Before coming to London, Zhou Nan had no knowledge of the Royal Society. All he knew was that Toynbee had been the director of the Royal Institute of International Studies since 26, and it didn't seem to be the same thing as the Royal Society.

Because the Royal Society is more inclined to the development of science, it is just the opposite of the direction of historical research and international studies. The study of history is the study of the relationship between the past and the present, while science is the development of the future on the basis of the present.

But Slooney's early arrival in England was not without help, and they had already learned the details of the Royal Society in detail from all aspects.

Founded in 660, the Society has a history of nearly 300 years, and in the 19th century, it became synonymous with the British Society of Science.

Today's Royal Society can be said to represent the highest level of scientific and technological research in the United Kingdom, and many of their research are at the forefront of the world.

Since the credibility of the Nobel Prize in '95 has been confirmed, everyone who has served as president has been a Nobel laureate. Their members include almost all outstanding scientists in the UK and the world, and the threshold is extremely high.

The British, to say a little, have a maximum of forty places a year, but there are only four foreigners a year, and the members are all the best minds in the field of science.

It can be said that this is the highest temple of scientific research today.

However, there are only two major research disciplines they fund, one is physical and mathematical research, and the other is biological research, which is completely unrelated to Zhou Nan.

Therefore, Zhou Nan wondered why Toynbee would pick up the wind for himself here, instead of the British College, one of the five major academic academies, to give him the wind.

He didn't talk to Toynbee during the day today, and he didn't know what Toynbee was thinking.

The car stopped at the entrance of the Burlington Building, which is also the home of the Royal Society, and the majestic building alone shows that the Society is now wealthy.

From the government side alone, they now have £2 million a year in financial allocation. The society itself does not do any research, but has set up research promotion associations in 12 disciplines, funded research institutions in this field around the world, and then held some academic conferences on a regular basis.

Two million pounds sterling is not a small amount now, one pound is equivalent to four dollars, and one dollar is more than three Swiss francs. Two million pounds sterling is equivalent to 30 million Swiss francs, but it is a lot of money.

The most intuitive explanation is that the most luxurious Rolls-Royce is only more than 2,000 pounds, which is equivalent to 800 Rolls-Royce.

Toynbee stood at the entrance of the building, waiting for Zhou Nan. didn't wait for the car to stop, so he helped Zhou Nan open the door.

This is a very high salary, Zhou Nan ignored his butt pain, hurriedly got out of the car, and held Toynbee's hand with both hands. "Arnold, long time no see."

He took a closer look at Zhou Nan's arm, which was still fitted with a splint, and then looked at his legs. "Jonas, I'm glad to see you safe."

Although they haven't seen each other for a few months, the two of them often communicate by telegram and letter, so there is not much strangeness.

"In our country, there is a proverb: if you don't die in a great disaster, you will have a blessing. I think bad luck is gone of me. ”

He said with a heavy face: "I was looking forward to your arrival, but now I have to say that you came at a very bad time. ”

Zhou Nan asked with some doubts: "Is there anything I don't know?" ”

"Let's talk as we go, it's a bit complicated. Hello, Miss Hepburn, hello, Etinny. ”

After saying hello to Audrey and Etinny, he led Zhou Nan and them slowly into the doorway. There are houses all around, and a small square is formed in the middle, and the scenery in the yard is quite beautiful.

"Favre is also in England now, and when he came, he got into a war of words with many scholars of the Ranke School, and involved many of them. If you look at the newspapers of the past half month, you will know the cause and effect. ”

Zhou Nan asked suspiciously, "Are you also involved?" Why didn't I hear this? ”

"No, you haven't been involved yet, but do you think you've come to London and can run now?"

Zhou Nan smiled: "When it comes to debate, I am not afraid of any challenge. ”

He shook his head, helped Zhou Nan up one step of steps, waited for Zhou Nan's two legs to go up to the first floor, and then moved his right leg to the second step. "This is only one aspect, and more importantly, the West Malaysia School is also involved, including East Malaysia. The Soviets were fanatics and could not listen to the slightest dissenting opinion. ”

Marx's thought has split into two different schools in the West, but whichever side has been the target of suppression by the Ranke School, a traditional school of historical research, for decades.

The success of the revolution in the Soviet Union made East Malaysia more and more rampant, but seeing that Toynbee said it so seriously, Zhou Nan felt that there should be other reasons behind this.

Historical research seems to be just a simple school, but historical research is not a pure academic in this era.

