Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 504 This bastard's cheating! Old Zhu's tears!
When a telegram sent from Nanjing was received 300 miles away and successfully decoded and translated into correct text by the telegraph operator, the entire court and the public were in an uproar!

This is a miracle!

An incredible miracle.

Many officials in the court could not believe it.

They could easily understand and accept things like steam engines.

But it is incredible that a telegraph machine can transmit a message hundreds of miles away in an instant.

Therefore, many ministers who did not believe it conducted the experiment themselves.

They sent their trusted confidants to the receiving station 300 miles away.

Then, at the telegraph station in Nanjing, he sent a telegram containing content that he had only thought of in his mind and had never told any outsiders.

Have the telegraph operator send it out and record the time of transmission.

Only when their confidants sent back the contents of the telegram and told them the exact time they received it did these officials have to accept the fact.

It truly transmits information hundreds of miles away in an instant.

This is so magical, so incredible.

At this moment, science, in the eyes of many old-fashioned ministers, has become "theology" capable of creating miracles.

With the continuous expansion of electricity applications, various new theories surrounding "electricity" have emerged like mushrooms after rain.

Researchers eagerly offered their insights, quickly filling the gaps in previous theoretical research.

The development of science and technology in the Ming Dynasty accelerated once again, presenting a prosperous scene of rapid change. It seemed that the era was being propelled forward at a rapid pace by an invisible force.

However, with technological breakthroughs, the overall technological development path has become very different from the original trajectory of technological development in human history.

……

This is because the technological development of the Ming Dynasty was largely driven by Zhu Yunwen himself.

However, although Zhu Yunwen's knowledge and experience from his previous life were extensive, they also had their limitations.

He is very skilled in some areas, but knows very little about others.

Therefore, compared with the natural trajectory of normal technological development, the technological progress of the Ming Dynasty was too fast and too rapid in some areas, while it lagged behind in others.

This has inevitably led to unexpected changes in many fields.

After the telegraph machine was successfully developed, Zhu Yunwen immediately realized its great value to political and military affairs.

He immediately ordered the Ming Academy of Sciences to accelerate its research on wireless telegraphy, invest more resources and manpower in the study of wireless communication, and at the same time ordered relevant departments to immediately begin laying cables to all provinces across the country.

Only with the help of the telegraph network could the imperial court quickly grasp the dynamics of various regions and transmit imperial edicts and coordinate military and political affairs at an unprecedented speed.

The speed of information transmission determines the imperial court's ruling power and its control over local areas.

With the telegraph, information transmission will be measured in seconds instead of days.

Only in this way can the imperial court truly have in-depth control over the local areas.

Otherwise, many places will forever remain in a state of "the emperor is far away and the sky is high."

Zhu Yunwen spared no effort in promoting this technological achievement, investing funds to lay cables throughout the country.

An imperial edict was issued to establish the Telegraph Department, which was placed on the same level as the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice, under the jurisdiction of the Administrative Office. It became a dedicated and important institution, fully responsible for the construction and management of the telegraph network.

At the same time, under Zhu Yunwen's guidance, the Ming Academy of Sciences also designed a more advanced new type of communication cable.

The inner core uses high-quality copper wire to ensure stable signal transmission, the outer layer is covered with natural rubber, and then protected with finely woven flax fibers to enhance wear resistance and anti-aging performance.

This cable is not only tough and durable, but also benefits from the protection of flax, which greatly slows down the natural aging process of the natural rubber and significantly extends its service life.

Laying cables is much faster than building roads.

It can lay more than ten miles a day, and it is easier to overcome the obstacles of mountains and rivers. Multiple lines can be constructed at the same time, which greatly improves the overall project efficiency.

The same route can be divided into sections for parallel operation, and then connected after the adjacent sections are completed.

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing his troops in the Western Regions to continue his westward expedition, a vigorous electric revolution was taking place in the Ming Dynasty.

Accompanying this was a communications revolution driven by electricity.

Under Zhu Yunwen's visionary leadership and vigorous promotion, it swept across the entire empire at an almost explosive pace, its profound impact and dramatic changes to the political landscape were astonishing.

In real human history, it took only a little over a decade for humanity to go from inventing the world's first telegraph machine and gaining recognition to successfully laying the Atlantic submarine cable connecting the Americas and Europe.

