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

Chapter 234
Kong Lingyi, the Shenggong of Yanyan, clearly stated that Li Yu should personally open this letter, so it has not been opened.

Li Yu opened the envelope himself and took out the letter inside.Although Kong Lingyi's handwriting is not up to the level of a calligrapher, it is quite good in the eyes of Li Yu, who has a low level of calligraphy and Chinese studies.

Li Yu unfolded the letter and began to read it, while Yan Fu, Lu Bicheng and others beside him stretched their heads and looked forward to it.

"How is it?" Lu Bicheng asked anxiously.

"Wait a minute, I haven't finished watching yet," Li Yu said.

Lu Bicheng said: "I don't think there are many words in total, why are you reading so slowly?"

Li Yu finally finished reading it and handed it to her: "You should read it too."

Yan Fu, Wang Bo and others immediately surrounded him and wrote:
"Emperor Li Yuqi,

"I Yan Shenggong Lingyi, I heard that the emperor's teacher is called the talent of Western learning, but even though he is the emperor's teacher, he insults the sages, and I can't explain it. I don't know what Western studies are. Can I call it a few papers? The most holy. Everyone knows that the most holy teacher is only the holy man, but what theory does the emperor have to call him the most holy?

"Nowadays foreigners humiliate me, but study their theories as the emperor's teacher, I don't know if it's okay?

"Since you can be called a contemporary saint, the world also wants to know how it is different from the Confucian mansion. We sincerely invite the emperor and master to come to Qufu in person and have a face-to-face talk."

Yan Fu smiled wryly: "Unexpectedly, Duke Yan Sheng has a lot of prejudice against you."

Li Yu said: "Whoever said no, I was puzzled, and I didn't offend them."

Yan Fu shook his head and said: "This letter may not be the original intention of Yan Shenggong. Qufu is not only the Confucius family, but it is complicated behind it. It must be pushed by someone."

Li Yu frowned: "What does Master Yan mean?"

Yan Fu gently stroked his beard and said, "A lot of things happened in the capital while you were away. The Economic Special Section has already posted a list, and the top five were dismissed to four people. The whole world was in an uproar. Mr. Dong also announced the implementation of the new academic system. Although the queen mother is still undecided, the news has already tended to the views of the two. They will gradually abolish stereotyped writing and then abolish the imperial examination. If the imperial examination is abolished and the new academic system is adopted instead, you are not good at it. Do you think the Confucian family in Qufu will still have the status it has today?"

Li Yu said: "[-]% will plummet."

Yan Fu said: "That's right, this is the problem! More importantly, once the imperial examination is abolished, the imperial court will have nothing to worry about and will go all out to implement the new academic system, and the most prestigious in the new academic system is the lack of talents, so "Shenbao" and other major newspapers highly praise you and want to push you to the position of Confucius to supervise the world."

Li Yu's jaw almost dropped in shock: "What kind of logic is this?"

He can be considered to know why Shi Liangcai and the others wrote it like this. They really did bad things with good intentions, and he didn't have such thoughts at all.

But what they want is to reproduce the past, but changed it to "abolish Confucianism and respect science alone". If they are not the so-called holy teachers, they are at least contemporary models.

Yan Fu said: "The idea of ​​Shi Liangcai and other journalists is to build confidence in schools everywhere, but the establishment of confidence requires a benchmark and a carrier. At present, the most suitable one is you."

Li Yu's head felt even more painful.

No wonder the letter from the Confucius family in Qufu was so blunt. It turned out that they felt that their status was unstable and they wanted to settle accounts with themselves.

——What a disaster.

Li Yu really didn't have any such thoughts at all.

But three people became tigers, and so many newspapers vowed to publicize Li Yu's achievements, they had to be vigilant.

Speaking of which, for so many years, Kong Family Zhengzong really valued his title of "Yansheng Gong" very much.

This title was very high in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, super first rank, and enjoyed various preferential treatment. There is no temple in the world whose incense can catch up with the Confucian Temple, and it is not an order of magnitude at all.

