After Qu Hongji left, Yi Kuang also took out a memorial: "Old Buddha, this is a memorial from Ding Haoliang of the Capital University."
Upon hearing that he was a foreigner, Cixi perked up and asked, "What does he have to say?"
Yi Kuang said: "Master Ding said that he hopes to build an observatory in the capital."
"The observatory?" Cixi asked, "The one where the telescope is placed?"
Yikuang nodded: "Yes, Lafayette."
Cixi said: "Master Ding is really thoughtful. I have several telescopes that foreigners paid tribute to, and he actually offered to build an observatory for safekeeping. But it's a bit troublesome to think about it. I can't use it to take a look at any time."
"Lafayette, that's not what you mean," Yi Kuang quickly corrected, "Master Ding meant to build an observatory dedicated to observing astronomy, just like, oh, by the way, just like our observatory."
Cixi was a little embarrassed and said: "The observatory is just an observatory. What is Lao Shizi's 'observatory'?"
"Lafayette, foreigners all have this stuff, and England also has a Royal Observatory." Yikuang said.
"Isn't it just a calculation of the calendar? I know, but our Qintian Prison has not always had this function, why do we need to build it again?" Cixi asked.
Yikuang had no choice but to explain: "Not only for the calendar, but also for observing the stars in the sky, and I heard from Mr. Ding that this kind of telescope is very large and can see very far."
"Okay, since it is something that foreigners have, it means it is good. Just build one and let the Ministry of Household Affairs allocate the money." Cixi nodded.
Yi Kuan said: "In addition, Mr. Ding also suggested that Li Yu be in charge of the observatory."
"Li Yu?" Cixi was deeply impressed by Li Yu.
"Yes, Lafayette, Mr. Ding said that he is very knowledgeable in some astrophysics, and he is the most knowledgeable person in this field in the country, oh no, in the world." Yi Kuang replied.
"Astronomy? Physics?" Cixi obviously didn't understand this term.
But Yi Kuang couldn't explain it, so he said, "Maybe it's something Li Yu published in a foreign newspaper."
Cixi didn't want to struggle with such a troublesome issue: "It's not a big deal if you think about it. Just follow Ding Haoliang's wishes."
Wang Wenshao, a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion who had been standing aside, said at this time: "When it comes to Li Yu, I have received a letter from Konoe Atsumaro, the chairman of the Japanese House of Nobles. He has repeatedly asked about this person and even asked him about his identity.
Have you ever served in the imperial court?"
"Oh?" Cixi raised her eyebrows, "President of the Japanese House of Nobles?"
Konoe Atsumaro had many contacts with important officials in both the government and the public, and had frequent correspondence with Yi Kuang, Wang Wenshao, Yuan Shikai, Zhang Zhidong, etc.
Wang Wenshao said: "Konoe Atsumaro is a very influential politician in Japan."
Yi Kuang affirmed Wang Wenshao's words: "Mr. Konoe also mentioned Li Yu many times in his letter to me, and said that several large consortiums in Japan, such as Mitsubishi and Mitsui, etc., are very concerned about Li Yu."
Among the four major consortiums in Japan, these two are relatively early.
Cixi didn't expect that Li Yu had such great energy. There were some things that she didn't pay much attention to at ordinary times, but suddenly she would really pay attention to them when outsiders suddenly expressed interest.
Cixi said: "In this case, we must follow Ding Haoliang's proposal. The observatory he mentioned should be built quickly to avoid foreigners saying that we do not value talents."
"I obey the order," Yi Kuang said.
Cixi was very concerned about face and was also very afraid of foreigners. When Ding Haoliang and Konoe Fumima moved in, the effect was astonishing.
But I don’t know what it can be built like.
As soon as Cixi's Golden Mouth was opened, the observatory started construction immediately, and Ding Haoliang was responsible for purchasing large astronomical telescopes. On the other hand, the Ministry of Commerce quickly approved a piece of land for Li Yu to use as a factory.
The land Xu Shichang applied for was outside today's East Fourth Ring Road, close to the East Fifth Ring Road, and had not yet reached Tongzhou.
The city of Beijing has always been small in history. Even before the reform and opening up, the areas outside the Third Ring Road were basically wasteland.
At least the Beijing Public Transport Company even once believed that areas outside the Third Ring Road should be considered suburbs. According to the bus company's regulations, if you take a bus with a line number of 300 or above, you must purchase a "suburban employee monthly pass", while most buses with a line number of less than 300 are used.
Within the third ring road.
There used to be some properties left by foreigners there, but they were damaged during the Boxer Rebellion. It can be used after repairs, at least it will be faster than rebuilding.
It did save a lot of money.
Xu Shichang was very active and efficient in doing things, so he immediately asked Li Yu to recruit people quickly.
