Water Margin people

"Like a gangster cut?"

Lu Zhishen said thoughtfully.

"It's a bit similar, but this is much more complicated than the incision. The incision is a set of rules and regulations that are almost never changed, but ours can be changed at any time!"

The telegraph operator said with a smile.

"Wouldn't it be very convenient to deliver military reports?"

Lu Zhishen immediately understood the interests involved.

"Of course, my biggest problem right now is communication. Letters can only be sent back by naval ships, and it takes more than two months to go back and forth. The military situation is urgent, and the army is away. After more than two months, the day lilies will not only get cold, but will also dry up."

Sun Lei nodded and said that the transportation capacity is sufficient at present, and the navy's material and personnel transportation volume is enough for overseas use for half a year.

The Qi navy was invincible in this era, and there was no country that could fight with Qi at sea.

In this way, there is no need to worry about transportation capacity and combat effectiveness. The only problem is communication, which requires timely response, but the fastest means at present is pigeons.

But delivering a message via carrier pigeons over a thousand miles is already the limit. Pigeons are not capable of delivering messages across such distances as across continents, mountains, rivers, forests, Gobi deserts, and only a few out of a hundred pigeons can fly back.

So Sun Lei started to tinker with radio. This thing sounds high-tech, but in fact it is nothing at all. It is just electromagnetic waves. He doesn't need to be too sophisticated, as long as it can be used.

So after continuous testing, the radio was finally developed. Its only flaw was that it was too big. The whole thing was as big as a carriage.

"Can I contact the front line directly with something?"

Lu Zhishen looked at the launcher in Sun Lei's hand and the huge box behind him and asked.

"Of course not. You know how far this is. Mountains and forests will affect communications. Currently, the best coverage is to Guangzhou, where we will connect to the South China Sea, then to India, and finally to Persia, and then to the front line. It will be transferred nearly ten times in between."

Sun Lei looked at Lu Zhishen and said that the current radio technology was not sufficient to communicate directly with the front line.

"ten times?"

Lu Zhishen was obviously a little disappointed.

"Ten times is too much? We can get in touch with the front line in as little as an hour. What do you think?"

Sun Lei was speechless. This was an epoch-making good thing. When the radio technology got better, it would not be a problem to talk directly with the front line. In the future, people would just make video calls.

"One hour, that's pretty fast!"

Only then did Lu Zhishen express his satisfaction. Being able to get in touch with the front line in just one hour was enough to deal with any emergency.

"Please teach me how to use this thing!"

Lu Zhishen suddenly looked at Sun Lei and smiled, his eyes never leaving the radio.

"This thing is bulky and boring. What do you want with it?"

Sun Lei looked at Lu Zhishen curiously. He could understand that Lu Zhishen wanted wine, but he couldn't understand why he wanted this radio station.

"Isn't this a good opportunity to chat with my brothers on the front line when I have nothing to do?"

Lu Zhishen said with a smile.

"It's up to you. If you don't have a life, you probably won't be able to handle it. Let someone help you send the message."

Sun Lei pointed at the telegraph operator and said, sending a telegram is a technical job, and Lu Zhishen, with his clumsy hands and feet, is afraid he won't be able to do it.

"That's great, I don't have to learn all this!"

Lu Zhishen laughed and said.

The guards immediately packed up and moved the radio to Lu Zhishen's home.

"Brother, how come you always come up with such weird things?" Lu Zhishen looked at Sun Lei curiously.

"This is the power of knowledge. I've already shown you electricity before. This thing is generated by electricity!"

Sun Lei started to speak. Before he went on the expedition last year, he had demonstrated electricity to students at school. Although it was just tiny arcs of electricity, it made the students look at him in admiration. Who could refuse the method of controlling lightning?
"Electricity, that thing that makes people numb and weak?"

Lu Zhishen also remembered electric shock. He was dragged by Sun Lei to school and given electric shock once. He thought it was no big deal, but he was knocked unconscious to the ground and made a fool of himself.

"Yes, that's it!"

Sun Lei nodded.

"Can that thing still have such a big effect?"

Lu Zhishen looked at Sun Lei in surprise. He thought electricity was just a toy.

"Electricity has a much greater effect than you think. Come on, I'll take you to see it!"

Seeing that it was getting late, Sun Lei took Lu Zhishen to a side hall in the imperial palace.

"His Majesty!"

Xiao Jiasui, Wen Huanzhang and Xu Guanzhong were already waiting at the palace gate.

"It's already dark, why don't you light candles and lanterns?"

Lu Zhishen looked at the dark night, frowned and asked, "This is the imperial palace, how can we stay here in the dark?"
"I saw that officials sometimes work overtime, and candles and oil lamps have limited lighting, and they hurt their eyes after working for a long time, so I came up with a solution."

Sun Lei ignored Lu Zhishen and just snapped his fingers.

The lights suddenly came on, and the entire palace was illuminated as if it were daytime.

"what are these?"

Lu Zhishen squinted his eyes and looked at the bright glass ball hanging on the eaves above his head. The inconspicuous glass ball actually emitted light like the sun.

"This is called a light bulb. It glows when it's powered on. You see, although it's not as bright as daytime, it's not much different. It's enough for overtime work and government affairs."

Sun Lei tried hard to hold back his blush and spoke up, it was clearly a great invention, why did he sound like Zhou Baopi when he said it out loud, his purpose was just to exploit.

The people in the cabinet didn't care about working overtime, they just looked at the light bulbs curiously, the light was much brighter than candles or oil lamps.

After looking for a long time, everyone's eyes felt a little uncomfortable and blurry, just like looking at the sun for a long time, so they quickly closed their eyes to rest.

"Your Majesty, this is a great thing. With this, it won't be affected after dark. Whether it's used in workshops, streets or houses, it's great!"

Xiao Jiasui spoke up. He could see the advantages of the light bulb. With the light bulb, many things would be changed.

"The only problem is that these bulbs need electricity to light up. Although electricity generation is not difficult, transportation and construction of the network are troublesome, so priority can only be given to large cities."

Sun Lei talked about the limitations of light bulbs. A power grid cannot be built overnight, and the cost is astronomical. In addition, electricity consumption in remote areas is extremely limited.

"That's great too. The places with electricity are all around the city."

Wen Huanzhang said that at present, electricity certainly cannot be cheap. After all, things are expensive because they are scarce, and the initial construction costs need to be borne by the users.

But Wen Huanzhang was not worried. Those who could afford electricity would certainly not be stingy with money, such as gambling houses, restaurants and other shops that really made money at night.

“This lighting is great!”

Lu Zhishen looked at his shadow cast by the light of the bulb and smiled.

"Your Majesty, I heard that the school has recently begun to focus on electricity. Are they going to give up the steam engine?"

Xu Guanzhong suddenly asked a question. (End of this chapter)