There have been countless dynasties in the land of China, and the Confucian family in Qufu has been able to prosper to this day because of the court's favor.

But there was also an episode.

At the turn of the Song and Song Dynasties 1000 years ago, the northern rivers and mountains were occupied by the Kingdom of Jin, which caused the clothes to travel south.The eldest son of the Confucian family at that time traveled southward to Quzhou, Zhejiang Province with his genealogy, so there was also a Confucian mansion in Quzhou, the so-called Nanzong, which was also very powerful back then.

The rest of the tribe stayed in Qufu, that is, Beizong.

However, after the Yuan Dynasty ruled the world, there could only be one Yan Shenggong, and in the end it was determined that the Northern School of Qufu was the authentic school.

As for who is authentic, there is no need to argue about this kind of thing. There are many such things in the royal inheritance.During the Northern and Southern Confucian Temple period, the Northern Song Dynasty still had the sound of Zhao Kuangyi's candle shadow and axe.

After Confucian Nanzong lost his title, it declined rapidly.Fortunately, during the Ming Wuzong period, they were given the hereditary official title of Doctor of Five Classics, so they got better.

Therefore, for a family that wanted to prosper for a long time, hereditary titles were extremely important in the feudal period.Not only the title, but also hereditary, and cannot be downgraded forever.

The situation at this time is that Yan Shenggong is worried that after the abolition of the imperial examination, the status of Confucianism will be impacted, and the status of Confucianism will be impacted. Of course, the most affected person is himself.

But as a latecomer, Li Yu knew in his heart that they actually worried too much.

The abolition of Yan Shenggong's title would take at least the period of the Republic of China, but at that time Kong Xiangxi appeared to support the Confucian government.

It's just that it is naturally impossible for people at this time to know the follow-up developments.

Li Yu sighed: "Confidence is confidence, but there is no need to treat people as idols. Personality worship is out of the question."

Li Yu's thinking was too advanced, and Yan Fu said: "The actions of newspapers from all walks of life are not wrong. Now that the national confidence has been severely frustrated, it is hard to see a little hope, like a life-saving straw, or a clear spring in the desert. Of course, people yearn for it. "

Li Yu said with a smile: "They really spared no effort, but the various titles of the crown are indeed a bit too high. It is enough to say that they are scientific masters. How can they become a contemporary saint again? No one can afford the word saint."

As I said before, although everyone is willing to see the creation of gods, but the heights are too cold, it is not easy to live, and the taste will not be very good.

Yan Fu thought it didn't matter, and said: "Newspapers, there will always be some exaggerated words to attract the attention of the public, and there is nothing wrong with it."

Li Yu spread out his hands: "I heard that the Kong clan in Qufu now has tens of thousands of people. I'm afraid I will be drowned in spit when I go."

"It seems that there is such a possibility." Yan Fu said slightly seriously.

Li Yu smiled bitterly: "Master Yan, is there anything you can do?"

Yan Fu suddenly thought of an idea: "Going from the capital to Qufu must take the canal, but now the canal in the Shandong section is restricted by the diversion of the Yellow River and is silted up, so it can only go to Linqing. Not far away, you can take Jinan, and I happened to find Yang Shixiang, the governor of Shandong who has just taken office, and he will issue a warrant for the county magistrate of Qufu to pay more attention to it."

Yang Shixiang is from Yuan Shikai, and Li Yu has a lot of connections with Beiyang, and he still has a medal given by Yuan Shikai himself, which is indeed a way.

Only then did Li Yu feel relieved: "Thanks to the idea that Master Yan came up with. Since that's the case, I have to leave if I say anything."

Lu Bicheng asked: "Do you want to write a letter first? Tell the Kong family that you are going."

Li Yu said: "It is necessary, it is impolite to kill them by surprise, and we cannot give them excuses."

Li Yu took the paper and thought about it for a while. It was too difficult for him to write classical Chinese, so he swiped his pen and said, "I'm coming!"

