xymnovel Chapter 80, Telegram 1: Your Majesty, Prince Huhai has caused trouble again.
Chapter 80, Telegram 1: Your Majesty, Prince Huhai has caused trouble again.
Xianyang Palace, East Side Hall.
This place has been transformed into the first "National Communications Center" of the Qin Dynasty.
In the very center of the room stood a huge mahogany table. Instead of memorials and writing brushes, there was a strange device: a button on a brass base connected to several "voltaic piles" (primitive batteries) encased in ceramic jars, and two copper wires tightly wrapped in black rubber extending out of the window.
This line runs through the streets of Xianyang, crosses the Wei River, follows the roadside trees of the Qin Straight Road, and extends all the way to the Lishan construction site fifty miles away.
That place is currently the largest "industrial experimental field" of the Qin Dynasty, and also the permanent residence of Prince Huhai.
"This is...all-seeing and all-hearing?"
Ying Zheng circled the brass button several times, his eyes filled with both doubt and anticipation.
"Your Majesty, to be precise, this is a 'telegraph machine'." Wang Jianguo held a newly bound booklet in his hand, the cover of which read "The Great Qin Universal Telegraphic Codebook (First Edition)".
"In this booklet, each Chinese character corresponds to a set of electrical signals of varying lengths," Wang Jianguo explained. "Pressing down produces a 'di' (short sound), and pressing down long produces a 'da' (long sound). Through different combinations of 'di' and 'da,' we can transform the characters into an electric current and transmit it instantly to Mount Li."
"In an instant?" Li Si touched his ears (he had misheard something through his headphones last time) and asked cautiously, "Faster than a fast horse?"
"Prime Minister, even at top speed, it would take an hour to reach the end of the road. But a telegram..." Wang Jianguo snapped his fingers, "is received the moment I raise my hand. The speed is unimaginable."
Ying Zheng took a deep breath and straightened his clothes.
[Your Majesty, did you know? This thing is called 'instant messaging' in modern society. With it, you can truly 'strategize and win battles from afar.']
Little G's voice echoed in Ying Zheng's mind.
"Little G, is this thing really faster than a fast horse?"
Fast? Faster than you can imagine. A fast horse takes an hour to travel from Xianyang to Lishan, but this thing takes only a blink of an eye. Like the blink of an eye.
Moreover, Your Majesty, with telegrams, your decrees can truly arrive "from morning till night." Even the most distant borders and the most remote counties will receive your orders immediately.
"Departing in the morning and arriving in the evening..." Ying Zheng murmured to himself, "If I had had this back then, why would I have had to wait for the battle reports to travel thousands of miles back when I campaigned against the Xiongnu?"
[Exactly. With the telegraph, you can command thousands of troops in real time from Xianyang. It's like playing chess, but the pieces will move instantly to your designated positions.]
"I'll give it a try."
This is a historic moment. The Emperor of Qin is about to personally send the first long-distance telegram in human history.
Therefore, the official specially changed to a new pen, preparing to record this sacred moment.
Ying Zheng sat solemnly in his chair, extending a single finger and hovering it above the key. His long, strong finger, usually so deft and commanding, now appeared somewhat stiff.
"Regional founding, what should I issue?"
"Your Majesty," Wang Jianguo suggested, "usually the first telegram is something commemorative, such as 'May the Great Qin last ten thousand years,' or 'May the four seas be united.'"
"Okay, I'll send 'May the Qin Dynasty last forever!'"
Ying Zheng looked at the coding paper that Wang Jianguo handed him:
big:- - . .
Qin: — . .
Ten thousand:- . -
Year:. . - .
"Simple."
Ying Zheng focused his energy in his dantian, treating that small button as if it were the remnants of the six states that needed to be suppressed, and pressed it down hard.
"Ah—!" (Ying Zheng felt that holding down the button would make him appear authoritative, so he pressed and held it down.)
"Your Majesty, let go! Let go!" Wang Jianguo cried out anxiously, "It's too long! It's all in a straight line!"
Ying Zheng quickly let go, and then, in an attempt to make amends, he tapped the strings rapidly and randomly a few times, as if playing a musical instrument.
"Beep beep beep beep..."
