1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 92 The news spread and Guangxu was shocked!
Five days later, a photo of Ridgway, looking high-spirited and waving his hands, appeared on the front page of The Times.

Above it is a large headline: A young man from the Qing Dynasty studied in the UK, opened his eyes to the world, won the Nobel Prize in Physics, and aspired to serve his country.

The Times used an entire page to give a detailed account of Ridgway's life.

The book also focuses on describing how he was influenced by knowledge and civilization after arriving in Cambridge, and how he escaped from the ignorance of his native country.

In this process, the British culture and educational atmosphere subtly changes people's way of thinking.

In short, after a thorough analysis, the conclusion is that Li Qiwei, from an ordinary young man in the Qing Dynasty, was able to win the highest award in the field of physics after four years of professional training at Cambridge University.

This fully demonstrates the educational role that Britain, as the birthplace of industrial civilization, has played in backward areas.

As the world center, the British Empire, whose glory shines upon the whole world, blah blah.

As soon as the newspaper was issued, it was snatched up.

The Times had no choice but to work at full capacity, expand printing, and reprint five times in a row, but it was still in short supply.

This shows how powerful Li Qiwei's influence is.

The brilliance of other Nobel Prize winners was completely overshadowed by him.

For a time, Li Qiwei's name was in the limelight.

His deeds quickly spread in all directions, with Britain as the center.

Inside the Qing Dynasty Embassy in the UK, Luo Fuyu sat on a chair, closing his eyes and listening to the translator translating the latest edition of The Times.

The more he listened, the uglier his expression became, especially Li Qiwei's remarks about China, which made him extremely angry.

His hands gripped the handrails, veins bulging from the excessive force.

"Damn it, is he still a citizen of the Qing Dynasty?"

"Not only did he not report to me during the interview, he even dared to speak outrageously and even wanted to go back and do some kind of science and technology education."

"Let's have his spring and autumn dreams!"

What Luo Fuyu was worried about was not what Li Qiwei was going to do, but that he would lose the power to control the other party.

When the newspaper is reported back to the country, if Prince Qing or even Empress Dowager Cixi becomes interested and sees Li Qiwei's brazen words, what will they think?
Although Li Qiwei's words were all for the sake of the Qing Dynasty, there was no sign of rebellion.

However, there was no mention of the role of the royal family or the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty.

This will make those in power very unhappy, and then they will blame Luo Fuyu.

As an ambassador to the UK, wouldn't you communicate with the other party in advance and order them to speak carefully?
He can't even do such a small thing, which shows that he is a good-for-nothing.

What Luo Fuyu feared was that he would be disliked by the Empress Dowager.

No matter how strong your work ability is, it will be useless if the company leaders don’t like you.

At this moment, Luo Fuyu was no longer as confident and calm as before.

His hatred for Li Qiwei reached its peak!
Just when Luo Fuyu was gritting his teeth and terrified.

The latest issue of The Times traveled along the wires, across the ocean, and finally reached the Qing Dynasty.

During the Qing Dynasty, Xi'an, Shaanxi Governor's Office, also known as the North Courtyard.

This was the temporary residence of Empress Dowager Cixi during her "Western Hunt", and was also the actual imperial palace center of the Qing Dynasty.

The so-called Western Hunt was when the Qing Dynasty was badly beaten by the Eight-Nation Alliance and its army was completely defeated. Cixi had no choice but to flee hastily with Guangxu, all the way to the west.

Finally, I settled down after arriving in Xi'an.

She left Prince Qing and Li Hongzhang in the capital to be responsible for negotiating post-war issues with the foreigners.

After the initial ceasefire, Cixi was reluctant to return to the capital.

Because the capital was still under the control of the Eight-Nation Alliance at that time, once she brought Emperor Guangxu back, the other party would be able to regain his freedom and exercise the emperor's power.

And she could no longer participate in state affairs, and could only retreat to the deep palace to enjoy her remaining years.

This was absolutely unacceptable to Cixi, who was obsessed with power.

So after several months of repeated negotiations, the Qing Dynasty finally signed a humiliating treaty with the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Cixi was able to continue to control the government as she wished, and would return to the capital in a few days.

Guangxu's life during his escape can only be described as miserable.

Now, Guangxu, who was only 30 years old, was sitting on the simple throne.

30 is the golden age for an emperor.

Now that you are in good health, mature in thinking, and have experienced the hardships of court administration, it is a good time to realize your ambitions.

However, at this time, Guangxu did not have the slightest bit of the high-spirited and domineering attitude that he had in his hands.