Then he said: "Zhao Qian, you go to the Daqing post office to send a letter."

The people around were stunned: "This is?"

Li Yu said to Yan Fu: "English, Master Yan should know it."

Yan Fu said, "Of course I know him, but isn't it too hasty for you to write back like this?"

Li Yu laughed: "Didn't they say that I am a representative of Western learning, so I have to look like Western learning. And although Chinese is indeed superior to English in terms of language, but the current situation forces English to be the basic tool for learning Western learning. I This sentence is relatively simple in English, so they must understand it, it's better than just writing 'I'm here, Lao Li', okay?"

"It's really you!" Lu Bicheng burst out laughing, she found it very interesting, "I'm afraid none of them understand such simple English."

"Impossible, this is the simplest sentence," Li Yu said, "Also, you go together."

Lu Bicheng asked in surprise, "Me?"

Yan Fu said: "This is not appropriate. Even if girls from Bicheng can go, according to the rules, women are not allowed to enter the Confucius Temple."

Li Yu said: "Then you should take it with you, otherwise, where is the new learning? It is not the proper style to always dismiss women from the door with a superior look."

Yan Fu felt that what Li Yu said was very reasonable, and after thinking about it, he had nothing to say.

Li Yu continued to ask Lu Bicheng: "Do you dare to go? I will take you into the Confucius Temple to burn incense for the old master!"

To be honest, Lu Bicheng also studied in a private school and memorized the Four Books and Five Classics, so he definitely respected Confucius. At this time, no one who has studied would want to enter the Confucius Temple.

Lu Bicheng bit his lip: "I'll go!"

When she said "I'm going", she really went.

Li Yu clapped his hands: "Pretty!"

Seeing this, Yan Fu saw that there was no need to stop him, and suddenly remembered something: "You guys will leave in two days, and it happens that the imperial court has issued a gift to you. Since you are the No.1 graduate of the Imperial University with excellent grades, I would like Bestow Western learning Jinshi."

In fact, this title is the same as the "Liberal Arts Jinshi" awarded by Gu Hongming and Yan Fu later, it is all formal.

But after all, it is also the status of a Jinshi.

Li Yu didn't value it very much at first, but with the Jinshi status granted by the court at this level, it can be used as a talisman to some extent.

This kind of thing is very formal, there is an imperial edict, and two days later, Yan Fu really brought it to him.

Li Yu said gratefully, "Thank you, Master Yan!"

Yan Fu said: "I still can't let go of my heart. I have spoken to Master Zhang, the minister of education. I will temporarily put aside the business of the translation school and go to Qufu with you."

With him around, Li Yu said happily, "That's great!"

Of course Yan Fu supported Western learning and stood on Li Yu's side.

The three went south along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, landed in Linqing, Liaocheng, and then took a carriage to Jinan Prefecture.

Ordinarily, since Zhou Fu was about to be transferred to Governor of Liangjiang, Shang Qiheng took over temporarily as governor of Shandong, but Yang Shixiang had to be the official governor.

After the three arrived in Jinan, Yang Shixiang warmly received them. Yan Fu actually belonged to Yuan Shikai's faction.

After knowing their purpose, Yang Shixiang said with a smile: "Are you going to kick the gym?"

Li Yu quickly shook his head: "No, it's a friendly exchange."

Yang Shixiang laughed and said, "If you can communicate with each other in a friendly way, then I'm really convinced."

Yan Fu said: "Master Yang writes a warrant, and we will hand it over to the local county magistrate to avoid conflict."

Yang Shixiang said: "They are all scholars, is this necessary?"

Yan Fu sighed: "Scholars will beat people when they are impatient."

Li Yu said embarrassingly: "It won't come to that point, it's just a friendly exchange. Besides, I'm also from Shandong, and when I see my fellow villagers, my eyes are full of tears. There's no way I could do anything!"

Yang Shixiang said: "As Mr. Yan said, let's add a guarantee. The Confucian family in Qufu is not a small family in Shandong, and it should be given enough attention."