"Your Majesty, the rhythm! The rhythm!" Wang Jianguo was sweating profusely. "You're sending a telegram, not fluffing cotton!"
[Your Majesty, Morse code is like drumming; it needs rhythm to be understood. Your rhythm... sounds like a horse running wildly in fright.]
Little G couldn't help but complain.
"Shut up!" Ying Zheng thought to himself, continuing his frantic operations.
After a flurry of frantic actions, Ying Zheng finally finished sending a series of signals that he considered to be very "imperial".
"Did they receive it over there?" Ying Zheng asked expectantly.
Wang Jianguo glanced at the receiver next to him (a simple electromagnetic dotting machine that prints dots and lines on paper tape) and looked troubled.
"Well... let's ask."
Wang Jianguo skillfully pressed the keys, issuing a prompt: "What was that message? Please repeat it."
A moment later, the receiver started clicking away, spitting out a strip of paper.
Wang Jianguo picked up the paper tape and began to translate it, comparing it to the codebook. His expression grew increasingly strange.
"Read it," Ying Zheng urged, "Is it 'May the Great Qin last ten thousand years'?"
Wang Jianguo swallowed hard and forced himself to read aloud, "Your Majesty, the coder at Lishan said that the signal they just received, when translated, was... 'I...I...am a...very long...noodle...ahhh...broken.'"
The entire room fell silent.
Li Si pinched his thigh hard to stop himself from laughing out loud. The court attendant's hand trembled, and he poked a black dot on the bamboo slip.
[Pfft—Your Majesty, I couldn't help myself. Your rhythm really did resemble a stretched-out noodle.]
Little G's voice was clearly tinged with laughter.
Ying Zheng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Noodles?" Ying Zheng stared at the button. "My eternal empire has turned into a single noodle?"
"Your Majesty, it's purely a matter of feel," Wang Jianguo quickly explained. "It's like learning to ride a horse; you'll always bounce a couple of times at first. Just practice more, and you'll get used to it."
Ying Zheng snorted coldly, rolling up his sleeves in defiance: "I refuse to believe it! I can standardize weights and measures, but I can't handle these few dots and lines? Let's try again!"
[Your Majesty, would you like me to offer some advice? Imagine you are playing a drum; each beat should be rhythmic.]
"I don't need it!" Ying Zheng replied in his heart, and continued to fight to the bitter end.
---
Just as Ying Zheng was preparing to fight to the death in the Qin Dynasty's communications business, the receiver suddenly started ringing like crazy.
"Da da da! Da da da da! Da—da—!"
The pace was extremely fast and chaotic, conveying a sense of urgency from the sender who was about to curse.
"Hmm? Lishan replied?" Ying Zheng stopped what he was doing. "Could it be that they felt the 'noodles' weren't long enough?"
Wang Jianguo grabbed the paper strip, glanced at it, and his expression changed drastically.
"Oh no! Your Majesty, something has happened!"
"What is it?"
"It's an emergency distress signal!" Wang Jianguo translated rapidly, his words flowing quickly. "Emergency... Lishan... Tunnel No. 3... Severe landslide... Prince Huhai... is inside... Send a medical officer immediately... He's going to die, he's going to die..."
"What?!"
Ying Zheng suddenly stood up, knocking the chair behind him to the ground.
"Hu Hai? Landslide?"
[Your Majesty! This is an emergency! The true value of telegrams has become apparent! Previously, this message would have taken at least two hours to reach Xianyang, but now it's being transmitted in real time!]
Little G's tone also became serious.
"There's more!" Wang Jianguo continued reading, "Explosion... miscalculation of gunpowder... I meant to blast rocks... but instead the mountain collapsed... my leg got trapped... it hurts... Father! Save me!"
The last three words, "Father! Save me!", though sent in cold telegraphic code, made Ying Zheng feel as if he could hear his good-for-nothing son's heartbreaking cries from beneath the ruins.
The atmosphere in the main hall froze instantly. In the past, if something happened at Mount Li, it would take at least two hours for a messenger to arrive. By the time the news reached Xianyang, it would be too late, and the person would probably be dead.
But now, just minutes after the accident, the news has already reached the emperor's desk.
"Li Si!" Ying Zheng roared.
"Your subject is here!"
