The problem is that even though the numbers can be used to decipher the text, there is still no way to solve the numerous doubts that Zhu Di has generated.
Zhu Di is a pragmatist, and he doesn't like to be mysterious.
This is also the reason why he is not interested in Confucian scholars.
Because although Confucianism has been continuously improved for more than a thousand years, it can always summarize a set of seemingly impeccable theories.
However, no matter how good the theory is, it is useless.
So Zhu Di said bluntly: "How did you deliver the news?"
Zhang Anshi said: "In the past few months, I have laid a line. This line is from Ganzhou Prefecture in Jiangxi Province to Nanjing City..."
Zhu Di said: "Line?"
Zhang Anshi took the paint thread and showed it to Zhu Di. Zhu Di looked at it carefully and didn't find anything different.
Zhang Anshi said: "This wire is not simple. It is made of copper wire. Your Majesty, if it had been a few years earlier, it would have been difficult to draw this copper and iron wire. Fortunately, in recent years, the skills of various mechanical workshops have greatly improved."
The increase, just this... is the result of several years of hard work by many senior craftsmen from the Academy of Sciences and countless researchers."
Listening to Zhang Anshi talking about how difficult it was, Zhu Di stared at this thing more seriously, as if he wanted to find out its magic from the details.
Zhang Anshi continued: "Originally, these things were used to build barbed wire fences. There was a huge demand for these barbed wire fences in various vassal states. They were very effective in dealing with the natives during wartime. After this improvement, they can be made into this kind of barbed wire fence.
In addition to the copper wire, the outside is insulated with insulating paint."
After a pause, Zhang Anshi continued: "Actually, since last year, I have ordered people to develop this kind of wire, and a batch has been produced, but... I didn't expect such a wonderful use as a telegraph at that time."
Zhang Anshi is indeed interested in electricity, but what he has always been thinking about is to light the first lamp in his palace. Unfortunately... although a lot of money was secretly invested in this large-scale power generation device
A lot of money, but when it finally landed, there was nothing to show for it.
Who would have thought that there would be no way out of the mountains and rivers, and there would be a bright future in every village, but this thing could come in handy in the field of telegraphy.
Zhang Anshi continued: "This line was laid directly along the railway a few months ago. After arriving at Ganzhou Prefecture, I temporarily used Ganzhou Prefecture as a transit to teach Jin Yiwei's people to send and receive messages from Ganzhou Prefecture.
, for the time being, this Ganzhou Prefecture will be used as an information collection center. Any news coming from the south to the north, once it arrives in Ganzhou, if it is important, it will be sent directly to me."
"As for the news from Annan and other places, most of them can convey it to the capital immediately after their fast horses arrive in Ganzhou. Therefore, if others rush to deliver the news, even if they arrive at Ganzhou Prefecture, Ganzhou Prefecture is still several miles away from the capital.
Days of time, not to mention that Jiangxi is mountainous, and fast horses need to be constantly relayed, which also takes a lot of time. Therefore... often the news from Annan or other places, Chen's side, can be as fast as ten days at most, or as little as
It can also take three to five days faster."
Zhu Di frowned, looked left and right at the paint line, and couldn't help but said: "Just like this, sit here...long press this copper button to send a message?"
Zhang Anshi said: "Exactly."
Zhu Di said: "Send it to me."
Zhang Anshi then ordered the young people: "Send a message to Ganzhou and ask about the weather."
After several young people listened, one of them took out the post book and wrote a note first. On this note, he simply wrote the word "weather". Then he found the code through the post book and handed it to the person who sent the message.
The person who sent the message immediately started sending the message.
Zhu Di remained silent and walked several times with his hands behind his back.
After a while of burning incense, suddenly, the bell connected to the ticker began to ring.
Immediately, the charcoal pen connected to the copper piece began to tap the pad paper continuously.
Then, black spots and long strips were left on the pad paper.
