Lu Shi didn't expect that he would have to give lectures on a boat.
But he is used to it,
During this period of time when I was a guest at London Political and Economics, I talked about various historical stories and historical analyses.
Lu Shi smiled and said, "Since we are talking about Peter the Great, let's talk about his father."
The jump is a bit big.
Pishkov frowned and recalled for a while, then took over the conversation: "Alexei?"
It is not difficult to see from these words that he indeed understands history.
Because there were two czars between Alexei and Peter I, namely Feodor III and Ivan V, many people who were only literate and did not read were easy to show off.
Lu Shi said: "Like Peter the Great, Alexei also made great achievements. During his reign, he captured Smolensk and was able to control the east of the Dnieper River. This may be more important than Peter I's control of the Baltic Sea."
Pishkov frowned,
"After all, it's still territory. Peter I's achievement lies in Westernization and industrialization."
Lu Shi said: "Wrong. The work of Westernization has already begun during Alexei's time. You should know that Peter the Great grew up in Tsarskoye Selo, and near Tsarskoye Selo there is a foreign immigration area with many Germans in it. skilled worker."
Pishkov was speechless.
As a result, Lu Shi hadn't finished speaking yet.
"And Peter the Great's daughter was no mediocre person either. After Peter the Great's death, the conservatives returned to power and the Baltic Fleet was almost abandoned, while his daughter Elizabeth seized power, retrained the navy and defeated Sweden."
Bernard Shaw reminded: "Mr. Pishkov does not care about territory, only Westernization and industrialization."
Lu Shi continued: "Elizabeth actively participated in the construction of the Russian Academy of Sciences. During her reign, a versatile scientist appeared in Russia, Lomonosov, who was known as the 'Peter the Great in the history of Russian science.'"
The corners of George Bernard Shaw's mouth curved and he turned to Pishkov.
"Sir, do you understand?"
Pishkov couldn't say a word for a long time.
After a while, he finally came to his senses and asked, "Ming...understand what?"
George Bernard Shaw said with a smile: "I know I don't understand the history of my motherland. You said you were so good, why did you provoke Lu? He is our visiting professor at London Political and Economics, and the academic circles call him the 'founder of modern history.'"
A visiting professor at such a young age?
What’s more, he’s the “founder of modern history”?
This title is too bluffing!
Pishkov was stunned.
Lu Shi said: "Great achievements cannot be accomplished by one or two generations. It requires multiple generations of monarchs to work together in the same direction. Peter the Great was great in isolation, but the accumulation of small things to make more things is the characteristic of the Romanov dynasty."
George Bernard Shaw smiled and said, "That's not entirely true. You can live longer."
He was clearly alluding to the current queen.
Lu Shi complained: "The Romanov dynasty has been around for nearly three hundred years. If anyone lives for that long, he will become an old monster."
Old monster?
Bernard Shaw grinned and smiled even more happily.
Seeing the two people arguing, Pishkov couldn't help but ask: "Professor Lu, could it be that you are a supporter of the dictatorship?"
Lu Shi rolled his eyes,
“Who says I support dictatorship?”
Pishkov said: "Then you just wrote a special letter for the Romanov dynasty?"
Lu Shi sighed,
"There are still faint emperors in the Romanov dynasty, such as Peter II, who issued an edict to move the palace back to Moscow. Although St. Petersburg is still the capital of the empire in name, in fact, all administrative orders come from Moscow. This behavior is undoubtedly Give conservatives a platform.”
Pishkov was completely confused and couldn't figure out what the other party was thinking.
Lu Shi saw through his thoughts,
"Mr. Pishkov, don't categorize or label people easily. For example, just now, I said that there are great rulers among the czars. Do you want to judge all Chinese people because of this?"
Pishkov blushed,
Just now, he really wanted to complain that "Chinese people either long for a wise king or an honest official."
Lu Shi chuckled,
"You still have to be objective when looking at things~"
Pishkov said respectfully: "Teach me. I never thought... um... wait! Mr. Xiao just said 'the founder of modern history', could it be that Professor Lu is the author of "Guns, Germs and Steel" author?"
Lu Shi said: "Yes, "Guns, Germs and Steel" is a humble work."
A trace of joy flashed on Pishkov's face, and he looked at Bernard Shaw,
"Then you are the Chancellor of London Political Science and Economics, Mr. Xiao?"
George Bernard Shaw smiled, a bit relying on his elders to teach: "It is a good thing for young people to have ideas and enterprising spirit, but they must not get into trouble. If you fall into a bag and cannot get out, not only will you not be able to achieve anything, but you will easily hurt yourself."
