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

Chapter 508: Those who know no boundaries

Li Yu specially went to Cambridge University to visit Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory.

Li Yu walked in carrying a cake box, "Director Thomson, this cake is specially made for you."

"How do you know I love baked goods?" Thomson said. "Looking at the packaging, I bought them from that famous Italian restaurant."

Li Yu said: "I also asked about it specifically. I hope you like it."

Thomson was very happy when he saw the appearance of the cake: "It turned out to be in the shape of plum pudding. You really know how to joke."

Li Yu said: "Cut it open with a knife, which symbolizes an innovation in the atomic model."

Thomson put the cake on the table: "That's a good idea. I am preparing to repeat Rutherford's experiment at Cambridge University. Your move reminds me that when he comes to London for a meeting next time, I will also make a planet model snack." .”

Li Yu said: "You must act quickly. If someone solves the problem of atomic stability, this model will be in danger."

"Rutherford's experiment can withstand scrutiny, and other better models will appear soon." Thomson is optimistic.

Naturally, he didn't know that Bohr, the great master of quantum mechanics, was about to emerge.

Thomson added: "I read in the Times that there was a revolution in your country. It seemed very similar to the one in France."

Li Yu said: "The guillotine may not happen, but the meaning may be even more extraordinary."

At present, Europeans have seen many revolutions, and in the eyes of many people they are not bad things at all. Thomson said: "You want to go back to China to see it?"

"Of course," Li Yu said, "My family is in the capital, and I will take the train back in a few days."

"I wish you all the best," Thomson said.

There is nothing to worry about when Li Yu returns to China. Throughout the Republic of China, both the military and political circles attached great importance to masters in the cultural field.Moreover, in the early days of the Republic of China, education was placed in a crucial position. For a celebrity like Li Yu, who was at the top of the scientific and technological circles and devoted himself to education, no one dared to mess with him even if he did not know the big figures in politics.

The Republic of China was like this. Although it was extremely corrupt in many aspects and not at all like the "beautiful petty bourgeoisie era" in some literary works, it really respected the masters.Because since the late Qing Dynasty, everyone has known that the first step in rejuvenating the country through science and technology is to rejuvenate the country through education.

After leaving the Cavendish Laboratory, Li Yu went to Trinity College to attend a seminar on game theory.

Recently, more and more European scholars are studying game theory. The reason is that two relatively silent countries in Europe fought a war, which broke some delicate balances.

These two countries are Italy and the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The two countries fought an Italian-Turkish War this year.

The Italian-Turkish War is not famous. After all, it was a fight between novices.

Italy's combat effectiveness is obvious to all. It is so strong. The Ethiopian War more than ten years ago made the whole of Europe regard Italy as a laughing stock.

As for Ottoman Türkiye, it is currently known as the "sick man of West Asia", strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

Although the Qing Dynasty in the East was called the "Sick Man of East Asia", no matter how ineffective it was in leading the Qing Dynasty, it still did some right things in the years before its death. At least it allowed the Republic of China to inherit a complete territory, and many educational policies also It continued.

The Italian-Turkish war itself was lackluster.

Just like Italy sneaking into troubled waters to attack the Qing Dynasty, this time the Young Turk Revolution occurred in Ottoman Turkey, and Italy wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to capture the Tripoli region of Libya.

Before the war started, Italy vowed to end the war within a month, but the result was as shocking as the Ethiopian war.

Italy dispatched [-] troops, and Libya only had [-] militiamen. However, Enver, the leader of the three giants of the Ottoman Turkish Shabab, called on Libya to resist in the name of jihad.

Italy instantly fell into a vast sea of ​​guerrilla warfare, and in the end the Italian army could only huddle in the port.

Had it not been for the subsequent declaration of war by the Balkan countries on the Ottomans, Italy would have ended in another disastrous defeat.

The Ottomans finally made peace with Italy at the cost of ceding Libya to avoid falling into a two-front war.

The Italians rarely won a war, and they were so happy that the whole country celebrated.

However, the Italian-Turkish War can be regarded as the prologue of World War I. It was this war that exposed the weakness of the Ottoman Empire and broke the balance among the Balkan powers. Then there was a gunshot in Sarajevo.

Anyway, the war definitely didn't start suddenly. Everyone had decades of grievances.

Leading this mathematics seminar was the young professor Hardy, who was very interested in new things.

"Everyone says that game theory can be used in all aspects, such as poker and even economics. I now find that it is also very suitable for military and political purposes." Hardy said.

