February 18th.
Riku Toki and Natsume Soseki both got up early because they had to catch the train.
The two packed up their things and rushed to King's Cross Station.
Those who have read "Harry Potter" should have an impression of this landmark station.
In fact, it was opened as early as 1852. It is located in the King's Cross area in central London, connecting many large cities, such as Cambridge, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow...
Natsume Soseki was a little excited when he took a train in London for the first time.
"What platform are we at?"
Lu Shi looked at the tickets,
"The third stop is from London to Birmingham, Cambridge is the first stop."
They looked over,
The front of the steam train was dark red, and there were signs hanging on the outside of each carriage, reading:
London-Birmingham,
8:35am.
Thick smoke billowed from the locomotive's chimney, blocking the sky.
Natsume Soseki looked around,
"Strange, why are there so few people?"
Lu Shi said: "Probably because today is Sunday, so few people would choose to travel far at this time."
In fact, it’s not that far from London to Birmingham.
But at the beginning of the 20th century, this distance should not be underestimated.
Natsume Soseki said: "Cambridge University really gives you face by letting you give a speech to students on Sunday."
Lu Shi responded to the open letter in the Manchester Guardian,
After that, Cavendish personally visited and agreed on the time and location of the speech, which was at King's College, Cambridge University.
As for the content of the speech, there is no specific agreement.
Cavendish followed the advice of James and other literature professors and decided to give Lu Shi the freedom to fully develop.
Natsume Soseki joked: "Lu, do you and Cambridge University have an unmatched peace?"
Lu Shi was amused,
"We published an open letter in the newspaper and kept flirting with each other for a long time. How can we call it a peace without a mediator? If there is a peace, there should be a mediator."
The two got on the train while chatting.
Natsume Soseki sighed,
"The trains in London are so good, they all have private compartments."
Lu Shi said "hmm",
Whether it is the Qing Dynasty or Japan, only the first few trains have private rooms, and the rear cars have simple seats, and tickets are not sold in equal numbers on a one-to-one basis. As a result, many passengers can only stand when they get on the train.
In comparison, Daying is indeed "extravagant".
The two of them chose a private room,
As observed before, there were not many people on this train, not even the first carriage was full.
At this time, there was a sudden noise outside the train.
Looking outside the window, you can see groups of young students walking towards the train in an indistinct manner.
Lu Shi couldn't help but frown. He always felt that some faces were very familiar, so he listened attentively to the conversation of the students.
Someone asked: "Do you think Professor Lu will really join Cambridge?"
This question stirred up a thousand waves with one stone.
The students responded in a flurry of responses:
"impossible!"
"How could a person as humble and cautious as Professor Lu go to Cambridge?"
"I believe in Professor Lu's character."
"Don't talk about character, just talk about interests. Have you forgotten that Professor Lu has his own project in London Political Economics?"
"But wouldn't it be easier to do that project in Cambridge? Cambridge also has its own publishing house."
…
This last sentence hit the students' weak spot.
Everyone was silent.
Lu Shi whispered: "Those students seem to be from the London University Alliance."
Natsume Soseki was confused.
"ah?"
He stood on tiptoe and looked out from the window, looking at the endless queue, and asked in surprise: "Why are there so many people?"
Looking at that posture, it feels like it can’t fit even a train.
By this time, the leading students had already begun to board the train.
Various discussions began to arise.
Lu Shi quickly closed the door.
The students, on the other hand, were very smart and kept the box door open after taking their seats, so that they could communicate "across the air".
One student said: "I really want to thank the principal for providing the wallet and train to send us to Cambridge."
Someone immediately echoed: "And there are three whole trains included. Mr. Xiao and Earl Kimberly have already set off ahead of us. They should be the previous shift."
Lu Shi:......
Natsume Soseki:......
One of them is a visiting professor of London Political Science and Economics, and the other is a student at University College London, but they have never heard of this incident.
Lu Shi asked: "Didn't Professor Smith tell you?"
Natsume Soseki shook his head, and then asked: "Mr. Xiao didn't say anything either?"
They looked at each other.
The students stopped discussing the chartered bus and instead brought the topic to Lu Shi's works.
Someone said: "Have you read the article "A Brief Discussion on Narrative Conspiracy and Mystery Works"? It is really wonderful! I used up a whole bottle of ink just taking notes and writing analysis, but I still feel that the research is not thorough. .”
The words immediately resonated with others.
Someone replied: "Komen, you have studied so carefully, do you want to write a reasoning?"
Koeman chuckled,
"What do you know? Even if you don't write, you can't take notes? Don't you think Professor Lu's article looks like a thesis?"
These words caused everyone to think deeply.
Many modern institutions of higher learning offer Academic Writing, also known as “academic writing.”
This course can teach students how to write a paper systematically and logically, such as citations, annotations, literature references, literature reviews, proposal reports, abstracts, etc.
(Many domestic universities do not do this well. They only require students to write essays but do not teach students how to write them.)
Of course, there was no such class in Britain in 1901.
When people write papers, they often use a hammer here and a stick here and there. The correlation between the chapters is not strong.
Only a true academic master who has written many papers can become perfect with practice.
There was silence for a while,
Someone said: "Koeman, lend me your notes. Don't worry, I will return them to you tonight... no, I will give them back to you before I get off the train."
Koeman chuckled,
"No, no, I still have to do my own research~"
His classmates said in unison: "Stingy!"
Koeman is dissatisfied;
"You are still not serious about your studies. We, Professor Lu, have real things. You think that if you don't write in the future, you won't study the book review carefully, but you didn't notice that the structure of the book review itself is a good essay example. Can you blame me? "
A group of students were making a lot of noise.
Natsume Soseki poked Lu Shi in the waist with his elbow.
"They're talking about your article."
Lu Shi scratched his head,
He himself did not expect that "A Brief Discussion of Narrative Trickery and Mystery Works" could be considered an excellent essay example.
It can only be said that as a time traveler, some things are indeed advanced, and because of unconsciousness, clues will be revealed in a subtle way.
Lu Shi could only say: "I don't want to plant willows to make shade."
This is very Versailles.
Natsume Soseki was speechless for a while.
The two continued to listen to the students discussing various topics.
At first, they only framed the content on Lu Shi, but then it spread out, from the Anglo-Boer War to today's Prime Minister Cecil, to Queen Victoria,
There are also various hotly discussed topics,
women's suffrage,
conscription system,
…
Listening to them discuss it all the way is not boring.
Finally, the train arrived at Cambridge Station.
Rishi stopped Natsume Soseki who was about to open the box door and said, "Wait until the students get off the car first to avoid embarrassment."
Natsume Soseki understood.
The two waited for the others to leave, and the conductor began to inspect each car before getting off the train.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped onto the platform, they were stopped by two groups of people.
This group of people was led by Cavendish, followed by more than a dozen professors from Cambridge University, all dressed as gentlemen and looking very elegant;
The other group was led by Wodehouse and Bernard Shaw.
Behind him, hundreds of students formed a huge welcoming team.
Just listen to the sound of "pop——",
Someone among the students opened a banner that read: "Warmly welcome Professor Lu!"
Cavendish's face was as black as ink,
This is so special. Isn’t Cambridge’s home court after all? ?
(End of chapter)
