1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 164 Guangxu: I think I am OK again
At the end of the imperial meeting, Yu Shimei resolutely stepped forward to make a memorial, which greatly surprised the officials present.

Many people looked at him with awe. As a provincial education commissioner, the content of his memorial must be related to education, so what insights could he have?

At this moment, Guangxu's heart suddenly trembled. Could it be that Li Qiwei had returned?

He now knew Li Qiwei very well, and naturally knew that the other party had returned to China and was living in Guangzhou.

Guangxu looked at Cixi and found that she did not respond, so he said, "What do you want to say, my dear Yu?"

Yu Shimei took a step forward, bowed slightly, and said in a clear voice: "I just heard the Queen Mother's criticism of the current problems in education reform."

"I suddenly became enlightened, as if I had been enlightened."

"I am the governor of education in Guangdong. Although I am dull, I dare not talk about the great issue of education reform."

"However, our Great Qing is vast and rich in resources, and is home to many talented people who have unique insights into education."

"After I took office in Guangzhou, it happened that His Majesty personally appointed Li Qiwei, the Deputy Minister of Education, and he asked me to bring a summary of education reform."

"Please ask the Queen Mother and the Emperor to review this to reassure the people."

"I personally think that Li Qiwei is a learned man and is qualified to serve as the deputy minister of education."

After saying that, he held up the materials with both hands and waited quietly.

When the ministers in the East Warm Pavilion heard Li Qiwei's name, their expressions changed slightly and their faces looked different.

Even Yuan Shikai narrowed his eyes slightly, because he knew that one of his captains was Li Qiwei's elder brother.

Perhaps we can use this opportunity to summon Li Qiwei.

He had already learned from the foreign instructors that Li Qiwei had a huge reputation abroad.

It is no exaggeration to say that his name is much bigger than Yuan Shikai's.

However, everyone present knew that Empress Dowager Cixi disliked Li Qiwei and even called him Monkey King.

As a result, the scene fell silent and no one dared to whisper anymore.

After Cixi took Li Qiwei's memorial, she opened it and flipped through it casually.

Who would have thought that this flip would cause such a big shock in my heart.

Li Qiwei's memorial was completely different from the ones she usually reviewed. There was no long paragraph of nonsense at the beginning, nor were there any empty words.

The number of schools, number of courses, etc., all use specific numbers, which is convincing.

Unlike other ministers, who always talk about thousands or tens of thousands, he would hesitate when you asked him the exact amount.

Cixi certainly would not have read it all, but just from this quick glance she knew that Li Qiwei had real ideas.

In fact, she neither liked Li Qiwei nor hated Li Qiwei, but she simply didn't care about him.

If Guangxu had not strongly recommended him before, Cixi would not have remembered who Li Qiwei was at all.

The only person who could hold a rank in her heart was at least at the level of Yuan Shikai.

However, today, Li Qiwei's name left a deep impression on her.

If all the officials of the Qing Dynasty reported state affairs like him, government affairs would be smoother, clearer and easier to understand.

Damn those slick old guys, they are all like non-stick pans, all they think about is how to protect themselves instead of solving the problem.

Cixi was a little angry inside.

"Go, show this memorial to the emperor."

After saying this, Li Lianying walked cautiously to Guangxu and presented the memorial.

At this moment, Guangxu was already getting excited.

After reading Li Qiwei's memorial, the Queen Mother did not say anything, which meant that at least there was no problem.

Otherwise, he would have completely denied it long ago.

After he opened the letter, he originally thought that Li Qiwei was just casually talking about the education situation abroad, after all, he studied abroad there.

But the result was completely different.

The more Guangxu looked, the more shocked his expression became, and the more shaken he felt inside. In the end, even his fingers were shaking.

Great, really well written.

This is a good fold!

Li Qiwei's education reform outline has clear ideas and goals, and it also breaks down specific tasks into steps.

It can be said that just based on this memorial, the officials below knew what to do.

At this time, Guangxu felt refreshed all over, just like he had drunk iced watermelon juice in the hot summer.

He shouted wildly in his heart: Did you see it? Did you all see it? This is a great talent that only I, with my keen eyes, could discover.

Guangxu felt that he was able to do it again.

The previous reform had failed miserably, but facts had proved that his vision was not wrong. It was the court that was wrong, and the person who dared not speak out that was wrong.

No wonder the Queen Mother said nothing. She probably couldn't find anything wrong in Li Qiwei's memorial.

Because no matter how you look at it, this memorial is for the benefit of the Qing Dynasty and is very beneficial to it.

Although Guangxu was extremely excited inside, there was no expression on his face.

He just smiled faintly and said, "I think this memorial is very good. You can circulate it among yourselves."

After saying this, the young eunuch first handed the memorial to Prince Qing Yixin.

Yixin frowned slightly. He had heard Luo Fuyu mention this name before, but he didn't take it to heart.

However, today is different. It seems that the Queen Mother and the Emperor are very satisfied with Li Qiwei.

