Li Yu got on the train at Tanggu Railway Station. The train went to Zhengyangmen East Railway Station in Beijing via the Beijing-Tianjin Railway. This railway later became the Beijing-Tianjin section of the Beijing-Fengcheng Railway.
The earlier the railway was built, the more urgent and important it was. In the subsequent wars in the north, the Beijing-Fenghuang Railway was the first to compete for it. This was the main transportation route between the customs and outside the customs. In 1928, the Northeast King Zhang Zuolin was also captured by the Japanese in Beijing.
He was killed in an explosion at Huanggutun Station of Fengfeng Railway.
Li Chun was quite interesting. The ticket had been purchased in advance, and it was a first-class carriage.
Li Yu looked at the ticket. The face price was 15 silver dollars, which was about 3,000 yuan in the 21st century.
If it is the most common third-class carriage, the price is 3 silver dollars, which is more than 600 yuan. It is almost equivalent to the income of the camel Xiangzi who pulls the carriage for 20 days.
Think about it. In later generations, hard seats between Beijing and Tianjin only cost 20 yuan, and high-speed trains only cost 56 yuan. It can be seen that the current fare is still very high, and it is not affordable for ordinary people.
After arriving in Beijing after a long absence, Li Yu hailed a rickshaw outside the train station and returned to Dongchang Hutong.
As soon as I entered the gate of the house, I saw Uncle Wang cleaning the house. Uncle Wang was very serious about his work and kept everything clean inside and out.
"Hey! Master! You are finally back!"
Uncle Wang was very excited when he saw Li Yu. He quickly ran over and helped take the box from Li Yu's hand, "I didn't expect that the master would be gone for so long!"
Li Yu smiled and said: "You don't need to call me 'Master' from now on, just call me, um, sir."
"It's no good. Since you asked me to be the housekeeper, of course I will be my master." Uncle Wang said.
"Westerners don't have such rules. Look at me," Li Yu opened his hands, "How foreign! From now on, I will call you sir according to foreign rules. Everyone will call you sir."
It seems that housekeepers in the West call their masters by their title or official title, Lord, Earl, etc. However, Li Yu has neither official title nor title now, so it seems more appropriate to call him Mr.
Uncle Wang was a little embarrassed: "But... But in other big houses, everyone calls me Master. If I don't call me that way, won't people think it's strange?"
Li Yu felt that it would be difficult to change his mind for a while, so he added: "If it doesn't work, you can call me master outside, or sir in the house."
"I understand, sir."
"Look!"
Uncle Wang grinned: "I understand, sir."
Li Yu nodded, "It sounds much smoother."
Don't expect him to change his tune anytime soon, just take your time.
Uncle Wang said again: "Sir...ah, sir, you just came back, and I have something else to tell you."
It is indeed difficult for Uncle Wang to change his title immediately. The power of habit is still very scary.
Li Yu asked: "What's the matter?"
Wang Bodao: "Cui Laosan from the teahouse came over a few days ago."
Li Yu suddenly remembered, "Cui Laosan? Do you have to pay the rent?"
He only paid three months' rent, but he didn't expect to live there for even a few days.
Uncle Wang nodded: "Yes, he came to ask the master, ah, sir, do you want to continue renting? I said I need you to come back before making a decision."
"I understand. You go to the teahouse and tell him that I have returned to the capital and the contract with the house will definitely be renewed."
Li Yu now has a lot of money and no longer has to worry about rent.
Uncle Wang came to the tea house and quickly found the melon skin hat.
"Cui Laosan, my master sent me to renew the lease."
Cui Laosan asked casually: "Who is your master?"
Uncle Wang said proudly: "Master Li Yu!"
"Oh! Are you from Mr. Li Yu in Dongchang Hutong?" Cui Laosan suddenly asked in surprise, "Li Daxuewen came back?"
Lao Yu and others who were drinking tea nearby also heard the noise.
"What? Li Daxue asked the family?"
Everyone immediately surrounded Uncle Wang, "Who are you from Li Zhai?"
Uncle Wang sat down and said, "I am the housekeeper of Li House!"
Everyone clasped their fists and said, "Disrespectful!"
"Li Daxue is really a great scholar!"
"That's right! Please tell me, how does Li Dawen find new stars in the sky?"
"Also, what kind of books does Li Dawen ask his family to read?"
"Will Li Dawen go to the imperial court to become a high official in the future?"
The teahouse is the most well-informed. Of course, these things have been known for a long time. Now every time Li Yu is on the front page of the newspaper, someone will even read the newspaper to everyone. The whole teahouse is not so clean. I really can't resist it.
Everyone is enthusiastic.
Because it’s so fresh: it feels fresh to the big guys from the foreign side, and it feels even fresher to be famous on the territory of the foreigners.
