1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 455: Competition is the main path, morality is the minor path! The future of China lies in competition, not morality! Awakening!
1920 7 Month 15 Day.

There were two guests at the Quantum Research Institute.

When Wang Zhengyang brought Lin Huiyin and her daughter into the office, Li Qiwei was writing a paper.

When he saw the person coming, before he could even stand up, Lin Changmin hurried forward and said with a hearty smile:

"Professor Li, I am sorry for coming here uninvited. I hope you will forgive me for disturbing you."

Lin Changmin, 44 years old this year, looks like a handsome middle-aged uncle.

In real history, Lin Changmin was a prominent figure.

He actively participated in various domestic movements, and his family also joined the trend of the times.

He himself had held important positions in the Nationalist government.

It can be said that he is in a high position and has great power, and is deeply trusted by his superiors.

But the current situation is very complicated and unpredictable.

This made Lin Changmin, who was eager to do something, a little bored.

So I just quit my job and took my daughter out to relax.

Given his status, there was no need for him to be so respectful and humble to Li Qiwei.

But for a progressive scholar-official like Lin Changmin, Li Qiwei has two identities that make him admire him.

First, he is the world's number one scientist.

With this identity, Li Qiwei was able to chat and laugh with prime ministers and kings of various countries.

Lin Changmin is far from qualified in this regard.

The second is Li Qiwei’s identity as the emperor’s teacher.

Although he was the teacher of the former Qing emperor, the Chinese people value respecting teachers, so in terms of status, Li Qiwei is invincible.

At least in the country right now, there is no one with a higher status than him.

With the blessing of these two identities, Lin Changmin naturally behaved very humbly in front of Li Qiwei.

Li Qiwei smiled and said:
"Brother Lin, you don't have to be so polite."

"You and I are both Chinese, and now we meet again overseas."

"It is indeed one of the great pleasures of life!"

"Please take a seat."

As Lin Changmin sat down, he looked at the world-renowned Professor Li in front of him.

The first impression is that he is handsome.

Phrases such as "elegant gentleman" and "handsome and handsome" can be used perfectly and appropriately to describe the other person.

In his early years, Lin Changmin studied abroad at Waseda University in the Land of Sakura, majoring in politics and law.

After returning to China, I entered politics and met countless so-called elites and bigwigs.

Even he himself is a big boss in the eyes of others.

However, the feeling that everyone gave him was not as good as that of Professor Li in front of him.

Vast, profound, mysterious, and great.

There seemed to be a quality about the other person that was out of this world.

That is the indifference of a god looking down on the world.

In front of this man, Lin Changmin suddenly felt ashamed of himself.

All the knowledge and experience that he was proud of are not worth mentioning here.

Even in terms of experience as an official, the man in front of him was once the Minister of Education.

It is probably because Professor Li couldn't stand the intrigues in the officialdom that he chose to withdraw.

Lin Changmin thought so.

And his daughter Lin Huiyin, with a pair of crystal clear eyes, was also looking at Li Qiwei curiously.

A young and ignorant girl is yearning for all beautiful things.

Li Qiwei's few poetic sentences left an indelible impression on her.

However, in such an occasion, she adhered to the rules of a lady and did not speak immediately.

Lin Changmin smiled and said:
"I met Mrs. Li by chance on the ship coming to England."

"During the conversation, I learned that the lady was actually Professor Li's wife. I was extremely happy."

"Lin has wanted to visit for a long time, but has never had the chance due to being tied up in worldly affairs."

"It's really worth the trip to see you today."

As expected, he has been in official circles, and the way he speaks makes people feel very comfortable.

Li Qiwei said: "Brother Lin's name is also well known to me."

"It can be said that he is the pioneer of China's reform."

Upon hearing this, Lin Changmin immediately smiled happily.

If other people flatter him, he won't take it to heart at all.

But Professor Li is different.

Given the other party's status and position, there is no need to be polite.

When he said appreciation, it really meant he recognized what the person did.

How could Lin Changmin not be proud?

"Professor Li, you are too kind."

"By the way, this is our little daughter Huiyin."

"Today, she insisted on coming here, saying that she really wanted to meet the legendary Professor Li."

"I hope you won't blame me."

Li Qiwei looked towards Lin Huiyin.

Although her appearance was not considered the best in the eyes of later generations, she had a special temperament when combined with her talent.

