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

Chapter 343
Style Lei is the imperial design family of the Qing Dynasty royal family. Generally speaking, they are biased towards architecture.

Many people who have never been in contact with engineering may not be very clear about the order of house design. In a design institute, no matter what type of building it is, there must be architectural design and drawings first.

Then the architectural design and drawings are given to the person in charge of the structural design, and they carry out force analysis and calculation.

In the end, a complete drawing that can be tendered can be produced.

Of course, the drawings from the design institute still cannot be directly given to the construction unit to build houses. The construction unit must continue to deepen the design and become construction drawings that can be completely used by on-site construction personnel.

However, there will be many changes during the construction process, so after the construction is finally completed, the construction unit needs to issue another as-built drawing.

This is the complete engineering data in terms of drawings.

It sounds troublesome, but for the sake of quality and safety, it can only be so.

Style Lei is more inclined to the initial architectural design.

It can be seen from the above sequence that architectural design is the leader and is very important.

Since the building floors in ancient times were very low, the requirements for structural design were not too high, and it was enough to only pay attention to the most basic "strong columns and weak beams" and "strong nodes and weak components". Therefore, the Lei family was not only responsible for architectural design, but sometimes will be responsible for the creation.

Suddenly it sounds like nothing, but it is actually not simple, because China has been lagging behind in architectural design.

Many large landmark buildings in various places are designed by foreigners. To be precise, they are responsible for the architectural design, that is, what the building looks like; the Chinese are responsible for the structural design.

The most famous bird's nest is.

Because architectural design needs to consider a very critical point: aesthetics.

At least until the end of the Qing Dynasty, we were absolutely proud of the world in terms of artistic taste, even if the national strength was very weak.

But later, I don’t know when Europe and the United States began to pay attention to this area, and then grasped the right to speak about art in the world, and they have the final say on what is beautiful.In terms of modern design, China started late, leading to a slight lag in the concept of architectural design.It wasn't until Li Yu crossed over that he changed his mind, at least he was no longer completely dependent on others.

Lei Xiancai said to Xiao Dezhang: "Eunuch De, you are a quick learner. When you come up with the blueprints, I will make ironing samples for you."

The ironing sample is an architectural model, very delicate.

Xiao De Zhang said with a smile: "It's a good relationship, and your craftsmanship is so obvious that foreigners must have never seen it before."

Later, the Lei family declined, and the technique of ironing samples was lost.Fortunately, most of the drawings of the Lei family were successfully rescued by Zhu Qiqian. At present, [-]% to [-]% of the drawings of the Lei family are collected in the National Library.It seems that at the time before Li Yu traveled, the staff of the National Library even recovered the process of ironing samples.

In fact, as long as the funds are in place, any technology of the ancients can be restored by modern people, it depends on whether you want to or not.

Pu Lun gave Lei Xiancai a boat ticket. After all, Lei Xiancai was a young man and was very excited.

At present, Lei Tingchang, the seventh generation of the Lei family, is still alive. He has undertaken many major projects, such as the Summer Palace, Cixi's Dingdong Tomb, and Guangxu's Chongling Tomb.

Lei Xiancai smiled and said, "Maybe I can learn some foreign architectural styles."

Li Yu encouraged: "It's absolutely fine. If you have been to the concession, you can see many of them."

Li Yu didn't want to see such a good family of architects fall away, and it would be helpful for him to see the world.

Historically, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, as the designers of the royal family, the Xianglei family had no livelihood and fell rapidly.

If they want to continue, they must understand some new architectural design and be more friendly to the people.

Because there will be no more dynasty in the future, the design concept will be greatly changed, at least in terms of budget, it will be completely different.

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When he got home, Li Yu received a letter from Europe, which obviously had more stamps on it. It seems that the postage has increased a lot.

There is no way, the city gate catches fire, which affects the fish in the pond.

The letter contains thick technical information about the airship, but it is all public content, and it is impossible for Earl Zeppelin to reveal some more confidential materials.

But this is the effect Li Yu wants: to give the Japanese hope, there will be a reason to start investing, and after that, they can only ask for more blessings.

Li Yu studied it specifically so that he could go to a Japanese school to give a speech.

Waiting for the departure time, De Ling finished the translation of Rogue One, a Star Wars episode. This time, he had plenty of time, so he handed over the French version of the manuscript to Li Yu.

Yu Heqin also worked hard and completed the final formula of the toothpaste.Li Yu tried it, and finally felt a bit like a modern toothpaste. Once it is launched, it will definitely sweep the market. As for the high-end operation of fluoridation, there is no rush.

It happened to take Yu Heqin to the United States, and let him stay in Japan to study chemistry at Kyoto University for a period of time and accompany Ma Junwu when he came back.

