shadow of britain

Chapter 787 Without telegraph technology, I think Belgium would have perished!

Seeing that Leopold showed interest, Arthur quickly pressed his advantage.

“Your Majesty, when we talk about railways today, we are only talking about tracks, locomotives, freight volume, and speed, which is certainly correct. But if we want to turn railways into the source of national development simply by building them, then we cannot only look at the tracks, but also need to consider how to control the railway system. Without a brain, even the strongest person is nothing but a walking corpse, and the electromagnetic telegraph is to the railway system what the brain is to the torso.”

Leopold's brow furrowed; he still didn't understand the connection between the two.

He was certainly not completely ignorant of cable telegraphs, but in his mind, it was just a trendy London fashion item.

Admittedly, this might be very useful for police systems that frequently need to handle emergencies.

Without the help of the telegraph, the criminals who committed the Royal Robbery would certainly not have been caught so quickly at Golden Cross Station.

However, for most people, spending a shilling just to send a "hello" from Regent Street to Hyde Park is still too extravagant an entertainment option.

Perhaps they might try it once in a while, but most of the time, gentlemen and ladies would rather spend twenty minutes walking up to their friends to greet them in person.

Seeing Leopold's confusion, Arthur patiently explained, "You can imagine this scenario: a train departs from Brussels, passing through low hills and lush forests. The carriages carry not only cloth and coal, but also a hundred or so workers returning home from Liège. But no one anticipated that a torrential downpour last night would wash away the embankment near Wawf, causing the sleepers to sink and the rails to deform. According to the current railway company's management methods, once the station keeper discovers the anomaly, he will immediately send someone on horseback to the neighboring station to report it, and then the report will be relayed up the chain of command. The whole process takes anywhere from four or five hours to half a day. By then, the next train might have already collided with it."

Arthur paused, looking at Leopold: "But what if there were telegraph stations along the line? Even a young operator on duty in a small hut could, upon discovering a malfunction, simply knock a few times and send a few beeps of telegraph code, allowing the Brussels dispatch center to react within a minute, immediately halting the train's departure, or ordering it to make an emergency stop at the next safe station. This would not only save time but also save lives and property. Don't think I'm exaggerating; think about what happened at the opening ceremony of the Manchester-Liverpool railway. Poor Mr. Huskeyson, if someone had telegraphed the arrival time of the next train, how could he have been killed?"

Arthur's words were reasonable and well-founded. Leopold raised an eyebrow, pondered for a moment, and then nodded slightly in agreement: "It sounds like... the telegraph could indeed make train scheduling more efficient, but I've heard about its construction costs..."

Arthur knew he would be worried about construction costs, after all, when he went to various railway companies last year to discuss telegraph cooperation, the management of those companies used the same reason to turn him away.

According to Great Western Railway and Manchester-Liverpool, the franchise for station newsstands is negotiable.

But what about setting up a station telegraph station?

Unfortunately, unless the English Electromagnetic Telegraph Company is willing to fund the construction of the lines out of their own pockets and allow them a free trial period of one year after the telegraph station is built, they will have to turn away their customers.

In this respect, Arthur really couldn't do anything about these stingy British railway companies.

Even though he was convinced that telegraphs were crucial to the railway system, the other side didn't see it that way. Besides, from the railway company's perspective, their business was still very profitable even without telegraphs. Therefore, they weren't in a hurry to discuss cooperation with Arthur.

However, Arthur felt that Leopold and Belgium would certainly be interested in the telegram.

Or rather, they must be interested in the telegram because...

Arthur smiled and said, “Your Majesty, the telegraph is the nerves, the railways are the blood vessels, and finance is the heart. Only when these three beat together can Belgium’s industrial lifeline truly function smoothly. You can’t just consider the cost of building telegraph lines. Perhaps the telegraph is not profitable at this stage, but it can save a lot of economic losses. You are a veteran player in the London Stock Exchange and have also spent a long time investigating the railway companies. So you must know that much of the railway transport currently relies on paper ledgers and manual lists. A simple freight coordination may take three days, while the goods themselves can be transported in just six hours.”