No wonder she was known as the most talented woman in the Republic of China.

However, there was no ripple in his heart.

Not to mention the age difference between him and Lin Huiyin.

Li Qiwei's current level has long surpassed the love, hate and vengeance between ordinary people.

Instead, it rises to the macro levels of country, humanity, world, universe, and truth.

In his opinion, these so-called celebrities of the Republic of China in real history were nothing more than that.

It's just a sense of novelty.

Li Qiwei himself is the most romantic figure of this era and the object of admiration of countless people.

So, he smiled and said:
"My wife likes Huiyin very much."

"Brother Lin, you have a good daughter."

Lin Huiyin smiled sweetly after hearing this.

She mustered up the courage to ask:
"Professor Li, have you been writing poetry recently?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qiwei said:
“I haven’t written in a long time.”

“There has been a lot of scientific research work recently.”

Lin Huiyin said "Oh" and pouted a little disappointedly.

Lin Changmin looked at his daughter lovingly and pretended to blame her:

"Huiyin, Professor Li's time is so precious."

"How can I be like you little girls, tinkering with love poems all day long?"

Li Qiwei replied:
"It doesn't matter."

“Poetry is more than just expressing personal feelings.”

“It also has a tragic sense of family and country.”

"I like it very much."

At this time, Lin Changmin suddenly said:

"Hui Yin, please go out and take a look first. Professor Li and I have something to talk about."

Lin Huiyin left obediently and was led by Wang Zhengyang outside the door to visit the institute.

Only Li Qiwei and Lin Changmin were left in the room.

A long sigh was heard.

Lin Changmin asked tiredly and indignantly:

"Professor Li, have you heard about the recent major events in the country?"

Li Qiwei said:

"Of course, a weak country has no diplomacy."

Lin Changmin smiled bitterly and said:

"Yes, everything is due to weakness."

"If you are weak, you have no right to speak, and no one will respect you, even though you are clearly the winner."

"I'm afraid that the only areas in China that foreigners look up to are education and science."

"And all this is thanks to you, Professor Li." Li Qiwei listened quietly without saying anything.

He could see that Lin Changmin seemed to have a lot of emotions suppressed in his heart.

"Just now, Professor Li, you talked about patriotism."

"Lin was deeply touched."

"Since China opened its eyes to the world, it has been constantly impacted by Western civilization."

“There are two things that have had the greatest impact on us.”

"One is called Democracy, the other is called Science."

"Professor, you have done the best you can do under Mr. Sai."

"But what I don't understand is, given your talent as a professor, why are you unwilling to follow Mr. De's path?"

Faced with this question, Li Qiwei smiled lightly and asked back:
"Brother Lin, why do you think powerful countries like Britain and the United States are so powerful?"

"Is Mr. Democracy more important or Mr. Science more important?"

Lin Changmin had a serious expression on his face; he knew that this was now a dispute over ideas.

"Lin is not talented, but I think morality comes first before competition."

Li Qiwei said:
"I think that for China at this stage, competition is more important."

Lin Changmin said quickly:

"But virtue is the way and competition is the technique. Professor, why do you ignore the essence and pursue the trivial?"

Li Qiwei exuded a domineering attitude and said in a deafening voice:
"wrong!"

"Virtue is the way, and race is also the way."

"You think it is a technique because you can only understand its technical level."

“In my opinion, virtue is only the way of human beings, and Sai is the way of the entire universe.”

"I am pursuing the Great Path, so how can I be inferior to the Small Path?"

"I have absolute confidence that China will rise sooner or later because of the competition."

"And I, Li Qiwei, am willing to be the one holding the flag!"

boom!
Lin Changmin suddenly felt as if thunder exploded in his ears.

Li Qiwei's domineering declaration shocked him greatly.

The remarks on the main path and the minor path refreshed his three views.

As a true high-level elite in the country, Lin Changmin certainly knows what science is.

But historical and personal limitations prevented him from ever experiencing the charm of the end of science.

He had heard a little about the nuclear fusion paper, but found it difficult to understand its profound significance.

There is no way. Not to mention him, even the top talents in this era cannot predict how crazy the world of the future will be.

But today, Li Qiwei's aura made him waver.

He had never heard of such a deafening and earth-shaking statement.

Lin Changmin was shocked!

At this moment, he truly felt what dominance and faith meant.