As for the others, Li Yu originally wanted Xie Yuxi to go with him, but considering that he had a lot of information at home, and only he knew that Konoe Zhaoxue was a Japanese spy, he should take them to the United States.

And Lu Bicheng heard that they were all going, so he couldn't stay any longer...

Well, nothing more than a few more tickets.

A few days later, Pu Lun sent news that he could leave in a week.

After Li Yu got the exact time, he prepared to go to Japan to wait. Anyway, under the current situation, the ship must stop at Yokohama Port once.

Naturally, Qiu Jin was called.

Li Yu personally drove Lu Bicheng to pick her up.

In the Wang family's mansion, Li Yu saw not only Qiu Jin, but also Shigeko Hattori, wife of Hattori Unoyoshi, the Japanese professor at the Imperial University, and Qiu Jin's husband, Wang Tingjun.

Wang Tingjun's face was serious. After seeing Li Yu, he said listlessly, "I've seen the emperor."

Hearing his tone, Li Yu knew that he was very depressed. Looking at the whole Qing Dynasty, he couldn't help but think that his wife would definitely go abroad to study, and it was only his family...

It's okay to put it in later generations, but under the feudal ethics, it's really uncomfortable.

Li Yu comforted, "My lord Wang wants to be more open. After receiving an education, maybe my wife will go down in history like Li Qingzhao."

Wang Tingjun knew his wife very well, and said helplessly, "Li Qingzhao? If that's the case, I will be thankful. Don't talk about worshiping Buddha Guanyin, I can worship the God of foreigners! She, I think what she wants to do is Hua Mulan! Mulan Guiying!"

Lu Bicheng on the side whispered, "Hua Mulan and Mu Guiying are also pretty good."

Wang Tingjun said to Li Yu again: "Emperor Master, you must know that my wife wants to go to Japan very much, and I can't stop it. Hey, let her go! Whether it's studying abroad or sightseeing, she will go anyway. , the emperor has traveled to various countries, please take care of me on the way."

Li Yu clasped his fists and said, "Definitely!"

Wang Tingjun said to Shigeko Hattori again: "Madam, you are from Japan. When you arrive in Japan, please take care of me. It is always inconvenient for a woman to go to a foreign country. The child is still waiting for her to come back."

Hattori Shigeko smiled and said, "If you want to go, you can go too."

Wang Tingjun said: "I am entangled in official business, how can I get away from it?"

Hattori Shigeko said: "Then you give me enough money, and then put a hundred hearts at ease."

Hattori Shigeko and Qiu Jin got into the car, Wang Tingjun watched the car disappear at the intersection, and then returned to the house with a sigh.

After arriving in Tianjin, Yuan Shikai, governor of Zhili, came to see him off. After exchanging pleasantries, Yuan Shikai called Li Yu away alone.

He took out a cipher book and said: "I'm afraid I will contact the emperor in the future. If you send us a code, you can use this set of ciphers."

Li Yu couldn't refuse, so he could only accept it and said, "I will do my best."

In fact, Li Yu has already done the most important things, and it doesn't matter if he is there or not. At most, he can guide some radio operations.

Li Yu flipped through the cipher book and asked, "Has student Wu Peifu gone to Liaodong?"

Yuan Shikai said: "Yes, thanks to the help of the radio, the transmission of information has been much smoother."

Li Yu said worriedly: "If he is caught by the Russians, it will be hard to say. You see, this code book is all in Chinese, and it is obviously a soldier from Beiyang. Now that the court has declared neutrality, the Russians will find out that we are secretly helping the Japanese." , it will be troublesome later on.”

Yuan Shikai said: "The emperor's teacher is so sharp in his analysis, do you usually pay attention?"

Li Yu said, "Look at the news, all the newspapers are talking about this now."

Yuan Shikai asked: "It seems that we can't hide it from the emperor. In fact, we really hope that the Japanese will win."

Li Yu said: "It's like lice on a bald man's head, it's obvious. I accidentally saw several Japanese at the residence of Mr. Taizu."

In fact, as early as a few months before the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Yuan Shikai guessed that Japan and Russia would go to war. At the end of 1903, he called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs twice, urging that he must maintain neutrality from outside the situation.

He then also invokes some elements of public international law regarding the "neutrality" of war.

Yuan Shikai was one of the few sensible people in the Qing court. This kind of understanding was reflected in the fact that other court officials wanted to be neutral out of fear, but Yuan Shikai saw that Japan, Russia, and other countries wanted to be neutral, and then he could operate secretly.

The content of "neutrality" in public international law excerpted by Yuan Shikai, such as "the territory of a neutral country shall not be violated", "the sovereignty of a neutral country shall be guaranteed", etc., was obviously the most urgent hope of the rulers of the Qing Dynasty.

In fact, the Neutrality Convention, which truly has the significance of international law, was not recognized by the world until 1907.The previous public international law was just some general principles.