"Summon Imperial Physician Xia Wuqie! Take all the first-aid kits, alcohol, and bandages! Summon Meng Tian to mobilize the engineering battalion of the Lantian camp, bringing jacks and shovels! Immediately! Right now! To Mount Li!"
"Yes, sir!" Li Si scrambled out as fast as he could.
"Wang Jianguo!"
"Your subject is present."
"Tell them over there to hold on!" Ying Zheng stared intently at the brass button. At that moment, he finally understood its true purpose. It wasn't for making empty promises like "ten thousand years"; it was for saving lives.
Ying Zheng stretched out his hand. This time, his fingers were no longer stiff, nor did he pursue any "imperial rhythm." He pressed down steadily, each signal clear and powerful.
"Tick-tock—tick-tock—"
He is sending a telegram.
Wang Jianguo watched from the side, his eyes welling up with tears. He had understood what Ying Zheng had said.
That was neither an imperial edict nor a reprimand.
Those were four words: "I will arrive immediately."
[Your Majesty, this is the power of information. It can save lives and destroy enemies. With the telegraph, you can truly achieve 'speed is of the essence' in warfare.]
Little G's voice softened.
---
An hour later. At the foot of Mount Li.
When Ying Zheng's imperial chariot swept into the construction site like a whirlwind, the scene was already one of busy but orderly rescue efforts.
Because the telegram had given advance notice of the specific location of the landslide and the number of people trapped, the troops remaining at Lishan had already precisely dug out ventilation shafts.
"Father Emperor—!!!"
A man covered in dirt and blood (mostly scrapes and mercurochrome) was carried out of the rubble by two soldiers.
As soon as Hu Hai saw Ying Zheng, he burst into tears, his snot and tears washing away the black ash from his face, leaving two deep furrows.
"Father! I almost didn't see you again! I just wanted to test 'directional blasting,' but who knew the formula for the yield was wrong with the decimal point..."
Ying Zheng looked at his disheveled son and raised his whip high.
Hu Hai shrank back in fear: "Don't hit me! My leg will break!"
Ying Zheng's whip hovered in the air for a long time before finally striking the stone beside him instead of falling.
"Snapped!"
A white mark was left on the stone.
"Fool!" Ying Zheng cursed, his voice trembling slightly. "Control variables! How many times have I told you to control variables! Is the only word 'explode' in your head?!"
[Your Majesty, although Hu Hai is reckless, at least he dares to try. Moreover, in that moment of crisis, his first thought was to use a telegram to call for help, which shows that he has already understood the true value of technology.]
Little G attempted to defend Hu Hai.
"Little G, I don't need you to speak for that idiot!" Ying Zheng replied in his mind.
"Your subject knows his mistake..." Hu Hai sobbed, "But Father, you arrived so quickly! I just sent this telegram, and it feels like only a short while before you arrived. Amazing, truly amazing!"
Xia Wuqie rushed over and skillfully cut open Hu Hai's trouser leg.
"Your Majesty, the young master only suffered superficial injuries; no bones were broken. He was just so frightened that his legs went weak." Xia Wuqie examined him and breathed a sigh of relief.
Ying Zheng let out a long breath and turned to look at the utility pole standing not far away by the roadside. The black rubber cable swayed slightly in the wind, like an umbilical cord connecting life and death.
"Nation-building."
"Your subject is present."
"How much faster was this rescue operation compared to previous ones?"
"Your Majesty, it's at least three hours faster," Wang Jianguo said. "If we followed the old procedure, the messenger would still be on his way, while the imperial physicians would still be in the Xianyang Palace preparing medicine. For those trapped underneath, those three hours would feel like a separation between life and death."
Ying Zheng nodded, his gaze becoming deep and sharp.
[Your Majesty, three hours. On the battlefield, that's enough time for you to turn the tide of battle. In rescue operations, that's enough time for you to save lives. This is the power of the information age.]
Little G's voice was filled with emotion.
"Three hours... On the battlefield, three hours is enough to decide the fate of an empire."
He stroked the cold telephone pole as if he were touching a peerless divine weapon.
"I used to think that the Great Wall was the limit of defense. Now it seems that this thin thread is the stitch that holds the Qin Dynasty together."
