Chapter 763: Provocation

"Perfect!"

Zhao Xu came before the telegraph machine and picked up the paper marked by a pencil; on it were exactly the different combinations of dots and dashes.

Although Xu Ke did not understand it, he was stunned and dumbfounded by the scene before his eyes.

The things Wang Chong had demonstrated were simply like magic.

He could not help but ask, "Your Highness, what exactly is this?"

Zhao Xu touched the parts on the telegraph machine while explaining it to Xu Ke.

After hearing it, Xu Ke was even more shocked than before he had heard it; it took him a good while to come to his senses.

"This is truly unbelievable." According to Yan Wang, this thing actually had the ability to transmit messages from a thousand miles away to Yancheng in an instant.

It was no wonder Yan Wang said this thing would also be of great benefit to the Supervision Four Courts.

From now on, the speed at which they transmitted intelligence would be even more rapid.

"There will be many more things that surprise you in the future. This wired telegraph is just a small gadget. In a few years, perhaps we will be able to speak directly to people a thousand miles away, rather than just sending telegraph codes," Zhao Xu laughed.

The laboratory telegraph was a success; the next step was to lay the cables.

He already had a plan in his mind: this first cable would start from Yanzhou and head toward Ningjin Dusi; in the future, this line would continuously extend northward until it reached Siberia.

The second cable would head west, reaching Xiao Pass; this line would extend westward in the future, all the way to the Western Regions.

The third line would extend southwest, passing through Jingzhou; once Yizhou was recovered in the future, it would extend further to Yizhou, until it reached Tibet.

The fourth would head south; once Jiangnan was recovered, it would extend all the way to Jiaozhi.

For him, these four lines could be produced and construction for laying them could begin immediately.

Actually, he also wanted to lay a submarine cable from the seabed to Gaoli and Dongying to facilitate the control of both countries in the future.

However, there was no rubber, so he could not yet produce submarine cables capable of water-resistant insulation; he would have to wait until he obtained rubber to think of a way.

Once these were laid, he would be able to remotely command the battlefield from Yancheng and understand the situation of the war in the future.

The establishment of command communications would be conducive to victory in war.

This was just like a person commanding their own left and right hands; if they wanted to strike someone, they could swing out instantly.

Yet the opponent would need several days, or even more than ten days, of reaction time.

By the time they reacted, they would have already been beaten to death.

However, the project of laying cables was not small, and it was also hugely expensive.

It would be another large expenditure for the finances of Jiangbei.

But fortunately, with the cables laid, he could abolish the courier stations in Jiangbei.

Since ancient times, feudal dynasties had all transmitted intelligence through courier stations.

The number of captive courier soldiers and laborers reached as many as over one hundred thousand, and there were often hundreds of thousands of horses.

This was likewise a huge financial burden on the Imperial Court; Li Zi City, the Chuang Wang of the late Ming Dynasty, eventually became the Chuang Wang because the Imperial Court reduced its burden and abolished the courier stations.

Of course, this did not mean that a Chuang Wang would appear in Jiangbei.

After all, life in Jiangbei was much more comfortable than in the late Ming Dynasty.

But even so, with both cable laying and railway laying, the expenses were not small.

Expanding overseas markets and obtaining large amounts of funds through commerce was already imminent.

"Hahaha, then this subject will wait patiently," Xu Ke said to Zhao Xu, laughing loudly.

The three of them laughed for a while, and Zhao Xu left with Xu Ke.

When leaving, he instructed Wang Chong to prepare the workshop for manufacturing cables.

In the future, if a breakthrough in electricity was achieved, cables would be indispensable; preparations must begin now.

Arriving outside the Research Institute, Zhao Xu instructed Xu Ke to continue keeping an eye on the movements of various forces.

Immediately after, he returned to the Prince's Mansion and ordered someone to send the landmine design drawings to the Armament Department.

This landmine was actually just a large-sized hand grenade buried underground; for Wang Ying, it was just a small gadget, and it only needed to be handed over to him for production.

