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

"Boom boom boom!"

There was a knock on the door.

"Please come in." Li Yu said.

Wu Mi, Jin Yuelin, Dai Fanglan, and Hou Debang came in hand in hand, and Li Yu recognized them all.

After saying hello, Wu Mi got straight to the point and asked, "Sir, will the math classes in the future be more difficult?"

Li Yu said: "We will learn more content in the course. If we just talk about the difficulty, it will not increase much."

Wu Mi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, otherwise it will really kill me."

Li Yu asked: "You are like a student named Hu Shi from the previous class. Why are you so afraid of mathematics?"

Jin Yuelin smiled and answered for him: "He said algebra, geometry, and trigonometry were not compatible with him."

Wu Mi immediately said: "That's called lack of interest."

Li Yu was also happy: "It's not like we're on a blind date. Regardless of whether you like it or not, you must learn mathematics. Even American universities mandate that mathematics must reach the passing mark."

Wu Mi asked the question he was most concerned about: "Does being bad at math mean you are stupid?"

Li Yu said: "That's definitely not the case! It can only be said that your interest is not here, but then again, lack of interest is not the reason for failing mathematics."

Wu Mi said: "That is to say, as long as you work hard enough, you can always get 60 points in mathematics?"

Li Yu nodded: "100 points is difficult, but regardless of whether you have talent and interest in mathematics, you can definitely achieve 60 points as long as you work hard."

Wu Mi finally felt relieved: "I'm really afraid of math. Every time I face a big math test, the math questions are like 'Jia Baoyu wanders into a fantasy world'. I have to go back to the dormitory and change into a pair of pants before I can barely answer one or two." three."

Jin Yuelin said: "No wonder you have to go back temporarily every time you take the monthly math exam. Didn't you think this would be okay?"

Wu Mi said: "I don't know why, but if I don't do this, I will be even more clueless about those math questions."

"You can't answer most math questions because your thinking is wrong. You can train your logic skills," Li Yu said. "I'll give you some classic logic questions to try. According to legend, there was a king in ancient Greece who wanted to execute a group of prisoners. The king stipulated that each prisoner was allowed to say one sentence. If he told the truth, he would be hanged; if he told a lie, he would be beheaded. But there was a clever prisoner who said something that prevented the king from executing him. stipulations, and was eventually released. What did the clever prisoner say?”

"I beg your pardon!" Wu Mi said, "Can you say it again?"

Li Yu had no choice but to say it again.

Wu Mi was still thinking hard: "How can I not be killed..."

Jin Yuelin had already figured it out: "What the prisoner said is that I will definitely be beheaded."

"Huh?" Wu Mi hasn't figured it out yet.

Jin Yuelin explained to him: "If the king concludes that this sentence is true, then the prisoner should be hanged. In this way, the prisoner's statement of 'I will definitely be beheaded' becomes a lie; and if the king concludes that this sentence If the sentence was a lie, then the prisoner should be beheaded, but what he said, 'I will definitely be beheaded,' turned out to be the truth."

Wu Mi finally understood: "It can still be like this!"

Jin Yuelin clicked his tongue and said: "Interesting, interesting! Is this also mathematics?"

Li Yu said: "Strictly speaking, Westerners call it logic. It is much easier than mathematics, but it is inseparable from mathematics."

Jin Yuelin said: "Then I will study logic in the future!"

Wu Mi was even more bitter: "It's just simplified mathematics?"

Li Yu said: "If you don't want to study science and engineering in the future, but focus on grammar, it doesn't matter. Just work more on grammar."

Wu Mi said: "Sir, you don't know something. The liberal arts teachers in Tsinghua University are like..."

Wu Mi was embarrassed to say it, but Li Yu must have known that what he wanted to say was "just like fiction."

In the early years of the Republic of China, Tsinghua University focused entirely on science and engineering, and did not yet have the famous Institute of Chinese Studies.

Currently, the school only asks Chinese studies teachers at Tsinghua whether they have the title of Jinshi, regardless of whether they are outstanding teachers.

The scene of students attending class is also quite absurd, very similar to that of later generations. When the teacher calls the roll, one student can answer for many students. Or you can finish answering questions and then sneak away, or you can doze off while reading a novel during class.

The old gentleman on the stage has been sitting high on the podium and turned a blind eye.

After the May Fourth Movement, Peking University has made rapid progress under Cai Yuanpei. Students at Tsinghua University were completely dissatisfied with studying the old classics, so many went directly to Peking University to attend.

Li Yu simply made it clear to them: "If you feel that Tsinghua's Chinese studies courses are not up to expectations, you can go to other schools, such as Peking University."

It won't be long before Peking University recruits several of Zhang Taiyan's disciples, whose attainments in Chinese studies can be regarded as among the best in the early Republic of China.

Jin Yuelin said: "It's a pity that it's too far away."

Li Yu immediately solved their worries: "I will donate ten cars to the school, part of which will be used exclusively for school buses to and from Sijiu City."

