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

Chapter 447: Visiting Xiangshuai
Lu Bicheng had already finished polishing the manuscript and found Yu Deling to complete the translation.

Li Yu plans to record it into two sets, one for Collins Publishing House in New York and one for Hachette Publishing House in France.

But at this time, Yu Deling happened to be recalled to the palace. Since the manuscript was written in a foreign language and others were not very good at using typewriters, he had to go to the Translation Center of the Imperial University to find a "work-study" student to help him transcribe it.

Arriving at the Translation Center, Lin Shu looked at the thick manuscript in Li Yu's hand and said, "I am a famous student. His English ranks among the top three in the school, and his family background is relatively average. He will definitely be interested."

Lin Shu immediately went out and brought back an eighteen or nineteen-year-old student, and introduced him to Li Yu: "His name is Wang Jing, also named Jiliang, and he is a student from Zhejiang."

After Wang Jiliang heard that he was working for Li Yu, he was very willing: "The emperor is our idol, and it is a great honor to serve you!"

Li Yu took out the three Star Wars biographies and said, "Then I'll thank you for the hard work."

It would take at least several days for Wang Jiliang to complete the transcription. During this time, Li Yu first visited Zhang Zhidong, who had just been transferred back to the capital.

Not only Zhang Zhidong, but also Yuan Shikai was transferred back to Beijing.

The two of them were the most important officials in the feudal territory. They were transferred back to the capital together and joined the military aircraft department. They seemed to be promoted, but in fact they were promoted openly and secretly.

Cixi seemed to want to do her best to reduce the power of Han officials in the last days of her life, so as to pave the way for the royal family.

But she herself probably knew it very well: the young Aixinjueluos were too incompetent and did not even know how to have a good relationship with Yuan Shikai and others. They thought that they would be able to easily control these Han officials when they had power.

The house where Zhang Zhidong lived in Beijing is located in an alley called Baimi Xiejie in the south of Shichahai. The house is very large and has remains from later generations.

Before Zhang Zhidong moved in, this place had been a wealthy family's garden. The Hubei Disaster Management Bureau allocated 2 taels of silver for overall renovation, and then handed it over to Zhang Zhidong for use.

This mansion is not small in scale. It is a courtyard with four entrances, as well as pavilions, rockeries, and garden pools.

Li Yu came to the gate and saw a couplet written by Zhang Zhidong himself: "The imperial court has a saying that youth is good, and the gate is selfless and free during the day."

It seemed that Zhang Zhidong had anticipated his return to Beijing in advance and expected that he would be more relaxed.

Li Yu knocked on the door, and the person who opened the door was Zhang Zhidong's important aide Liang Dingfen.

"It turns out to be the Imperial Master! Please come in quickly."

Zhang Zhidong was sitting in the main hall, drinking tea and reading the newspaper with a folding fan. When he saw Li Yu walking in, he said happily: "It's a talent recruitment. I was thinking about finding someone to ask you to come for tea one day."

Li Yu said respectfully: "Master Zhang returned to Beijing, but he missed the welcome from afar and failed to fulfill the friendship of the landlord. I am very sorry."

"Sit down first," Zhang Zhidong said. "From now on, I am also a native of the capital, so I don't need to talk about the friendship of a landlord. But only after I came to the capital did I realize that the cost of living in the capital is so high."

Li Yu said: "It is a small matter of food and drink, but housing is indeed a big problem. Fortunately, Mr. Zhang does not have to worry about it."

Zhang Zhidong said: "I recall that before Zuo Zongtang returned to Beijing, he wrote a letter to Li Hongzao, the Minister of Military and Aircraft in Beijing, asking about the cost of living in the capital. Li Hongzao said at least 6000 taels a year, but Zuo Zongtang found that he only had 1 taels. Two, which is only enough to live in the capital for two years. My situation is similar. If the Hubei General Administration of Disaster Rehabilitation had not found this compound for me, I might have had to live in a temple."

Li Yu smiled and said: "Master Zhang is full of talents all over the world. I will definitely not let you suffer when you come to the capital."

Zhang Zhidong said: "I am not afraid of hardship, but I am used to being a rough man. I feel uncomfortable after returning to Beijing."

Liang Dingfen said: "You have a heart for the world, and you don't feel very comfortable in Wuchang."

"We won't be as constrained in our actions as we are now, and we can't talk too much. Forget it, let's not mention political matters!" Zhang Zhidong sighed, and then said to Li Yu, "The two Dutch teachers you sent to Wuchang a few months ago , is really capable, Xinghai (characterized by Liang Dingfen) even wanted to enroll him in Ziqiang School. But I thought twice, no one knows about new learning better than you, so I still followed your words and arranged to enter your school. Wuchang Middle School.”

Liang Dingfen was somewhat unconvinced: "These two people are indeed qualified to serve in Ziqiang School. They would be a waste of resources if they were placed in middle schools to teach."

Li Yu explained to him: "Basic education is more important, otherwise the quality of the students is not high, and the content taught in the university hall is still that of the middle school, which will be in name only; and young people are highly malleable, so if you lay the foundation early, you can achieve broad achievements in the future."

