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

Lu Bicheng wanted to continue teaching at Beiyang Women's School, so Li Yu accompanied her to Tianjin.

When a big shot like Li Yu comes, school supervisor Fu Zengxiang will definitely let him shine and shine.

There happened to be a math class that morning, and the content taught was very simple, namely the formulas for the circumference and area of ​​a circle.

It can be seen that the school is still at the elementary school level in terms of science.

The math teacher is called Shen Zhengzeng, and he was a graduate of Fuzhou Mawei Shipbuilding School.

After he finished speaking, Fu Zengxiang asked Li Yu to continue speaking.

There were all female students sitting in the audience. Li Yu said with a smile: "I'm going to talk about what you just learned. You should all understand the formula for the circumference of a circle, right?"

The students answered together: "I understand, and I also did a lot of examples."

"Very good, I will test you," Li Yu said, "The circumference of the Earth is about 4 kilometers, which is 4000 million meters, which is a large value. If there is such a long rope, it is wrapped around the Earth. .Now I cut it off and add 15 meters from the middle, still making it round, how much do you think the rope will lift from the ground?"

The people below began to speculate:
"1 feet?"

"1 centimeters?"

"No, I think it's just a hint, I can't even feel it raising."

Li Yu laughed: "Let me tell you, this rope will rise about 2.4 meters, which is much higher than anyone here."

"What!" The students couldn't believe it, "It's impossible!"

"Why is it impossible?" Li Yu asked.

The student replied: "Because 4000 meters is too little for 15 million meters."

Li Yu said: "Mathematics can't just rely on feeling. It requires formula derivation. Didn't you just learn it?"

This problem is a very typical mathematical illusion.

Li Yu scrawled the derivation process on the blackboard:
The original perimeter is C and the original radius is r.

Assuming that the added height is h, we can get:
C+15=2π(r+h)

C+15=2πr+2πh,

Among them, C=2πr, which can be eliminated,
So 15=2πh
h=15/2π
H=2.4
All the students in the audience were dumbfounded, "Is this really true!?"

Li Yu said: "So mathematics is very interesting. Everyone should look at mathematics flexibly. If you can look at this problem from the perspective of a function image, you will find that it can be regarded as a linear function of circumference with respect to radius, and 2π is just the rate of change. "

Li Yu's mathematical thinking is much better than that of the mathematics teacher, and he can explain even simple questions to the students much more thoroughly.

After he finished speaking, the audience burst into warm applause.

Fu Zengxiang praised: "As expected of an imperial master, he has profound insights and profound principles."

Li Yu said: "The great thing is mathematics itself. I just hope to guide students to become interested, because interest is the best teacher."

"Interest is the best teacher!" Fu Zengxiang gave a thumbs up, "The Emperor's knowledge of education also makes me ashamed. Why don't you be the principal!"

Li Yu laughed loudly: "Being the principal of a girls' school is such a wonderful job. I don't believe you are willing to let me do it! And now that I have been appointed as the supervisor of Tsinghua University, I have nothing to do."

Fu Zengxiang also smiled and said: "That's right! I can't bear to catch you and your wife together."

Lu Bicheng had to continue taking the next class, but Fu Zengxiang temporarily called Li Yu away.

"I have been entrusted by others to organize and build a society similar to that in the West." Fu Zengxiang said.

"Good thing," Li Yu said, "What kind of society should we establish?"

"Geographical Society," Fu Zengxiang replied, "we feel that too much land has been cut off over the years, and according to Beiyang intelligence reports, the Japanese are secretly mapping our country's geography. We should not fall behind them, otherwise we will not be as good as in a few years. The Japanese understand their country’s mountain geography.”

Through espionage organizations such as Toa Doubunsuen, Japan spent decades continuously surveying China's terrain and drawing maps, which were much more accurate and detailed than those held by the Qing government and the Republic of China government.

For China, geography is a relatively easy subject to learn, after all, there are sages like Xu Xiake.

Fu Zengxiang took Li Yu out of the concession and came to a courtyard in the north. The general location was equivalent to the location of the later Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts.

After entering the door, Fu Zengxiang first introduced Li Yu: "Everyone, cheer up! Look who is here! Science giant Li Yu!"

Several people in the room exclaimed: "Oh my God! Li Yu has won many foreign awards!"

Then Fu Zengxiang introduced Li Yu one by one, "This is Bai Yukun, this is Zhang Xiangwen..."

Li Yu shook hands with them.

