In the 49th City, in the Academy of Sciences, after a short period of time, Cheng Nuo summoned everyone from the School of Applied Engineering to a meeting.

"What, a radio contract worth £200,000?! Comrade Dean, you didn't say the wrong number, did you? ”

Although Nikola Tesla is nominally the president of the Academy of Applied Engineering, where Cheng Nuo, the president of the Academy of Sciences, is there, out of respect, these people prefer to call Cheng Nuo the president directly.

But now after hearing Cheng Nuo's offer for the radio contract, he was still taken aback, and the excited person stood up directly and asked.

"Comrade Dean, that's 200,000 pounds, do we really want to fight for this order?"

Cheng Nuo didn't answer in a hurry, picked up the tea on the table next to him and tasted it slowly, and waited until everyone had almost digested the news, then put down the teacup and set his eyes on Tesla.

Obviously, Cheng Nuo wanted to hear the opinion of the president of the Academy of Applied Engineering first.

"As early as the 60s of the last century, the Englishman Maxwell proposed the electromagnetic field wave equation, which theoretically predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves." Surprisingly, Tesla stood up to state his point of view in fluent Chinese.

But when you think about it, it's unexpected and reasonable.

With his personal talent for language, he has been in China for so long, and he plans to develop for a long time, so learning a new language is naturally not something that ordinary people can measure.

Seeing that everyone was attracted by his words, Tesla secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and then said: "In 1887, the 23rd year after the electromagnetic field wave equation was proposed, Hertz, a German, detected electromagnetic waves in experiments and measured their propagation speed, confirming Maxwell's electromagnetic wave theory.

Since then, electromagnetic waves have begun to be used in communication links, such as the Italian Marconi and the Popov of the Hairy Bear Country, who made radio wave transmitting and receiving devices, and gradually expanded the communication distance of radio waves, so they were called the 'father of radio' by their respective countries. ”

Internationally, the recognition of the "father of radio" is controversial, mixed with some ideological disputes.

Among them, Popov from Maozi developed the first practical radio receiver in 1894 and presented his invention the following year at the Petersburg Physics Branch of Scientists.

Later, after another year, Popov used his own radio transceiver to successfully perform the wireless transmission of Morse code, which was the first wireless telegraph in human history, and was therefore recognized by Mao Zi as the "father of radio".

At the same time, on the basis of the invention of his predecessors, Marconi successfully developed radio communication equipment, realized the transmission and reception of long-distance radio waves, and successfully applied for a patent for "a method of transmitting signals with the help of electrical impulses".

Later, Marconi further improved communication equipment and antennas, realized the first international wireless signal transmission from France to England, made radio waves cross the Atlantic, and created the era of human radio communication, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909.

It's a pity that the two sides seem to start at the same starting line, and they have achieved good results one after another, but it's a pity that Popov's life is too short, coupled with the special background of the times, the gap continues to widen, and in a special period, it has become a weapon for the red and blue camps to attack each other.

Seeing that the background was almost introduced, Cheng Nuo stood up and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Tesla said very well, but I want to add here that I don't know much about Popov-style China, but the Marconi spark wireless telegraph was introduced in the Beiyang Fleet as early as possible, and this is our next main opponent." ”

Shi Jin, one of the backbones of the Engineering Academy, couldn't help but say loudly: "Where do you start talking about this?" Does it have anything to do with the £200,000? If that's the case......"

"What if that's the case?" Seeing a friend he hadn't seen for a long time, the corners of Cheng Nuo's mouth couldn't help but rise: "Shouldn't it be too little, don't you look down on the 200,000 pounds?" Just in response to the old saying, don't be impressed for three days! ”

"Let's talk about it first, this is said by you, the dean, and it has nothing to do with me." Shi Jin hurriedly shook his head, and said with words in his mouth: "200,000 pounds, that's really a lot of money, if you can really get it, then our college not only has funds for bicycle mass production,

You can also study some agricultural machinery, and Guo Shouchun's wish is fulfilled, he stays in the field all day long, and the calluses on his hands are old and thick, which really makes you feel distressed. ”

Hearing this, Cheng Nuo wanted to directly say that a large amount of funds would be allocated to the research of tractors, but due to the reality, he was afraid that he would not be able to fulfill his promise now and would not be able to fulfill it in the future, which would make these comrades even more disappointed.

It's not a lack of money, or it's on the way to a lack of money, it's difficult.

Cheng Nuo sighed in his heart, and then said: "I'll just make it clear, the Beiyang government is ready to sign a radio station contract worth 200,000 pounds with Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, and we are ready to cut off this contract......

