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

Chapter 49 Magic Box
In recent days, Li Yu has been looking at the stars at night, to be precise, he should be stargazing.

It's a pity that the telescope Yikuang gave was a little smaller, only 10 centimeters, and it was fine for amateurs, but it was still far behind for astronomical observations.

Fortunately, the air pollution is not serious now, there is no smog, no sandstorms, clear skies are more common, and the field of vision is relatively clear.

Zai Zhen is also convinced by Li Yu now, and comes to him to play with the telescope every now and then.Then the two of them watched the stars together at night...

Well, that seems a bit weird to say.

A few days later, Carlos and Pu Lande, the managers of Victory Records, also found Li Yu. They were holding a small black box. Needless to say, it must be a recorded record.

The three listened to it, and Li Yu felt that the voice was hoarse, and it was not comparable to modern electronic music, but it was already very advanced for this era.

Carlos said: "Mr. Li Yu, what do you think? In addition, I have a few piano music records, and if possible, I will also dedicate them to the Empress Dowager of your country."

"The recording is very good, but it's the first time, it's better to just listen to the opera for the Queen Mother." Li Yu said, after all, it is rare to see pianos in China now, and it is not likely that Cixi can appreciate Beethoven.

Pu Lande is an old fritter, and he fully agrees with Li Yu's statement: "The Empress Dowager loves to listen to operas, and the most important thing is to let her like to listen to the gramophone first. When you develop new products, you will not worry about losing sales."

After several people agreed, they went to the Prime Minister's Office to find Yikuang. Now foreigners who want to apply to see the Queen Mother usually need the approval of the Prime Minister's Office.

Yikuang was also very interested in the phonograph, and after playing a few pieces of music, he praised it greatly, and then asked a very deep question: "How does this foreign thing make sound?"

Photographers had already taken some pictures of him, but this was indeed the first time the gramophone had been seen.

Li Yu gave him a general explanation. The sound is actually a kind of wave. As long as the wave trajectory is recorded, the sound will be restored again with the vibration.

Yikuang actually understood a little bit, at least he didn't think it was a magic box.

"Very good, such a fresh thing, the Queen Mother must like it!"

At this time in Xiyuan, Zhou Yuqing, the supervisor of the Qintian Supervisor, was reporting the compilation of the calendar and the good and bad weather of the astronomical phenomena to the Empress Dowager.

Poor Qin Tianjian, which Tang Ruowang, Nan Huairen and others worked so hard to establish with a little bit of modern astronomical enlightenment, has now been restored to an institution that only compiles calendars and observes good and bad luck.

In the early and middle period of the Qing Dynasty, almost all the supervisors of the Qintian Supervisor were Westerners. The most famous ones were Tang Ruowang during the Shunzhi period and Nan Huairen during the Kangxi period.

However, in 1827, after Gao Shouqian resigned and returned to Brazil (at this time, Brazil had broken away from the rule of Portugal and established an independent country), Qin Tianjian was never held by a Westerner.

And Qin Tianjian also quickly declined inexplicably.

After the report, Zhou Yuqing, the supervisor, said: "The Queen Mother, a meteorite fell from the sky in Shengjing last month, and there will be a eclipse of the dog in a few days. I suggest that the curfew be slightly relaxed on that day, and let the people go to the streets to beat gongs and drums to drive away the dog."

A few years ago, when a French diplomat was sleeping in his official residence, he suddenly heard the sound of cannons and gongs and drums in the middle of the night. He was taken aback and thought he was under attack.After dressing up and going out to have a look, I found that a lunar eclipse had occurred. The people in the city were setting off firecrackers, beating gongs and drums to drive away the tengu that devoured the moon.

Cixi frowned: "Is it good or bad?"

Supervisor Zhou Yuqing did not dare to answer directly: "It is good luck to drive away the dog."

While speaking, Li Lianying leaned over and said, "Lafayette, Prince Qing Yikuang is asking to see you, as well as British Pu Lande, American Carlos, and Li Yu."

Cixi was a little unhappy: "Pu Lande? He dares to come back to see me."

Pu Lande helped Kang Youwei escape back then, even though several years had passed, Cixi still felt a little resentful in her heart.The main reason is that Kang Youwei's big mouth is too strong, and he scolded her all his life abroad.

Li Lianying quickly smoothed things over: "Lafayette, it's over, and it was the former British Minister Bilinan who meant that Pu Lande was just a slave, just doing business. This time he said he brought you something good, I'm sure you like it .”

"All right, for Prince Qing's sake, let them in."

"twitter!"

Li Lianying came out of Yiluan Hall in small steps, and said to Yikuang: "My lord, please." Then he added in a low voice: "The Queen Mother is not in a bad mood today."

"There is Mr. Lao!"

The one who knows Cixi best is Li Lianying, and Yikuang just wants to know the empress dowager's happiness and anger from him.Of course, it is impossible for Li Lianying to tell everyone these details, and Prince Qing has to save face.

"Congratulations to the Holy Mother, Empress Dowager Jin'an!" Several people entered the door and saluted first.

"Excuse me." Cixi said, and then said to Zhou Yuqing, the supervisor of Qintian Supervisor, "You go down first."

Zhou Yuqing said: "Empress Dowager, have you ordered the common people and palace supervisors to disperse the Tiangou?"

Yikuang next to him cocked his ears: "Tengu, is there going to be another lunar eclipse?"

"Go back to the prince, that's right." Zhou Yuqing said.

Yikuang smiled and said, "Queen Mother, there is no Tengu at all! In fact, the earth under our feet circled behind the moon."

Li Yu reminded in a low voice from behind: "My lord, it's the moon that circles behind the earth, that's the opposite."

"Oh, yes! Anyway, we blocked the sun."

Yikuang recently got an astronomical telescope, and looked at the stars for a few days. When he saw the moon's surface clearly under Li Yu's guidance and found that the stars could move, he completely believed what Li Yu told him before. Knowledge of how the solar system works.

Well, it's just common sense.

Cixi asked: "The sun? Is it blocked?"

Yikuang became interested all of a sudden, opened the chatterbox and told the Queen Mother about his superficial knowledge of astronomy, and then said to Li Yu, "Are you right?"

Cixi is also very aware of Li Yu's ability now, and casts her eyes on him.

Li Yu said: "Queen Mother, it is true. You can use a telescope to observe the wonderful lunar eclipse at that time."

Li Yu thought, I might not be able to explain it to you for a while, so seeing is believing!

Pu Lande and Carlos also helped out: "Indeed."

There were two foreigners talking together. Although Cixi was still dubious, she decided to take a look at it in a few days.

She was a little dissatisfied and said to Zhou Yuqing: "You usually learn more, how can a Qintian supervisor not even understand the things in the sky!"

Zhou Yuqing was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat: "I will definitely ask the prince for advice when I go back."

After Zhou Yuqing withdrew, Yikuang asked Carlos and Pu Lande to put on the phonograph.

Cixi said: "Xiao Lizi said that you brought something good, is this box?"

Pu Lande said respectfully: "Honorable Empress Dowager, this machine is called a phonograph, and it is the latest model of the American Victory Company. It can play recorded operas."

Cixi was a bit indifferent to what he said, and said casually: "Let Aijia take a look."

Pu Lande put the record into the gramophone, and the vocals of Yang Xiaolou and Jia Honglin immediately rang out along with the trumpet.

Cixi almost knocked over the tea bowl in hand, and said in surprise: "How can foreigners' machines also sing operas!"

Li Yu almost fell over when he heard this, I was dizzy, why is your question not as good as Yiqiang!
(End of this chapter)