He suddenly felt a little ashamed.

I just encountered some setbacks and wanted to escape to Europe.

He did not consistently practice his ideals.

And the pure heart of Professor Li in front of him was almost bursting out.

Lin Changmin had no doubt that the other party would do what he said.

He is now extremely curious about Mr. Sai's power.

He asked hurriedly and anxiously:
"Professor Li, can Mr. Sai really save China?"

Li Qiwei did not answer directly, but said:

"Even if I die nine times, I still won't regret it."

Wow!
Lin Changmin felt his blood boiling.

He stood up, bowed solemnly and said:
"Been taught a lesson."

More than an hour later, Lin Changmin and his daughter said goodbye.

After Lin Huiyin knew that Li Qiwei and Tagore had a good relationship, she said mischievously:

"Professor Li, my favorite poet is Rabindranath Tagore."

"Can you ask him to visit China?"

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "I'll ask him some other day. If he agrees, I'll let you receive him."

After hearing this, Lin Huiyin was extremely happy, like a happy little bird.

Lin Changmin shook hands with Li Qiwei vigorously.

There was a tacit understanding between men in the eyes of both parties.
-
Just as Li Qiwei and Lin Changmin, two patriotic patriots, were debating ways to save the country.

On the other hand, at the Royal Society of London, the theoretical questions of the 2nd Physics Olympiad were being intensely discussed.

After several days of mutual communication, the contestants had a preliminary understanding of each other.

Of course, each of them also has their own judgment on each other's strength.

Zhao Zhongyao sat in his seat, his face calm, but his heart was already beating fast.

He didn't expect that the questions in the second Physics Olympiad would be much more difficult than the first.

It's simply the difference between elementary school and university.

The Olympic Committees established by various countries have discussed the issue of difficulty of the questions.

One group believes that the difficulty should be increased to maintain the challenge and high level and select true talents.

The other group believes that the difficulty of the questions should be moderate so that more students will be willing to participate.

The two sides argued endlessly, but finally agreed to refer to Professor Bruce's opinion.

Li Qiwei only replied:
“It is recommended to follow the first option.”

As a result, the second Physics Olympiad evolved towards inhuman difficulty.

Not only is it allowed that the content of the questions is beyond the syllabus, but the question types are also extremely imaginative and completely unconventional.

What is tested is the wild and imaginative ideas of these geniuses, rather than their ability to just follow the examples in the textbook.

Therefore, when the contestants present saw the test papers, many of them felt disappointed.

Even a strong man like Zhao Zhongyao was tortured to death by the questions.

"Next time anyone says that education in Europe and America is easy, I will slap this paper in his face."

At this moment, there are only more than ten minutes left until the end of the game.

Zhao Zhongyao only finished half of the last question, and it is not guaranteed to be correct.

However, when he looked up and glanced at the contestants on the talent list selected by the newspaper, he was still shocked.

The British contestant named Dirac had been checking the test papers ten minutes ago.

Such strength is simply unbelievable.

Pauli, Heisenberg, Fermi and others also began to look happy.

These people are the focus of Zhao Zhongyao's attention.

Each of them is a genius in physics.

"Professor Li is right. There is still a big gap between Chinese science and the West. It is far from the time to be proud."

"No matter what, I will try my best."

Therefore, Zhao Zhongyao stopped being distracted and tried to get as many points as possible in the last ten minutes.

After the theoretical questions, there are experimental questions.

The improved experimental questions are more innovative than the first session.

Students no longer have to repeat the classic experiments of their predecessors, but instead innovate on their basis.

In the first competition, unless there were major mistakes on the experimental questions, the gap between the contestants would not be particularly large.

Now, by adding innovation, it is possible to increase the score.

When the competition finally ended, all the contestants breathed a sigh of relief.

Although young people are fighting for their country, there is a lot of competition among them.

But this did not affect their deep friendship.

Especially with Li Qiwei as a bridge, Zhao Zhongyao and Pauli, Dirac and others soon had endless topics to talk about.

Together, they envied and looked forward to their future research life.

When later generations of Olympiad researchers write the history of the development of the Physics Olympiad.

All of them unanimously admit that:

The Second Physics Olympiad is definitely the most prestigious one in history.

Many top physicists who have influenced physics have emerged from this Olympiad.

As for themselves, they just thought it was normal at that time.

(End of this chapter)