Li Yu had previously met a person who was interested in setting up a civilian power company - Jiang Shixuan. At that time, Li Yu built the telegraph line to the door of his house, which was completed by him. This time, it happened to be him too.
Who knows that there are too few people who know about electricity in Beijing now. Jiang Shixuan remembered Li Yu, and this time he came to know Li Yu's name completely: "Mr. Emperor, it turns out that your house is connected to the electric wire!" Li Yu asked: "Are there very few people using electricity now?" Jiang Shixuan said: "That's not possible either. It is said that there are very few, after all, since Prince Qing and Rong Zhongtang used electric lights in their houses, officials who have seen them have asked a lot." Nowadays, the only people in Beijing who can afford electric lights are those officials and wealthy households.
However, there are not many officials in the capital. The large and small royal palaces, Baylor Mansion, and the residences of officials at all levels all have at least nearly 10,000 electric lights. Although the number sounds small, at this time It's also a good piece of meat.
If the civil power company does not eat this piece of meat, Germany's Siemens will bite it sooner or later. The dignitaries also know how to choose. They already know that German products are good, so it is really difficult to compete head-on.
Therefore, we can only take advantage of the hatred between the government and the public and the people towards the great powers after the Gengzi national disaster and quickly spread the word. Li Yu said: "Last time I remember you said you wanted to provide power to people's houses. How is the progress?" Jiang Shixuan said: "I have worked in a foreign company for many years and I have figured out the general principles, but now I lack funds to purchase generator sets. Li Yu thought for a while and asked, "How much money is missing?" Jiang Shixuan said, "There are still about 20,000 taels of holes." Li Yu thought about it,
"I can buy shares." Jiang Shixuan had long felt that Li Yu could be the emperor's master, so he was definitely not short of money, but now officials are afraid to invest in these industries.
"The Emperor is truly a visionary!" Jiang Shixuan said happily. It's just that Li Yu didn't get his money from greed.
Li Yu knew that Jiang Shixuan was a very upright person, otherwise he would not have dared to impeach Yi Kuang, the most important official in the dynasty, and ended up being dismissed from office.
Jiang Shixuan was also a Jinshi, and his official position was to patrol the city as censor. He once proposed the establishment of a national bank with a principal of 4 million taels of silver.
100 taels per share, a total of 40,000 shares, of which 20,000 shares were subscribed by the Ministry of Accounts, and the other 20,000 shares were raised by public and private investors.
Jiang Shixuan knew that businessmen did not trust the government and there were very few people who responded, so he proposed to let the powerful and powerful take the lead in buying shares to attract businessmen to buy shares to prevent the national bank from collapsing.
The imperial court indeed ordered that princes and nobles should be the first to deposit their money in national banks and not in foreign banks.
However, Jiang Shixuan heard from the accountant of HSBC that Prince Qing Yikuang had at least 1.2 million taels of silver in HSBC, so he petitioned for impeachment.
But how could he defeat Yi Kuang? The Qing government could not ignore the imperial censor's memorial and pretended to send someone to HSBC to check. Naturally, the result was that there was no such certificate.
So the Qing court said that he had slandered the ministers without any basis and ordered him to be dismissed from the post of censor. In fact, he did not understand the rules of foreign banks.
Yi Kuang is a big customer, and HSBC will definitely not disclose customer information. The accountant estimated that this was just to attract customers.
Because although Yi Kuang is not very capable, he is really obsessed with money. Even if he wants to save money, he will not do it by himself.
In addition, the investigators sent by the Qing court were just perfunctory, and they were even less likely to ask questions. Fortunately, although Jiang Shixuan was dismissed from office, he was not discouraged. He put aside his status as a Jinshi and started a business in a down-to-earth manner.
And Yi Kuang is quite interesting, he doesn't hold grudges very much, and the impeachment will be over. However, Li Yu knew that Jiang Shixuan was going to co-found this restaurant.
Although the name of "Huashang Electric Power Company" is unremarkable, it almost monopolized the power supply in Beijing except Dongjiaomin Lane in the following decades, and then slowly developed into the largest power plant in North China.
