African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 365: Chapter 44: Telegram

The carriage traveled on the smooth and broad road leading to First Town, without a hint of bumpiness. Through the car window, the construction level of East African roads left the members of the Far East delegation wide-eyed in amazement.

Li Ge asked Vickers, who was sent by the First Town government to receive them, ”Mr. Vickers, what are those wires hanging on the wooden poles along the road?”

Since Vickers was Austrian, their communication required Aryan for translation.

Aryan: ”Those are communication wires; they can connect the city of Dar es Salaam with First Town.”

Li Ge: ”Communication? Just relying on those two wires?”

Aryan: ”Yes, that’s the charm of science. If I were to explain it to you, you might not understand, but all you need to know is that with these cables, news from Europe can reach East Africa in a day.”

Li Ge suspected Aryan of doubting his intelligence. Without explaining the principles, he wondered how he could understand the functioning of these two wires.

Li Ge: ”Mr. Aryan, I know you Westerners have many innovations in craftsmanship. You can create steam paddle boats, advanced guns and cannons, and industrial products of various uses. In this regard, you might be a bit more advanced than us in the Far East, but it’s just that we haven’t previously focused on scientific research.”

Aryan: ”I am well aware of that, Mr. Li Ge. I was once from the Far East, so I understand this point better. The Far East is indeed quite backward in this aspect. It’s not just that the general public’s understanding of science is lacking, but even many officials may find the concept of the telegraph rather baffling.”

The educational level in the Far East is undoubtedly far behind that of the German regions. After all, popularizing compulsory education is something that, in the entire world, is notably unique to the German regions.

Aryan then briefly explained the basic principles of the telegraph to Li Ge, who was left stunned. For someone like Li Ge, who only read the Four Books and Five Classics, it was indeed a bit mind-boggling.

Li Ge: ”Are you saying you’ve harnessed lightning to transmit messages?”

Aryan: ”It’s not lightning, just ordinary electricity. With current scientific technology, no one can control lightning; its energy is too immense and uncontrollable.”

Li Ge: ”Didn’t you say you could create lightning... electricity with a generator!”

Aryan: ”Electricity naturally exists in nature, and European scientists, by studying electricity itself, managed to convert its energy, which is the magnetic field.”

”Magnetic field?” In Li Ge’s ears, it was a new term, yet still hard to grasp. To Li Ge, lightning was ”heaven’s fury,” and the thought of these foreigners trying to control lightning seemed utterly rebellious.

In reality, since ancient times, there have been countless people with a scientific spirit in the Far East, unlike Li Ge, who is superstitious about the theory of the unity of heaven and humanity.

For instance, the Han Dynasty’s ”Huainanzi” suggested that ”Yin and Yang contact to form thunder, and agitation creates electricity.” Although ”Huainanzi” had no evidence-based understanding of lightning, it demonstrated ancient people’s dialectical thinking rather than a blind adherence to Confucian theories of heaven-human interaction.

In the Warring States Era’s ”Gu Liang’s Record,” there are even earlier records: ”Yin and Yang contact, producing thunder, and excitement forms roar.”

Yin and Yang perfectly correspond to positive and negative charges. It’s chilling to think that, with such low scientific technology thousands of years ago, the ancients could have such knowledge. Even if it’s merely a coincidence, it commands respect. But is it really just a coincidence?

Aryan: ”Mr. Li Ge, you shouldn’t be surprised. In fact, the Far East has the telegraph; you just might not be aware.”

Li Ge: ”The Far East has it too?”

Aryan: ”Yes, early this year, the telegraph lines between Hong Kong and Shanghai, and Nagasaki and Shanghai, initiated by the British, Norwegians, Russians, and Danes, are almost complete. The Heixinggen Electric Company is also planning a telegraph line from Shanghai to Jiaozhou.”

Aryan knew about this because he was involved in coordinating the matter. German translators were scarce in the Far East, so the Heixinggen consortium often borrowed personnel from the East African embassy.

When Aryan and the delegation left the Far East, the submarine cable from Shanghai to Jiaozhou had already begun laying. It would directly connect to the Danish-led ”Dan Kingdom Great North Telegraph Company” line, enhancing future connections between East Africa and the Far East through telegraph.

But the information needs to be relayed via Europe, adding an extra step. Still, that’s inconsequential. ”Dan Kingdom Great North Telegraph Company,” headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, although with multinational capital, remains a Danish company.

Setting up telegraph lines in the Far East was known only to high-level officials and some local dignitaries. Small figures like Li Ge were really unaware.

In reality, the Far East government opposed foreign companies laying telegraph lines in their region, but circumstances were out of their control, so they turned a blind eye. The Heixinggen consortium was the most audacious, openly collaborating with Austrian businessmen to invest in the telegraph network focused on Xuzhou within the Huaihai economic zone. Meanwhile, many European regions hadn’t fully popularized the telegraph, making this approach somewhat ahead of its time.

Once the network is completed, whether it can be profitable initially remains uncertain. The current Huaihai economic zone is considered an economically backward area of the Far East, with many impoverished inhabitants who might not afford telegraph services or comprehend such consumption unless this economic zone develops and the telegraph becomes well-known.

Despite the Huaihai economic zone being proposed by East Africa, East Africa itself hasn’t heavily invested. The main funding comes from Austrian businessmen brought in by East Africa. The factories they are building could advance local development, but nobody knows how many years it’ll take for this area to rise economically.

The difficulty isn’t too high, as the investment excludes local government interference, and as long as no foreigners disturb, there shouldn’t be significant issues. Representing the major powers of Germany and Austria, even nations like Britain, France, and Russia must act cautiously.

It’s a profitable deal, needing only time. Initial profitability still depends on whether Xuzhou, a strategic location and north-south transportation hub, can fulfill its function as a pivot city.

Considering the investment enthusiasm from Austrian businessmen, it seems they are optimistic about the project. As the era progresses, the telegraph is bound to spread worldwide. Though the Far East’s average consumption level is not high, its substantial size is promising, and Xuzhou, in the heart of the Central Plains, Zhili, Shandong, Anhui, and Jiangsu, serves as their contact center. Thus, building a telegraph company in Xuzhou should, in all probability, potentially be profitable.

The Heixinggen consortium merely leads the initiative; the specifics are decided by the German Far East Business Alliance.

The Heixinggen consortium’s main focus is strengthening the link between East Africa and the Far East. The initially conceived Xuzhou Telegraph Company is simply an inland information exchange node, focusing also on profitability, while the Huaihai economic zone’s external communication node is in Jiaozhou, which is the sole good port in this area. This forms the backdrop for laying the telegraph line from Shanghai to Jiaozhou.