Before the words fell, there was an immediate uproar in the conference room, talking about the possibility of operating this matter.

Even if the Beiyang government is not very recognized, in the face of this kind of thing, there are obviously more people who are eager to try, and the main direction of the discussion is where to make a breakthrough.

Just as everyone was in full swing, one hand was raised alone, and then it was also raised.

They are Wu Yulin, one of Cheng Nuo's friends, and Tesla, the head of the Institute of Applied Engineering.

After getting permission, Wu Yulin stood up and hit the nail on the head and said: "Comrade Dean, this pie worth 200,000 pounds looks very tempting, but in fact, its filling, that is, this 200,000 pounds, may not be able to get the full amount, right?" Otherwise, they would not have defaulted on the salaries of the faculty and staff of Peking University next door. ”

Tesla also added later: "Whether it is at home or abroad, I have dealt with the public of various countries a lot, 200,000 pounds will definitely not be as simple as we imagined, and even an empty glove white wolf is definitely possible." ”

After pouring cold water several times, the scene immediately fell silent, all staring at Cong Cheng Nuo, wanting to hear the answer to this question from his mouth, telling them that this worry was unnecessary.

Looking at everyone, Cheng Nuo shook his head: "I'm sorry, even if the Beiyang government signs a contract with a foreigner, it is essentially an advance contract." ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone's faces could not hide their disappointment, they stayed in Sijiu City all day, they knew too well what that group of people was, if Cheng Nuo and they really had the ability to snatch the contract from the Italians, it would be difficult to get paid normally from the public.

Delinquency is the norm, and non-delinquency is news.

Cheng Nuo had expected this, and without waiting for the negative emotions to ferment, he quickly added: "There is another thing that happened in the public office in a short period of time, which is also related to the communication project, that is, Beiyang has just signed a contract with the Japanese for an expanded telephone loan worth 10 million yen, if the two things are performed at the same time, do you know what it means?" ”

Shi Jin stood up and replied directly: "It means that we have all been decided by foreigners in the field of national communications!" ”

"That's very true, and it's a key point for us people to pay attention to." motioned for his friend to sit down, and Cheng Nuo generously stated: "What if...... What I'm saying is that if one day we clash with these powers again by force, the enemy who holds the lifeblood of our communications will cut it off.

At that time, the soldiers will not receive orders, the commanders will not be able to give instructions, and they will become headless flies on the battlefield, so how will we win this war? This is a question that we need to consider carefully! ”

After a while, everyone was speechless, but judging by his expression, he obviously listened to this.

No one wants to give their lifeblood to someone else, and this person obviously has bad intentions.

No, Cheng Nuo was afraid that the words would be too heavy, which caused the hearts of the comrades below to be completely dispersed, and then continued: "Of course, although 200,000 pounds is relatively empty, it will definitely not let us run in vain, more or less in exchange for some benefits, the key is how we operate." ”

Shi Jin nodded, patted his chest and said: "Don't worry, we have long been accustomed to these things, if we are defeated like this, there is no reason for our classmates to come back after studying thousands of miles away, what we fight for is this indomitable tenacity, Lao Wu, you are right?" ”

"Although Lao Shi usually speaks out of tune, what he said today is absolutely reasonable, and I agree with both hands." In order to match what he said, Wu Yulin directly raised his hands: "I believe that this is not my personal opinion, but the opinion of most comrades in the entire Academy of Applied Engineering." ”

Tesla was silent for a moment, and finally stood up and said, "First of all, I support it; Secondly, there are no technical problems; In the end, I think we can win! ”

After saying this, he sat back down.

The people below were stunned for a moment, and then immediately burst into warm applause, among which Cheng Nuo's hands were the loudest.

In the second half of the meeting, Cheng Nuo led everyone to discuss some details, and after the division of labor was made, everyone was dismissed.

Just as Tesla was about to pack up his things and prepare to leave, he was stopped by Cheng Nuo, and it seemed that he still had something to explain.

Watching the two whispering, Shi Jin made a special trip to wait for the last person to leave, and closed the door carefully, but he didn't expect to be hit by his friend Wu Yulin as soon as he left the door.

"Oh, I'll go, Lao Wu, what are you doing here, this scared me a lot, what are you doing, don't hurry home to accompany your brother and daughter-in-law, you deserve to be complained about when the time comes." Shi Jin clutched his chest and cursed.

