1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 189: Li Qiwei, the Imperial Tutor of the Qing Dynasty, presents a birthday gift, a laser bead

November 1904, 11 was still a difficult day for ordinary people.

The whole year of 1904 was still a difficult year, with natural disasters and man-made disasters continuing.

War, natural disasters, hunger, disease, government oppression, and foreign bullying.
In terms of war, the war between Sakura and Russia in the north was in full swing, leaving countless local people displaced and their families broken up.

Britain invaded the West and attempted to harm the country.

As for natural disasters, earthquakes, floods, and droughts wreaked havoc in the country, causing great suffering to the people.

As for hunger, disease, etc., they happen everywhere in the country.

For a powerless family, just encountering any one of these things is enough to break up the family.

This is the living condition of the lower class people under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, revealing a dead feeling of despair.

If it weren't for Ridgwell's drastic education reforms, the country would have barely been able to get a glimmer of upward vitality.

I am afraid that it will make countless people with lofty ideals sigh to the sky.

Such a Qing Dynasty and such Tartars deserve to perish!

Those in power can certainly see and know the suffering of the people, but they turn a blind eye and ignore it.

Because today, there is only one big event in the entire Qing Dynasty, and everyone is busy with this big event.

That was the 70th birthday of the current Empress Dowager Buddha.

The Qing court held a very grand "Wanshou Celebration".

The Forbidden City is decorated with lights and filled with a festive atmosphere.

This is in stark contrast to the miserable life outside the city.

The signs of the Qing Dynasty's demise have become increasingly obvious, and now it is just the last glimmer of hope.

Cixi's birthday celebration was not held in the Forbidden City, but in the Summer Palace in the western suburbs of the capital, where the environment was better and was deeply loved by Cixi.

Although the country was already in its final years and was in a state of disrepair, Empress Dowager Cixi, who loved extravagance, still held a lavish birthday banquet.

The entire Summer Palace is decorated like a paradise on earth, and there is no trace of the dilapidated scene destroyed by the Eight-Nation Alliance a few years ago.

The vain Empress Dowager Cixi hypocritically issued an edict, prohibiting officials from sending her gifts.

However, no one dared to really not send it.

Because Karl Lagerfeld may not remember who gave him gifts, but he definitely remembers who didn't.

If someone holds a grudge against him, his career in this life will be over.

The most important part of gift-giving is, of course, singing the gift, which means the little eunuch loudly introduces the name of each gift.

It not only highlights the ministers' respect, but also shows Cixi's noble sense of dominance over the world.

Summer Palace, Leshou Hall.

This is where Cixi lived in the garden.

At this moment, Leshou Hall was filled with civil and military officials, some even squeezed out of the room. There were nearly 200 people in total.

The ambitious Empress Dowager Cixi even invited foreign envoys to demonstrate the royal majesty.

At this moment, Cixi completely forgot that she had been beaten like a stray dog ​​in the previous few years.

Now she had only one thing in mind: her birthday gift must be grand and magnificent.

There is a special step before giving gifts, that is, the top three candidates among the newly-appointed Jinshi have to celebrate the birthday of the Empress Dowager together.

This year's palace examination was held later in order to coincide with Cixi's 70th birthday, which was double the joy.

The top scorer was Zhu Ruzhen, the third scorer was Liu Chunlin, and the third scorer was Zhang Qihou.

After the newly crowned top scholar Zhu Ruzhen entered the palace, Cixi asked him his name and hometown.

Zhu Ruzhen knelt down and answered: "My name is Zhu Ruzhen, and I am from Guangdong."

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Cixi immediately looked angry. Li Lianying thought something bad was going to happen and quickly asked Zhu Ruzhen to leave.

After a while, Zhu Ruzhen, who was confused outside, became even more confused.

Because the Empress Dowager issued an edict: Liu Chunlin is knowledgeable and talented, and is capable of great use, so he was chosen as the new top scholar.

Zhu Ruzhen felt that God was playing a joke on him, so he just replied with one sentence, and the top spot was gone?

How could he know that after the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, Cixi fled in a hurry and threw Guangxu's concubine Zhen into a well and drowned her.

When she heard the character "Zhen" in the top scholar's name, she instinctively felt disgusted.

What's more, what Cixi hated most in her later years were the Cantonese people.

Because Hong Xiuquan, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Sun Yat-sen and others are all from Guangdong, and now we can add Li Qiwei to the list.

For various reasons, Cixi directly demoted Zhu Ruzhen to second place, leaving the latter in tears.

As Cixi's confidant, Li Lianying was well aware of her moods and emotions, and he quickly winked at the young eunuch beside him.

So the young eunuch immediately shouted: "The auspicious time has arrived, all officials present gifts!"

The officials present were all excited, as the highlight of the day was about to begin.

Congratulations!

The gift givers are also ranked from high to low.

First came the princes and nobles, then the high-ranking officials in the ministry. The variety of gifts was dazzling.

After all the officials in Beijing have made their donations, it will be the turn of officials outside Beijing.

They couldn't come to the birthday party and could only send the gifts.

Every time the young eunuch sang, Li Lianying would introduce to Cixi the uniqueness of the gift.

Liu Kunyi, the governor-general of Liangjiang, presented a screen made of fine glass inlaid with a rosewood border.

You know, glass is a rare commodity nowadays.

Although glass was manufactured during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, most of it was turbid and could only be used as a container, with no appreciation value.

Truly exquisite and translucent glass is a high-end product of this era and is extremely precious.

Not to mention that it is such a large piece, coupled with the various jewels and decorations around it, its value is inestimable.

Cixi was very happy and issued an edict to reward Liu Kunyi.