Wu Mi said happily: "As expected of Supervisor Li! What a great gesture!"

One car now costs at least 2 yuan, and ten cars cost [-] yuan.

"I would like to dismantle the car and see how it works," Hou Debang said.

"I have taken this into consideration," Li Yu said. "All auto parts will be provided in several sets separately, specifically for engineering research, for the use of talents who are keen on mechanics in the future."

Dai Fanglan suddenly asked: "Sir, why don't you give Principal Tang some suggestions to install more larger biology laboratories in the school?"

Li Yu said: "This is easy to say. I will ask President Tang to go to the Ministry of Education to double the size of Tsinghua University and add many more buildings. Spending money on education cannot be called spending money, it is an effective investment."

Dai Fanglan said: "It will definitely not be in vain. Although it is not easy for our engineering department to catch up with foreigners, I think creatures that do not require too much money are a good breakthrough."

Li Yu naturally agreed: "If we concentrate on studying some subdivided areas under the biological category for more than ten years, we can indeed compete with foreigners."

Dai Fanglan was very confident: "More than ten years, that will definitely be enough!"

Li Yu had always wanted to get the penicillin as soon as possible, but after thinking about it carefully, he still felt that he should put it away first.

It is not difficult to make penicillin, but the difficulty lies in cultivating a strain that can be mass-produced. The whole process requires a large number of controlled experiments, and the element of luck cannot be ignored.

The key penicillin has too great practical significance, which has become the core factor restricting Li Yu.

Moreover, penicillin is too expensive for domestic consumption, and it is feared that it will be used as a wedding dress for foreigners when it is produced.

After all, engineering is different from pure science such as mathematics and physics. Engineering has a great impact on the economy.

If you pursue pure science, you can be harmless to humans and animals, and foreigners can praise you to the sky; but engineering has touched too many interests.

Li Yu carefully engaged in radio and automobiles. Among them, automobiles basically only researched patents and were engaged in invisible intellectual property enterprises in the upper reaches of the automobile industry chain. In terms of industry, Europe and the United States were still doing it; radio was a high-tech industry, and Li Yu attracted the Morgan family. Come in and let them share the profits, otherwise there will be no chance of it happening.

Although penicillin belongs to the biological category, it is not an exaggeration to call it bioengineering.

It was original and without the involvement of foreigners, Li Yu had no possibility of protecting himself under the weak government of the Republic of China.

Even if Europe and the United States could bear it, the Japanese would definitely take action against Li Yu.

On the other hand, although you could make a lot of money from penicillin during World War I, you could also save some trauma patients.

But in fact, the Spanish flu pandemic killed the most people during World War I.

The influenza pandemic that originated in the United States caused more than 5000 million deaths, which was countless times more than the death toll in World War I.

There are only [-] billion people in the world.    Finally, another reason is the subtle relationship between antibiotics and bacteria.

It is known that bacteria are constantly evolving and can easily develop drug resistance.

This makes antibiotics a double-edged sword. If not controlled well, it can become a Pandora's box.

Therefore, biology cannot be touched casually, and a very complete foundation must be established before we can go any further.

Now it is better to let biologists like Dai Fanglan work hard on the promising microbiology and lay the foundation.

In addition to antibiotics, there are still too many unknowns waiting to be explored in the biological field, including biomedicine.

-

After Li Yu chatted with them for a while, they hurried back to continue class.

The classes in the morning were very compact, including one section of psychology and one section of Western history.

On the whole, Tsinghua School can be regarded as a high school for later generations.

When it came to the afternoon Chinese course, Li Yu went over to take a stroll and take a look. It was obvious that most students did not attach great importance to these courses in terms of attitude; of course there were some who were very serious, such as Wu Mi, Jin Yuelin, etc.

Not only students, but also some elderly gentlemen are very lax, and some even come to class after drinking.

Anyway, Tsinghua’s level of Chinese studies will really have to wait until Chen Yinke, Wu Mi and others establish the Institute of Chinese Studies.

After four o'clock, there is a unique one-hour exercise time in Tsinghua University. All classrooms, libraries, and dormitories are closed and exercise is compulsory.

Even if you don’t want to exercise, go for a walk outside or watch others exercise.

Li Yu looked around. There were a wide range of sports, such as ball games. Not only were tennis, baseball, basketball, and football popular among foreigners, but there were also badminton and table tennis that had just been introduced to the country.

This shows that Tsinghua University attaches great importance to sports.

Although Tsinghua University in the early years of the Republic of China was a science and engineering institution, its students were relatively lively and did not have an old-fashioned attitude. A large part of the reason was that there were more sports.

Li Yu plans to introduce this model to Datong University in Shanghai in the future.

In the following decades, Tsinghua University often engaged in random killings in sports competitions. Football and basketball games with several universities in Shanghai have always been typical examples of the North-South struggle for hegemony.

