Xiyuan.
Through the several salons and tea parties held between the minister's wife and Cixi by Yu Deling as a translator, the relationship between Cixi and foreign envoys has been eased.
This kind of "women's diplomacy" made the Qing ministers dumbfounded that international relations could still be conducted like this.
The person who came to see Cixi today was American Minister Connor.
"Dear Queen Mother, I solemnly submit my credentials and hope that you can participate in the St. Louis World's Fair to be held in our country this year."
Cixi had long heard from Yu Deling that the World Expo had been held many times around the world and was a major international event.
Cixi said: "Mr. Minister's invitation is full of sincerity. But at this age, the Ai family is no longer able to travel across the ocean, but we can send a delegation composed of princes to participate."
Connor said: "That's fine too."
Americans have invested heavily in this World Expo and are eager to demonstrate their strong industrial strength. If there were no audience, it would just be a night walk in brocade. So we tried our best to invite all countries to participate in the meeting.
Cixi asked Prince Qing Yikuang, who was also in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Who do you think is appropriate to send?"
Yikuang said: "It is best to understand Western affairs. Beizi Zaizhen or Prince Chun Zaifeng who have been abroad before are more suitable."
Cixi said: "Zai Feng has just been appointed as the Manchu commander-in-chief of the Zhenghong Banner, and Zai Zhengang has just taken charge of the Ministry of Commerce. I am afraid that he will not be able to escape."
Yikuang replied: "That's what Lafayette said."
Cixi asked Yuan Shikai again: "You are in Beiyang and understand Westernization. Do you have any recommendations?"
Yuan Shikai thought for a while and said: "If you choose someone who is smart and yet does not lose the national integrity, Beizi Pulun should be suitable."
Railway Minister Sheng Xuanhuai later said that Pulun was good.
Cixi thought that Pu Lun could do it, so she agreed.
Yuan Shikai added: "Those who follow can choose those who have studied in the United States in the past."
"This is natural. We must also instruct each province as soon as possible to select outstanding items for the exhibition," Cixi said. "By the way, since it is the World Expo, don't we have Li Yu, a genius in Western learning, let him go too."
Connor is also very interested in Li Yu: "Li Yu is very suitable. He has a company in the United States, and his company's products will definitely be the most eye-catching at the World Expo."
"Oh?" Cixi asked in surprise, "Li Yu also opened a company in your country of America?"
Connor said: "Yes, the Queen Mother, and his company has even gone public, with the full support of Mr. Morgan, the greatest financial tycoon in our country."
"Morgan? A businessman?" Cixi asked.
Connor nodded: "Yes, but he is not an ordinary businessman."
Cixi felt that a businessman was just a businessman. No matter how powerful he was, he could pull off any tricks. He immediately felt that Li Yu was no big deal. By analogy, it was nothing more than gaining the attention of Hu Xueyan or Sheng Xuanhuai.
Cixi asked: "The Morgan you are talking about is just a businessman, doesn't he have any official position?"
Connor shook his head: "No."
After saying this, Cixi felt that Morgan was in trouble, so she didn't take it to heart and just said: "Then let Li Yu go with the group."
In the final analysis, Li Yu is still just a craftsman and businessman.
Connor added: "One more thing, we hope to draw another portrait of you and put it on display at the World Expo."
Cixi was surprised: "Exhibition? Portrait painting? Isn't it appropriate?"
Connor quickly explained: "Dear Queen Mother, you may not know that portraits of heads of state will be on display, including the King of England."
In the hearts of Chinese people, the most powerful country in the world is still England. Being placed with his portrait, Cixi felt that it was justified in terms of face, but she still asked: "Have I not painted many portraits?"
Connor said: "Before, it was only used for indoor exhibition, but now it needs to be displayed in public, so the painting must be larger and more solemn. For this purpose, I specially found a very outstanding female oil painter from our country. Home."
Cixi asked: "Is it better than your lady?"
Connor replied: "Yes, my dear Queen Mother."
Cixi was a very nice person and said, "Okay."
Connor said: "Then I will take my leave first, and I will have the painter come to the beautiful Xiyuan as soon as possible."
After Connor left, Prince Qing Yikuang quickly flattered him: "Lafayette, Li Zhongtang caused a great sensation in the United States back then. This time he will definitely be able to demonstrate our country's prestige again."
Yuan Shikai secretly laughed in his heart, not knowing what he could do to prove his country's prestige. He brought up business again: "Queen Mother, regarding the abolition of the imperial examination, we have received reports from Shengjing General Zhao Erxun, Huguang Governor Zhang Zhidong, Liangjiang Governor Zhou Fu, Liangguang Governor Cen Chunxuan, Do you see the joint signature of six officials from Hunan Governor Duanfang?"
