Zai Zhen didn't expect this either. After all, the list of envoys had already been decided by the Prime Minister's Office.
"Why did Prince Chun say this?"
Zaifeng said: "Now Li Yu has gained a reputation in Europe, especially in England. It just so happens that you are going to England. From my point of view, foreigners value people who understand these knowledge, and it can improve our face to some extent."
Zai Zhen thought for a while and said: "This is reasonable. Now the Queen Mother also knows Li Yu. His Western attainments are no problem and he can speak foreign languages. It is perfect. I will report to the Queen Mother today when I go back and ask for permission to bring Li Yu with me." "
Li Yu was confused next to him, why did he have to be taken there as well.
But think about it, it’s too boring to stay in the Imperial City all the time, so it’s not bad to go out for a walk. Also, considering that the opening of the Capital University will not start until mid-to-late October, there’s still enough time.
After Cixi saw Zai Zhen's memorial, she immediately agreed and issued an edict emphasizing: "This trip is strictly related to the ceremony, and it is also a way to expand his knowledge and increase his knowledge."
Zai Zhen took Ci Xi's imperial edict and came to Li Yu with a smile, "It's great to have Professor Li accompanying me!"
Now that it was almost time to go abroad, Zai Zhen and Li Yu met the envoys at the Prime Minister's Yamen. The lineup was quite strong:
Liang Cheng, Senator Zhili candidate, second grade. Liang Cheng's achievements are not small, but they are easily overlooked. In fact, when he was the minister to the United States, he urged U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to reduce part of the Boxer Indemnity. , and a lot of this money was later directly used to build Tsinghua University!
Yang Laizhao, second grade title, recorded name.
Huang Kaijia, second grade, candidate. He was one of the first batch of young children studying in the United States in the late Qing Dynasty. He was one of the earliest Chinese to participate in the World Expo. Together with Zhan Tianyou, he was known as "Northern Zhannan Huang".
Wang Daxie, counselor, fourth grade, foreign minister, Wai Lang. Later he became the Prime Minister of the Beiyang Government, and he was also an extraordinary figure.
Tang Wenzhi, fourth grade, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Tang Wenzhi later devoted himself to education. The predecessors of the current Dalian Maritime University, Shanghai Maritime University and Suzhou University were first founded by him.
In addition, there are several translators, such as Tao Dajun: the first generation Japanese translator in China, who also worked as a Japanese teacher in Tongwen Museum;
Liu Shixun, a French translator, later became the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China and also served as the president of Southwest Jiaotong University.
Wu Yingke, one of the second batch of young children studying in the United States;
Pan Sichi is one of the fourth batch of young children studying in the United States.
In short, this group of people is definitely full of talents and the standards are quite high. Moreover, they all have official titles now, and the lowest is a fifth-grade title.
Therefore, several of them suddenly heard that there was a new person, and he had no fame, so they complained a lot.
Yang Laizhao, a second-rank official, said to Li Yu: "What achievements have you made? This mission to England is extraordinary. It is impossible without some ability."
Zai Zhen spoke up first. He smiled and said, "The man in front of you is called Li Yu. He is not only proficient in Western learning, but also can speak English, German, and Japanese. I wonder if he is capable enough?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was immediately stunned. Not to mention being proficient in Western learning, they could only speak three foreign languages. The translators in the mission basically only knew one foreign language. Suddenly, the translators felt a little insecure. Feeling: I thought there was a newcomer just now, but I didn’t expect this guy to be the top three! In fact, I am a bit redundant.
Only the French translator Liu Shixun wasn’t too worried: Fortunately, he doesn’t know French!
In fact, Li Yu originally wanted to learn it, but after a brief taste, he gave out Yuan Hua's miserable cry: "It's too difficult!"
Seeing that everyone was silent, Zai Zhen continued: "I hope everyone will work together on this mission to fulfill the mission of the imperial court."
Liang Cheng had been a counselor in the United States for several years. He was also one of the early children studying in the United States. He came over and said to Li Yu: "Mr. Li Yu, I have admired him for a long time. I have seen an article introducing him in the newspaper. It is said that the British
The Royal Society has praised you highly."
Li Yu cupped his hands and replied: "Mr. Liang is ridiculously complimentary."
Liang Cheng has stayed in the United States for a long time, and his horizons are much broader than ordinary people. He is well aware of the difficulty of doing Western learning. He said: "It is not an exaggeration. I have been in the United States for many years and I have only learned a language. I have no knowledge of science."
I have only scratched the surface of it, but I know that the strength of Western countries stems from politics, law and science."
Li Yu said: "Mr. Liang is very smart because he is able to handle the diplomatic field with ease. We are just involved in different fields."
Huang Kaijia laughed at the side and said: "Little brother, don't be polite to him. When Yi Zhong (Liang Cheng's nickname) was in the United States, he couldn't even distinguish the three sides of a trigonometric function. A few days ago, he asked me for a paper you wrote.
It was really laughable that I stopped him. A person who failed mathematics and physics actually wanted to read a professional paper."
Huang Kaijia is one of the first batch of young children studying in the United States, and Liang Cheng is the fourth batch. There is a bit of a senior in them.
There were 120 children in the first batch of children studying in the United States, and only 50 of them were admitted to American universities. Moreover, Huang Kaijia was admitted to Yale University. He was definitely a top student in the late Qing Dynasty.
Liang Cheng said with a smile: "Brother Dounan (Huang Kaijia's nickname), don't expose me for being short-sighted. I haven't been able to figure out numbers since I was a child, but I'm thankful that I can understand a few formula questions."
Huang Kaijia was reluctant: "What are you talking about? If I hadn't tutored you for two months, you wouldn't even be able to understand the formula of the quadratic equation. How would you be admitted to an American high school?"
Young children studying in the United States start studying in elementary school or middle school in the United States. As for Chinese subjects, they are taught by classics and history teachers brought there from China.
Liang Cheng joked: "Brother Dounan, if you are still not convinced, let's continue to see Zhenzhang on the court."
Liang Cheng fell madly in love with baseball when he was studying in the United States. He also participated in many competitions and won awards.
Huang Kaijia's eyes twitched: "Well, well, the ball you threw hit me in the face and it was swollen for five or six days!"
Wang Daxie was different from them. He had never been abroad before, so he asked Li Yu: "I wonder if your Excellency has ever set foot in the West?"
Li Yu said frankly: "I only know about the West from the foreigners in the concession, and I am still far from you."
Wang Daxie praised: "You can sit in the country and know the world's affairs. You are really as talented as Zhuge Kongming in the world."
Li Yu quickly said modestly: "Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning!"
Without the Internet now, it is really difficult for people who do not go abroad to understand foreign countries and even the entire world. Even those who study abroad find it difficult to fully understand all fields, but it is already very difficult.
Moreover, Wang Daxie was by no means an ordinary person. The reason why he was able to join the mission as the only person who had never been abroad was because he was indeed outstanding in diplomacy. When the "Xin Chou Treaty" was signed, Russia wanted to take the opportunity to occupy East Asia.
In the three provinces, it was Wang Daxie who made a strong statement about his interests and prevented the Qing government from compromising. Therefore, the Prime Minister's Office also deliberately cultivated him this time.