Pishkov is in his thirties and can indeed be called a "young man" by George Bernard Shaw.
He said: "But... alas..."
A long sigh.
Bernard Shaw saw that the other party lowered his head in deep thought, probably still thinking about the conversation just now.
He winked at Lu Shi.
For the two of them, Pishkov's intrusion was like an episode. A few words were okay, but in-depth communication was fine.
None of them wanted to say more.
Lu Shi took the opportunity to say: "We are about to pass by the White Cliffs of Dover at a close distance. Let's go up to the deck on the other side and take a look. If we are lucky enough, we might be able to see the rock wall of the White Cliffs sliding down. It must be very special. Spectacular.”
Bernard Shaw echoed:
"good."
After the two said this, they prepared to leave.
Seeing that they were about to leave, Pishkov was a little reluctant. He hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Professor Lu, Mr. Xiao, I am the person in charge of Knowledge Publishing House. I wonder if you two have time next?"
Bernard Shaw paused slightly, as if he had thought of something.
Lu Shi was curious,
"Have you ever heard of Knowledge Press?"
George Bernard Shaw replied: "You should know that Russia is not peaceful recently."
Lu Shi touched his chin,
"Is there any peaceful place in the world?"
George Bernard Shaw laughed loudly and said: "Indeed not! However, the unrest in Tsarist Russia is different from other places. A revolution is brewing~"
As he said that, Bernard Shaw glanced at Pishkov and lowered his voice: "If I remember correctly, Knowledge Publishing House is one of several 'vanguard armies'. Through publishing series, it has united a large number of people with democratic ideas. A writer with a liberal tendency."
Lu Shi was curious,
"What's the name of the series?"
George Bernard Shaw smiled and said: "It's called "Knowledge"."
Lu Shi was suddenly startled,
He turned around and stared at Pishkov's face.
Gradually, this face overlapped with an oil painting in the textbook.
Lu Shi carefully asked in Russian: "Maxim Gorky?"
Pishkov blushed instantly,
"You know me?"
It really is!
"hiss……"
Lu Shi couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
No wonder I didn’t recognize it just now. It turned out to be because the pictures I had seen were all oil paintings, which were a bit more abstract than real people.
George Bernard Shaw asked Gorky: "Young man, your face is so red, are you nervous?"
Gorky's face turned redder and redder.
Two reasons,
First, excitement,
It was an honor for him to be known to the founder of modern history;
Second, I’m sorry,
Gorky is his pen name, which means "the greatest pain" in Russian.
This pen name is full of power on paper, but if it is said in person, especially by a foreigner in Russian, it will sound awkward.
Gorky whispered: "I didn't expect Professor Lu to know me."
Lu Shi nodded,
"Yeah, I didn't expect that either."
As he spoke, he rubbed his temples and murmured in his heart,
This world is too small!
Bernard Shaw said: "I have read Mr. Gorky's "Essays and Short Stories", and I especially like "Eagle Song", which is very good."
"Collection of Essays and Short Stories" is Gorky's first collection of works. Although there are only two volumes, Gorky has since become famous in Russian and European literary circles.
Gorky was about to speak but stopped.
He wanted Bernard Shaw and Lu Shi to call him by his real name, but in the end he held back.
If you communicate in person, you can use a pseudonym.
Although it's a bit of a chuunibyou.
Gorky saluted Shaw,
"It is an honor for me that Mr. Xiao has read my work."
Bernard Shaw waved his hand and said, "No wonder you just said you were a Russian, but you didn't want to say Russia. It turned out to be because you were dissatisfied with the Tsar."
Of course Gorky would be dissatisfied with the Tsar;
Those who have watched "In the World" should know that he started to make a living independently at the age of 10, and worked as an apprentice, porter, janitor, and baker. He came from an absolutely low-level background. It is no wonder that he joined the revolutionary wave.
Gorky sighed,
"However, Professor Lu seems to have different views than mine."
Bernard Shaw raised his eyebrows slightly,
Without waiting for Lu Shi to speak, he took the initiative to come to the rescue and said: "Mr. Gorky, I just said that you'd better not get into trouble. Let's just talk about Peter the Great. Without his Westernization reforms, what would the literacy rate of your country be? From this perspective, he also helped you promote the revolution~"
Gorky could not refute this.
Seeing his embarrassment, Lu Shi changed the subject and said, "Isn't Mr. Gorky running a publishing house in Russia? Why do you want to come to England?"
