King Cao Li Dazhuang heard what the imperial envoy said.
His face was red with anger at that time, this person was fooling him into thinking he was a fool.
"You little melon, how dare you use me as a mallet.
Someone come and put a flagpole on him so that he can wake up.
He also sent messages thousands of miles away and played witchcraft on me.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was just pretending to be stupid. The team that Wei Qing and Huo Qubing left for the prince were too powerful, so he had to find an excuse to clean up the powerful princelings.
If you try this trick on me, I won’t believe it.”
Li Xiaofei saw Cao King Li Dazhuang getting angry. Before he came to Cao Kingdom, he heard that Cao King Li Dazhuang was moody.
He did not expect that King Cao Li Dazhuang would become furious as soon as he opened his mouth.
Li Xiaofei immediately clasped his fists in salute and defended loudly: "King Cao, please calm down, I am deceiving you by talking about the art of immortality.
After all, immortality cannot be verified in a short time.
The Thousand Miles Sound Transmission I mentioned is OK, let’s verify it now.
This is not a witchcraft, but pure technology.
King Cao gives me ten minutes, and I will be able to contact the capital, and then I will be able to explain what is true and what is false."
When King Cao Li Dazhuang heard what the imperial envoy said, he waved his hand and ordered: "You go down first."
The guards who were about to push down Li Xiaofei stepped aside when they heard King Cao Li Dazhuang's order.
King Cao Li Dazhuang looked at the imperial envoy and said in a lazy tone: "I am waiting here to see what method you can use to contact the capital here.
This place is not only thousands of miles away from the capital city, but also thousands of miles away.
Even homing pigeons can’t fly there, and seabirds need several months to fly.”
Li Xiaofei clasped his fists again and said respectfully: "King Cao, the equipment I am carrying has been seized by the guards. Please let me install the equipment first."
King Cao Li Dazhuang waved his hand and asked the palace guards to follow Li Xiaofei to work.
Li Xiaofei and the apprentices he taught began to install wireless telegraph machines in the palace courtyard.
The wireless telegraph they carried had a very simple structure, consisting of a telegraph body, a hand-operated generator, and an antenna.
Li Xiaofei and his apprentice put down the telegraph machine body, and he asked his apprentice to connect the wires between the telegraph machine and the hand-operated generator.
King Cao Li Dazhuang sat watching from a distance, while the palace guards held pistols and followed Li Xiaofei and others closely.
If they are found to have any unusual behavior, they will be shot and killed immediately to ensure the safety of King Cao Li Dazhuang.
Li Xiaofei held an antenna made of soft copper wire in his hand. He observed the situation around the courtyard and considered how to arrange the antenna.
He immediately spotted the flagpole on which he was almost hung.
The wooden flagpole is very tall and is the most convenient place to place the antenna.
Li Xiaofei immediately explained to the guards what he wanted to do.
The guards asked King Cao Li Dazhuang for instructions and received permission.
The guard personally took the copper wire and hung it above the flagpole.
Li Xiaofei saw that the antenna was firmly attached to the flagpole. He immediately walked to the telegraph machine and ordered: "Start generating electricity."
The apprentice immediately cranked the delicate hand-operated generator quickly.
The power generated by the hand-cranked generator was not large, but it was enough to power the wireless telegraph machine.
Li Xiaofei saw that the telegraph machine's indicator lights were on normally, and then he heard a familiar ticking sound.
Only then can I feel completely reassured that the equipment is not malfunctioning.
Li Xiaofei stood up, clasped his fists at King Cao Li Dazhuang and said, "King Cao, I have prepared the equipment.
The telegraph machine can now contact the capital. Does King Cao have anything to say?"
King Cao Li Dazhuang looked at the small machine in the courtyard. When he heard the name Telegraph Machine, his thoughts immediately started to swirl.
He widened his eyes and asked, "What did you say? This thing is a telegraph machine. How is this possible?"
Don't think that because I am in America, I am a stupid person from a poor place.
The telegraph machine is a machine that I have heard from businessmen who come and go.
This machine can indeed communicate in real time thousands of miles away, but this machine needs wires to connect the two places."
When King Cao Li Dazhuang learned about the telegraph machine, he was very envious.
As a general who had been on the battlefield for many years, he knew the powerful role of this machine when he first heard about it.
King Cao Li Dazhuang looked through the battle reports of the Dahua Empire and often saw two armies that were thousands of miles apart but could cooperate very well.
This is the revolution in communication. Riding a horse to notify the other party has become a knock-knock machine.
By quickly communicating information on the battlefield, you can seize more chances of victory.
