1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 107 Officially conferred the title! Guangxu lost his mind!
On January 1902, 1, following Marconi’s previous wireless communication, another super-bombshell news shocked all British people.

Bruce Lee, the first Nobel Prize winner in Physics, was knighted by the British Empire!
Although it was the lowest level of knighthood, the lower rank of Sir, it did not affect its explosiveness at all.

The Times reported in detail the background and results of Bruce Lee's knighthood.

The official reason given by the British government is to recognize Bruce Lee's outstanding contributions in the field of science, which have promoted qualitative breakthroughs in the field of physics.

It is not uncommon in British history to be awarded a knighthood for contributions to science.

Hundreds of years ago, Newton was knighted for his contributions to the laws of mechanics and the law of universal gravitation.

In recent years, Lord Kelvin was even directly knighted as a baron because of his scientific achievements.

This is two levels higher than the lower title of knight, and the former is a noble while the latter is still a commoner.

But Bruce Lee is different, he is a Qing Chinese!
This was the first time that the British royal family conferred a title on a Qing citizen.

In an instant, one stone caused a thousand waves!

This news was countless times more shocking than the news that Li Qiwei won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

After all, ordinary people don’t understand what quantum theory is, but they definitely know what being knighted means.

In the UK, that means taking a leap into the upper class directly.

You will be qualified to make countless high-end connections.

Class discrimination is very serious in the UK, and the upper class elite can judge everything about you the moment you open your mouth.

Your pronunciation, manners, and dress are all sending out various messages all the time.

Poor British people, why have they never thought of rebelling and directly smashing this hateful hierarchy?

It was against this background that Ridgway became a figure talked about throughout Britain.

"Oh my God, he's only 21 and he's already been knighted? That's the lifelong dream of many British people."

"Our British Empire is indeed the empire on which the sun never sets. No other country in the world can compare with our broad-mindedness."

"Bruce Lee is a really lucky man. Not only has he reached the pinnacle of academic achievement, but he has also been knighted. He can die without regrets in life."

"I still can't believe that a Qing citizen could be knighted by our British Empire!"

"I also study physics, and I proved the existence of perpetual motion machines. Why don't you give me a knighthood?"

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Li Qiwei's name was pushed to the forefront and became a hot topic among countless people.

This news even continued to spread to all parts of the world, and soon even the Qing Dynasty knew about it.

However, the Manchu rulers would not be happy, but would grit their teeth and hold a grudge.

What? The people under their rule actually received a title from the British. How can they govern them in the future?

They wanted to accuse the other party of a false charge, but there was nothing they could do, otherwise it would have become a diplomatic incident.

This is simply unreasonable!

But there was a person within the Qing Dynasty who seemed to have lost his soul and was sighing secretly.

Although he had returned to the capital in a grand ceremony, Guangxu was not happy at all. He was just imprisoned in a different place.

When he learned that Ridgway had been knighted, he even laughed at himself.

"Haha, it's ridiculous. I wanted to give Li Qiwei a deputy position before, but I didn't expect that he would be directly conferred a title now."

"Is this the reason why they have guns and cannons, while our Qing Dynasty can only passively take the beating?"

"Respecting craftsmen to this extent, I'm afraid I can't find any precedent even if I search through all the history books."

Fortunately, Ronglu was not here today, and the newspaper was delivered by the young eunuch.

Otherwise he would be so ashamed that he could crawl into the ground. He had sworn before that Li Qiwei was just an insignificant commoner.

Guangxu raised his head and looked into the distance. All his previous lofty ambitions had now turned to ashes.

No one dared to help him realize his ambitions.

Although he was unwilling, there was an invisible dragon chain that trapped him tightly.

After a long while, in the cold palace, only a long sigh echoed.

Li Qiwei has once again become the dream of countless people in China.

The driving force behind all this propaganda was, of course, the shrewd Prime Minister Cecil.

Originally, a small knighthood title could not cause any waves at all.

But when it comes to Li Qiwei, it's completely different.

It can be said that his name itself carries news attributes. Coupled with his own fame, there are too many interests involved and he cannot help himself.

