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

Chapter 473 The Great Qing Pill
Lu Bicheng spent a few months in Europe and the United States some time ago, where she learned comics techniques intensively. She has art skills and can learn them very quickly.

Li Yu's deeds in Tianjin were even drawn into cartoons.

Then I drew some four-frame cartoons, mostly interesting things.It's quite attractive, after all, it hasn't appeared in China yet.

"Ta Kung Pao" originally had some doubts, but after seeing that some newspapers brought back by Lu Bicheng from the United States and Europe adopted this format, it boldly adopted it.

It turned out to work very well.

Most of the newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty were very boring. Many newspapers were just various political commentaries, or they were quarreling with each other. The content of the quarrel was still political commentary, whether it was revolution or constitutionalism, etc. For ordinary readers, it was actually a bit boring.

Especially newspapers in the Beijing-Tianjin area have nothing else to do except talk about politics.There are more or less anecdotal newspapers in Shanghai.

The refreshing thing like comics instantly became a tipping point, and the sales of "Ta Kung Pao" increased rapidly.

Lu Bicheng was greatly encouraged and happily said to Li Yu: "Brother Yu, you were so prescient when you taught me such simple comics. It turns out that everyone likes it so much, and I can tell some stories through comics."

Li Yu smiled and said: "Draw more when you have nothing to do. Anyway, there are plenty of subjects."

Lu Bicheng had a lot of ink in her belly. After a period of time, she drew some ancient legends or stories. In addition, she also drew some things she saw and heard in Europe and the United States. Many people were quite unfamiliar with foreign countries, which made readers like it even more.

After a few issues were published, "Ta Kung Pao" even dedicated a page for Lu Bicheng to publish cartoons.

Lu Bicheng already had a reputation for talent in the Beijing-Tianjin area, and now she is even more famous.

Years later, someone came to visit.

Yan Fu, Gu Hongming and a group of people visited Li Yu's house.

After entering the room, Li Yu bowed his hands and said, "Master Yan, Mr. Gu, you are well."

Yan Fu said: "Come and be safe! Shucai, Bicheng is already your wife, come and sit down too. In fact, our trip is just to find her."

Finally not looking for him anymore, Li Yu immediately happily called Lu Bicheng into the room.

After entering the door, Lu Bicheng bowed slightly and said, "Master."

Yan Fu doted on his female disciple very much and said with a smile: "Bicheng, your face is more rosy. Sit down quickly! I want to introduce this Mr. Miao to you. She came out of the palace."

Yan Fu pointed to a woman about 60 years old: "She is Mr. Miao. She is the Queen Mother's royal painter and she always takes her with her."

Lu Bicheng stood up and said, "I've met Mr. Miao."

Yan Fu did not call her by her full name, Mr. Miao called her Miao Jiahui.

Eighteen years ago, when Guangxu had just reached the age of pro-government, Cixi still wanted to slowly hand over some things to Guangxu. In addition to taking care of some major affairs, she usually wrote and painted in the palace.

There was no shortage of flatterers around Cixi. Suddenly, there was an endless stream of people coming to Cixi for calligraphy and painting. Cixi was overwhelmed, so she recruited a female painter, Miao Jiahui, into the palace.

Cixi often discussed painting matters with her, and she was one of the female officials whom Cixi was closer to.

Miao Jiahui said to Lv Bicheng: "She has a bright blue mind and graceful appearance. Miss Bicheng is really enviable."

Lu Bicheng smiled and said, "That's ridiculous."

Yan Fu introduced a father and daughter who were also coming: "This is Ling Fupeng, the prefect of Tianjin, and his daughter Ling Shuhua."

The name Ling Fupeng was very unfamiliar to Li Yu, but Ling Shuhua was very familiar with her. This was a talented woman from the Republic of China who had a past with Xu Zhimo.

But Ling Shuhua is only six years old now.

Ling Fupeng said: "My daughter has loved writing and painting since she was a child. After seeing Miss Bicheng's new painting methods and excellent poems, she likes it very much. After Mr. Yan Fu introduced her, I was very frightened and hoped that my daughter would learn from Miss Bicheng."

Lu Bicheng looked at the chubby-faced Ling Shuhua and said, "What a cute little girl. Since it is entrusted by the master, I will naturally not refuse."

Ling Fupeng said: "That's great! I can also learn some Western knowledge from Mr. Li Yu in the future."

Gu Hongming laughed: "Don't expose your inner thoughts so early."

Ling Fupeng said: "The Imperial Master is the smartest person in the world. It is better to say it openly than to hide it."

Miao Jiahui added: "Miss Bicheng, the Queen Mother also asked me to bring you a message, hoping to recruit you to the palace. She wants to see what the most talented woman in Beijing and Tianjin is like now."

Lu Bicheng opened her mouth: "Enter the palace?"

Lu Bicheng had never had a good impression of the Manchu nobles, so he didn't know whether he should refuse.

