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

Chapter 489

Today's Empress Dowager Longyu is very idle. Although Cixi has given her a lot of power, this woman does not know how to control power.

She had been in the palace for too long and was not familiar with the ministers from outside the court, so the power of the court almost fell into the hands of Zaifeng alone from the beginning.

Longyu also tried to fight, trying to win over some people for his own use, just like his aunt Cixi did when she suddenly secretly ordered to recruit Prince Gong Yi, and then staged a coup to overthrow Sushun and other ministers Gu Ming.

But she obviously doesn't have such ability.

The person Longyu saw more in the court was Prince Qing Yikuang. In terms of position, he was currently No. 1 in the court.Longyu hopes that she will continue to be a "back party", but Yikuang is a fool and a cunning person. He will side with whoever is stronger, or whoever gives him more money.

Then Longyu wanted to win over Beiyang. When Zaifeng proposed that Na Tong be the minister of military aircraft, Queen Mother Longyu proposed Xu Shichang.

In the end, they compromised and both became military ministers.

Zaifeng hated Longyu and reminded Longyu with a warning: "Only the Queen Mother can come forward to discuss important matters of the court. There is no need to bother with these specific government affairs."

Longyu was immediately frightened and almost stopped showing up. He only played cards and listened to operas in the palace.

After she heard that Li Yu invented a new card game called Three Kingdoms Kill at the Capital University, she even asked Xiao Dezhang to come over to learn it.

To be honest, Xiao Dezhang's ability is not as good as Li Lianying's, but the eunuch profession depends not only on hard work, but also on luck.

Xiaode Zhang also wanted to chat with Li Yuduo, so he said happily when he entered the door: "Master Emperor, we must teach you well, and we will meet more at the card table in the future."

Li Yu said tactfully: "It is not a good idea to have other men in the palace."

Xiao Dezhang has asked the palace to help print a set of exquisite Three Kingdoms killing playing cards. Although there are no pictures, only text, but looking at the exquisite craftsmanship, you know that they are worth a lot of money.

Xiaode Zhang was very smart, and he learned it in a short time. He also took notes with pen and paper so that he could go back and teach the Queen Mother Longyu.

Just as he was about to go back to the palace, he saw Lu Bicheng coming over with tea. Xiao Dezhang said: "Looking at Madam's face, she seems to be happy."

Lu Bicheng said in surprise: "Happy appearance? Can you tell that, Eunuch De?"

"We eunuchs are very accurate in seeing these things," Xiao Dezhang said, then turned around and cupped his hand to Li Yu, "Master Emperor, we will come to congratulate you again in the future."

After Xiao Dezhang left, Li Yu quickly helped Lu Bicheng sit down: "Are you really happy?"

Lu Bicheng said: "I don't know either. It's just some slight vomiting. It's not confirmed yet."

Li Yu said happily: "Great! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Lu Bicheng said: "Isn't it better to go see the doctor in a few days?"

Li Yu sat next to her: "Then I have to quickly find a way to open a kindergarten in the capital."

Lu Bicheng no longer knew how many new terms she had heard, and asked, "What is a kindergarten?"

Li Yu said: "It is a kind of school that specializes in educating children between the ages of three and six."

Lu Bicheng said: "Three years old? How hard it is for children."

Li Yu said with a smile: "It's nothing more than cultivating some simple self-care abilities. As the saying goes, you look old at the age of three. The earlier you receive scientific education, the greater the chance of becoming a talent."

Fengling came over and said with a smile: "Boss and Madam are smart people, and of course the children are also smart."

Li Yu said: "In terms of genetics, this statement still needs to be scrutinized."

Fengling said: "What is genetics?"

Li Yu felt that he was digging a hole for himself, so he had to say: "Anyway, I also hope that the baby will be smart and healthy."

Lu Bicheng asked again: "Where is the kindergarten you mentioned now?"

Li Yu said: "It is said that it exists in Gulangyu Island and Wuchang in Xiamen, but I haven't heard of it in other places."

Lu Bicheng said: "Gulangyu Island? Isn't that a concession?"

Li Yu said: "Yes, that kindergarten is the earliest."

Li Yu had been to Gulangyu Island in his previous life. It was already a completely commercial tourist attraction, but at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, it was a public concession.

Lu Bicheng said: "I think it's better to go to one run by our own people. Besides, it's still early, so why are you panicking?"

Li Yu said: "A kindergarten cannot be built from scratch immediately, and it will take two or three years for it to be fully operational. It's not too early."

