Chapter 315: 000 and 122

After Lin Qian established his kingdom, matters of every kind came pouring in, keeping him busy enough to spin the sky and earth around him.

And news of his claiming the title of king and establishing his regime soon spread to every corner of the realm through various channels.

Deep in the forests of Shuixi in the southwest, An Bangyan, who had been driven into desperation once again by Fu Zonglong, let out a long breath.

Holding a tattered newspaper that had passed through who knows how many dozens of hands, he said to his remaining troops: "Brothers, the rebels in the southeast have proclaimed a kingdom. I'm certain that stupid emperor in the capital will send troops against them. Once Fu Zonglong's forces are pulled away, our hard days will be over!"

His remaining troops burst into cheers.

An Bangyan read the newspaper over and over, thinking to himself that a year ago, Zhu Xieyuan had annihilated the main force of the She-An allied army, She Chongming had died in battle, and he, An Bangyan, had been mired in desperation—it was then that the Xia King had risen in the southeast and launched a major offensive into Guangxi, helping him escape back to Shuixi and make his comeback.

Now Fu Zonglong had once again cornered his army, and it coincided with the Xia King's proclamation of kingship. This Xia King was truly his, An Bangyan's, great savior!

At this thought, he summoned a subordinate and told him to find a way to infiltrate Guangxi and meet Lin Qian in person, instructing him: "When you see the Xia King, tell him this: the Xia King rules the southeast, I rule the southwest. If our forces join together to resist the Great Ming, great things can be accomplished!"

The subordinate acknowledged the order and departed at once.

After settling diplomatic strategy, his remaining troops still had no food secured for tonight, so An Bangyan sent soldiers to scout the surrounding area.

An hour later, a soldier returned to report that at the foot of the mountain there was a Han Chinese village, seemingly of several dozen households, with only rammed-earth walls for defense.

An Bangyan's spirits lifted at once, and he said to his men with a smile: "Looks like tonight we'll not only have food, drink, and shelter—we'll have someone to warm our beds too. Brothers, follow me and take this village!"

In Hequ County, Shanxi.

The headless corpse of Wang Guoliang, Shanxi Regional Commander, lay sprawled to one side, beneath it a pool of steaming fresh blood. His severed head lay scattered not far away, eyes wide open, one eye already caked with dust, silently watching the rebel army celebrate.

"Brother-in-law, the Ming troops in the city have all been killed—this city is ours now!"

Zhang Liwei, a minor rebel leader, shouted excitedly.

Wang Jiayin, his face covered in the dried blood of enemies, smiled at the words and said: "Pass the order—the whole army enters the city to rest and regroup."

Zhang Liwei asked: "Brother-in-law, are we leaving again this time?"

"No more leaving. From now on, we're staying here."

"Excellent!" Zhang Liwei responded gleefully.

Before long, flames blazed up throughout the city, and the sound of killing cries rang out everywhere—that was the rebel army looting the wealthy households and opening the granaries to distribute grain.

Wang Jiayin, as the leader of a two-hundred-thousand-strong rebel army, had no need to personally join the looting. He was resting in a wealthy merchant's compound when he suddenly heard footsteps outside.

He looked toward the door—it was Wang Ziyong, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and the others arriving together.

"Big brother! I'm furious!" Gao Yingxiang bellowed in his loud voice the moment he stepped through the door.

Wang Jiayin's gaze sharpened. "What's wrong?"

Gao Yingxiang plopped himself down on a chair, took a gulp of cold tea, and said: "The brothers just went to raid the county office, and the magistrate's secretary said that Lin Qian, that nouveau riche bastard, has proclaimed himself king down south."

The peasant army was composed entirely of northwestern farmers and border troops, who hated Ming officials and local gentry with a burning passion. Wherever they went, they treated the poor common folk with great care while exterminating officials and gentry without mercy.

Lin Qian, like them, had also raised troops against the Great Ming.

But before raising his banner, Lin Qian had been a Ming general and had also engaged in maritime trade for years—combining the two traits the peasant army hated most. Naturally, the northwestern peasant army bore considerable hostility toward him.

Zhang Xianzhong said with dissatisfaction: "Our leader was clearly the first to raise arms against the court, commanding two hundred thousand men and sending the Ming army fleeing in terror. Big brother hasn't even claimed a king's title yet, and that surnamed-Lin nouveau riche beat us to it!"

Wang Ziyong stepped forward and said: "Big brother, we can't wait any longer—let's proclaim our own kingship!"