And what about with the telegraph? Shippers could send direct instructions from Antwerp to Brussels, temporarily changing the destination of a shipment of Flanders wool. The railway could also adjust capacity in real time, avoiding empty return trips. This wasn't just icing on the cake; it was a cost-reduction measure. Avoiding empty train trips saved not only fuel but also labor and axle wear and tear. Less loss today meant more gain tomorrow, and day after day, year after year, the indirect profits of the telegraph station were no less than those from selling train tickets.

Leopold was somewhat tempted by Arthur's words, so he didn't directly refuse to build the telegraph line. Instead, he asked about the price first: "So... according to the current market price, how much would it cost to build a telegraph line that matches the Brussels-Mechelen railway?"

Arthur was prepared for this. As soon as he heard the question, he calmly pulled his small notebook out of his shirt pocket.

"The Brussels-Mechelen railway is approximately forty miles long. If it is laid out with two lines per mile, along with four signal stations, two telegraph machines, two backup machines, a five-pin six-wire system, batteries and insulation throughout the line... plus labor and maintenance budgets..."

Arthur concisely listed a few formulas in his notebook, then pushed the notebook toward Leopold: "Your Majesty, this is the quote from the English Electromagnetic Telegraph Company: £240 per mile, £9600 for 40 miles."

Although Leopold had long anticipated the high cost of the telegraph system, he was still surprised to hear the price: "Nearly ten thousand pounds?"

Arthur nodded slightly, put away his notebook, and said, half-jokingly and half-deceptively, “Your Majesty, considering that the Brussels-Mechelen railway is forty miles long, we have already offered a considerable discount on the price. Do you know about the Paddington-Side Drayton railway line that the Great Western Railway is building? The telegraph line price for that section is £3270, which is £252 per mile.”

At this point, Arthur added, "Moreover, Your Majesty, I think Belgium's need for telegraph technology is clearly more urgent than that of Britain."

“Hmm…” Leopold took a deep breath, leaned back in his chair, and looked like he was thinking. “Why do you say that?”

Arthur casually remarked, "I just heard you say that Belgium plans to build five railway lines, and each one will go straight to the border?"

"Yes."

Arthur smiled and pressed his advantage: "Then if we had telegraphs, you'd never have to worry about the Dutch again." Arthur's words were a wake-up call for Leopold; he was clearly implying the military potential of telegraphs.

In fact, Leopold had already taken into account the military role of railways when he decided to build a national railway system.

As is well known, Belgium has only been independent from the Dutch for five years, and the Dutch still insist on claiming sovereignty over Belgium to this day.

Leopold still vividly remembers the Ten Days' Battle that broke out four years ago. The Dutch army crossed the border and approached Leuven in just three days, while the Belgian command, hampered by delayed communications from various locations, was unable to deploy the correct forces. If it weren't for the timely intervention of the French army, Leopold might not be visiting London today as the King of Belgium, but rather as a political exile receiving asylum from the British government.

This is why Leopold was so concerned about railway construction.

According to his plan, once the railway line was completed, assuming the Dutch invaded again, he could deploy eight infantry regiments to the Meuse River line within 48 hours. Meanwhile, reinforcements from his French allies could transfer to passenger trains after marching to Mons and be deployed to the Antwerp front within half a day.

Arthur smiled and said, “Your Majesty, if telegraph stations are set up along the railway line, then in the event of a change of situation, it will only take one minute for the alarm to be transmitted from the border outposts to your palace in Brussels. Fifteen minutes later, all the Belgian troops stationed in Antwerp, East Flanders, West Flanders, Wallonia, and Liège will also receive the message. Within twelve hours, your 14 infantry regiments, 3 frigate regiments, 1 guard regiment, and 2 carbine regiments will be mobilized and immediately deployed to the front lines. This rapid mobilization of the army will give you twenty-four to thirty-six hours to react.”

Leopold did not respond immediately; his fingers tapped lightly on the edge of his plate, making a dripping sound.