After all, after being bullied for so long, it’s hard to find someone who can make a difference and make foreigners not only look up to him, but even praise him, so naturally everyone cares about him.
Uncle Wang enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by everyone. His master became famous, and he also felt that his face was bright. What's more, Li Yu was in a peaceful mood and was very friendly to him.
"Okay, okay! Don't talk nonsense!"
As soon as Uncle Wang spoke, everyone fell silent. He continued: "Even if I tell you, can you find another star to surprise foreigners? As for what books to read, I usually read foreign languages. I
I don’t understand either... Hey, Cui Laosan, what’s your expression?! Why, can you understand it?”
Cui Laosan shook his head quickly: "I don't know foreign languages."
Uncle Wang continued: "That's it! Then I want to talk about what kind of official I will be. Of course I can't say that."
"Tch~" The guys booed, "You don't even know it's been going on for a long time."
Uncle Wang said: "Of course I don't know. Well, I won't mess with you. I said Cui Laosan, our master said that the house will be extended."
When the sale came, Cui Laosan's eyes immediately lit up: "Renew the lease? No problem! No need for Li Dawen to leave in person, I will go and take over the house myself!"
Li Yu directly extended the residence for one year this time, and the rent totaled 160 taels of silver. Because it was a renewal of the lease, Cui Laosan also charged an additional 8 taels of silver for miscellaneous expenses.
Of course, some of the 160 taels of silver can still go into his pocket, which is a big deal.
Uncle Wang was not idle during this period. He even sorted out the kitchen and learned to cook. Although his cooking skills were not very good, it was still much more convenient.
Li Yu felt that he should go to Ding Deshan of Dong Laishun to learn from him.
The next day, Li Yu first came to Tongwen Hall to say hello to Ding Haoliang.
Long time no see, I miss you so much.
Ding Haoliang had long known about Li Yu's stay in England and France, and a few papers raised his personal image again. That was really high!
Ding Haoliang really didn't know how much ink there was in Li Yu's head. It was bottomless.
"Li Yu, I've been paying attention to the news recently. You really stole the show in the West! You actually discovered a new planet, which really makes me feel unbelievable!"
Li Yu smiled and said: "I didn't expect the chief instructor to be so concerned."
Ding Haoliang also smiled and said: "I don't care if I don't pay attention! There are really too many reports about you in Beijing now! Haven't you read "Shenzhen" and "Beijing-Tianjin Times"?"
Li Yu shook his head: "No."
"You should really take a look. They even turned to the front page for reports. For almost ten days, you were the one on the front page."
"Forehead."
Li Yu never expected that he could still dominate the headlines.
Ding Haoliang said: "Many young students take you as a role model. You also know that the first batch of enrollment in the Capital University is about to begin. Originally, I wanted to push the complicated normal course, for fear that there would not be enough applicants.
That’s great, I’m considering expanding the enrollment!”
The initial enrollment of the Capital University was also for the accelerated courses, and was divided into the Normal School and the Official School.
It can be seen from the name alone that the official school was obviously more sought after by the scholars at that time: firstly, it was easy to enter, study and graduate; secondly, it was easy to be assigned after graduation, and you could directly enter the officialdom. In fact, it was
Indeed.
When this batch of students from the official academy graduated, it happened to coincide with the year when the Qing government was brewing constitutional reforms and announced "imitation constitutional government"; in addition, the imperial court established several new departments, and the demand for talents in this field was even greater.
Very soon, there was even a dispute between the New Commercial Department and the Patrol Department over grabbing people.
As for the Normal School, the learning content is much broader and the depth is much deeper. If you have the ability in the future and can be admitted to universities in Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries to continue your studies, you can certainly engage in related research work.
But if you fail the exam, you have to follow the assignment.
After all, they are the first batch of students, so the Normal School must be assigned to them, but the direction of the assignment must be to engage in education-related work, otherwise why would they call it a "Normal School".
Moreover, the imperial court stipulated that graduates of Normal College were not allowed to engage in other businesses during the compulsory period. To this end, the "Obligation Regulations for Normal College Students" was formulated, which said: "Normal College students have the obligation to serve in national education, and their number of years is tentatively set at five years.
Within the period of time, students should devote themselves to education and are not allowed to pursue careers other than education. They are not allowed to evade education duties and serve as special messengers for various yamen outside Beijing."
The Qing Education Department will also conduct a detailed investigation on the flow and employment situation of normal graduates. If any violation of obligations is found, the rewards will be revoked and penalties will be imposed.
Fortunately, at that time, almost all of these normal school students graduated as general teachers or even principals of various small schools, and the pay was not bad.
According to common sense, if a country wants to become stronger, it must vigorously develop education, and normal schools are the vanguard of education. There are not many new schools in the Qing Dynasty. Even if they are built in large numbers, they lack corresponding teaching. Therefore, the role of normal schools is extremely important.
