1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 186: Empress Dowager Cixi orders dismissal, Li Qiwei prepares for revenge
After Huangpu University of Technology got on the right track, Li Qiwei was finally able to take some time out from his busy schedule.

However, he got into new trouble.

The speech on September 9 spread throughout the country at an extremely fast speed and was talked about by countless people.

This was actually a good thing, proving that private education in the Qing Dynasty had also achieved great success and was in line with international standards.

Because Ridgway sent a message to Thomson, Planck and others far away in Europe, telling them that he had founded a private university.

You know, he didn't even tell the other party about such a big thing as marriage.

Planck and Thomson were delighted when they received the news.

At Ridgeway's request, the two of them immediately congratulated the establishment of Huangpu University of Technology on behalf of Cambridge University and Berlin University.

It was sent directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing Dynasty in the form of a telegram, which instantly caused a huge sensation.

"Oh my god, universities in Britain and Germany actually congratulated my university in Qing Dynasty."

"He also said that he hoped that we could send students to each other in the future to exchange academic ideas."

"In the future world science, China will surely have a place."

The officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly felt proud. In all the decades since the Qing Dynasty had ever been taken so seriously.

Not to mention the sacred and inviolable field of university, where college students are the Wenquxing of the past.

The top universities in the West actually took the initiative to congratulate the establishment of Huangpu University of Technology.

This is the Celestial Empire, with congratulations coming from all directions.

What a prosperous age!

The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Qing Yixin, excitedly submitted a memorial to congratulate the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

Emperor Guangxu personally issued an edict to commend Li Qiwei: You are truly my right-hand man, a pillar of the country, and a minister of the country.

Such a high evaluation made countless officials extremely envious.

However, when it came to Cixi, Yixin flattered the wrong person and ended up flattering Cixi.

Because Cixi disliked Li Qiwei.

As for the reason, all the civil and military officials in the court could only hold back their laughter after learning it.

It turned out that on September 9, Li Qiwei actually went there by car, and his driver was Song Daquan.

In July, the car that Li Qiwei ordered from Mercedes-Benz was finally delivered to the country.

Then, Li Qiwei placed it in the Shenxing Taibao Transport Company in the name of fixed assets as a symbol of the company's strong strength.

The name "Speedy Driver" was given to the transportation company by Li Qiwei himself, taking full consideration of the background of the times.

As the general manager of the Shenxing Taibao Company, Song Daquan was of course the first one to learn how to drive a car.

In just two months, he was able to drive quite well. There were no traffic lights or cameras at that time, so he could just drive freely.

When he drove Li Qiwei to Huangpu Institute of Technology, it immediately shocked countless people.

Li Qiwei, who got off the car, was no different from the domineering CEOs of later generations, which made the newly enrolled students open their mouths in amazement.

"Oh my goodness, our principal is so awesome."

“This is probably the second car in the country.”

Li Qiwei knew that the first car in the Qing Dynasty was a gift from Yuan Shikai to Cixi on her 1901th birthday in 66.

But he really had no idea who the second car belonged to.

However, at that time, there must have been foreigners riding in cars in Shanghai.

Li Qiwei may be only the second Chinese to own a car.

It was this point that made Cixi very unhappy.

In her eyes, she was the only one in the entire Qing Dynasty who was worthy of riding in a car.

You are just a small Deputy Minister of Education, a fifth-rank official. How can you be worthy of sitting in a car like me?

As for the identity of the imperial tutor, Cixi ignored it even more. She knew very well what was going on.

The reason why the civil and military officials found it funny was that there was indeed no law in the Qing Dynasty that prohibited ordinary people from riding in cars.

This thing is a common consumer product in Western countries. Anyone can buy it as long as you can afford it.

So there is really no problem for Li Qiwei to buy a car.

But in this era, only the rich or the noble can afford a car in China.

The one that Yuan Shikai gave as a gift cost more than 10,000 taels of silver.

Although this amount is large, it is nothing to those truly wealthy people.