Li Yu said: "It is a pity that no politicians are willing to learn mathematics. They only want results, and the mathematical results of game theory are often uncertain."

Hardy said: "The British government has been looking for think tanks in the field of science and technology many years ago. I think since they thought of university professors, they should listen to their suggestions."

Li Yu spread his hands: "You can go and try, I definitely don't believe you can succeed."

"But they should know that modern technology is so advanced that it cannot be separated from scientific research," Hardy said.

"Politicians will mock you for knowing only academics but not politics; they will even mock frontline generals for not understanding politics and military science. As for the game model and all the mathematical calculations you draw for them, if you only give them probabilities, it will be useless to them. It's meaningless." Li Yu poured cold water on him again.

Hardy still insisted: "There will always be people in Parliament who can adopt our suggestions."

"I hope so," Li Yu said, then took a sip of black tea and said, "Mr. Hardy is indeed an authentic Englishman, and his Ceylon black tea is brewed just right."

Hardy pointed to the pastry plate: "I dare say this scone is the most delicious pastry in the entire Cambridge area."

Li Yu tasted it and could only say that the taste was okay.

In his previous life, he bought scones, a type of British bread snack, in a bakery. They tasted much better than what he eats now, and they were much cheaper at the same time.

However, out of politeness, Li Yu said: "The sweetness seems to be higher than some of the pastries I had before, while the crispness is maintained very well."

Hardy said proudly: "Because this scone uses a special formula."

Li Yu asked: "What special formula?"

Hardy showed off: "There is no sucrose in it, but a sweetener called saccharin."

Well, it is indeed this thing.

Before the emergence of aspartame, saccharin's position in the sugar substitute industry could still be strong for half a century.

However, they were classified into Category 2B and Category 3 carcinogenic lists by the WHO in Li Yu's era.

And almost everyone has eaten foods containing aspartame.

Of course, don’t worry too much. In addition to aspartame, there are many other class 2B carcinogens. The carcinogenicity level of Category 2B is "possibly carcinogenic, but the evidence is limited and the evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals is insufficient." Generally, there is no problem, so relax~

As for the carcinogenic category 3 of saccharin, it is just that "the carcinogenicity to humans cannot be classified yet", and coffee is also in this level.

What you really need to worry about are Group 1 carcinogens, such as tobacco, alcohol, and betel nut.

At the beginning of the [-]th century, most people could not afford sugar, so saccharin was of great significance in allowing ordinary people to enjoy it a little more.Life is already very bitter, and it is not easy to find a little more sweetness.

Europe is even more crazy about sweets. Especially after the First World War, the price of sucrose rose sharply, and the status of saccharin became more stable.Li Yu said: "I really can't praise your country's food. Only the afternoon tea is worth mentioning."

Hardy was not angry after hearing this, and laughed loudly: "How merciless! But I don't like British food either, but I dare say that the best French restaurant in Europe may be in London."

Li Yu suddenly noticed an envelope on the table and spelled out the name: "La, Rama... Nujin, Ramanujan?!"

Seeing Li Yu standing up suddenly, Hardy asked curiously: "What's wrong?"

Li Yu asked: "Has Ramanujan started writing to you?"

"You said this letter from India?" Hardy reacted. "It was actually not sent to me, but to Professor Baker. But Professor Baker felt that the letter was a bit nonsensical and ignored it. I was with him. When discussing some issues, Professor Baker accidentally said that an Indian wrote him a letter with a lot of meaningless formulas. I happened to be a little interested in India, so I took a look at it."

Professor Baker previously served as the president of the British Mathematical Society and has a relatively strong voice in the British mathematics community.

"Can I take a look?" Li Yu asked.

Hardy picked up the envelope and said, "Okay, but you might find it boring."

Li Yu really wanted to see the manuscripts of Ramanujan, the legendary "The man who knew infinity" - the man who knew infinity and the son of India.

I flipped through it and found that it only talked about some of Ramanujan's own growth experiences, as well as his love for mathematics and several formulas he discovered.

Li Yu said: "Isn't this Euler's formula?"

Hardy said: "That's why I said you would be bored. Someone actually voted for Professor Baker, the president of the British Mathematical Society, with a formula that was proved 150 years ago. If Professor Baker had not received a letter of recommendation from the president of the Indian Mathematical Society in advance, I’m afraid I’ve already thrown it into the wastebasket after reading it.”

Ramanujan was discovered by the president of the Indian Mathematical Society as a person of great potential two years ago and wrote many letters of recommendation to him.But no one in India could understand Ramanujan, so he thought of Britain.

