Chapter 64 The Circular: A Fake Telegram

Since there is the media, the media will play some kind of wonderful role in politics.China entered the media era at the beginning of the 20th century, during the New Deal period of the Qing Dynasty.The imperial court gradually lifted the ban on newspapers, which made the media more active day by day, and gradually no longer needed to shelter in the concession, and dared to speak freely.Even revolutionaries, as long as they have money, can change their appearance and run newspapers, even at the feet of the emperor in Beijing, run newspapers to secretly propagate the revolution.It was discovered, closed the door, and opened another one.After the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising in the Revolution of 1911, people's hearts were already fluctuating. When Yinchang went out to fight, Sheng Xuanhuai saw him off, and asked him to protect the Hanyang Iron Works. If he did it, he would be rewarded.Yinchang replied, you just need to prepare the money.The result was heard by the reporter and explained that the army's salary was not enough, which led to a run on the bank.Most newspapers are inclined to the revolution, so, in terms of public opinion advocacy and atmosphere, they often play a role in fueling the revolution.Consciously or unconsciously, the victory of the revolutionary party is exaggerated, and the defeat is covered up.Responses and commotions from all over the world, whether there is or not, but it is said that there is.It made the city full of wind and rain, the whole country was in flames, and the entire imperial court was made to panic.High-ranking officials and dignitaries ran to the Tianjin Concession one after another.Those in power at that time were mostly young and inexperienced Manchu relatives, lacking political experience, let alone experience in dealing with the media. The family members themselves did not know how to distinguish the authenticity of the news.Therefore, in the face of the intentional (made by the revolutionaries) and unintentional "news war" by the media, they panicked and lost ground.First pushed away by the revolutionary party, then fell into Yuan Shikai's trap, obediently handed over the power.

Part of the "news war" at that time must have been launched by the revolutionary party or those who sympathized with the revolution.A very effective tactic is exaggeration.Say the ant is an elephant, and the sesame is a watermelon.The real and the fake are mixed together, making it hard to tell the real from the fake.Of course, there are also those who are impatient and simply spread rumors and create a fake news out of thin air, hoping to cause chaos in the court. At the time of the revolution, world communication was still in the era of cable telegraphs.The Qing Dynasty set up telegraph lines between major cities to facilitate the transmission of government and military orders.The main task of the official telegraph office is to transmit official telegrams, but when there is free time, it also sends some civilian telegrams to earn some money.At that time, the poster industry was the most developed, but Beijing was the center of politics. Therefore, first, Western newspapers set up correspondents in Beijing to send the latest daily news to Shanghai by telegram.Later, several big Chinese newspapers followed suit, and set up correspondents in Beijing to inquire about some news every day, and then sent special telegrams to the telegraph office (some correspondents were secretly recruited by officials of the imperial court).Some newspapers that have no money to do this, including some "poor newspapers" run by revolutionaries, also have their own methods, so they simply close their doors and edit special news.It is said that, relying on political sense, sometimes it is really made up to look like the real thing.At that time, Hong Kong was still a small place compared to Shanghai, and the media was underdeveloped. The largest Chinese-language newspaper was the "Circular News" where the celebrity Wang Tao once worked.Hong Kong newspapers also have to rely on special telegraphs to report news from mainland China.At that time, Hong Kong was only connected to Shanghai by telegraph line. Therefore, "Circular News" installed a correspondent in Shanghai, paid tens of yuan a month, and sent them special telegrams. As for the news in Beijing, it could only rely on this correspondent. Go make accommodations with people from other newspapers in Beijing, or get some from other newspapers.As for other Chinese-language newspapers in Hong Kong, they buy their specials from "Circular News".Fortunately, these tabloids don't have much news about the mainland, so they can deal with it.

When the revolution broke out and there was turmoil in various places, an overseas Chinese who sympathized with the revolution brought some money to Shanghai to support the revolution. Somehow, he got acquainted with the correspondent of "Circular News" in Shanghai.At that time, Guangdong had not yet become independent, Zhang Mingqi, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Li Zhun, admiral of the navy, were still stubbornly resisting.The overseas Chinese felt that they could use the opportunity of filming special telecasts to create some troubles and create some confusion for Guangdong.Overseas Chinese have money, but the correspondent lacks money, so don't worry about him not agreeing.Therefore, the correspondent drew up a "Beijing Special Telegram": "The Emperor Bends in Beijing".Overseas Chinese felt that it was not enough, so they changed it to "the fall of the capital and the collapse of the emperor".The correspondent hesitated for a moment, and just sent it.This rumor was too big. After the Hong Kong "Circular News" received the call, it was not sure for a while and did not dare to publish it. Instead, it called to ask whether the news had any basis.The correspondent panicked and asked the overseas Chinese what to do?Overseas Chinese said, you just call back and say that the Beijing Electricity is not available and cannot be verified, and the insurance is fine.Even the telegram is not available, but Jing is really stuck.This time, the Hong Kong side believed it, and in a short while, newspapers with the news of "the fall of Beijing and the collapse of the emperor" in large characters spread throughout Hong Kong.According to the recollection of people at the time, it was said that the Chinese in Hong Kong were roaring with joy and the city was in a frenzy. They set off firecrackers and took to the streets to celebrate. Some foreigners also booed, and the British police couldn't stop them.At that time, there were not too many obstacles to personnel exchanges between Guangdong and Hong Kong. This appalling false news spread to Guangzhou immediately.Officials like Zhang Mingqi and Li Zhun, who have telegrams with Beijing, may not believe it, but the people at the bottom heard the road rumors, and the newspapers in Hong Kong said that Beijing fell and the emperor collapsed, Beijing was over, the emperor was warped, who would Don't you panic?Everyone below the governor and admiral was in shock.Even if the governor came out to refute the rumors, no one might believe it.Needless to say, this fake telegram will definitely have an impact on the situation in Guangdong.After the liberation of the whole country, Hong Kong newspapers knew about it. What they reported was a media rumor.However, this rumor is "politically correct", so no one will pursue it.

After entering the Republic of China, the media played an increasingly important role.Warlords go to war, and before the martial arts show starts, there is a telegraph war. You come and go, parallel four li six, it seems like a quarrel, but it is not for each other to read, it is sent to the newspaper for the public to read.Generally speaking, if the side that is better at building momentum wins the telegram battle, most of the gun battles in the future will be fine, and vice versa.Most of the media are trendy and progressive, whichever aspect is trendy and progressive, that's where everyone is leaning. Even if this side is relatively weak, it can still gain the upper hand.This was the case in the battle against Yuan Huguo, and it was also the case in the Zhiwan War.However, since the media has gradually matured, the bias is a bit biased, and it is still not daring to openly spread rumors.When a wolf is coming, you can yell once or twice. If you yell too much, no one will read the newspaper.