The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 1065 Shock
Tao Yanbai quickly pulled the third prince out, while Miaohe followed behind with a couple of hums.

Tao Yanbai explained to the Third Prince, "This is a relay station. You don't have anyone to send messages, so what's the point of going in here?"

"What kind of electric station?"

Tao Yanbai thought about it and realized that since everyone else had entered the Central Plains, the matter of sending a telegram should not be kept secret.

Thanks to Pan Yun, every county in the Ming Dynasty now has a telegraph station. Even the most remote and poorest places have a telegraph machine installed near the county government office for people to use for sending messages.

The junior uncle said that this is a project that benefits the people, and they have to do it even if it means losing money.

Since it can't be hidden, it's better to be honest and tell the truth, which can also intimidate the other party: "The telegraph station is a place where messages are transmitted by telegraph. You can send out what you want to say with a telegraph machine, and in an instant, someone thousands of miles away can receive it and then translate it into text and send it to the recipient."

The third prince looked confused, listening but not understanding.

After thinking for a moment, Tao Yanbai pulled the third prince inside and told the people in front of him in line that it was their first time here and they just wanted to take a look, and they wouldn't be sending out telegrams.

The people in line immediately showed understanding and generously let them pass.

There wasn't just one person in the room, but five. Only one person was at the counter, holding a piece of paper and some money, while the other four stood in front of the two scholars, whispering what they wanted to say.

Telegrams need to be concise.

The telegraph machine was donated by Pan Yun, but the clerks at the telegraph station were all appointed by the imperial court.

Each post station had at least one telegraph operator, usually two, and also two or more scholars to help people simplify the information they wanted to convey.

At first, the counties were very troubled. First, they didn't have telegraph operators.

Second, the addition of four new positions has increased administrative expenses and placed an excessive burden on the county government.

Later, the Imperial Academy in the capital urgently trained batches of talent and sent them to various prefectures and counties, where these talents then trained other talents.

These talents were mostly officials or the sons and grandsons of officials selected from various county governments, as well as those who were literate, clever, and of good character selected from the countryside.

Although the Ming Dynasty used the imperial examination system, traces of the recommendation system still existed among the common people. Every few years, local authorities would report on filial sons or people of high moral character, publicizing their shining qualities and calling on the people to learn from them. This was one aspect of education.

The imperial court was happy to reward these people and gave them preferential treatment in various ways.

These people were selected to go to the prefectural capital to learn how to send telegrams from the talents who came from the capital. Those who performed well were directly employed as officials, while those who performed poorly were either put on the waiting list, sent home, or continued to study with their teachers.

There is a popular saying that as telegraph opportunities increase in the future, telegraph operators will always be in short supply. If they can learn this skill, they will never have to worry about making a living.

Because it was a public service project, the government office set a low price: two coins per character.

However, for ordinary people, two coins per word was not cheap. Telegrams were only used in emergencies; otherwise, communication was still the primary means of communication.

There weren't many literate people in the Ming Dynasty, and they often spoke without a clear point, let alone concise information. Therefore, the telegraph stations needed people to provide them with concise information.

Some wealthy government offices, needless to say, directly assigned people to the posts, but government offices in poor and remote areas did not have the resources to do so. They could only post notices, asking interested scholars to set up tables and stalls at the telegraph stations, and asking each person who came to send a telegram to pay an extra coin to the telegraph station.

Of course, if the people who come can simplify their lives themselves and do not need scholars, then they do not need to pay this penny.

A single character costs two coins. If a scholar can help them cut a single character, they earn a penny back. Therefore, most people are willing to spend a penny to have a scholar help them simplify the text.

At this moment, the middle-aged man who had previously been dressed in tattered clothes and blocked the third prince from entering walked in and spoke at length to the scholar.

He wanted to send a telegram to his son, who had come from out of town to make a living. He was working as a manager for a caravan, but he fell ill halfway through the journey. The caravan couldn't take care of him, so they left him there. He spent most of his savings on medicine and treatment, and what was left wasn't enough for him to return home. He wanted to stay and work until he had enough money to go back, but he was cheated out of all his money and even ended up in debt.

Fortunately, he was well-liked and managed to get a job by going back and forth between several businesses. He earned a little money and then hurriedly sent a telegram.

He wants his son to send him money to pay off the remaining debts and cover his travel expenses to get home.

The scholar listened patiently, pen in hand, until the man finished speaking before asking, "How much do you want?"

The middle-aged man held up two fingers and said, "Twenty taels."

A poor family can afford to travel more; twenty taels of silver is enough for a family of three to spend for a year. But if one is traveling, it's only enough for one person to get home.

The scholar wrote three words on the paper: money, twenty, urgent.

The middle-aged man took it blankly: "Just... just three words?"

The scholar said, "Three words are enough."

He could write 800 words of rambling ramblings. Would he dare to write it? Would he dare to publish it?

The middle-aged man looked at the three characters carefully. He could read, and the more he looked, the more he felt that it was a perfect match. So he happily paid him a penny, took the slip, and went forward to give it to the telegraph operator.

The telegraph operator was a young woman. She glanced at the telegraph and said, "Six coins."

The middle-aged man immediately counted out six coins for her.

The telegraph operator then asked him for the specific address to which the message was to be sent and the name of the recipient. Only then did he adjust the channel, tapping rapidly with his fingers. After a short while, he picked up a pen, circled the message on the telegraph form, stamped it with a red seal, and handed the form back to him, saying, "You can come to the telegraph station next door to collect your mail in three days."

The middle-aged man happily agreed.

After receiving the message, the telegraph station in his county town would translate it into a telegram and then send someone to notify his family to pick up the letter. Generally, even in remote villages, a reply would arrive within three days.

However, since his home is in the county town, he thinks his son will receive the letter by the evening at the latest, and he will receive a reply from the other party tomorrow.

Tao Yanbai was quite honest and translated their conversation to the Third Prince one by one.

The Third Prince finally understood the function of the telegraph station. He looked incredulous and was still somewhat dazed when Tao Yanbai pulled him outside: "How could someone thousands of miles away receive a message just by clicking a few times? Is this some kind of magic?"

Tao Yanbai: "There are indeed magical techniques in this world that can transmit sound and messages over long distances, but these are not magical techniques, they are technology."

The third prince still looked incredulous. "I don't understand, Tao Yanbai. Can you tell me the principle behind it?"

Tao Yanbai: "No, this is a secret of the Ming Dynasty. How could an ordinary person know?"

The third prince, thinking he didn't understand the principle, frowned and asked, "If I want to learn this principle, who should I ask?"

“The Imperial Academy,” Tao Yanbai said. “The Imperial Academy has a telegraph department.”

The third prince seemed to be deep in thought.

All the way from Luoyang to the capital, the Third Prince had no intention of retaliating against the Ming Dynasty. All he could think about was how wonderful and amazing the things were. He wanted to learn them and get them!

The third prince whispered to his confidant, "We must send a message to our elder brother, telling him that the Ming Dynasty is too powerful and we can't defeat them. We should learn from their strengths first."

(End of this chapter)