Yan Fu acted very quickly and brought Li Yu a purple clay pot two days later.
Li Yu looked at it for a long time and asked, "Such a little thing is worth eight hundred taels of silver?"
Yan Fu picked up the pot and explained to him: "This pot is made of fine sand. It is as shiny as jade and feels very warm to the touch. Look at Shaw's exquisite workmanship. The handle, knob and spout are three dots and one line;
The lid fits the body very well, and the gaps everywhere are extremely even. The water outlet inside is also symmetrical, and has been chamfered very carefully."
As expected, only an expert can tell the truth. When Li Yu compared it with the ordinary teapot at home, it seemed that the difference was not small.
When I picked up the purple clay pot and took a closer look, I saw that there was fine purple clay, and the author Shaw's seal was on the bottom of the pot, inside the pot, and on the bottom of the handle.
Li Yu clicked his tongue and said, "I will definitely not drink tea with such an expensive thing."
Yan Fu touched his beard and said with a smile: "No, if it is used to drink tea, there will be a lot of fun in it."
He filled the pot with water, poured water out separately from the ordinary teapot, and asked, "Do you see the difference?"
Li Yu pointed to the purple clay teapot and said: "The water from this one is very smooth, round and powerful; while the water from the other ordinary teapot is really loose and weak if you look closely."
Yan Fu laughed loudly: "The words of tiger and wolf."
Yan Fu then took out another small teacup and said, "A good pot should be paired with a good bowl. I hope you will accept this teacup and give it to Brother Feng Sheng as well."
Yan Fu is really too generous. The value of this high-quality jianfu is much higher than that of a purple clay teapot.
But Li Yu really didn't understand and asked, "How much? I'll pay Master Yan."
"No need," Yan Fu said with a smile, "it's not worth a few dollars. As long as you treat my Bicheng well, I will be very happy, because the human heart is priceless."
Li Yu put it away carefully: "Thank you, Master Yan, for your training."
Yan Fu said: "How about it? Will you also buy some tea sets in the future?"
At least Li Yu is not very interested in these things at the moment: "I still believe in the principle of minimalism, just like Occam's razor. Don't add entities unless necessary."
Yan Fu became interested: "You also know philosophy."
The two then started chatting aimlessly.
——
Seeing Lu Bicheng's absence during this period, Konoe Akihitsu wanted to get close to Li Yu, but Li Yu didn't give him any chance.
She then had no choice but to go to Aoki Attaché to report to her superiors, but Touyama Manchu and others were not around either, leaving only some liaison officers.
After all, the Russo-Japanese War has now reached a critical moment.
Although the Japanese army captured Port Arthur, the 370,000-strong Russian army was already preparing to move south. At this time, Japan had run out of ammunition and food, could not provide any support, and could no longer raise a penny in the international capital market.
The Japanese casualties in the Battle of Port Arthur reached half of the troops invested. This ratio is very terrifying.
At this time, the Japanese army in the Liaodong Peninsula could not wait for domestic material support, so the 250,000-strong army could only go north to actively seek a decisive battle with the Russian army.
Gambling, still gambling.
In short, Toushan Man and others are now in dire straits, and they have all fled to the northeast.
Konoe Akiyuki had no choice but to leave a message to the liaison officer and go back.
When I returned to the mansion, I saw Li Yu writing a letter in the study with a happy face. It was probably a letter from Tianjin.
Konoe Aki felt slightly sad, but recovered quickly and returned to her bedroom.
It was indeed a letter from Lu Bicheng from Tianjin. She anxiously asked about Li Yu's situation:
"Why do you catch wind and cold? Quickly grab ephedra, cinnamon twigs, saposhnikovia, tangerine peel, peony, licorice, ginger, scallion and other medicines, and cut them into pieces!"
Li Yu immediately wrote back: "The cold only lasts for six or seven days. It's gone. Don't worry about it."
In addition, he also wrote a poem by Yu Guangzhong:
"Between the moonlight and the snow,
You are the third type of beauty."
On the way back from sending the letter, Li Yu suddenly met Liu Chunlin, who had been selected as the number one scholar.
"Master Imperial Master, congratulations! I heard that you won the Swedish award again." Liu Chunlin congratulated you.
Li Yu also cupped his hands and replied: "I am delighted that you are the number one scholar in high school and are famous all over the world."
Liu Chunlin smiled and said: "The emperor's teacher is famous all over the world, and I am just in a corner. In the past few months, I have read reports about the emperor's teacher, and read many translated articles on Western studies. I feel that the world is huge. At this moment, I have read reports about the emperor's teacher.
I saw a wellhead. So I am planning to go east to Japan to study abroad this year."
Having already won the first prize, he could wait to become an official, but Liu Chunlin was quite enterprising.
Li Yu praised: "The number one scholar has made further progress, which is admirable."
Liu Chunlin said: "I should learn from senior Zhang Jian, otherwise I will not study the dead book."
The world has always ridiculed the Eight-legged essay, but in fact, after reaching the level of the National Examination and the Imperial Examination, it is no longer the Eight-legged essay at all. The requirements are still quite high. It is a comprehensive style that combines calligraphy, literature, policy theory, politics, and history.
Especially the last imperial examination questions in the late Qing Dynasty even included this question:
"At the beginning of Japan's reform, it hired Westerners and the country became stronger; Egypt employed more than a thousand foreigners, so it lost the power to make financial decisions and the country was sluggish. Let me explain in detail the pros and cons of this strategy."
I want you to demonstrate the reforms in Japan and Egypt. Why did Japan succeed in learning from the West, but Egypt failed because it led to "the country was in a state of depression".