And now, the person who is envied, jealous and resented by countless people is "sick" at home.

That’s right, this is the reason Li Qiwei came up with.

He refused to go to Buckingham Palace on the pretext of being ill, and was stabbed with a large sword by Edward VII.

He even asked Professor Thomson for more than ten days' leave to perform the whole play. But he was not idle during these days.

Since the news of his knighthood spread, his various close friends have sent their blessings.

You can feel a hint of envy between the words.

People are not saints and may not care about ordinary money, but no one can remain calm when it comes to titles.

They also hope to be recognized like Li Qiwei for their outstanding academic achievements.

As for a few entrepreneur friends, they have become a little more respectful.

Several famous companies that Li Qiwei had previously paid attention to even sent him invitations, hoping that he could visit and provide guidance.

This made Li Qiwei very happy. It seemed that there were many benefits after being conferred a title of nobility.

At this moment, he looked at the knighthood certificate and medals in his hands, and a smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.

"Qitai, come and take a good look. This is what you have always dreamed of."

Xu Qitai, He Yujie and Xia Yuanzhen all came over to take a look.

The document contained Ridgeway's personal information and the reasons for his knighthood, written in ornate English.

Below is the double seal of the British government and the royal family, proving the legitimacy of his knighthood.

As for the medals, there was nothing to see. In this era, lower-level knights didn't even have badges to wear, which was very shabby.

This made it difficult for Li Qiwei to pretend to be cool when he returned to the Qing Dynasty. He couldn't always carry his proof with him.
But wearing the medals seemed a bit inappropriate and seemed too flattering to Britain.

After reading it, Xu Qitai said with a bitter face: "Brother Li, why do I feel as if your title is too casual?"

"A piece of paper, a pendant, and that's it."

“It’s very different from what I imagined.”

"Don't British emperors like to reward people with gold, silver, jewelry, beautiful women, calligraphy, yellow jackets, etc."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

Li Qiwei said: "You think you are all from the Qing Dynasty. You write so ugly characters and you dare to give them away casually."

"So, when you go back, please persuade your father to take good care of his health and not work for the Qing Dynasty just for a little verbal honor."

"The so-called reward is just that."

Having lived in Britain for a long time, the people present had long lost their awe of the Qing Dynasty, so there was no more respect or fear in their words.

This is what Li Qiwei very much wants to see.

If one cannot first get rid of the oppression and poisoning of the Qing Dynasty feudalism ideologically, it will be impossible for him to participate in Li Qiwei's cause.

In this era, people with lofty ideals had even begun to cut off their braids, and the Qing Dynasty was helpless.

Wang Luyao took the document and looked at it carefully, then said excitedly: "Brother Qiwei, do we need to call you Lord Li from now on?"

"Sir Li, I greet you." Then the little witch made a funny gesture.

Everyone started to make a fuss and followed suit.

Li Qiwei was speechless. He grabbed her and put her next to him. He smiled at the others and said, "I will only tell you a few of you this secret."

"If you want to be called 'Knight' in the UK, you have to become a British citizen, or a British colony citizen."

"It's impossible for me to change my nationality, so I still can't publicly call myself a knight when I'm abroad."

"But within the Qing dynasty, it was different. There was no way those people would know this."

"Even if they knew, there was still nothing they could do."

After saying this, Li Qiwei felt a little cowardly.

Such a big country was ruined to such a humiliating level by the Qing Dynasty.

What a disgrace.

It can only be said that it was an accident and has nothing to do with anyone.

That's the difference!
But under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, it would be impossible to see this scene.

Li Qiwei shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

After chatting and laughing with a few people, he returned to his room, prepared to write the relevant information about his title, and then asked Li San to send the telegram.

This kind of important information needs to be delivered to my father in a timely manner to help him deal with many business strategies.

Previously, due to the incident caused by Cixi's words, the family business was affected to a certain extent.

Now, the news of his knighthood is enough to put many people at ease.

The next morning, Li Qiwei asked Li San and Xu Qitai to go to London Dock together to pick someone up.

Because the business talent he needs is coming soon.

His father, Li Tingzhao, sent two people to him this time.

(End of this chapter)