"Hey, I'm happy to be complained about, it proves that someone cares about us, unlike someone, who doesn't even turn on the light when I go back." Seeing that the anger on his friend's face was getting more and more wrong, Wu Yulin hurriedly cut off the topic at the right time, and glanced at the door and said, "Hey, did you hear anything?" ”

Shi Jin snorted coldly: "I'm not the kind of person who eavesdrops on the foot of the wall, but then again, the probability that they discussed is a technical problem, I didn't see that the work was divided when the meeting just started, but the specific technical direction was not mentioned, I estimate that Zhiyuan has not made up his mind yet." ”

Wu Yulin nodded: "What you said is also reasonable, it is estimated that there will be a specific technical plan after the discussion." ”

It's a pity that although the two of them are members of the Academy of Applied Engineering, they don't know much about radio, and they communicate head-to-head, and they don't have a clear idea, so they can't help but be a little discouraged.

"I remember that before we went abroad, we read an article in the "Shiwu Bao", which talked about 'radio sound', I don't know if you still have an impression?" Wu Yulin frowned, and meditated bitterly: "At that time, we were still circulating it to each other, but now we can't think of anything. ”

"At that time, I was still very impressed, and a few students were ready to choose radio directly when they applied for their majors." Shi Jin habitually scratched the back of his head and said, "It seems that radio is also called 'wonderful art', there should be such a thing, right?" ”

"Yes, yes, there's such a thing." Recalling the past, Wu Yulin sighed with a sigh on his face: "It is said that women are afraid of marrying the wrong man, and men are afraid of entering the wrong industry. ”

Shi Jin hurriedly waved his hand and said: "What's the use of saying this now, at the moment we have two jobs, one is to do a good job of the bicycle in our hands, so that there will be no big mistakes in mass production in the future, and the other is to follow Mr. Tesla's side, learn these radio knowledge, and always feel that it can be combined with the car." ”

was touched by this remark, Wu Yulin also said thoughtfully: "Hiss~ If you look closely, it seems that there is really a certain possibility, the radio is really a good thing, why didn't we find out earlier?" ”

"Let's go forward, don't just push the door and come out of it when we're talking, it's too embarrassing." Shi Jin pointed forward and motioned to leave this place: "This is not only you, in fact, everyone has not had much contact, as far as I know, it is the Gu family house in the French Concession that only has this thing." ”

Wu Yulin's eyes narrowed slightly: "In this way, I have some impressions, it seems that from today onwards, the Gu family can receive news from France, Germany and the United States." ”

Shi Jin said: "Isn't it just that the news about the progress of the war in Europe can be transmitted directly to China through the Gujiazhai radio, and the Reuters news, which originally took four or five days or even longer to be transmitted to China through the submarine cable, can now be obtained as soon as possible." ”

Historically, because of the radio in Gu's house, many newspapers and periodicals in Shanghai opened a column called "Radio France" to report special news on the European war, and the audience also praised Gu's radio station as "the brilliance of the telegraph industry."

Speaking of this, the two looked at each other in unison, and their eyes were moving.

"Do it?"

"Why not?"

"Okay, let's wait for Mr. Tesla to come out, and we have to learn this ability desperately."

……

Inside the house, Cheng Nuo didn't know anything about the situation outside, and was still preparing to pour water for Mr. Tesla.

"White water or tea?" Considering the differences in living habits between each other, Cheng Nuo deliberately asked: "If it's white water, I still have cold here." ”

"Thanks, now I prefer hot tea." Without the slightest hesitation, Mr. Tesla gave his answer directly: "Now I have said goodbye to my previous self, and I like the state here." ”

Cheng Nuo was a little surprised, but then he was more happy, and the words later were more convenient to say: "That's the case, Mr. Tesla, I want you to go back...... No, it's a trip to the United States. ”

Tesla took the tea and said puzzledly: "Now this is my home, why do I still want to go to the United States, aren't you going to ask for me?" ”

"No, no, no, I think you're misunderstood." Cheng Nuo hurriedly sat next to him and explained: "Although the 200,000 pounds can't be fully obtained, and the discount is also very large, what I want to say is that all our technologies can be reflected in commercial value, such as the current radio technology." ”

Tesla's tone was a little slower, but still a little nervous: "Can you be specific?" ”

Cheng Nuo explained: "The emergence of vacuum transistors has played an important role in the detection and amplification of waves, which has directly promoted the maturity of radio science and technology.