"Right, big brother, you should claim the title of king too!" Gao Yingxiang and the other subordinates urged together.

Wang Jiayin slapped his forehead and said: "Fine, that's settled then! What kind of king did that rich man Lin call himself?"

"Something like Winter King—or was it Summer King?" Gao Yingxiang scratched his head.

Wang Jiayin pondered for a moment, then slapped his thigh and declared: "I'll be the Heaven-Spanning Single-Character King!"

"Excellent! That name is fierce and imposing—far better than that rich man Lin's crappy title!" Gao Yingxiang said immediately.

Wang Ziyong appraised: "Since ancient times, among royal titles, the single-character king has been the most honored. Big brother adding 'Heaven-Spanning' before the single character—brilliant!"

Unlike in Jiangnan, where most people could read newspapers, the northwest of the Great Ming was barren of resources. The common folk there struggled merely to survive and had no chance to attend school, so the vast majority were illiterate, and those who could read and write were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Every single general under Wang Jiayin, great and small, was thoroughly illiterate. All communication and orders relied on word of mouth, and searching the entire army couldn't assemble a single set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Only Li Zicheng, who had recently joined the rebel army, furrowed his brow slightly. His belly didn't hold much learning either, but at least he had attended a few months of private school sporadically in his youth, giving him a modicum of education. He said hesitantly: "Leader, a single-character king means the title should be one character—like how that rich man Lin is called the Xia King. 'Heaven-Spanning Single-Character King'—that's four characters—"

"What do you know? Mind your tongue!" Gao Yingxiang snapped.

Li Zicheng hastily clasped his hands and apologized.

Wang Jiayin, however, said magnanimously: "No harm done. Brother Li means well. But since we intend to overthrow the Great Ming, we can't keep using Ming institutions. 'Heaven-Spanning Single-Character King'—I think it sounds just fine!"

In the Forbidden City, upon hearing that the two rebels Lin Qian and Wang Jiayin had each proclaimed themselves king in succession, Chongzhen flew into a rage. He summoned Chief Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru to the platform hall and gave him a thorough dressing-down.

Only now did Zhou Yanru realize that being Chief Grand Secretary wasn't such an easy job. It was bad enough that the Emperor constantly berated him, but the ministers below weren't giving him any peace either.

The Yuan Chonghuan treason case had nearly swept the Donglin Faction clean from the court. With their common enemy gone, the contradictions among the power-grabbing factions had come to the fore again.

His former comrade Wen Tiren was scheming by every means possible to trip him up and drag him down from the Chief Grand Secretary's throne.

Zhou Yanru was truly miserable beyond words. Fortunately, after several rounds of selection, he had finally drafted a list of candidates to replace Yuan Chonghuan as Governor-General of Jiangxi.

Chongzhen took the list and saw written upon it the names Hong Chengchou, Cao Wenzhao, Sun Yuanhua, Lu Xiangsheng, Zhu Dadian, and others.

"Hong and Cao are busy with border affairs in the northwest—can they be spared? Sun Yuanhua commands the Denglai naval forces; if he's transferred to Jiangnan, wouldn't the approaches to the capital be left wide open for rebels to sail straight in? What nonsense has the Grand Secretariat drafted! Have you been applying yourselves to your duties at all?"

The more the Emperor spoke, the angrier he grew, hurling the memorial directly off the imperial desk.

Zhou Yanru knelt and said: "Your Majesty, Lu Xiangsheng has prominent brow bones and extraordinary strength—a man of both literary and martial talent. For his great merit during the Jisi Incident, he was promoted to Right Administration Vice Commissioner and Vice Intendant of Beizhili, tasked with rectifying military preparedness in the three prefectures of Daming, Guangping, and Shunde. He founded the Tianxiong Army. Sending him to lead troops against the rebels is certain to achieve results."

Chongzhen hesitated. Though Lu Xiangsheng was a scholar, he was highly skilled at marching and fighting. Word had it that the great saber he trained with weighed over eighty jin, and he could whirl it every day with fierce, gusty vigor.

During the Jisi Incident, Lu Xiangsheng had recruited over ten thousand local militia and dared to enter the capital region to defend it. Compared to Yan Mingtai, who commanded the Guan-Ning army and watched Hong Taiji ride out of the passes, Lu Xiangsheng could truly be said to have surpassed the entire army in valor.

