Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

In the newly built telegraph room in Luoyang Imperial City, a group of important ministers had different expressions.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, is the word 'received' really sent back from Liaoyang?" Li Bao was the first to come to his senses, his tone filled with shock and excitement.

Zhu Ming nodded and said, "It was sent back from Liaoyang."

Li Bao quickly asked: "If I are the commander-in-chief, can you get all these things for all the generals? Then I will exchange telegrams with them every day, asking where they have marched and whether the reconnaissance cavalry they sent has found anything again." Spotted the enemy?"

Ju Ming said: "As of now, there is no problem in sending telegrams to each other if they are twenty or thirty miles apart. If the ministries are further apart, special manpower must be allocated and something called a repeater will be used to ensure that the telegrams can be sent to In the hands of friendly forces."

Li Bao gave a more vivid understanding: "That repeater is like a beacon between ministries?"

"You can say that." Zhu Ming nodded.

Li Bao was overjoyed: "With this magical object, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will be victorious in every battle!"

However, Li Hanzhang expressed concern: "Your Majesty, I have a doubt. What if a traitor falsely delivers government or military orders?"

Before Ju Ming could say anything, Li Bao laughed and said, "That's the way to test it with words."

For a moment, there was silence.

Only Yang Zhi was a good old man. He moved quietly and gently kicked Li Bao's heels with his toes.

Li Bao reacted immediately and hurriedly clasped his fists and lowered his head: "I have lost my temper. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Of course it's not a gaffe, but a living transgression.

The Prime Minister of the Cabinet is asking the Emperor, why are you rushing out to answer it? Do you want to be emperor?

Ju Ming didn't seem to care. Instead, he was smiling, calling him by his nickname affectionately, and saying in a joking tone: "You bastard Li San, you seem to know how to use your brain."

Li Bao bent his waist even lower and responded cautiously: "Your Majesty has taught you well. This method of character testing comes from the "Martial Classics General Essentials". I borrowed this book from your Majesty when I first read it. Without His Majesty’s guidance, I would be nothing more than an ignorant country man.”

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The civil and military ministers took the opportunity to flatter him and covered up what had just happened, and the atmosphere in the telegraph room returned to normal.

Li Bao was so frightened that his vest was sweating.

When he was crowned king alone, he was in trepidation for several years. After Xixia was overthrown and another person was named king, Li Bao finally let go of his temper and was no longer so cautious in his conduct as an official.

Moreover, my temper has gradually increased, or I no longer restrain myself all the time, and I have regained some of the freedom I had when I was young.

But in last year's major case, one of his former soldiers was killed, which frightened Li Bao for a while.

I was just too excited just now, immersed in the joy of fighting with telegraphs. When I heard Li Hanzhang's question, I immediately jumped in front of the emperor to answer the question.

Zhang Guangdao was secretly observing the emperor at this moment and saw that Ju Ming's expression was not strange, so he stopped thinking about it.

This emperor is still tolerant.

But the method of "character verification" was a military code book developed by the Northern Song Dynasty. Using poems agreed in advance and corresponding to coded secret words, even if the enemy intercepts the letter, they will not be able to figure out what is written in the letter.

In ancient Chinese history, the most difficult military code to crack was the reverse code created by Qi Jiguang.

Qi Jiguang's codebook only has 56 characters, the first 20 characters are a poem, and the last 36 characters are a poem. The eight tones of the Fuzhou dialect are used to rhyme the two poems, thereby forming ever-changing pinyin combinations.

Ju Ming said:

"After the imperial court officially uses the telegraph, the telegrams will correspond to eight hundred miles urgent, six hundred miles urgent, and four hundred miles urgent."

"Only official documents that are four hundred miles or more urgent are allowed to be sent by telegraph. Ordinary official documents are not allowed to be sent by telex indiscriminately. The previous procedures must be followed."

"For six hundred miles or eight hundred miles express, you need to use the password to verify the words."

