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

Chapter 317
Russians definitely don't celebrate Chinese New Year.

In fact, it should be called "Celebrating New Year's Day" now. The Gregorian calendar was implemented after the Republic of China, and New Year's Day was placed on January [-] of the Gregorian calendar.

Before that, New Year's Day was the Spring Festival for later generations.

However, Li Yu is deeply ingrained. When he says that the Spring Festival is the New Year, he should use the name of the New Year in the future, otherwise it will be too easy to confuse.

As for the Japanese, they abolished the lunar calendar earlier. They abolished the lunar calendar as early as the Meiji Restoration period and switched to the Western Gregorian calendar, so many festivals are greatly staggered from ours.

Anyway, the current Chinese New Year in the Qing Dynasty will not affect Japan and Russia to continue fighting.

Although the battlefield is relatively quiet now, everyone knows that this is the calm before the storm, because both sides are trying their best to assemble the army.

In the Russo-Japanese War, the decisive battles of the army basically broke out in Liaoning.

But the Qing court has hastily declared neutrality, and Li Yu has almost done what he should have done.

From the words of the Russian ambassador Resal, it can be heard that the other party has paid a certain amount of attention, and Lushun should have increased the guarding force.

If Makarov, the new commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet, survives, it is hard to say whether Japan can win.

But he will die in a month after being hit by a mine. It is because of the large-scale mine-laying tactic proposed by Takeo Hirose, who was referred to by Japan as the "No. [-] Army God of the Russo-Japanese War".

Makarov had just been appointed as the commander-in-chief when he was in danger, and he took many positive actions. For example, he realized the danger in the rear, so he decided to lay mines in the coastal area of ​​the Liaodong Peninsula to prevent the Japanese from landing and threaten the Lushun base from behind.

In fact, the destination of the Japanese army is here.

Then he improved the defense of Lushun Port, stepped up the repair of seriously injured ships, and often sent fleets to sea to strengthen combat readiness training.He also ordered the Vladivostok fleet to actively harass the Japanese sea line of communication in the Sea of ​​Japan in order to disperse the Japanese pressure on Lushun.

But it is a pity that Makarov only served as commander-in-chief for one month before he died under a mine.

Marklov was one of the few sober and capable generals of the Russian army in the entire Russo-Japanese War. After his death, the next commander, Wittheft, no longer took active actions.

But this is enough, otherwise, if Makarov lives long, Japan really may not be able to win.

Although Li Yu and Mark Love have met twice, but his fate is really powerless.

-

On this day, Li Yu drove a car to Lu Bicheng's residence. After entering the door, he found that she was actually immersed in drawing, using a pencil.

Li Yu asked curiously, "You actually have this hobby?"

Lu Bicheng said: "When I was in the United States and Europe, I saw many interesting illustrations and comic strips, especially the Star Wars series published in the United States. Those illustrations look very interesting."

Li Yu asked, "Did you learn to draw when you were young?"

Lu Bicheng said: "Calligraphy and painting must have been learned since childhood, but I learned traditional brush painting."

Li Yu said: "It's good to have a foundation in calligraphy and painting. Pencil drawing can be learned slowly, but the form of comics is indeed very promising."

"Comics?" Lu Bicheng said, "It turns out that the name is used in the West. I thought it was also called comics."

The word "caricature" has existed in China for a long time, but it means "casual drawing", which is quite in line with the original meaning of the word "manga".

Li Yu looked at the content of Lu Bicheng's paintings, and intentionally imitated the illustrations of Star Wars by American painters, so he said, "Actually, you can draw the complete story in the form of comics or comic strips."

Lu Bicheng's eyes lit up, but he said immediately: "But there are some things I can't imagine, maybe my brain is still too inflexible, the story of science fiction is too grand, and I have never seen it before."

Li Yu said: "Don't worry about this, I will help you. I can at least draw sketches. Although I am not good at handwriting, Chinese studies, or painting, you can just make up for it. Two swords combined, invincible."

Lu Bicheng blushed slightly: "What two swords combined?"

Li Yu said to himself: "You can't be proud. You still need to practice the basic skills of manga, but you won't be too slow to learn if you have the foundation of traditional Chinese painting. The key is to be able to create images, so you can read more manga when you have nothing to do."

Lu Bicheng said, "You mean pictorial?"

During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, many pictorials were born.The earliest one was "Dianshizhai Pictorial" under "Shenbao" in 1884.

Since then, dozens of pictorials have appeared, so it is not unfamiliar.

Li Yu said: "Most of the pictorials are single-panel illustrations, and you can draw them in longer pages, which will definitely be very popular."

