African Entrepreneurship Record

The carriage drove on the smooth and wide road leading to the first town without any bumps. Through the car window, the members of the Far East Assistance Mission were eye-opened by the level of construction of the East African highway.

Li Ge asked Willix, who was sent by the First Town Municipal Government to pick him up, "Mr. Willix, what are the threads hanging on those wooden poles at regular intervals beside the road?"

Since Willix is ​​an Austrian, the communication between the two requires Aryan to translate.

Aryan: "That's the wire for communication, it connects the city of Dar es Salaam to the city of First Town."

Li Ge: "Communication? Just rely on those two lines!"

Aryan: "Yes, this is the charm of science. If it is explained to you, you may not understand it, but as long as you know that with these cables, news from Europe can reach East Africa within one day."

Li Ge suspected that Aryan was questioning his IQ. He would not explain the principles to him. How could he know the operating mechanism of these two lines?

Li Ge: "Mr. Aryan, I know that you Westerners have made many creations in terms of craftsmanship. They can build large steam ships, advanced guns and cannons, and industrial products for various purposes. They may be a little more advanced than us in the Far East in this regard, but We just didn’t pay much attention to technology research before.”

Aryan: "Of course I know this. Mr. Li Ge, I was also from the Far East, so I know a lot about this. The Far East is indeed quite backward in this regard. Needless to say, ordinary people do not understand science, and many officials may also It’s incredible that such a thing as a telegraph exists.”

The education level in the Far East is certainly far behind that of the German region. After all, the German region is relatively unique in the world in terms of universal compulsory education.

Aryan then told Aryan about the general operating principle of the telegraph. Li Ge was stunned for a while. This was indeed a bit brain-burning for Li Ge who only read four books and five classics.

Li Ge: "You mean you created thunder and lightning and used it to deliver messages?"

Aryan: "That's not thunder and lightning, it's just ordinary electricity. With current science and technology, no one can master thunder and lightning. Its energy is too powerful and uncontrollable."

Li Ge: "Then you said you can use a generator to create thunder and lightning!"

Aryan: "Electricity already exists in nature, and European scientists have converted electricity into energy by studying electricity itself. This energy is the magnetic field."

"Magnetic field?" Li Geyou heard a new term, but it was still difficult to understand. In Li Ge's opinion, thunder and lightning were "the wrath of heaven". It was treason for these foreigners to try to control thunder and lightning.

In fact, there have been countless talented people with scientific spirit in the Far East since ancient times. They are not superstitious about the induction of heaven and man like Li Ge.

For example, the "Huainanzi" of the Han Dynasty believed that "thin yin and yang become thunder, and excitement becomes electricity." Although "Huainanzi" has no basis for understanding thunder and lightning, it shows that the ancients had dialectical thinking about thunder and lightning, rather than superstitious Confucian belief in heaven and man. Induction theory.

Written in the Warring States Period, it was recorded earlier in "The Biography of Guliang": Yin and Yang are thin, and when touched, it becomes thunder, and when stimulated, it becomes thunder.

Yin and yang correspond to positive and negative charges. It’s scary to think about it. After all, the ancients could have such a knowledge thousands of years ago when science and technology were so low. Even if it is just a coincidence, it will make people awe-inspiring, but, really Is it just a coincidence!

Aryan: "Mr. Li Ge, actually you don't have to be surprised. Things like telegraphs actually exist in the Far East now, but you may not know it."

Li Ge: "Is there also one in the Far East?"

Aryan: "Yes, the telegraph lines from Hong Kong to Shanghai and Nagasaki to Shanghai that were laid by Britain, Norway, Tsarist Russia and Denmark at the beginning of this year are expected to be almost completed. The Hechingen Electric Power Company is also planning a telegraph line from Shanghai to Jiaozhou. .”

The reason why Aryan knew about this was because the person in charge of coordinating this matter at the time was himself. It was really not easy to find a German translator in the Far East, so the Hechingen Consortium often borrowed people from the East African embassy.

When Aryan and the aid team left the Far East, the submarine cable from Shanghai to Jiaozhou had already been laid. By then, it would be directly connected to the Danish-led "Danish Telegraph Company" telegraph line, so that East Africa would also be able to contact the Far East in the future. This can be done via telegram.

It's just that the news has to be transferred from Europe, which requires an extra procedure, but it doesn't matter. The "Denmark Great Northern Telegraph Company" is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Although it has a multi-national capital background, it is still a Danish company.

Only the top officials of the Far East government and some local dignitaries knew about the laying of telegraph lines in the Far East. Little people like Li Ge really didn't understand it.

In fact, the Far East government is still opposed to foreign companies laying telegraph lines in the Far East, but the situation is stronger than the people, so they turn a blind eye. Among them, the Hechingen consortium is the most egregious, directly blabbering. It attracted Austrian businessmen to invest in the telegraph network centered on Xuzhou in the Huaihai Economic Zone. However, many European countries and regions have not yet fully popularized telegraph, so this approach is a bit ahead of its time.

If this network is built, it is uncertain whether it will be profitable in the initial stage, because the Huaihai Economic Zone is currently an economically backward area in the Far East, with many poor people. Many of them cannot afford the cost of telegraph, or in other words, they have no concept of such consumption unless When the Huaihai Economic Zone developed, new things like telegraphy became well known.

Although the Huaihai Economic Zone was proposed by East Africa, East Africa itself did not invest much in the local area. Most of them were Austrian businessmen brought in by East Africa. Many of the factories they invested in and built could drive local development in the future, but no one was able to develop the economy here. I know how many years it will take.

However, it is not too difficult. After all, investment eliminates the interference of local governments. As long as there are no foreigners to cause trouble, there will basically not be any big problems. Behind the Huaihai Economic Zone are the two world powers of Germany and Austria, even Britain and France. Russia and others must also act within their capabilities.

This is a sure-profit business, but it takes time. Whether it can be profitable in the early stage depends on whether Xuzhou, a battleground for military strategists, and whether the north-south transportation hub can assume its function as a hub city.

However, judging from the investment enthusiasm of Austrian businessmen, they are relatively optimistic about this project. With the development of the times, telegraphs will definitely become popular around the world. Although the average consumption level in the Far East is not high, it is large enough, and Xuzhou It is located in the center of Central Plains, Zhili, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu. The contact center of these areas is Xuzhou. Therefore, building a telegraph company in Xuzhou should, with a high probability, be profitable!

The Hechingen Consortium is just taking the lead in this matter, and it is up to the German Far East Chamber of Commerce to decide what to do specifically.

The focus of the Hexingen Consortium is on how to strengthen the connection between East Africa and the Far East. The Xuzhou Telegraph Company was initially envisioned to be just an inland information exchange node, and it also focused on profitability issues, while the external exchange node of the Huaihai Economic Zone was in Jiaozhou. There is only one excellent port in the entire Huaihai Economic Zone, which is also the background for the laying of the telegraph line from Shanghai to Jiaozhou.