far away, and there was only enough love for one person in a lifetime. ”
This sentence once became popular all over the Internet, with only a few words, exhausting the most desirable emotional mode in the world.
But on a practical level, were ancient chariots and horses really slow? If you still have this stereotype, you really underestimate the ancients.
Just imagine, if the country's message transmission and material delivery are so inefficient, wouldn't it wait until the daylilies are cold?
In fact, the ancient chariots and horses were not necessarily very slow, and today the author will take you to understand.
The well-known "post station"
When it comes to "post station", I believe many people's first reaction is "rookie post station" and "mother post station".
But do you know that the concept of "post station" was put forward by the ancients thousands of years ago, as early as the pre-Qin period, the express delivery system has been in order.
The post station provides great convenience for the transmission of information and the delivery of goods.
The origin of this system was not for commercial or civilian purposes, but for military and official needs.
In order to better manage and control the territory, it was not enough for the imperial court to rely on the presence of magistrates, they needed a fast and trustworthy information transmission system, so they set up post stations.
At that time, post stations were generally set up on important roads, and the process of teleportation required the use of well-trained horses.
In this way, official documents and military intelligence can reach their "destination" safely, ensuring that government decrees can be implemented in a timely manner.
Later, the post station system was gradually improved, and it was not only used by the government to convey military needs, but even began to undertake the work of transporting goods.
In the Qin and Han dynasties, it reached its peak, and the post station even transported royal "tribute".
In fact, the vigorous development of the post station during the Qin Dynasty had a lot to do with the social background at that time, and the centralization system, as well as the implementation of the system of "cars on the same track, books on the same text", so that the express delivery system reached an unprecedented scale.
In addition, during the Qin Dynasty, "Chi Road" was the main traffic artery, and its width was nearly 70 meters, which is also very remarkable now.
The use of Chidao greatly promoted the efficiency of "logistics" and information transmission at that time.
It is also recorded in the history books, and the speed of this gallop is up to 45 kilometers per hour, which is almost the limit speed of a horse.
In the Han Dynasty, the post station system was further improved, and in addition to delivering official documents and materials, it also provided services such as food and lodging, and became an important transportation and logistics center at that time.
All this also made it possible for Tang Xuanzong to deliver fresh lychees to Yang Yuhuan during the Tang Dynasty.
The most famous "courier business" in history
If the express delivery system of the Qin and Han dynasties was very developed, then the "express delivery business" of the Tang Dynasty was to stand on the shoulders of giants and create brilliance.
The opening of the Grand Canal in the Tang Dynasty made express delivery no longer limited to carriage and horse transportation, and it was also a good choice to send express delivery by water.
According to historical records, Tang Dynasty cargo ships could carry thousands of stone of goods and shuttle freely between rivers, lakes and seas.
These ships were not only used to transport goods, but also to transmit information and transport some war materials.
Of course, while the waterway "express" was developing, the carriage and horse "express" was still developing steadily in the Tang and Song dynasties.
During this period, there was a "express delivery business" that shocked the whole country - paying tribute to Yang Guifei lychee.
"Chang'an looks at the north and embroiders piles, and the top of the mountain opens thousands of doors; ”
This is the description of this incident by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu.
Yang Guifei likes to eat lychees very much, and is also quite picky about the quality of lychees, and only eats them from the Lingnan region.
This can embarrass the people below, and it is an impossible task to deliver fresh lychees to Yang Guifei.
"If you leave the branch, the color changes in one day, the fragrance changes in two days, the taste changes in three days, and the color and fragrance are all gone in four or five days. ”
The great poet Bai Juyi, who we are familiar with, also expressed in the "Lychee Preface" that it is difficult to preserve lychees.
But Tang Xuanzong was too fond of Yang Guifei, so he didn't think about these at all and just gave orders.
The emperor ordered that whoever dared to disobey, even if everyone wanted to break their heads, they had to complete this task.
As soon as the lychees were picked from the tree, they were immediately put into a bamboo tube to isolate the air, and then they were handed over to the post station to be passed one by one, in order to be able to deliver the lychees to Yang Guifei in the shortest possible time.
