In fact, Zeppelin actually contacted Li Yu, but no specific technical details were discussed. Count Zeppelin only mentioned the copyright issue in the telegram because he wanted to use Li Yu's Star Wars series as a poster and publish it in newspapers to promote his airship business.
Although Li Yu knew that airships were not a long-term solution, he did not object to him because the development of the technology tree was spreading.
Moreover, Li Yu took the initiative to reply and discussed with him the relationship between power and passenger capacity, the relationship between flight angle and wind direction, and other specific technical details.
Because he thought of a damaging move, but it was a damaging move against the Japanese.
Since I won't join the military or politics, I can help Japan a little bit on the technology tree.
Japan does not have as much funding for scientific research as Germany.
Before World War I, only a few European countries and the United States had a lot of spare money for scientific research. Although the United States is richer, it cannot even match the scientific research investment of several European countries.
Those who have invested the most are Britain, Germany and France, especially Germany, a super technology maniac.
It is precisely because of Germany's heavy investment in science and humanities that the British academic community, which has always been very arrogant, recognizes Germany as an advanced country.
But compared with them, Japan is now more like a "developing country". Moreover, Japanese people like to be careful with their budgets and want to spend every penny wisely, so their investment in scientific research is very limited. We must also strive to be steady, accurate and ruthless.
This is a wrong strategy in the first place, because it is difficult to achieve big strides in science and technology. It must require long-term investment and breakthroughs little by little.
Money is wasted in the process.
If we can find a way to make Japan take more detours in scientific research and consume their time and money, the impact on Japan's national strength will be considerable.
As we all know, Japan has always liked to gamble, and it is betting on the fate of the country, just like stud.
Every war is fought with the intention of turning a pheasant into a phoenix if it wins, and destroying it if it loses.
Regardless of the Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War, Japan's domestic wartime financial pressure was extremely high. However, Japan blocked these top-secret information very well, so the Qing government never knew about it. If we had held on a little longer, we still wouldn't have been able to defeat Japan, but at least we would have had a lot more bargaining chips on the negotiating table, and we could have saved tens of millions of taels of silver.
Including the intervention of the three countries and the return of Liao Dynasty, the Treaty of Shimonoseki resulted in a total compensation of 230 million taels, equivalent to approximately 70 billion to 120 billion RMB in later generations, most of which was used for military construction.
It's impossible to get the money out of their mouths, but you can let them turn part of the money into nothing.
That's why Li Yucai was not afraid of Konoe Aki taking a peek at the airship's technical information. He even wanted the Japanese to know more about it.
Maybe the Japanese will have to thank Li Yu at that time.
Li Yu knew that there were not many people studying aviation in Japan in the early twentieth century, so he could take as many as he could.
The Japanese must feel what it means to suppress IQ for a century.
——
The next day, Yuan Shikai went to Xiyuan to submit the memorial.
Cixi opened it and took a look, knowing that it was about the abolition of the imperial examination, and suddenly felt a headache.
This is not just as simple as ancestral family law. It is really tangled for her to decide to abolish a system that has lasted for more than a thousand years.
Cixi said to him: "I remember that there was such a report last year. Didn't it say that the new learning should be implemented together with the imperial examination, and it should be tested for a few years first?"
Yuan Shikai replied: "Empress Dowager, the current situation is that if the imperial examination is not abolished, the school will not be able to prosper. Scholars will never have real knowledge, and the country will never have people to save the times; China will never be prosperous and powerful. We cannot compete with each other."
Cixi said: "Is it as serious as you said? I've been here for so many years."
Yuan Shikai said: "The matter is urgent, and the results of Japan's implementation of new education are at hand."
The most determined people in the imperial court to abolish the imperial examination were Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong. Last year, they jointly submitted a letter.
Yuan Shikai, in particular, was the most active in abolishing the imperial examination. Because he had suffered many setbacks on his way to the imperial examination, and later he simply abandoned literature and joined the martial arts, and he had never had a good impression of the imperial examination. In the process of pursuing Westernization and the New Deal, I gained a lot of understanding of new Western schools.
Moreover, in terms of practical benefits, abolition of the imperial examinations also had many benefits for Yuan Shikai: after the abolition of the imperial examinations, he had a large number of Beiyang people who came from new schools, which could just be used to obtain more political benefits.
The joint petition by the two powerful governors attracted the attention of the DPRK and China.
In the newly established academic department, the two ministers of management, Zhang Baixi and Rongqing, both supported the abolition of the imperial examination.
In the Military Aircraft Department, Ronglu, the former chief military minister, firmly opposed the abolition of the imperial examination. Because in Ronglu's view, he was not from the imperial examination. If he supported the abolition of the imperial examination, it would give people an excuse and think that it was mixed with personal feelings.