In this academic field, it includes history, humanities, philosophy, thought, and even ism. It is a comprehensive discipline that draws on the experience of the past and plans for the future.

The birth of Marx's thought is actually an academic study of history, but it is more inclined to the formulation of social forms than the pure academic research planned by Zhou Nan.

Sure enough, Toynbee said: "The root cause of the struggle between the East and the West is the difference in ideology, and now the two sides are fighting in London, and even the French are gradually involved." The British government has decided to control media propaganda, but it has met with great resistance from international forces, and the American and Soviet governments have sent notes to our ambassadors to keep the debate going. ”

Hearing this, Zhou Nan wanted to turn around and run away, and immediately packed his luggage and left London. It's a big quagmire here, even if it's just to watch the battle, I'm afraid it will be splashed with mud, not to mention I don't know when it will be dragged down.

Zhou Nan didn't know what to do for a while, but Etinny was a bystander, and reminded softly: "Jonas, I'll go back now and let Rang Nord send a telegram to China, and let China arrange a position for you to visit Britain." ”

When Toynbee heard this, he immediately agreed, and said, "That's the best, because I have a position as an adviser to the king, so it's safe." Jonas, although the war is over, another war without gunpowder is going on. As sociologists, we can't stay in our ivory tower forever. ”

Zhou Nan nodded, and Etinny handed a file box in his hand to Popler and said, "Popler, you accompany Jonas first, and I will come back as soon as possible." Audrey, you have to take care of Jonas. ”

Audrey was a little nervous, but no longer scared as before, more with a little excitement, nodding vigorously.

After Etinney left, Toynbee and Zhou Nan stood in the hallway of the building, with no intention of going in directly. Zhou Nan didn't waste any more time and asked, "So, why are you holding a welcome banquet for me here today?" ”

Toynbee laughed and said: "Sir Robert Robinson of the Royal Society is my good friend in Oxford, some people in the Ranke School have no good opinion of you because of Favre's relationship, Sir Robinson is a professor in Oxford, and he is also a knight, and more importantly, his president of the Royal Society." If he speaks for you, there will be a lot less trouble in the academic world. ”

Zhou Nan understood his love, which was clearly supporting Zhou Nan, and he was afraid that his strength was limited, so he found a friend to help him.

From the meaning of his words, this Robinson is still a very prestigious person. Zhou Nan is unheard, otherwise, he would know that this Robinson is also the next year's Nobel Prize winner.

He said with some emotion: "Thank you, Arnold. ”

Toynbee smiled and said, "Fayvre has perfected the theory of his almanac school because of your connections. I have also enriched my theory of historical research because of your research methods, and what I am doing now is far from being comparable to the help you have given me. ”

This is true, because in some theory, knowledge is priceless. More importantly, those are theories of knowledge from the future that have nowhere to learn.

Zhou Nan let this knowledge appear in advance, benefiting not only himself, but also the people who came into contact with him and those who read his books.

However, Toynbee was able to take the initiative to do this, which is still very touching.

Zhou Nan took the initiative to ask, "Is there anything I need to pay attention to?" ”

"No, the friends I invited today are all friends who admire your talent, except for one person. I'll introduce you later, Hudson, a professor of history at Cambridge......" He pointed to his head and said, "He's an old Ranke diehard, but he has a good personality, and you need a chance like that to show your talent in front of the Ranke guys, don't you?" ”

Zhou Nan nodded, if he could use his talent to conquer the moderates in the opponent, then the opponent's camp would also loosen itself.

From this point of view, Toynbee thought very well.

Zhou Nan recalled the characteristics of the Ranke School in his mind.

The name Ranke School derives from the man Ranke, who was an influential historian in Europe from the late eighteenth century to the nineteenth century. He was once appointed by Frederick IV as a national historian of Prussia, compiled, and later spent half his life compiling and.

At the age of 70, he was awarded a noble title, and at the age of 2, he was written with a group of assistant students. At the age of 9, he erected a monument in his hometown after his death, and he was definitely a winner in life.

The Ranke School is characterized by stripping away all prejudices and presenting historical facts from a purely objective point of view, with an emphasis on empirical evidence. Moreover, they mainly focus on political history, and are accustomed to collecting first-hand historical materials to pursue all-round elaboration.

This is somewhat similar to the Qianjia school in Chinese history.

They are also the mainstream orthodoxy of nineteenth-century historiography, and can be called the culmination of Western historiography.