Cixi sighed, it was really a troublesome thing. She liked to hear good things such as national prestige being promoted, so she asked Yikuang: "Yikkuang, what do you mean by the Military Aircraft Department?"
Yikuang said: "Except for Wang Wenshao, everyone agrees to abolish the scientific examination."
Cixi said helplessly: "What else can I say? But we are so well prepared this year, so let's hold one last imperial examination."
Yuan Shikai knew that he could not push beyond the limits. This was Cixi's bottom line, so he replied: "The Queen Mother is wise!"
After Cixi made this decision, she felt empty in her heart, "I don't know if I am worthy of my ancestors."
Yuan Shikai followed suit and said: "The Queen Mother made wise decisions and did things that can be described in eternity. The end is also the beginning of another great thing."
Cixi smiled and said, "You still know how to speak."
Yuan Shikai added: "Empress Dowager, there is another thing that will be of great benefit to the present and future generations."
Cixi felt better and asked, "What good thing?"
Yuan Shikai said: "I heard from Tianjin Daotai Tang Shaoyi and Li Yu that a crop called tobacco can be widely promoted, which can not only replace the seriously poisonous opium, but also provide more tax revenue."
"It sounds like a good thing. Is it really so effective?" Cixi asked.
Yuan Shikai said: "Nowadays, all Western countries have given up smoking, and even the upper class celebrities are choosing cigarettes made from tobacco."
Cixi asked: "I have been wondering whether foreigners smoke opium."
Yuan Shikai said: "I don't think so, otherwise how could there be tobacco."
Cixi said: "If this is the case, you can draft an edict together with Prince Qing and order it to be implemented in various places."
Yuan Shikai said: "I obey the order."
In fact, Yuan Shikai's answer is not correct. Europeans also smoke opium.
Before the First Opium War, Lin Zexu wrote a letter to the Queen of England. The general meaning was that you British people do not smoke opium, but you use opium to harm us. It is too shameless.
But in fact, the British were also troubled by opium for a while, and many people smoked opium.
But instead of smoking opium cigarettes, they drank opium wine.
In the past two British kings, George III and George IV, were opium addicts.
It is said that opium caused George III's madness.
One more thing, those who sell opium and wine in Europe are also Jews.
Well, I can vaguely sense a reason why Europe was so anti-Semitic before World War II...
It's just that opium is not that harmful in Europe. After all, they have many other entertainment activities to kill time.
There was a British drama "Whale Dreams" released before, telling the story of a British whaling ship during the Queen Victoria period. The male protagonist in it went to buy opium wine at the beginning.
Later, Queen Victoria herself hated opium, believing that it made her men less masculine.
The promotion of tobacco would be easier if Cixi nodded.
Planting must begin in the southwest, especially Yunnan and Guizhou (in later generations, the planting area in these two provinces alone accounted for more than half of the country's total). Coincidentally, the current governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Ding Zhenduo, happens to be determined to promote the New Deal, and he will definitely spare no effort to promote this matter.
Even the neighboring governors of Guangdong and Guangxi, Cen Chunxuan, and the governor of Sichuan, Xiliang, in the Sichuan-Sichuan region where opium was more common, were both promoters of the New Deal and anti-smoking advocates.
——
On this day, Li Yu received another heavyweight letter, which was sent by Einstein from Switzerland. It contained the paper he had revised several times.
Einstein also attached a letter, specifically discussing the famous mass-energy formula, because it is really amazing.
Einstein wrote:
"Mr. Li Yu,
You cabled me back before and mentioned that mass and energy are the same thing, two sides of an object.
At this time, oh, I am talking about this moment when I write, it is night.
The nights in Switzerland are long and the lights need to be on for long periods of time.
Then I thought, if energy and mass are the same thing, then is electrical energy also a kind of quality?
When my wife took out last month's electricity bill, I suddenly thought, can't electricity be calculated by weight?
For example, one kilogram of electricity?
This sounds really confusing. "
Li Yu put down the letter. If he were not a time traveler, he would certainly not be able to accept the ridiculous statement "one pound of electricity" upon hearing it.
But since Einstein's mass-energy formula came into being, don't tell me, in theory it can be so electric and it can really weigh in weight.
According to the mass-energy formula, it can be easily calculated that one kilogram of electricity is approximately 12.5 billion kilowatt-hours, and one kilogram is 25 billion kilowatt-hours.
