Inside Di'anmen, the former site of the Gunpowder Bureau.
This was the place where gunpowder was made in the previous dynasty. During the Yongzheng period, a fire killed hundreds of craftsmen and it was abandoned. The courtyard is huge, with towering walls. The inside is covered with overgrown weeds and ruined walls, making it eerie even during the day. Ronglu set up the "Huangqingzhengshengtai" here in order to be quiet and blocked by high walls, so that the outside could not see what was going on inside.
Right now, the yard is very lively. Hundreds of craftsmen, eunuchs, and soldiers, under the orders of Cui Yugui, Ronglu's confidant eunuch, moved wood, lifted machines, and set up antennas. In the middle of the courtyard, there stood a wooden tower, only five or six feet high, much shorter than the one in Jingshan. However, the big brass horn on the top was bigger than Lin Wenzhi's "Heavenly Gong", like a monster with a huge mouth.
Cui Yugui is the second manager of Chuxiu Palace. He is in his forties. He has a doughy face and smiles every time he meets people. However, his thoughts are more detailed than Ronglu's and his methods are more aggressive than Ronglu's. At this moment, he was pointing at several craftsmen and scolding: "Trash! You can't even straighten the antenna! If this is going to be broadcast, Lafayette's voice will be crooked. Let's see how many of you have heads that are enough to cut off!"
The craftsmen were silent and quickly adjusted. Under the brass horn, what was connected was not an advanced transmitter, but a dozen huge gongs, linked with a machine, and behind them stood a row of eunuchs with loud voices. This is the method Cui Yugui came up with - since he doesn't know what "ether waves" are, he uses the stupidest method: shouting, amplifying the sound with gongs, and transmitting it through the copper speakers on the tower. Not enough power? Then stand with a few more people and set up a few more gongs!
