After a few days of meetings with the big guys at the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, Sun Xuekun immediately took action. This would not work unless he took action. The first batch of investments led by the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises were already in place, and the management team also provided support to Sun Xuekun.
Well, even the patents related to the telegraph machine were obtained for him from the Royal Institute of Technology.
This time, Datang Telegraph Company did not purchase patent licenses, but directly bought out telegraph-related patents, such as transmitters, receivers, information encoding, etc.
Of course, only the technical patents of the entire machine are bought out, and other patents can only be purchased and licensed, such as the important component of the battery.
Batteries are not only used for telegraphs, but can also be used in many places. The most important application is to carry out various electrical research.
Moreover, the patent for this battery has been authorized for a long time. Jiujiang Electrical Appliance Company, a subsidiary of the Royal Assets Department, obtained the patent authorization for the battery four years ago and is currently the only three domestic battery manufacturers.
Most of the current battery applications are used for scientific research, because this is a more convenient and safe power supply for scientists. As for using other methods to directly generate electricity, it is too troublesome, complicated, and unsafe.
Now, another major application of batteries is of course telegraphy.
In addition to Jiujiang Electric Company, there are two other companies in China, one of which is Shanghai Electric, a subsidiary of Jiangnan Arms Company.
It's just that the main business of this electrical company is not batteries, but shipboard engines, electric motors and other systems. It is mainly used to support the navy's electric turret system. The other company is Ganzhou Electric Wire Company, a subsidiary of the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises.
Its main business is the production of various types of wires, but it also has patents for batteries.
In other words, although there are three domestic companies with battery patent licenses, the one that really regards batteries as its main business is Jiujiang Electric Co., Ltd. of the Imperial Assets Division.
It is worth noting that the above three electrical companies are all major suppliers of the newly established Datang Telegraph Company.
There is no way, there are only three domestic professional electrical companies, but there is no fourth one.
If Datang Telegraph Company wanted to set up telegraph lines, it was actually far from enough. It had to find more suppliers or simply build its own spare parts factory.
After all, the telegraph developed by the Royal Institute of Technology was just a trial product, and the cost was basically not considered, nor was mass production. However, Datang Telegraph Company could not do this. It had to consider the cost of mass production.
Sun Xuekun's first thing is to send people to various places to find qualified suppliers, such as wires. Currently, only Ganzhou Electric Wire Company does this. The output of a small company is not enough, and in order to control costs, it is also to share the burden.
Depending on the direction of the wind, there must be more suppliers.
As for some of the more critical technologies, or those that are more special, Sun Xuekun plans to build them himself and directly purchase them off-the-shelf, with factories, equipment, and workers to produce them himself.
In addition to these production and technical preparations, Sun Xuekun was also worried about how to determine the choice of the first telegraph line.
Telegraph lines cannot be chosen arbitrarily, because the current production cost of telegraph equipment is high, and the maintenance cost is even higher, so this means that it would be a huge loss to rely solely on the official to send and receive telegrams.
The government simply cannot afford such large administrative expenses.
The only solution is to commercialize it like the inn system back then, and charge a fee to send letters and goods to share the cost.
After the empire's inn system was reformed, the results were obvious. Over the years, it basically did not require special subsidy expenditures from the empire. It could generate blood on its own and then expand globally.
After the reform, the Postal Service has a complete postal network and a large number of staff, trains, ships, carriages, horses, etc. in various parts of the country and overseas territories.
If we look purely at scale of assets, the Postal Service is actually a very large company.
However, the Postal Service is not a commercial company. It is an official organization from beginning to end. It is just that its private business is operated on a commercial basis.
Sun Xuekun felt that although the core mission of this telegraph company was to quickly deliver administrative documents and was unique to the Tang Dynasty, it could also allocate part of its resources for commercial operations and charge a fee for sending, sending and receiving telegrams.
In addition, he also had to cooperate with the postal service.
Because when sending a telegram, people can go directly to the telegraph office, but when receiving a telegram, the local telegraph office needs to send it after receiving it, otherwise it will not know about it.
At this time, you can use the local postal system to mail the message as a letter, just like delivering a newspaper.
Datang Telegraph Company came to visit and wanted to cooperate with the Postal Service. Naturally, the Postal Service would not and could not refuse.
After all, this is a business and can bring them profits.
After it is determined that the telegraph will be commercially operated, the choice of the first telegraph line is very important. It must be a place with sufficient communication needs.
As for the contemporary empire, which place best meets this condition?
Of course it’s Jinling and Shanghai!