But now not only had the rebel Lin proclaimed himself king, the northwestern roving bandits had also presumptuously styled themselves "Heaven-Spanning Single-Character King," entrenched in Hequ County a mere eight hundred li from the capital—a threat to the very heart.

Chongzhen had to guard against the Jianzhou barbarians and also against the roving bandits, so he dared not transfer the elite troops of the capital region southward and stage another Jisi Incident—where would his face be then?

Zhou Yanru assessed the situation and quickly said: "Your Majesty, I believe it would be fitting to send Zhu Dadian as Governor-General of Jiangxi."

Chongzhen grunted in acknowledgment, signaling him to continue.

Zhou Yanru said: "Zhu Dadian was a jinshi of the forty-fourth year of Wanli. When he was posted out as a County Magistrate, he was already the finest county official in Jinan Prefecture. In the second year of Tianqi, he was promoted to Supervising Secretary of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and he frequently submitted memorials discussing military matters, often with exquisite insights.

In the fifth year of Tianqi, this man served as Vice Intendant of Fujian, where he may have had dealings with the rebel Lin and become familiar with his methods of warfare."

He subsequently submitted ten more memorials impeaching the eunuch Wei, and even after receiving sixty strokes of the bastinado at court, he still refused to yield. Later, because his father passed away, he returned to his hometown to observe mourning.

"Now Zhu Dadian has been reinstated and currently serves as Governor of Tianjin, overseeing all military affairs of the capital region by land and sea. Making him Governor-General of Jiangxi might be a suitable choice."

Chongzhen pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Good, choose this man. Summon Zhu Dadian to come to the Pingtai immediately."

"Yes." Wang Cheng'en, who was attending at his side, replied.

Zhou Yanru hesitated for a moment, then said: "Your Majesty, there is one more matter. A few days ago, a band of red-haired barbarians sailed their ships into Denglai."

Chongzhen had already been about to rise and leave, but upon hearing this he sat back down and asked: "What have the red barbarians come for?"

"The red barbarians request to lease land for a trading post in the Denglai area, to conduct trade with the Great Ming."

In this life, the Dutch had been thoroughly routed by Lin Qian, and had never so much as laid a finger on Penghu or Dongning. Their friction with the Great Ming was limited to the Macao naval battle, and that battle had ended in a great Ming victory.

Thus, both at court and in the countryside, there was no ill will toward the red barbarians, nor much wariness of them.

After Macao fell under Lin Qian's control, the Great Ming had no place to learn cannon-casting or shipbuilding techniques, and the insightful men at court and in the countryside had long wanted to open communications with the red barbarians.

It was only the barrier of the vast ocean that had prevented them from making the journey.

Now that the red barbarians had come of their own accord, it suited the desires of those insightful men perfectly.

Emperor Chongzhen, however, considered matters more deeply than his ministers. He asked cautiously: "Isn't the South Sea route controlled by the rebel Lin?

Where did this band of red barbarians come from?"

"The red barbarians have established a trading post in the kingdom of Ryukyu, and they came from Ryukyu."

In truth, this band of Dutchmen had come from Nagasaki, but the Great Ming strictly forbade dealings with Japan, so the Dutch claimed to have come from Ryukyu, and the Ming officials were happy to play along in feigned ignorance.

For the Dutch, establishing trading posts at Nagasaki and Ryukyu was for trade and selling goods, but Java and the Spice Islands were too far from Nagasaki, and the route passed through the equatorial doldrums, making navigation inconvenient, and the Japanese market's demand for goods from those two places was limited.

Doing transshipment trade through Southeast Asian ports yielded only meager profits.

The best option was to trade directly with the Great Ming—the goods of China and Japan were naturally complementary, making them the ideal trading partners.

The shogunate was also happy to cultivate another trading partner beyond Daxia.

Cooperation between the Dutch, the shogunate, and the Great Ming would also help weaken Lin Qian, making it easier to contend for maritime supremacy in the South Seas.

Whether politically, economically, or militarily, it was a win-win for all three parties.

Sun Yuanhua, the Governor of Denglai, had long wanted to cooperate with the red barbarians. Now that they had come to his door of their own accord, it was exactly what he wished for—something he could scarcely have hoped for. He wrote a memorial that very night and reported it to the court.

Although the Great Ming court was riven by fierce internal strife, their interests in maintaining Ming rule were aligned. Matters of strengthening the military were something no one wanted to delay, so the report was rushed to the Grand Secretariat.

