Li Yu has written manuscripts for The Times and Shenbao in the past two days. One is a scientific talk, and the other briefly talks about the industrial revolution and the scientific driving force behind the industrial revolution.
Although he is not good at writing such articles, he is looking at everything from the perspective of a hundred years later, and his writing reveals a natural sense of insight into everything.
In addition, he had already written a call for papers on the three-body problem. Unfortunately, the length of this article made it impossible to send it by telegraph, so he had to ask Zhao Qian to take him to the Qing Post Office.
Zhao Qian said to Li Yu while pulling the cart: "Master Li, I have an unkind request. I wonder if you can agree to it?"
"What request?" Li Yu asked.
Zhao Qian chuckled: "Feng Ling also wants to move here."
Li Yu laughed and said: "You kid, if you want to move in here, why don't you just say that I will move in with you!"
"It can't be hidden from my eyes." Zhao Qian didn't hide it either.
"Did she redeem herself?" Li Yu asked.
Zhao Qian replied: "Actually, Fengling redeemed her life a long time ago, so she didn't have any money when my brother's accident happened. She had wanted to leave the dusty land for a long time, but I was so poor before that I couldn't let her live in a ruined temple with me.
"Don't worry, sir, Fengling will know how to wash and cook when she comes, and she can also do women's work, so her stay will not be in vain."
"Okay, I agree." Li Yu said simply
"Master, thank you so much!" Zhao Qian said excitedly.
Li Yu felt that Zhao Qian's steps began to become brisk, and he smiled and said: "One more thing, don't call me father in the future, it is best to call me sir."
Xiyuan, Yiluan Hall.
Yi Kuang, Ronglu, Yuan Shikai and other important ministers came to report to Cixi. At the end, Cixi suddenly asked: "The Ai family wants to find another Western tutor for the emperor, but we can't ask for a foreigner. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Teach?" Ronglu was a little confused as to what the Queen Mother meant.
Some time ago, the Queen Mother had just arranged for an English teacher, Yu Deling, to teach the Emperor. Why did she need to find a Western teacher? Has the Queen Mother's attitude towards the Emperor really softened?
Yi Kuang and Yuan Shikai also couldn't figure out what the Queen Mother meant and didn't dare to speak.
Cixi clicked her tongue and continued: "The Ai family are old and can't learn much. But the emperor is young, so he should know something about Western learning. Otherwise, if foreign ministers want to see me, the Qing Emperor, in the future, they don't understand anything. What will happen?
Decency."
It seems that Cixi still regarded Guangxu as a puppet, a complete tool, only used when the situation required it.
Knowing Cixi's attitude, Yi Kuang dared to speak: "I think it is very suitable for me to assist Li Yu, who once served in my house."
"Is that Li Yu who once adjusted the telescope?" Cixi asked.
"Back to the Queen Mother, exactly." Yikuang said.
Cixi nodded slightly: "He is quite suitable. Yuan Shikai, what do you think?"
Yuan Shikai said: "I also asked Li Yu to teach in our Beiyang Army. After a month of contact, I think he is indeed the person who knows the most about Western learning in the Qing Dynasty today."
Cixi said: "The person who knows the most about Western learning? Well! Then it makes sense to teach the emperor."
Ronglu said: "It's just that this Li Yu just won the first place in the entrance examination of the Capital University a few days ago. I don't know if he has time."
Cixi said: "Is there such a thing? It's interesting. Then I must let him teach me! In the past, the Imperial College didn't pay much attention to it. If you inform the university, can they still block this matter?"
Cixi's attitude towards the university did not go beyond the traditional scope.
Yikuang, who knew Li Yu well, added: "It is no small matter to teach the emperor. I am afraid that Li Yu does not understand the rules of the palace, so I think I can ask Zhang Deyi, who has taught English to the emperor, to help."
Cixi didn't care about such specific operational details, "As long as you know what to do." Then she called Li Lianying and said: "Little Lizi, when Li Yu goes to Yingtai to see the emperor in the future, let Eunuch Cui follow him. "
Li Lianying understood in his heart: "Cha!"
Eunuch Cui is Cui Yugui, the second eunuch who accompanied the Empress Dowager for a photo a few days ago. This man is probably most famous for following Cixi's order to drown Concubine Zhen in a well.
Guangxu hated him equally, so it was perfect for him to monitor him.
Cixi's political skills of giving candy and then slapping her were too familiar, and she completely controlled Guangxu in her five-finger mountain.
Guangxu started learning English ten years ago. As the chief teacher of Tongwen School at that time, the imperial court asked Ding Haoliang to introduce two graduates of Tongwen School, Shen Duo and Zhang Deyi, to teach English to the emperor.
Ding Haoliang was also a little strange about this matter. He once said: "If a student has two teachers teaching the same course, I am afraid that there are only emperors of the Qing Dynasty in this world."
In short, starting from 1891, Guangxu had been exposed to English for ten years. Of course, there was a break in the middle.