Zhang Zhidong praised: "Sucai is right! Xinghai, I have told you a long time ago that Shucai must be far-sighted and know how to run a school. Anyway, new learning cannot follow the old methods of private schools."

Liang Dingfen said: "Of course I believe in the ability to recruit talents, but now that talents are scarce, I am really greedy."

Liang Dingfen is now in charge of education in Hubei Province, and the burden on her shoulders is not light.

As the time approached noon, Zhang Zhidong said: "Let's go to a restaurant and continue chatting over fine wine. I heard that the Huixiantang Restaurant next to it is known as one of the eight restaurants in Beijing, but I haven't had time to try it yet."

According to the hierarchy of restaurants in Beijing at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, "tang" was the highest level. It not only required an elegantly decorated courtyard with dozens of tables, enough for hundreds of people to dine at the same time, but also a stage for singing in the hall. and hold celebrations.

If these conditions are not met, it can only be called a building, a residence, a house, etc., but not a hall.

There were "eight major halls" in old Beijing: Huixian Hall, Juxian Hall, Qinghe Hall, Fushou Hall, Jushou Hall, Tongxing Hall, Tianfu Hall and Huifeng Hall.

Most of the people who come in and out of this Huixian Hall are dignitaries. During the Xuantong period, the regent Zaifeng held many meetings here.

In the early years of the Republic of China, Xu Shichang often came here to have banquets.During the New Culture Movement, it became a place frequented by cultural celebrities.

Every table here may be a piece of history.

There is no doubt that the restaurant is owned by Shandong people and mainly cooks Shandong cuisine.

When they were halfway through eating, a servant brought an invitation: "Sir, this is an invitation from Prince Qing's Mansion."

Zhang Zhidong took it, looked at it and said, "I just came back to meet Prince Qing's seventieth birthday. I don't know if it's a good thing or not!" Then he asked Liang Dingfen, "Do you want to go or not?"

"I must go," Liang Dingfen said, "but Prince Suwenqing's palace is a bottomless pit. You have to pay a few hundred taels to enter. Now that you have such a good name, I'm afraid it will turn into a bribery ceremony."

Zhang Zhidong stroked his beard and said, "What birthday gift should we prepare, or how much gift?"

Liang Dingfen hesitated for a long time: "We...seem..."

"If you are poor, just say it. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm afraid that Prince Qing doesn't know about it!" Zhang Zhidong laughed, and then said to Li Yu, "I heard that last time Prince Qing celebrated his birthday, you met with Mr. Zhang Baixi. Didn’t you pay much as a gift?”

Li Yu said: "At that time, I was still an unknown person and went with Mr. Zhang. But Mr. Zhang took a folding fan."

Zhang Zhidong nodded: "I understand, I can't step on Mr. Zhang's head, so I'll give you a handwritten calligraphy!"

The next day, when Zhang Zhidong, Li Yu and Liang Dingfen arrived, there was already an endless stream of people in front of Prince Qing's Mansion.

Liang Dingfen said: "I have inquired, and there are more than 20 local officials who have given away tens of thousands of taels. The most valuable of them are Shandong Governor Yang Shixiang who gave ten golden Buddhas; Jilin General Dagui gave a jade fish. It is said that the scales of the fish are All set with gold, silver and jewels.”

Zhang Zhidong said: "The capital is indeed different, and Prince Qing is also different. He can get so much money from a birthday banquet. According to the rules, you have to pay taxes when entering Chongwenmen, right?"

Among the nine gates of old Beijing, Chongwen Gate was where the tax office was located. Princes from foreign vassals who came to Beijing to pay tribute, local officials who were called to Beijing to report on their duties, and even merchants who came to Beijing had to pay taxes here.

This is a huge fat gap.

Liang Dingfen said: "Yes, this jade fish passed through Chongwenmen and paid 3 taels of tax silver." Zhang Zhidong said: "If I remember correctly, the person in charge of tax collection at Chongwenmen is also a member of Prince Qing."

Liang Dingfen said: "No, I haven't fallen behind at all!"

Zhang Zhidong sighed, and then said: "Let's go in, pray for birthdays, and then leave."

The three of them walked towards the door and saw a table with two people sitting behind them, responsible for collecting gift money.

Zhang Zhidong said: "I would like to inform you that Zhang Zhidong, the new Minister of Military and Aircraft and a bachelor of Tiren Pavilion, paid a courtesy visit to Prince Qing."

The recipient of the gift looked at Zhang Zhidong and held the pen motionless.

Liang Dingfen urged: "Didn't you hear clearly?"

The recipient of the gift held the writing brush and pointed at the gift list.

Liang Dingfen pretended not to know anything: "We are new to the capital and don't know much about the rules."

Someone inside winked at him. The recipient of the gift understood and did not dare to ask for money. He quickly said: "Sir, please come in."

Recently, many censors have taken turns to impeach Yi Kuang, and they no longer dare to blatantly and forcefully collect money.

But everyone knows the unspoken rules of the late Qing Dynasty officialdom, and Yikuang can always get his money back.

