Chapter 1 The Unveiling

Ye Tao nodded to the two technicians in standard overalls, who immediately began operating nervously. After opening the wooden crates and removing the cotton wadding, paper scraps, and other packing materials used to absorb impacts, the true contents were revealed. There were a total of seven tin boxes of various sizes in the three crates, along with a pile of wires and metal strips. The technicians skillfully assembled the entire setup while Ye Tao explained everything to Tan Weiran and Chi Lei.

"This is a wireless telegraph machine that hasn't been completely finalized yet. In fact, it hasn't undergone any long-distance telegraph transmission tests, especially with various terrains in between. The longest distance test we've done seems to be from Ganduo to Su Feng City, a straight-line distance of 3,320 li according to the map. But from Ganduo to Tian Meng City, I'm afraid it exceeds 4,000 li. Between Ganduo and Su Feng City, there wasn't much interference because there were no mineral deposits. Here, we don't know if it will work well. Although I hope it can work normally, it's really just a test." Ye Tao explained in detail. When it came to these technical matters, the confidence and certainty he showed always exceeded his capacity as the Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner. Only in these increasingly rare situations could his old friends, who had known him for many years, confirm from the bottom of their hearts that Ye Tao had never changed.

"You mean... we can directly send telegrams from Tian Meng to Ganduo? This... this is unbelievable," Chi Lei stammered, wanting to confirm.

"Yes, theoretically it's possible. Practically... we'll have to wait for the test results," Ye Tao nodded.

"If we can really communicate directly with Ganduo by telegraph... if this thing could be smaller, so that every battalion could have one, then the way we fight battles would be completely changed," Tan Weiran said after a moment of thought, realizing the significance of the wireless telegraph.

"Yes," Ye Tao said, "This is currently one of Dongping's top secrets. If the test here is successful, four or five more units will be shipped here. The several wireless telegraph stations can all communicate with each other."

Research and development of wireless communication began almost immediately after wired telegraphs were first put into use. But now, with the popularity of wired telegraph networks, and with telegraph stations beginning to penetrate into increasingly small administrative units in Dongping, it's no exaggeration to say that telegraphs have changed the lives of the people of Dongping. Dongping's rule over its territories has also become increasingly centralized and efficient with the spread of telegraph networks. Now, when any troublesome problem arises, as long as a telegram is sent to Danyang, instructions from the imperial court can be obtained quickly. Whether in civil administration or military affairs, the central government's control over the entire country, and its authority, has never been stronger. And after these benefits gradually became apparent, Chunnan now also wants to popularize telegraph networks, instead of just having telegraph stations in a few major cities in Chunnan, as is the case now.

Many people don't understand: since there is already such a powerful wired telegraph network, why is there a need for wireless telegraphs? The more things were like this, the more Ye Tao and Tan Weixin felt how valuable their mutual communication was when faced with others' respectful incomprehension. They were both already tired of playing the role of prophets, and they had been successfully changing this era. However, some things can never be easily achieved. For example, in the field of wireless communication, what they saw was that no matter how many years later, the clumsy and inefficient telegraph would definitely be replaced, and there would definitely be things like walkie-talkies. In the future that they probably wouldn't live to see, there should be more interesting and fun wireless communication methods, perhaps the mobile phones they were familiar with? But all of this was based on the fact that people of this era had to skillfully master the technology of microwave carrier transmission signals, and had to persevere in the field of electronics...

The wireless telegraph machine was basically the product of Ye Tao's insistence, but when the first test model was produced, Tan Xiaopei was alarmed. He personally went to Ganduo, and then went to the Ye Family Workshop Research Institute, where he personally verified that the wireless telegraph machine achieved communication over distances of 20 li, 100 li, and 200 li. Afterward, when the communication distance of the wireless telegraph reached 1,000 li, he made a decisive order for 25 units to equip the main forces of Dongping. And this time, the telegraph machine brought to the northeastern frontier was the latest model.

"However, the current telegraph machine is also somewhat less reliable because the distance is too long. So I estimate we'll have to adopt a method of repeatedly sending and verifying to ensure that no transmission errors occur. Especially when sending relatively long telegrams, I'm afraid we'll have to verify them continuously for a day or two. But even so, it's still much faster than our original methods."

"That's natural... I never thought... In the past, the so-called 'military situation changing in an instant across thousands of miles' was just something to imagine, but now, it can actually be done," Tan Weiran sighed.