Moreover, it survived into later generations, and its name was changed to State Grid Beijing Electric Power Company. It can be said to be a small giant state-owned enterprise.
The more the times develop, the brighter the prospects for electric power companies. Jiang Shixuan said: "Tomorrow I will ask Mr. Feng Shu to come to you in person. He is worried about the money." Li Yu said: "It's easy to talk." That day, the lights were turned on in Li Yu's house, and there were also bright lights in the yard. The arc lamp finally has a bit more modern flavor.
Zhao Qian saw how novel this thing was: "Sir, if others don't know this, they might think that foreigners live here when they pass by." Li Yu smiled and said, "It's not like only foreigners can use electric lights." Li Yu Electric lights were installed in every room, including where Uncle Wang and Zhao Qian lived.
Uncle Wang was also very happy: "This is a good idea. I will be able to work at night in the future." Zhao Qian said: "In the past, people who were working in the dark could never be seen, but it will be better from now on!" Fengling said disdainfully: "I don't want to see you. ." The next day, Feng Shuzhen and Jiang Shixuan came to visit.
Feng Shu was the general manager of Huashang Electric Power Company after its establishment, and he was also in charge of financing matters.
Feng Shu was also a Jinshi, and the first electric power company in Beijing was considered a company with talented students. He was also a collector and calligrapher, and most of the plaques in Liulichang stores were written by him.
The saying "No plaque, no forgiveness". Feng Shu came in and clasped his fists and said: "Mr. Imperial Master, I have admired you for a long time!" Li Yu said: "Please sit down quickly." Feng Shu said gratefully: "The most troublesome test is unexpectedly passed by you. Don't you know that I have to do this for you?" Eighty thousand taels of silver is a lot of trouble." Eighty thousand taels of silver is not much to build a power company, but at present not many people can foresee the future of electricity, and the dignitaries are only greedy for money and do not know how to invest.
Li Yu said: "I am somewhat selfish. If I set up a laboratory in Beijing in the future, I hope to be able to supply stable electricity." Li Yu knew that for a long time, in addition to some wealthy households, many residential buildings in Beijing The power supply is not good, there is a lack of transformers and other equipment, and the voltage in many houses is unstable and the lights are dim.
Many people even call it
"Dark company" means that although electric lights are installed, candles are always relied on for emergencies. Feng Shu said: "You will be the major shareholder in the future, and of course we will protect your needs. Is the laboratory just a place for scientific research?" Li Yu nodded: "That's right." Feng Shu said seriously: "I respect education. Don't worry, Master, if your place loses power for even one day in the future, I will come to apologize." Since then, Yanjing University and Tsinghua University have also been supplied with electricity by Huashang Electric Power Company.
Due to the high price of electricity, only wealthy universities like this can provide stable power supply around the clock. Li Yu intended to set up a test center in Beijing and Shanghai, and then establish primary and secondary schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Wuhan, Guangzhou and other places.
As for the university, it is safer to place it in Shanghai. Not only is it safe, but most importantly, not only is the concession area in Shanghai large at this time, but the corresponding urban construction area is also large, so there are naturally many places where you can buy land.
The development of Tianjin will take more than ten years, which is too long to wait. Xie Yuxi completed the formalities in Tianjin, and the next step is to go to Shanghai to purchase another piece of land.
Housing prices in Shanghai have risen so horribly, the sooner you buy, the better. As soon as they arrived in Shanghai, they encountered a vigorous anti-Russian movement.
In fact, there were signs of rejecting Russia as early as two years ago, but later the "Xinchou Treaty" was signed and the compensation of 450 million taels shocked the country, and the matter was suppressed for the time being.
The recent death of Shen Xun has brought out the issue of Tsarist Russia again, and everyone really can't do it anymore. After the two arrived in Shanghai, Li Yu first found Hartong and asked Xie Yuxi to discuss the land purchase with him, while he set off to Zhang Yuan to check out the situation.