Those people in charge of transportation hurried up, and they didn't dare to delay for a moment, but they didn't expect that the lychee was really delivered to Yang Guifei in one day.
Yang Guifei ate the "Lingnan lychee" that she longed for, and Tang Xuanzong also got a smile from the beauty. seems to be a happy ending, but many people have paid for it with their lives.
"The flying car crosses the mountains and the sea, and the wind branches and leaves are like fresh harvest. The beauty in the palace broke her face, and the dust and blood flowed for thousands of years. ”
Su Shi's description in "Lychee Sigh" is very appropriate, looking at the lychees that were finally delivered to Yang Guifei's hands, they were fresh and full, but they were actually soaked in the blood and sweat of others.
Tang Han "hurried foot delivery" traveled 400 miles a day
In the Tang and Han dynasties, the way of "express delivery" changed again.
There used to be three classes in the post: daily foot delivery, horse delivery, and urgent foot delivery. The fastest delivery is urgent, and it travels 400 miles a day, but it is used by the army.
This is Shen Kuo's description in "Mengxi Writings", and "express delivery" in this period is called "urgent foot delivery".
Judging from the name alone, many people will question, how good can the efficiency be to send express delivery on foot?
This is not the case, this mode of transport is a combination of foot and horse delivery, and in most cases, horses are still required to transport it.
When encountering some steep mountain roads, they will be carried out by foot, and the transportation distance can reach 400 miles per day.
In order to improve the speed and efficiency of transportation, they set up "express shops" on some important roads to assist in the transmission of documents and materials.
However, this method is generally only used when the army is in operation, or when there is a war.
There are gold plates in Xining, such as the ancient feathers. With the wooden brand vermilion lacquer gold words, bright and dazzling, such as flying lightning, those who look forward to it all avoid the road, more than 500 miles a day. If there is a pre-military speed punishment, it will be issued from the imperial front, and the three provinces and the Privy Council will not be able to do it. ”
In the Xining period, in order to make the letter unimpeded, the emperor would give the delivery person a wooden plaque with red lacquer and gold letters.
Because this wooden sign is very conspicuous, whenever everyone sees a messenger wearing such a wooden card, it is clear that there is an urgent matter, and they have to avoid it, not to mention entering the "express shop" handover.
This method is very time-saving, and it can reach more than 500 miles a day without stopping, and it also effectively prevents the leakage of the content of the letter.
They even wore uniform uniforms, just like modern people. The imperial court will also give them suitable clothes according to the change of the four seasons.
But after understanding this, everyone will wonder, how can these be the royal transportation methods, don't the common people have a chance?
The emerging "express" method in the Ming and Qing dynasties
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a new way of "express transportation" among the people - the dart game.
In that special period at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the society was in turmoil, and robbers were everywhere.
It is difficult for ordinary people to ensure the safety of their property, and the emergence of the dart game directly helps everyone solve this problem.
Dart boards are made up of highly skilled and experienced people who use a variety of means of transportation, such as horses, vehicles, etc., to transport goods from one place to another.
The advent of the dart board provides people with a reliable transportation and protection service, so that valuables can be transported over longer distances, reducing the risk of theft.
Compared with the official express delivery with cumbersome rules, the dart board is undoubtedly a good choice, and you can deliver the money with one hand and pay the money with the other hand, and there is no need for complicated procedures, and the price is fair.
This kind of "express delivery method" created by the people in the Ming and Qing dynasties greatly met the needs of people's daily life at that time, because of the conscientiousness and responsibility of the dart masters, the reputation of the dart game has become better and better.
In the late Qing Dynasty, even many noble children handed over their personal safety and finances to the dart bureau.
In this way, the ancients used their wisdom and creativity to meet the needs of life and business, and made important contributions to the fields of "logistics" and "distribution".
Some can even compete with modern courier services, and it is worth learning Xi. At the same time, we should also re-examine our understanding of the ancients, and not easily underestimate the ancients.