Chapter 25 Section 2 The Perfect Sui and Tang Post Office System

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the improvement of the post post system ensured the normal progress of post post transmission across the country. The country of the Sui Dynasty was very short, and there are not many records about the post office system in historical books, but the scattered historical materials are enough for us to observe the efficiency of postal transmission at that time. "Sui Shu" records that Emperor Yang of Sui personally conquered Korea, and the 300,000 troops were assembled by post post.When the Sui army was concentrated in Zhuojun, Emperor Yang issued an edict: "All these armies, first serve the temple strategy, lead the way by the post, and gather in Pyongyang." Finally, the mutiny was quelled.At the time of Emperor Yangdi, his brother Han Wang Liang rebelled, and Yang Su, the prime minister of power, authorized Li Zixiong to send troops to attack.

After the founding of Li and Tang, the postal post system was further improved on the basis of the Sui Dynasty.Through the laws and regulations on post post in "Tang Hui Yao" and "Da Tang Liu Dian", it can be seen that there was a fairly complete post post system in the Tang Dynasty.In the central and local areas of the dynasty, there were full-time post office officials.According to the records of "Tang Liu Dian", the government of the Tang Dynasty stipulated that the doctor of the driving department under the Ministry of War in the six ministries was in charge of the country's driving and public affairs.The doctor of the driving department is also in charge of horse administration, which can facilitate the unified use of horses in the post post.At the local level, the Tang Dynasty had a complete set of post post management institutions.Under the envoys of various roads, there are four post post inspectors who are in charge of the post post; in each state, Cao Sibing, the state soldier, joins the army to take charge of the post post;As for the township below the county level, the "Tong Dian" records that before Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the person in charge of the post office was called the post general. long supervisor.This set of very complete postal agencies manages more than 20,000 postal officers, postmen and postal routes totaling about 50,000 miles across the country.In addition, the Tang government also has a regular assessment system for post offices across the country. "Tang Huiyao" records that in the Yuanhe period of Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty (806-820 A.D.), he asked various observers to appoint judges to inspect post office affairs in various states and counties. Those who completed the tasks would be rewarded, and those who violated the law would be punished. .In addition to the assessment, there are also irregular inspections.Tang Xuanzong, Suzong, and Daizong all sent government officials to various places to inspect the implementation of post offices.In order to ensure the normal operation of the post stations without interference from thieves and landlords, the Tang government also set up guards at each post station.During the Tang Dynasty, on both sides of the canal from Luoyang to the Huaihe River, 300 post guards were set up for every two posts.The Tang Dynasty stipulated that there should be a station every 30 miles, that is, there would be five postmen in each station.This is a very effective team to ensure the smooth flow of the post post.

According to the regulations of the Tang Dynasty, post offices all over the country had their own property to ensure the normal expenses of post activities.These post products include post houses, post fields, post horses, post boats and related post post tools, daily office supplies, board and lodging needs of the premises, etc.The Tang Dynasty was a prosperous empire in the history of our country, and everything was very ostentatious. Gu Yanwu, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, once commented in "The Tang Dynasty's city walls must be broad, its streets must be upright, and its mansions must be spacious."The posthouses in the Tang Dynasty also had "Fengwu delicacies", which were relatively "magnificent".According to national regulations, the number of post fields in the Tang Dynasty was relatively large. According to the records of "Cefu Yuangui", the top-class post fields in the Tang Dynasty had 2,400 mu of land, and the low-class post fields also had 720 mu of land.These post fields are used to grow alfalfa to solve the problem of horse feed, and other harvests are also used for the daily expenses of the post station.In the Tang Dynasty, the land station was equipped with post horses, and the water station was equipped with post ships.According to the "Liu Dian of Tang Dynasty", the upper class Lu post station is equipped with 75 to 60 horses per post, the middle post station is equipped with 45 to 18 horses, and the low post station is equipped with 12 to 8 horses.In the Tang Dynasty, donkeys also became a common means of transportation, so some post stations were also equipped with post donkeys.The water post is equipped with post boats, ranging from four to one.In addition to the above, the government of the Tang Dynasty also fixedly subsidizes the expenses of each post station every year. It collects about 1.5 million post taxes from all over the country every year, and distributes about 1,100 guan as funds for each post station.

The complete post post management system and sufficient post transmission funds ensured the normal operation of the postal routes in the Tang Dynasty for a long time.Officials who are engaged in delivering government documents along the way are well paid, and even the head of a post station at the grassroots level can live a leisurely life.During the Taiping period, some postmasters of small stations were able to pass the time with poetry and wine because of the lack of customers and the simplicity of affairs.Zhao Gu (Jia Jia), a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem entitled "A Poem to Liu Inspector Liu at the Posthouse", which said: "Don't leave the clouds, the green mountains and horses step on the dust, and it's hard to find a idler with negative talents. Mo Daoguan post has no official business, and poetry and wine can consume half of the spring." "Li Shangyin, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty, also wrote a poem saying: "The old officials in Jiangtai station have become immortals for dozens of springs after drinking wine." Of course, this is an isolated example.Under normal circumstances, the postmaster’s postal service is still busy enough, just like what Liu Zongyuan said in the article "The Post Office Envoy's Wall Records": "There is no end to the battle of telling you to go; , without a break in the day."