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

Chapter 162
Shimada Han is still not convinced, but he knows that this kind of thing will take a long time to follow, and it will not be done overnight.

Li Yu didn't want to talk to him, so let him continue to pay attention.

In fact, many commercial projects in later generations have to be tracked for a long time before they can be completed, and it is not uncommon for them to be tracked for several years.Today's Japanese people are very stingy, and they can't be persuaded if they are sure about it.

One more thing, Han Shimada was found out ten years later for stealing and selling Japanese national treasures, and committed suicide in fear of crime.

Although death is not a pity, but considering the degree of protection of national treasures in Japan and the current Qing government, the comparison between the two is simply speechless.

In short, Lu Shufan still couldn't bear to sell the collection of books immediately, and at least for a while, it also gave Li Yu and the others a little buffer time.

Even if it is 25 silver dollars, it will be close to 18 taels of silver after calculation, which is not a small number.

Li Yu was actually very interested in these books.

If a school like a university can be established in the future, the collection of books is definitely a good thing.

The Song version of the book is also a national treasure, which is very rare.

In the 21st century, there are only six or seven thousand copies of Song edition books in the country.

Moreover, there are basically no local libraries. If there are one or two volumes, it will be serious.For example, the Shandong Library, which has a history of more than 5 years, only has 27 Song edition books; the Hunan Library has a little more, with [-] books, and is estimated to be worth more than [-] million yuan.

And there are nearly 200 Song edition books in Songlou, if counted by volume, there are more than 2700 volumes!

One can imagine how precious it is!
Moreover, in addition to the 200 Song edition books, there are more than 100 Yuan Dynasty books in the Lu family collection, and the largest number is about [-] Ming and Qing editions.

This is the result of Lu Xinyuan, the previous head of the Lu family, who collected several other libraries through his life's effort.

Historically, in 1906, Zhang Yuanji also approached Rong Qing, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and Minister of Education, who was one of the so-called "three talents under his banner", hoping that the imperial court could allocate funds to purchase the books in the Song Building as the basis of the library of the Imperial University Hall, and then The recommendation was ultimately not adopted.

Judging from the current situation, Lu Shufan must not be able to keep these books. They are all national treasures. In any case, it is much better than falling into the hands of the Japanese.

After Han Shimada left, Lu Shufan hosted a banquet for several people.

Zhang Yuanji introduced Li Yu to Shimada Han, and it was only then that Lu Shufan knew that Li Yu was such a powerful character.

Lu Shufan raised his glass and said, "It turns out that he is the imperial teacher of the current dynasty. Disrespect and disrespect!"

Well, in his eyes, the most important thing is the status of the imperial teacher, not Li Yu's scientific research achievements.

Then Lu Shufan asked again: "Sir, you have traveled abroad, what's the difference between them and us, why don't you want the Japanese to get involved?"

Of course, Li Yu wanted to say that there would be bloody enmity with Japan in the future.But for now, it's just a Sino-Japanese War, and the fighting is basically at sea.Although the Lushun massacre occurred, Japan was very bad. Uchida Yasuya had already bribed various reporters. Except for a few big media in the United Kingdom and the United States, most other newspapers basically did not report it, and Japan has been covering it up in every possible way.It was not until around 1935 that Sun Baotian risked his life to investigate and found out about this matter.

As far as the current situation is concerned, everyone is mainly resentful because they lost a war and ceded land and paid large indemnities, and the main body of resentment is mainly directed at the incompetent Qing court.

After all, a little research shows that this war should not have been lost in the first place. At that time, the Japanese navy was really not very strong.

Lu Shufan definitely didn't know what happened later, and he himself passed away in 1926, so he couldn't see how evil the Japanese were later on.

Li Yu had no choice but to say: "The relationship between Japan and Russia is tense now. The obvious reason is that both sides covet the Northeast. If Japan wins, their appetite will become bigger and bigger, and they even want to swallow the whole country."

Lu Shufan didn't believe it at all: "Although I haven't been to Tsarist Russia, I also know that they are a Western power. How can Japan, an Eastern country, win?"

Li Yu said: "First of all, not all Western countries are strong; secondly, the Northeast is too close to Japan, but too far from St. Petersburg and Moscow. From this point alone, Japan's advantage is obvious."

Zhang Yuanji was also surprised: "Sir, do you think the Japanese will win?"

Li Yu nodded, but after all, it was a pre-analysis, so he could only tactfully say, "It's very likely."

After hearing this, several people felt mixed feelings. A once small Japanese country has now risen to such a point.

Li Shutong said: "If I have the chance, I will go abroad to see why it is like this."

After the meal, in order to show their sincerity and financial strength, Li Yu, Zhang Yuanji, and Li Shutong put up a total of 1 taels of silver as a deposit and signed the contract.

If Lu Shufan made up his mind to sell it at that time, he would sell it for a total of 25 silver dollars; if the business improved and he did not sell it again, the deposit would be refunded.

Lu Shufan was very satisfied with the handling, which gave him some time and leeway.

Li Yu and the others were not worried about the deposit either, because Lu Shufan was a juren anyway, and the Lu family still had such a large property in Huzhou.

Lu Shufan sighed: "I am unworthy and cannot keep what my late father collected. If possible, I really don't want them to be lost overseas."

Later, the Lu family was criticized by all walks of life for selling Songlou to the Japanese. They knew they were wrong and never retaliated.

Li Yu said: "If you stay in China, it will be transferred to other collections or libraries. If you want to read it, you can still go and have a look."

Lu Shufan said: "Perhaps that is the best result."