He remained silent for a long time, as if he were repeating every word Arthur had just said in his mind and weighing its weight.

Finally, Leopold slowly sat up straight, his voice low but no longer ambiguous: "Sir Arthur, you just said that a telegram could send an alarm to the palace within a minute?"

Arthur nodded solemnly and said, "I swear on my honor, and on God."

“Good.” Leopold finally uttered the word: “If the telegraph is as effective as you say, I approve the construction of the telegraph line for the entire Brussels-Mechelen railway, with a budget of £9,600 from the Treasury, and designate the Electromagnetic Telegraph Company of England as the sole contractor. The construction and scheduling authority will be jointly supervised by the Belgian Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of War.”

Upon hearing this, Arthur couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

Arthur was about to agree when Leopold raised his hand slightly: "However, I have a small request. Or rather, a technical condition."

Arthur raised an eyebrow slightly: "Your Majesty, please speak."

Leopold began unhurriedly, the Belgian king speaking as if merely reciting legal statutes: "I fully understand and agree with the quote and plans you just mentioned. However, last year the Belgian Parliament passed a new regulation. According to our Belgian Railway Construction Law of 1834, to obtain a railway franchise or long-term infrastructure contract, the contractor must establish a legal entity within the country and fulfill local tax and registration obligations. Although the telegraph system is not directly involved in railway construction, I think our government is very likely to consider it part of the railway infrastructure. Therefore…"

At this point, Leopold paused, as if afraid Arthur might misunderstand, and reassured him, "Of course, this doesn't mean Belgium is rejecting any foreign capital. On the contrary, we greatly welcome the expertise and construction experience of the English Electromagnetic Telegraph Company. However, for the smooth progress of the project, I hope your company can establish a new company in Brussels or Liège, and sign contracts and manage the telegraph lines in the name of the new company. Only in this way can the Ministry of Finance legally allocate funds to it, and the Ministry of War can better coordinate compatibility solutions between future military and civilian communication systems."

After saying this, Leopold added a slight reminder: "This is not just directed at you. In fact, all the British companies that come to Belgium to help build railways do the same thing. I hope you can understand our country's business practices."

Arthur's smile remained unchanged after hearing these words, and he even nodded slightly.

He had long heard about the restrictions British companies faced when building railways in Belgium, such as the requirement that the steel purchased by the railway company must be supplied by local foundries unless the local iron price exceeded the foreign iron price in Antwerp by 10%.

In order to secure railway locomotive orders from the Belgian government, George Stephenson, the "father of trains," also jointly invested with a local Belgian manufacturing company to establish a joint venture.

"I see……"

Compared to setting up a branch in Belgium, Arthur was more worried about not being able to find a market for the products of the English Electromagnetic Telegraph Company, so as to reverse their ugly cash flow and debt situation.

The Belgians are now willing to contribute £10,000 to help in this emergency, and once the Belgian railway telegraph line is completed, it will likely serve as a model for railway companies in other countries, further boosting product sales.

Compared to these benefits, the matter of setting up a branch office was readily agreed to.

A promise is a promise. If Leopold said the £9600 would arrive soon, then it will definitely arrive.

Arthur couldn't hide his smile at the thought: "Many things, if discussed in London, would involve going through three streets and four doors, and still not knowing which door to knock on. But in Belgium, these rules are crystal clear. If registration is required, you register; if a company is required, you set up a company… Having the rules explained makes one feel reassured. Setting up a legal entity… frankly, that's not difficult. The English Electromagnetic Telegraph Company had already considered setting up an affiliate on the continent, especially in a gateway country like Belgium. From Antwerp, we can see the Netherlands; from Charleroi, we can gaze at France…"

Upon hearing this, Leopold knew that the deal had been reached.

He couldn't help but feel pleased, and with a smile, he raised his water glass and said, "In that case, Sir Arthur, it's a deal then?"

Arthur raised his glass and looked at Leopold solemnly: "Of course, after all, in a country where the monarch personally oversees the application of technology, the efficiency of doing things is bound to be much higher."

(End of this chapter)