So there is no doubt that the first telegraph line will be between Jinling City and Shanghai.
In order to reduce costs, for better maintenance, and for the safety of telegraph lines, telegraph lines will be erected along railway lines.
In this wilderness, only the railway lines are relatively safe. Otherwise, people would cut the wires and sell them every minute.
As for the railway, over the years the official law enforcement agencies of the Tang Dynasty have told those unruly people with iron and blood that those who dare to damage the railway will have to pay a bloody price.
In the contemporary empire, destroying railway facilities is equivalent to destroying military facilities. If you are caught, you will basically be shot, and you will not even be able to eat in prison.
If it is in a border area, such as the northwest, because the Northwest Railway is the lifeblood of supplying more than 200,000 troops on the front line, the crime will be increased by one level, and the death penalty will be increased by one level, so naturally he will be sentenced together.
In addition to the strict law of being shot if caught, local garrison troops are also obliged to protect the railways and conduct daily patrols.
Telegraph lines have similar properties to railway lines, so after consultation with Datang Railway Corporation, it was determined that the telegraph line would be built directly on the railway line.
All aspects of preparation work kept Sun Xuekun busy, and he has never left Jinling City since he arrived.
After being busy for more than a month, I took advantage of the time to go back to Shanghai.
His family lives in Shanghai, and he has no intention of taking his family to Jinling City. Unlike many senior officials who like to take their families with them when they take office, he, Sun Xuekun, does not like this.
After his family moved to Shanghai more than ten years ago, his family settled down in Shanghai and followed him everywhere.
And contemporary Shanghai is the most prosperous city in the empire. When it comes to the prosperity of the city, it is even better than Jinling City. As long as you have money, there is nothing you can enjoy.
After returning home, Sun Xuekun was rarely busy with work. Instead, he spent a few days with his family and pretended to guide his eldest son's homework. Unfortunately, he could no longer understand his eldest son's homework!
His eldest son is currently studying at Shanghai University, studying physics.
Although Sun Xuekun has been engaged in business and industry for many years, he is still essentially a traditional scholar. He can only have a rough understanding of science and engineering, but there is nothing he can do if he goes too deep into it.
Of course, on the surface he still pretends to know everything.
Just because he doesn't know doesn't mean he can't brag about it. For example, he definitely knows more about this telegram than his son.
However, when he finished playing and was left alone, Sun Xuekun couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, he was born more than 20 years ago, otherwise, he might not even be able to pass the Jinshi exam.
The imperial examinations have been greatly reformed in recent years, and the things tested become more and more weird and perverted every year.
Nowadays, after years of continuous reform, the imperial examinations in the Tang Empire have been gradually finalized. The academic examinations, provincial examinations, and imperial examinations have all been cancelled. Similarly, many traditional titles such as student members, candidates, doctors, tributes, etc. have been cancelled, leaving only
The examination and the title of Jinshi.
However, nowadays, for the Jinshi in the Tang Dynasty, the provincial and provincial examinations add up to at least tens of thousands of people admitted every year, and even tens of thousands of people in many years.
Nowadays, the Jinshi is not very valuable. Most students who pass the Jinshi can only stay in the office as ordinary clerks for the rest of their lives. It is impossible to get treatment above the eighth grade when they reach the official position.
Those who can get ahead are always in the minority.
When his eldest son graduates in two years, he will also take the general examination. As a graduate of Shanghai University, passing the general examination will be a piece of cake. Moreover, he is quite capable and can still help him at critical moments.
.
At least it would make the first few years of the eldest son's political career much more comfortable.
As for the future, he can only rely on himself.
After all, he has no ability and cannot achieve results. Even if he wants to, he can't do it.
It’s not like he, Sun Xuekun, ran the civil service department!
After staying at home for a few days, Sun Xuekun returned to work. He first went to meet with people from Shanghai Electric Company, a subsidiary of Jiangnan Arms Company, to discuss the supply of some parts.
It's just that Shanghai Electric Company mainly deals in large electrical equipment, shipboard generators, and motors. Even the wires they produce as ancillary are oversized wires, and other businesses are basically not involved.
Because Shanghai Electric was established with funds from the Navy, this company would not be able to be established without orders from the Navy.
To put it bluntly, this is a supporting manufacturer supported by the navy, and it is used to supply electric turrets for the navy's battleships.
Faced with the telegraph company's request for supporting equipment, the financial backer behind the Shanghai Electric Company, the Navy, was not very willing.
Although the telegraph produced by the Datang Telegraph Company is a valuable weapon of the country, it is also very important to the empire.
But what does this thing have to do with the Navy?