Laying it on land is, of course, much faster.

Once the telegraph machine was manufactured, its widespread adoption became a simple engineering problem.

Furthermore, the amount of work involved is actually not very large!

Now, Zhu Yunwen has mobilized the entire power of the Ming Dynasty and countless resources, so the pace of development is naturally faster than the normal pace in history.

After all, in normal human history, early submarine cables were laid by small private companies.

How could their funds, manpower, and resources compare to those of a vast empire like the Ming Dynasty?

Even in terms of technology, with the support of the Ming Academy of Sciences, we far surpass them.

With Nanjing as the hub, thick cables spread rapidly like blood vessels, extending to all parts of the Ming Dynasty.

This also injects vital "vitality" into the railway under construction.

With cable communication, the signal transmission capacity on railways has been greatly enhanced.

Train scheduling and operation are now guaranteed.

Of course, even without cables, train scheduling and signaling issues on railways can be addressed using some makeshift methods.

However, with the efficient communication supported by cables, the response speed and reliability of the entire dispatch system will be on a completely different level.

Zhu Yunwen predicted that wireless telegraphy would be developed soon.

With stable power supply, the underlying principles understood, and an encoding scheme for information transmission in place, wireless telegraphy was a natural progression.

Not to mention, the present era is different from that of later generations.

Apart from the Earth's magnetic field itself, there are no man-made electromagnetic waves in this era, and electromagnetic interference is almost non-existent.

Under such circumstances, the technical difficulty of sending and receiving telegrams using a wireless telegraph machine was far lower than in later times.

This has been verified by scientists in later generations.

In the incredibly complex electromagnetic environment of later societies, the early wireless telegraph machines in human history could only transmit and receive codes at a distance that was one-tenth or even less than before, or even completely unable to communicate effectively.

Under intense electromagnetic interference, it was completely reduced to scrap metal.

This forces humanity to continuously develop technologies to meet the communication requirements of complex electromagnetic environments.

But for now, this is a problem that doesn't need to be considered. Because Zhu Yunwen has reason to believe that a simple wireless telegraph machine will soon be available.

However, it doesn't matter.

Even with wireless telegraph machines, wired cables were still necessary.

Communication is so important that for key national institutions, ensuring uninterrupted communication links through multiple and different methods is the right approach.

Wired and wireless communication can be used together to ensure uninterrupted communication between the imperial court, local governments in various provinces, and the military.

It also prevents errors from being received or the commands from being interrupted due to interference from others.

The cable laying did not stop in the Central Plains, but extended westward along Jiayuguan, heading straight for Beshbali, where Lao Zhu was located.

A power and communication route connecting the Central Plains and the Western Regions is quietly taking shape!

……

Beshibali.

As a seasoned veteran, Zhu Rongji always led his troops with caution and prudence.

Although he was already itching to launch a westward expedition and steal the credit from his grandson, proving that he was still as capable as ever despite his age, he did not rashly send out troops. Instead, he chose to garrison at Beshbali, making meticulous and thorough preparations and patiently waiting for weapons, supplies, and other materials to arrive from the rear.

When Zhu Yunwen learned that he had specially dispatched three brigades of the new army to aid the Western Regions, and that a large amount of logistical supplies were being continuously transported from the front lines, and that officials in Shaanxi and the newly established Saibei Province on the grasslands were summoning laborers to build a cement road leading to the Western Regions under the emperor's decree to ensure the smooth flow of military supplies, Zhu Yunwen felt a mix of emotions.

Originally, I was hoping to show off my skills in front of my grandson, but little did I know that my grandson would beat me to it and offer such strong support.

However, Zhu De also understood that all of this would ultimately be of great benefit to his western expedition, so he was not foolish enough to refuse it.

However, his obsession with competing with his grandson only deepened.

This time, we must get ahead of that kid and lead our army to Europe first, so that he knows that the number one military genius of the Ming Dynasty is ultimately us!
This thought burned fiercely in his heart like a raging flame.

And so, Old Zhu camped in Beshbali for a whole year.

During that year, on the one hand, he sent Chen Cheng and Li Boyue as envoys of the Ming Dynasty to the western countries bordering Beshbalik to persuade them to establish friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, he mobilized troops in the camp, repeatedly rehearsed battle strategies, made full preparations, and prepared for the expedition.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty's intelligence bureau and military intelligence department were also intensifying their infiltration of Western countries.