Seeing that Chongzhen was still hesitating, Zhou Yanru said: "According to Governor Sun, the red barbarians have established cannon foundries overseas. If we can cooperate with them, purchasing artillery and ships and training gunners would all be greatly facilitated. Given time, we will surely be able to contend with the rebel Lin on the water."

Chongzhen remained silent.

Zhou Yanru's heart stirred, and he added: "Governor Sun also said that the red barbarians are willing to declare themselves vassals and offer tribute in the name of the Great Chieftain of Dutch Java."

The Netherlands was a republic, officially named the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, and had no king. The Great Ming utterly refused to recognize such a form of government.

And the joint-stock corporate structure of the Dutch East India Company was, in the eyes of Ming scholar-officials, utterly incomprehensible nonsense.

The Dutch falsely claimed to be the Dutch Chieftaincy of Java—clearly they had studied the Great Ming's political system and precisely scratched where the Great Ming itched.

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen's tightly knit brow finally relaxed, and he said: "Since that is so, let it be approved."

The next day, Zhu Dadian was recalled from Tianjin and received an audience with Emperor Chongzhen at the Pingtai.

When asked about his strategy for pacifying the rebels, Zhu Dadian replied: "Your servant believes that although the Jiangnan naval forces have been defeated, the rebels are few in number and unskilled in land warfare. We should use a strategy of encirclement from five directions with a breakthrough at the center to annihilate the enemy.

If Your servant takes up the post, I shall deploy heavy forces across the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, Guizhou, and Yunnan, and send out all the troops of Jiangxi, relying on the city of Ganzhou, to fight a decisive battle against the rebels!"

Zhu Dadian was not of the eunuch faction, nor did he belong to the Donglin Faction. He spoke crisply and decisively, dared to take responsibility—he was precisely the kind of minister Chongzhen favored most.

Overjoyed at these words, Chongzhen immediately bestowed upon Zhu Dadian the Imperial Sword and appointed him Governor-General of Jiangxi, ordering him to set out that very day to suppress the rebellion in Jiangxi.

And so it was just as Zhu Dadian was on his way to Jiangxi.

At dawn, on Yuexiu Mountain in Guangzhou, Lin Qian led Xu Guangqi and others up the heights to gaze into the distance.

It was deep winter, and the ancient pines on Yuexiu Mountain stood verdant. The north wind swept past, and waves of pine-soughing rolled through. Walking among them was refreshing to the spirit.

Around the Yuewang Terrace and Guanyin Pavilion there were also great groves of plum trees. At this time the plum blossoms were in full bloom, great patches of snow-white dotted among the clusters of pines, like snow pressing upon green pines—a scene of extraordinary beauty.

Guangzhou had been under Daxia's rule for over four years now, and maritime and overland trade had developed rapidly, with the common people's lives much improved.

Today the weather was warm and the sunlight bright. There were many visitors on the mountain—some climbing high to compose poetry, some having picnics and gatherings, some flying kites or picking pinecones. Every face wore a smile, content and at ease.

At the foot of the mountain, countless vendors had set up stalls hawking their wares. Besides food, tea snacks, and general goods, the flower sellers were the most numerous—plum blossoms,

narcissus, camellias, and other flowers clustered in brilliant profusion, their fragrance wafting in all directions. In the flower market, visitors thronged like weaving shuttles, bustling and lively—a scene of glorious prosperity.

Lin Qian, Xu Guangqi, and the others were all dressed in plain clothes of unremarkable fabric, and walking along the mountain path, no one recognized them at all.

When they reached the mountainside, Geng Wu sidled up close to Lin Qian and pointed down the mountain: "Your Majesty, please look."

Lin Qian followed his pointing finger and saw that Geng Wu was pointing at his own residence.

Geng Wu said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, standing on this mountain one can see the entire layout of your residence. This is neither safe nor proper. Perhaps we should seal off the mountain."

Lin Qian laughed: "Who knows that's my home? Sealing off the mountain over this would be making too great a fuss. Besides, the residence isn't large, and it's shielded by high walls and trees—nothing is exposed, is it? It's fine as it is."

Geng Wu clasped his hands in salute and acknowledged.

Lin Qian looked at Xu Guangqi and said: "Headmaster, would you care to rest a while?"

Xu Guangqi leaned on his walking staff and laughed: "Though this old man is advanced in years, my legs are still spry. When developing the beacon-telegraph, I climbed Panlong Ridge two or three times every month—I've long since trained myself. I'm even holding back my pace, for fear Your Majesty might not keep up."