Then there was a topic about the U.S. policy towards Chinese workers and expatriates.
In short, it covers the current affairs, especially the time of the Russo-Japanese War.
Therefore, those who can reach high school must read newspapers to understand the latest current affairs news, and understand Western history, politics, etc.
Of course, the limitations of the imperial examination are still too great, and its abolition is a certainty. After all, there is no modern discipline at all.
Liu Chunlin invited: "Today, the new scholars will hold a gathering at the Confucius Temple. Would the Emperor want to come and take a closer look?"
Li Yu smiled and said, "Let's forget it."
Liu Chunlin said: "Master, you don't have to worry that everyone will attack Western learning. In fact, as far as I know, the top three people in the top three are interested in going east to study abroad, and you are the one who knows Western learning best, and the Capital University has also sent several teachers to participate.
.”
The Confucius Temple in Beijing is next to the Yonghe Temple. The construction standards are very high. It is also close to the Imperial College.
Li Yu had no choice but to agree: "Sir, please get in the car."
Liu Chunlin has always been curious about Li Yu's car. Last time, a driver specially drove the car, but this time Li Yu got in directly.
"The Imperial Master actually has so many skills." Liu Chunlin was amazed.
Li Yu said: "Driving a car is much easier than riding a horse. When you go abroad, many concepts will be completely refreshed."
Liu Chunlin was actually a little sad: "Thousand-year-old culture is ultimately no match for the steel behemoth."
Li Yu quickly comforted him and said: "I have emphasized many times that the two are not in conflict."
When they arrived at the Confucius Temple, Zhu Ruzhen, the second-place finisher, and Yanliu, the flower explorer, were already waiting here.
Zhu Ruzhen is as unlucky as Zhu Guozhen in the previous term.
Originally, when the palace examination was over and the ministers reviewed the papers and sent the list, the first place was Zhu Ruzhen.
As a result, Cixi once again "picked people by their first names" and disliked Zhu Ruzhen's name very much when she saw it. Zhu was the surname of the previous dynasty, and "Zhen" was associated with Concubine Zhen; in addition, Zhu Ruzhen was from Guangdong, and was related to Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Hong Xiuquan and others.
They are all fellow countrymen. Cixi felt that Guangdong was her nemesis, so she disliked it even more.
Liu Chunlin's name is very good. The word "Chunlin" means the spring breeze turns into rain, and the sweet rain falls, and he is from Zhili.
Then Cixi selected Liu Chunlin as the number one scholar.
The sound of the car attracted everyone's attention. Upon seeing this, Zhu Ruzhen smiled and said: "The ancients said that horses are hoofed when the spring breeze is proud, and Brother Chunlin is riding the horse when the spring breeze is proud."
Liu Chunlin also smiled and said: "Thanks to the emperor's driving, otherwise I might have arrived half an hour later in the evening."
Zhu Ruzhen and the others were somewhat shocked when they saw Li Yu's short hair and suit: "Master Emperor, you really look like a foreigner!"
Among the crowd was Gu Hongming, the number one madman in the Republic of China. Gu Hongming stepped forward and asked: "Li Yu! Why are you here too?"
Li Yu made a gesture of driving: "Do you believe me when I say I became a driver?"
Gu Hongming said: "Now the newspapers have praised you as a god in the sky. I have studied your lectures on Western learning again. Now I have a little understanding and am preparing to continue studying in depth."
Shang Yanliu, who visited the flower shop, asked: "Gu Jiaoxi has been abroad, hasn't he been studying Western learning?"
Gu Hongming said: "Compared with Li Yu, I am worthless in Western learning, especially science."
When a big troll like Gu Hongming said this, Li Yu really didn't expect it. He smiled and said, "There are specialties in the art industry."
Several of these Jinshi will go abroad to study. There are also several famous ones among the second and third class, such as Tan Yankai, who later served as the principal and Soong Meiling's introducer, and became the president of the Executive Yuan; and Shen Junru, the founder of the Democratic League, etc.
What’s interesting is that as Jinshi in the late Qing Dynasty, many of them eventually became gravediggers in the Qing Dynasty.
Their names had been engraved on the Jinshi Stele Forest in the Imperial College, and Li Yu said, "It's not easy to get together, so why don't we take a photo together."
Liu Chunlin asked: "So many people can squeeze into the photo studio?"
Li Yu said: "It's good to be here."
He took out a Kodak portable camera and said, "Everyone, get in formation."
Li Yu found a student from the Imperial College and showed him how to operate it for a while. Then he came to the crowd, but before he could say "eggplant", the student had already released his hand and pressed it.
Come soon.
Li Yu took the camera and said, "After the photos are developed, I will give one to everyone."
Photos were still a rarity at this time, and everyone was immediately delighted that a small box could take photos. At the same time, they felt the need to learn new things in depth.
When leaving, Gu Hongming couldn't help but praise: "You always have a way to infect others. You are simply a genius in communication."
Li Yu shrugged: "It's not me who infects everyone, it's the new era."
When I got home, it wasn't long before the Chinese New Year came.
Li Yu had nothing to do during this period, so he just wrote and studied laboratory equipment.
However, Li Yu had written many papers in the past few years, and his statements were enough to sustain him for a long time. He had gained a reputation and had to do many things smoothly.
Therefore, this year we can set off to the far northwest to save Dunhuang, a huge historical regret in the Hexi Corridor.
In the era of traffic congestion, this trip would take almost a year, but if successful, it would be absolutely worth it.