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

Siberia has not had many people since ancient times, let alone the beginning of the [-]th century, it was simply a place of bitter cold.

Today's Trans-Siberian Railway is very close to the Sino-Russian border. Since then, the international situation has been turbulent and unpredictable, and Sino-Soviet relations have once dropped to a freezing point. Therefore, during the Soviet Union, another Bei-Arab Railway was built, far away from the border.

It was the first time for Lu Bicheng to take such a long train, and it was also the first time to go abroad. He sat by the window and looked at the endless wilderness every now and then.

I have to say that sometimes the scenery in the inaccessible places is indeed refreshing, but also infinitely small.

People who engage in art like this kind of feeling of the vastness of the world and the integration into nature.

Li Yu has already flown once, so it is not that new. Besides, he has flown several times in his previous life, so he still spends most of his time doing his own calculations and research.

The train still needs to change at Chelyabinsk, then go to Yekaterinaburg, and then go west all the way to St. Petersburg after passing through Moscow.

After arriving at the station, Markov and Lyapunov of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences came to greet him again.

But this time Li Yu obviously changed his appearance, without braids and wearing Western clothes, so the two of them didn't recognize each other immediately.

Instead, it was Li Yu who greeted them in English first: "Mr. Markov, Mr. Lyapunov, please come and be safe."

The two looked at Li Yu, and asked tentatively, "Are you... Li Yu?"

Li Yu said, "I finally recognized it."

Markov said with a smile: "The gap with the Chinese in my impression is really too big. If I don't say anything, I thought it was a Japanese."

Li Yu also smiled and said, "Now the Japanese don't dare to come to St. Petersburg casually, for fear that they will be arrested as spies."

Lyapunov also said happily: "Mr. Li Yu, I am so excited to see you again! We have been scrambling to read your new mathematical book "Game Theory" recently, which is the same as the previous "Fractals and Chaos". It’s fascinating to have such deep mathematical thought.”

Lyapunov is a person obsessed with mathematics, and he chatted with Li Yu about mathematics when he came up.

Li Yu said frankly: "What I can do is a little pioneering work. The term mathematical thinking is appropriate, but many details need to be supplemented by more professional mathematics experts like you."

The development of mathematics has always followed such a law. It is impossible for one person to complete all the work, and it will take many years to continue to develop.

Moreover, fractal and chaos theory and game theory are subjects with strong vitality, deep connotation, and strong extension. There are still many places that can be explored in the future.

Lyapunov said: "Mr. is too modest. In less than a year, there have been two such brilliant mathematical works, which even reminded me of my predecessor."

The first teacher he mentioned was Chebyshev, a master of Russian mathematics and the founder of the Petersburg School of Mathematics.

Both Markov and Lyapunov were his disciples.

Russian mathematics is still very strong today, mainly because Chebyshev laid the foundation.

Li Yu said: "My math ability is still very lacking."

Compared with professional mathematicians, Li Yu's words are really correct.

Any field can be dissatisfied, but mathematicians are really admired one by one.

To be able to study and understand mathematics is definitely a first-class genius brain. In terms of IQ, it is basically the upper limit of human beings, the top level of the pyramid.

As for Euler, Gauss, etc., they can only be described as gods. It is really impossible to imagine how they have come up with so many advanced achievements in the field of mathematics, just like traveling through the past.

Markov looked at Lu Bicheng who was on the side, and said with a smile: "Last time, Mr. came with the ambassador. I guess this one is Madam."

Lu Bicheng blushed: "No, we are just walking together."

Although the Russians are not as romantic as the French and Italians, when Markov heard this, he immediately "understood": "I understand."

Lu Bicheng asked: "Understand what?"

Markov said happily: "After hearing that Mr. Li Yu is coming to St. Petersburg, I also learned a little about Chinese culture. There is a very interesting proverb, which seems to be said to be only in words, but not intelligible."

Lu Bicheng corrected: "You said it the wrong way, it should be something that can only be understood but cannot be expressed in words."

Immediately, he thought that Markov still wanted to say that they were a couple, and now his ears were a little red, and he quickly defended again: "It's really just traveling together!"

Lyapunov couldn't help but said: "It is said that oriental women have a unique beauty. I saw it today, and it is true."

Markov said: "Let's stop standing here and go to the Academy of Sciences first."

On the way, they passed the Kazan Cathedral again. Li Yu remembered that he met Rasputin here before, so he asked, "Is the priest who claimed to be able to bring the water of God still there?"

Markov said: "Rasputin, who knows where he went again, it's just a false priest who pretends to be a swindler, what's the matter, sir, he still remembers him."

If it wasn't someone who came here, who would have thought that such an absurd stick would be able to bring trouble to the court of Tsarist Russia.