That's why the Qing government's "neutrality" seemed absurd.

Because once the war is fought on the territory of a neutral country, how can there be neutrality?
Even in Switzerland during World War II, military planes patrolled the border all the time during the war, and it was impossible to let the troops of the participating countries really go to their own territory, otherwise it would be impossible to say.

Yuan Shikai knew very well that neutrality was indeed not only the situation that the Qing court wanted to see, but also the situation that all the great powers wanted.

Sure enough, on the day when Japan and Russia declared war, the American envoy first expressed his respect for the "neutrality" of the Qing government, followed by the ambassadors of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany also expressed the same wishes.The reason, of course, is that they do not want to harm their own interests, because a stable Qing government is more conducive to their colonial rule in China.

As for the two warring countries, Russia is obviously at a disadvantage due to the issue of the "Sino-Russian Secret Treaty", knowing that the Qing government cannot help them, and the neutrality of the Qing court is the best for them.

For example, Russian Minister of War Kuropatkin is most worried about China's position. He once said: "The [-] million Chinese who have been divided piece by piece are obviously going to bite, and we will be the first to be bitten hard." "Once we go to war, we will have to enter a country that is completely unsuitable as a battlefield. The Chinese will help the Japanese."

Japan is also afraid that the Qing government is not neutral, even if the Qing government is really on its side, Japan is also afraid.

Because Japan knew that the Qing court could not bring out troops to resist the Russian army, and it would only drag itself down.And once the Qing government declares war on Russia, Russia can naturally send troops from other places.

However, Japan has devoted all its power to the whole country, and has no spare power to resist the Russian army in other directions.

Judging from the situation after the war, this is indeed the case. At the end of the Russo-Japanese War, Russia still had hundreds of thousands of troops in the Far East, but Japan was exhausted. All the 13 divisions of the army in the country were desperate and unable to fight anymore.

Li Yu was still a little worried about the spies sent by Yuan Shikai, because Wu Peifu was not a spy at all, so it was easy to be exposed.

So Li Yu warned: "Master Taiwan, if student Wu is robbed by the Russian army, he can try to contact the horse bandits in the Northeast."

Yuan Shikai asked in surprise, "Horse bandits?"

Li Yu nodded: "Their range of activities in the northeast region is much larger, and they are more familiar with the terrain."

"I know this, but they have now defected to the Japanese side and are enemies of the Russian army. With their strength, I am afraid they are not opponents of the Russian army." Yuan Shikai said.

Li Yu said: "There is also a special bandit leader."

Yuan Shikai asked, "Who?"

Li Yu said, "This man is called Zhang Zuolin."

Zhang Zuolin's team has already accepted the "recruitment", but obviously he is not so obedient.

Yuan Shikai had a general understanding of the situation in Northeast China, and said, "Zhang Zuolin? I know him. He is a cunning man with two heads."

Li Yu said: "Cunning is because he only has interests in his eyes and has no position."

Yuan Shikai frowned: "The horse bandits have always been difficult to control, and the horse bandits who have no position can't be controlled."

Li Yu said: "It is indeed difficult to control, but when the interests are in place, everything is easy to talk about."

Yuan Shikai said: "Unexpectedly, the emperor's teacher is so clear about the current situation, just like Zhuge in Longzhong."

Li Yu said with a smile: "A little guesswork, just for the reference of the Taiwanese master."

Yuan Shikai said: "I have written it down."

After Li Yu left, Rihachiro Sakanishi, who is currently a senior military advisor in Yuan Shikai's residence and future Japanese second-generation spy chief, stepped out and said, "The emperor's suggestion can be adopted."

Yuan Shikai asked, "Do you know Zhang Zuolin he mentioned?"

Rihachiro Sakanishi said: "Kenjiro Kurosawa, an intelligence officer of our Empire in the Northeast, wrote to me to introduce the horse bandits in the Northeast in detail. He specifically mentioned that among the bandit leaders, Zhang Zuolin was different, and he was bold and reckless. , but sometimes quite strategic and unpredictable.”

Yuan Shikai said: "A group of horse bandits, I didn't expect that your side also made a special investigation."

"Once a war breaks out, all information must be in hand, and any small mistake may affect the success or failure of the war!" Rihachiro Sakanishi paused, and then said, "The emperor teacher of your country is really good, I don’t know any means, just a few words in the newspaper can be worth our years of intelligence detection.”

Yuan Shikai understood the small calculations of the Japanese in his heart, and said with a smile: "Maybe he is not only the emperor's teacher, but also the national teacher."

Rihachiro Sakanishi smiled slightly, and said with stern eyes, "It's a character."

Both Li Yu and Sakashi Rihachiro said that, but it made Yuan Shikai a little interested in this little pony bandit who actually knew the "way of mediation".

(End of this chapter)