Yikuang was very afraid of the Han elites. In his mind, these Han ministers were always thinking about how to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. How could they possibly be good for the Qing Dynasty? Therefore, although Yuan Shikai was responsible for the training of the new army, Yikuang was the main person in charge. He was afraid that the Han ministers would take control of the military power.

Now that there are people like Li Qiwei in the field of education, Yixin feels a sense of urgency.

But no matter how he looked at it, Li Qiwei's memorial was not made with any selfish motives and was indeed for the benefit of the Qing Dynasty.

The other party even took thought control into consideration.

It is completely different from those rebels who secretly set up various academic societies among the people.

Yixin was wondering, could it be that Li Qiwei was really a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty?
However, he did not care too much about it. After all, it was just education, and he did not hold real power, and had no substantial impact on the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

Yuan Shikai is the person who needs special attention.

Since the training at Xiaozhan, this man's prestige in the new army has been growing, and we have to be on guard against him.

After Yixin analyzed the situation in his mind, he returned the memorial to the young eunuch and passed it on to his successors.

After reading it, Yuan Shikai smiled. He was indeed a talented person who studied Western culture.

Based on this report alone, he judged that Li Qiwei had definitely not just spent a few years abroad casually, but had studied the foreign education system in depth.

He was very impressed by this.

The most important thing is that Li Qiwei is a Han male, so he can be used with confidence.

Yuan Shikai wanted to recruit talented Western scholars like Li Qiwei.

Even if he serves as his own aide, he will not be completely in the dark about foreign affairs in the future.

Yuan Shikai always felt that he had been cheated by the weapons and equipment purchased from Germany, but he didn't understand why.

People say that the materials are different and the properties are different, but you have no way to verify it.

No one in the Qing Dynasty knew how to distinguish different materials. This is the field of science and technology, and it is exactly the Qing Dynasty's shortcoming.

As a result, Yuan Shikai became more interested in meeting Li Qiwei.

Then, Ronglu, Wang Wenshao, Lu Chuanlin and others read it in turn, and praised it silently in their hearts.

Obviously, Li Qiwei's reform outline was unanimously recognized by the bigwigs.

Because it does not harm the interests of the big guys, and it is also beneficial to the country, why not do it.

As for Li Qiwei's advocacy of establishing a Ministry of Education, it is also understandable. Even the Ministry of Commerce is about to be established, so there should also be a Ministry of Education.

However, many grassroots officials still have some complaints in their hearts.

Especially the traditional six-department system, their power is now getting smaller and smaller, and all has been divided away by the new departments.

The key is that these new departments are on the same level as the six ministries and cannot interfere with each other.

Soon, all the officials present had read Li Qiwei's memorial.

Guangxu looked at everyone's expressions and finally a clear smile appeared on his face.

"Everyone, do you think Li Qiwei's suggestion can be promoted?"

"I think we can let him be the acting deputy minister of education first, and then make a decision after the affairs of the Ministry of Education are finalized."

"I know that many of you have opinions about Li Qiwei, thinking that he is so young, how can he take on such a big responsibility."

"But Sir John Sadoy, the British ambassador to the Qing Dynasty, once told me that with Ridgway's achievements, if he were British, he could even be the Minister of Education."

"The corresponding position in the Qing Dynasty is that of a minister, which shows how much importance Western countries attach to him."

"Such a talent resolutely returned to China to serve the Qing Dynasty. How can I not use him?"

The ministers below watched Guangxu speaking, each with their own thoughts in their hearts.

Some people thought that the emperor started to act recklessly again, thinking that he was capable again, and it seemed that he was still determined to reform.

However, Li Qiwei's memorial today did allow the emperor to demonstrate some authority, after all, it was he who recommended the person.

The struggle at the top level is never about playing tricks, but about your actual achievements.

Prestige is something that is accumulated gradually after accomplishing one great thing after another.

If you are not good at anything, even if you are an emperor, you will not get the sincere support of your subjects.

Of course, there are also some people who just watch from the sidelines, do not express their opinions, and do not participate.

What happened a few years ago is still fresh in my mind, and no one knows what will happen next.

Even though the emperor is in high spirits now, if he really angers the empress dowager, he will probably end up in a miserable state.

Therefore, many people took a non-interference attitude towards Li Qiwei and just watched the show from the sidelines.

Anyway, education is a self-contained system and there is no intersection between it and them.

However, in the eyes of real bigwigs such as Yuan Shikai, they saw something unusual.

The emperor seemed to have changed. He became more strategic, courageous, and able to endure.

The situation in the court was becoming increasingly confusing.

Guangxu did not care about the opinions of his ministers. At the end, he humbly said, "Please let my dear father decide."

Cixi was already quite satisfied with this plan, and now it was a good opportunity to do the emperor a favor, showing that she was only in charge of government affairs, not a dictator.

"Emperor, you make the decision."

Guangxu was overjoyed and immediately asked Yixin and other new policy ministers to take immediate action to deal with the matter and continue to push forward the new policy.

The ministers shouted: "Congratulations to the Qing Dynasty, the Empress Dowager is wise, and Your Majesty is wise."

Thanks to [20206726] for the reward
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(End of this chapter)