In addition, there are some operations that you are familiar with that have been the norm since the early years of the Republic of China: for example, in order to maintain an advantage in sports, schools will deliberately raise a group of students with strong athletic abilities.

Of course, sports itself is a positive and sunny cause, and there is no need to denigrate it.

To put it bluntly, I learned it from American universities. Tsinghua basically copied the American model. The Ivy League in the United States is itself a sports league. Most of Tsinghua students enter these prestigious schools after studying in the United States, so they must prepare in advance.

-

For Li Yu, it felt quite comfortable to attend classes at the university. The situation in the Republic of China was as chaotic as a mess, and only the campus still had the purity of an ivory tower. As long as Li Yu had time, he would drive here morning and evening, and sometimes go to nearby gardens. However, the Summer Palace was still a royal heritage and could not be entered.

That morning, when Li Yu was driving to Tsinghua University, he suddenly met a carriage on the road. It looked like it came from the Forbidden City.

Li Yu drove by and saw Xiao De Zhang riding on a horse.

Then the Queen Mother Longyu must be in the carriage compartment.

Xiaode Zhang also saw Li Yu and said hello: "Isn't this the emperor's master?"

Li Yu said: "Eunuch De, are you going to the Summer Palace?"

Xiao De Zhang said: "Yes."

The curtain on the carriage opened, and Longyu stuck his head out and said, "It turns out to be Master Li."

"Queen Mother." Li Yu bowed and showed a little respect.

Longyu still felt very useful: "Now that we are not looked down upon, the emperor still knows etiquette."

Li Yu actually felt a little pitiful.

Longyu was basically a scapegoat, and his deeds were done by those in power in the past; three years after Cixi's death, there was still a regent in the court, and Longyu was a puppet.

But in the end, the edict of abdication was signed from her hand.

Many Aisin Gioro young men refused to sign the edict of abdication. Longyu saw that the situation was over and cursed them angrily: "My dear general has managed the state affairs so corruptly and still wants to obstruct the edict of the Republic. What will happen to my mother and son?" land!"

Longyu knew that these young men were just tough-talking and couldn't get anything done. She didn't have the ability to control Han Chen, so what could she do?
  But those Aixinjueluos put all the blame on her. After entering the Republic of China, they basically stopped seeing her. At this time, there were only a few people around Longyu, not as good as some wealthy families.

Li Yu said: "I remember there is a car in the palace donated by President Yuan. Why don't you take it out and use it? It will be faster than riding a carriage."

Xiao De Zhang sighed: "If it was given by someone else, just use it."

Li Yu was speechless. If Yuan Shikai gave Yi Kuang a car, Yi Kuang would definitely drive without any psychological burden.

Longyu said: "You have to hire a special driver to drive, and if one is not enough, you have to buy three or four more cars. The palace has little money now."

Sure enough, they have been growing up in the deep palace compound, and being ostentatious is no longer a problem for them, but a habit.

Li Yu asked: "Don't the preferential treatment regulations allocate 400 million taels every year?"

Xiaode Zhang said helplessly: "I only paid half of this year's payment."

In fact, until the preferential treatment regulations were abolished, the full amount of 400 million was not paid every year, and at most it was only [-] to [-] percent.

Later, Yuan Datou was released, and the price changed from 400 taels to 400 million oceans. The value of oceans was several percent lower than silver.

There were many eunuchs and maids in the Qing Palace, and they had to pay wages to support a small court. As a result, the finances of the Forbidden City are now extremely tight.

Li Yu said: "I have an idea that can provide you with some income."

Empress Dowager Longyu said: "Master Emperor, please speak."

Li Yu said: "It may be a bit presumptuous, but the Queen Mother has the right to listen."

Longyu sighed: "Now that the Qing Dynasty is gone, what else can we do to be presumptuous? How about the Aijia arresting you?"

Li Yu said: "The Summer Palace is a scenic spot. If a part of it is opened for sightseeing, even if the tickets are set at a high price of one tael of silver per time, many people will still buy it."

The Qing Emperor had just abdicated, and people in the country were full of curiosity about life in the palace. If the Forbidden City cannot be taken out, the Summer Palace can always be considered.

Xiao Dezhang was excited when he heard it: "What a great idea!"

What he thought was that once the royal private property was used for tourism, as the general manager, he could decide on the tickets.

Longyu was silent for a while and then said: "There are not many places to go to in the Ai family. If the Summer Palace becomes a tourist attraction, I will have to stay in the palace every day. Let me think about this matter again."

Xiaode Zhang let out a little anger: "That's what the Queen Mother said."

Li Yu didn't give much advice, as Queen Mother Longyu's time was running out and she would die of illness in a year. Within two months of her death, the infantry commander's office began to open the Summer Palace as a tourist attraction.

When they arrived at the gate of Tsinghua Garden, Empress Dowager Longyu wanted to continue walking, so Li Yu said goodbye to them.

They would pass by the burned-down Old Summer Palace, and I wonder what these Manchu nobles would think after seeing it.