In the year 1904, the world's annual power generation was about 25 billion kilowatt hours.
Before Li Yu traveled through time, the amount of electricity generated reached an astonishing 28 trillion kilowatt-hours per year, which means that one kilogram of electricity is enough for all mankind to use for more than 4 hours.
Li Yuxian sent a telegram back to Einstein:
"Mr. Einstein,
Don't you think this is a great and interesting perspective on the world?
You can definitely say: 'Two kilograms of electricity is enough for all mankind to use for one year! '
New theories require shocking conclusions, and your theory is absolutely correct.
I will help you improve the mathematical proof as soon as possible. "
When Einstein in Switzerland saw Li Yu's telegram, he put down the stone in his heart and waited for Li Yu to send back his paper.
But he didn't expect that such a small mass could have such a large energy: Maybe humans can change the energy landscape through this formula?
Einstein himself was a cosmopolitan + anti-war person, and he really considered things for mankind.
Also a Jew, he is much better than Sassoon and others.
However, it is obvious that controlling nuclear energy is not easy, and in the end it was used in war first.
The reason is naturally that controllable nuclear energy is not easy to achieve.
But mankind has realized through the two mushroom eggs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that this road has a promising future.
Because nuclear energy is the most terrifying source of energy in the universe.
A little calculation shows that the little boy who exploded in Hiroshima contained 64kg of uranium-235, and less than 1kg participated in the chain reaction.
The mass lost is only 0.6g, but it is equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT!
The 0.6g electricity sent by the United States was really explosive, causing all of Japan to become numb.
In addition, it can be seen that the efficiency of nuclear fission used in atomic bombs is very low.
If it were nuclear fusion from a hydrogen bomb, the efficiency would be much better.
But controllable nuclear fusion changes are difficult.
To put it bluntly, it can be understood: the detonation of a hydrogen bomb must be completed by an atomic bomb.
The dignified atomic bomb can only be used to detonate a hydrogen bomb to provide the high-pressure and high-temperature environment required for nuclear fusion, so it is self-evident how difficult nuclear fusion is.
——
The factory is making good progress now. As the boss, Li Yu must go and have a look.
As the No. 1 company that personally supervised the operation, Xu Shichang also went with him.
Lu Bicheng happened to be going to the "Ta Kung Pao" headquarters in Tianjin, so he set off with them.
Even Konoe Aki came with him, and Li Yu couldn't refuse, because he gave her the position, and she got it first through the competition.
Xu Shichang was so awesome that he actually set up a temporary train station next to the factory. Although the platform was very crude, it was already quite respectable, so he needed a bicycle.
As soon as he got off the train, Li Yu saw many refugees near the train station.
Li Yu asked: "Where did they come from?"
Xu Shichang said: "It should be near Tongzhou. After the Gengzi tragedy, there has been a drought in the past two years, and the people's lives have been difficult."
This wave of drought will only pass this year. Although its impact cannot be compared with some more famous droughts, due to the small-scale peasant economy and heavy taxes, farmers' ability to resist natural disasters is almost zero, and even a minor disaster may force them to sell their goods. female.
Since the advent of trains, we often see scavengers or refugees along the way.
Because the railway tracks would transport goods, such as coal, the refugees would stand by the railway tracks and try their luck to pick up a few pieces.
In the past, farmers had a very hard life, and even firewood was a rare commodity. Apart from cooking three meals a day, they were reluctant to light a fire. It was even more impossible to take a bath in winter, because the firewood used to heat the bath water could probably last him five or six days of cooking.
Li Yu arrived at the MSG factory, looked around, and said to Yu Heqin: "The place is big here, sometimes I just add more pickles."
Yu Heqin asked: "Pickled vegetables? Do you have such a strong taste?"
Li Yu said: "It's not for me to eat. You can find a dozen large tanks and make more."
Yu Heqin wondered: "Why do you need so many?"
Li Yu said: "It will be distributed to refugees and nearby villages over time."
It is not easy for refugees to enter Beijing or Tianjin, and many people are in between.
The most common thing that ordinary farmers lack when eating is salt. If there is a lack of salt, people will have no strength and may even be unable to work in the fields.
Pickles can just add some salt to them.
Generally in farmers' homes, only the male laborers who work in the fields are eligible to eat pickles.
Yu Heqin said: "Then we need to buy a lot more salt."
Li Yu said: "I will talk to the salt merchants in Tianjin about this matter."
There are many salt merchants in Tianjin, and Lu Bicheng’s family is also a salt merchant.
(End of chapter)