Next came the gift from Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili. Yuan Shikai was very down-to-earth and did not try to be cunning. He prepared a variety of fur coats, gold and silver jewelry, and filled a large cart to send to Cixi.

Cixi rarely smiled and said deliberately: "This Yuan Shikai is too ostentatious."

Li Lianying knew what Cixi meant, so he smiled and agreed, "Mr. Yuan is a powerful person, and the Empress Dowager treats him well. He must do his best to honor you."

Cixi never stopped smiling. She promoted and liked Yuan Shikai because she valued his simple mind and loyalty to her.

If Yuan Shikai had not informed on her, she would have been kept in the dark by the people involved in the Reform Movement of 1898.

The singing ceremony continued, and soon a gift caused surprise among everyone in Leshou Hall.

The young eunuch shouted, "Li Qiwei, the Imperial Tutor of the Great Qing Dynasty, presents you with a birthday gift: a laser bead!"

As soon as the young eunuch finished speaking, all the civil and military officials began to whisper to each other, looking at each other.

They know about the orbs, but what is this laser orb?
Could it be that it has been tempered by lightning?
Li Lianying was also confused. He had been with Empress Dowager Cixi for many years and had seen all kinds of treasures, so he could introduce the various gifts.

But this laser orb was indeed beyond his knowledge.

Cixi's face was calm, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but in her heart she was already even more displeased with Li Qiwei.

What a messed up gift!

At this time, Li Lianying hurriedly walked to the young eunuch and took out the congratulatory message for the laser bead, which indeed contained the specific details of the bead.

He took the gift and walked quickly to Cixi, and a chrysanthemum-like smile broke out on his old face.

"Mr. Buddha, this is a great gift."

"Lord Li said that the laser orb is made entirely of high-quality glass."

“It took 81 polishing steps to achieve a perfect and transparent state.”

"The most important thing is that an extremely rare substance was added to it, which makes the orb emit a bright green light."

"Master Li said that this substance is called 'radium'. In the West, it is a very rare chemical element."

"I really don't understand this, please teach me, Mr. Buddha."

As he spoke, Li Lianying respectfully handed the laser bead to Cixi with both hands.

Cixi picked up the green-glowing pearl with her right hand and her anger turned into joy, because her favorite color was green.

The green color of this gift is so bright that people can't help but indulge in it.

Moreover, the pearl was so large that it could hardly be held in one hand, and Cixi had always liked big things.

Although she couldn't let it go, Cixi still said with reserve: "What rare element? Maybe it was that Monkey King who tricked me."

Li Lianying smiled awkwardly and didn't dare to reply.

At this time, a foreigner suddenly walked out of the crowd. It was the British Minister to Qing Dynasty, Sir Sir John Sadoun.

He stepped forward, congratulated Cixi, and then said, "Empress Dowager, I think this gift is very good."

"Because it represents the highest achievement in Western science."

"Although the material of the pearl is glass, which is not expensive, the radium mixed in it is worth a fortune."

"This substance was discovered by a female scientist in Europe and has very miraculous effects."

"It can kill diseased tissues in the human body and keep people healthy for a long time."

"If you, Queen Mother, keep such a large radium bead by your side for a long time, it will surely prolong your life and keep you young forever."

"In Europe and America, the rich and powerful like to use radium to show their noble status."

"Because this substance is extremely rare and produced in very small quantities, it is something that is priced but not sold, and its value is inestimable."

"I think it is countless times more valuable than Master Yuan's cart of jewels."

“It’s a very rare gift.”

After Sa Daoyi finished speaking, he still looked at the pearl with reluctance, and it was obvious that he wanted one too.

He envied Cixi, who was so immersed in the chaos that he didn't even realize it.

If Li Qiwei were here, he would definitely hold the other person's hand affectionately and say: Brother Sa, thank you, I will give you ten some other day.

By the way, please bring one for your King and Prime Minister. I am loyal to the British Empire.

Sure enough, after listening to Sa Daoyi's explanation, the smile on Cixi's face became even more intense, and she kept rubbing the laser bead with her hands.

Eternal youth is a temptation that no woman can resist.

Prolonging life is a temptation that no one in power can resist.

As a female ruler, this laser orb completely struck her heart. It seemed like it was made for her.

The most important thing is that this magical radium was actually discovered by a woman, which made Cixi even happier.

Ever since she took over the government, she has been dissatisfied by many officials who believe that she is a woman and cannot interfere in state affairs.

So, in order to gain power, she did not hesitate to kill a large number of people.

Who says women can't do that?
See, women can have a significant impact on the world, too.

She controlled the Qing Dynasty herself, and this European woman controlled science.

At this moment, her grudge against Li Qiwei completely disappeared. Although this Monkey King was erratic, he seemed to be very knowledgeable about the ways of the world.

I can't let my subjects down, otherwise no one will be willing to go to such lengths to send gifts to them in the future.

Cixi made up her mind to arrange a position for Li Qiwei after the ministry was established next year.

Since the other party likes education, let him do what he wants, as long as he doesn't touch military power.

The birthday party ended in a cheerful atmosphere, and Li Qiwei's laser orb left a deep impression on everyone.

It seems that we still need to learn some scientific knowledge these days, otherwise the gifts we give will just be mundane.

When Lord Li makes a move, ordinary people can't even figure out what the thing is. It shows how big the gap is.

After returning, many officials urged their family members to go to new-style universities so that they could please the empress dowager in the future.

When the news of today's birthday banquet reached Li Qiwei, he smiled slightly and thought:

Now, if a certain big shot named Sun in the future were faced with Cixi who had been irradiated by radium, he would probably not be able to bring himself to kill her.

(End of this chapter)