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

"Sir, here is the map you need."

Zhongshan's secretary Song Ailing walked in with a large pile of materials.

"Ailing, thank you for your hard work," Mr. Sun said, "Why don't you see your father?"

Song Ailing said: "My father said that he had received letters from various places requesting my husband to go for inspections, and he was replying to them one by one."

Mr. Sun said: “You have to go to many places, especially hub cities.”

Song Ailing said: "Also, representatives from Shanxi will come to the capital to welcome you in person."

Mr. Sun said: "So urgent? Who is it?"

Song Ailing said: "The letter stated that he was from the Sino-American Alliance and Kong Xiangxi, a descendant of Confucius."

Mr. Sun said: "I have heard of this person. Since he is here, let's meet him."

Song Ailing flipped through the manual and said, "I'm afraid he has to line up in the back row."

Mr. Sun asked: "Why?"

Song Ailing said: "The former Qing regent Zaifeng has sent an invitation and hopes to meet with you."

Mr. Sun nodded: "Then let's go to Prince Chun's Mansion first."

The Xunqing royal family wanted to meet with Sun, and it was a request from senior members of the royal family. Prince Yi Kuang of Qing sent a letter to the Forbidden City in Tianjin, instructing in detail that senior members of the royal family must come forward.

Because they discovered that although Sun resigned as president, he was still so popular, and knew that his status in the hearts of the people was unshakable. If the Xunqing royal family does not express its position, it will inevitably be insufficient for future political needs.

Moreover, out of consideration for their own future living conditions, the royal family believed that if they met with Sun, they could establish some relationship, and he could always say a few words to the Xunqing royal family in the future.

Originally, the Xunqing royal family should have come to see Sun, but he decided to take the initiative to go to Houhai Chunwang's palace to show his firm support for the concept of the republic of the five races.

——It is said that Prince Chun’s Mansion later became the former residence of Mrs. Sun (to be precise, the garden part, half of the Prince’s Mansion).

After meeting at Prince Chun's Mansion, the Xunqing court specially allowed Mr. Sun to visit the Summer Palace, and Mr. Sun even stopped in Yingtai to rest for a while.

The next day, Zaifeng, under the order of Queen Mother Longyu, went to the Guest House in Shidaren Hutong where Mr. Sun lived to pay a visit in person.

This banquet was different from yesterday’s family banquet, as more people came.

Mr. Sun knew that Li Yu had been in contact with the Xunqing royal family many times before and had served as the emperor's disciple, so he called them to the hotel together.

Li Yu originally didn't want to go, because this kind of banquet was meaningless. It was just Mr. Sun giving face to the Xunqing royal family, and then saying all kinds of polite words on both sides.

——In fact, the Xunqing royal family has no face now, but everyone is more polite, and they finally let Sun visit the Summer Palace, a private property of the royal family.

Just go.

After the banquet started, as expected, it was even more official than the meeting between Sun and Yuan.

On the contrary, the food and wine at the banquet were very good.

When it comes to enjoyment, people who are inferior to the Qing royal family are too clever.

Mr. Sun told Zaifeng: "In 1901, when the prince was on a diplomatic mission to Germany, he apologized to others as his imperial brother. He was in a very embarrassing and passive position, but he was able to be neither humble nor overbearing. He received good reviews from abroad, which is very rare."

“Times have changed, and more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye,” Zaifeng said with emotion, and then added, “Now it is precisely because of the propaganda of Mr. Sun and Huang that our Qing Dynasty resolutely returned the power to the people and established a republican regime. I hope that with the help of Mr. Sun and Huang, the foundation of the country will be consolidated and the royal family will be blessed endlessly."

Li Yu sounded really funny.

Only three or four years ago, Zaifeng regarded Sun and Huang as mortal enemies, and he must get rid of them quickly. Now they are sitting together to eat, and from the true purpose revealed in the last sentence, it can be seen that the attitude is very humble.

But it also shows that Zaifeng at least knows how to adapt.

Mr. Sun said: "The prince voluntarily abdicated the throne during the Xinhai period, recognized the republic, and avoided a bloody war in the country. This was rare in history and was indeed a wise move."

Zaifeng must have thought to himself, I want to fight, but what should I do if the soldiers don't listen to me? We can't let those Eight Banners troops go up and kill people, right?

So Zaifeng said: "It is not only my decision, but also the wise Queen Mother."

Mr. Sun said: "Your Majesty is the emperor's biological father and regent after all. On the issue of abdication, you can put the interests of the country and the nation first, and the interests of the family second, which is extremely commendable. This is a patriotic action that is beneficial to the revolution and has political vision."

Zaifeng smiled helplessly. He had never thought of this at the time, but he still said, "Mr. Sun has a thorough understanding."

