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

Chapter 53
Zai Zhen didn't expect this either, after all, the list of envoys has already been determined by the Prime Minister's Yamen.

"Why did Prince Chun say such a thing?"

Zaifeng said: "Now Li Yu has gained a reputation in Europe, especially in England. It just so happens that you are going to England. From my point of view, foreigners value those who understand this knowledge, and it can somewhat improve our face."

Zai Zhen thought for a while and said: "This statement is reasonable. Now the Empress Dowager also knows about Li Yu. He has no problems with Western studies and can speak foreign languages. It is perfect. I will play the Empress Dowager when I go back today. Please take Li Yu with you. "

Li Yu was stunned by the side, no matter how many times he came and went, he would be taken there.

But it's good to think about it, it's too boring to stay in the imperial city all the time, it's good to go out for a walk, and after all, the start of the Jingshi University Hall will not be until mid-to-late October, so there is still time.

After Cixi saw Zaizhen's memorial, she immediately agreed, and issued a decree to emphasize: "This trip is strictly related to the ceremony, and it is also used to broaden knowledge and increase knowledge."

Zai Zhen took Empress Dowager Cixi's decree and approached Li Yu with a smile, "It's great to be accompanied by Li Jiaoxi!"

Now that it was almost time to go abroad, Zai Zhen took Li Yu to meet the mission at the Zongli Yamen, and the lineup was quite strong:
Liang Cheng, counselor Zhili alternate road, second rank.Liang Cheng's achievements are not small, but they are easy to be overlooked. In fact, when he was the Minister to the United States, he urged the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, to reduce part of the boxer indemnity, and a lot of this part of the money was directly used for construction. Tsinghua University!
Yang Laizhao, the title of the second grade, recorded the name of the road.

Huang Kaijia, second-rank title, candidate road.He was one of the first batch of young children studying in the United States in the late Qing Dynasty.He was an early participant in the World Expo in China, and together with Zhan Tianyou, he was called "North Zhan and South Huang".

Wang Daxie, Counselor, fourth-rank rank, Foreign Ministry member Wailang.Later, he became the prime minister of the Beiyang government, and he was also an extraordinary figure.

Tang Wenzhi, fourth-rank title, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Tang Wenzhi later devoted himself to education. The predecessors of Dalian Maritime University, Shanghai Maritime University and Soochow University were all founded by him.

In addition, there are several translators, such as Tao Dajun: the first generation of Japanese translators in China, who also taught Japanese in Tongwenguan;

Liu Shixun, a French translator, later served as the deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, and also served as the president of Southwest Jiaotong University.

Wu Yingke, one of the second batch of children studying in the United States;

Pan Sichi, one of the fourth batch of young children studying in the United States.

In short, there are definitely a lot of talents in this wave of people, the standards are quite high, and they all have official titles, the lowest is a fifth-rank title.

Therefore, several of them suddenly heard that a newcomer had arrived, and he had no fame, and they were quite critical.

Yang Laizhao, a second-rank official, said to Li Yu, "What achievements have you made? This mission to England is extraordinary. If you don't have some skills, you can't do it."

Zai Zhen spoke first, and said with a smile, "The man in front of you is called Li Yu. He is not only proficient in Western learning, but also can speak English, German, and Japanese. I wonder if he is good enough?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately fell silent.Not to mention being proficient in Western learning, just being able to speak three foreign languages ​​is a big deal. The translators in the mission basically only know one foreign language. Suddenly, several translators feel a little insecure: just now I thought there was a newcomer, but I didn’t expect This kid is one of the top three!I am a little redundant.

Only French translator Liu Shixun was not too worried: Fortunately, he doesn't know French!
In fact, Li Yu also wanted to learn it, but after he tried it, he let out Yuan Hua's miserable cry: "It's too difficult!"

Seeing that everyone was silent, Zai Zhen continued: "I hope everyone will work together to fulfill the mission of the imperial court."

Liang Cheng had worked as a counselor in the United States for several years, and he was also one of the early children studying in the United States. He leaned over and said to Li Yu: "Mr. Your Excellency has been commended by the Royal Society."

Li Yu cupped his hands and replied, "Mr. Liang is absurd."

Liang Cheng has stayed in the United States for a long time, and his horizons are much wider than ordinary people. He knows the difficulty of learning the West, and said: "It is not absurd. I have only learned a language in the United States for many years. For science On the way, I only know superficially, but I know that the power of Western countries also comes from politics, law and science."

Li Yu said: "Mr. Liang is very smart in the diplomatic arena. We are involved in different fields."

Huang Kaijia laughed beside him and said, "Little brother, don't be polite to him. When Yizhi (Liang Cheng's characters) was in the United States, he couldn't even distinguish the three sides of trigonometric functions. A few days ago, he asked me to ask for your paper. I stopped it, it's really laughable, a person who failed in mathematics and physics wants to read professional papers."

Huang Kaijia was the first batch of young children studying in the United States, and Liang Cheng was the fourth batch. There was a bit of a senior in it.

There were 120 young children in the first group of students studying in the United States, and only 50 of them were admitted to American universities, and Huang Kaijia was admitted to Yale University. He was definitely a talented student in the late Qing Dynasty.

Liang Cheng smiled and said, "Brother Dounan (Huang Kaijia's characters) don't expose me. I can't understand numbers since I was a child, and I am thankful for being able to understand a few formula questions."

Huang Kaijia refused to let go: "What are you talking about, if I hadn't tutored you for two months, you can't even understand the formula of the quadratic equation, how can you be admitted to an American middle school."

Young children studying in the United States start from elementary school or middle school in the United States. As for Chinese subjects, they are taught by the economics and history teachers who brought them with them from China.

Liang Cheng joked: "Brother Dounan, if you are still not convinced, let's continue to meet Zhenzhang on the court."

Liang Cheng fell in love with baseball when he was studying in the United States. He also participated in many competitions and won awards.

The corners of Huang Kaijia's eyes twitched: "That's right, the ball you threw hit my face and it swelled for five or six days!"

Wang Daxie was different from them. He had never been abroad before, so he asked Li Yu, "I wonder if you have ever set foot in the West?"

Li Yu said frankly: "I have only learned about the West from foreigners in the concession, and I am still far behind you."

Wang Daxie praised: "Your Excellency can sit in the country and know the affairs of the world. You really have the talent like Zhuge Kongming."

Li Yu hurriedly said modestly: "It's not worth mentioning, it's not worth mentioning!"

Now that there is no Internet, it is really difficult for people who do not go abroad to understand foreign countries, and even the whole world.Even for overseas students, it is actually difficult to fully understand all fields, but it is not easy.

Moreover, Wang Daxie was by no means an ordinary person. The reason why he was able to join the mission as the only person who had never been abroad was also because he was indeed outstanding in diplomacy. When the "Xin Chou Treaty" was signed, Russia wanted to take the opportunity to occupy the three eastern provinces. It was Wang Daxie who made a bitter statement and prevented the Qing government from compromising.So this time, the Zongli Yamen also deliberately cultivated him.

(End of this chapter)