Miao Jiahui said: "The Queen Mother is also interested in Western paintings and the world of foreigners. She just asked a few questions."

Lu Bicheng could only say: "Okay."

Miao Jiahui said: "The carriage is waiting outside. When the girl is ready, she will come with me to the palace."

Lu Bicheng didn't expect to leave now, so she quietly pulled Li Yu aside and asked, "I have never been to the palace, what if I say the wrong thing?"

Li Yu didn't know much about women's etiquette, so he said, "It doesn't matter. De Ling is probably here and she will give you some advice if anything happens."

Having to go, Lu Bicheng took some manuscripts and got on the carriage with some anxiety.

Seeing that the daughter of the people would not be in the main hall, Miao Jiahui took Lu Bicheng directly to Cixi's living room.

This was Lu Bicheng's first time entering the core area of ​​the empire. He looked around curiously. Near Cixi's living room, many huge fruit plates began to appear, filled with apples.

On both sides of Cixi's seat, there are also two neatly arranged piles of apples.

Little did she know that she did this just because the Empress Dowager Cixi liked the smell of fruits.

In the palace, Cixi alone used more than 15 apples every year. Of course, it was impossible to eat them. She couldn't eat so many apples even if she was exhausted, and she couldn't drink the juice.

而除了苹果，据记载，慈禧（包括隆裕太后）一年消耗的其他鲜果很多：秋梨111750个、棠梨77300个、红肖梨53295个、柿子2275个、文官果2400个、石榴310个、甜桃4344.5筐、酸桃302.5筐、樱桃429筐、李子920筐、杏694筐、沙果491筐、槟子770筐、葡萄16385斤、鲜山楂16663斤，核桃、栗子、红枣、黑枣等共计2356石7斗7升5合7勺。

The fruits rotted quickly, and the Empress Dowager Cixi required them to be changed every day to ensure that she could smell the fragrance of these fruits every day wherever she went.

It is simply extravagant.

When Lu Bicheng and Miao Jiahui came in, the Queen Mother was having a meal. There was a large plate of dishes in front of her, at least a hundred dishes, and Li Lianying was serving her attentively with a pair of chopsticks.

On the one hand, Cixi likes ostentation, but on the other hand, she is also afraid of being poisoned by others, so the imperial kitchen has been cooking for the Queen Mother for so many years, but she still doesn't know what Cixi likes to eat, because this is a taboo in the palace and you must not ask.

If there are too many dishes, it will be difficult to poison them. You can't poison every dish, and the new dish eunuch will also test the poison.

If Cixi comes across a dish she likes and eats no more than three or four bites, the eunuch will take it away and the dish will not be served again for half a month.

After the food was finished, dozens of snacks were served. Cixi always loved snacks.

It was not easy to cook so many dishes, so there were four to five hundred eunuchs and maids serving Cixi's meals.

Of course, after some dishes are served, they will be rewarded to other people in the palace, even close ministers.

Today's dishes were as rich as ever, but Cixi seemed to have little appetite. After only three or four bites, she no longer wanted to eat.

Li Lianying asked earnestly: "Lafayette, which dish do you want to use?"

Cixi waved her hand: "I won't eat." Li Lianying asked: "Then, how about some snacks?"

Cixi still waved her hand: "That's all, let's have a sip of tea."

Li Lianying immediately asked the young eunuch to bring tea.

After Cixi took a sip, she saw Miao Jiahui outside the house and said, "Little Lizi, let Mr. Miao come in."

"twitter."

Li Lianying exited backwards, and then said to Miao Jiahui and Lu Bicheng: "The Queen Mother invites you."

Lu Bicheng followed Miao Jiahui and did whatever she wanted.

Cixi saw Lu Bicheng and said slowly: "Are you the most talented woman in Beijing and Tianjin, Li Yu's wife Lu Bicheng?"

Lu Bicheng said: "Back to the Queen Mother, my daughter is Lu Bicheng."

Cixi had some "Ta Kung Pao" in hand, pointed at it and said: "I have seen your paintings. They are very interesting. They are different from some comic strips I have seen in the past. The painting method is even more different. Although it is very simple, it only has a few strokes." , but somehow it’s just fun to watch.”

Lu Bicheng said: "Back to the Queen Mother, these are just folk arts and cannot be considered elegant. Thanks to the Queen Mother, they are loved by the Queen Mother."

Cixi said: "I'm used to hearing about Yangchun Baixue, and I also like the people from Lower Liba. It's like the delicacies in the palace. What's the point of eating them every day? I don't even want to stick out my chopsticks."

This sentence is a bit like Versailles. As the supreme ruler, I wonder if Cixi knew how many people below had enough to eat.

Even if she wasn't compared to the ordinary people she couldn't see, the Emperor of Japan, whom she wanted to imitate, wouldn't be so extravagant and wasteful.