Maybe it can save two young lives written in textbooks. This Zhang Yuan is not the Tianjin Zhang Yuan who later became very famous.
Zhang Garden in Shanghai has a relatively short history, but it was the largest public activity space in Shanghai in the late Qing Dynasty. The most outstanding thing about Zhang Garden is that it is often used as a place for gatherings and speeches from all walks of life.
Since Zhang Garden was located in the public concession of Shanghai, the Qing government had no right to intervene, so various political rallies and speeches were mostly held in Zhang Garden.
Zhang Yuan is now the center of Shanghai's anti-Russian movement. The Shanghai Chinese Education Association, the Patriotic Society and the general public are holding an anti-Russian meeting in Zhangyuan.
Since the last strike at Nanyang Public School, Cai Yuanpei organized the Patriotic Society to take in students.
Judging by their names, you can tell that they are all young and energetic people. The main organizers today are also Cai Yuanpei and people from the Patriotic Society.
Before that, they had directly sent a telegram to Russia and the Qing court: "Even if the government agrees, the people of our country will never recognize it. If the people's sentiments change drastically from now on, and hatred against foreigners is seen everywhere in the country, it will be caused by Russia and has nothing to do with our country. involved".
Cai Yuanpei delivered a speech first, and then read the calls from Japanese students. Japan is also standing at the moment
On the side of "rejecting Russia", their ambition is to replace Tsarist Russia and invade the Northeast. Among the anti-Russian volunteer team organized by Japanese students, there is also Chen Tianhua, the author of "Meng Huitou" and "Warning Bell".
At this time, Chen Tianhua was studying at Hongfu Academy of Kano Jigoro, so he and Lu Xun were also classmates. When Cai Yuanpei read
When "Russia's disaster is getting urgent, students studying in Japan have sent a telegram to ask the ministers of Beiyang and Nanyang to take charge of the battle and form a volunteer team to go to the enemy. We hope to help", the crowd below was immediately ignited.
Many people came to the stage to speak. Among them was Zou Rong, who returned to Shanghai for the first time when he was only 18 years old. He walked up to the podium and said passionately: "Tsarist Russia has occupied our northeast and destroyed our country. The life and death of the Chinese nation is at stake. My parents, uncles, brothers and sisters will be human from now on." Slave. How can an enthusiastic patriotic man endure this! A man would rather be a ghost of the subjugated country than a subjugated person! China is the China of the Chinese, how can it be allowed to be occupied by Tsarist Russia! I am willing to meet the heroes of China and drive out the Russian barbarians. , Give me back my country!" After that, dozens of people came to the stage to give speeches: "The head can be cut off, the blood can flow, and the body can be rotten. This patriotism, even if it is blasted and shattered by the bullets of thousands of cannons and tens of thousands of guns, will eventually be destroyed. It cannot be destroyed!”
"I would rather be a ghost who has subjugated the country than a person who has subjugated the country." With the excitement among the crowd, everyone finally decided to learn from the Japanese students who established
Cai Yuanpei and Zhang Shizhao also joined the "Russian Resistance Volunteer Team". They cut their hair short and had to practice every day to express their willingness.
"To serve as a lead for artillery and arouse the iron-blooded integrity of the people." Everyone was so enthusiastic. Although Li Yu knew that there would be no results in the end, because Tsarist Russia would be defeated by the Japanese in less than two years, he was still in an excited mood at the venue.
After everyone gradually dispersed, he could come to Cai Yuanpei's side.
"Wow, it's Mr. Li Yu!" Cai Yuanpei said,
"when did you come?"
"Just arrived today." Li Yu said. Cai Yuanpei said: "I have already read the introductory textbooks on various science subjects that you entrusted the Commercial Press to publish. They are really wonderful." Li Yu was not in the mood to talk about textbooks for the moment, so he called out to Zou Rong who was about to leave: "Classmate Zou! "Zou Rong had just returned from studying in Japan, and he was Zhang Taiyan's close friend, so he had naturally heard of Li Yu's name.
