In the Red Sea, the Royal Cruise of Qingluan.

"As long as two thin metal pieces are connected with wires, the metal pieces will vibrate when one side makes a sound. As long as the metal pieces are connected to the electromagnetic switch, the vibration will generate current in the electromagnetic switch coil..." In the VIP room of the Qingluan, an electric power engineer explained the principle of the telephone to VIPs, including Li Zhaoyu, on the dining table with great interest.

Although Li Zhaoyu has not studied engineering, he has necessary scientific literacy, and the galloping horses around him are completely different from listening to heavenly books.

"As far as I know, I had imagined the phone during the twenty-five years of the empire, but it seems that it has not become a reality now." Li Yongzhong interrupted the engineer.

The engineer said: "Yes, telegraphs were just mature at that time, and the use of electricity gave scientists infinite imagination."

"No, no, no, the textbook is written very clearly, and the phone number was proposed by His Majesty the Supreme Emperor." Li Yongzhong said.

The power engineer did not worry about this, but said: "Yes, but what Your Majesty proposed is an idea, and putting it into practice requires professional scientific knowledge. As for what you said, it has not become a reality. In fact, the existing telephone technology can be practical, but the problem lies in patent competition.

From the beginning, this work was done by private enterprises. Both the sender and the receiver produced dozens of patents, which were complicated. The courts in Shenjing and Nanjing accepted patent lawsuits. They fought for four or five years, but there was no result.

I think this requires the country to come forward. Just imagine if the patent lawsuit is not fought like this, we might have used the phone."

Li Zhaoyu nodded: "You are right, private enterprises always fight incessantly. Necessary competition is necessary, but if the competition is too much, it won't work."

The Qingluan was a ship that Li Zhaoyu went to Europe. When he set off in Shenjing, the ship carried a lot of passengers, among which high-quality people often became the guests of Li Zhaoyu, the royal family, on the long journey.

After dinner, the engineer on the table rested, while the galloping horse was still gnawing a pig's trotter. Li Zhaoyu said: "Running horse, if you are not used to it, you can move freely."

"Some things are interesting to listen to, and you can broaden your horizons, but I don't understand what this person is saying today. However, the zoologist and botanist said something very interesting a few days ago. I didn't even know that the trees and weeds I saw on weekdays can have so many tricks. Science is really amazing.

What a pity, they stayed in India." The galloping horse put down the pig's hooves and said helplessly.

"Actually, I think they are more interesting," said Li Zhaoyu with a smile. After all, he does not have a deep understanding of technology, and Li Zhaoyu also said: "It's a pity that Zhaoming thinks so too."

"If the little prince likes it, you will give it to him. You are such a good brother." Benma said with emotion.

At this time, the alarm bell on the Qingluan was ringing, everyone stopped talking and listened. Someone went to the window to observe the sea. Suddenly, a cannon sound came, and everyone pulled out the weapons they were wearing. With the sound of messy footsteps, the guards rushed in and said to Li Zhaoyu: "We met a ship disguised as the Imperial Navy to intercept our fleet. Master, please come with us."

"Pirates?" Li Zhaoyu asked.

The guards shook their heads: "Maybe, please follow us to the shelter."

Li Yongzhong put away his pistol and said to Li Zhaoyu: "Young Master, I'll go and have a look."

Li Zhaoyu stayed in the safe room for less than ten minutes, and Li Yongzhong came. He smiled and said, "A misunderstanding is the navy's cruiser, the Bald Eagle."

"What's going on?" Li Zhaoyu was indignant and quickly walked onto the bridge. The frigate that accompanied him was already blocking the front, and the coal transport ship had already avoided it. A cruiser in the distance was constantly tying the lights, and Li Zhaoyu didn't understand.

At this time, the attendant and military officer came over and whispered: "The Bald Eagle said it was an emergency and asked us to stop the ship."

"Don't stop the boat first, send a small boat to contact us, and don't let the Bald Eagle get close for the time being." Li Yongzhong immediately ordered.

Soon, a small boat was transported down. On the blue sea, the attendant was sailing towards the Bald Eagle in a boat. Li Zhaoyu kept observing him, but found that the military officer did not board the Bald Eagle, but stopped not far from the Bald Eagle to negotiate. The Bald Eagle took the lead in stopping the ship, the gun door was closed, and the main gun was facing forward at the maximum elevation angle, and installed a cannon jacket, indicating that he had no malice.