"It sounds like it will be a lot of work, and the price will be high," Lu Bicheng said.

Li Yu said: "It's really not a very light thing, just paint slowly. As for the price, don't worry, there will always be a market."

Counting it, Lu Bicheng has a lot of tasks now. Not only does she have to write poems, but she also translates Grimm's fairy tales and Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, polishes them for Li Yurun, and now adds comics.

Lu Bicheng said: "I never imagined that going out for a walk would be so fulfilling."

Li Yu must have watched a lot of anime, and told her about it in general, but it was very superficial. After all, he is not an art major, and most of what he said was superficial.

In the end, he talked more and more vigorously, and even said: "We may even be able to acquire some Japanese manga agencies in the future!"

"Japan? How come Japan is involved again?" Lu Bicheng interrupted Li Yu's unrestrained imagination, "I haven't even written a word, and I haven't even drawn a complete cartoon."

Li Yu smiled and said, "I have confidence in you."

Lu Bicheng now finds writing and drawing with hard pens more interesting, and he is happy to learn, as long as he is interested.

Li Yu then asked again: "Are you going back to Tianjin for the New Year?"

Lu Bicheng shook his head: "I didn't do anything, what face do I have to go back, and the current situation..."

Li Yu said, "Why don't you go to my place, let's celebrate the New Year together, how lively it is."

Lu Bicheng replied immediately: "Sure!"

Immediately, I felt that I was a little too straightforward, and I kept rubbing the pencil: "I..."

Li Yu smiled and said, "Everyone welcomes you."

Lu Bicheng is usually a straightforward girl, but at this time she is still a bit awkward, after all, she grew up under traditional education, "I will spend the New Year with you during the day, and come back at night."

Li Yu said: "That's so troublesome! Now there are houses in the mansion, and you can live there as you like."

Lu Bicheng said: "But..."

Li Yu said bluntly: "No but, do as I say!"

Lu Bicheng bit his lip and did not refute.

-

Aoki Hall.

Jinwei Zhaoxue sneaked in.

In the room sat Yasuya Uchida, the Japanese envoy to the Qing Dynasty, and Naniwa Kawashima.

As the Russo-Japanese War has already started, Japan's first generation of spy chiefs Nobujun Aoki and Toyama Mitsuru have all gone to the front.

Konoe Zhaoxue reported the latest situation to them: "Minister Uchida, Mr. Kawashima, there is something I must tell you immediately. Just yesterday, the Russian ambassador Resal and the imperial family's son Zaizhen met Li Yu. .”

Uchida Yasuya frowned: "Russian ambassador? Why is he going to see Li Yu?"

The timing is too sensitive.

Konoe Akiyuki said: "The Russian ambassador probably wanted to purchase radio equipment, and the price he offered was extremely high."

Naniwa Kawashima said, "Could it be that Li Yu is leaning toward Russia?"

Uchida Yasuya said: "Not necessarily. The Russian ambassador went with Zai Zhen. Zai Zhen is the son of Prince Qing. From what I know about Prince Qing, he will never show any partiality. The purpose may be only money."

Prince Qing's ability to be an extremely talented minister as an offshoot of the royal family is also considered to be well versed in the various unspoken rules of officialdom, and he can play it thoroughly.

Naniwa Kawashima also understood these princes and ministers: "The princes of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties did not choose sides casually. Even if they did, they would choose us."

Uchida Yasuya said: "So they may be just a commercial behavior. But in any case, this kind of behavior will cause harm to us, and we must guard against it. I will send a telegram to General Aoki today, telling him that the Russian army also has secret weapons. .”

They all use the radio as their secret weapon now.

Naniwa Kawashima said to Konoe Zhaoyuki: "You have done a good job in spy missions. From now on, you must catch Li Yu even more firmly and obtain information."

Konoe Zhaoxue said: "The humble job understands."

Uchida Yasuya said: "Both hard and soft measures must be taken. To Zhao Xue, you should gain his full trust as soon as possible. It is best to let him become your servant. In addition, we need to give Li Yu a good beating!"

Konoe Zhaoxue said: "The humble job will fulfill its mission. And I brought back a young man from Japan. He is a native Chinese, but he has sworn allegiance to the emperor. Maybe it can come in handy."

Konoe Zhaoyuki recommended Xiao Zuoxiang to Uchida Yasuya and Kawashima Naniwa.

The two are quite satisfied with Xiao Zuoxiang.

Konoe Zhaoxue went on to say: "In the future, some operations will be much more convenient with him."

Uchida Yasuya praised: "The person recommended by Konoe-sama is really good. You have shown leadership in espionage work, very good! Maybe you really have hope to enter the Konoe family."