"Mr. Li Yu! It's such an honor to meet you!" Li Yu asked, "Looking at how hurried you are, where are you going?" Zou Rong said, "I'm going to jail."
"Jail?" Li Yu asked in surprise. Zou Rong said: "Mr. Taiyan is in prison. I want to go to prison with him and share the joys and sorrows." Li Yu frowned, and Zou Rong died like this.
He is too young now and is not afraid of anything. There is no other way, we must find a way to stop him. So Li Yu said, "I'll go with you." When Li Yu said this, Cai Yuanpei became a little anxious: "Sir, who are you?" Li Yu said, "I'm going to see Mr. Taiyan. My name is Taiyan." It was taken by my husband. Unfortunately, he is now in prison. He should visit him no matter what." Cai Yuanpei said: "Okay, then I will go too!" Zhang Taiyan was imprisoned in Tilanqiao Prison in the Shanghai Public Concession.
In fact, the concession also knew that Zhang Taiyan was a celebrity, and other than the regular eight-hour workday, they would not torture him.
After getting permission to visit the prison, Zou Rong immediately rushed in and cried through the iron fence: "Brother Zhang, you are suffering!" Zhang Taiyan smiled and said: "It's not painful, I even feel very peaceful." Zou Rong said: " From today on, I will accompany you to jail!" Zhang Taiyan laughed and scolded: "Don't be joking, there is no fool in the world who would throw himself into a trap." Zou Rong took out "Revolutionary Army" and said, "I have already written it. Show me again." Zhang Taiyan praised: "At such a young age, with such great ambitions, it is a joy in life for me to make friends with you, my little brother." Li Yuxiao learned that Zou Rong had been in prison for two years, and later His body became weaker and weaker, and he even fell ill. Only when his condition became very serious was he allowed to be released from prison for medical treatment.
The doctor prescribed medicine, and Zou Rong returned to prison and took the medicine. He died in the middle of the night, vomiting blood when he died. People once suspected that he had been poisoned.
However, these have become doubtful in history and cannot be verified. But now that he is here alive, we can't really let him go to jail.
Li Yu said: "Brother Zou has not yet completed his studies. I think you have more valuable things to do." But Zou Rong said: "I can learn a lot by staying with Mr. Taiyan in prison." Zhang Taiyan also said I think what Li Yu said makes sense: "This is not a school. You have to work every day. Your studies in Japan have not been completed, so your studies are still the most important thing." Zou Rong said: "I am afraid that you will be... by them Persecution!" Zhang Taiyan smiled and said: "This is not a prison of the Ministry of Punishment, it won't happen." Li Yu also urged: "If you want to accompany Mr. Taiyan to jail, you can, but at least you can get your graduation certificate first, or you can get it outside. With the volunteer team and so many things to do, he must be afraid of his studies as well as swords and guns, right?" Li Yu wanted to inspire him, he was a young man after all.
Of course Zhang Taiyan was sensible and would definitely not want an 18-year-old young man to accompany him to jail. He said: "Shu is the one with great talent. You heard him right. Although I am in prison, I can see the news. You I know everything you do outside." Zou Rong said bitterly: "You don't want me to be here?" Zhang Taiyan laughed loudly: "If you are outside the prison, you can come to visit the prison from time to time. The food in the prison is not good. I'm also very happy if you can bring me some roast chicken and wine." The two of them fought each other, and Zou Rong finally gave up the idea of going to jail together: "Then I will definitely visit you often!" Zhang Taiyan said: "That's right Really!" The court in the concession was actually not very willing to deal with the Su Bao matter. If the Qing court had not insisted on being the plaintiff, Zhang Taiyan would not have been imprisoned for long.
So if Zou Rong didn't throw himself into a trap, no one in the concession would catch him. After all, Tilanqiao Prison was just built not long ago and has not yet been expanded to the size of the largest prison in the Far East in later generations. Now there are not many empty cells to hold a few people who are just writing pens.
In short, let him stay outside first, and then try to find a way for him to vent his youthful energy.
