In order to dispel Zhang Zhidong's doubts, Li Yu added: "Fertilizers can be purchased by villagers, which can support the fertilizer industry. When villagers see that it is effective, they will buy more, thus forming a virtuous cycle in business."
Other officials simply dismissed this kind of business logic, because they still looked down on business in their minds. But Zhang Zhidong had been engaged in railways, ironworks, and manufacturing bureaus for so long, and he had some knowledge of Western learning, so he did not reject this view.
Moreover, it will not be easy to promote chemical fertilizers in the early stage. The people are too poor, so they need to spend some money to enter the market like later generations of enterprises. It is best for local governments to cooperate and support, but local officials in the late Qing Dynasty are really unreliable and more troublesome. The only thing that can be thought of is
Zhang Zhidong.
Zhang Zhidong thought for a while and said: "If this is true, it will benefit the people. I want to investigate the coward you mentioned."
Li Yu corrected him: "It's nitrogen fertilizer, a chemical element."
"It turns out it's also chemistry," Zhang Zhidong is now very interested in chemistry, "so I really need to know more about it."
Li Yu said: "Your Excellency is wise."
Zhang Zhidong sighed: "After meeting you today, I realized that there is still so much missing. I thought that with steel, everything would be ready, but now it seems that it is just the beginning."
Li Yu said: "Everything is difficult at the beginning, but it is good to have a good beginning."
Zhang Zhidong said: "It makes sense. There are laboratories in Hanyang Arsenal and Steel Pharmaceutical Factory. Sir, you can give guidance to Mr. Hua."
Li Yu laughed and said, "It's a pity that I really don't know anything about gunpowder."
Zhang Zhidong said: "It doesn't matter. Our Hanyang manufacturing is not bad now. Let's leave the gunpowder issue first. The laboratory that Zhong Hu (named after Xu Jianyin) set up in the steel chemical factory was quite well-equipped. Mr.
If you know how to use them, you can make them work.”
In fact, Li Yu's understanding of chemistry is not as deep as mathematics, but now he mainly focuses on application and will not use too advanced chemical theories.
And after a few decades, the development of chemistry has actually become closer and closer to physics.
After all, after the vigorous development of quantum mechanics, everyone finally understood that chemical reactions are originally the interactions of electrons in the outermost layers of elements.
As the governor, Zhang Zhidong still had a lot to do. After watching the Hanyang Iron Works together, he had to go back to work. Finally, he gave instructions: "Ruoxi, accompany Mr. Li Yu to visit our school, and then find someone to help Mr. Li."
."
Hua Shifang also hoped to ask Li Yu more for advice, and readily agreed: "Don't worry, sir."
At present, schools in Wuhan are basically concentrated in Wuchang. After the three of them took the ferry back to Wuchang, they said goodbye temporarily and Zhang Zhidong went back to handle official duties.
Hua Shifang finally had time to ask Li Yu about mathematics and physics.
Hua Shifang said: "To be honest, in addition to our early "Zhou Bi Suan Jing" and "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", I mainly read books translated by my brother Ruoting (Hua Hengfang), such as "Elements of Geometry"
", and "The Parabola Theory" written by my brother
"Test of Repeating Decimals" and other books seemed to be out of touch with the latest mathematical progress in the West, so I tried my best to buy it after I saw in the newspaper that our Chinese had written a mathematics book. My husband's mathematics level is really impressive.
I’m so impressed!”
Li Yu said frankly: "Actually, my mathematics level is not that strong. We are far behind in this aspect. There are many mathematicians in the West who are much better than me."
Hua Shifang said: "But I see that your book "Fractals and Chaos" has profound principles, rigorous interpretation, and uses such profound mathematical knowledge. It also won the Swedish King's Prize. It is completely top-notch."
Li Yu laughed and said: "It's really ridiculous."
When it comes to Li Yu's background in physics, he is indeed somewhat confident that he will be among the best in the world, but in mathematics, he really doesn't dare to brag about it.
He's good at math, but that's because he was forced to do it by physics.
Li Yu also participated in physics competitions when he was in high school. Friends who have experience in this area must have felt: the ceiling of difficulty in physics is mathematics!
If you want to study physics, you must first be good at mathematics.
For a person who likes and wants to study physics in depth, it is not physics that defeats him, but mathematics.
Of course, this refers to theoretical physics research, but later experimental physics also involved mathematics, and the accuracy requirements were simply abnormal.
At least the earliest group of purely theoretical physicists, such as Einstein's younger brother, have felt the "malice" coming from mathematics.
