Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1011 1006 [Beggar's Edition Semi-finished Telegraph Delivers Military Orders Across Thousand Miles]

Compared with the destruction of the Jin Dynasty and the Western Xia, the annexation of Goryeo is not worth writing about, but it is destined to go down in history.

It will not only be written into the history of the Ming Dynasty, but also into the history of human civilization.

Because it is related to the telegraph!

Last winter, Zhu Guoxiang brought his family to Luoyang and started developing the telegraph before the Chinese New Year.

His research and development process is particularly unscientific.

The code was designed before any parts of a telegraph were even available.

Zhu Guoxiang had never learned Morse code, but he knew that it was a combination of long and short signals. So he simply abandoned the English alphabet and only used long and short signals to express numbers and punctuation.

Each commonly used Chinese character is composed of four numbers.

Even the rhyme system was developed to replace the date, using the latest edition of "Da Ming Zheng Yun" to replace the specific date of the message.

The design work of converting electric code into Chinese characters was rather trivial, so it was thrown to several of his subordinates, with Shen Yourong, Li Qingzhao and Wen Xiaomei as the main forces.

Zhu Guoxiang thought that wired telegraph should be very simple, but when he actually started working on it he discovered there were many problems.

The first prototype of the wired telegraph was made in just a few days after all the materials were prepared.

However, the effective transmission distance is only a few meters.

Signals can only be transmitted a few meters using wires!
Because the power of Zhu Guoxiang's telegraph was too low, it was not called a battery at all, but the most primitive voltaic pile.

After many improvements, although the transmission distance was greatly increased, the results still failed to satisfy Zhu Guoxiang.

After discussing with his son and student assistants, Zhu Guoxiang replaced the battery with a hand-cranked generator. After the Lantern Festival, he decided to stop working on wired telegraph and directly started working on wireless telegraph, as he knew that radio was transmitted through electromagnetic waves.

The first wireless telegraph prototype had an effective transmission distance of approximately 200 meters.

A few months later, on the Dragon Boat Festival, when the Goryeo military coup took place, the sixth wireless telegraph prototype came out.

Zhu Guoxiang called his son over, and the first thing he said was: "The wireless telegraph is done."

"Wireless telegram?" Zhu Ming was extremely shocked.

Zhu Guoxiang said helplessly: "But the farthest we can send the telegram to is Baimasi Town."

Zhu Ming laughed and said, "It's only thirty miles. But it's a very good start. Dean Zhu, please keep up the good work."

It is very rare for Zhu Guoxiang to make such a basic machine in half a year.

There is huge room for further improvement.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "My students and I have racked our brains and have thought of every possible way. It is difficult to improve in a short period of time. Now we have two ways that may work wonders."

"What method?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "First, build large transmitting and receiving antennas; second, establish transfer stations in or near each county town."

"How big is the antenna?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The Buddha Tooth Relic Pagoda in Tianwang Temple in Luoyang is dozens of meters high, and the antenna can be set up along the pagoda. Many such antennas can be built along the way. As for the transfer station, it can also help relay the signal. It is best to build one every two or three hundred miles."

In another time and space, humans used wireless telegraph to send information across the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, which was achieved by building an extremely huge antenna - powerful bricks can fly!
As for the transfer station mentioned by Zhu Guoxiang, it can also be called a relay station, and its main equipment is a relay.

"Will the two methods you mentioned really work?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "You can give it a try."

Zhu Ming said: "Then give it a try."

If the emperor or the emperor emeritus wants to do something, they can mobilize all resources to do it.

A few days later, a group of soldiers and craftsmen rushed into Tennoji Temple in a hurry.

Come again?

The monks were horrified, thinking they had committed another serious crime.

Zen Master Zong Gao came out to greet him personally: "I am honored to meet His Royal Highness the Prince of Fujian. I wonder what is the important matter that His Royal Highness has come to visit?"

Zhu Wenzhu clasped his hands together in greeting and said, "Master, don't panic. This matter has nothing to do with your temple. If the experiment goes well, the court will send people to stay in Tianwang Temple to look after and maintain the Tooth Relic Pagoda."

When he heard that they were not here to arrest anyone, Zen Master Zong Gao stopped asking questions.

He found that Zhu Wenzhu was not in the mood to chat, so he asked the monks to disperse and only stayed with him throughout the whole process.

Tianwang Temple in Luoyang is under construction, and Xiangguo Temple in Kaifeng will be completed soon.