Lu Bicheng was not stubborn: "I listen to you."

Li Yu held her hand, feeling that women of this era were more gentle...

Lu Bicheng quickly called her mother Yan, who was still in Tanggu, to the capital. However, she was a restless master and still translated fairy tales and practiced painting techniques every day.

Li Yu took matters into his own hands and designed a heating system. It was nothing complicated, just running some pipes and designing radiators. Many rural families can do it themselves.

After traveling through time for so many years, Li Yu's hands-on ability has been greatly improved. In this era, many things are simply not available, and there is no place to buy them.

Li Yu even bought a small generator to ensure that the power at home would not be interrupted.

Fortunately, ordinary utensils could be purchased. Li Yu went to a foreign store in Dongjiaomin Lane and bought some wires. Suddenly, he met Wang Zhaoming again.

He also bought the wire and left in a hurry.

Li Yu squinted at his retreating back, this guy was about to take action.

What Wang Zhaoming wanted to do was to assassinate the regent Zaifeng.

Didn't Liang Qichao say that they were "revolutionaries from a distance"? Wang Zhaoming was planning to make a big move, and without going through all the twists and turns, he was going to directly blow up the most powerful person in the Qing Dynasty.

At this time, Wang Zhaoming was still a bit idealistic and regarded Mr. Zhongshan as his idol in life.

After Mr. Zhongshan and Huang Xing learned about his idea, they tried to dissuade him, but Mr. Wang Zhaoming was able to say this: "Revolution is like burning a fire to cook, requiring a cauldron and fuel. Those in the cauldron are not afraid of water and fire and endure long-term hardship; those who use fuel are not afraid of water and fire. It is a moment of great excitement and instant brilliance, and I am willing to be the one to pay for it.”

Moreover, among Wang Zhaoming's assassination team, he was responsible for the most dangerous detonation mission, which basically meant death.

But the two teammates responsible for planting the bomb and arranging the fuse made mistakes.They were going to plant a bomb on a bridge on the final road where Zaifeng went to court, but the process of planting the bomb was discovered.

The two of them were not flyover storytellers. Their suspicious actions immediately attracted the attention of others and they informed the police.

The police arrived and discovered the bomb.

After listening to the description of his teammates, Mr. Wang was not anxious, but said to them: "The police only found the bomb, not the person. Don't rush to escape. We will wait and see the situation. Maybe the police will still be like the soldiers patrolling the city before." So-so.”

But Mr. Wang obviously underestimated the newly created police. They were very expressive in order to make meritorious service, not to mention the safety of the regent.

The police even played psychological warfare: they issued an announcement on the news the next day, saying that someone wanted to assassinate the regent due to internal strife in the court, but was discovered by the patrol department.The feud between the Queen Mother and the Regent in the palace was an open secret and everyone knew it.

Therefore, Mr. Wang thought that the patrol officers were idlers, and then prepared to continue planning the assassination mission.

But the money had been spent, and they were not very good at making bombs, so they had to ask their teammates to buy them in Japan while continuing to raise money.

But soon, the photo studio where Mr. Wang was located was surrounded by police, who arrested Wang Zhaoming and a teammate Huang Fusheng.

The person responsible for hearing the case is Prince Su, Zenki, who is also the sworn brother of Kawashima Naniwa.

Wang Zhaoming acted very courageously. He and his teammate Huang Fusheng both claimed that they were the masterminds. The other person did not know and only wanted to die quickly.

Mr. Wang also talked about revolutionary ideals at the court hearing, exposing Zaifeng's constitutionalism as a fake constitution and a true dictatorship, and called on people to take action to overthrow the rule of the Qing Dynasty. Only in this way can China achieve democracy, prosperity, and so on.

Prince Su Shanqi thought: If you want to die, why don't we let you die? No!
So he reported to the Regent Zaifeng: "These two revolutionaries are very eager to die. They are trying to boost the morale of the revolutionaries. We cannot be fooled easily!"

Zaifeng couldn't judge for a moment. How could he be fooled by killing them?
Prince Su Shanqi added: "Prince Regent, if we do not sentence them to death, it will prove that we are true constitutionalists and benevolent. If we kill them, wouldn't it prove that we are false constitutionalists?"

Zai Feng suddenly realized that these revolutionaries were so scheming that even the court did not dare to kill them.

He could only order life sentences for both men.

It was while in prison that Mr. Wang wrote the famous sentence, "You can achieve success with a sword and live up to your youthful reputation."