"This can't be helped. Originally, for operational command, a wireless telegraph with a range of three or four hundred li would be enough to transmit military orders. But once the territory expands to a certain extent, the situation is completely different. A wireless telegraph machine may be an important strategic resource for completely controlling a piece of land. Dongping now has two non-contiguous territories, Tian Meng City and Yazhou. In the future, there will probably be more such places. Without reliable communication, it's really unsettling. As for the issue of reliability, we can only wait for it to improve generation after generation." Ye Tao continued to explain: "Only three of these wireless telegraph machines have been trial-produced. One is in Danyang, one is being installed in Ganduo, and the other is this one. Later, after a few more units are trial-produced, we will try to set up a relay communication station somewhere at sea. Yicheng and Zhenning Pass will also be installed, and then your communication won't have to rely on repeated verification between pairs of telegraph machines. If the telegrams from several places are pieced together, you'll know what you're talking about anyway."

Ye Tao went to Tian Meng City? This was definitely not good news for the Northern Liao. For many years, deployments to assassinate Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, and others had never been interrupted, but success was as difficult as ascending to heaven. And in Tian Meng City, although it was said to be a place closer to the Northern Liao forces, anyone who really understood the situation on this front would not do such useless work. The Northern Liao had pushed themselves into a situation of irreconcilable conflict with the tribes, and had never selected or cultivated any secret agents from the tribes. The people in their own hands and the people from the tribes differed too much in appearance, figure, and so on. The tribes' bizarre dialects would make any secret agent collapse. Now, the Northern Liao did have a dozen or so capable scouts in several hidden locations not far from Tian Meng City, and they were all quite skilled, but wanting to infiltrate Tian Meng City, which was full of tribesmen and Dongping people, was absolutely wishful thinking.

Ye Tao stayed in Jia Men Town for more than a day, and then went to Tian Meng City. Tian Meng City was probably the fastest-built, but also the most expensive city in history. After selecting the site, only a few large brick kilns were built nearby to provide bricks for auxiliary positions in the city's construction. The vast majority of other materials were shipped by boat from Yicheng, and then transported all the way from the port. Considering Tian Meng City as an important fortress city, and the convenience of transportation, the bricks for the city walls were entirely made of special bricks for city walls called "Diamond Bricks," which were the latest research from the Shi family's workshop. The density of this kind of brick was not much different from the red bricks used by ordinary people to build houses, but the hardness was only slightly inferior to natural rock. The successful research and development of this brick made the Shi family extremely excited. From the early years, the Shi family had always closely followed in the footsteps of the Ye Family Workshop, and had spared no effort in cultivating various technicians. The Shi family's brick kiln was established in the second year after they cooperated with the Ye family and began to participate in the Ye Family Workshop's craftsman assessment. Originally, they wanted to take advantage of the booming development of the Ye Family Workshop, especially since Ye's Construction always managed to get the best projects. They wanted to rely on their familiarity to make a small fortune as a long-term outstanding supplier. Ordinary brick materials would naturally not be worth Ye's Construction switching from local brick kilns to their products, but the Shi family spent three years becoming the best supplier of glazed tiles, hollow bricks, refractory bricks, hard bricks, and corrosion-resistant and water-resistant materials in the country. The construction of Ganduo and Danyang relied heavily on the Shi family's brick kilns. The Shi family relied on the technology of glazed tiles and hollow bricks provided by Ye Tao to get started in the early years, but gradually, their technical accumulation in this area had made Ye Tao somewhat speechless. The Shi family now had the most comprehensive sample library of various soils and stones from all over the country, a complete logistics system capable of transporting heavy and extremely large quantities of bricks to all parts of the country, and 1,700 brick kilns of various sizes for producing various sizes of brick materials... Diamond Bricks were perhaps just a normal outburst after this long-term accumulation. And after the birth of this material, orders from the Dongping imperial court alone were enough for the Shi family to be busy for three to five years. It was thanks to this material, which had both suitable hardness and density, that Tian Meng City was able to achieve some scale in just a few months.

Tian Meng City adopted a very special method of construction. It would eventually become a regular octagon. The first to be built were the five-story blockhouses located at the eight vertices, and then sections of the city wall were built between the turrets. After that, were the various facilities inside the city. The design plan for Tian Meng City was made by Zhao Dazhu, whose craftsmanship was so exquisite that it was unbelievable. Although he was probably the worst of his fellow apprentices in terms of urban aesthetics, Tian Meng City was the first time he had been involved in such a large-scale construction project, but his ideas were very simple and practical. After the entire Tian Meng City was built, even the last turret would be able to form a continuous defensive posture. It would not be completely lost because of the fall of a city gate or a part of the city. But when considering the need to build while fighting, Zhao Dazhu had to leave the drainage system, which had now become the norm for new cities, to be carried out after the outer walls were completed. When Ye Tao arrived, six of the eight turrets had been completed, and the city walls and gates facing the Northern Liao had been completed ahead of schedule. Once attacked by the Northern Liao, Tian Meng City could probably only be used as a group of fortresses rather than a city for a comprehensive defense, but from the current point of view, the Northern Liao probably had no chance.