After receiving Yang Shixiang's warrant, they continued to go to Qufu along the official road.

Before that, the emperor came to Qufu to pay homage to Confucius in person, and Qianlong himself had been here, so the roads from Jinan to Tai'an Dai Temple and Qufu Confucius Temple were relatively well built.

It's just that Qufu could have been connected to the railway very early, but unfortunately missed the opportunity.

The northern section of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway, that is, the Jinpu Railway, will start construction soon, and the exploration work has been completed. The initial plan is to pass through Qufu.

If you look at the map, you can see that the Beijing-Shanghai line runs through Shandong. According to geography, the Beijing-Shanghai line passes through Jinan, then goes south through Tai'an, and then goes all the way south to Qufu.

But in fact, the railway turned a corner at Qufu, went west to Yanzhou, and then turned back to continue south.

Qufu, which was originally the only way to go, was completely bypassed.

The reason is that Kong Lingyi, Duke of Yansheng, heard that the railway was going to be built, and he submitted a letter to the imperial court on the grounds of "violating the holy tomb" and "destroying the holy vein", requesting the Jinpu railway to bypass Konglin so as not to disturb the peace of his ancestors.

After seeing the report, the Empress Dowager Cixi immediately issued an order: yes!
Hey, this old man was also afraid of railways at the beginning.

As a result, the Jinpu Railway was rerouted. After going south from Tai'an, it circled from Ciyao Town to the southwest, and then turned around and turned southeast to Zoucheng after reaching Yanzhou. Qufu is in this arc.

The looping railway is like a joke.

It's just that Kong Lingyi didn't even think of it, but he made a joke of the whole Qufu. Without the railway, Qufu's traffic would be blocked, business would be difficult, and social and economic development would be restricted for many years.

Didn't he know how many rich towns on both sides of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal were born, all of which were the lifeline of transportation.

It's a pity that Yan Shenggong rejected the gift of history in a completely unwarranted name.

Of course, many people who want to come to Qufu will find that the newly built high-speed railway station is built in Qufu again, that is, Qufu East Station.

It is said that Qufu belongs to Jining, but Jining did not have a high-speed rail station at the beginning... This is also an old trick in Shandong.

The three arrived outside the Confucius Temple, but no one came to greet them.

Lu Bicheng said: "Looks like they want to show us off."

Li Yu said: "Not necessarily. After all, he is Yan Shenggong, super first-rank, and his status is there. Otherwise, he would not write a letter asking us to leave."

Lu Bicheng asked: "What should we do when we go in?"

Li Yu said, "What else can I do? Of course, first go to worship Confucius."

The three of them just wanted to go in, but they were stopped.

Li Yu said to them, "I am Li Yu, invited by Lord Yan Sheng."

The people at the door didn't pay much attention to Li Yu, who had outstanding scientific achievements, and asked directly like an interrogation: "Where are the two of them?"

Li Yu said, "You don't even know each other? This is the famous Mr. Yan Fu, and this is Miss Bicheng, a talented woman from Beijing and Tianjin."

The person at the door pointed to Yan Fu: "He can go in, but women can't."

Li Yu laughed and said, "You guys don't understand this. I don't know Confucian classics, and this place is a sacred place for Confucian classics. I'm afraid there is something I don't understand, so I specially invited this talented woman to be an interpreter."

The person at the door asked doubtfully, "Translation?"

Li Yu said: "Yes, and also, sometimes I like to speak a few words in foreign language, and I need translation." Then Li Yu really said in English, "To see, or not to see: that is the question. But we all have to go in.”

Li Yu paraphrased a famous line from Shakespeare's "Hamlet", life or death is a question.

The person at the door was really dumbfounded, "What are you talking about?"

Li Yu said to Lu Bicheng, "You translate for him."

Lu Bicheng didn't expect that Li Yu would have so many tricks when he encountered a problem, so he suppressed a smile and said, "He said, seeing or not seeing is your problem, but we all have to go in!"

(End of this chapter)