"In the future, telegraph bureaus and telegraph offices will be set up in the capitals of each province, as well as in state capitals and areas under the jurisdiction of the general army. At the local level, there are only the chief officials and second officers of the three divisions' yamen, the chief officer and second officers of the state capital, and the general The chief and second officers of the Military Mansion can send and receive word-checked encrypted telegrams."

"When these chief officials take office, they immediately receive their own code book."

"For example, when sending a secret message to the Chief Secretary of Liaoning, the text will not be sent first, but two words. One word will be verified by the Chief Secretary on the left, and one word will be verified by the Chief Secretary on the right. The dispatcher cannot read them either. The code book can only tell the number of words in a certain page and line, and let the two chief officers tell the words themselves. "

"The telegraph operator sends back the word verification to the court. If both words are correct, the court will send back the text of the telegram."

"For six hundred mile urgent telegrams, the code book must be changed up to ten times. For eight hundred mile urgent telegrams, they must be replaced after one use. Of course, the difference between once and ten uses here depends on the specific situation. ”

"If there is a major incident, it will definitely be expedited for eight hundred miles repeatedly. As long as the first verification is passed, it can continue to be used. And the court will immediately send someone to send a new code book."

"Also, if one of the chief officers dies or loses the code book, the two word verifications cannot be completed. At this time, the chief officers of other departments need to be found as soon as possible to explain the situation through a complete word verification. "

"For example, if the left chief envoy of a certain province is killed by a traitor, the right chief envoy must send an urgent telegram. Then, you can find the chief officers of the Criminal Division and the Commanding Department and ask them to use the word verification to report to the court. At the same time, the right chief envoy’s own word verification must be attached. The more officials he hires to verify the words, the more credible the contents of the telegram will be.”

"The above is for the imperial court to verify officials, and officials must also verify the imperial court. For major orders such as sending troops, the relevant civil and military officials can only execute them if the imperial court responds with the correct verification words."

Ju Ming said so much, except for keyword verification, the text of the telegram is all in clear code.

Because most emergency telegrams do not actually need to use a code, the main purpose is to confirm the identity, and it is for officials to determine the identity of the court.

Only the real leaders of the party will obtain the password and act secretly at critical moments.

The Military Intelligence Department of the Ministry of War will also have a set of passwords.

Qian Chen asked: "Your Majesty, what should I do if the two officials disagree and do not cooperate with each other when sending telegrams?"

Ju Ming said:

"For ordinary events, there is no need to send a telegram, just submit a memorial. Even if a telegram is sent, there is no need to check the words, and there is no need for the cooperation of the two officials."

"Only emergencies require the sending of encrypted telegrams. If at this time the principal and the other officials do not cooperate and honestly report the truth to the court, then what are they left to do? They will be punished depending on the consequences, ranging from dismissal from office to beheading. "

"If one official doesn't cooperate, the other official can send an unencrypted telegram to the court! If they don't cooperate, they can both send an unencrypted telegram to the court, and the court will send people to investigate in detail."

Encrypted telegrams require the cooperation of the principal and the two officials to verify the text. First, it ensures confidentiality, and second, it can check and balance each other.

If you dare not cooperate in an emergency, it means that the conflict between the two officials will become public. It can almost be said that they are mortal enemies of each other. Anyone who dares to be dishonest will definitely not get any good results if found out afterwards.

Fang Mengqing stopped talking.

It was Chen Dong who asked the question: "His Majesty just said that telegraph offices and telegraph stations should be set up in local areas, so the telegraph department must be set up in the capital. May I ask which ministry this telegraph department should belong to?"

Regardless of whether they were civil or military, the ministers all pricked up their ears.

This is their biggest concern!

Everyone knows that the telegraph system is of great importance, and whichever department has jurisdiction over it will be more powerful.

Ju Ming said:

"There are two sets of telegraph teams in the capital. One is under the control of the emperor, and the other is under the Tongzhengyuan."

"Ordinary telegrams can be processed normally by the General Assembly. As for encrypted telegrams, copies of the codes of officials from various places are locked in the cabinet stone room, and the keys are kept by the prime minister and deputy prime minister. The prime minister and deputy prime minister must open the lock together and take half of them with them. Only ministers above can open it.”