Fu Zengxiang said happily: "Please ask Mr. Li Yu to give you some advice. It will definitely be of great help to the Geoscience Society we are about to establish."

Li Yu said: "You are all people who are devoted to academics and interested in improving the country. I don't know if I can help you, but if you really need my help, I will definitely do it. Geography is a basic subject, and many people nowadays In the name of exploration, people from abroad are actually secretly exploring our country’s geological resources, so we have to be on guard.”

"The Imperial Master is right!" Zhang Xiangwen said angrily, "What's even more annoying is that the imperial court has given in blindly and cut off such a vast land in one move. It is heartbreaking! They must not know how many important uses the land has. The implementation of geography is urgent! "

"Yes, we want more people to understand geography," Li Yu said. "You can open a magazine specifically to publish geography articles and photos. There is a similar magazine in the United States called "National Geographic" for reference. , there are many precious photos on it.”

"Taking pictures does require learning. This is an ability we are relatively lacking." Zhang Xiangwen said.

"Simple, I can help with this matter," Li Yu said. "A portable camera has appeared in the United States. It is extremely simple to take pictures. Although the resolution is not that good, it is enough to be used."

Zhang Xiangwen and the others had never heard of this thing before, and they were all shocked: "Portable camera?"

Li Yu, carrying it with him as he had carried his cell phone in his previous life, took it out and said, "Here, it's only this big."

Everyone gathered around, but they didn't dare to make a move.

"You all stand still, I'll take a picture for everyone to demonstrate." Li Yu stood up and said.

After they stood, Li Yu counted: "Get ready! Let's go!"

"Crack!" The shutter sounded.

"Okay!" Li Yu said.

Fu Zengxiang had a question mark on his face: "Is it filmed now?"

"I took the photo," Li Yu said. "It's best to learn how to develop photos, or go to a photo studio directly."

Everyone was impressed: "Such a powerful machine is unheard of!"

Li Yu said: "I will ask the United States to send a few more units as sponsorship."

Fu Zengxiang said hurriedly: "How can this be possible? I am very grateful to the emperor for opening my eyes and contacting me on my behalf. How can I ask you to spend more money?"

"It's not much money," Li Yu said with a smile, "If you start a magazine, just give me a few issues."

Zhang Xiangwen cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Imperial Master!" Then he took out an article of his own: "I have another earth science paper, and I hope that Imperial Master will comment on it."

Li Yu glanced at it and immediately saw the sentence "Northern Zone: bounded by Beiling Huai River in the south and the Great Wall of Yinshan Mountain in the north."

Li Yu's mind was spinning rapidly and he immediately knew what it meant.

The so-called "Northern Belt: Southern Boundary" refers to the geographical dividing line between the north and south of China; "Beiling Huaihe River" refers to the Qinling-Huaihe River line.

This was the first time that the Chinese people became aware of the North-South dividing line.It was actually Zhang Xiangwen who proposed it for the first time.

Li Yu couldn't help but feel even more awe-struck.

Li Yu said: "Your Excellency is really admirable. It is not easy to discover macroscopic laws in an era when there is no aerial survey and the traffic is so congested."

"Master Emperor agrees with my humble opinion?" Zhang Xiangwen asked.

"I couldn't agree more!" Li Yu said, "The Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River are divided into the north and the south. This discovery is of great significance for understanding the natural geographical laws of our country and guiding agricultural production. Sir, I owe you the most."

Zhang Xiangwen did not expect to receive such praise from Li Yu, "Actually, I still have many issues that I need to continue to learn, such as climatology and botany, which I am not very good at at the moment. But from my cursory research, I have vaguely discovered the connection between the north and south of this line. difference."

Li Yu nodded: "It's worth continuing to study."

Zhang Xiangwen said: "In the future I will take the portable camera given by my husband and take photos all over the country."

Li Yu smiled and said: "It makes me a little envious, just like contemporary Xu Xiake."

Zhang Xiangwen was important in promoting geography in China in the early twentieth century.Moreover, he also joined the Tongmenghui and was friends with Zhang Taiyan, Cai Yuanpei and others.

Zhang Xiangwen said: "Master Emperor once traveled to many countries. I have always had a question: In the West, are physical geography and biogeography integrated?"

Li Yu thought for a while: "The angle of your question is very constructive. At least for now, Western geography still focuses more on physical geography, while biology is included in zoology and botany, and even includes the theory of evolution."

Zhang Xiangwen said: "But after many years of thinking, I found that it is very inappropriate to separate physical geography and biogeography. This seems to cause the scientific nature of geography to be reduced. But foreigners make such a distinction, which makes me very distressed."