This incident made Wang Zhaoming famous overnight and became a major political capital in the future.

It's a pity, people change.

Li Yu read the whole story clearly in the newspaper.

He has already encountered several assassinations. This was the political norm at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. Many high-level political figures would be assassinated in the future.

In the evening, Li Yu closed the newspaper, went to the courtyard to tinker with a telescope, and then called Lu Bicheng: "I want to show you one of the most romantic stars in the history of astronomy."

Lu Bicheng asked: "Altair or Vega?"

Li Yu said: "Halley's Comet."

Lu Bicheng was surprised: "Comet? Isn't it just a broom star? I heard that seeing a broom star will bring bad luck."

Li Yu said: "You have been with me for so long, don't you still believe this nonsense? Halley predicted the comet's return and at the same time strongly supported Newton's theory."

Lu Bicheng asked: "Harley is a woman?"

Li Yu smiled and said: "Of course not, he and Newton are good friends."

Lu Bicheng said: "How do you say it's romantic?"

Li Yu was stunned, paused and said, "Because the comet's return cycle is about 76 years, everyone can only see it almost once in their lifetime."

Lu Bicheng said: "So that's it. After all, you can only see it once. If you can see it a second time, you will become an old monster."

Li Yu said: "Today happens to be a clear night sky. There were not many such good days in Beijing before."

"Before?" Lu Bicheng asked.

Li Yu smiled and said: "Look at the eyepiece quickly."

Halley's Comet appeared very bright, reaching a terrifying magnitude of -3.3, which is far brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.

Although not as good as Venus, comets have tails and are easier to observe.

Lu Bicheng exclaimed: "I found it."

Li Yu patted her shoulder: "Now you can see visually without looking at the telescope."

Lu Bicheng held Li Yu's hand and said, "So it's not called a broom star, but a comet."

On the eaves, Konoe Akiyuki also looked up and saw it. After a long time, the comet disappeared and he murmured: "What a comet, it's just a broom star."

Too many people regard it as a broom star. Because Halley's Comet is so bright, many people have seen it, and newspapers have taken advantage of it. Various theories are rampant, such as "a disaster star sent from the sky, there may be a catastrophe", "a disaster from heaven", Early warning, care for the people" and so on.

Constitutionalist newspapers said it was a warning to the Qing government to quickly push forward the establishment of a constitution and establish a responsible cabinet to limit imperial power.

The revolutionaries directly said that it heralded the change of the new dynasty and that the Qing Dynasty had run out of energy.

Yan Fu approached Li Yu and hoped that he would write an article that truly introduced Halley's Comet.

Li Yu did his part and told everything about how Halley calculated the equation of Halley's comet through the law of universal gravitation and made scientific predictions at the same time.

Li Yu also listed a detailed formula in the article: "I can say with certainty and without deviation that this comet will be observed again in April 76 years later."

But no matter how accurate it is, it will happen more than half a century later, and no one can wait.

And by this time, everyone has become a dispute over their positions, and they don’t care about science or not.

Li Yu felt helpless and was not prepared to argue anymore.

Instead, he came to a factory in the suburbs of Beijing to study the production of radio factories with Westinghouse.

It is still a bit difficult to carry out this kind of high-tech production in China. Fortunately, Westinghouse understands how the entire upstream operates. It has set up a workshop to manufacture vacuum triodes, and then set up a workshop for debugging.

In addition, Westinghouse followed his own habits and set up another laboratory.

Li Yu has seen enough of all kinds of assassinations recently, and is going to calm down and do some scientific research here. He said to Westinghouse: "A few years ago, someone proposed that a radio echo detection device could be used to prevent ship collisions at sea. , Sir, are you interested in going deeper?"

Westinghouse has known about this for a long time: "It shouldn't be too difficult technically, but I'm afraid we can't get around patents."

Li Yu said: "We have our own equipment, and it is not just to simply detect objects, but to go one step further and measure distances."

Westinghouse frowned and said: "Ranging? This will have very strict requirements on the receiving device. I'm afraid it won't be possible in a short while. It will probably take many years."

Li Yu said: "Everything is difficult at the beginning, you have to do it, and maybe you will make unexpected discoveries as you do it."

Li Yu also hoped that Westinghouse would teach more radio talents in the capital.

"It's a good opportunity to do a lot of radio testing," Westinghouse said.

"My cruise ship will arrive at Tianjin Port in a while, don't waste the test opportunity!" Li Yu said with a smile, "In addition, this research must be kept absolutely confidential."

(End of this chapter)