"What is the Navy doing!" Although Li Zhaoyu has no military experience, he also knows that the scene in front of him is very unusual.

After a while, the attendant and the military officer returned. After boarding the Qingluan, the attendant and the military officer came to Li Zhaoyu and said, "There is a news from the Bald Eagle, including the Xijin Province and the Suez region, a large-scale plague broke out in Europe and the Middle East. It was when we were docking in Port Aden to contact the navy. King Rong Qiansui ordered the Bald Eagle anchored in Port Suez to block the fleet through the Black Sea Fleet, so they took the initiative to fire."

"When I was in Aden, did I receive a telegram about the plague?" Li Zhaoyu asked.

Li Yongzhong frowned: "It seems that we have received it, but the news we received was that there was a plague in Poland, Prussia and Sweden, and the capital areas of the Ottoman Empire, but we would not stop in these areas, so we didn't take it to heart."

Li Zhaoyu asked the attendant military officer: "Do you know the details of the Bald Eagle?"

"I don't know, they were quarantined in Suez Port for half a month. But they were still worried that there would be plague, so they dared not approach, and the officers on the ship did not dare to come to pay their respects." said the attendant.

Seeing Li Zhaoyu fall into deep thought, he took the initiative to say, "Since the plague is rampant, should we stop going north and turn back?"

Li Zhaoyu shook his head: "I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, how could I retreat because of the plague? I must go to Xijin and set off immediately."

"Young Master, this is too dangerous. If something happens to you, we will not be responsible. Although the Bald Eagle does not know the full picture of the epidemic, the epidemic is coming in full force. It is said that more than 300 people die in Said Port every day, and at least 6,000 people die in Krakow, Poland." The attendant said.

Li Yongzhong knew Li Zhaoyu's temper and could not persuade him. Moreover, this time he went abroad was related to the establishment of the League of Nations, which not only determined the national interests of the empire, but also related to Li Zhaoyu's own political future. This eldest son would not give up easily.

"You immediately inform the Bald Eagle, take the lead in returning to Suez Port, completely martial law, and transfer all ships to the Mingang District. The fleet will not make any supplements in Suez, and dock at the port, so that they can prepare the telegraph lines. As soon as the Qingluan arrives, they will immediately connect with the telegraph plane on the ship.

Suez Port has made good power supply and notified Chief Shaojie to arrive at the port to report the plague situation to the eldest son in a comprehensive manner." Li Yongzhong thought of a safer way and ordered.

Li Zhaoyu knew that this was the best way now. Whether it was taking a risk or turning back, you had to figure out the situation before talking about it.

The Qingluan took two days to arrive at Suez Military Port. After the telegram line was connected, a large amount of information was transmitted in.

The fact is that even if Li Zhaoyu wanted to return, he could not do it because of the explosive spread of the plague. The ports such as Aden and Muscat that had been docked when they arrived were already under martial law at this time, and all military and civilian ports of the Empire around the Indian Ocean were.

The Port of Suez was completely blocked. Any ships coming from the north, whether civilian or military ships were allowed to dock at the Imperial Port. In fact, martial law was already expanding, and the Imperial ports on the Atlantic Ocean had rejected ships from Europe.

This epidemic actually broke out in the thirty-nine years of the empire, and it has been six years since then.

The first recorded plague broke out in Asia Minor in the Ottoman Empire, and then spread quickly toward Europe. On the contrary, the Ottoman epidemic originated from the Ottomans had been controlled. Due to the outbreak of the Great Northern War in Europe, epidemics broke out in various countries around the Baltic Sea one after another, and they were pressed down.

Epidemics occurred in Prussia and Poland, but they broke out in April of the 45th year of the empire and quickly spread to Russia, Ukraine, the Imperial Xijin Province, and then to the Ottoman Empire.

According to Shaojie's report, after the outbreak of the epidemic, the Ottoman nobles and officials of the three cities of the Suez Canal, the Port of Said, the City of Midway and the Port of Suez escaped on a large scale, either returning to their own country or fleeing to the country. The Port of Said is already completely in chaos, while the City of Midway has been taken over by the local chamber of commerce and parliament, and the Canal is directly under Shaojie's military control.

