Li Yu can be said to have taught Zhang Xinwu and Luo Jianqiu all the core technologies of Western safety matches, allowing them to master the production technology of safety matches twenty years in advance.
After a few people worked hard in the laboratory to produce results, they went out and saw a middle-aged man in his forties rushing over, "Shingo, I heard that you hired an expert. Is there any progress?"
Zhang Xinwu took a semi-finished match made in the laboratory, rubbed it gently, and the fire ignited stubbornly, "Principal Yan, it's done!"
Principal Yan said excitedly: "We haven't seen each other for only two days, and it's already done?"
Zhang Xinwu laughed loudly, pointed at Li Yu behind him and said, "Thanks to Tang Daotai for introducing Mr. Li Yu, we were able to overcome the difficulty."
Principal Yan looked at Li Yu and said, "So you are Li Yu. It is better to see than to hear a hundred times. A hero emerges from a young age!"
Zhang Xinwu almost forgot to introduce him and hurriedly said to Li Yu: "This is Mr. Yan Xiu, whose courtesy name is Fansun. He is now building a new school in Tianjin, Zhili, so we all call him Principal Yan."
Li Yu was stunned, Yan Fansun!
Isn’t this the “Father of Nankai University” who founded Nankai University?
Yan Fansun was also a Jinshi scholar. He worked as an editor in the Hanlin Academy and as an academic administrator in Guizhou.
On the eve of the Reform Movement of 1898, he risked beheading and petitioned Emperor Guangxu to abolish the imperial examination and establish a new discipline - "Economic Special Course" - to teach modern science and technology and cultural knowledge.
This idea of his was called "the origin of the Reform Movement of 1898" by Liang Qichao.
Although Emperor Guangxu approved the work the following year, it angered the die-hards in the court, and Yan Fansun was dismissed from all his part-time jobs except editor and editor.
So Yan Fansun resigned angrily and returned to Tianjin to concentrate on establishing new education.
Of course, he is currently running only small schools, and it will take another two years to start establishing Nankai University.
Li Yu cupped his hands and said, "I've met Principal Yan!"
Zhang Xinwu couldn't hide his excitement and said to Yan Fansun: "Principal Yan, come in and take a look. This time is not a joke. We have mastered the craftsmanship from beginning to end!"
"Oh?!" Yan Fansun picked up his robe and walked into the laboratory.
He has always admired Zhang Xinwu very much and supported what Zhang Xinwu did.
It's just that Yan Fansun really can't help in terms of industry, so he can only provide financial and spiritual support.
——Yan Fansun was not a man short of money. His family was a giant businessman in the late Qing Dynasty.
Seeing the bottles and notebooks on the table, Yan Fansun expressed deep admiration: "It's really not easy to understand these things!"
Yan Fansun saw the cylindrical white phosphorus in a large basin and wanted to pick it up to take a look. Zhang Xinwu quickly stopped him: "Principal Yan, please don't move it. It will catch fire if you take it out!"
Yan Fansun clicked his tongue: "I heard that Taoists in ancient times used it to make elixirs. I didn't expect that it can be used to prepare matches today. Western learning is really strange and wonderful."
Zhang Xinwu said proudly: "Alchemy is all unfounded, but the matches we produce can bring real light."
Yan Fansun said thoughtfully: "You are right, this kind of thing that can really feel the temperature is what we need. In the future, we must build more Western schools as soon as possible, how can we always lag behind others."
Then he said to Li Yu: "I heard that the Capital University has opened, and the rules and regulations are learned from Japan. I am going to travel east to Japan, just like Abe Nakamaro from Japan who traveled west to the Tang Dynasty, and learn from them how to open schools."
Yan Fansun dared to let go of the old concept of "Celestial Empire" and learn from "Japanese Fusang". This was still very well-established in the late Qing Dynasty.
Li Yu said with admiration: "Education is a major plan for the country. Principal Yan will have to put in a lot of effort in the future, and it must be very hard."
"Hard work is nothing! I hope to cultivate more talents like you, so that we can save the country from danger." Yan Fansun said.
At noon, Tang Shaoyi personally hosted a banquet to reward Li Yu, Zhang Xinwu and others. He was in a good mood and said: "Thank you very much, Mr. Li, for your help in boosting our industry in Zhili. Although it is just a small thing like a match, it will definitely inspire us."
More people are involved in our own industries, and we will slowly get rid of foreign control, which will also allow local governments to collect the taxes they deserve."
Li Yu said: "I don't think the match is a trivial matter, maybe it can ignite the anger of the lion in the future."
Tang Shaoyi raised his glass: "Well said, let's drink to 'Wrath'!"
Li Yu finished the work here and was about to return to the capital. Before leaving, he also took away some test tubes, white phosphorus and carbon disulfide solutions, saying that he wanted to do experiments at the Capital University. Of course Zhang Xinwu and others would not
If you refuse, give as much as you want.
Tang Shaoyi, Zhang Xinwu, and Luo Jianqiu escorted Li Yu to the train station, and then returned after the train had gone away.
The whistle slowly faded away.
In distant Sweden, the Royal Academy of Sciences finally received the paper sent by Li Yu.
This time, Royal Mathematics Advisor Levler became much more serious when he saw the letter from the Qing Dynasty. After reading the thick manuscript, he felt uneasy.
"It's so exciting! It's so ahead of its time!"
The next day he came to the palace to find Oscar II, King of Sweden and Norway, and presented Li Yu's mathematical paper.
"Your Majesty, I just received the paper from Li Yu yesterday. After I reviewed it, it is indeed brilliant and can be called a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of mathematics."
Oscar II was a little unbelievable: "Is it so powerful?"
Levler said: "It's simply amazing! It mentions many brand-new mathematical theories. After my preliminary discussion, they are all very advanced and very interesting new things. Especially the concepts of 'fractal and chaos' mentioned in the article
, it can be called the most insightful mathematical discovery in recent years!”
Oscar II looked at the thick paper, flipped through it and said: "If this is really the case, we should really publish it first this time. You should immediately find several outstanding mathematicians to review the manuscript together, and after giving the review opinions
, we will officially release it. If you can’t raise any doubts, our mathematics award will be awarded to him this time.”
Levler already had several plans in mind. After receiving the order from Oscar II, he quickly asked the staff of the Academy of Sciences to copy several papers, one was sent directly to the domestic mathematician Koch, and the other was sent to the Italian Mathematician
Home Piano.
Levler still understood it very well. Koch and Peano were both early mathematicians who studied fractals.
Koch is the one mentioned earlier who discovered the Koch Snowflake.
Peano was the one who proposed the "Axiom of Natural Numbers", also known as "Piano's Axiom". He also founded Interlingua two years ago.
Twelve years ago, in 1890, Peano also discovered a "Piano Curve": it is a square, divided into nine parts, and then a line is drawn from the lower left corner through all the small squares to the upper right corner.
Then each small square is subdivided infinitely into nine small squares.
The curve will gradually spread throughout the square, so this curve also has an area.
The Peano curve is also a very typical fractal structure.
Many similar fractal problems were discussed in detail and completely in Li Yu's mathematical paper, so Koch and Peano were very familiar with it and could tell at a glance that this mathematical paper was by no means trivial.
According to international practice, at least three mathematicians are required for review.
Levler sent the third paper to the University of Göttingen.
The recipient of the letter is none other than Professor David Hilbert, one of the most prestigious mathematicians in the world of mathematics today!