At the end of the banquet, Mr. Sun asked Li Yu to take out a portable camera to take a photo, and then personally wrote the inscription "Prince Chun Huicun, presented by Sun Wen" and gave it to Zaifeng.

Zaifeng took the photo and looked at their leaving figures with mixed feelings in his heart.

When he returned to the Huguang Guild Hall, Kong Xiangxi immediately ran over with a smile: "Mr. Sun, Mr. Huang, my Excellency Kong Xiangxi, representatives of the Sino-American Alliance and the Shanxi business community have been waiting here for a long time."

"Let's talk inside," Mr. Sun, who had long been accustomed to such unexpected meetings, said to Song Ailing, "Bring out the materials."

Mr. Sun had studied the construction of a railway in Shanxi, and after taking his seat, he said directly: "I heard Ai Ling say that your Kong family has a big business in Shanxi, and they also deal in coal and iron. I want to build a railway to connect Datong. and Taiyuan, which can then be connected to the Zhengtai Railway to transport coal and railways from Shanxi to the Beijing-Tianjin region and Shanghai, which will benefit many places at the same time."

Kong Xiangxi said: "Mr. Sun is far-sighted. This railway is no less important than the Zhengtai Line. After it is repaired, it will have an immeasurable effect on the industry across the country."

Mr. Sun immediately called Zhan Tianyou to continue studying the great cause of railways.

Of course Li Yu knew that what they were talking about was Tongpu Line.

Those who often watch Anti-Japanese War movies have probably heard a lot of terms such as Longhai Line, Zhengtai Line, and Jinpu Line, but may not have studied them in detail. In fact, as long as you can understand these railways, it will be of great help in understanding the history of the war.

During the Republic of China, there were only six major railways in the country, three of which were arteries and three of which were branch lines.

The three major arteries are the Tianjin-Nanjing Jinpu Line, the Beijing-Wuhan Jinghan Line, and the Lianyungang-Lanzhou Longhai Line.

Among them, the two north-south lines, Jinpu Line and Beijing-Hankow Line, have been repaired.

The Longhai Line has a larger project volume and will take decades to build.

The three main small branch lines are the Jiaoji Line from Qingdao to Jinan, the Zhengtai Line from Taiyuan to Shijiazhuang, and the Tongpu Line that has not yet been built.

In other words, of these six major railways, four had been completed in the last decade of the late Qing Dynasty.

There is also a Pingsui line, Beijing-Hohhot (Beijing was called Peking and Hohhot was called Guisui at that time), which also appeared frequently.

As a business genius, Kong Xiangxi cannot possibly not understand the principle of "if you want to get rich, build roads first." Shanxi is rich in resources, which are not only coveted by other provinces, but also want to sell them to make money.

However, Kong Xiangxi was a little absent-minded when talking about railway construction at this time, and peeked at Song Ailing from time to time. After a while, another person from Hubei came to see Mr. Sun. He left with his secretary Song Ailing, and Kong Xiangxi recovered his mind.

Immediately afterwards, his clever IQ occupied the high ground again. Kong Xiangxi said to Li Yu: "Master Li, I have a big and profitable business. Are you interested?"

Li Yu asked: "What kind of deal?"

"Kerosene," Kong Xiangxi said, "foreign businessmen are now vigorously promoting kerosene. The American Mobil Company has even introduced a measure of giving away kerosene lamps when buying kerosene, which is a great business opportunity. I have researched that not long ago, Mobil and the British company just Establish a warehouse in Tianjin, and the kerosene transported will be unloaded directly in Tianjin without having to be transshipped through Shanghai. Wholesale from Tianjin Port, a pound of kerosene costs less than a dime, but in Shanxi and Chengdu further west, a pound of kerosene can be sold Go to Triangle, twice as much profit!”

Kong Xiangxi's eyes shone as he spoke. He was indeed good at doing business, and his actions were sharp, decisive and bold.

Li Yu said: "Strictly speaking, this is called dumping."

After all, Kong Xiangxi studied in college in the United States, so he said: "I know the disadvantages of dumping. The price will rise sooner or later, but if you don't make money now, it won't be in vain. What if we also have oil in the future! Bachelor Li's car Industry is inseparable from gasoline, kerosene and gasoline come from petroleum, and you have some friendship with Mr. Rockefeller, the boss of Mobil, so..."

Only then did Li Yu realize that Kong Xiangxi wanted him to say a few words for him.

Li Yu said: "Mr. Rockefeller almost no longer cares about specific business. If you talk to him about education funds, you will probably be more interested."

Kong Xiangxi smiled and said: "He has too much money, otherwise I don't believe there are people who don't like making money."

In the current situation, domestic gasoline and kerosene are completely dependent on imports.

Li Yu would never be stupid enough to tell geologists where several large oil wells in the country are. It would be better to wait until 49 years for such a strategic resource to come out.