"If an official of the General Affairs Council or the Telegraph Department receives an encrypted telegram and refuses to report it, he will be dismissed from office or beheaded!"

Ju Ming did not mention the emperor's telegraph team, and the ministers did not dare to ask.

This equals the emperor having five sources of information.

One is the cabinet, one is the General Council, one is the Supervisory Yuan, one is the "Da Ming Yue", and the other is the emperor's telegraph room.

As long as they obtain the special code book given by the emperor, any official can directly create a code or coded telegram to the emperor - electromagnetic secret message!

Zhu Ming turned around and left. The ministers hurriedly sent him off respectfully, and they were allowed to stay in the telegraph room to observe.

The person responsible for explaining to the ministers was Zhu Guoxiang's craftsman student Yu Ang.

"Excuse me, Mr. Xiao Yu, how was this telegram sent?" Li Gang asked quickly.

Yu Ang said: "As the name suggests, telegraphy uses electricity."

Qian Chen asked: "Is it that kind of lightning?"

Yu Ang said: "You guys take off your clothes at night, are there occasional firelights? The Supreme Emperor said that it is also electricity, and the thunder and lightning in the sky are also electricity. Electricity is not an illusory thing. As long as people master its physical properties, people can master and use it."

"Can I ask how His Majesty the Emperor and Your Excellency master electricity?" Ling Guxu said.

Yu Ang smiled and said: "Of course. Your Majesty also made a kind of battery. Because the voltage is too small to be used, it will be used as teaching toys for the Tai students. As for the electricity used in the telegraph, it is generated through electromagnetic induction. Although You can’t touch it, but you can see it through experiments…”

After talking a lot, all the ministers were confused.

After asking many questions and watching for a long time, everyone left the telegraph room in great sadness.

Huan Guo said with emotion: "Before His Majesty the Emperor abdicated, he said that the stars revolve around the sun, which shows that he has already studied heaven and man. Now he has mastered the method of electricity, which is simply miraculous and beyond the reach of ordinary people like us."

"This is very true." Everyone agreed.

In fact, their mentality at the moment is more of awe.

They felt that Zhu Guoxiang was unfathomable and possessed a mysterious power from heaven.

No wonder the Supreme Emperor is not attached to the throne at all. I am afraid that in the eyes of the Supreme Emperor, worldly power is not worth mentioning at all.

The Supreme Emperor has probably glimpsed the secrets of heaven and earth, and will be able to ascend to immortality in the future!

The Supreme Emperor, who can ascend to immortality, is currently playing telegraph with his concubines and children.

Li Qingzhao, in particular, had a great time guarding the telegram. They were located throughout the palace, sending messages via telegraph, and engaging in the first "online chat" in human history.

Ju Ming wandered over to his father and reminded him: "After the telegraph department is officially launched, you should not interfere with the signal."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Just stagger the morning, noon and evening transmission times. I will try to create a private chat frequency band."

There is a fixed time for sending and receiving telegrams every day. Due to the error of the current clock, it is quite difficult for telegraph operators. If the other party comes online late, the other party will have to keep sending messages until the hand is almost sore from pressing it, and then the party online at night finally responds.

Moreover, it will not be used by civilians for the time being, let alone open to the outside world.

After Zhu Guoxiang improves the hand-cranked motor, or when the provincial capital city develops a small hydroelectric generator, at that time, the Ministry of Industry will be specially asked to develop a civilian telegraph system.

Zhu Ming's final idea is to separate the Caojun and the post station from the Ministry of War, and then separate the civilian telegraph system from the Ministry of Industry.

These will be taken out to form a separate Ministry of Posts!

(In ancient times, there was no signal interference, and low-power radio stations could also send messages very far. During the Anti-Japanese War, a more powerful hand-cranked telegraph machine could send messages directly from Shanghai to Yan'an. Of course, there was a large antenna in Yan'an, and visitors once mistakenly thought it was a radar.)