Ying Zheng turned around and gave an order to everyone:
"Issue my decree:"
First, Hu Hai was confined for three months and made to copy "Advanced Mathematics" ten times, especially the chapter on "decimal points"!
Second, the Imperial Household Department will dedicate all its resources to producing rubber yarn. I intend for this 'telegraph network' to cover every county and prefecture of the Great Qin!
Third, anyone who damages power lines shall be punished for treason!
---
Late at night.
The hustle and bustle of Mount Li gradually subsided, but legends about the "divine line" began to circulate on the construction site.
"Have you heard? That black line is hollow! A little devil that runs incredibly fast lives inside!"
"Nonsense, that's His Majesty's 'dragon whiskers,' capable of communicating with the gods!"
Zhao Gao felt a strong urge to join in after hearing these rumors.
As the head of CRRC, although he had been electrocuted by a generator before, he still didn't believe Wang Jianguo's claim of "electron flow." He was a staunch "pragmatist"—in his view, anything that couldn't be seen or touched was unreliable.
"All that talk about current and waves, it's all a lie." Zhao Gao hid behind the tent, staring at the power line. "I don't believe there's nothing fishy going on here."
He recalled the word "noodles" that Li Si had translated during the day.
"Something's definitely moving around in there!" Zhao Gao thought confidently. "Maybe they wrote the words on tiny little slips of paper and then dragged them there with a mouse or something! That treacherous Mr. Wang is definitely using this trick to deceive His Majesty!"
In order to expose Wang Jianguo's "deception" and regain the emperor's favor, Zhao Gao decided to capture "Xin".
The night was dark and the wind was high.
Zhao Gao changed into a night outfit, took a sharp pair of metal scissors in his hand, and stealthily approached the telephone pole.
He looked around, but there was no one there.
"Hehe, Wang Jianguo, wait till we pull out that 'little note' inside you, then let's see how you play tricks!"
Zhao Gao rubbed his hands together and, like a big monkey, scurried up the telephone pole.
The black rubber line was right in front of me.
At this time, routine nighttime line tests were being conducted at Xianyang Palace. To maintain signal strength, the voltage was kept at around 200 volts.
Zhao Gao stretched out his scissors, aimed them at the wire, and cut it off sharply.
"Click."
The rubber sheet was cut.
The metal blade of the scissors came into contact with the copper core inside.
"Zzz—!!!"
In that instant, Zhao Gao saw his great-grandmother.
He not only saw his great-grandmother, but also the Thunder God, the Lightning Goddess, and countless Venus dancing before his eyes.
A powerful electric current surged through the scissors, into his arm, through his chest, and finally out from the soles of his feet (on the damp wooden pole).
"Ughh ...
Zhao Gao let out an indescribable scream, a scream that was a mixture of shock, regret, pain, and a strange sense of "clear understanding".
He fell straight down from the telephone pole like a ripe persimmon.
"Bang."
Zhao Gao fell into the grass, his hair exploded, smoke billowing from his body, and he still clutched the chipped pair of scissors tightly in his hand.
The patrolling guards heard the commotion and ran over, shining their lanterns on the ground.
"Holy crap! Who's that? He's as black as charcoal!"
"It seems to be... Magistrate Zhao?"
"What is he doing? Stealing electrical wires?"
Zhao Gao shakily raised one hand, exhaled a puff of black smoke, and said with his last bit of strength:
"No...no...note..."
"That was... truly... truly amazing..."
After saying this, Zhao Gao's head lolled to the side and he fainted.
Meanwhile, in the imperial study of Xianyang Palace, Ying Zheng was reviewing the report on the successful telegram rescue that day when Little G's voice suddenly rang out:
[Your Majesty, the system just detected an abnormal high-voltage pulse in the direction of Mount Li, suggesting that someone may have touched a live power line.]
"What?"
[But it quickly returned to normal. Some unlucky person must have accidentally touched an electrical wire. It's like putting your hand in fire; it hurts, but at least it proves the fire was real.]
Ying Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.
"It seems someone has verified the reality of electric current with their own body."
Meanwhile, above Zhao Gao's head, the wire, its insulation slightly cut, continued to transmit signals from Xianyang:
"Beep beep... Today's test is over... Lishan... Everything is normal..."