At the same time, there are also the United States Bell company and the German Siemens company, etc., are now the world's most influential radio equipment manufacturing units, and this industry is about to usher in the climax of development, we can not miss this precious opportunity, but think about it, only you are the most suitable. ”

Thinking about the disappointed United States electric industry, although Tesla did not directly oppose it, it did not explicitly agree: "What do you need me to do?" ”

Cheng Nuo smiled: "Actually, it's very simple, I want you to cooperate with our old partner Westinghouse Electric, that is, the company we sell patents, to develop radio resources, apply for patents and then exchange patents, so as to maximize our interests." ”

With the invention and development of radio technology, radio stations came into being, and the so-called radio stations refer to the transmission institutions that provide sound radio programs and services to citizens through atmospheric electromagnetic waves, and it first appeared in the form of experimental amateur radio stations.

The California Institute of Engineering and Radio began to broadcast scheduled weekly programs with music and news, which can be said to be the prototype of radio stations, followed by similar amateur radio stations in many cities such as Europe and the United States.

But until this year, 1918, there was no real commercial radio station in the world.

This business opportunity happened to be captured by Cheng Nuo, and in the process of grabbing orders, he developed radio technology as much as possible.

Isn't the domestic soil not supportive, then go directly to the United States to do a good job.

"The midterm elections in the United States are imminent, and their public needs some means to give him a platform and canvass for him, so if we can pry a hole in the radio station that appeared out of thin air, then the work behind it will be much easier." Cheng Nuo said seriously.

Tesla was a little moved, but he still had some questions: "It's not that simple, if you want to be the first to eat crabs, you have to take some risks." ”

Cheng Nuo Zhengse said: "This is natural, the trial production program requires a license from the Ministry of Commerce of the United States, and ordinary people can't touch that level, so I thought of you." ”

Tesla hesitated for a moment, and then said categorically: "Okay, I'll plan it well when I go back." ”

"Then it's hard for you, I'm waiting for your good news." Cheng Nuo's face suddenly smiled into a flower, and instructed: "There is an old saying in China called 'wealth does not return to the hometown, like a brocade at night', although we are not talking about the rich and expensive now, but I believe that after this battle, it will definitely impress those people!" ”

Of course, Cheng Nuo still hasn't said a word, that is, to use the country as a guinea pig, accumulate a certain amount of technology and experience, and then return to China to use it.

For example, radio technology, we have a lot of land in China, and radio transceivers have different powers, from 5 watts, 15 watts, 50 watts to 100 watts, 250 watts, 500 watts, 1000 watts, etc., some of which are plug-in, and some are with batteries, how to replace them according to different scenarios, is a problem.

Another example is the production of radio equipment, the high-performance production of the Academy of Sciences is not impossible to build, but the problem is that there are large volume of transceiver equipment, not suitable for transportation and other shortcomings, how to improve is a difficult problem, improve the technology needs funds, is also a problem, it is better to directly take the money of the United States to engage in research and development.

Another example is the issue of the setting up of radio programs, China has been repeatedly humiliated by foreign powers in modern times, and one of the problems is that the people are scattered, and how to unite the will of the people and produce a powerful force to save the country and strengthen the people is worth considering.

The rapid popularization of radio is enough to undertake the historical mission entrusted by the times, and at the same time, it can also spread all kinds of scientific knowledge through sound throughout the country, so as to cultivate more aspiring compatriots.

Of course, all of this depends on the following key step.

Seeing that Tesla agreed, Cheng Nuo secretly rejoiced, and at the same time, he took out a document from the table on the side and handed it over: "Mr. Tesla, you take a look at this thing first." ”

Tesla took the document and asked curiously, "What is this?" ”

Cheng Nuo smiled and said: "This is the technical issue that we will focus on in terms of technology in the United States, I have listed nineteen projects, you can think about it carefully when you go back." ”

Tesla nodded, and opened the document, which read: "High-frequency radio wave measurement, vacuum tube research, radio wave emission research, audible frequency radio wave research, directional antenna research, radio wave standard frequency formulation, etc."

While Tesla was looking at the documents, Cheng Nuo continued: "Specifically, we can investigate the latest foreign radio productions, foreign large-scale equipment and its engineering problems, and the production of radio products of various manufacturers. ”

The overall policy is still the general direction of "attaching equal importance to theory and practice".

After accumulating enough knowledge, Cheng Nuo is still ready to compile it, and then teach it to domestic universities, and continue to move forward along the road of "production, education and research", and the importance of talents has been highlighted.

Moreover, many of the materials used in radio experiments, including the chip control equipment used in some new radio stations, are basically imported from abroad, which is not conducive to national security and has an impact on the independent development of domestic scientific research.

At the end of the day, it's about being independent.

It's just that at the same time, it's just using other people's money to make trouble.

(End of chapter)