“There’s a type of machine, based on electricity, that can rapidly transmit information for communication use, so it’s called a communication radio station.”
Ji Shuyan: “You can use electricity?”
He looked at Fu Tinghan in shock. “Won’t that kill you?”
Fu Tinghan: “The ionosphere is very clean now. Radio stations only need about fifteen volts of current to transmit information. This electricity won’t kill people.”
Ji Shuyan heard but didn’t understand. “How can this transmit? How can you guarantee lightning strikes here and also strikes in Chen County?”
Now it was Fu Tinghan’s turn to be confused, completely baffled. “What? What does this have to do with lightning?”
“Without lightning, where does electricity come from?” Ji Shuyan said. “Didn’t you say you’d use electricity to transmit information?”
Actually, as soon as Fu Tinghan mentioned it, Ji Shuyan thought he was talking nonsense. Could you run out during thunder and lightning to greet the lightning and ask it to help transmit a message?
Although he believed immortals existed in this world, he didn’t really believe in Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother in the clouds.
Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t listen anymore. She put down her brush. “The ‘Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters’ records: electricity, the激耀 of yin and yang.” Their understanding of electricity is lightning.”
Although their understanding wasn’t wrong, it fell far short of Fu Tinghan’s definition.
Hearing this, Fu Tinghan quickly pulled the topic back and said to Ji Shuyan, “This doesn’t have much to do with lightning…”
He paused, then changed his words. “Actually it does have some connection.”
Fu Tinghan suddenly understood. They had a chasm-like generation gap between them. For Ji Shuyan to help him, he first needed to accept some new definitions.
He invited Ji Shuyan to sit beside him, pulled over a blank sheet of paper to draw diagrams and explain, telling him what electricity was, what the ionosphere was, and how information transmitted in the ionosphere.
This was an entirely new worldview. Rather than questioning, Ji Shuyan was more curious. “Secretary Fu, where did you learn such knowledge?”
His face showed suspicion he’d been deceived.
Ji Shuyan couldn’t help but look at the other person in the room. After hesitating, he still kindly reminded, “Inspector, Secretary Fu is straightforward. Better not let him meet those so-called half-immortal shamans, lest he be deceived.”
Fu Tinghan pursed his lips, displeased. “Ji Shuyan, even if I’m straightforward, that’s not an intelligence issue. I won’t be deceived.”
Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang laughed heartily. She simply put down her brush and walked over, glancing at the diagram Fu Tinghan had drawn, which showed not only the ionosphere but also electrical waves transmitting through air and ground.
She thought for a moment and explained in terms Ji Shuyan could understand. “Master Ji, people today commonly believe thunder and lightning are controlled by Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother. Though I revere spirits and gods, I don’t believe Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother exist in this world.”
Ji Shuyan nodded slightly. He thought the same.
Zhao Hanzhang: “Then, if there are no Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother, how is lightning produced?”
Ji Shuyan frowned. He’d never considered this question. Most people in the world hadn’t. Perhaps some wondered in their hearts but didn’t think further or conduct deeper research.
Zhao Hanzhang then said, “Tinghan and I both believe lightning is caused by clouds in the sky. When white clouds float, it’s clear. When dark clouds gather, it rains. So certain clouds must carry electricity. When clouds with different electrical charges meet in the air, they collide, like two hot-tempered people bumping shoulders. A major conflict erupts. The light produced is what we call lightning, and the sound is thunder.”
“At that moment, electricity in the air explodes, growing more intense, creating a huge difference in electrical potential with the ground. Like Han and Jin—when one nation’s power is too strong and the other’s is weak, the stronger will crush the weaker. Heaven and earth operate the same way. So lightning from the sky strikes the ground. In severe cases, buildings collapse and people die.”
Ji Shuyan slapped his thigh and praised loudly, “The Inspector is brilliant!”
Fu Tinghan: …He had just explained electrical potential difference too.
Zhao Hanzhang turned to smile at Fu Tinghan and continued with Ji Shuyan. “So, there is electricity in the air. Master Ji understands this point now?”
Ji Shuyan nodded.
Zhao Hanzhang then beckoned to Ting He, taking a pearl from her hair and holding it before Ji Shuyan. “What Secretary Fu mentioned, there’s a type of shortwave that can transmit through the air, like this pearl. Suppose it’s a shortwave. We slap it down, it touches the ground and bounces, falls again, bounces again… traveling from this landing point to that place.”
Zhao Hanzhang waved at Ting He, who immediately ran over to retrieve her pearl, then pricked up her ears to listen.
“What we need to do now is research a type of machine that can emit shortwaves that transmit through the air. They’ll fly up to the ionosphere, which exists between one hundred twenty li to four thousand li above ground. The radio waves we emit will transmit within this range, then fall to the ground, bounce back up to the air, continue transmitting, bounce again…”
“Like that pearl, repeatedly, finally transmitting a thousand li away,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “That same machine can capture those electrical waves, allowing us to know information from a thousand li away.”
Ji Shuyan still had a belly full of questions. He heard but didn’t quite understand, so he asked, “Can that machine let us hear sounds from a thousand li away?”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, then paused. “Not speech, but this.”
She curled her fingers to tap the tabletop and said to him, “If you and I agree that three long and one short means danger, three short and one long means leaving, this becomes our code. Telegraph is the same. We can decode received electrical waves according to code. This becomes information.”
Ji Shuyan still doubted. “Inspector, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but is this really true?”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled and nodded.
Ji Shuyan didn’t speak.
Fu Tinghan sighed. “If you don’t believe it, follow me in building this machine and you’ll know.”
Ji Shuyan suppressed his inner excitement. “I’m willing to build it with you. What do we do first?”
Fu Tinghan: “We need to prepare materials first…”
Seeing they could finally cooperate, Zhao Hanzhang turned to handle her official documents.
The telegraph wouldn’t be made in a short time. It was just a research project. Fu Tinghan would work on research after finishing his busy tasks. Zhao Hanzhang occasionally came to help.
Compared to Ji Shuyan, Zhao Hanzhang better understood what Fu Tinghan wanted, so they cooperated seamlessly.
Ji Shuyan initially placed himself on the same level as Fu Tinghan, but gradually sank lower. Now he brought a small notebook daily to stand behind Fu Tinghan as an apprentice. Oh, when Zhao Hanzhang came, he followed behind both of them, their apprentice.
After Fu Tinghan finally made electrical wire and a generator, letting Ji Shuyan experience being shocked, he finally believed they were indeed doing something very remarkable.
By this time, they had been besieging Meng County for sixteen days. Only two days remained until the counterattack time Zhao Hanzhang had set.