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

Chapter 83 Fighting for Name
Li Yu was on the train at Tanggu Railway Station. The train went to Zhengyangmen East Railway Station in Beijing via the Beijing-Tianjin Railway. This railway was the Beijing-Tianjin section of the Jingfeng Railway.

The earlier the railway was built, the more it showed its urgency and importance. In the subsequent wars in the north, it was the first to compete for the Jingfeng Railway.This is the traffic artery between inside and outside the pass. In 1928, Zhang Zuolin, king of the Northeast, was also killed by the Japanese at the Huanggutun Station of the Beijing-Feng Railway.

Li Chun is very interesting, the ticket has been bought in advance, and it is still a first-class car.

Li Yu looked at the ticket. The face price was 15 silver dollars, which is about 21 yuan in the 3000st century.

If it is the most common third-class carriage, the price is 3 silver dollars, which is more than 600 yuan.It is almost equivalent to the income of the camel Xiangzi pulling carts for 20 days.

Considering that the hard seat between Beijing and Tianjin is only 20 yuan, and the high-speed rail is only 56 yuan, it can be seen that the current fare is still very high, and it is not affordable for ordinary people.

After arriving in Beijing, where he had been away for a long time, Li Yu hailed a rickshaw outside the train station and returned to Dongchang Hutong.

As soon as he entered the gate of the house, he saw Uncle Wang cleaning.Uncle Wang is still very serious about his work, and he keeps everything clean inside and out.

"Yo! Master! You are finally back!"

Uncle Wang was very excited when he saw Li Yu, and hurried over to help take the box from Li Yu's hand, "I really didn't expect that the master has been away for so long!"

Li Yu said with a smile: "From now on, you don't need to call me 'Master', just call me, um, you can just call me Mr."

"What's the matter, since you let me be your housekeeper, of course you are my master." Uncle Wang said.

"Westerners don't have such rules, look at me," Li Yu opened his hands, "how foreign-looking! From now on, we will call him Mr. according to the rules of foreigners, and everyone will call him that."

It seems that the butlers in the West always call the master title or official title, lord, earl or something.However, Li Yu now has neither an official position nor a title, so it seems that it is more appropriate to call him Mr.

Uncle Wang was a little bit embarrassed: "But...but everyone in other big houses is called master. If I don't call him that, will people think it strange?"

Li Yu felt that it would be difficult for him to change his mind for a while, so he said, "It's really not possible. You can call me the master outside, but you can call me sir in the courtyard."

"I see, sir."

"look!"

Uncle Wang grinned: "Understood, sir."

Li Yu nodded, "It sounds much more smooth."

Don't expect him to change his words anytime soon, just take your time.

Uncle Wang said again: "My lord...ah, sir, you just came back and I have something to tell you."

It is really difficult for Uncle Wang to change his address immediately, the power of habit is still terrifying.

Li Yu asked, "What's the matter?"

Wang Bodao: "The youngest Cui from the teahouse came over a few days ago."

Li Yu suddenly remembered, "Cui Laosan? Is it time to pay the rent?"

He only paid three months' rent at the beginning, but he didn't expect to live there for a few days at all.

Uncle Wang nodded: "Yes, he came to ask the master, ah, sir, do you want to continue renting? I said I need you to come back and make a decision."

"I see, you go to the teahouse and tell him that I have returned to the capital, and the house must renew the contract."

Li Yu now has a lot of money in his hands, so he no longer has to worry about rent.

Uncle Wang came to the Qing tea house and quickly found the melon skin cap.

"Cui Laosan, my master sent me to renew the lease."

Youngest Cui asked casually, "Who is your master?"

Uncle Wang proudly said: "Master Li Yu Li!"

"Oh! Are you from Mr. Li Yu in Dongchang Hutong?" Cui Laosan suddenly asked in surprise, "Is Li Daxue back?"

Lao Yu and the others who were drinking tea nearby also heard the movement.

"What? Li Daxue asked the family?"

The big guys immediately surrounded Uncle Wang, "Who are you from the Li residence?"

Uncle Wang sat down carelessly, "I am the butler of Li's house!"

Everyone clasped their fists together: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Li Daxue's questioning family is really amazing!"

"Exactly! Tell me quickly, how did Li Daxue ask the family to find new stars in the sky?"

"Also, Li Daxue asked what books do you usually read?"

"Li Daxue asked if he wanted to become a high official in the court in the future?"

The news in the teahouse is the most well-informed. Of course, these things have been known for a long time. Now whenever Li Yu is on the front page of the newspaper, someone will even read the newspaper for everyone. The whole teahouse is not so clean. I really can’t resist it. Everyone is enthusiastic.

Because it’s really fresh: what kind of big guys over there with foreigners feels very fresh, and it feels even fresher to be famous on the territory of foreigners.