Zhu Di looked at it carefully and looked at it for a long time.
On the other side, someone had already torn off the padding paper, and after a while, the symbol was deciphered.
"Sunny, no rain."
Zhu Di: "..."
Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, actually... there are still many areas here that are not perfect. To put it bluntly, all of this still requires a lot of manpower and material resources to continue to improve and ultimately... improve efficiency. But for now,
This alone is thousands and hundreds of times faster than today's fast horse transmission. In my opinion, it is not difficult to tinker with such a thing, but the difficulty lies in..."
Zhu Di was silent. He and Zhang Anshi had completely different thoughts.
Zhu Di was still immersed in the fact that there really was such a thing in the world that only appeared in myths.
But Zhang Anshi's idea was that the structure of this thing was too simple. If he really wanted to use this telegraph or even this electromagnet to generate electricity, wireless transmission or even sound broadcasting, it would actually require a huge industry surrounding it.
.
Only if millions of tankers have enough food and clothing, countless schoolchildren will begin to learn knowledge related to electromagnets, electricity, and machinery, and countless smart people will enter this system and continue to study and improve, not to mention dozens of
Thousands of repair and maintenance personnel are needed.
And when countless people in this world begin to rely on this convenient message transmission to conduct business transactions or send messages, then... no one in this world can go back.
Therefore, it does not matter whether the structure is simple or not, even if there are many problems that need to be improved.
The important thing is that we need to start working immediately to promote this thing.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Zhu Di came back to his senses. At this time, he had just returned to reality, his face was already red, and he stared at Zhang Anshi and said: "You speak, I listen."
Zhang Anshi said: "I believe that a telegraph office should be established under the Postal Department. In addition, a joint telegraph company must be established to prepare for large-scale investment to spread this telegraph to all parts of the world, even...
…If conditions permit, it can even be extended to various vassal towns.”
Zhu Di asked directly: "How much silver is needed?"
Zhang Anshi thought for a while and said: "The cost is countless, but... I think that with this money, I can find a way to raise funds."
Zhu Di seemed to have thought of something. He opened his eyes slightly and said, "As the Qing family just said, teach major businessmen to invest in shares?"
Zhang Anshi nodded and said: "The information is of course important to the imperial court, but the same is true for merchants. Whoever masters the information will be invincible."
Zhu Di said with doubts: "I'm just afraid that they may not be willing to spend this money."
Regarding this problem, Zhang Anshi was calm and said with a smile: "Then I have no choice but to endure the humiliation and bear the burden. I will first earn more money in this exchange and set an example for everyone."
Zhu Di: "..."
At this time, Zhang Anshi's bright eyes flashed with a cunning look, and he said: "I think it is better not to leak the news now. We need to wait for another month or two. Now, there are already rumors flying all over the sky. This is actually a conspiracy.
It's a good sign. In fact, it would be better for everyone to talk about this kind of thing. The more people talk about it, the more people in the world will pay attention to it. In the future, when the imperial court announces plans to build a telegraph office, everyone will know more about the power of this telegraph.
At that time, who will still be willing to pay for it?"
After a pause, he said confidently: "Even if we don't pay for the establishment costs now, in the future, it will be indispensable... Shouldn't the various commercial banks obediently provide money for this telegraph business?"
Zhu Di thought seriously for a long time, and for a while, he couldn't find any flaws in Zhang Anshi's words.
Call him selfish, but what he said is indeed plausible and reasonable. The more people pay attention to this kind of thing, the more people will know the power of the telegraph, which will be more beneficial to the future preparation of telegraphs for various states and counties.
But you may say that he is selfless, but you can't say that this guy... has made a lot of money from this a few days ago, and now he actually wants to continue to cover up the news and make another huge sum of money. It is really evil.
Zhu Di suddenly smiled and said: "Zhang Qing... do you have enough money in your hand? If not? You can also take some out of my internal funds. If you want to teach the world's merchants a lesson, I can also help you."