Although Li Yu wanted to say that the company was not built overnight, he understood their eagerness to become stronger, so he agreed to place a notice in the newspaper to recruit talents.
In future generations, the recruitment conditions will look like a joke, but currently, they are just one in ten thousand.
"With the approval of the Ministry of Commerce of the Qing Dynasty, I, Li Yu, need to establish a modern enterprise to recruit talents from all walks of life. I need to understand basic mathematical knowledge, and have certain financial knowledge and legal knowledge. It is best to be proficient in English, because future products will require
Produced and sold abroad. The above positions are all middle and senior management positions in the company and can obtain preferred shares."
Translated into modern terms, it is best to have a junior high school diploma.
Li Yu posted notices in the "Ta Kung Pao" in Beijing and Tianjin and the "Shenbao" in Shanghai, and received a response soon.
Xie Yuxi came to Li Yu with a letter from Shanghai, "This is a letter from Bu Fangji, the president of St. John's University in Shanghai. He mentioned that his students are very interested in China's own companies, especially after hearing your name, they all
Request to apply."
Li Yu said happily: "St. John's University? That's great!"
Nowadays, very few Chinese people have heard of the name St. John's University, let alone know the specific details of this university.
But during the Republic of China, this university was known as the "Harvard of the East" and the "Diplomatic Talent Training Institute."
Many important figures during the Republic of China graduated from this school, such as Gu Weijun, the "first diplomat of the Republic of China", Song Ziwen of the Song family, the famous scholar Lin Yutang, the architect Ieoh Ming Pei, the talented daughter of the Republic of China Zhang Ailing, etc.
St. John's University attaches great importance to English teaching and stipulates that all subjects (except Chinese) must be taught in English, and English must also be used for communication on campus. Therefore, St. John's has become the first school in China to teach exclusively in English.
The school's tuition is very high. During the Republic of China, the tuition fee per semester was as high as more than two hundred silver dollars. Therefore, those admitted to St. John's University were all children from wealthy families. Every weekend, cars taking students home would line up at the gate of St. John's University.
The formation of a long dragon was also a spectacle in old Shanghai.
Looking at the country, the quality of students at St. John's University is definitely one of the best.
The principal, Bu Fangji, is an American and graduated from Columbia University, so he got in touch with Xie Yuxi first.
St. John's University basically grew from his hands, and he served as president for more than fifty years.
This person practices "separation of church and state," that is, the separation of politics and education. He advocates that students should not interfere with politics and opposes using schools as the center for launching political movements.
Although students' enthusiasm is difficult to suppress, from the perspective of future generations, it is actually a kind of protection.
After all, students are too passionate and easily incited, and it would be bad if they become angry youths.
Not only St. John's University, but also the students of Nanyang Public School, where Cai Yuanpei taught before, also very much hope to help national enterprises. Cai Yuanpei was even more enthusiastic about national industries and wrote a letter to Li Yu himself.
Li Yu was somewhat inspired, they were all motivated young people.
At this time, most Chinese people who have received a little education are relatively patriotic and motivated.
Know your shame and then be brave!
Li Yu did not want to disobey them and decided to leave for Shanghai.
Every time at this time, I lament how convenient it would be if there was a high-speed rail. In later generations, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail only took a few hours, but now it takes several days to take a ferry.
When arriving at Tanggu Port in Tianjin by train from the capital, Tang Shaoyi temporarily stopped Li Yu.
"I heard Brother Juren mention that if you want to open a factory, you must not forget about our Tianjin Beiyang." Tang Shaoyi said.
Li Yu smiled and said: "Of course I remember that the first branch factory of the automobile and radio industries will be located in Tianjin!"
Tianjin is the base camp of Beiyang and is even relatively safer.
In the future, it will be necessary to set up another factory in Shanghai as a response.
With the promise, Tang Shaoyi "let" Li Yu board the ship.
President of St. John's University Bu Fangji and Cai Yuanpei came to the pier to greet Li Yu.
Nanyang Public School is the predecessor of Shanghai Jiaotong University and Xi'an Jiaotong University, and St. John's University is also not simple. Although it was abolished, its various departments were merged into major famous schools, such as:
The Department of Journalism, Department of Foreign Languages, Department of Chinese (part), and Department of History were merged into Fudan University;
The Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Architectural Engineering were merged into Tongji University;
The Department of Mechanical Engineering was merged into Jiaotong University, namely Shanghai Jiaotong University and Xi'an Jiaotong University;
The School of Science (Department of Mathematics, Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry, Department of Biology), Department of Chinese Language (part), and Department of Education were merged into East China Normal University;
They are all now well-known 985, double first-class schools.
"Mr. Li Yu, by the way, I should call you Mr. Academician!" Cai Yuanpei stepped forward to welcome him and said, "It's an honor to meet again!"