However, the rich would not be so ostentatious, and the nobles were well versed in politics and would not offend Cixi's taboo. Perhaps only a great master of Western learning like Li Qiwei would have no scruples and open it up whenever he wanted.

It’s cool, but if we offend Emperor Buddha, it will be useless no matter how well the university is run.

It is said that you should never try to guess what a woman is thinking, but the thoughts of the old woman Cixi are so unpredictable that even gods cannot guess them.

She actually issued an imperial decree to temporarily remove Li Qiwei from his position as deputy minister of education, leaving him with only the position of president of Guangdong University.

The excuse was to allow Li Qiwei to temporarily concentrate his attention on running Guangdong University as well as Huangpu University of Technology so that it would be valued by Western universities.

As for other universities in the country, there are other people to manage them.

Li Qiwei was stunned when he heard the news.

I just took a bus once and you old witch fired me.

Although he didn't care at all what official position the Qing Dynasty gave him, his career needed this skin to cover up.

Now that the university reform has been preliminarily completed, Li Qiwei's next plan is to implement six years of compulsory education.

This requires him to have an extremely high status, at least the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education to promote it.

Moreover, he has already thought of a way to force the Qing Dynasty to pay.

Rather than letting others take advantage of this money, or having the money used by an old witch to renovate her yard, it would be better to turn this money into nourishment for Chinese education.

But I was actually fired from my job, which was a bit troublesome.

If Cixi was angered, Li Qiwei's reform plan would be in danger.

However, after he calmed down and thought about it a little, he figured out the deeper reasons behind it.

It was probably the phrase "independent spirit and free thinking" that irritated the nerves of the Qing Dynasty rulers headed by Cixi.

Although Li Qiwei tried his best to cover it up, it was unlikely that he could confuse Cixi and others.

So, the so-called car may just be an excuse.

The real reason was that Cixi wanted to warn Li Qiwei and tell him that as long as he was on the land of the Qing Dynasty, he, Li Qiwei, would not be able to make any waves.

This speech is just a minor punishment. If there are more excessive remarks or deeds, I am afraid Li Qiwei will have to bear serious consequences.

Indeed, we cannot treat people like Cixi as fools.

When it comes to scientific knowledge, they are rubbish; but when it comes to political balance, they are absolute masters.

Not to mention that Li Qiwei is a doctor, even if he were an academician, he would not be able to overcome Cixi's vicious mind.

Fortunately, Li Qiwei did not pursue conspiracy or intrigue, but to break the law with force.

However, Li Qiwei is not a person who would just accept things passively. He believes in revenge, let alone the revenge against Cixi.

That must be retaliated severely.

It is probably unlikely that Li Qiwei can give Cixi a few big beatings now.

By the time he had developed that kind of power, Cixi had already died.

However, since the other party does not understand scientific knowledge, there is a perfect way to retaliate.

The opportunity was Cixi’s 11th birthday on November 16 this year.

At that time, all civil and military officials across the country would rack their brains to find a special gift for Cixi.

When the Empress Dowager is happy, it is more important than you working diligently for ten years. Getting promoted is just a matter of a word from her.

This is the driving force behind the gift-giving among officials.

Of course Li Qiwei would also give gifts, and he would also give a "mysterious gift" that was guaranteed to please Cixi.

For this purpose, he specifically found Hu Xizhong and asked him to prepare the gift.

Today, Hu Xizhong has become a prominent figure in the domestic industrial and commercial circles.

As the general manager of Shanhe Industrial Group, he owns more than a dozen companies and has nearly 800 employees.

It is definitely the leader among domestic private enterprises and is registered with the Ministry of Commerce.

Moreover, the wide range of business involved and the high technological content have left peers dumbfounded.

You are not starting a company, you are clearly doing industrialization.

It is said that the real boss has a strong background, and even the government officials dare not come to him to extort money.

And now, Hu Xizhong was standing respectfully in front of Li Qiwei to report his work.

As the chairman of the group, Li Qiwei always pays close attention to the development of the company.

Can you guess what I'm giving away?
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(End of this chapter)