After all, after being bullied for such a long time, it was not easy for someone to be able to make a difference and make foreigners not only look up to him, but even praise him, everyone was naturally very concerned.

Uncle Wang enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by everyone. His master was well-known, and he also felt honored. Besides, Li Yu was in a peaceful state of mind and was very friendly to him.

"Okay, okay! Don't talk about it!"

As soon as Uncle Wang spoke, everyone fell silent, and he continued: "Even if I told you, can you find another star to surprise foreigners? As for what books to read, the master usually reads in foreign languages. I don't understand... hey, Cui Laosan, what expression do you have?! Why, can you understand?"

Cui Laosan shook his head quickly: "I don't know foreign language."

Uncle Wang continued: "That's it! Then I want to talk about what kind of official I will be, of course I can't say such a thing."

"Cut~" The big guy hissed for a while, "You don't even know after making a fuss for a long time."

Uncle Wang said: "Of course I don't know. Well, I won't mess around with you, I said Cui Laosan, our master said that the house will be continued."

When it comes to business, Cui Laosan's eyes immediately brightened: "Renew the lease? No problem! No need for Li Daxue to ask the family to go, I will go to the house by myself!"

Li Yu directly extended the house for one year this time, and the rent was 160 taels of silver.Because it was a renewal of the lease, Cui Laosan charged another 8 taels of silver for miscellaneous fees.

Of course, part of the 160 taels of silver can go into his pocket, which is a big deal.

Uncle Wang was not idle during this time, he even tidied up the kitchen, and learned how to cook. Although the craftsmanship is not very good, it is still much more convenient.

Li Yu felt that he should really ask Ding Deshan from Donglaishun to study hard.

The next day, Li Yu first came to Tongwenguan to say hello to Weiliang Ding.

Long time no see, I miss you very much.

Weiliang Ding had known about Li Yu's stay in England and France for a long time, and his personal image was once again raised in a few papers, which is really lofty!

Weiliang Ding really didn't know how much ink was left in Li Yu's head, it was almost bottomless.

"Li Yu, I've been paying attention to the news recently. You really stole the limelight in Xiyang! It's unbelievable that you can still discover a new planet!"

Li Yu smiled and said, "I didn't expect the head teacher to be so concerned."

Martin also laughed and said, "I don't care if I don't want to pay attention! There are really too many reports about you in the capital now! Haven't you read "Shenbao" and "Beijing-Tianjin Times"?"

Li Yu shook his head: "No."

"You should really read it. They even turned the front page of the report, and you were on the front page for almost ten days."

"Forehead."

Li Yu didn't expect that he could still dominate the headlines.

Ding Weiliang said: "Many young students take you as a role model. You also know that the first batch of admissions will start at the Imperial University of Beijing. Originally, I wanted to push away the complicated normal courses. I was afraid that the number of applicants would not be enough. Good job, I'm going to consider expanding my enrollment!"

At the beginning of the Jingshi University Hall, the enrollment was also a crash course, and it was divided into the normal hall and the official school hall.

It can be seen from the name alone that it is obvious that the Shi Xue Guan was more sought after by the scholars at that time: firstly, it was easy to enter, study and graduate; Indeed.

When this batch of students from the Shixue Academy graduated, it happened to coincide with the year when the Qing government was brewing constitutional reforms and announcing the "imitation of constitutional government"; coupled with the establishment of several new departments by the imperial court, the demand for talents in this area was even greater Very soon, there was even a dispute between the New Commercial Department and the Patrol Department for the purpose of robbing people.

As for the teacher's school, the learning content is much wider, and the depth is also much deeper.If you have the ability in the future, you can be admitted to universities in Europe, America, Japan and other countries to continue your studies, and of course you can engage in related research work.

But if you fail the exam, you must obey the assignment.

After all, they are the first batch of students, so the teacher's hall must also be assigned as a package, but the direction of the assignment must be to engage in education-related work, or what is it called "the teacher's hall".

Moreover, the imperial court stipulated that graduates of normal schools should not engage in other businesses concurrently during the compulsory period, so they formulated the "Regulations on the Obligations of Normal School Students", which stated: "Normal school students have the obligation to serve in national education, and the number of years is tentatively set at five years. Within the period of time, you should devote yourself to education, and you must not engage in careers other than education, and you must not evade education duties and serve as other errands in various yamen outside Beijing."

The Daqing School will also conduct detailed investigations on the flow and employment of normal graduates. If any violation of obligations is found, the rewards received will be revoked and penalties will be imposed.

Fortunately, at that time, almost all of these normal students graduated to be the chief teachers or even the principals of various primary schools, and the salary was not bad.

According to common sense, if a country wants to become stronger, it must vigorously develop education, and teachers are the vanguard of education.There are not many new-style schools in the Qing Dynasty, and even if they are built in large numbers, there is still a lack of corresponding teaching.So the role of teachers is extremely important.