Guangxu's English academic performance was pretty good, probably similar to that of most middle school students today. Apart from his relatively poor oral English, he was still remarkable in reading and writing.
As for why my spoken English is so poor, the reason is really because of two teachers.
Shen Duo is from Guangdong, while Zhang Deyi is from Liaoning, a place called Tieling. Their accents are really very different.
And although they are both graduates of Tongwen Guan, Zhang Deyi graduated from Tongwen Guan in Beijing, and Shen Duo graduated from Tongwen Guan in Guangzhou.
Even in the 21st century when Mandarin is extremely popular, when a Northeast veteran and a Cantonese handsome guy appear at the same time in a university dormitory, the conversation can be so beautiful, let alone more than a hundred years ago.
Naturally, neither of them had much to say about reading and writing, but they had very different opinions on the issue of pronunciation.
As the chief instructor of Tongwen Museum, Ding Yuliang was responsible for reviewing all English conversation exercises provided to the emperor. He mentioned that Zhang and Shen once complained to him that the other person "corrected his pronunciation of a word" during teaching.
For the court teachers, this kind of mutual correction would damage Guangxu's impression of them, and might even hurt their career.
So after that, the two adopted the "correct" way of doing things: when they heard the emperor's pronunciation was wrong, regardless of whether the mistake had anything to do with another teacher, they remained silent and did not explicitly correct it.
For Guangxu, this silence really damaged his learning effect.
Ding Haoliang wrote helplessly in his diary: "For a long time, their distinguished students were punctual in class, rarely absent from class, and showed considerable intelligence in reading and writing. But his But speaking is terrible. Just imagine when a student makes a mistake and the teacher never dares to correct it, how can he learn well?"
However, Guangxu did not know it and even prepared an English manuscript to give an English speech to ministers from various countries!
Fortunately, it didn't work out in the end, otherwise it would have been really embarrassing.
How do you describe Guangxu's English accent? Anyway, I can't imagine the effect of speaking English that combines the Northeastern accent and the Cantonese accent.
Guangxu's story of learning English was reported by many newspapers at the time. "Shenbao" published a commentary of more than a thousand words, saying that the emperor was so eager to learn that in the future "it will not be difficult for me to have all the so-called skilled people in the West."
Many scholars were inspired and became enthusiastic about learning English. One of them was Kang Youwei.
Even the New York Times solemnly reported the matter in 1892: "His Majesty, the 20-year-old Emperor of the Qing Dynasty (in the Qing Dynasty, the people called him the Emperor), is currently being taught English by two students from the Imperial College in Beijing who have received British and American education.
And this matter was informed to the whole country by an edict issued by Emperor Guangxu. The news that His Majesty the Emperor is learning a foreign language really surprised people here, and they even doubted whether it was true."
The "New York Times" report obviously had some errors. Tongwen Palace was not the Imperial Academy, and Guangxu did not issue an edict to inform the whole country.
It was the eunuch Cui Yugui and the former emperor's English instructor Zhang Deyi who came to tell Li Yu the news with Cixi's decree.
Cui Yugui loudly announced the order: "Li Yu has heard the order. From now on, you will be the emperor's Western studies teacher. You will go to Yingtai to teach regularly. You should do your best and work tirelessly!"
Li Yu was really confused the moment he got the news!
What?
Why are you suddenly teaching Western learning to the emperor!
Unexpectedly, I just lamented De Ling's situation, and I would actually have to go into the palace to teach the emperor. This is not a good job no matter how you think about it! Do you also need to buy some aspirin?
Now that the decree has been issued, it is too late to refuse.
Zhang Deyi smiled and said to Li Yu: "I'm glad to meet you. I, Zhang Deyi, have heard about your deeds a long time ago."
Li Yu was still in a state of confusion and said casually: "Nice to meet you!"
Zhang Deyi added: "Don't worry, I have been an English tutor for the emperor for several years. In fact, the emperor is still very easy to get in touch with."
Guangxu really respected the two teachers, and even sometimes let the two English teachers sit beside him when he was being received by courtiers. This kind of treatment was not bad, after all, Guangxu was not under house arrest at that time.
Moreover, Guangxu was very enthusiastic about Western learning and could be said to be a fanatical fan.
Li Yu could only say: "This is the best."
Seeing Li Yu's reaction, Zhang Deyi was surprised and said: "It is a great thing to serve as the emperor's tutor. Why do you seem so reluctant?"
Li Yu quickly put on a happy face and said: "Good things, good things, of course they are good things. I was just too shocked."
Zhang Deyi said with a smile: "When I first entered the palace to teach, I was in a similar state to you, but I quickly adapted to it. I have read your news in the newspaper. With your knowledge, even the chief teacher praised you, you will definitely become a
An excellent imperial master."
Li Yu can only accept the reality and take it one step at a time.
Although Zhang Deyi is not well-known in later generations, he did create many "firsts" in China.
