That's how the year is, eat and drink and pass.

After the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the year is officially over, the Beijing Normal University Hall, Chongshi Middle School, and the primary school hall in the courtyard have opened one after another, and Sun Yuanqi has started the life of three schools going back and forth.

When the guests of the Commercial Press were bidding farewell, they "suggested" Sun Yuanqi to speed up the compilation of textbooks, because there is no complete set of modern textbooks, and Sun Yuanqi has set a precedent for this set, and all kinds of primary and secondary schools have reacted strongly. At this time, there is a certain urgency for the need for follow-up textbooks, after all, students are growing year by year, and time waits for no one!

Sun Yuanqi also felt that since he had the ability to expose his current students to newer and better teaching materials, why not work hard to influence and change the lives of more people? After all, the impact and change is positive. At present, there is no response to the paper sent to Science, and it will take some time for the academic community to understand and digest the paper. With this time, combined with the new apprentices in the third grade of Chongshi Middle School, the speed of compiling textbooks should be able to meet the expectations of the Commercial Press, right?

Since the Chinese New Year, Sun Yuanqi has been in a state of unease. Because after the Spring Festival, it is the year of Gengzi, and the famous Boxer Rebellion broke out in this year, which eventually led to the "Gengzi National Change".

Originally, Sun Yuanqi didn't care much about politics, he was just an ordinary person, and things at that level were too far away from his life. However, the Boxer Rebellion was a nationwide movement, especially in North China, and it affected most of the people, from the emperor and the empress dowager to the common people, and tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people died in this movement. In the long run, it has influenced the course of China's modern and modern history. As a member of the crowd, Sun Yuanqi thought that it would be difficult for him to get a chance to protect himself in this movement.

As a science student, Sun Yuanqi's understanding of the Boxer Rebellion was limited to the fragments described in middle school history textbooks in his previous life, and occasionally mixed with descriptions of film and television works such as "The Divine Whip", and he felt that it was a huge "anti-imperialist war". In my impression, there was a pennant of the Boxer Rebellion in the history textbook of the middle school in the previous life, with four big characters written on it - "Fu Qing and destroy the ocean".

In the past, perhaps he would have sympathized with the Boxers, hated foreigners and foreign missionaries, and considered them accomplices in imperialist aggression against China. However, since he came to the Qing Dynasty, he has received help from Mr. Conger's family, Lord Ding Yunliang, Rutherford and others, and feels that foreigners and Chinese are no different, both bad and good people. "Exterminating the ocean" means killing all the foreigners, so Mr. Conger's family and Lord Ding Yunliang are all the targets of extermination. Is that right?

And, what about yourself? The Chinese know best the truth that "if you go outside, you must first settle inside", and they hate "traitors" and "two devils" more than they hate foreigners! In the eyes of others, there is no doubt that he belongs to the "two devils"! So my current situation is like a frog in warm water, inadvertently, approaching death step by step.

The fear of death and the desire for life forced Sun Yuanqi to care about the current situation. After the Spring Festival, every day he would let Lao Tong go out to inquire about the news. After all, Lao Tong is a native of Beijing, or a child of the Eight Banners, in the five cities and nine gates of the capital, an absolute "head snake", go out for a turn, meet a few acquaintances, drink tea, chat, Beijing City's windy little things, the door is cleared.

At first, Lao Tong was still very curious about this "business", and he didn't know what Mr. Sun's plans were. I saw that he gave himself a little change every day, let himself go out to find out the news, and then came back to tell him. began to guess: Is this what Mr. Sun wants to listen to relieve his boredom? Or do you want to inquire about something? Is it because you are afraid that you will be bored and give yourself a way to have fun?

However, Sun Yuanqi really didn't say anything to Lao Tong, providing food, drinking, housing and expenses, and teaching his grandson for free. Sun Yuanqi instructed him to inquire about the news, but without asking, he went out. In this way, every day Sun Yuanqi can hear the news broadcast of the late Qing Dynasty: from the Empress Dowager's decree to the military aircraft dispute; From floods, droughts, and famines, to firewood, rice, oil, and salt; From the famous role of Peking Opera to the top brand of Qinglou......

For half a month, Sun Yuanqi didn't get any useful news. Sun Yuanqi had no choice but to instruct Lao Tong on the general direction of his inquiry: It is best to inquire about the recent major activities of the people of Beijing, such as whether anyone has formed associations and assemblies, organized boxing exercises, or so on.