"
Hu Guang: "..."
Others are numb.
When Hu Guang heard this, he was amazed that there was such a treasure in the world, and he breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that his son was just Zhang An Shishun who made a fortune. Now that he has made a fortune, once it is announced in the future, the world will
He is also blameless and can be said to have gained both fame and fortune.
Just when he felt he could breathe a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Anshi hoped to keep the news secret, but His Majesty did not stop or tell the news, but actually helped him out.
He, Hu Guang, was not that naive. After all, he was a bachelor of the cabinet. He immediately thought of the key to this!
Is the money from internal funds so easy to get? When the money from internal funds is taken, is it considered a loan or an investment?
If it counts as investment, it means that whatever people like Zhang Anshi earn must be paid back based on profits.
After all, Your Majesty is the one with the most evil heart.
Of course, Hu Guang could only complain silently in his heart. There was no way he could express these words out loud.
Of course Zhang Anshi understood the meaning of this, so he said awkwardly: "Your Majesty, in fact, I also considered this issue earlier, but later... I thought otherwise. After all, this matter... Although it is considered justifiable, in the end
...It’s better to compete with the people for profit!”
"If the truth is revealed in the future, I will be okay. Although it is reasonable, I will inevitably be criticized by others for making some money through this. But if people know that the palace is also involved, it will inevitably affect the reputation. So.
...I think...it would be better not to trouble the palace at this time."
What Zhang Anshi said was true and sincere, but it made sense.
Zhu Di couldn't help but feel a little regretful, but then he calmed down and cheered up: "What Zhang Qing said is not unreasonable. In this case, I will not get involved. You and others should also be careful and don't use all the benefits.
I will give you one month, and after one month... I will carry out my decree. As for today's events, your ministers are not allowed to reveal them. Anyone who violates this will be punished by deceiving the emperor."
Zhang Anshi said hurriedly: "I obey the order."
Zhu Di was still in a good mood at this time. He continued with a red face: "Now, many things can be solved. That's right, who made these things?"
Zhang Anshi said cheerfully: "Qixia Research Institute, led by Xu Jingchang and others, and hundreds of people from top to bottom, spent a year or two before it was perfected."
"That boy?" Zhu Di was actually a little surprised.
This Xu Jingchang was Zhu Di's nephew. What's more, this guy's father Xu Zengshou, as Zhu Di's brother-in-law, was executed by the Jianwen court at that time because he supported Zhu Di during the Jingnan period.
Therefore, in the past, Zhu Di took great care of his nephew. However, after Xu Jingchang followed Zhang Anshi, Zhu Di paid little attention to the news about Xu Jingchang. At this time, after being reminded by Zhang Anshi, he suddenly remembered and couldn't help but laugh: "This
Where is this guy now? Summon him?"
Zhang Anshi said truthfully: "He has been living in the palace with a dozen of his companions these days, just to test the telegraph, collect problems, and make improvements. However, on weekdays, they mostly stay in bed during the day and go out at night.
I'm afraid I'm still resting now, so I'll order someone to go and fetch you."
When Xu Jingchang appeared in front of Zhu Di, Zhu Di almost couldn't recognize him.
He seemed to have matured a lot, and his face no longer looked childish. It seemed that he was wearing a pair of glass glasses because of some bad eyesight.
"Your Majesty, Xu Jingchang, has met with you." Xu Jingchang bowed politely.
Zhu Di looked up and down and couldn't help but said: "On weekdays, the dragon always sees its head but not its tail. When I see you today, I don't recognize you anymore. This time... you have made this possible, which can be said to be an outstanding achievement..."
Xu Jingchang said: "Your Majesty, this is an idea put forward by His Royal Highness the King of Song Dynasty, and most of the principles have been explained. However, I and others are just perfecting and improving it. To put it bluntly, it is actually just to trial-produce some finished products and conduct a test.