On the gift list that day, only Zhang Zhidong, Liang Dingfen, and Li Yu didn't give a penny.

Of course, some birthday gifts were brought. Zhang Zhidong took a scroll and wrote two poems.Li Yu took a basket of original books in foreign languages ​​and said with some justification: "This book is from the famous British philosopher Bacon. There are golden sentences in the book, knowledge is power. So much knowledge is immeasurable!"

Yikuang didn't want to offend these Qingliu people, so he accepted it happily: "Thank you all."

In fact, Zhang Zhidong had already figured out Yi Kuang's psychology, and someone had to stop giving gifts.Moreover, the palace will treat those who do not give gifts as honored guests and treat them well to show the "incorruptible" style of Prince Qing's palace.

Zhang Zhidong has been in the officialdom for so many years. He is not a pedantic person. The more he is such a good official, the more he must have a smart mind, otherwise it will be difficult to move forward.

But some people don't quite understand the rules.

A fifth-grade director of the Ministry of Commerce only collected 500 taels of silver to pay his respects, and was stopped immediately.

Then Yi Kuang asked his son Zai Zhen to take the initiative to impeach the Beijing official and bribe him to fully demonstrate the clean style of Prince Qing's palace.

This trick is so unique that it is still common 100 years later.

In short, there are too many unspoken rules in officialdom and they are too obscure. It is very difficult to get involved in officialdom, especially in the old era, where it is like walking on thin ice.

Zhang Zhidong was able to blend out of the mud and remain unsullied at the same time. He was definitely a human being.

But Zhang Zhidong and others refused the opportunity to be honored guests and left on the pretext of official business.

After going out, Zhang Zhidong said helplessly: "The most important minister in the court only wants gold and silver. The Qing Dynasty is in danger."

-

Li Yu had no intention of caring about the affairs of the court. He had to prepare for this year's exam to study in the United States.

This year, the amount of the Gengzi compensation is relatively large, and the enrollment scale can be expanded to 50 students.

Li Yu also asked the foundation to pay for 10 more people.

He knew that the sooner he sent them out, the better, because they would definitely come back.

In Li Yu's last life, there was a period of time (especially in the early 21st century) when elite schools went west and never returned, and there was a very heated discussion on the Internet.

But at least the first batch of nearly 50 people to stay in the United States in history all chose to return to China.Even after the founding of the People's Republic of China, only one person followed the principal to Treasure Island.

Li Yu considered that last year it had gained a certain reputation and there were more applicants this year, so the difficulty of the questions needed to be increased.

The examination is still divided into preliminary examination and re-examination. The preliminary examination is still divided into two subjects: Chinese and English.

The retest covers topics such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. Currently, Tsinghua University’s study tours in the United States are mainly focused on science and engineering. At least [-]% of students choose science and engineering majors in the United States.

In this regard, the most qualified person in China to write the question is Li Yu.

In fact, Li Yu didn't want to take on this matter, because it didn't need to be so difficult, so naturally he wouldn't be needed, but after all, he became the supervisor of Tsinghua Academy, so he couldn't do it.

Li Yu gave out sub-questions, more difficult questions and difficult questions according to the hierarchy.

Anyway, it can't go beyond high school, so even if Li Yu is not very good at chemistry and biology, he can still get a few exams.I really don’t think it’s easy to publish, so just look at the latest magazines and you’ll know the general level of development.

While studying the test questions in the study room, Wang Jiliang came to him after copying the manuscript.

Li Yu finally remembered that Wang Jiliang was also an important founder of modern chemistry in my country, and later became the director of the Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica.

So when I saw him again this time, I asked: "This year's admissions exam for studying in the United States will be held in a few days. Do you want to take part?"

"I must participate!" Wang Jiliang said decisively, "I have been preparing for it two years ago! At that time, I was still preparing to take the imperial examination. Suddenly the imperial examination was abolished. A friend who had returned from Japan saw that I was still reading the classics and history, and said sarcastically, 'What's the use of reading this pile of waste paper? Why not burn it all to avoid harming others!' From that day on, I made up my mind to take the road of saving the country through science."

Wang Jiliang was considered a monk on the way, but Li Yu was not worried about his learning ability. Historically, Wang Jiliang was one of the first batch of students studying in the United States to receive the Boxer Indemnity.

So Li Yu just said: "I wish you good luck."

Li Yu's difficulty level setting was very effective, and he could select just the 50 people he needed. What excited him the most was the biology subject.

Since I am not a biology major, I did not grasp the difficulty level very well and the questions were a little difficult. However, a student named Wu Jun answered particularly well.

Li Yu was ecstatic. He had always wanted to cultivate a talented person in biology so that he could complete the trial production of penicillin as soon as possible.

This is a very time-consuming matter, and someone who knows the relevant knowledge must be there to help.

It's just that this student only did well in biology and chemistry, but not in other subjects. Unfortunately, he failed.

Li Yu can just guide him carefully for one year and then send him to the United States next year.

　The next chapter should be released tomorrow morning~~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)