But all in all, the remuneration for graduates of teaching and official schools who directly become officials is definitely still a lot worse.
Therefore, officials are more willing to enter the official school, and the official school has even raised the admissions threshold: you need fame or status to enter. Ordinary people are naturally not eligible to apply.
But Ding Weiliang knew that modern universities could no longer be like the Imperial College or Imperial College in the past, just for the purpose of selecting talents for the imperial court.
A university should look like a university! Ding Wei would not be able to accept it in his conscience if he came to the Capital University simply to become an official.
It's a pity that the current national situation is like this. Basically all officials study to become officials.
——This is a thousand-year tradition, and it is hundreds of times more difficult to change one's thoughts than to change Uncle Wang's words.
But who would have thought that when there was nothing to do, Li Yu suddenly appeared!
Everyone suddenly discovered that people who engage in learning and research can become famous, and Chinese people can’t learn science!
It instantly gave many students a reassurance, and also slightly changed the students' age-old thinking of "learning well leads to a career".
Of course, it's just a "slight change".
Fortunately, with such a large base, a little change would be good. As long as a little more people can apply for the Normal School, it would be great.
Ding Haoliang continued to say to Li Yu: "Actually, I still have a question. I wonder if you still want to enter the Capital University?"
Li Yu said: "Of course! Why does the chief teacher ask this question?"
"With your current knowledge and achievements, I don't think there is much need to be a student." Ding Haoliang said sincerely.
Li Yu said: "I still hope to have a diploma! Even if I want to study in a Western university, I still have to have a place to belong to."
Li Yu really wants to leave his first degree in the Capital University. If his name can really shine in the future, it will also boost the reputation of the Capital University. In this way, there will definitely be benefits in all aspects.
And metaphor.
Li Yu's thinking was a bit far-reaching. After all, he couldn't join the military or politics, so this could be considered a good thing he could do.
Ding Haoliang smiled and said: "In that case, I really want to thank you for coming on behalf of the Capital University."
"General Teacher Xi is serious!" Li Yu said, "How can I say thank you! It is obviously an honor for me!"
An American actually took such trouble to build the first modern university in the Qing Dynasty. Li Yu should be grateful to him.
Ding Haoliang said: "I will definitely take special care of exceptional students like you, just like what Timothy Richard mentioned before."
Ding Haoliang is indeed a flexible person. Li Yu said: "Does the chief instructor mean that the conditions can be relaxed a little..."
"Of course! What if Timothy Richard snatches you away to Shanxi University?" Ding Haoliang continued to say with a smile, "You don't have to be so rigid about going to class every day. It doesn't mean anything to you. I will help you as soon as possible.
You get a diploma. But you have to go through many necessary procedures during the process, such as taking exams."
Li Yu patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Xi, what I, Li Yu, are best at is taking exams!"
He has been studying for 16 or 17 years since elementary school, and taking exams is as easy and comfortable for him as eating and drinking!
Ding Haoliang nodded and said: "That's good!"
I am always afraid of being happy too early!
Li Yu said goodbye to Ding Haoliang and returned to the house. He saw Tang Wenzhi from the special envoy sitting in the reception room, and next to him was an old gentleman in his fifties.
Uncle Wang was serving them tea and water.
After Tang Wenzhi saw Li Yu, he immediately stood up and cupped his hands and said: "I heard that Brother Li returned to his hometown, so I came here to pay a visit."
Li Yu hurriedly cupped his hands and replied: "I didn't know Brother Tang was coming, so I apologize for not welcoming him!"
"It doesn't matter. Brother Li is a famous person now. It's normal to be busy."
Li Yu asked, "I wonder if Brother Tang is here today. What advice can you give me?"
Tang Wenzhi said: "The advice is definitely nothing. In fact, we are here today to ask Brother Li for advice."
Li Yu sat down with them in the hall and asked, "Can I ask for advice?"
Tang Wenzhi said: "Yes! As a special envoy, Bei Ziye needs to record the politics, academics, laws and regulations of Western countries, and also introduce the political, economic and cultural conditions of each country. Considering the long schedule, he has to keep it in the form of a diary
The record is the "Diary of Ying Jin" in front of us. However, during the trip, we knew very little about this important aspect of science. Brother Li happened to communicate with outstanding scientific leaders from various Western countries this time, so we hope to share this aspect with you.
Please ask for advice."
"So that's what happened, of course." Li Yu replied quickly.
He took a look at the first draft of "Yingzhen's Diary" on the table. The signature on the title page was "The British Minister Gushan Beizi, the special envoy of the Qing Dynasty, with the title of Zhenguo General Zai Zhen." Zhen is the first person voice.
This book was published by Shanghai Civilization Book Company in 1903 and has been circulated to later generations. It can even be purchased in the 21st century. The signed author is indeed Zai Zhen.
