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

Chapter 76
The next day, the article written by Li Yu was published in the French magazine "Science and Life", but it was the press releases of "Le Figaro" and Havas News Agency that really caused the influence.

"Le Figaro" is the oldest newspaper in France. Most of its readers are people with a high level of education. Say.

The Havas News Agency targets a wide range of groups, and its press releases can be seen in almost every street.

The name Hawass may be a bit unfamiliar to everyone, but it is the earliest news agency in the world. If you name its descendants, you may be too familiar with it: Agence France-Presse.

This article on falsifiability was quite thoughtful and easy to understand. It spread quickly and caused quite a stir in the entire scientific and cultural circle.

Many academics praised Li Yu as a "scientific philosopher".

Although the word philosopher has been played around a bit in later generations, it was indeed a proper commendatory word at that time.

But the church was not very happy, and also published an article in the newspaper to confront Li Yu's "falsifiability".

Although Li Yu didn't mention the church by name in the article, the church is not a fool, so you can't see it. It's really better to sell sweet potatoes.

However, Li Yu's daring to publish falsifiable articles in France is also based on the status of French Catholicism.

Although France has been a Catholic country until the 21st century, the Catholic faith accounts for the highest proportion.But if you have learned about the religious history of France, you may find that many people will say that France is "a filial son of Catholicism", and it must be a "filial son" with quotation marks.Or directly say that he is a "Dai Xiaozi of the Catholic Church".

What I'm talking about is that France's various behaviors towards Catholicism are really "filial"!

First, in the [-]th century, the pope was brought from Rome to his own territory, and he has been trapped for more than half a century. During this period, several popes were puppets supported by France, known as the "Prisoner of Avignon" in history.

Then there was a religious war in France, the young master succeeded to the throne, and the Medici queen was involved in politics.This Medici queen is a bit like Cixi in the Qing Dynasty. She has political skills, but her political wisdom is not enough, which intensified the conflict with another sect, the Huguenots.

Fortunately, the leader of the Huguenots was talented and generous, and he cleaned up the mess after he succeeded to the throne, that is, Henry IV, the first king of the famous Bourbon dynasty.But Henry IV was also assassinated not many years later.

Later, it was even more surprising that when Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire was in full swing, France actually united with the Ottoman Empire in the east and formed an alliance with Suleiman!A-Tian and A-Lu join forces to deal with another A-Tian, ​​dare you believe it! ?

Known in history as the "Sacrilege Alliance", look at the name.

It's not over yet!
The 30-year war that followed was a struggle between Protestantism and Catholicism, but as a big Catholic country, France chose to stand on the side of Protestantism this time!
If you look at this series of operations, it is not too much to say that he is a filial son of the Catholic Church.I am so "filial" to Catholicism that I went to my grandma's house!

What is even more "filial" is that in the 21st century, when Li Yu lived, there was a huge scandal in the French Catholic Church, which "hurt" more than 20 little boys.

I can't figure out exactly how the damage was done... Anyway, I really lost the face of the Catholic Church.

This was all done by the French Catholic Church itself. Later, the Enlightenment Movement was born in France, which largely criticized the ignorance and privilege of the church.

Therefore, Li Yu's publication of this article is quite appropriate and timely in France.

Although the church is angry now, it can't do anything to Li Yu at all.

Although the church wanted to confront Li Yu in the newspaper, Li Yu didn't even have to do it himself, and the church was speechless by a lot of young college students.

The fighting power of the young college students is very strong, and now they have theoretical weapons, directly blocking the spring water and desperately outputting.

At noon, the legation received a telegram from the Royal Society, and they remitted the manuscript fee to the official account of the embassy.

This time it is a little more than last time, 100 pounds, and there is no handling fee, so you can go to the bank to withdraw it directly.When I get back to the capital, I can go to the bank to exchange it, which can save more than ten pounds.

French newspapers also quickly paid Li Yu the manuscript fee, 1800 francs, which is more than 70 pounds.

The trip to France will end soon, and the follow-up missions will also go to Belgium and other countries, but they will stay for a very short time.

It's time to go home.

Anyway, there are still opportunities to come out in the future, but the only uncomfortable thing is that it takes a long time to go back and forth.

Yu's family also boarded the ship together. Yu Geng finished his mission as a minister and should return home as well.

The British ocean liner Penentini was still on the return voyage. Naturally, some Europeans were also on board.

Now ocean liner ticket prices are still very high, from bottom to top are the cheapest third-class cabin at the bottom of the ship, second-class cabin in the middle, and first-class cabin closest to the deck.

The lowest third-class fare is 7-9 pounds, converted according to purchasing power, which is almost equivalent to 21-5000 RMB in the 7000st century.For children, the fare will be halved.