The Suez Canal was basically paralyzed, and the project to expand the canal was forced to stop, but the canal was not blocked. All ships were pulled to isolation on the Dakui Lake on the tugboat sent by Shaojie.

The epidemic in Suez Port has been basically controlled, but the epidemic in Xijin area has not been controlled.

The reason is very simple. Prince Rong, who was in charge of the local area, was trapped. When the epidemic broke out, he inspected the naval fort project and the railway construction on the peninsula connected to Ukraine in Xibin Port, where the Black Sea Fleet stationed. The epidemic suddenly broke out, and some of the servants and officials around him died of plague. Therefore, Li Su was directly isolated in the naval hospital, which directly led to the loss of control of the Xijin Province.

"In Xijin Province, the epidemic is very serious. The whole province and the four nearby appeasement generals have been fully martial law, but the isolation policy cannot be achieved. Rural areas can still be self-sufficient, but there are problems in urban materials and prices have soared.

As for the loss situation in Xijin Province, it is difficult to count. In just one city in Xijin City, 170 people die every day, and the number of deaths is still increasing."

In Shenjing's imperial study room, the imperial front meeting is being held. Although the empire's center has issued orders for border control and customs quarantine, this is to prevent the epidemic from spreading to the empire's Nanyang and local areas. The situation in the Xijin Province, which is at the core of the epidemic, is still not optimistic.

"First of all, the News Bureau and the Security Bureau should work together to conduct comprehensive monitoring of the epidemic. Remember, whether it is official or private newspapers, the seriousness of the epidemic in Xijin is not allowed to be highlighted, but do not conceal it. This time the plague epidemic is called... European plague." At the imperial meeting, Li Junwei took the lead in ordering the cabinet members attending the meeting.

The Xijin Province is an important area for the empire to explore overseas. Sixty percent of the immigrants each year are to go to Xijin, providing more immigrants to Xijin, and more investment is the national policy of the empire. Because everyone knows that Xijin is on the edge of Europe and is the most threatened area among the empire's territories. The stronger the Xijin, the stronger the ability to resist the threats in Europe.

The more prosperous Xijin is, the greater its influence on Europe. Therefore, no one can doubt the Empire's determination to build Xijin, nor can it affect the Empire's Xijin rise strategy. The outbreak of the epidemic will affect the people's enthusiasm for immigrating to Xijin, which is strictly prohibited.

On the contrary, promoting the epidemic in Europe is conducive to internal unity of the empire.

No one has any opinions on the solution proposed by Li Junwei, because this is the fact. The epidemic in Xijin is serious, but that is within the imperial system. Xijin is not serious in the entire Europe. This epidemic originated in the Ottoman Empire and broke out in the countries around the Baltic Sea. The Black Sea where Xijin is located was also affected by the outbreak of the epidemic.

"It is too late to prepare and transport materials, but Xijin needs support." Prime Minister Zhao Wenting whispered. He did not expect that such a large-scale epidemic would break out on the eve of his about to step down. The only luckily is that Xijin, where the outbreak of the epidemic, was nominally a province, but it was actually not controlled by the cabinet at all.

Zhao Wenting said the fact that Xijin now needs doctors, nurses, medical devices and medicines, but it takes time to raise these things, and it takes time to ship them over, and it takes three months to get over them. According to past experience, after three months, either the epidemic is controlled or the epidemic has already broken out to the point where it cannot be controlled.

The word plague seems to be familiar with the imperial history books, but it has another nickname, the Black Death, which is the epidemic that took away tens of millions of people in Europe and also changed the entire world.

"Damn it, the Eurasian Continental Bridge is still in construction." The emperor whispered, scaring Zhao Wenting so much that he lowered his head and dared not speak.

If the Eurasian Continental Bridge Railway is now completed and transported urgently, people and materials will be delivered to Xijin in 25 days, but the Eurasian Continental Bridge has only been less than two-thirds of it. During the construction of this railway, although technical factors are the main restrictions, the Ministry of Finance has been unwilling to provide strong support, which is also an important reason for the postponement of the project.
Chapter completed!