The battlefield is changing rapidly. At a certain moment, you can see the enemy's flaw, but because there is no cooperation from friendly forces, you can only regretfully miss it.
With equipment like the telegraph, the situation was completely different.
The military can respond promptly to the enemy's vulnerabilities under unified coordination.
The telegraph machine is also a powerful weapon for the rule of a country.
There is a saying in the army that military orders abroad will be ignored.
There is also a local saying that the sky is high and the emperor is far away.
These two common sayings mean that the further away from the center, the lower the strength of the rule.
Where the degree of governance is low, it is very easy to form vassal towns.
The disaster of the feudal town was second only to the large-scale peasant uprising.
This is a headache for every ruler.
The solution is also very simple, that is, to strengthen centralization and let the imperial power reach the lowest level.
This method seems simple, but it is very difficult to operate.
It was a problem that even the Qin Emperor, Han Wu, Tang Zong and Mingzu were unable to solve.
With the development of science and technology, the Dahua Empire has initially solved this problem.
King Cao Li Dazhuang learned that with the popularity of telegraphs, ordinary people could pay a small amount of money to send a telegram.
In this way, localities and the center can communicate in real time, and orders from the center can be conveyed to the lowest level.
In this way, local officials have no room to misinterpret imperial decrees for their own benefit.
Troops that are thousands of miles away from the central government can also request instructions in real time via telegram, so there will be no last resort situation where generals abroad do not accept military orders.
King Cao Li Dazhuang served as a minister, and he also became a monarch.
He knew that a general had the idea in his mind that the general would not accept military orders abroad, and he took action.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! No matter how loyal he is, the monarch will never trust this person again, and his future has ended here.
A machine like the telegraph can be seen by anyone with knowledge, but it is a technology that the Great China Empire strictly guards against.
He also tried some methods, but failed to get a sample.
King Cao Li Dazhuang did not expect that the legendary telegraph machine would appear in front of him at this time.
This was still different from what he had heard. This telegraph machine had no wires at all.
It's impossible when you think about it. Just now the imperial envoy repeatedly emphasized that this telegraph machine can communicate with the capital.
From here in America to the capital, there is a vast ocean across the country, so how can we connect through wires?
Li Xiaofei saw the shocked expression of King Cao Li Dazhuang, and he immediately explained simply: "King Cao, this belongs to the second generation telegraph machine.
The first generation telegraph required the use of metal conductors to transmit signals.
The carrier of signals transmitted by the second-generation telegraph has become electromagnetic waves.
There is no need to lay out cables to connect various places, only a towering antenna needs to be set up.”
King Cao Li Dazhuang did not understand what electromagnetic waves were, but he knew the advancement of this technology.
He lamented: "Our Cao Kingdom's first-generation telegraph machine could not understand it, but the Empire's second-generation telegraph machine has been put into use."
King Cao Li Dazhuang was a little arrogant, but he had to admit that the gap in strength between Cao State and the empire was beyond imagination.
He has mentally admitted defeat, but he is still speaking hard.
"Who knows if this is fake? Send a telegram and find out.
The content of the telegram must be designated by me."
Li Xiaofei respectfully replied: "It's absolutely possible. The content of the telegram will be narrated by King Cao himself, and I will send the relevant content to the capital."
King Cao Li Dazhuang thought for a while and said: "Brother-in-law Li Dazhuang greets his brother-in-law Su He, how are his and his sister's health?
Da Zhuang is in America and I miss them very much."
King Cao Li Dazhuang was thinking about the first telegram, what kind of content should he send?
He sent it in the name of King Cao. If the wireless telegraph machine was genuine, Su He must know about the Bull Run incident.
This makes him appear to be aggressive. In order to maintain the dignity of the empire, Su He has no room to turn around.
In addition to the relationship between a vassal state and a suzerain state, and between a subordinate and a superior, King Cao Li Dazhuang and Emperor Su He were also related as relatives.
King Cao Li Dazhuang finally decided to send the first telegram in his private capacity.
In this way, no matter what happens, he has room for maneuver.
…………………………
In the Qianqing Palace in the imperial capital, Emperor Su He was holding an imperial meeting to discuss imperial tariffs.
Prime Minister Qian Mingyi said helplessly: "Your Majesty, due to historical reasons, overseas governors-general have great autonomy, such as the setting of tariffs.
When an overseas governor's palace is converted into an overseas province, various policies will have a certain transition period.
It is for this reason that the customs duties in the empire and major overseas provinces are very complicated.
This provides convenience for some businessmen to evade taxes.