— It’s just that this kind of thing has happened too many times in Chinese history.

Li Yu couldn't explain too much, so he said: "It is because we are good at deception that we should beware. Not everyone has the knowledge to see through deceit."

Lyapunov said: "Sir is right."

It's a pity that they are all scholars and will not be involved in politics, so even if they tell them, they can't interfere with the Tsar himself.

Along the way, Lu Bicheng could hardly see with his eyes, and the exotic scenery was too attractive for those who just saw it.

After arriving at the Academy of Sciences, Lyapunov found a bunch of manuscripts and said to Li Yu: "For the previous fractal and chaos theory, I have conducted in-depth research on the stability of dynamic systems. These are my recent achievements."

Li Yu looked through it, and it was all in the field of pure mathematics, which was also an important achievement for which he became famous and left his name in the history of mathematics.

Li Yu said: "The professor is indeed a master in mathematics, I admire him."

Markov came over and said, "Originally, based on your achievements, you could see the emperor, but now the Winter Palace is busy with military affairs and has no time to take care of it."

Li Yu had no interest in meeting Tsar Nicholas II, and it didn't matter whether he saw him or not.

Li Yu said: "I am honored to meet several outstanding scholars."

"Speaking of scholars," said Lyapunov, "Both Professor Mendeleev and Professor Pavlov of St. Petersburg University would like to see you again."

Li Yu said, "I should call on the professors."

Li Yu came to St. Petersburg University with them the next day.

When Lu Bicheng saw this kind of real Western-style university, he couldn't help sighing: "So this is what a Western university looks like."

Although she couldn't become a student of the Imperial University, and it was even difficult for her to enter the campus, but she was Yan Fu's apprentice after all, and she had occasionally entered the University several times.

Li Yu met Mendeleev at work in the Chemistry Teaching and Research Office.

"Mr. Professor, hello." Li Yu said with a smile.

Mendeleev didn't recognize Li Yu either, "Are you a new student? From the looks of it, are you Japanese?"

Li Yu said, "I am Li Yu."

Mendeleev looked carefully for a while before he recognized it: "The change is really big."

Li Yu said: "It won't be long before the Chinese people will be like this."

It's a pity that Mendeleev couldn't see that time.

Mendeleev said: "Since using the new arrangement of the periodic table you introduced to me, I have received many praises, and many students who have just learned chemistry can quickly master it, which is really a great help to me. "

"It's good that it's useful," Li Yu said with a smile, "If it is popularized all over the world in the future, won't the professor object?"

Mendeleev said: "Of course there is no problem. I also hope that more people will know such an excellent chemical periodic table."

The minds of top scientists are still very broad.

Li Yu said again: "I still have some questions to ask the professor when I come here."

Mendeleev said: "Please tell me."

Li Yu said: "I would like to ask about the manufacture of a disinfectant."

"Disinfection?" Mendeleev asked, "So you still focus on the field of chemistry."

Li Yu said: "I don't know the specific operation, after all, I don't have much research on chemistry."

Li Yu told Mendeleev about some properties of iodophor.

Mendeleev thought carefully for a while and said: "The preparation of iodine is not difficult, but how to make it so stable is indeed a difficult task. It seems that some surfactants can be used, but I am not sure."

Mendeleev had already guessed the direction, but it was indeed not a simple matter.

Li Yu said: "In the future, I will ask the professor a little bit more."

Mendeleev said: "This is a good thing for the benefit of mankind. I will pay more attention to it and send a telegram if there is any progress."

Li Yu said, "Professor Lao."

Mendeleev sighed: "Your proposal is very good. Now the situation between the east and Japan, and the situation between the west and Germany and Austria are tense. I am afraid that war will be inevitable. If there is a war, innocent soldiers will be injured. Better disinfectant reagents can save many young lives."

Li Yu praised: "Teach the heart of the benevolent."

Tsarist Russia is indeed under pressure on both fronts.

To some extent, the Russo-Japanese War also affected the direction of the world.

Russia's eastward expansion was hindered, which intensified the conflicts with Germany and Austria-Hungary in Eastern Europe, which indirectly affected the outbreak of World War I.

History is intertwined, like dominoes, where there is a cause, there may not be an effect, but if there is an effect, there must be a cause.

Mendeleev added: "With your achievements, I don't think it will take long to go to Sweden to win the Nobel Prize."

Li Yu laughed and said, "I can't even get a professor."

Mendeleev said: "You are different from me. You are from China. There is no threat to Western Europe, and they will even be happy to grant you."

Since then, Europe and the United States have talked about China's recession for a while, and it is a bit like that...

But this also means that you are strong, and others have to focus on you.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was indeed no threat, although this sentence sounds more uncomfortable.