This is the long-cherished wish of Konoe Zhaoyuki, she bowed her head and said: "For the sake of the emperor, I will die in a lowly position!"

Naniwa Kawashima asked, "Master Uchida, how do you want to beat Li Yu?"

Uchida Yasuya said: "I haven't thought about it yet, but it must be painful for him. Only with a big stick and carrots can the Chinese people completely surrender to us."

Naniwa Kawashima said: "I read in the book that the carrot on the stick is the policy of President Theodore Roosevelt in the United States today. Uchida-sama is really knowledgeable."

Uchida Yasuya was very helpful to Kawashima Naniwa's flattery: "I think more. Americans and Europeans have a lot to learn, but they do things too rigidly, and they don't know how to turn their brains around. As an aggressor, you have to Put on a face of benevolence and righteousness, but what's the use of hypocrisy? You must do everything right, and then you don't need to put on an appearance, and the other party will naturally be obedient."

Naniwa Kawashima said: "What Uchida-sama said is too reasonable. Listening to what you say is better than reading ten years of books."

Uchida Yasuya said: "This Li Yu is too evasive. He always thinks that he can be famous all over the world so he doesn't have to be afraid of us. Hmph, but he is in my hands."

Konoe Zhaoxue asked after listening to the nonsense of the two adults, "My lord, is there any specific task that Zhaoxue needs to do?"

Uchida Yasuya said: "When I need you, I will naturally find you. You should go back quickly, and you must pay attention to hiding your whereabouts. We have the next step, and we will tell you through Xiao Zuoxiang as soon as possible."

Konoe Zhaoxue bowed and said, "Hi!"

-

Li Yu's residence already has a Chinese New Year atmosphere.

Uncle Wang and Fengling bought many year-round products and many lanterns, hanging all over the courtyards.

凤铃拿给李谕采买清单：“先生，猪买了10头、羊买了10头，还有腊肉100斤、米200斤、面100斤……”

Li Yu wondered: "Wait, why are the units of pigs and sheep 'heads'?"

Feng Ling said: "Wouldn't it be bad to buy so much raw meat? Besides, the New Year is approaching, and meat is really expensive. It costs 100 renminbi a catty. They might as well go grab it! But through my acquaintances, a pig only costs 12 taels of silver. Don't be afraid of being bad!"

Li Yu smiled and said, "Then you have to keep an eye on these second senior brothers."

Feng Ling said: "Don't worry sir, the pigpen and sheeppen are next to the stable next door, so there won't be any smell."

Li Yu said, "Remember to allocate more than half to the workers in the factory."

Zhao Qian agreed: "Master, don't worry."

Lu Bicheng said: "It seems that everyone can eat meat dumplings during the Chinese New Year this year."

Fengling said: "Big... oh, Miss Bicheng, it's not just for Chinese New Year, the master said, you can't lose meat during the first lunar month, why don't you buy so many pigs and sheep?"

Li Yu said happily: "What are you waiting for, let's make dumplings together!"

Well, speaking of it this way, it suddenly feels like a Spring Festival Gala sketch.

Li Yu mobilized everyone to join, and Uncle Wang said excitedly, "Dumplings stuffed with white flour and meat are really like Chinese New Year!"

In the past, meat was really not affordable for ordinary people.

On the one hand, the income of ordinary people is low, and on the other hand, the level of breeding is also low. It takes two years to raise a pig before it can be slaughtered.

In short, ordinary people want to eat dumplings with white noodles and meat, which is really only possible during the Chinese New Year all year round.

Even lower-level officials in the county can't eat it casually.

Uncle Wang made jujube cake according to the tradition. It was not the jujube cake that Li Yu had seen before traveling, but something cooked from red dates and millet.

To put it simply, it is very thick jujube rice. It cannot be eaten immediately after cooking, but should be cooled overnight.After it solidified the next morning, cut it open with a knife, and it became a piece of "jujube cake".

When eating, you can't eat it cold, but put it in a cage and steam it again.

In addition, Li Yu asked Uncle Wang and the others to buy fireworks and firecrackers.

It was also an absolute luxury in the late Qing Dynasty.Ordinary people can only simulate the sound of firecrackers by stepping on straws.

As for fireworks, only rich people can afford them.

At night, Li Yu, Lu Bicheng, Wang Bo, Zhao Qian, Fengling, Jinwei Zhaoxue, and the remaining Yu Heqin and others finished eating meat dumplings, and came to the courtyard to watch the gorgeous fireworks rising into the sky and the endless firecrackers Li Yu finally felt that a real year had passed after time travel.

Even though there are many potential risks, I feel a lot more at ease in my heart for some reason.

(End of this chapter)