Lin Qian laughed heartily at this: "Good, then let's race to see who reaches the summit first!"

That said, Lin Qian still slowed his steps along the way to accommodate Xu Guangqi. Around noon, the party reached Panlong Ridge on Yuexiu Mountain.

This place was the main peak of Yuexiu Mountain, at an elevation of roughly seventy-odd meters, with no obstructions around it and an open field of view.

Lin Qian gazed into the distance, estimating that on a clear day visibility extended some thirty to forty li. It was indeed the most suitable place in all of Guangzhou for long-distance signal transmission.

The base station was a square watchtower with a stone foundation and timber structure. At its top stood a tall fir mast, upon which were mounted one main and two auxiliary signal arms, connected to the base station below by several simple pulleys and hemp ropes.

The signal arms were painted vermilion, making them especially conspicuous.

This was the signal base station of the beacon-telegraph.

In the fourth month of the first year of Zhongxuan, Lin Qian had assigned the task of developing the beacon-telegraph to Xu Guangqi. Now, more than half a year later, the base stations from Guangzhou to Guilin had been completed, and today was the day of the trial run.

In the signal station, a station chief, two operators, and two lookouts stood in a row before the station, like honor guards awaiting inspection.

Xu Guangqi introduced: "From Guangzhou to Guilin, traveling the post road the whole way, the total distance is one thousand one hundred and thirty li.

From Guangzhou to the Sanshui area, the terrain is open and clear, so a station is placed every eighteen to twenty li; from Sanshui to Wuzhou, and Wuzhou to Pingle, the intervals are progressively reduced according to the terrain.

In total, ninety-four stations have been built, and the one we're at now is the Yuexiu Mountain first station."

Lin Qian looked over the station—it was merely a stone base with a two-story wooden tower, extremely simple in structure, low in both cost and construction difficulty.

With two stonemasons, four carpenters, and a few laborers, one could be completed in just over ten days.

As long as the site was chosen in advance and building materials prepared ahead of time, erecting a signal station was actually very fast—these fewer-than-a-hundred stations could probably be finished in two months, and even if slower, three months would be about right.

Most of Xu Guangqi's half-year-plus of time had been spent on the coding and site selection.

Xu Guangqi was a man who strove for perfection in all things; all ninety-plus station sites had been surveyed on the ground by his students, and most were built on mountain peaks beside post stations, allowing watchmen to stand guard on the summits while supplies were delivered at the foothills, greatly reducing logistical pressure.

After finishing his introduction of the stations, Xu Guangqi said: "Your Majesty, the weather is clear today—perfect for the beacon telegraph to operate. Please issue the order to Guilin."

Lin Qian said: "Good! Inquire about Fu Zonglong's movements and the fighting on Guangxi's border."

"Yes!" the station chief answered excitedly, then went into the station, picked up a notebook, spread it open, and took up a brush to write.

Lin Qian leaned over and saw that the station chief was writing Arabic numerals in groups of three, beginning with: "122, 26, 215, 231————"

After writing them out, the station chief made a second copy of the number groups, and on this transcribed version, wrote the corresponding meaning beneath each group.

"215" meant inquiry, "231" meant Fu Zonglong, and "305" meant marching position, destination, and movement status.

The full text, strung together, read: "Inquire Fu Zonglong's movements, Guangxi border fighting."

The core content used only six number groups, with one group at the beginning and one at the end, eight groups in total.

After Lin Qian confirmed there were no problems, the station chief handed the version with only the number groups to one operator for execution, while another operator double-checked the first's work, and the two lookouts ran outside the station.

Lin Qian saw that before the operator lay three hemp ropes, their ends tied to colored cloth strips with characters written on them—from left to right reading "main, left, right"—and each number simply required pulling the corresponding rope that many times; it was a completely foolproof operation.

After one number group had been pulled out, there was another rope that, when pulled, reset all the others, and as the ropes were pulled, the signal arms overhead creaked and groaned.

Xu Guangqi said: "Yuanzhong, explain this to His Majesty on my behalf."

"Yes." Li Shixiong acknowledged, helped Xu Guangqi into a chair to sit, and explained to Lin Qian: "Your Majesty, the first number in each group represents the main arm's angle, the second number the left auxiliary arm, and the third the right auxiliary arm.

The station's gears are made in the standard workshop, and the teeth have been calibrated, so each pull corresponds to a specific angle—for instance, the main arm's numbers run from zero to four, corresponding to 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135°

The left and right auxiliary arms' angles from the ground have seven settings, ranging from 0° to 270°.

