A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 151

Einstein sat down at the desk, on which manuscript papers and sundries were placed in a mess.

It can be seen from his hairstyle that Einstein was a relatively informal person in his life...

"Dear Mileva, can you clean up my desk, it looks really bad!"

Mileva just replied: "You won't let me touch your precious things."

"But some are no longer needed," Einstein dug out a military service manual from among the messy papers, "like this one."

This is the application for military service that Einstein filled out in order to become a Swiss citizen.

Although later generations will know that Einstein was a well-known anti-war figure, he did write an application for military service when he was young.

"Let's keep it," Mileva said, "to remind you why you were rejected by the army. Your sweaty feet, flat feet, and varicose veins should always be noticed."

Einstein pointed to the big red stamp on the military service handbook: "But I hate the three words 'failing', when did I fail!?"

Mileva said: "I think the military recruiting department is still very discerning and didn't let you into the army. So I think they pass this point."

Einstein was stunned speechless, "Forget it, just keep it."

He casually pushed the miscellaneous things aside, and leaned over his desk to write a letter, when he suddenly remembered that he had no idea where Li Yu from the East was, and he knew very little about the East.

"It seems that I have asked my teacher for help again."

Seeing Einstein write a letter, Mileva suddenly wanted to write to ask her poor daughter in Serbia what was going on.

The whereabouts of this daughter are unknown, but what is certain is that Einstein never met his first daughter.

Now at least 12% of the children in Zurich are illegitimate children, and many of them are taken care of by grandparents or relatives.

It should be affected by Mileva's family inheritance, which caused their daughter to have mental illness.

Of course, later one of their sons did the same.

But at this time, there is no medical theory of genetics, not even early prevention or related prenatal checkups.

Einstein sent a letter to Minkowski at the University of Göttingen, which read:

"Dear Mr. Minkowski, you may interrupt me.

"After seeing the mathematics journal you gave me, I am more and more interested in this Li Yu. In my eyes, authority is not worthy of respect, but a thinking brain should be respected by everyone. I like the same young and hot thoughts , I have also read his articles on physics, and I appreciate the depth of his thinking. Now I feel that mathematics is not just a tool, but also represents a profound thought.

"And this Li Yu seems to be aware of this, which surprised me very much. So I hope to get in touch with him. If the teacher can provide me with his contact information, I will be very grateful."

After reading it, Minkowski said with a smile: "He really hasn't changed at all from back then, and he is so confident that he is even a little arrogant."

A genius is always a little proud, even in ordinary times, he still looks like a thorn.

Minkowski didn't know Li Yu's address, so he had to ask Hilbert for it, and Hilbert asked, "Why, do you want to communicate with Li Yu too?"

Minkowski said: "It is Einstein who wants to correspond with him. Young people, it is always good to communicate more, and I have always heard that Orientals have a special beauty of humility. It would be great if they could complement each other. "

Hilbert smoked a pipe and said, "From that brief encounter, it can be seen that Li Yu is indeed very humble. I have to say, I am used to seeing arrogant people, and I am more and more fond of the character of Orientals."

Minkowski not only wrote back and told Einstein about Li Yu’s contact information, but also recommended several mathematics books, including Li Yu’s "Fractals and Chaos", which Minkowski praised very much. He wrote Dao: "I know that you have read many papers written by Li Yu on physics, but this book on mathematics is just as wonderful. I agree wholeheartedly with your point that 'mathematics is not just a tool'. I understood this truth when I was in college, and maybe my graduation grades will not be just average. In short, you should read it carefully first!"

After Einstein finished reading the letter, he came to the bookstore early the next day and asked the bookstore owner, "Is there a mathematics book called Fractal and Chaos?"

The bookstore owner pointed to a conspicuous place: "It's right there. Look at the gentleman's clothes as a civil servant, right? You're even interested in mathematics."

Einstein said: "Can't civil servants read math books?"

The bookstore owner said, "Sure, but it's rare. And the book seems to be selling so well, it's unbelievable."

Einstein saw this book in the bestseller position, and he was also surprised: "Mathematics books can also be placed in the bestseller position?"