Gorky replied: "Because of a speech given by a professor at Cambridge University."
He took out the magazine he carried with him,
"here."
Lu Shi and Bernard Shaw looked at the opened page and couldn't help but look at each other.
It's actually "I Have a Dream."
Bernard Shaw coughed slightly,
"That's not the work of a Cambridge professor."
Gorky was a little confused.
"no?"
He looked at the magazine again and asked, "Isn't this the on-campus publication of Cambridge University?"
George Bernard Shaw sighed and complained to Lu Shi: "I have always known that the influence of the London University Alliance Press overseas is far less than that of Cambridge Press, but when it comes to it, I am still unhappy."
Lu Shi comforted: "It doesn't matter, things will get better when the Mirror starts."
What UCL Press?
What Mirror?
…
Listening to the unintelligible conversation, Gorky's eyes wandered back and forth between the two people.
It looked like watching a table tennis match.
Bernard Shaw said: "Mr. Gorky, you came to England to visit Cambridge University and request that this speech be published in Knowledge?"
Gorky nodded,
"That's right. Is there any more inspiring article about equality and democracy than this speech? Fortunately, the professor at Cambridge University has an international spirit. I didn't even meet the speaker himself, and he agreed to my request for printing. It's really A person is like his writing.”
Lu Shi coughed lightly,
"I did not ask for copyright in this speech."
Gorky bowed to Lu Shi,
"Thanks……!?????"
He bowed halfway and stood up suddenly, almost shaking his waist.
Lu Shi pointed at the magazine,
"That name, Lu, is me."
Gorky stared at Lu Shi like a god, his whole body in a state of shock.
Bernard Shaw on the side said: "You may not know that Lu, like Mr. Tolstoy and Mr. Maupassant, satirizes everyone. His play "Yes! Prime Minister" is popular among almost all London citizens."
This is a bit much to say,
Lu Shi didn't dare to compare with those two.
He hurriedly said: "It's different, it's different. Although they are all satires, "Resurrection" and "Ball of Suif" are heart-wrenching, and "Yes! Prime Minister" is kidney-wrenching."
Bernard Shaw was inspired by "Yes!" Prime Minister", understand the difference between heart and kidney:
Yangchun Baixue VS Lower Riba People;
Aftertaste VS immediate stimulation.
But not Gorky.
"Well... what is 'kidney removal'?"
After asking, he awkwardly twirled his beard with his fingers and said, "I heard that there are two popular new dramas in London, "Roman Holiday" and "Yes! Prime Minister", but I was pressed for time and didn't go to see them."
Bernard Shaw looked at Lu Shi,
"How about you give me an example of kidney transplantation?"
Lu Shi said: "'Yes! Prime Minister' is full of British political satire. It's hard to give examples."
He turned to Gorky,
"Didn't we talk about Napoleon when we were talking about "Resurrection"? I have a satirical joke about his restoration. Do you want to hear it?"
Gorky looked like he was all ears.
"You say."
Lu Shi said:
"
When Napoleon was restored, he led his army gradually closer to Paris. At that time, Paris newspapers reported this:
"Monsters from Corsica Land in Port Joan";
"The unspeakable man-eating devil approaches Grasse";
"The Despicable Thief Enters Grenoble";
"Napoleon Bonaparte Occupies Lyon";
"General Bonaparte Approaches Fontainebleau";
"His Majesty the Sovereign Emperor arrived today in his faithful Paris."
"
Gorky laughed loudly,
A simple example is enough to illustrate what "kidney removal" means.
He asked: "Is this true?"
Lu Shi pondered,
"It may not be true. However, these news should have prototypes. For example, "Napoleon Bonaparte Occupies Lyon" and "General Bonaparte Approaches Fontainebleau". You should be able to notice that I am reading 'Paul' Nabal' is pronounced slightly differently."
Gorky was embarrassed,
"To be honest, I didn't hear it."
Lu Shi explained: "The former is 'Buonaparte', which is half French and half Corsican, with a color that is not from my ethnic group, while the latter is 'Bonaparte', which is purely French spelling."
Bernard Shaw on the side was very touched after hearing this.
"No wonder he was able to write "Yes! Prime Minister", even such small details were noticed. From Lyon to Fontainebleau, the media also became submissive, and the spelling of the surname changed in line with the change from derogation to respect. dramatic."
Gorky nodded repeatedly,
I didn’t expect that Professor Lu is good at drama, speech, and history. He is so versatile.
He sincerely praised: "This is our style."
(End of chapter)