Therefore, even if we know that the kerosene and gasoline markets will be monopolized by foreign merchants, there is nothing we can do about it.

Since Li Yu traveled to this era, he has already understood more thoroughly that backward countries must make some unequal sacrifices if they want to catch up.

But as long as you can get some benefits from it, that's fine.

It is certainly more difficult to spread electric light.

Speaking of oil lamps, in the past, vegetable oil was mainly used to light lamps in China, and then a wick made of twisted cotton thread was added. The brightness of this kind of lamp is very poor, so-called "one lamp is like a bean".

Those who have watched old TV series such as "Three Kingdoms" must be very impressed.

Moreover, it is necessary to frequently cut off the burnt wick when using it, which is more troublesome to use.

Li Yu said: "If you want to be an agent for foreigners, you only need sufficient funds. Now there is no one in the mainland to distribute kerosene, so there will be no competition."

Kong Xiangxi said: "I'll ask Mobil Company first."

After that, not long after Kong Xiangxi became an agent for Mobil, he discovered that the Asia Fuel Oil Company jointly operated by Britain and the Netherlands was more profitable, so he became their general agent in Shanxi and made a lot of money.

In addition to these two companies, there is also Texaco. Three foreign businessmen have monopolized the domestic kerosene industry.

The three of them signed an agreement to divide the Chinese market according to a certain proportion to prevent competition among themselves. At the same time, they would attack other competitors, including some later national enterprises, and they would not survive at all.

This routine is common.

After several years of low-price dumping by the three companies, many counties have used relatively cheap kerosene lamps. In the early days, most kerosene lamps were given away, so many people called kerosene lamps Mobil lamps.

In the early years of the Republic of China, domestic demand for kerosene had reached 2.6 million gallons (nearly 10 billion liters) per year, which was a huge amount.

Li Yu stood up and said, "Sorry, I have to go back first."

Kong Xiangxi asked: "Don't wait until they come back?"

Li Yu said: "The child has a cough and I need to take him to see a doctor."

Chen Qimei happened to hear what Li Yu said: "There is a first-class doctor in the guild hall. Wouldn't it be nice for you to take him home directly?"

Li Yu asked: "Which famous doctor?"

Chen Qimei said: "Mr. Huang Xing's guest, despite his young age, whenever someone in our alliance comes to see him when he is sick, he is more powerful than the old doctors in the medical clinic."

Li Yu cupped his hands and said, "I hope you will be recommended by Sir."

Chen Qimei shouted: "Jin Mo! Come here quickly!"

A 30-year-old middle-aged man came over and said, "The minister called me?"

Chen Qimei said: "Grandmaster Li's son is a little sick, please help him."

Li Yu asked: "What is your surname, sir?"

"I, Shi Jinmo, don't dare to say anything about your name in front of you." Shi Jinmo said politely.

This gentleman is one of the four famous doctors in Beijing, and decades later he will be the absolute top in the field of traditional Chinese medicine.

But now he is also engaged in official career, becoming Huang Xing's guest minister and helping to formulate army regulations.

Li Yu was a little embarrassed when he asked him to take action after a slight cough: "Actually, the child's problem is not serious."

Shi Jinmo said: "Sir, you have been very kind to us, and your matter is a big deal in my opinion. Moreover, Shi has little talent and little knowledge of medicine. If the disease cannot be cured by medicine, I hope you will not be blamed."

Li Yu said: "If you have a gentleman to take action, you can rest assured."

Shi Jinmo asked curiously: "Master Li is the best in the world in science, and I heard that you helped build the Harvard Chinese Medical School in Shanghai and introduced Western medicine; at the same time, you recruited the German company Bayer to establish a Western medicine factory; and in two years I worked with Doctor Wu, a Western medicine doctor, to prevent the epidemic in Northeast China. I always thought you only believed in Western medicine, but you don’t reject our medical skills?"

Li Yu said: "The things of our ancestors have been passed down for thousands of years. And for some diseases, Western medicine is no better than our traditional Chinese medicine."

Shi Jinmo said: "If I have time, I will also study foreign medicine to see what the difference is."

Li Yu said: "The difference is huge, and it requires a lot of energy."

Shi Jinmo said: "I want to try to see if our medical skills can be combined with foreign medical skills to see if a two-pronged approach will produce better results."

Li Yu said with a smile: "Although I don't know medical skills, I generally know that the two are very different in nature, so I don't think the two can be truly combined. But they can definitely complement each other."

Shi Jinmo sighed: "That would be a pity."

Li Yu took out his car keys and took Shi Jinmo home with him.

Kong Xiangxi came out specifically to look at Li Yu's car and murmured: "Although the price of gasoline is 30 to 40% higher than that of kerosene, it's a pity that the sales volume is too small, otherwise it would be a good business!"

(End of this chapter)