The bookstore owner said: "That's why I said it's unbelievable. Could it be that studying mathematics has become a trend now?"

Einstein murmured in his heart. If it sells well, it means it is too easy to understand, that is, it is not deep enough, and he is even a little shaken in his heart whether to buy it or not.However, Mr. Minkowski has clearly mentioned it, so I had to buy it back and have a look.

He wasn't in a hurry, because there was still work to be done at the patent office.

The patent office system is to work six days a week, eight hours a day.

Fortunately, after half a year of adaptation, Einstein has become very proficient in his work. He can complete a day's work in only two or three hours, and spend the rest of his time thinking about scientific issues.

This is why he was able to publish so many world-renowned papers while working at the patent office.

Einstein's work efficiency is still very high. After reading each document, he can quickly identify whether he can successfully apply for a patent.

After taking a pen to write down the opinions, they will stamp the "approved" or "rejected" seal of the preliminary review, and then submit them to the superior for further approval.

After approving the last document, Einstein could finally spread out the book "Fractals and Chaos".

Although it was like fishing at work, his boss, Harrell, the leader of the Patent Office, was a gentle person, even though he knew many things well, he was still kind to others.

And Einstein is not stupid. Although there are a lot of calculation manuscripts piled up on his desk, once someone passes by, they will find that these manuscripts are gone—Einstein has long hidden them in the desk.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Einstein could be awarded the title of "King of Fishing at Work"!

But Einstein really didn't expect this book to be so attractive, he was fascinated by it, and woke up like a dream when he heard a cough next to him.

The boss Harrell stood beside him, and Einstein hurriedly closed the book and put it in the drawer.

Harrell pretended to look out the window, and waited for Einstein to pack up before saying: "Here is a patent on radio communication, which is about physics. You can review it."

"Okay, sir, I'll watch it now."

Unexpectedly, Einstein took it and watched it for only 3 minutes before stamping it with a big "rejection" stamp.

After Harrell got the document, he was surprised: "Why was it rejected so quickly?"

Einstein was now concerned with Li Yu's book and didn't want to waste time, so he said: "This patent application can't even distinguish the radio frequency spectrum. It is wrong at first glance. There is no need to read the following content."

Harrell opened his mouth, looked at the beginning, and felt that what Einstein said seemed to be correct, so he also stamped the rejection stamp.

Einstein immediately turned back and continued reading, until he saw it was time to get off work.He put away his books and prepared to go home and continue reading, when he saw someone looking for him as soon as he went out: "Is this Mr. Einstein?"

Einstein nodded: "Yes, but I'm off work. If you need anything, you can come to me tomorrow."

The person came holding the newspaper and said, "I just wanted to find you when I was off work. I saw your advertisement in the newspaper."

Einstein's eyes wandered, and he also saw the advertisement: "Private lectures on mathematics and physics... thoroughly explained by Albert Einstein, who has received a professional teacher certificate from the Federal Institute of Technology... Free trial."

"I'd like to try it out for free," the person said.

This is a part-time small job that Einstein does in his spare time, but he has no time to be a tutor now, so he refused: "Sorry, I already have an appointment for today."

The visitor felt a little regretful, and Einstein immediately added: "You can come to me again tomorrow."

He didn't want to miss the opportunity to make money.

After returning home, Einstein didn’t even bother to eat, and read until late at night. After Mileva greeted him countless times, Einstein breathed a sigh of relief: “It’s amazing! This is not a math book, It is simply using mathematical language to describe the truth of this world, just like physics!"

In fact, Li Yu does not know how to write pure mathematics books. Chaos theory is a very universal idea, but its foundation must be established on mathematics, so that it can be rigorous enough and have stronger vitality, and then extended to various fields. field.

Mileva yawned and said, "Can you go to sleep? You have to go to work tomorrow!"

Einstein felt very energetic, "No, I have to write a letter to Li Yu now! No, the letter is too slow, and I will use the telegraph machine of the Patent Office to send him a telegram tomorrow!"

……

On the Japanese side, when Zai Zhen was visiting Mount Fuji, Liang Qichao was still writing articles and fighting against the embassy.