Li Yu said categorically: "I also think there should be a merger. More importantly, you don't have to care what foreigners do, they may not be right in everything."

"With the words of Emperor Master, I have a clue in my heart." Zhang Xiangwen said.

Li Yu said: "In the future, you may also be a master who establishes a sect."

"I don't have this idea," Zhang Xiangwen said, "I have only been studying geography for more than ten years."

"Only ten years?" Li Yu asked in surprise.

Zhang Xiangwen sighed: "I was deeply saddened by the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War and the ceding of so much land to Japan, so I decided to start studying geography. There were not many books at that time, and the few translations had many errors, and I spent a lot of time Less time to study foreign languages.”

It is indeed not easy to engage in learning at this time.

But what Zhang Xiangwen said can represent the attitude of many early geographers, which was due to the feeling of loss of territory.

For the Earth Society, Li Yu would definitely help if he could.

Geography is a subject that is actually very interesting to popularize, and it is not difficult for the general public to learn. It can be educational and entertaining. At the same time, it can also allow the people to have a deeper understanding of the great mountains and rivers of the motherland. Needless to say, there will be benefits in the future.

When Li Yu was chatting animatedly with them, someone came in and said to Fu Zengxiang and Li Yu: "You two, Governor Yuan has invited you."

-

At this time, Yuan Shikai was leading a large number of officials to greet Cixi.

Last year's Encouragement Meeting was very good. Cixi wanted to come over to take a look and test Yuan Shikai's background.

At this time, Yuan Shikai and Prince Qing Yikuang were on the same boat, so Yikuang revealed all of Cixi's attitude to Yuan Shikai early: Cixi was regarded as a local inspection for the New Deal or constitutional establishment.

The two men who ruined the Qing Dynasty wear a pair of trousers, which is a perfect match.

In front of the Quanye Institute, Yuan Shikai made a very grand ceremony, with a red carpet, a gun salute, and a ribbon-cutting operation.

But just as Cixi picked up the scissors, she suddenly stopped and said to Yuan Shikai: "Don't rush to cut this color. You have to see if it is really the color."

Yuan Shikai was so smart that he immediately waved his hand and said: "Get out quickly!"

Cixi took the lead and walked into the exhibition hall. She was faced with several sewing machines and several female workers weaving cloth.

Cixi clicked her tongue: "In the end, I still have to use my hands."

Yuan Shikai then said to a scribe next to him holding a pen and paper: "Write it down quickly."

After that, Cixi saw exhibitions such as irrigation systems, electrical systems, and boilers, but she seemed not to be very satisfied with them.

Until I saw an electric fan and wondered, "This is this?"

Yuan Shikai said: "Back to the Queen Mother, it is an electric fan from the United States."

"It's foreign stuff again," Cixi said.

Yuan Shikai said: "Queen Mother, this is different from other electric fans."

"What's the difference?" Cixi asked.

Yuan Shikai pressed the power button, and the electric fan began to swing while blowing air. "Her Majesty, this electric fan can swing the air."

"It's so interesting, it will come in handy in the palace." Cixi said.

"And this electric fan that can move the wind is Li Yu's patent. Oh, patent means the originator." Yuan Shikai said.

"Li Yu?" Cixi said, "It's hard to hear the name of one of our own."

"The electric fan is just an appetizer," Yuan Shikai showed Cixi the previous items. "This product is called monosodium glutamate, which can make the ingredients more delicious."

Cixi reached out and pinched it, and said to Li Lianying: "Little plum, take some back and let the imperial kitchen try it."

"Cha!" Li Lianying replied.

"There are more powerful ones behind," Yuan Shikai took Cixi to an industrial exhibition hall, pointed to the front and said, "Queen Mother, these parts are the things that can be used to assemble cars. They were also made by Li Yu; as well as Beiyang and other prefectures The radio equipment just replaced by the government also came from Li Yu. Foreigners are very interested in these things, and the Japanese placed a very large order. I even heard that two Japanese consortiums with deep connections to the cabinet signed contracts with Li Yu Got the contract."

"Contract?" Cixi felt annoyed when she heard these two words.

Yuan Shikai quickly said: "It is a fair contract, even a contract that is beneficial to us."

But Cixi was not very interested in these high-tech things after all, so she said, "Let's go discuss business."

Yuan Shikai said: "I have arranged a conference hall to discuss the New Deal with all ministers."

Cixi just took a few steps and turned around again: "By the way, bring this electric fan with you."