That gives one hundred and ninety-six angle combinations in total, of which sixteen groups are control commands—such as call, confirm, transmission error, and so on; there are also eighty groups of high-frequency words, ten groups of numeric codes, and ninety groups of common Chinese characters."

Lin Qian nodded. One hundred and ninety-six command groups didn't seem like many, but in practice they were more than sufficient—his inquiry just now, containing two questions, had been entirely covered by the high-frequency words and completed in fewer than ten number groups; the efficiency was remarkable.

Li Shixiong then invited Lin Qian outside the signal station, where the Yuexiu Mountain station was just transmitting its final command, "244"—the control command for "end of message"—and once this command was sent, the signal arms returned to the idle state of "000."

Pointing to the northwest, Li Shixiong said: "Your Majesty, the next station is across the Pearl River."

Lin Qian looked toward the southwest and indeed saw, on a hill across the river, another station standing tall, its red signal arms especially conspicuous.

Lin Qian took out a telescope and peered toward that station, where he could see its three signal arms swinging continuously, also sequentially forming "244" and "000."

Lin Qian asked: "So it's repeating the transmitted content to confirm it?"

"Two adjacent stations use a mirror-repetition method—only when the next station displays the same command does the current station change to the next command.

Likewise, for the next station, only after seeing the station beyond it display the same command does it change its own command, ensuring the message is relayed without interruption.

We've run tests, and with this method, transmission errors occur less than once in a thousand."

While the station across the river was mirror-repeating, the operator at the Yuexiu Mountain station was gazing toward the opposite station, making sure the commands it displayed matched.

Unfortunately, within the Great Xia realm, telescopes were a rare commodity, extremely limited—each station could be equipped with only one, allowing just a single lookout to watch, which undoubtedly reduced transmission accuracy somewhat.

Moreover, the scarcity of telescopes also meant that if even one telescope went missing, the entire beacon telegraph line would grind to a halt.

And even if not a single one was lost, with the Great Xia's current telescope reserves, such a beacon telegraph could only support a single chain—building a beacon telegraph network reaching in all directions was essentially a pipe dream.

Being choked by the Europeans really was unbearable!

Of course, Lin Qian could beg from his British allies, but asking for help put one at a disadvantage—and what was begged for, how could it compare to what was seized?

He had recently received a message from the Hirado trading post: the Dutch in Nagasaki were restless, and with the support of the Shimazu clan, they had built a cannon foundry in Nagasaki.

Once these cannons were produced, who would they be sold to? Presumably the Jianzhou barbarians, the Great Ming, and the Japanese pirates would be the target customers.

The Dutch truly lived up to their name as the wagoners of the sea—they had quite the head for business.

They were openly selling arms to two of the Great Xia's enemies, and to a current patron who would become a future enemy—they truly were courting death!

Lin Qian couldn't yet break with his patron, so he couldn't attack Nagasaki directly, but Batavia had no commercial dealings with him at all.

Conquering Batavia and acquiring glass-making technology had been added to Lin Qian's to-do list.

But that was a long-term mission—he first needed to strengthen his own strength, and he would also have to wait for a new batch of ships to be launched.

So in the short term, Lin Qian planned to have three fifth-class patrol frigates cruise the waters around Tsushima Island and Jeju Island, first cutting off the Dutchmen's shipping lanes so their business couldn't be too comfortable!

As the next station finished transmitting all its commands, the signal arms ceased their twisting and returned to the T-shaped standby position.

Lin Qian asked: "How long until we receive Guilin's reply?"

Li Shixiong said: "At the earliest, this evening; at the latest, noon the day after tomorrow."

That sounded far slower than the telegraph or telephone, but compared to sending messages by water, it was faster by who knows how many times.

Riding a fast horse from Guangzhou to Guilin took at least three days, and from Guilin back to Guangzhou two and a half days—a round trip took at least five or six days.

With the beacon telegraph, the Great Xia's effective sphere of rule could be greatly expanded in the future.

While waiting for the reply, Lin Qian said to Xu Guangqi: "Headmaster, if I remember correctly, the university's first cohort of students graduates next year, doesn't it?"

Stroking his beard with a self-satisfied smile, Xu Guangqi said: "Correct—in August of next year, they'll have completed their four-year course of study."

Lin Qian said: "I have a graduation project I'd like the students of the College of Letters and Law to undertake."

Yahei

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