One year later.

On this day, Zhu summoned his generals for a meeting.

As the generals entered the main hall, a guard rushed in, his face flushed, and excitedly reported in a loud voice:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Telegram! The telegram is through! We have just received a telegram from Jinling!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals in the hall were overjoyed and could not contain their excitement. For a moment, a low cheer rang out in the council hall.

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu also stood up from his seat.

The news that the Ming Academy of Sciences had successfully developed a telegraph machine had already been published in the Ming Daily to popularize science among the people of the whole country, informing them that the imperial court possessed this amazing device.

Although Old Zhu was far away in Beshbali, he was aware that the Daming Daily was also published there.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang had already received reports that the Ming Dynasty was laying cables across the country to ensure that reports from various provinces could be transmitted to the capital as quickly as possible.

However, the cable line from Beshbali to the heart of the Ming Dynasty was only recently started to be laid.

Unexpectedly, it was completed so quickly.

The telegram arrived unexpectedly.

On second thought, I realized that construction in the Jiayuguan area had already started ahead of time, and most of the line had already been laid. The current section in Biesibali was just the final connection.

Old Zhu's spirits lifted, and he immediately rushed to the telegraph station located not far away.

At this moment, inside the telegraph station, the telegraph clerk had just finished translating the binary-coded telegram from Nanjing and was preparing to submit it.

Just then, Zhu Yunwen entered and saw the contents of Zhu Yunwen's telegram.

"Grandfather, are you doing well in the Western Regions?"

"Did the doctor we sent examine your body carefully?"

"The climate and soil of the Western Regions are different from those of the Central Plains. Your Majesty, please take good care of yourself."

"Purify the water with a filter every day, then boil it before drinking. Do not be careless and be careful to prevent infection."

"My grandson is doing well in Jinling, but I am always worried about my grandfather's western expedition, and I toss and turn all night."

"The situation in the court has been stable recently. The Reserves Department reports that the granaries in Jiangnan are overflowing. Even the children in Yingtian City have changed into new cloth clothes. The people are well-fed and clothed. The funds in the Great Ming Bank are also becoming more abundant. Your Majesty can have no worries."

"Regarding the western expedition, we should do it if we can, and stop if we cannot. In all matters, we must prioritize the health and well-being of our Imperial Grandfather."

"Due to the limitations of this telegram, I cannot say more. Your grandson bows and begs for your health, Your Majesty!"

The telegram ended with the date of dispatch and the address of the Nanjing Prefectural Government.

Old Zhu stared at the translation, his eyes filled with undisguised shock.

After a moment, he couldn't help but whisper:
"Was this really sent by our grandson? Or are you guys just trying to make us happy?"

After saying that, he looked puzzled and muttered to himself:
"If the telegram is sent today, will it be received today?"

"I remember it's at least 8,000 li from Beshbaliq to Jinling, how could it be so fast?"

Upon hearing this, the official in charge of the telegrams knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly, saying:
"Your Majesty, even if I had a hundred heads, I would never dare to deceive you!"

Old Zhu glanced at him, and seeing his trembling expression, said:
"Fine, we believe you!"

This telegram was sent in the emperor's name, and the recipient was none other than himself, the supreme emperor.

Even if the official in charge of telegrams had the audacity to do so, he would never dare to falsify anything.

Old Zhu understood this perfectly well.

The telegram was so far-fetched that he found it difficult to understand and accept at first.

Soon, Old Zhu's eyes lit up, unable to contain his excitement, and he turned to give the order:
"Quickly! Call us back!"

Immediately, Zhu De personally wrote a reply letter, ordered the telegraph operator to translate it into a telegram, and sent it to Nanjing.

Just over an hour later, a reply came from Jinling.

Upon seeing his grandson's reply, Old Zhu was overjoyed, his face beaming with delight.

A feeling of closeness I had never experienced before welled up in my heart, as if my grandson, who was thousands of miles away, was right next to me, and his words were still ringing in my ears.

But the Ming Dynasty has truly changed!

The world is moving so fast that even Old Zhu can hardly keep up!
Suddenly, Old Zhu burst into tears.

……

(End of this chapter)