Hua Shifang believed that Li Yu was a super master, and said: "To be able to write such an excellent mathematics book, his attainments are definitely top-notch. You are so humble."
Li Yu said with a smile: "There is heaven outside the world, and there are people outside the world. And it is not enough for me alone. If more people can learn Western learning from an early age, that is the most important thing."
Hua Shifang said: "Sir, you are right! I have been teaching mathematics at Ziqiang School in my early years."
Although Hua Shifang's mathematics level is nothing in the world, at least he understands advanced mathematics. In terms of domestic mathematics teaching, he is definitely several levels higher.
"With my husband here, I believe the academic level of the students in Ziqiang School will not be low." Li Yu said.
Hua Shifang smiled bitterly and said: "It's a pity that the students' level of Western learning is still low, and not many can learn equations in algebra. My brother and I have been trying to find a few outstanding students as our direct disciples for many years, but we have been unable to do so."
Li Yu said: "The current momentum can only be cultivated slowly, and the foundation is indeed weak."
Hua Shifang said: "It is a pity that Ziqiang School no longer has arithmetic."
"Are the only students studying foreign languages?" Li Yu asked.
Hua Shifang said: "Ziqiang School recruits more than 120 students every year, and most of them study foreign languages. Only some students study chemistry for use in the Hanyang factory."
In terms of the number of people alone, this scale is not bad. The first enrollment of the Capital University was only over 100 people.
Li Yu could only say: "Sooner or later the situation will change."
Li Yu knew in his heart that the training of political and legal subjects and science and engineering subjects should indeed be strengthened, but he could not say that Ziqiang School was wrong. After all, foreign languages were of more practical significance to officials.
Li Yu asked: "In Ziqiang School, do the students who study foreign languages also study various Western subjects?"
Hua Shifang said: "Of course you must learn it. The main subject is foreign language. Others such as arithmetic, physics, chemistry, geography, history, natural history, financial management, public law, negotiation, drawing, gymnastics, and military exercises must be studied."
"Then I understand."
If you look at it this way, it is really like the compulsory education stage in later generations. The content you learn is comprehensive, but it is relatively basic and it is difficult to touch advanced knowledge.
Just like the Capital University, students are cramming in primary and secondary school content, and it will take at least ten years for them to mature.
Hua Shifang said: "Fortunately, Xiangshuai has always attached great importance to education. In addition to a few colleges and universities, many primary and secondary schools have also been built in various places."
Zhang Zhidong's emphasis on education was inherited from his father.
Zhang Zhidong's father, Zhang Ying, was a civil servant. According to the system of the Qing Dynasty, most civil servants could only serve as academic administrators or county magistrates.
Zhang Ying had better luck. After serving as a county magistrate for many years, he became the magistrate of the state. For someone with an ordinary background like him, this was almost the limit of his career.
After all, it’s not easy to win the prize.
The dividing line for entering the ruling class is Juren, and scholars are still very far from this line.
Simple calculation:
In the Ming Dynasty, there were only 1,100-1,200 candidates nationwide for each rural examination. A total of 110,000 candidates were admitted in the entire Ming Dynasty.
In the Qing Dynasty, the number of candidates for each rural examination was 1,500 nationwide, and a total of about 150,000 candidates were admitted in the entire Qing Dynasty.
During the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 1,500 prefectures and counties. There were about 10,000 people alive every year, and each county had an average of about seven people. These seven people, plus the county magistrate, were the highest ruling class in the county.
Juren already has a lot of rights. Anyway, as long as you win the election, a lot of local people will come to you to identify relatives and friends, begging to put their property, land, and household registration in the name of the juren to avoid paying taxes and doing corvee.
If Fan Jin hadn't passed the exam, he would have gone crazy.
If you are a Jinshi, the upper limit will be higher.
But this is all old school. In two years, the imperial examination system will bid farewell to the stage of history.
Speaking of Zhang Ying, when he was the prefect of Guizhou, he often sent two officers to patrol the whole city at night. One of them carried a lantern and the other carried a tung oil basket, walking in the streets and alleys. When he met some scholars who read at night with a lamp on their hands.
, and filled the lamp with oil for him.
This is the origin of the word "come on". It's quite interesting. It's really a genuine come on.
Li Yudao: "Education must really start from childhood. The younger the children, the sooner they are exposed to Western education, the better."
Hua Shifang agreed: "What you said makes so much sense and summarizes the key point."
Li Yu said: "Why don't we look at these higher schools first? How about we look at the small schools first?"
Hua Shifang felt that there was nothing wrong with it. They were all new schools anyway, so she said, "No problem. There happens to be one nearby. Let's go and have a look."