But all in all, the remuneration of graduates of the teaching and official studies hall to become officials must be much worse.

Therefore, officials are more willing to enter the official school, and the official school even raised the admission threshold: they need fame or status to enroll.Ordinary people are naturally not eligible for registration.

But Martin knew that modern universities must no longer be like Taixue or Guozijian in the past, just for the imperial court to select talents.

A university should look like a university!Ding Weiliang would not accept it in his heart if he came to study in Beijing Normal University purely for the purpose of becoming an official.

It's a pity that the current national conditions are such that basically all officials study to become officials.

——This is a thousand-year-old tradition. It is a hundred times more difficult to change the mind than to make Uncle Wang change his mouth.

But who would have thought that when he was at a loss for what to do, Li Yu would suddenly appear!
The big guy suddenly discovered that it turns out that doing knowledge and doing research can also become famous, and the Chinese can also learn to understand science!
In an instant, it gave many students a reassurance, and also slightly changed the ancient thinking of the students that "the best in learning leads to officialdom".

Of course, it's just a "slight change".

Fortunately, with such a large base, a little change would be great, as long as a little more people can apply for the normal school, that would be great.

Martin Martin continued to say to Li Yu: "Actually, I still have a question. I wonder if you still want to enter the Imperial Academy?"

Li Yu said, "Of course! Why did the chief teacher ask this question?"

"With your current knowledge and achievements, I don't think there is much need to be a student." Ding Weiliang said sincerely.

Li Yu said: "I still hope to have a diploma! Even if I want to go to a western university for further study, I must have a place to belong."

Li Yu really wants to keep his first degree in the Imperial University. If his name can really shine in the future, it can also boost the reputation of the Imperial University. In this way, the benefits in all aspects are definitely not to mention And metaphor.

Li Yu's thinking is a bit far-reaching. After all, he can't join the army and politics, so this is a good thing he can do.

Weiliang Ding smiled and said, "Since that's the case, I really want to thank you for coming to the Capital University."

"Principal Xi is serious!" Li Yu said, "How can I thank you! It's an honor for me!"

Li Yu should thank an American for putting so much effort into establishing the first modern university in the Qing Dynasty.

Weiliang Ding said: "I will definitely take special care of students who are exceptional like you, just like what Timothy Lee mentioned before."

Weiliang Ding is indeed a flexible person, Li Yu said: "Does the chief teacher mean that the conditions can be relaxed a little..."

"Of course! Otherwise, what should I do if Timothy Lee snatches you away from Shanxi University?" Ding Weiliang continued to smile and said, "You don't have to go to class every day so rigidly, it doesn't mean anything to you, I will help you as soon as possible. You get a diploma. It’s just that many necessary processes must go through during the period, such as exams.”

Li Yu patted his chest and said, "Teacher, don't worry, I, Li Yu, am good at exams!"

He has been studying for [-] or [-] years since elementary school, and the exams are as easy and comfortable as eating and drinking for him!
Wei Ding nodded and said, "That's good!"

I'm afraid of being happy too early in everything! .
Li Yu bid farewell to Ding Weiliang and returned to the house, where he saw Tang Wenzhi, the envoy sitting in the living room, and an old gentleman in his 50s beside him.

Uncle Wang was serving them tea and water.

When Tang Wenzhi saw Li Yu, he immediately got up and cupped his hands, "I heard that Brother Li is returning home, so I'm here to pay a visit."

Li Yu hurriedly cupped his hands and replied, "I don't know that Brother Tang is coming, so I'm sorry for not welcoming you!"

"It doesn't matter, brother Li is a big celebrity now, it's normal to be busy."

Li Yu asked, "I don't know if Brother Tang is here today, what advice do you have?"

Tang Wenzhi said: "There must be no advice for advice. In fact, we are here today to ask Brother Li for advice."

Li Yu sat down with them in the hall and asked, "Ask me?"

Tang Wenzhi said: "Yes! As a special envoy, Mr. Bei Zi needs to record the politics, academics, and laws of Western countries, and also needs to introduce the political, economic, and cultural conditions of each country. Considering the long schedule, we can only use it in the form of a diary. The record is the "Ying Jin Diary" in front of us. However, we know very little about this important aspect of science during the trip, and Brother Li happened to communicate with outstanding scientific leaders from Western countries this time, so we hope to share this link with you. You ask."

"So that's what happened, of course." Li Yu replied briskly.

He glanced at the first draft of "Ying Jin's Diary" on the table, and the title page was signed "The Great Qing Envoy, British Minister Gu Shan Beizi, was named General Zhen Guo Zai Zhen". Zhen is the No.1 tone.