Li Yu smiled and said, "You don't have to be so polite, principal."
Cai Yuanpei introduced him to Bu Fangji next to him, "Principal Bu has always attached great importance to education. Nowadays, the supply of students trained by St. John's University exceeds the demand."
The United States entered China relatively recently, and it was too late to engage in British colonization. Therefore, it is relatively smart to attach importance to education, hoping to influence China in the future by influencing China's younger generation.
Therefore, many foreigners engaged in education in China are from American churches.
Bu Fangji and Ding Liliang were similar. They were both missionaries at first, and both of them were bachelors in theology.
——Of course, it is really difficult to implement missionary work in China.
And education is easier for people to accept. After all, China has attached great importance to education since ancient times.
Bu Fangji said: "Academician Li Yu, my students are all first-class talents, and they are often robbed before they graduate. But when they heard that you were going to start a business, they all wanted to join you. You can't
It really has extraordinary magic power!”
He is right. Graduates from St. John's University were very popular during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.
In fact, as long as you can understand English, you can already eat well in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.
Li Yu was not polite and said bluntly: "I will never let down the students' hopes."
A few people came to St. John's University first.
In terms of organizational structure, St. John's University is currently almost the most complete in the country.
There are a complete set of subjects, especially science and engineering, which were difficult to establish during the Republic of China, and were established here early.
Principal Bu Fangji has always been a strong advocate of natural science. A few years ago, he raised US$15,000 and 4,000 taels of silver to build the "Gezhi Building", which houses physics and chemistry laboratories.
Even though every domestic high school now has these laboratories, at that time, there were almost no similar universities.
"Sir, please come to the auditorium first. The students have been waiting for a long time." Bu Fangji said.
When Li Yu entered the auditorium, the students immediately became excited. How many Chinese people can be recognized by foreigners nowadays? What's more, Li Yu can be an academician from many countries. In the eyes of the students, he is simply a god-like figure.
Bu Fangji maintained discipline: "Everyone, be quiet! Let Academician Li Yu, the most brilliant person in the scientific world today, give you a few words!"
Li Yu looked at the hundreds of pairs of sincere and excited eyes in the audience, not only those who were about to graduate, but also students in the lower grades. He cleared his throat and said:
"Seeing your enthusiasm makes me a little scared. Everyone must know that compared to foreigners, we are too weak now, so weak that we can't even make a few decent screws. Even if we keep emphasizing our self-confidence, in the face of facts
, also seems pale and feeble. That’s why we have to change this situation little by little, starting from small things. What you want to do after me is something that even foreigners can’t create! At that time, you may be able to see a glimmer of true
respect!"
In the era before Li Yu traveled through time, although a considerable number of European, American, Japanese and Korean people still looked down on the Chinese, the situation had long since changed greatly.
However, at this time, when Chinese people faced foreigners, most of them saw only arrogance and contempt.
People who can be respected by foreigners are very impressive in the eyes of Chinese people.
Now Li Yu even dares to say that the company he established will produce things that even foreigners cannot master, which is simply exciting.
No one would believe it if it were told by others, but Li Yu's profound knowledge of science has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and everyone admires and absolutely believes in him.
Li Yu added: "The talents I need to recruit this time will not only enter the best companies in the world in the future, but also enter the most advanced laboratories. If I want to do something big and make the Chinese people raise their heads, then
Join me!"
Although Li Yu is not good at human affairs, nor is he good at painting cakes, the effect of a few straightforward sentences is very good.
The students were indeed very excited: "We want to follow Academician Li Yu! Be proud Chinese!"
Principal Bu Fangji said: "I have prepared a form. Anyone who is interested in applying for Academician Li Yu's company can fill it out."
He just took out a stack of watches, but they were all quickly taken away. There wasn't even enough. Some people could only write directly on the white paper.
Li Yu’s main targets are the departments of science and engineering, economics, medicine and law.
A young man who was only fifteen years old suddenly came to Li Yu with a form: "Mr. Academician, I have filled out half of it, but suddenly I realized why there is an age limit. You must be over 18 years old?"
Li Yu explained with a smile: "Because I don't dare to recruit child labor."
His eyes suddenly caught sight of the boy's name "Gu Weijun"!
Well, he happens to be studying in this school now.
Gu Weijun was dissatisfied with this: "My father said that when he was fifteen, he already worked with his grandfather. Why can't I?"
According to historical trends, Gu Weijun will study in the United States next year and enter Columbia University.
Li Yu smiled and said: "You still have a long way to go. You must at least finish your studies first."
Gu Weijun could only regret and said: "Brother academician, you must remember to leave a good place for me!"
Li Yu couldn't laugh or cry: "I remember."
But once he goes to the United States, he will have to stay in the United States for about seven or eight years.