Chapter 354: The Telegraph
The carriage rolled smoothly along the wide, flat road to First Town, without the slightest bump. The quality of East Africa's roads left the members of the Far Eastern aid mission amazed.
Li Ge turned to Wilichs, the official from First Town's municipal government who had come to receive them, and asked, "Mr. Wilichs, what are those wires strung between wooden poles along the roadside?"
Since Wilichs was Austrian, their conversation required translation from Yalian.
Yalian explained, "Those are telegraph wires used for communication. They connect Dar es Salaam to First Town."
Li Ge asked in surprise, "Communication? Just with those two wires?"
"Yes," Yalian replied, "this is the marvel of science. It might be hard for you to understand the underlying principles, but just know this—thanks to those wires, news from Europe can reach East Africa within a single day."
Li Ge felt like Yalian was insulting his intelligence. If he didn't explain the principle, how was anyone supposed to understand how it worked?
"Mr. Yalian," Li Ge said seriously, "I know you Westerners have developed many inventions—steamships, advanced firearms, all kinds of industrial goods. In that respect, you may be more advanced than we are in the Far East. But that's only because we've not paid enough attention to science before."
Yalian nodded. "Of course, Mr. Li Ge. I was originally from the Far East myself, so I understand. In terms of scientific knowledge, the Far East is indeed quite far behind. Not only is the average person unfamiliar with science—even many officials find things like the telegraph difficult to comprehend."
It was true that the Far East lagged far behind the Germanic regions in education. After all, universal compulsory education was still virtually exclusive to the Germanic world.
Yalian proceeded to explain the basic working principles of the telegraph, and Li Ge was visibly dumbfounded. Having only ever studied Confucian classics, the concept was difficult for him to wrap his head around.
"So you're telling me… you guys created lightning and use it to send messages?" Li Ge asked in disbelief.
"No," said Yalian with a smile. "It's not lightning—just regular electricity. With current science, no one can control actual lightning. It's too powerful and too unpredictable."
"But didn't you say electricity is generated by machines?"
"Electricity already exists in nature. What European scientists did was discover how to convert energy—specifically magnetic energy—into usable electric power."
"Magnetic fields?" Li Ge asked, hearing the term for the first time. He still couldn't quite wrap his head around it. To him, lightning was the wrath of heaven. For these Westerners to think they could manipulate it… it seemed like a serious act of sacrilege.
In reality, the Far East had long produced countless brilliant minds with a scientific spirit—not all of them were lost in mystical beliefs. For instance, the Huainanzi of the Han dynasty proposed that "Thunder arises from the clashing of yin and yang; lightning comes from its agitation." While it lacked scientific evidence, it showed early dialectical thinking about nature—rather than blind superstition.
An even earlier record from the Warring States-era Guliang Commentary noted: "Yin and yang collide, and the resulting force is thunder; when that force intensifies, it becomes lightning."
Yin and yang are surprisingly close to the concept of positive and negative electrical charge. Just imagining that people thousands of years ago could make such a connection—even if by coincidence—was enough to inspire awe. But was it really just coincidence?
Yalian added, "Mr. Li Ge, you don't need to be too surprised. The Far East already has telegraphs as well—you just may not know about them."
"We do?"
"Yes. Earlier this year, Britain, Norway, Russia, and Denmark began laying submarine telegraph cables connecting Hong Kong to Shanghai and Nagasaki to Shanghai. The Hechingen Electric Company is also working on a cable from Shanghai to Jiaozhou."
Yalian knew this because he had personally helped coordinate the project. In the Far East, German translators were rare, so the Hechingen consortium often borrowed staff from the East African embassy.
By the time Yalian and the aid mission left the Far East, the undersea cable from Shanghai to Jiaozhou had already begun construction. Once completed, it would connect directly to the network operated by Denmark's "Great Northern Telegraph Company." This meant East Africa could soon communicate with the Far East by telegraph too—although the signal would have to pass through Europe first, adding a step to the process. Still, that was no major obstacle.
The Great Northern Telegraph Company, based in Copenhagen, had multinational funding, but remained fundamentally Danish.
In the Far East, only top-level officials and certain regional authorities were aware of these developments. People like Li Ge—minor functionaries—wouldn't know.
The Far Eastern government was generally opposed to foreign companies laying telegraph cables in their territory, but practical needs overruled principle. They chose to turn a blind eye.
The Hechingen consortium was particularly brazen, openly bringing in Austrian investors to build a telegraph network centered on Xuzhou, within the Huaihai Economic Zone. Meanwhile, many regions in Europe hadn't yet completed full telegraph coverage. In that sense, it was ahead of its time.
Whether the network would be profitable in its early stages remained uncertain. The Huaihai region was still economically backward, home to many impoverished people who couldn't afford to send telegrams—or even understand why they might need to. Only once the region developed further would such technology gain traction.
Although the Huaihai plan had been proposed by East Africa, the kingdom itself hadn't invested much in it. Most of the capital came from Austrian merchants brought in by East Africa. They had built many factories and could, in theory, drive local growth. But how long that would take was anyone's guess.
Still, the difficulty wasn't insurmountable. Since foreign interference had been eliminated and local officials sidelined, there shouldn't be too many problems—as long as no rival foreign powers interfered. The Huaihai Economic Zone had the backing of two global powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary. Even Britain, France, and Russia would think twice before meddling.
It was a sure-win investment—just one that needed time. Whether it would be profitable early on depended largely on Xuzhou, a strategically vital transportation hub. If Xuzhou could fulfill its role, the rest would follow.
From the enthusiasm shown by Austrian investors, they clearly believed in the project. Times were changing, and telegraphy would eventually spread worldwide. While the Far East didn't have much purchasing power yet, its sheer population size made up for that. And Xuzhou sat at the crossroads of central China, Zhili, Shandong, Anhui, and Jiangsu—it was a natural hub.
So building a telegraph company there was a reasonable gamble—very likely to pay off.
The Hechingen consortium was only playing the role of initiator. The actual operation would be left to the German Chamber of Commerce in the Far East.
Meanwhile, the Hechingen consortium's real interest lay in strengthening communication between East Africa and the Far East. The Xuzhou telegraph company would serve as an inland node for information exchange. Its focus was on profitability. For external communication, the port of Jiaozhou would serve as the region's main international hub. That was the motivation behind laying the Shanghai–Jiaozhou undersea cable.
Get 30% off on my Patreon and enjoy early access to new chapters.
You can also purchase the next 100 chapters of the novel directly from my Patreon page.
Hurry up! The promotion ends on March 2, 2026.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Canserbero10