On the side of Ronglu and opposed to the abolition of the imperial examination was Wang Wenshao, the military minister.
The other two military ministers, Qu Hongji and Sun Jiaunai, agreed to abolish the imperial examination.
After Ronglu's death, Prince Qing Yikuang was appointed as the chief military minister.
Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong immediately saw that Yi Kuang was an amiable person with no prejudices. Although he would not publicly support the abolition of the imperial examination, he would not stand in the way.
Therefore, among the high officials in the court, only the Minister of Military and Aircraft Wang Wenshao was opposed to the abolition of the imperial examination.
Ci Xi looked at Yi Kuang, who was squinting at the side: "Yik Kuang, what do you think?"
Yi Kuang, an old trickster, immediately replied: "It all depends on the Queen Mother's wise decision."
"Tsk! Yikuang, you can help the Ai family come up with an idea." Cixi said.
Yikuang had no choice but to say: "This is a serious matter, and I think we should hold a meeting to discuss it first."
He doesn't have the courage to make such a big decision.
Cixi just didn't want to express her position right now, so she said to Yikuang: "Okay, I'm going to discuss it with the courtiers. Everyone, please step aside. Ai Jia needs to learn some English with De Ling, and she has to have a meeting with the minister's wives tonight. tea party."
When Cixi attended such occasions, she usually brought Yudeling with her as an interpreter. After all, Yudeling spoke many languages.
After Yikuang and others exited, they went to the duty room of the military aircraft office outside. After Yikuang sat down, the others sat down one after another.
"Tell me, what do you think?" Yi Kuang asked.
The Minister of Military and Aircraft Wang Wenshao had already held back his words: "I firmly disagree with the abolition of scientific examinations. I will fight to the death to do so even if I am in court!"
This kind of statement made Yi Kuan very upset. In his opinion, it was not tactful at all.
Yuan Shikai said: "Master Wang, you have also seen that if the imperial examination is not abolished, scholars will definitely not be willing to go to the new school. Only by cutting off this escape route can there be a real possibility of developing a new school."
Wang Wenshao said: "To put it lightly, there are already hundreds of thousands of students all over the world who have worked hard for the imperial examinations for many years. Do we want them to have nowhere to go?"
Wang Wenshao's worry is not unreasonable, but it is actually a necessary pain.
Yuan Shikai said: "That's why I submitted a letter today. The imperial examination should be abolished immediately instead of gradually reducing the number of admissions to the imperial examination. Cutting the knot with a quick knife will happen sooner or later. The long-term pain is worse than the short-term pain."
Wang Wenshao said: "Arbitrary, too arbitrary!"
Seeing that he could not be persuaded, Yuan Shikai said to Yikuang: "Your Majesty, why don't you send letters to various governors and generals to ask for their opinions? Why don't we, the minority, obey the majority?"
Yikuang actually agreed to this very "democratic" decision: "What a great idea. I will order people to ask questions in turn today."
What he was thinking was that he could postpone the matter for a while.
Yi Kuang was happy that he no longer had to discuss this thorny issue and chatted about other things: "I heard that the Japanese recently wanted to kill Emperor Li Yu in the capital. How will this matter be handled?"
Yuan Shikai said: "It seems that a postman from the Qing Post Office fabricated the letter and framed him."
Yi Kuang nodded: "Fortunately, it was not the Japanese who instigated it, otherwise it would have been really difficult. Mr. Yuan, you have been the governor of North Korea for many years and have had many contacts with the Japanese military. Will they really send troops to fight Russia?"
Yuan Shikai still had many eyes and ears in North Korea, and he replied: "Your Majesty, Japan has now landed in North Korea, and its target is directly at Port Arthur."
"Oops!" Yikuang was quite surprised, "If a fight breaks out on our land, it won't be easy."
Yuan Shikai asked: "How does the prince think it should be handled?"
"I'm not sure about this. I need to ask the Queen Mother for her opinion." Yikuang said quickly.
Yuan Shikai smiled lightly and said, "I understand."
——
Li Yu was working at his desk in the study room at home, when Lu Bicheng knocked on the door outside.
Li Yu said: "Just come in."
Lu Bicheng walked in lightly and said, "Master Yan asked me to tell you that you should go to the university hall."
"University hall? What's the matter?" Li Yu asked.
Lu Bicheng said: "It seems that a few Japanese teachers are not here, and they are unable to answer some of the students' math and physics problems, so you can temporarily save the situation."
Yan Fu's face must be given, so Li Yu agreed: "Let's go, let's set off now."
Zhao Qian, as the driver, drove the two of them to the Capital University in Beicheng.
After arriving in the classroom, Yan Fu immediately greeted him: "You are finally here! We have been studying for a long time and have no clue at all."
Li Yu walked over and took a look and almost fainted. It turned out to be some trigonometry questions. At most, they were more basic junior high school math Olympiad questions.