This book was published by Shanghai Wenming Bookstore in 1903 and has been handed down to later generations. It can be bought even in the 21st century. The signed author is indeed Zai Zhen.

Li Yu has never read this book, but he immediately understood the truth of the matter at a glance: it is certainly impossible to write such a profound book with Zai Zhen's ability, and the author of this book is actually Tang, the Counselor of the Special Mission Corps in front of him Wenzhi!
Tang Wenzhi obviously became Zai Zhen's "gunner".

But it's understandable after a second thought. After all, Zai Zhen is no longer short of money. Even if he wants to gain fame, it can also be used as his follow-up political capital.

Tang Wenzhi did not shy away from it, and said directly: "I wrote the content of this book, but I am not an expert in writing articles, so I asked Brother Shen to help polish it."

It can be seen that most of Tang Wenzhi's achievements were forced by authority to "catch the knife" on his behalf, and he didn't want to work hard to make wedding dresses for others.

Tang Wenzhi stretched out his hand to the old gentleman next to him: "Let me introduce, this is Mr. Shen Zengzhi, Anhui Envoy and Lecturer of Lianghu Academy."

Li Yu stood up and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Shen Zengzhi said: "You don't have to be polite, Mr. I have really admired you for a long time. When I saw you today, you are indeed young and promising!"

Shen Zengzhi was a scholar, calligrapher, and bibliophile in the late Qing Dynasty. He later supported Zhang Xun's restoration, but he was more enlightened than ordinary people in the late Qing Dynasty.

He supported the reform, but he did not support Kang Youwei's radical measures, and the relationship between the two was not good.

Kang Youwei once wrote a treatise on modern calligraphy called "Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji", which made him famous in the calligraphy circle.

Due to Kang Youwei's original personality, he was prone to impatience and arrogance after he became famous, as if he was the number one in the calligraphy world.

Shen Zengzhi was dissatisfied with Kang Youwei's attitude, and directly reprimanded: "If you study for another ten years, it will be almost as good as talking about calligraphy with me!"

In fact, the Calligraphy Association of later generations admired Kang Youwei's calligraphy works for a period of time. Li Yu had read them, but I don't know if it was a matter of appreciation level. Book"……

Perhaps for "innovation"?
After all, Kang Youwei was a Jinshi during the Guangxu period. His own calligraphy skills are indeed good, but he prefers the "ugly calligraphy" written by him. It is really an indescribable origin.

Regarding the scientific aspect of "Ying Jin's Diary", Li Yu really had to start writing. He said: "Of course I am not good at writing articles. After I finish writing, I will hand it over to my husband, and I will also help with polishing."

Shen Zengzhi stroked his beard and smiled, "It's my honor to do my best for the publication of the masterpiece, and I can take this opportunity to open my eyes to see the world."

Tang Wenzhi continued: "Brother Li can write when he has time, and we are not in a hurry. I haven't finished drafting some other chapters."

"Brother Tang, don't worry, I will do my best."

"Thank you brother!"

Li Yu said, "You don't have to be polite, it's all what I should do."

Li Yu will definitely write well, and he will also write a few diary entries, stating that the author of "Ying Jin Diary" is actually Tang Wenzhi.

But it must not be said publicly now, and it will be published after the Qing Dynasty is gone. It can also be regarded as circumstantial evidence to help Tang Wenzhi regain his own copyright.

Not long after Tang Wenzhi left, Li Yu had just had a few sips of hot tea when Prince Qing's translator, Rui Zheng, came to the door.

I didn't expect that I was really busy the past few days when I came back.

Rui Zheng said: "Teacher Li, the prince and Beizi invite you to the house for a dinner."

Li Yu had no excuse to refuse, so he agreed, "Thank you, my lord, for the invitation."

As soon as he entered Prince Qing's mansion, Zai Zhen greeted him with a smile on his face, "Mr. Li is finally back! I miss you so much!"

"Master Bei, stay safe and sound!"

"Hurry up, Ama is waiting for you."

Yikuang was also in a good mood when he saw Li Yu: "Thanks to Mr. Xiao this time, the Empress Dowager is very happy to promote the prestige of our country together with the special envoy! By the way, the imperial court gave you a special reward for this. Ruizheng, hurry up!" Bring it up."

Li Yu didn't care about Ci Xigao's displeasure, but the reward was indeed worth looking forward to.

Ruizheng trotted all the way, and brought over a plate with four 500 taels of silver bills on it.

Yikuang said: "This is specially ordered by the imperial court to reward Mr. Xiao."

"Thank you for your kindness." Of course having money is a good thing.

Zai Zhen on the side said: "2000 taels is the highest reward for a member of the special mission. Of course, sir is well deserved."

That is a must!It's all based on ability!
　"Vincy!"

　　"I still want you to call me by my full name, Da Vinci!"

　　"Okay, Vinci."

　　"Thank you!"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)