Chapter 51 The first of its kind in communication services

In modern China, learning from advanced western science and technology and establishing modern communication services such as telephones and telegraphs was also an important part of the Westernization Movement.Its initial advocates were Shen Baozhen, Ding Richang and others, but it was Li Hongzhang who implemented it first. It was after the Second Opium War that the telegraph really entered the Chinese people's field of vision.After the war, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries, in order to use the telegraph as a brand-new communication tool, improve the speed and efficiency of government orders and military information, and strengthen further aggression and control over China, they unanimously proposed the laying of wires in China. This unreasonable demand became the focus of attention in the negotiations between China and foreign countries for a while.

Knowing nothing about telegraph wires, the Qing government resorted to its usual mediation tactics and sternly refused.The Englishman Hurd, who was the Chief Taxation Officer at the time, wrote the famous "On the Sidelines" on the pretext of offering advice and suggestions for the imperial court, and strongly advocated that electric wires should be generally laid across the country.The Qing government was full of doubts and fears, and secretly wrote to the big officials in Xinjiang to discuss countermeasures, but most of the big officials in Xinjiang firmly opposed it.Chong Hou, the Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Three, believed that the laying of electric wires was of no benefit to China, but would cause endless harm; Li Futai, the governor of Fujian, even regarded the telegraph as a scourge, saying that it disturbed the people and disturbed the customs.Only Li Hongzhang, then governor of Jiangsu, put forward the idea of ​​making the best use of the situation.He believes that foreigners are so active and enthusiastic, and they can't stop them if they forcefully insist that they are not allowed to set up wires.Copper wire is not expensive, and it is better to organize it yourself than to let outsiders control it.

Starting from this understanding, Li Hongzhang personally destroyed the wires laid by foreigners in China.In 1865, the British Consul in China, Bacharley, proposed to Li Hongzhang to lay the Songhu power line, but was declined.The British businessman decided to cut the battle first and then lay the wires for dozens of miles in Pudong secretly.When the news came, Li Hongzhang decided to treat him in his own way, and secretly ordered the Shanghai county magistrate to mobilize the villagers to pull out all the wires laid by British businessmen overnight.After dawn, the British businessmen saw the telephone poles that were still standing beside the road yesterday, but they disappeared overnight.Because it is a private establishment, there is no way to sue the officials, so the dumb man can't tell the pain of eating yellow lotus.

In 1874, Japan launched a war of aggression against Taiwan.Due to the backwardness of communication tools, the Qing government had no information. Before the war, it was only heard from foreigners that Japan would attack Taiwan. Shen Baozhen, the imperial envoy, discussed the deployment of troops with Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang minister stationed in Zhili, through letters. It took a month to initially determine the battle plan. It has been three months since the preparations for the mobilization of soldiers and the departure of ships have been completed.The delay of the military plane is doomed to an unfortunate end to the war.This greatly stimulated Shen Baozhen, who made him oppose the laying of electric wires at first, and then resolutely supported Li Hongzhang's proposition. He compared the telegraph to the Great Wall and proposed laying a line from Fuzhou to Tainan via Mawei and Xiamen.The Qing government approved Shen Baozhen's suggestion, but did not pay due attention to it.In addition, the atmosphere at that time was not open, and officials at all levels did not understand the great role of the telegraph. On the contrary, most people believed that laying wires to develop telegraphs would make the invasion of foreign powers more convenient; .In the end, Shen Baozhen's grand plan to build a line in the southeast failed to materialize.

While the Qing government was arguing over the laying of electric wires, the foreign powers stepped up their efforts to bring telegraphs into China.In 1870, the British laid wires between Hong Kong and Shanghai.The Zongli Yamen, which specializes in Western affairs, responded negatively, allowing foreigners to lay water lines, but still opposed the laying of land lines. Shen Baozhen opposed this negative policy, thinking that since the laying of wires by foreigners could not be resisted, it is better to base itself on the reality and start a telegraph business by itself.He actively appealed to Li Hongzhang to initiate this matter, and wrote in a letter to Li Hongzhang: From Tianjin to Shanghai, and then to Guangzhou, all foreigners set up telegrams.Foreigners have all the information in foreign countries but I don’t know it, so it can be explained; however, domestic information is all in the hands of foreigners but I don’t know it, how can it be justified?