In the month that followed, whether it was Dongying, the Northern Di, or the powerful clans, everyone seemed to have quieted down.

Zhao Xu was also happy to be at leisure; he was either sightseeing with Yang Susu or wandering between the Armament Department and the Research Institute, overcoming technical difficulties with Wang Ying, his son, and Qu Sheng.

Besides this, he was inspecting the production of the workshops and the laying of the railways.

With the arrival of the young and strong from Gaoli, the railway laying accelerated.

According to his wishes, the Ministry of Works established four Railway Construction Divisions, incorporated the workers building the railways into them, and with Yancheng as the center, simultaneously built four railways to the east, west, south, and north.

Thirty thousand young and strong Gaoli people, plus captives from Dongying and the Northern Di, made up forty thousand people.

Each Railway Department governed one hundred thousand people, each responsible for one railway.

Now, each Railway Department could lay about ten kilometers of railway every day.

Of course, this was the situation on the plains; if they encountered rugged mountain roads, they would need to open mountains and chisel stones, which would be much slower, and if they encountered rivers, they would still have to build bridges.

However, even with difficulties at every turn, this railway had to be laid.

Fortunately, in the Government Academy, a course on architectural engineering was set up; he taught many construction techniques, and the officials selected for the Ministry of Works were all the best in the academy.

These would not stump them.

Besides the railways, the construction of agricultural machinery and engineering machinery workshops was also in full swing; the workshop buildings were seventy percent complete, and next month they would be able to install machinery such as the Steam Engine and Lathe.

In terms of agriculture, Chili Pepper and Corn were planted in July along with Sweet Potato.

Currently, the farms were harvesting.

The Potato had also sprouted more seedlings, which could be planted in November.

Everything was looking up.

It was just that calmness was often an illusion before a storm.

On October 28th, Xu Ke suddenly sent an urgent military report.

"Your Highness, the Northern Di have expanded their forces in the northern part of the Ningjin Dusi to three royal tents, and Cavalry are constantly appearing around Ningjin. At the same time, the three royal tents under Commander Ashuer are massed at Wuwei, seemingly intending to threaten Xiao Pass," said Xu Ke.

After a pause, he continued: "There is one more thing. Just six days ago, Liang Xiang suddenly declared vassalage to the Northern Di, and Dou Mu acknowledged Mule Hongzhen as his uncle, referring to himself as a nephew state."

This series of intelligence reports made Zhao Xu frown, and he mocked: "Dou Mu might as well just acknowledge Mule Hongzhen as his father; why bother with this uncle-nephew act?"

Dou Mu was no longer one of his Zhao family; if it were in the past, he might have been angry.

But now, he did not care.

"Besides this, the Shizu Army has suddenly massed on the south bank of the Jiujiang, once dispatching small boats to carry soldiers across to raid villages on the north bank, but they were repelled by the Prince's Personal Army patrol Cavalry," Xu Ke added, his expression grave. "Also, a group of about ten thousand Western Land Mercenaries disembarked at Lincheng and are heading toward the south bank of the Jiujiang."

Zhao Xu nodded, his frown deepening.

This simultaneous provocation from the north and south was clearly no coincidence.

Considering the recent actions of Dongying and Britain, he had a vague guess.

"The Northern Di are just posturing. With their worn-out firearms, as long as Mule Hongzhen hasn't gone mad, he certainly won't start a war. As for Wu, I knew Liang Kai was a profit-seeking scoundrel, but holding him off for a few months is enough; I am just looking for a reason to deal with him," Zhao Xu said slowly.

Then, he sneered, "Whether it is the Shizu or the Northern Di, they should both be clear that with their current capabilities, they cannot oppose me, yet they have done exactly this. As the saying goes, when things are abnormal, there must be a demon. I fear this is a strategy of 'diverting the disaster' by Dongying and Britain, aimed at buying time for Dongying to catch its breath and accumulate capital to deal with me."

"But I, for one, will not let them have their way!" Zhao Xu slammed his hand heavily on the table.