After visiting the Beiyang Navy that year, Japan frantically pursued it. The citizens were proud of donating money to build warships to defeat the Qing Dynasty. Even children played the game of sinking the Dingyuan ship.

In order to save money, the Emperor of Japan sometimes only ate one vegetable dumpling per meal.

On the other hand, the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty lamented that there was no room for chopsticks for more than 100 dishes in the palace.

Cixi added: "I heard that foreigners like this kind of painting."

Miao Jiahui said: "Your Majesty, I did some research and found that the painting technique is very simple. This form called comics is more about telling stories."

"It's good to listen to stories," Cixi said, "I will also ask Xiao Lizi to tell me a few jokes every day."

Miao Jiahui said: "If the Queen Mother likes it, let Miss Bicheng do more paintings for the Queen Mother."

Cixi originally had this idea: "In addition to painting more in the future, I will also teach Mr. Miao."

Lu Bicheng was reluctant to say anything, but she could only agree: "My little girl has taken note of it."

Cixi took a newspaper and said: "Some cartoons are really novel. Let's talk about this 'Qing Pill'. How did you come up with it?"

Lu Bicheng said: "Back to the Queen Mother, I saw it in the notebook on my husband's desk."

Cixi said: "So, Li Yu is always thinking about making the Qing Dynasty prosperous. How can he treat the Qing Dynasty?"

Lu Bicheng said: "My husband has always advocated technology and education, which seems to be what foreigners are good at."

Cixi said: "These two things are the easiest to do, but also the most difficult to do. The more obvious the thing, the more difficult it is."

Lu Bicheng didn't understand politics at all, so he carefully replied: "But education really benefits the country and the people."

Cixi sighed: "That's right. Some time ago, Zhang Zhidong gave me advice to open a primary school like Wuchang in the capital. Even a common girl knows about it, so it's OK! Some time ago, the Capital University was planning Instead of building a capital women's school, why not let them build a small school at the same time."

Lu Bicheng said: "The Queen Mother is wise."

Cixi said: "You can become a teacher in the future. Our primary schools in Qing Dynasty should try to recruit more girls."

Cixi probably had a premonition that her birthday was numbered, so she quickly implemented some of the suggestions of Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong, because only decisions made from her mouth would be adopted by the new emperor who took office in the future.

At this time, after a year of Ding Wei's political tide, Yuan Shikai and Yi Kuang of the Beiyang faction had defeated the Qing faction headed by Qu Hongji.

But in fact, the Beiyang faction did not really win, because Cixi took advantage of the situation and inserted Manchu relatives into various important departments.

Therefore, both the Beiyang School and the Qing School actually lost, and the real winner was Cixi.

This was Cixi's last political maneuver during her lifetime, laying some foundation for the young Aisin Gioro.

It's a pity that she still overestimates these royal relatives and has not learned any political wisdom in so many years. On the contrary, some princes think that they know better than others after going abroad a few times and seeing a little bit of the world.

-

After returning home, Lu Bicheng breathed a long sigh of relief.

Li Yu immediately brought her a cup of hot tea and asked, "Is everything going well?"

Lu Bicheng said: "It's okay, it's okay. The Queen Mother just asked about the comics. It's strange. Why does she like this?"

"Maybe it's because I'm getting tired of political affairs as I get older, and anything novel can arouse potential interest," Li Yu said.

Of course he knew in his heart that Cixi had only a few months to live, and he just wanted to be happy.

Li Yu asked again: "What else did the Queen Mother say?"

"Nothing, just asking me to draw some more cartoons for her and send them to the palace." Lu Bicheng took a sip of hot tea, "By the way, she likes the cartoon about the 'Qing Pills' very much."

"Ah!" Li Yutian Linggai seemed to have been hit hard by a blow, "Why is the Qing Dynasty going to end?"

"It's the one about the introduction of Western medicine, isn't it necessary to build a factory in Shanghai?" Lu Bicheng said.

"Show it to me quickly!" Li Yuren was numb.

Lu Bicheng turned to it casually: "That's it."

Li Yu looked at it, but fortunately, they were really just talking about Bayer products such as aspirin, and Lu Bicheng played it casually.

Li Yu also let out a long breath: "It scared me to death!"

Lu Bicheng wondered: "Brother Yu, why are you so nervous?"

"Nothing, luckily it's 1908..." Li Yu said, "How is the Queen Mother's health?"

Lu Bicheng said: "I don't seem to want to eat very much, and my words are a little lackluster."

Li Yu quickly said to her: "Don't say these words once you get out!"

Lu Bicheng nodded: "I understand."

Cixi's life has entered a countdown, and she is not in the mood to deal with government affairs. Most of the matters are left to Yi Kuang, Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong of the Military Aircraft Department.

It happened that these people had a good relationship with Li Yu, so Cixi was not wary of Li Yu, otherwise the words "Qing Pills" would be enough to drink a pot.

(End of this chapter)