Li Yu had not read this book, but he immediately understood the truth at a glance: with Zai Zhen's ability, it was impossible to write such an in-depth book. The author of this book was actually Tang, the counselor accompanying the special mission in front of him. Wenzhi!
Tang Wenzhi obviously became Zai Zhen's "gunner".
However, after thinking about it, it is understandable. After all, Zai Zhen is no longer short of money. He just wants to seek fame, which can also be used as his subsequent political capital.
Tang Wenzhi did not shy away and said directly: "I wrote the content of this book, but I am not an expert at writing articles, so I asked Brother Shen to help polish it."
It can be seen that Tang Wenzhi was forced to "catch the knife" on his behalf because of the authority, and he did not want to work hard to make wedding clothes for others.
Tang Wenzhi stretched out his hand to the old gentleman next to him: "Let me introduce, this is Mr. Shen Zengzhi, the academic envoy of Anhui and the lecturer of Lianghu Academy."
Li Yu stood up and said, "Nice to meet you!"
Shen Zengzhi said: "Young man, you don't have to be polite. I have really admired you for a long time. When I meet you today, you are indeed young and promising!"
Shen Zengzhi was a scholar, calligrapher, and bibliophile in the late Qing Dynasty. He later supported Zhang Xun's restoration, but his thoughts were more enlightened than ordinary people during the late Qing Dynasty.
He supported the reform and reform, but did not support Kang Youwei's radical measures, and the relationship between the two was not good.
Kang Youwei once wrote a modern calligraphy treatise called "Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji", which made him famous in the calligraphy circle.
Due to Kang Youwei's original character, he was easily impatient after becoming famous, and his posture was quite arrogant, as if he was the best in the world of calligraphy.
Shen Zengzhi was dissatisfied with Kang Youwei's attitude and angrily rebuked: "If you study for another ten years, you will still be able to talk about calligraphy with me!"
In fact, there was a time when the Calligraphy Association of later generations quite praised Kang Youwei's calligraphy works. Li Yu had seen it, but I don't know if it was a matter of appreciation. I really couldn't tell how good it was, because the Calligraphy Association praised Kang Youwei's "Ugly". Book"……
Maybe for "innovation"?
After all, Kang Youwei was a Jinshi during the Guangxu period. His calligraphy skills were indeed good, but he preferred his "ugly calligraphy", which was really an indescribable origin.
Regarding the scientific aspect of "Yingzhen's Diary", it was indeed Li Yu who had to write it. He said: "I am naturally not good at writing articles. After I finish writing, I will hand it over to my husband and help polish it."
Shen Zengzhi stroked his beard and said with a smile: "It's an honor for me to work hard for the publication of a masterpiece. I can also take this opportunity to open my eyes and see the world more."
Tang Wenzhi continued: "Brother Li can write the text when he has time. We are not in a particular hurry. I have not finished some other chapters."
"Brother Tang, don't worry, I will do my best."
"Thank you brother!"
Li Yu said: "You're welcome, it's all what I should do."
Li Yu will definitely write well, and he will also write several diaries, which proves that the author of "Diary of Yingjin" is actually Tang Wenzhi.
But I definitely can't say it publicly now. I will wait until the Qing Dynasty is gone before publishing it. It can also be used as circumstantial evidence to help Tang Wenzhi regain his own copyright.
Not long after Tang Wenzhi and his wife left, Li Yu just took a few sips of hot tea when Prince Qing's translator Rui Zheng also came to the door.
Unexpectedly, I have been really busy these past few days since I came back.
Rui Zheng said: "Master Li, the prince and Master Bei will invite you to a dinner at my house."
Li Yu had no excuse to refuse, so he agreed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the invitation."
As soon as he entered Prince Qing's Mansion, Zai Zhen greeted him with a smile on his face, "Mr. Li is finally back! I miss you so much!"
"Master Beizi, you're fine!"
"Hurry, hurry, Ama is waiting for you."
Yikuang was also in a good mood when he saw Li Yu: "Thanks to Mr. Xiao, you have promoted our country's prestige with the special envoy this time. The Queen Mother is very happy! By the way, the imperial court has specially awarded you a reward for this. Ruizheng, hurry up
Bring it up."
Li Yu didn't care about Cixi's displeasure, but the reward was indeed worth looking forward to.
Rui Zheng trotted all the way and brought over a plate with four 500-tael silver notes on it.
Yikuang said: "This is a special reward from the imperial court to the young gentleman."
"Thank you for your grace." Of course having money is a good thing.
Zai Zhen on the side said: "Two thousand taels is the highest reward for a member of the special mission. Of course, sir, he deserves it."
That’s a must! It’s all achieved through ability!
"Vinci!"
"I still want you to call me by my full name, Da Vinci!"