Zhang Congdao, who had exchanged birth dates with the eldest princess (Zhu Guoxiang's third daughter), was heading to Kaifeng with a group of craftsmen.

Twenty days later, large antennas in Luoyang, Kaifeng and Xingze were built one after another, and a relay station was also built in Xingze, which was sandwiched in between.

Luoyang Imperial Palace.

Zhu Ming watched the telegraph machine punching holes in the paper tape and couldn't help asking, "Why isn't this thing making a beep? It's different from what I remember."

Zhu Guoxiang explained: "I haven't figured out how to make sound through electric current yet."

"Not only is this a poor version, it's also a half-finished product," Zhu Ming teased. "There's no indicator light, and no sound. Does it have to be turned on 24 hours a day? It's fine to have someone watching it all the time, but this is a hand-cranked generator. After a while, you have to crank it again. You've turned telegraph operators into manual laborers. Why don't you use batteries?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The voltage of the batteries invented before was too low, even lower than that of hand-cranked generators. Not to mention wireless telegraphs, even wired telegraphs could not meet the power requirements."

"Let's build a hydroelectric generator. Is this difficult?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The principle is similar to hand-cranked power generation, but it still needs continuous experimentation and improvement. There are so many relay stations across the country, and we can't have hydroelectric power generation in every place. I plan to have telegraph operators in various places agree to stay there at a fixed time every morning, noon and evening to turn on the machine to send and receive telegrams."

Zhu Ming thought about it carefully and said, "How about this: build a hydroelectric generator in every provincial capital city in the country. If the provincial capital city is not next to a river, build one in the nearest city. Also build a telegraph in every prefecture-level city."

"Yes," Zhu Guoxiang said, "those hydroelectric generators don't need to be too big, they just need to meet the needs of the telegraph. There's no need to build a dam, you can build a water tower, use animal power to pump water up, and then use the water tower to release water intermittently to generate electricity. In fact, if we continue to improve the hand-cranked generator, it should be able to meet the needs. After all, during the Anti-Japanese War... you know."

Zhu Ming nodded and said, "We can do this in the early stages, and then we can develop it slowly in the future."

The telegraph operator was a student of Zhu Guoxiang. He suddenly turned around and said, "Your Majesty, please write a sentence."

Zhu Ming picked up his pen and wrote: "The Ming Dynasty is prosperous."

The telegraph operator sent out these six words, bowed and left immediately, and another telegraph operator came in from outside who did not know what he had sent. Then everything became quiet. It was estimated that Kaifeng had received the signal and was frantically translating it into Chinese characters.

The telegraph operators in the palace were frantically cranking the generator for fear of a power shortage.

After a while, the telegraph machine began to punch holes in the paper tape.

The telegraph operator flipped through the commonly used character codes, translated them into Chinese characters one by one, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty the Emperor, the message from Kaifeng is 'The Great Ming Dynasty is prosperous, I have received it.'"

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said, "It worked."

Zhu Ming was a little dazed.

Was this how wireless telegraph transmission between Luoyang and Kaifeng was accomplished?
It has only been more than half a year since Zhu Guoxiang started developing the telegraph.

As luck would have it, half a month later, Liaoyang sent an urgent document, claiming that a coup had taken place against Goryeo warriors, and Liaoning was planning to send troops, requesting the emperor's approval.

Zhu Ming was not in a hurry to reply, but sent all of Zhu Guoxiang's students out.

They were asked to bring various materials and make repeaters on board, laying them all the way from Kaifeng to Shandong. Then repeaters were also laid in Lushun, extending the telegraph system to Liaoyang and Pyongyang.

It is too easy to destroy Goryeo. We can send troops at any time.

Zhu Ming wanted to satisfy his high-tech addiction and issued military orders to the front line in Luoyang!
Fearing that the cross-sea signal would be poor, Zhu Ming also asked the students to bring craftsmen to set up large antennas in Dengzhou and Lushun - the antennas were set up on lighthouses, and no additional buildings were needed.

There are several large cities along the way, which also have large antennas.

……

The current Left Governor of Liaoning is Fang Tingshi.

He and Zhu Ming had a close relationship, as they both passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi of the Song Dynasty in the same year.

When Zhu Ming was sent to Guizhou, Fang Tingshi happened to be the magistrate of Lingui. He arranged a place for Zhu Ming to live, often went to listen to Zhu Ming's lectures, and traveled with Zhu Ming to visit the Guilin landscape.