Ramanujan was basically self-taught and had no systematic mathematical training. He discovered Euler's formula because he realized it by himself when he was studying "Advanced Trigonometry" and did not know much about the development of world mathematics.

For Professor Baker, the president of the British Mathematics Association with a background in mathematics, he is indeed like a "civilian" who claims to have proved a certain theorem...

Li Yu said: "India is also a country with a large population. Although it is very backward, from the perspective of probability theory, geniuses will always appear."

Hardy said: "Why, do you really think he is a genius? You can't tell from this letter."

Li Yu said: "You can ask him to send a few more letters and list a few more formulas."

Hardy looked at Li Yu suspiciously: "Don't you think you have sympathy for this Indian boy?"

Li Yu smiled and said, "Maybe."

Ramanujan is indeed a bit tragic, mainly because he died too young, only 32 years old.

And also coming from a backward country, the learning environment is not good.

"Okay," Hardy said, "Academician Li Yu has said it, so I should pay some attention to it."

-

Sun Wen traveled around Europe for a long time, but after returning without success, he was ready to return to China.

He sighed: "The country is in dire need of reconstruction. According to my estimate, it will take at least 4 million yuan to build what we need. Unfortunately, we have not even borrowed [-] yuan."

Li Yu said: "Of course the great powers cannot give so much money at one time. Let's take it slow. It is better to cultivate our own national enterprises in the future than to borrow money."

"I'm going to take a boat back directly from Europe," Sun said.

Li Yu asked: "Don't you want to take the train? I know some friends who can take the Trans-Siberian Railway."

Sun shook his head: "The railway will pass through Beijing, and I am going to Hong Kong."

He was probably doing it for safety reasons.

Li Yu said: "Then I will call Mr. Cai Yuanpei from Germany and we will take the railway line back to China and purchase some machinery and books in Europe."

Sun said: "I don't have time to visit Mr. Cai. Say hello to me and see you in the country in the future."

After bidding farewell to Sun Wen, Li Yu came to Germany. He first found Rathenau.Previously, 4000 million marks were raised from him. Due to the good operation of Li Yu's company, the first batch was easy. After that, Rathenau gave money very readily.

Li Yu used the money to purchase many cars and some production lines, as well as a large number of books.

I still have to lament that original foreign books are really expensive.

Then Li Yu found Cai Yuanpei. He had also received many telegrams from Chen Qimei in China urging him to return to the country, and was already packing his luggage.

The two immediately went to St. Petersburg, then boarded a train towards the Far East.

Cai Yuanpei said: "Looking at the list in your package, you bought a lot of books?"

"I bought basically everything I can think of. There are almost a few containers, and they will be shipped back to China in a while," Li Yu said, and then he saw Cai Yuanpei also holding a book in his hand and reading, "This is it?"

Cai Yuanpei said: "A book about the French Revolution."

It has to be from the Tongmenghui, and if it is recognized, it will be a big revolution.

Li Yu said: "After returning to China, President Cai may become an official of the Ministry of Education."

Cai Yuanpei said: "Dudu Chen made this promise to me. I will definitely promote you to deputy minister by then."

Everyone seems to have to mention this to Li Yu. After all, in most people's minds, an official career is still the ultimate dream of scholars.

Li Yu shook his head and said, "I'm not interested in being an official."

Cai Yuanpei said: "There is always a difference between officials of the Ministry of Education and other officials."

Li Yu still refused and said: "There are inevitable constraints. As long as you are here, it is enough for us to take care of each other."

Cai Yuanpei asked: "It is said that Academician Li Yu doesn't care about power. I didn't expect him to be so persistent. He couldn't persuade him again and again."

Li Yu didn't feel too burdened to talk to Cai Yuanpei and explained to him: "Once you enter the political arena, you have more to consider. First of all, it is extremely difficult to manage complex social creatures like people, and I am extremely bad at this aspect."

Cai Yuanpei said: "Shu Cai's words reminded me of a Western proverb, 'Beyond the city-state, everything is either a god or a beast.'"

The meaning of this sentence is that human beings are social creatures and should live in human gathering areas within city-states.

Li Yu said: "Moreover, politics itself is full of compromises. Even the Ministry of Education is not immune to these considerations. Once a compromise is made, it will inevitably lead to opposition from another group of people."

Cai Yuanpei said: "It makes sense to talk about sparing talents, but balancing all parties and making progress together, isn't that what we should do?"

Li Yu said with a smile: "I think I should just be a novice. I can just criticize a few words and get used to it. If I get to that position, I will inevitably live a life that I don't want to be."

(End of this chapter)