The minister believes that local tariffs should be used as the benchmark, and major overseas provinces should be allowed to make limited adjustments to local tariffs in accordance with local tariffs."
Prime Minister Qian Mingyi spoke very implicitly, but there were no fools in the Qianqing Palace, and they all understood it clearly.
What the Prime Minister means is to increase tariffs in disguise.
Few people object to this kind of thing that brings extra income to the empire, except those who suffer losses.
Cabinet Minister Wu Hongyi stood up and retorted: "Your Majesty, I believe that the empire cannot lose its credibility.
If people don't believe it, they won't stand; if a country doesn't believe it, it will collapse.
The empire’s previous promises should be fulfilled.”
Cabinet Minister Han Cuibai snorted coldly, bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, the common people are not worried about scarcity but about inequality.
Everyone can endure the hard days, as long as they drink more for a while, they will pass.
But the gentry ate delicacies from the mountains and the sea, while the common people could not even feed themselves with bran or bran.
This situation will inevitably trigger a popular uprising, and Qian Ming died because of this.
Nowadays, because tariffs vary from place to place, there are many cunning businessmen who evade taxes.
People who are doing business safely bear more tax burden.
These people saw tax evaders wearing silks and satins and eating delicacies, but they were not punished in any way.
Doesn't this tell me that people who are doing business safely are complete fools for doing this.
Only by cheating and evading taxes can you make a fortune.
If things go on like this, the empire's tax revenue will inevitably collapse."
Emperor Su He saw the differences among his ministers, but he could not make a fair judgment.
This matter is easy to explain in theory, but in practice there are many things that cannot be explained.
Overseas provincial tariffs, most of the expenditure is resettlement immigrants.
The imperial court directly allocated large sums of funds to resettle immigrants heading to overseas provinces, which would have a great impact on the people.
On the contrary, the governor's offices of overseas provinces use their own money to resettle immigrants. In the eyes of the people, this is what the local area should do.
The overseas provinces were very poor, and many things still required funding from the court. Where would they get the money to resettle immigrants? They could only find ways to deal with tariffs.
The essence of this matter is not corruption of local officials.
Once it is not handled well, the strategy of emigrating to overseas provinces and thoroughly digesting overseas provinces will be greatly disrupted.
This kind of thing can only be done silently, but cannot be publicized.
After all, the growth of the Han nationality in overseas provinces is accompanied by the integration and extinction of the indigenous peoples.
For the sake of long-term peace and stability, we should not make noises everywhere.
Emperor Su He was trying to change the subject.
Eunuch Zhou Fangzhi came to the Qianqing Palace with a telegram.
After he arrived, he directly interrupted the quarrel among the ministers and said loudly: "Your Majesty, King Cao Li Dazhuang sent a telegram."
When the ministers heard the news, some of them knew the inside story, and they were more concerned about the handling of the matter.
For these vassal states, the empire was divided into conservative and radical factions.
Conservatives believe that it is better to maintain the status quo, and that the empire should focus on developing itself and its surrounding areas.
As long as the vassal states became the empire's source of raw materials and product dumping.
The empire ensured the stability of the vassal states.
Radicals are completely different. They believe that the empire has now conquered the world and become the most powerful country in the world.
The empire should become a veritable empire on which the sun never sets.
Only an empire can be worthy of the American continent.
As the vanguard, the mission of the vassal states has ended.
The empire should gradually annex the territories of the vassal states and turn them into overseas provinces of the empire.
There were still a majority of conservatives in the court, but as the empire grew stronger, especially the vassal states became unstable.
Radicals have been on the rise recently.
Emperor Su He adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards the performance of these two factions.
When there are radicals in the court, the vassal states will be afraid and they will act more stable.
Emperor Su He took advantage of this incident to change the topic of tariffs.
He took the telegram from King Cao Li Dazhuang and laughed and cursed: "This slippery man."
Li Dazhuang sent a telegram in his private capacity, and his meaning was clearly understood by Emperor Su He.
He ordered Eunuch Zhou Fangzhi to call back and inform King Cao Li Dazhuang that everything was well with Emperor Su He and Concubine Li Huixin.
Emperor Su He looked at the officials below and said: "There are changes in the American continent.
Let the monarchs and ministers discuss how the empire should respond."
When the ministers heard Emperor Su He's instructions, they began to express their opinions.
Especially the officials of the Metropolitan Governor's Office who couldn't get a word in just now.
They have a clearer understanding of the situation in America and have some ideas of their own.
Many people rush to speak out their thoughts and want to be recognized by more people.
Conservatives and radicals are arguing endlessly. They both believe that their strategies can bring more benefits to the empire.