After several tests, we determine the most worrying solution, and then we conduct tests again and again to find out the problems in the testing process and make continuous improvements."
"The mechanics, electromagnetism, and materials science involved in this telegram cannot be accomplished by one person. However, I took the lead. In terms of credit, it is also the result of hundreds of people from top to bottom."
Xu Jingchang is not at all fond of celebrating success.
Quite humble.
Of course, on the one hand, he is now obsessed with research and knows that if he wants to continue to lead everyone in this direction, it will be impossible without giving everyone a little sweetness.
On the other hand, as a hereditary prince, he may not take these merits seriously. To put it bluntly, what does this mean?
After hearing this, Zhu Di nodded with satisfaction and said, "Then, how should I reward you?"
"This is easy." Xu Jingchang said very directly: "Give money, give more funds! What the research institute is most lacking now is funds. It is not easy to recruit people. With ordinary salaries, we can only recruit ordinary people.
, if you want to recruit talents, the cost is not small."
After thinking for a moment, he continued: "In addition, there are also many specially customized instruments from the workshop for research and testing. I have always wanted to expand the research institute and set up an electromagnetic institute and a materials institute.
The original machinery and other institutes also need to be expanded. At present, this institute only has a few hundred people. Many people who were trained in the past have been recruited by workshops and trading houses. If more funds are given, I will
Then you can sit back and relax.”
Zhu Di couldn't help but said: "This is easy to handle. These silvers... I'll give them to you."
Zhang Anshi couldn't help but said: "On my side, I actually think of ways every now and then to invite the owners of major commercial banks and the senior staff of the research institute to hold some discussions. In fact, it is also to solve the problem of funding and let them communicate with each other.
Maybe we can cooperate with each other. Research institutes cannot work behind closed doors. Many projects must have actual output."
Zhu Di nodded in agreement and continued: "In my opinion, those who are effective in this work should be appointed academic officials. This matter can be left to the Ministry of Education."
After saying that, Zhu Di looked at Xie Jin and said, "Jie Qing needs to have a charter."
Xie Jin said: "I obey the decree."
After a pause, Xie Jin said: "His Royal Highness the King of Song Dynasty said not to work behind closed doors, and I also felt a lot about it. It is said that reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles, in this research institute, occasionally we have to teach them to walk around.
Maybe it can be inspiring to them."
Zhu Di glanced at Jie Jin and said, "Could it be that Qing Jie... wants to invite people to Java?"
"Just traveling..." Xie Jin said without blushing, "I have no other intentions."
Zhu Di nodded: "You should draft the articles of association first."
"According to the decree."
Zhu Di immediately said: "There is no need to pay attention to the rumors from outside. Everyone should do their own thing and do their own thing well."
Then he took a deep look at Zhang Anshi and said, "Zhang Qing is indeed my daughter-in-law. With Zhang Qing here, I will have no worries even if I die now."
Zhang Anshi hurriedly wanted to say something.
Zhu Di put his hand on Zhang Anshi's shoulder and said in a deep and profound voice: "Take good care of the head on your neck. Your head is a treasure and is very valuable. If you have any such thoughts in the future... tell me.
…I will be your backer, don’t hide it all the time to avoid misunderstandings.”
Zhang Anshi said: "Actually, when it comes to ideas, I have many more, but... they all require the cooperation of the research institute. But what Duke Ding just said was right. Now the research institute has already subdivided it with the deepening of research.
There are many disciplines, but the number of just a few hundred people is still too small. Even if you have an idea, it is not easy to put it into practice. To put it bluntly, there is no pie that falls from the sky in this world. Without investment,
It’s absolutely unproductive.”
Zhu Di smiled with interest and said: "Then give me the money. I will give you as much as you want. What else does Zhang Qing have in mind?"
"This..." Zhang Anshi thought about it for a long time, and then said: "I have to think about it again. I will take a trip to the institute in a few days to see if... I can get any inspiration."