Things really got serious, and even the East Asian Tongwen Association came up with it.

It was Buntaro Kashiwahara of the Tongbunkai who found Liang Qichao. He was one of Liang Qichao's best Japanese friends.

Although it is not obvious now, future generations must know how notorious Dongya Tongwenhui is.

Liang Qichao once stayed in Honolulu for half a year. At that time, he did not have a passport, but he used Buntaro Kashiwahara's.

Some people even rumored that Liang Qichao had become a Japanese citizen because of this.

In short, being able to lend the passport to Liang Qichao shows that the relationship between the two is indeed in place.

The East Asia Tongwenhui is very concerned about China's issues, after all, it is a super spy agency.

The current president is Konoe Atsumaro, the father of the more infamous Konoe Fummaro.

Among the members are Inuyang Takeshi and Naito Konan.

Kashiwahara Buntaro said to Liang Qichao: "I have already contacted the International Student Association, and they agreed that they will not organize dropouts for the time being."

Liang Qichao said: "Thank you, Mr. Baiyuan, at least these students are kept, which is very rare!"

Kashiwahara Buntaro said: "Not everyone has not dropped out of school. As far as I know, some students in Kobun College insisted on dropping out."

Liang Qichao asked in surprise, "Hongwen College?"

Kashiwahara Buntaro said: "It was a student from Guangdong Province named Hu Hanmin. For some reason, he insisted on dropping out of school, and the International Student Association couldn't help it."

Liang Qichao sighed: "If you really can't stop it, there is nothing you can do."

Hu Hanmin couldn't hold back his breath and insisted on leading Guangdong students to drop out of school, but suddenly found that many people gave up dropping out of school after mediation.

Hu Hanmin felt even more indignant, so he directly wrote an application for withdrawing from school and returned to China, and several classmates were with him.

After waiting for a long time, Li Yu finally saw Zai Zhen, and Zai Zhen and Natong were making various comments on the scenery of Mount Fuji.

Li Yu went up and said, "Master Bei, something happened at the school for foreign students."

After many things before, Zai Zhen still respects Li Yu very much, so he asked, "What's the matter? Sir, please tell me."

Li Yu told Zai Zhen about the incident at the Chengcheng School. Zai Zhen now somewhat understands that foreign students cannot be cut off, and he also just wanted to arrange a "person of his own", so he immediately agreed after Li Yu proposed to change the minister: "Study tour One matter is indeed a top priority, and we can’t give up eating because of choking, and stop our lives! Cai Jun has done enough, and he should be replaced by someone who knows more about Westernization.”

Na Tong, who was next to him, heard it, but said, "I'm afraid it's inappropriate to change people hastily."

Hearing what Na Tong meant, Zai Zhen seemed to still want to protect Cai Jun, and it was inconvenient for him to refute Na Tong's face, so he said, "I'm just talking about the replacement."

Li Yu sighed in his heart. These high-ranking members of the royal family were used to being cronyistic, and they didn't pay too much attention to their abilities.But things couldn't just go on like this, so he said: "International students have a lot of things to do, and it's inconvenient for the embassy to intervene too much. Maybe we can add a special student supervisor."

Zai Zhen was a person without much political decision-making, and when he heard that Li Yu said it was the best of both worlds, he said, "This proposal is acceptable."

Li Yu strikes while the iron is hot: "This will benefit the country's development a lot."

Zai Zhen has always wanted to accumulate some political capital seriously, and he would definitely be willing to train his own people, "This is the best! As for who should be selected..."

Li Yu said: "It is inconvenient for me to mention the personnel, but when it comes to the scope, it is more suitable for people who want to come and participate in overseas events, and Master Bei can choose among them."

Zai Zhen slapped his head: "Yeah, I remembered! Wang Daxie happens to be in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Prime Minister's Office), so he must know about international students."

The prime minister's yamen is full of members of Yikuang's family, and of course they are also Zai Zhen's "own people".

Li Yu said: "Master Beizi is wise."

Wang Daxie is much more suitable than Cai Jun.

(End of this chapter)