I'll have to update less this month as I'm fully focused on preparing for the November supplementary exam. I only have one month left, so I have to study like crazy! My apologies for that, and please understand.

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For Zhu Youxiao, creating more than 200 configurations was clearly too complex. Not only was it prone to errors during the relay, but it also placed high demands on the staff on the communication tower.

If it is alphabetized, only 26 ways of expressing information are needed; if it is the later Chinese telegraph code, four digits can express a Chinese character; if it is binary coding, only two are needed: 0 and 1.

The simpler, the less likely it is to make mistakes. This was the design principle established by Zhu Youxiao. Obviously, converting Chinese characters into digital codes was more acceptable to ancient people.

For example, in the Chinese telegraph code of later generations, the code for "I" is "2053"; the code for "love" is "1947"; the code for "you" is "0132", and so on.

If confidentiality is taken into consideration, the staff at the signal tower will only be responsible for relaying the signal, and only the staff at both ends will have the "Chinese Character Coding Table" to send and translate.

The military could even use another code to distinguish it from civilian use and keep it more confidential.

As for how to represent the ten numbers, that's simple. It's easier than using wooden poles and cantilevers to create hundreds of configurations.

Zhu Youxiao handed this work over to the Academy of Sciences and introduced it to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce and Yangtze River Chamber of Commerce.

Zhu Youxiao believed that a person's breadth and width of thinking could inspire others and help them improve.

There was a considerable gap between the name of the Academy and the actual work it could do. At least in his opinion, those students had only scratched the surface of the field, and most of them were still stuck in theoretical learning and understanding.

A new communication system will enable students to unleash their talents and achieve breakthroughs in the models and ways of thinking he taught them.

As for why the Chamber of Commerce needed to know, it could be considered an effort to attract sponsorship and investment. Building a communication tower requires money, and the Chamber of Commerce needs fast communications to capitalize on business opportunities.

Based on the principle of whoever invests benefits, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce has taken the lead in logistics, warehousing and transportation in the north. I believe other chambers of commerce will also see the huge potential here.

To put it simply, it is civilian "telegraph communication". Whoever takes the lead will have priority and can create their own code.

For example, if the price of silk in a certain place is high, whoever gets the information first, organizes the transportation first, and delivers the goods to the destination first, will miss the opportunity to make money by the time others catch on later.

This is probably the first time in the world that science has been put into practice to create benefits!

Zhu Youxiao was quite proud of this, whether it was for the emperor's sake or because he truly realized the value of the new communication system.

In any case, the three major chambers of commerce are willing to donate generously to jointly fund the research of the Academy of Sciences, and are willing to undertake the construction of signal towers in the north, Jiangnan and Yangtze River regions.

Now you may be trying to please me and the court, but in the future you will reap the benefits of fast communication and earn tens or even hundreds of times more than your investment.

Moreover, this will be the fastest communication for a long time. At least, there may not be telegraphs in a hundred years.

As an emperor, Zhu Youxiao focused his attention on the entire Ming Dynasty and even the entire world.

It was impossible for him to devote his limited life to endless scientific research, although he felt that in fifty, six, seven or eighty years, he might be able to develop a wired telegraph.

Even with advanced technology, the Ming Dynasty, which was plagued by numerous problems, would not be able to revive its national strength. History has already given the answer to this question, and Zhu Youxiao was also certain of it.

However, the development of science and technology has enabled the Ming Dynasty to stand at the top of the world and compete for more resources in this world where the strong prey on the weak.

As for promoting benefits and eliminating disadvantages, that was Zhu Youxiao's mission. He was not afraid of criticism or stigma, and he continued to move forward unswervingly.

Zhu Youxiao's harshness and ruthlessness towards officials, gentry, and students is one of the most severe in history.

Although not all of them, by the middle and late Ming Dynasty, there were too many bastards in these three groups. It is inevitable that cracking down on them would give people a sense of excessive punishment.

Of course, Zhu Youxiao doesn’t care much about it now. He still thinks he is very kind-hearted!

Look at the nobles in the capital, how many of them share the same fate with the country? Think about what they did when the country was destroyed, it would not be excessive to kill them all.

You're lucky. I'm not as short of money as Chongzhen was, so I'll let you continue to enjoy your wealth and splendor. But this is only temporary. I'm keeping an eye on you. Sooner or later, I'll find your weaknesses and take care of them one by one.

Zhu Youxiao was furious and threw the list of nobles who subscribed to the "Ping Liao Debt" on the table. Compared with their wealth, 10,000 to 80,000 taels of silver was nothing special, and the most subscribed was only 5,000 taels.

This was discussed in advance. The Duke will receive 5,000, the Marquis 3,000, and the Earl 2,000.

Zhu Youxiao sneered and laughed at him.

The intention of just doing it is so obvious that I really don’t know whether they are afraid of showing off their wealth by taking too much, or they think this is already very considerate.

It is true that the Ping Liao War was a successive victory and it was not a critical time. The imperial court was not as poor as Chongzhen to lower its face and ask for donations. The issuance of "Ping Liao Bonds" was not targeted at anyone.

Zhu Youxiao shook his head, thinking it was not worth getting angry with these bastards. With the wealth of the "Eight Great Locust Merchants", it was no longer important how much "Ping Liao Debt" could be issued.

As for the subscription shares of the four major chambers of commerce, Zhu Youxiao did not ask for too much, 500,000 for each and one million for the Yangtze River Chamber of Commerce.

The two million were all invested in Liaodong, including the production, manufacturing and transportation of weapons and ammunition, military salaries and food, and the supply of various materials. It can be said that the funds were used for the designated purpose.

However, the small bonds sold to the middle and lower classes of society are not very ideal at present.

Perhaps it was because the people needed time to understand new things, or perhaps it was because they had no money, or perhaps it was because the court's credibility was not enough. Zhu Youxiao no longer worried about this and let things take their course.

But there was one group that Zhu Youxiao was not prepared to let go, and that was the royal family and vassal states. According to their titles and salaries, Zhu Youxiao drew up a subscription list and quotas, and sent people to force the sale in the form of an imperial decree.

When talking about the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, there was a sarcasm that said "the whole country supports Zhu." The idea was that there were too many vassal states and all the national finances were spent on them.

After checking the information, Zhu Youxiao realized that there were indeed many vassal states in the Ming Dynasty, but the most were not the princes, but there were too many other members of the royal family such as the princes of counties, generals guarding the country, etc.

The Ming Dynasty divided the royal family into eight levels, with the highest rank being prince, of which there are only twenty-seven or twenty-eight left now.

The eldest son of each royal family member can inherit the title, and the second son will be demoted one level. But when it comes to the lowest level of Fengguo Lieutenant, all sons can inherit the title of Fengguo Lieutenant.

In other words, as long as one was a member of the Ming Dynasty royal family, he would at least have the title of Lieutenant of Fengguo.

It is these royal family members, numbering up to 150,000 or 160,000, who are the real burden on the national finances. There are simply too many people in the Zhu family.

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