Chapter 1448 - 1356: Post Station (Part 2)

In the eighth year of Yuanzhen, Hua Country had already realized one telegraph station per post station, and larger post stations even had more than two telegraph stations.

Everywhere the post station reached, communication could be conducted via telegraph. Even ordinary people could use it for a fee, so sending messages over a thousand miles was no longer a secret in Hua Country, though it was still a secret in the Western Regions.

Because of the great geographical distance, the Central Plains found it difficult to receive information from the Western Regions, and vice versa, unless it was deliberately spread by the Central Plains.

For instance, barely a month after Zhao Hanzhang safely gave birth to the Second Prince, the news spread across all the Western countries;

Yet, regarding information like the increase in cotton production, the Western Regions only heard snippets from merchants from the Central Plains after a large number of cotton goods were sold there.

But the guest was not an ordinary person; he was an official from Qiuci. For the past two years, there had been vague rumors that the reason Hua Country’s army could swiftly respond and maneuver seamlessly on the vast steppes and deserts was due to a divine artifact of thousand-mile communication.

They didn’t believe it.

They practiced Buddhism and believed in heavenly gods in daily life, but when politics touched upon reality, they expressed skepticism.

But now...

The soldier urged him twice, and finally, the guest snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, "I want to ask Master Huizhen from West White Horse Temple, Luoyang, when he will return to Qiuci, as the matter he entrusted to me is completed, and I am urgently waiting for him to discuss it."

The soldier asked, "Sending this many words? Luoyang is far away. It costs twenty-seven cents per character; twenty-five characters will cost six hundred and seventy-five cents."

The guest clicked his tongue at the high price. In their Qiuci, three pieces of Five Coin Money were equivalent to two pieces of "Zhao" character Money. Whether by intention or not, the pricing unit of the post station was "Zhao" character money.

Of course, they also accepted Qiuci’s Five Coin Money, but it needed conversion, so how much was six hundred and seventy-five cents of "Zhao" character money in Qiuci’s Five Coin Money?

The guest’s mind turned into a muddle at once, unable to calculate.

However, the soldier quickly calculated it on an abacus and soon reported, "One thousand and twelve cents and five parts."

The guest was dumbfounded at the cruel price—a short message of twenty-five characters would cost a clerk two months’ wages.

Seeing his reaction, the soldier advised, "Your message is too wordy; reducing some words will suffice."

He kindly handed him the pen, "Take a moment to reconsider."

The guest, who could speak and read some Mandarin, was remarkable. Asking him to condense it...

The guest immediately decided, "Could you adjust it? As long as the meaning remains the same."

The soldier, upon hearing this, thought for a moment and wrote, "When to Qiuci, tasked done, urgent await," on the paper.

He showed it to him, "How about this version?"

The guest nodded repeatedly, "This is good, very good. Send it like this."

The soldier sent the message to the provided address. Ten characters cost two hundred and seventy cents, converting to Qiuci’s Five Coin Money was four hundred and five units.

The guest was deeply moved; the cost more than halved, saving him a month’s salary.

The soldier said, "Leave an address, and we’ll notify you if there’s a reply."

The guest’s eyes flickered slightly and said, "Where I live is far; I am temporarily staying at the post station. Notify me if there is a letter."

The soldier agreed.

As soon as the guest left, Wu Liang wandered over, "What’s his name?"

The soldier quickly showed him the slip, "Mu Hetar, posthouse minister. Is he a spy sent by Qiuci?"

"Don’t know where he’s sent from, but he’s definitely a spy," Wu Liang said, "Who would come alone to stay at the post station?"

Their post station was at the edge of an oasis; eighty miles northwest past the oasis was Qiuci Royal City.

They wanted to build the post station within the Royal City but couldn’t secure it.

However, having the post station here wasn’t bad, as this was the last oasis into Qiuci Kingdom. All caravans from Hua Country must pass here.

They could provide these caravans with some information, and similarly, all Qiuci caravans heading to Hua Country had to pass through here.

Eighty miles was perfect, just a day’s journey for an ordinary caravan.

They could gather a wealth of information from passing traders and relay it back through the telegraph.

Perhaps they were very interested in the Eastern Divine Country, because in just a couple of days after Wu Liang and others settled into the post station, they entertained numerous people.

It was a large post station, managing to fill nearly a third of the guest rooms. Besides the lodging guests, there were also Qiuci officials, some big landlords, and merchants from the oasis, all curious to make a round.

Wu Liang remained unfazed by favor or disgrace, methodically dispatching a unit with road permits and the like to procure goods within Qiuci Royal City.

"This trip is merely to become familiar with the route, observe more, and speak less. Apart from market prices, don’t inquire about anything else at this initial stage, remain cautious."

The soldiers acknowledged, then harnessed the carriage and set off for Qiuci Royal City.

As soon as they left, someone from the dispatch room came running, "Posthouse minister, there indeed is a monk named Huizhen at Bai Ma Temple, he truly knows Mu Hetar."

He showed the telegraph he had just received.

Wu Liang glanced at it, unsurprised, "Since the letter has arrived, have someone deliver it to Mu Hetar. He’s already stayed an extra day here waiting for this letter."

Staying and lodging at the post station wasn’t cheap.

Mu Hetar received the letter, looking incredulous. He looked back and forth at the thin piece of paper with skepticism, "This is Huizhen’s reply?"

"Yes." The soldier was about to leave after delivering the letter, but Mu Hetar hurriedly stopped him, "How can I be sure this is Huizhen’s reply and not..." you randomly scribbled something on a piece of paper?

The soldier displeasedly retorted, "You underestimate us. There are strict state regulations prohibiting the interception or forgery of clients’ messages. Violations are punished based on severity, the lightest akin to theft. Do you know how serious theft is under Hua Country’s law?"

"At least three years of hard labor!"

Gazing contemptuously at him, the soldier added, "Just for a letter, are we all in the dispatch room going to risk three years of forced labor? For what?"

But Mu Hetar couldn’t understand, "You sent my letter only yesterday, and today it’s already replied?"

"Isn’t that normal? A telegraph sent yesterday would have reached Luoyang yesterday. If they aren’t busy, they would notify Bai Ma Temple the same day. Otherwise, they’d do it within the next couple of days. Once the recipient gets the telegraph, sending a reply to you is a perfectly ordinary timeframe, isn’t it?"

The soldier stated, "If you lived in Qiuci Royal City, we’d have to send the message to you, which might be a day or two later. But you stay here, just a short distance away."

Mu Hetar looked down at the letter once more. To ascertain its truth, he resolutely said, "I need to send another message to Huizhen."

This time, Mu Hetar didn’t need the soldier to help him reduce words. He directly asked Huizhen to "recount what you entrusted to me."

Far away in Luoyang, Master Huizhen was packing his bags and was completely bewildered upon receiving this telegraph.

The postman delivering the message kindly reminded, "Master, they seem quite urgent at the other end. They even paid double for us to deliver the message immediately. Do you want to reply to them?"

Huizhen touched his purse, hesitated, but eventually gritted his teeth and went.

He was heading to the Western Regions again, and his travel expenses were already insufficient. Alas, why was Mu Hetar making things difficult for him?

Sending so many words via telegraph was costly.