Whether it was Zhang Tong, Li Bao and others who followed Zhu Ming at that time, or Chen Dong, Wei Liangchen and other Taixue students who came from thousands of miles away, they had all been taken care of by Fang Tingshi in Guizhou.

The popularity is maxed out!

When Zhu Guoxiang proclaimed himself emperor and founded the country in Kaifeng, Fang Tingshi was still serving as an official in Guangxi, continuing to serve Song Huizong's small southeastern court.

Li Bao rushed to Jiangnan, and then occupied Fujian and Guangdong. Fang Tingshi took the opportunity to respond in Guangxi. He came forward to connect with the civil and military officials of Guangxi, and advertised everywhere that he was a good friend of Zhu Ming. With the status of a mere prefecture judge, he persuaded half of Guangxi to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

Then, he continued to rise in the new Ming Dynasty.

Right Provincial Governor Lu Fang was walking back and forth in the lobby. Fang Tingshi comforted him, "Brother Yingcai, today is a meeting. Why are you walking back and forth all the time? Don't be anxious."

Before Lü Fang could even open his mouth, Liaoning General Zhe Yanzhi said, "We asked the court for instructions in the summer, why haven't you replied in the fall? If you keep delaying, it will be winter soon!"

Sun Lan, the commander of Liaoning, said, "Perhaps your majesty has other intentions."

The civil officials did not care, but the military generals were extremely worried, fearing that the court would send another general.

If a general is really sent to lead the troops, the merits of Liaoning's generals in destroying the country will be diluted.

"Report, urgent delivery from the court, there is a package!"

"finally come."

All the civil and military officials were smiling.

But when Fang Tingshi opened the document, he looked puzzled. After reading it, he said, "The court did not talk about sending troops. They only asked us to make copper and iron objects. They also said that they sent a few samples and asked the craftsmen to make them with all their heart."

Everyone opened the package and found some basic parts for making antennas.

It also requires to be lengthened by several dimensions and then connected during erection.

Fang Tingshi didn't understand what he meant, so he had to send someone to do it.

A few days later, the future son-in-law Zhang Congdao came to Liaoyang, revealed his identity and immediately began to build an antenna, which he installed directly on the pagoda left behind by the Liao Dynasty.

After a busy day, Zhang Congdao invited civil and military officials from Liaoning the next day.

They watched Zhang Congdao take out a strange machine, and then his followers shook it frantically with their hands. There was also a booklet next to it.

"Excuse me, Mr. Zhang...what are these?" Fang Tingshi asked.

Zhang Congdao said, "It's almost morning, which is the first time of the day to send a telegram. I can't explain it clearly at the moment, so please wait for me, gentlemen."

But Zhang Congdao kept pressing something with his right hand, and suddenly the small needle of the machine began to pierce the paper tape.

Zhang Congdao hurriedly recorded the numbers, leaving everyone confused.

Then, Zhang Congdao typed again and replied to Luoyang, "Received." He then opened the code booklet and translated it into Chinese characters without much skill.

After struggling for more than ten minutes, Zhang Congdao handed Fang Tingshi a piece of paper.

Fang Tingshi thought:
"Shen Jia."

"Permission to send troops to Goryeo is granted."

"Zhe Yanzhi will lead the troops, Fang Tingshi will provide logistics, and Li Yi will accompany the army to negotiate. You three will handle all matters in this battle as you see fit."

"Joint telegram from the Cabinet, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Rites."

Zhang Congdao explained: "The twelve earthly branches represent the months, and the characters from the Da Ming Zheng Yun represent the dates. Shen Jia means September 9 (in the lunar calendar), which is today."

Zhe Yanzhi said in confusion: "Is this an official document from the imperial court? There is no seal on it."

Zhang Congdao took out a genuine official document and said, "This is an imperial decree, asking you to obey the telegram. If there are any urgent matters in the future, you can also contact the court by telegram."

Lu Fang asked: "What is a telegram?"

Zhang Congdao explained simply: "His Majesty the Emperor is a learned man who has mastered the mysteries of electricity and can use it to convey messages thousands of miles away. At this moment, it is actually His Majesty who is sending the telegram, and the ministers of the cabinet and the government are watching from the side."

After these words were spoken, everyone became even more dizzy.

What does it mean that the emperor controls the mystery of electricity?
Could it be that the emperor is really a god who has descended to earth, or that he learned immortal arts overseas, or that he learned the art of controlling lightning from Lin Lingsu?
Zhe Yanzhi looked at the imperial edict, then at the telegram: "Should this order be executed?"

"I think so." Fang Tingshi was not sure.

(End of this chapter)