He looked listless, as if he had no interest in anything.

After experiencing the failure of the reform and the cession of territory and payment of indemnities in war, Emperor Guangxu was now completely disheartened.

He sometimes laughed at himself, thinking that being an emperor was such a pathetic thing.

Of course, he would never dare to tell anyone else about these thoughts.

Because there was a clever little eunuch standing next to him, with a look of hidden wariness towards Guangxu in his eyes.

The eunuchs around Guangxu were all arranged by his "real father" Cixi for the purpose of surveillance.

Therefore, although he seemed to be the emperor, he was actually a puppet and had no chance to make decisions on his own.

Below him, kneeling was a man who was Empress Dowager Cixi's favorite, Ronglu, who was currently in charge of the Ministry of Revenue affairs.

Originally, Cixi appointed Ronglu as the "co-minister with plenipotentiary powers" to come to Beijing to participate in the negotiations, but his request was rejected by Li Hongzhang and others.

Hoping that he would continue to serve in the "Xingzai", Cixi had no choice but to give up.

Ronglu has now reached his personal political peak.

Once the two palaces return to the throne, his merits will be enough to make him the backbone of the court.

Guangxu looked at Ronglu wearily and said, "My dear, please stand up."

Ronglu said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Then he bowed to the west.

That was where Cixi ruled the country behind the scenes. Under the bright yellow pearl curtain, the 66-year-old Cixi was resting with her eyes closed.

She was holding a cat in her hands, stroking it slowly, while on her left stood the famous eunuch chief, Li Lianying.

Guangxu listened to Ronglu's report on affairs with boredom, and no one knew what was going on in his mind.

Although he would be able to return to the capital soon, he was not happy at all, and was even a little afraid of the place in his memory.

Ronglu seemed to be reporting to Guangxu, but in fact he was waiting for Cixi's decision. "Prince Qing repeatedly requested that the emperor and the empress dowager choose an auspicious day to return to the capital and reshape the world."

Behind the pearl curtain, Empress Dowager Cixi spoke sparingly, "Approved."

At this time, Ronglu did not retreat, as if he was hesitating whether to speak.

Guangxu just wanted to be alone and quiet. Seeing that he was very troubled, he asked directly: "Ronglu, do you have anything else to say?"

Ronglu first apologized, then said: "Your Majesty, I recently received a newspaper from Britain."

"The contents recorded above are very interesting and are related to our Qing Dynasty."

"Therefore, I would like to report this news to the emperor to please him."

"Oh?" Guangxu's gloomy face finally showed some light. He motioned Ronglu to continue, but Ronglu didn't respond after glancing at the beaded curtain, so he took out a newspaper, which was the latest issue of The Times.

As Ronglu gradually read out Li Qiwei's deeds, a gleam of light suddenly appeared in Emperor Guangxu's lifeless eyes.

Especially after hearing Li Qiwei's ambitions, Guangxu couldn't help but speak and praised him: "Well, you are worthy of being a young talent of my Qing Dynasty."

He recalled the moment three years ago when he was determined to make new things and wanted to use thundering means to emulate the West and reform the Qing Dynasty.

Although he ultimately failed, it left a seed in his heart. Now, after hearing about Li Qiwei's heroic deeds, his passion was immediately rekindled.

"My dear, what is this Nobel Prize in Physics?"

"Your Majesty, I have asked the foreigners, and they said that this is the highest award in the field of physics in the West."

"If you want to compare, it's a bit like the top scholar in my Qing Dynasty."

call!
Emperor Guangxu breathed rapidly, he knew that this was Ronglu forcibly raising the status of the literati in the Qing Dynasty.

Number one? Bullshit number one!

Each of them is only good at empty talk and is harming the country. If we really ask them to do practical work, they cannot tell the difference between grains and are lazy. They are not even as good as craftsmen.

He hurriedly asked Ronglu to hand over the newspaper. At this time, the young eunuch next to him moved quickly, took back the newspaper, and handed it to Guangxu with both hands.

Although he could not understand English, Guangxu was still greatly shocked by Li Qiwei's energetic and overly youthful face.

"At the age of 21, Li Qiwei has achieved achievements that Westerners admire, which shows the foundation of our Qing Dynasty."

"Talented people emerge in endlessly, and the world's talents are like the nobles crossing the river."

"If you can be used by me and entrusted with great tasks, my Qing Dynasty will surely stand tall and strong again."

Seeing Guangxu so excited, Ronglu quickly glanced at the bead curtain and tried to remind him, "Your Majesty, this Li Qiwei is extremely talented and well versed in Western learning."