Although it is the lowest third-class cabin, at least it is on an ocean liner, and it has everything it should have: beds, bathrooms, restaurants, rest areas, etc.

But the bottom floor is close to the power unit of the ship, so it will be noisy; in addition, there will be some cargo at the bottom of the cabin, which will definitely be crowded.

The second-class fare in the middle is 13 pounds, which is equivalent to about 21 yuan in the 1st century.

This floor is mainly for the middle class, and it is better than the third-class cabin in all aspects, with more space, more libraries, smoking rooms, and even playgrounds, and the food provided is much more abundant.

As for the first class, the fare is 30 pounds, or more than 22000 yuan.

However, above the first class, there is also a luxury first class, with a ticket price of 870 pounds, which is equivalent to more than 60 for a modern ticket!

The various enjoyments of the first class are luxury levels, and there are even swimming pools, Turkish baths, and band performances.

Spending more than 60 yuan just for the enjoyment during the journey is really a local tyrant's practice.

Of course, this situation also exists in the 21st century. The most expensive flight in the world is the flight from London to Melbourne operated by Etihad Airways, the second largest airline in the United Arab Emirates. It is said that the ticket costs more than 50.

Hey, poverty really limits the imagination!I really can't understand it.

Zai Zhen was traveling in the luxurious first-class cabin on the passenger ship.As for the rest of the special envoy, they took the ordinary first-class cabin.

Of course, the boat ticket can be reimbursed, otherwise it would be 60 pounds for a round trip.

The passenger ship still stops in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and other places, and finally stops at Tianjin Tanggu Port.

Compared with Zaifeng's previous visits, this visit is definitely a success.News from abroad was also sent back to the country by telegram early on.

Two teams of Beiyang standing troops stood impressively on the pier, and Yuan Shikai in a new military uniform stood at the front.

He didn't see him off when he set sail, but he came as the governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang this time when he returned.

Back then, the Qing Dynasty had no diplomatic ability, and Zaizhen's trip this time was not considered a diplomatic visit, but a tour at most.But no one expected that they would hit the headlines several times in a row and cause a sensation in most of Europe.

The main reason, of course, is that Li Yu is really awesome.

——Who would have thought that the weakest science in the Qing Dynasty would have an unexpected reputation.Well, it seems that the others are pretty weak...

Just a few decades ago, the scholars of the Qing Dynasty still looked down upon such "extraordinary skills" such as science, but now that the times have changed, they really dare not. People all over the country are studying how to set up new schools to learn Western learning.

Yuan Shikai was very active in this regard, and even set up many schools in his Beiyang standing army.

Although it doesn't take a lot of knowledge to go to battle, but if you don't understand anything, you are a fool, and it is inconvenient to command.

One of Li Yu's former classmates studied civil engineering and went abroad to participate in engineering construction after graduating from high school. That classmate went to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.Many people may know Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, but the capital of the United Arab Emirates is actually Abu Dhabi.

At that time, the construction of the financial building and airport ancillary projects in Abu Dhabi, the people who were brought over from China must have been skilled workers with high wages.

As for the working labor team, we must not use domestic ones, otherwise the cost will be uncontrollable.Therefore, the labor teams are basically from South Asia such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.With a salary of 2000RMB a month, these people are almost crazy with joy.

That classmate once complained to him many times: Many Ah Sans are really too difficult to teach, and they can't even teach them by hand!And I'm lazy, it's impossible to work overtime, and I'm thankful that I don't have to worry about foreign workers at work. In short, it's far less useful than domestic labor teams.

No matter what field you are in, it is really useful to know a little bit of culture.

During the Anti-Japanese War, we also spared no effort to eradicate illiteracy and teach culture in the army. These are not white teachings, and the improvement of combat effectiveness is extremely useful.

Although Yuan Shikai once fell to Sun Shan twice and failed to pass the exam, he climbed up from the grassroots step by step, and he has a good idea of ​​army building.The two Beiyang standing armies behind him today are the strongest fighting forces in the Qing Dynasty today.

Originally, his troops were under the control of Ronglu, which belonged to the right army of the front, rear, left, right, and middle armies, and was the only new army among them.

Two years ago Yuan Shikai moved to Shandong with his own Wuwei Youjun.

Then...then the remaining four armies were all defeated by the invading Eight-Nation Allied Forces.

Yuan Shikai participated in the southeast mutual protection at that time, and promised to send 3000 people to the north to serve the king, but in the end he pressed the order.

Now the army in his hand is the only trump card of the Qing Dynasty, and his status will naturally rise.

This is all about real power. Yuan Shikai is an old man in the officialdom. Later, when Cixi wanted him to join the Military Aircraft Department, Yuan Shikai was very unhappy.

For example, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang have never entered the military aircraft department, which does not hinder their status.

(End of this chapter)