-

After the Huzhou incident, Li Yu will continue to Wuchang, while Zhang Yuanji and Li Shutong will return to Shanghai.

After Li Yu arrived at the Yangtze River along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal by ship, he went back up the river.

Fortunately, the ships of the Neijiang Shipping Company are all steamships with sufficient power, otherwise it would not be easy to drive.

Hankou was opened as a port as early as 1861, and the concessions of various countries have been established, and the main communication with the outside world is through inland waterway shipping.

It would take a few days along the way, and Li Yu hurried out the introductory lecture notes of biology. The content was satisfactory, but it was a pity that there were no good photos for illustrations.

The Huguang Governor's Mansion Yamen is located in Wuchang, just beside the Yangtze River, where the Wuchang Shipyard is today.

The wharf is also very close, and not far across the river is the Hankou Concession area.

Li Yu got off the boat and went directly to the governor's mansion, which was not far away.

Of course, not just anyone can enter the Governor's Mansion.

Two soldiers guarded the door and stopped when they saw Li Yu.

"Who?" asked the soldier.

Li Yu said: "I, Li Yu, have been entrusted by Mr. Zhang to pay a special visit."

Li Yu took out the letter written by Zhang Zhidong and handed it over, "Look."

It's a pity that the soldiers were illiterate, and it was a bit difficult to hold the letter, and they didn't know whether it was true or not. Fortunately, someone came over at this time.

The soldier said: "Lord Hua, you are here."

It was Hua Shifang who came over, and he asked, "Is Xiangshuai at the house?"

The soldier said: "Master Zhang is here, I will let you know."

Li Yu hurriedly called to stop the soldier: "Hey, hey, you keep telling me, my name is Li Yu, don't forget!"

Hua Shifang was startled: "Which Li Yu are you?"

Li Yu spread his hands: "Is this name very common?"

Hua Shifang actually took out a copy of the first edition of "Fractals and Chaos" and asked, "Is this Li Yu?"

Li Yu asked in surprise: "Why do you have this book? I wrote it. I didn't expect that there would be a first edition in China. I remember that there were not many publications."

"My God," Hua Shifang looked Li Yu up and down, "Is it really you?"

Li Yu asked, "May I ask your honorable name?"

Hua Shifang said: "Here, Hua Shifang, whose name is Ruoxi, used to teach mathematics at Ziqiang College."

"It turned out to be Mr. Hua, who has been admiring him for a long time. I am Li Yu, who has a rare talent." Li Yu also introduced himself.

Hua Shifang is Hua Hengfang's younger brother and also a mathematician. His research field is mainly continued fractions in mathematics.This is a hot spot in mathematics research at present. Later, the famous mathematician Ramanujan, son of India, played the most with continuous fractions.

I don’t know why there are so many modern mathematicians with the surname Hua. Later, Hua Luogeng became more famous, and they were quite close: Hua Hengfang was from Wuxi, Jiangsu, and Hua Luogeng was from Changzhou, Jiangsu. The two cities are next to each other.

Hua Hengfang passed away last year, and another chemist, Mr. Xu Shou, who worked with Zhang Zhidong in scientific research with him in the early years, also passed away.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Hua Shifang continued to say to the soldiers, "Tell Xiangshuai that Li Yu from the capital is here, it's real!"

Only then did the soldiers agree to leave.

Hua Shifang said with a smile: "Sir, don't be offended. Xiang Shuai always loves people who understand Western science, and the treatment they give is high. Many counterfeit people come here to pretend to be fake."

Li Yu also smiled and said, "It's okay, it's normal to be cautious, after all, it's the Governor's Mansion."

Zhang Zhidong belongs to the kind of person who is not greedy, and he was one of the few in the late Qing Dynasty who did not give a penny to Prince Qing Yikuang on his birthday.Another person who does not give gifts has already been seen, that is, Zhang Baixi, the principal of the Imperial University Hall and the Minister of Management.

However, maintaining the officialdom still costs a lot, and Zhang Zhidong's annual income is estimated to be around 2 taels.

As a comparison, the annual income of a county magistrate is also 2 taels.

After three years of clearing the magistrate, one hundred thousand snowflake silver is really not for nothing.

Because the Qing government was really rotten and corrupt to the root. A county magistrate had a normal income of almost 1500 taels, which was not enough to spend.Because I raise a large family and various masters every year, and the most important thing is to manage relationships, treat guests and give gifts, and it costs 2 taels.

As for where the money comes from, of course it can only be the poor and destitute people.

Zhang Zhidong and Zuo Zongtang belonged to very clean and honest people. As the big officials of the frontier, they were many levels higher than a county magistrate, but their income was the same, which showed that they basically only relied on the normal maintenance money and annual salary, and there was basically no corruption.

Hua Shifang said to Li Yu: "I really have indescribable admiration for my husband. I have wanted to meet him for a long time. It was I who suggested to Xiangshuai to write a letter to ask him to come to Wuchang."

Then he picked up the "Fractals and Chaos" again: "After I got the news from the newspaper, I asked someone to spend a lot of effort to get a copy. I have read this book countless times, it is simply amazing. People are overwhelmed."

Li Yu said: "It's really not easy to get it done, but some words in this English version are newly created by me, and it may seem a bit difficult."

Hua Shifang nodded: "Yes, I have studied many places before I can understand them because of vocabulary problems."

Li Yu said: "In the future, I will entrust the Commercial Press to publish a batch of Chinese editions. If you are interested, you can take a look."

Hua Shifang said happily: "That's really great! It's really rare to have a math book now."

(End of this chapter)