The question was asked by a student from the Teachers College, but in any case, overall there has been some progress than before. It is no longer a simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division elementary school mathematics application problem.
Li Yu picked up the chalk and quickly finished the calculation for them on the blackboard.
Most of the students were new to alphabetic symbols and did not understand them for a while. So Li Yu slowed down and calculated it twice for them before some people understood it.
At this time, a person outside the window suddenly exclaimed: "It turns out that this is the most exquisite mathematics in Western learning, how strange and wonderful!"
Li Yu looked outside and saw a young man about thirty years old, so he asked, "Are you also a student of the University Hall?"
The person outside the window bowed his head and said: "Master Imperial Master, I am presumptuous! I, Liu Chunlin, went to Beijing to take the exam. I heard the teacher said that a Western learning university had been opened in the capital, and the students learned real knowledge that can be applied to the world, so I came to visit. "
It turns out that he is the top pick in high school this year, the last top pick in Chinese history.
Li Yu asked: "Who is your teacher? He has such broad eyes."
Liu Chunlin said: "Back to the Imperial Master, I studied at Baoding Lianchi Academy for more than ten years, studying under Mr. Wu Rulun Wu. He once served as the chief Chinese teacher of the Capital University. He mentioned more than once that this is the real academy."
As a representative of the Tongcheng School, Wu Rulun served as the dean of Baoding Lianchi Academy for many years.
Li Yu remembered that he hadn't seen Wu Rulun for a long time, so he asked, "How is Dean Wu's health lately?"
Liu Chunlin said sadly: "The dean has passed away."
Li Yu was startled and replied: "My condolences."
Liu Chunlin said: "Dean Wu once told us that New Learning is the study of the future, and it is complex and complicated, a hundred times more than Confucianism. Basic subjects such as mathematics and physics should be promoted more widely. After all, not everyone needs to learn it. The study of kings.”
Li Yu didn't have much communication with Wu Rulun. He didn't expect that this old scholar who had been the dean of the academy for many years would have such an open mind. No wonder he could become the chief Chinese teacher of the Capital University.
He is much better than Wang Xianqian, the stubborn and conservative mountain chief of Yuelu Academy.
So Li Yu continued to chat with Liu Chunlin: "I remember that Dean Wu once went to Japan to inspect education in his sixties."
Liu Chunlin said: "Yes, this trip had a great impact on the dean. He didn't go to many places, but his first stop was Shimonoseki. I recall that Li Zhongtang signed a treaty here that was humiliating and humiliating the country, and he also won a prize. The gun caused physical and mental damage, which made the dean so emotional that he wrote the four characters 'a sad place'."
Wu Rulun and Li Hongzhang had many interactions because they were both disciples of Zeng Guofan.
Among Zeng Guofan's disciples, the most famous is definitely Li Hongzhang. However, Li Hongzhang was not one of the "Four Disciples of the Zeng Clan".
Among the four disciples, the ones Zeng Guofan most expected to achieve results were Zhang Yuzhao and Wu Rulun.
It can be seen that the people selected when the Capital University was reopened were all very well matched: Zhang Baixi, Yan Fu, Lin Shu, Gu Hongming, Wu Rulun, and the American Ding Haoliang were all capable and capable and really wanted to establish a new type of education.
Li Yu said: "Dean Wu's patriotism is respectable and admirable."
Liu Chunlin continued:
“After the dean came back, he warned us many times that if we had the opportunity, we should learn more about Western learning in addition to seeking fame, and it should not be limited to politics and law.
"He mentioned that when he was in Japan, a major general named Yamane visited him. When the two talked about the future ambitions of Dean Wu's son, the dean replied that he would study politics and law in the future.
"Major General Yamagen laughed loudly after hearing this, and then said, 'People in your country like to learn from the prime minister's studies, and all the people in the country are Li Fuxiang' (that is, Li Hongzhang)!
The dean was very touched. After returning to China, he said personally that even if they studied Western learning, Chinese students still studied only to gain fame and learn the so-called "emperor's art". They only thought about how to be a high official, and no one cared about the basic subjects of immersing themselves in work. , this is absolutely impossible. "
Li Yu was very moved after hearing this and said: "It's a good saying, 'All the people in the country are Li Fuxiang', but most people in the world are still in the dark and cannot see the current situation clearly."
Mr. Wu Rulun was humiliated when he went abroad, but at least he understood his shame and became brave. Unfortunately, he died prematurely and did not see the day when the imperial examination was abolished.
But even if he really saw it, he would probably be very entangled in his heart after having spent his whole life in Confucian education.
What the Japanese Major General Yamane said was very penetrating. He was not even a well-known figure in Japan, but he had already seen it so thoroughly, let alone other Japanese elites.
(End of chapter)