In 1868, China sent a diplomatic mission to Europe and the United States for the first time, and he served as a translator with the mission;
In 1876, China sent a minister to a foreign country for the first time, and he also served as an interpreter with the minister in the UK.
He was also the first person in China to enter the pyramid.
He was the first to record Western food, the first to record punctuation marks, the first to record the Paris Commune, and the first to record bicycles.
The name "bicycle" was his earliest translation.
The most interesting thing is that he was the first person in China to record condoms. In the works written by Zhang Deyi, he mentioned twice that there was an item called "kidney clothing" outside the country.
When referring to what he saw in France in 1866 in "Navigation Narratives", he wrote: "Wen Ying, there are kidney clothes for sale in France, but I don't know what they are made of. According to clouds, when staying with prostitutes, they would be crowned with the objects in Longyang.
The head should be placed on the head to avoid contracting diseases. A male and a female cannot live in the same room, and even if they get sick, it is not as quick as being naked."
Later, in "European and American Travels·France's Journey to the West", he recorded what he saw when he visited France again: "I heard that foreigners are afraid that having children will be tiring, so they buy a leather or silk cover and put it on the penis.
Even though the phoenix is upside down and the phoenix is upside down, there is no egg left in the chick."
He has realized the two major functions of condoms: prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and family planning.
However, he used Confucianism to seriously attack this kind of violation of human ethics: "The method is indeed wonderful, but Mencius said: There are three types of unfilial piety, and the greatest is not having offspring. It is a pity that these people have not heard of it. It is necessary to advocate it.
If you use this method to kill someone's heir, his crime cannot be punished. The so-called person who created the figurines will have no descendants!"
As an early graduate of Tongwen Hall, even though Zhang Deyi traveled around the world, he only achieved the level of extensive knowledge. Although he was proficient in foreign languages, he did not truly study Western learning in depth.
Zhang Deyi said: "Being a tutor for the emperor requires you to understand many rules, especially at this time."
Li Yu knew what Zhang Deyi meant: "I understand."
Zhang Deyi continued: "You can choose the teaching materials yourself, but you must let the Queen Mother review them first."
Li Yu nodded. Since he was controlling Emperor Guangxu, of course he had to have a rough idea of what Cixi should be like.
Zhang Deyi continued: "The teaching tone must be calm, not too harsh, nor too gentle, and must be persuasive, and the emperor must not be blamed."
Li Yu smiled and said, "I don't dare either."
Zhang Deyi said: "The most important thing is to remember that although we are teachers and students, we are also kings and ministers."
Li Yu understood it, but now Guangxu was no longer a real emperor, and his fate had already been planned in Cixi's mind.
As a student of Ding Weiliang, Zhang Deyi knew that Ding Weiliang valued Li Yu, so he basically explained everything clearly to Li Yu in every detail.
Li Yu was also very grateful to Zhang Deyi. Now that the court is dangerous, it is difficult for someone to explain all the pitfalls to you in advance.
After Zhang Deyi left, Uncle Wang, Zhao Qian and Fengling, who had just moved in, were all shocked.
After all, De Ling was a woman, so the fact that she taught English to the emperor was only known in the court. But when it came to Li Yu, she had no scruples. After all, Li Yu was already a sensation in the European scientific community, and he was said to be the most popular figure in the Qing Dynasty.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with people who understand Western learning.
Fengling had just moved here, and as soon as she entered the door, she saw the eunuch's father-in-law coming to read out the imperial edict, and she was dumbfounded on the spot: "You can't go wrong, right?"
It wasn't until Zhao Qian pulled her to kneel down that he realized that he was not dreaming.
Zhao Qian also exclaimed: "Sir! Oh no, sir! You actually want to be the emperor's master!"
Li Yu waved his hand: "What's all the fuss about."
"How can we not be surprised? To be the emperor's master! What an honor it is!" Uncle Wang said with his eyes shining.
Li Yu didn't feel too honored. Maybe in the future, when people mentioned him, they would be more willing to mention that he had been the tutor of both Wu Peifu and Sun Chuanfang.
Hey, it suddenly makes sense to think about it this way: when later generations mentioned Sun Chuanfang and Wu Peifu, I wonder if they would add that to some extent they and Guangxu were from the same school.
It is estimated that Sun and Wu will definitely publicize this in the future.
When Uncle Wang went to the Qing Teahouse that day, he sat in the middle and boasted loudly: "Everyone, listen up, my master will be the emperor's master from now on!"
Wang Boerlang's legs crossed, but his cross was broken.
Lao Yu and others stared at each other: "Emperor Master?"
It took a while to react:
"Oh, my God! Uncle Wang, please take a puff on my cigarette, I just lit it!"
"Uncle Wang, have some tea!"
"What kind of tea are you talking about? Give Uncle Wang the best Mingqian Gonglong!"
Although Guangxu is a puppet emperor, people still believe that sooner or later he will rule personally and become the real emperor.