Finally, Li Hongzhang changed his attitude in 1879, believing that the telegraph business was not only of great significance to the prosperity of the country, but also a necessary means to strengthen the army.He once said: In the way of using soldiers, speed must be the most important thing.Without the permission of the Qing government, he once erected a 40-mile-long military power line between Dagu Beitang Haikou Fort and Tianjin, thus accumulating certain practice for the large-scale telecommunications business in the 1880s experience. In September 1880, Li Hongzhang reported that the telegraph was beneficial to defense and facilitated communication, and reported to set up a wire from Tianjin to Shanghai, so that the north and the south could communicate with each other.Because Li Hongzhang made clear the reason for erecting the Tianjin-Shanghai power line, and because the importance of telegrams in defense and foreign affairs negotiations was increasingly revealed, the Qing government quickly approved the request, and ordered the preparations to be made quickly.Therefore, Li Hongzhang established the Tianjin Telegraph General Bureau in 1880, appointed Sheng Xuanhuai as the general office, and set up seven branch offices.After several years of hard work, a telegraph network capable of reaching half of China was preliminarily formed.In 1881, Li Hongzhang accepted Sheng Xuanhuai's suggestion, followed the method of China Merchants Steamship, raised business shares, and decided to build the Tianjin-Shanghai land line by himself.In the same year, the Tianjin-Shanghai land line was completed, which greatly facilitated the communication of information between the north and the south, and the transfer of troops and salaries.In addition, Li Hongzhang successively set up many military lines on the grounds of strengthening defense.Such as Tianjin-Lushunkou line, Yingkou-Shengjing line, Fengtian-Jilin line, Fuzhou-Taiwan line, Xinjiang North-South Line, etc.

In short, from the early 1880s to 1895, after more than ten years of construction and expansion, China's telegraph (telecommunication) business has made great progress.A telegraph network with a wide distance and a breathable breath has been initially formed.The telegraph office not only undertakes domestic business, but also runs a telecommunication network for foreign communication, and its scope continues to expand. In the 1890s, the Telegraph Bureau became a new type of enterprise second only to China Merchants Steamship Co., Ltd., with business covering all provinces in the north and south.Li Hongzhang said excitedly: In the past five years, China has built more than 10,000 miles of electric wires in the provinces along the river and the coast.At that time, the legal person was provoking, the general reported the military situation, and the court conveyed instructions, all of them moved at the camera without any hindrance.Since ancient times, China has never used troops so rapidly.The envoys and ministers exchanged questions and answers, morning and evening, separated by thousands of miles, as if living together in a courtyard.The establishment of telegrams kills three birds with one stone, which not only prevents foreign aggression, but also strengthens national defense, and is also beneficial to business.

It must be noted that Li Hongzhang was not a mercantilist. His original intention of organizing the telegram was not to revitalize commerce, but to strengthen national defense.Li Hongzhang worried that the telegraph office would spend too much all the year round, and it would be difficult to survive solely relying on the government, and that the official operation might compete with the people for profit, because it mainly adopted the form of commercial operation and government-supervised commercial operation.Undertaking by businessmen allows the government to reap the benefits without spending huge sums of money and reduces risks; the necessary protection and support from the government can encourage business sentiment and enhance the confidence of businessmen to invest in shares.

In addition, the self-organized telegraph business headed by Li Hongzhang faced greater difficulties in introducing foreign capital, advanced technology and management experience.On the one hand, it is necessary to introduce truly advanced technology, and on the other hand, it is necessary to prevent outsiders from interfering in China's internal affairs.Li Hongzhang finally chose the Danish Great Northern Telegraph Company as the partner. The Great Northern Company was the first foreign company to lay wires in China, and technology was not a problem; Denmark is a small European country, which is easier to control than Russia, Britain, France, and the United States.Li Hongzhang was very happy to cooperate with Dabei Company. He once awarded the third-class third star of the imperial gift to Heng Ningsheng, the host of Dabei Company.Under the operation of Li Hongzhang, the Qing government transferred the 20-year sea line patent to Dabei Company, and Dabei Company assisted in the establishment of China's telegraph business.

Since then, the telegraph industry in modern China has developed.