"But he is arrogant and disrespectful to his father and emperor. He always talks about China. It is obvious that he is loyal to the Han people and does not respect the Qing Dynasty."

"Moreover, he made wild claims about reforming Qing's education and technology. Is this something he can interfere with?"

"The vast territory and billions of people of the Qing Dynasty all depend on the foresight of the Queen Mother and Your Majesty. It is not the place for a young boy to speak nonsense."

Guangxu finally realized that he was a little excited. He quickly restrained himself and said modestly, "I think that when Li Qiwei returns home after completing his studies, he should be rewarded. This will show that the Qing Dynasty knows how to appoint people to the right positions."

It seemed as if something was reviving in Guangxu's heart.

He fantasized that if he could recruit Li Qiwei to his side, with the other party's attainments in science, he might be able to help the Qing Dynasty enter the industrial revolution as soon as possible.

During this era, the Manchu upper class actually already knew what changes were taking place in the world.

The rise of Britain, the guns, the cannons, the huge steel ships, where did this power come from.

The empire's elites had already analyzed the situation for Cixi and Guangxu, and their analysis was even clearer and more profound than that of later generations.

But knowing is one thing, changing is not so easy.

Suddenly, Guangxu became a little scared again. He was worried that Li Qiwei would repeat the same mistake, which would mean a talented person would be sacrificed in vain.

So he said, "I see what Ridgeway said is nothing more than science and education, which are the foundation of Britain's strength."

"Our Qing Dynasty can also start from these two points, work hard to govern, and emulate the West."

Ronglu nodded imperceptibly, thinking that this was the right thing to do and that he should never get involved in court politics.

Otherwise you won’t accomplish anything.

He felt very complicated about Guangxu's situation, and his heartache was greater than his awe.

After Guangxu finished speaking, the three people in the hall stopped talking.

Suddenly, a cat's meow broke the silence and everyone was startled by the sudden sound.

Guangxu hurriedly looked towards the pearl curtain, his heart trembled, and his body shook slightly, obviously he was frightened by his biological father.

At this time, Cixi's voice came out, "Why didn't I see that Li Qiwei is a talented person?"

"Nobel, Nobel, foreigners just like to play with these mysterious things."

"He's just a craftsman, but he's praised to the skies. Could he be a saint?"

"He is just a showman who is only interested in showing off his skills and tricks. He will lose his ambition if he plays with things. I think this Li Qiwei is just a showman."

"What do you say, Emperor?"

As soon as Cixi finished speaking, Ronglu was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and said, "I deserve to die for taking out this filthy newspaper and disturbing the Empress Dowager's dignity. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Guangxu almost lost his balance, and tried his best to calm down before whispering, "My dear father taught me this, and I will remember it."

Cixi snorted and said, "Emperor, I know you are blaming me for restricting you too much."

"I'm doing this for your own good. Those people with ill intentions surround you all day long. Do you think they really care about you?"

"They want to kill the Qing Dynasty!"

"Once we return to the capital, I will no longer care about you. You can do whatever you want."

"Don't you think highly of Li Qiwei? You can call him back to your side and make use of him."

"Isn't he good at Western learning? I think it would be better to let him be the Minister of Industry and imitate the British and carry out an industrial revolution."

"It's up to you guys. I'd rather just enjoy my retirement in peace."

After a few words, Guangxu knelt down quickly, and the little eunuch followed suit.

"Dear father, I won't dare to do that again. I still need your guidance."

After a long while, Cixi said slowly, "Okay, get up."

"Let the monkey from overseas make trouble. The emperor should not worry about such a small matter."

"We will be returning to the capital soon. It is a dangerous place. You should take good care of yourself."

Guangxu said: "Yes."

Cixi continued: "Ronglu, you should get up too."

Ronglu hurriedly thanked him, then stood up carefully, lowered his head and remained silent, like a sculpture.

There were even beads of sweat on his forehead, that was all because of fear.

He has experienced too many changes in the court in his life.

We all know that many times, a person's fate depends on a word from those in power.

He originally brought up this matter just to entertain himself and please the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

After all, he was about to return to the palace, and he thought the other party should be in a good mood, but he didn't expect that he would still run into bad luck.

The storm subsided.

Li Qiwei's achievements were dazzling in the eyes of Guangxu, but in the eyes of Cixi, he was only evaluated as "Monkey King".

There is only one thing in her mind now: return to the capital and regain power.

Although she doesn't care about Li Qiwei, the attitude of a superior can often affect many things.

This let the people below know that the Queen Mother disliked Li Qiwei.

(End of this chapter)