Sure enough, at the end of the second month of the lunar calendar (the end of March in the Western calendar), Lao Tong came back and told Sun Yuanqi an inconspicuous news: in the west of the Dongdan archway in the Qian Temple, there was a boxer altar.

Hearing the news, Sun Yuanqi was full of excitement, and felt that there was cold air rushing from the soles of his feet to the top of his head: It seems that history is still stubbornly moving forward according to the script! At that moment, he hurriedly instructed Lao Tong: You must pay attention to the news in this regard!

Lao Tong didn't understand why Sun Yuanqi should pay attention to this matter, but seeing Sun Yuanqi's solemn face, he knew that this matter might not be as simple as he imagined, so he simply agreed.

A few days later, when Lao Tong came back, he held a piece of paper in his hand, and hurriedly came to the physics workshop to find Sun Yuanqi: "Mr. Sun, look at what this is?" ”

Sun Yuanqi hurriedly took it, and when he saw it, it was a post, which read: "I hate the peace treaty the most, mislead the country and harm the people, go up and down, the people's grievances are not extended, and the original forbearance has been so far, the winged foreigners, tend to be inflammatory, and wreak havoc on the same group of ......" Hurriedly asked: "Lao Tong, where did you get this?" ”

Lao Tong couldn't take a breath, and he reached: "Taken down from the wall of the Xishiku Church!" It is said that this is now posted on the churches in Beijing, and it is said that at the end of March, they will be embarrassed by the church, and they also say that they will kill all the foreign devils! ”

Sun Yuanqi's face turned a little pale.

When the students next to them heard the sound, they all gathered around. Liu Bin is a native of Zhili, and he seems to be very familiar with the piece of paper in Sun Yuanqi's hand: "Oh, sir, aren't you holding the unveiling post of Yihequan?" ”

Gu Zhilin and Chen Jide both nodded and agreed with Liu Bin's statement.

"You also know the Boxer?" Sun Yuanqi raised his head.

"Naturally!" Chen Jide replied, "When I went home during the Spring Festival, I found that there were people everywhere in Baoding Mansion to practice boxing. In some places, they gather at night to practice secret methods, saying that they want to start an incident before the New Year, destroy foreign religions, and destroy foreigners! ”

Gu Zhilin, a native of Cangzhou, knew better, and added: "Hmm! When I got home, I realized that there were people everywhere practicing boxing. These people are mainly farmers. It is said that practicing boxing with the master can be practiced for as little as 1 day or as much as 103 days. After practicing the boxing technique, you can séance and possess the body. When séance, it seems to be a seizure, the face is red, the eyes are straight, the mouth is foaming, the flying fists and kicks, the strength is great, and it can be invulnerable. The gods that descended, related to the second master, Zhang Fei, Sun Dasheng, Zhu Bajie, ......"

A few people next to him listened to it fascinated, and Lao Tong still said: "You can be invulnerable!" It's amazing......"

Sun Yuanqi said: "Why, you also believe this nonsense? ”

Gu Zhilin hurriedly distinguished: "The student doesn't believe it, it's just rumored to be the case from the outside world." ”

"Where are you ......" Sun Yuanqi couldn't help but sigh, "You have to use your brain to think about problems!" The so-called séance is nothing more than hypnosis. Hypnosis, when you were in "Psychology", didn't you study it? How did you forget it all at this point? Also, their séances Sun Dasheng and Zhu Bajie are just fictional characters in "Journey to the West", just like Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai in "Dream of Red Mansions", where to find them in the sky and underground? …… You should not believe or spread this kind of nonsense from hearsay! ”

The students and Lao Tong all bowed down and said "yes".

Still, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. In the third and fourth months of the lunar calendar, there are people in Beijing who gather together to practice boxing, but these people are ignorant children and a few restless idlers in the hutongs. By the end of April, boxers from Zhili and Shandong were all over Beijing, and some of them wore red belly pockets, red leg belts, and red scarves wrapped around their hands, and their heads were tied with red scarves and charms inside; Some are yellow; Occasionally, there are people who wear red but have a black scarf on their heads, known as "black groups", and it is said that this kind of person is the most powerful. These boxers openly set up altars on the streets to practice boxing, and they ran rampant.

For this reason, the Qing government once issued an edict to "seriously investigate and prohibit": "Recently, I heard that inside and outside the capital, traitors have posted exposés everywhere in the name of boxing clubs, shaking the hearts of the people, and it is a matter of negotiation, and I am deeply afraid that it will cause provocation." How to prevent the forbidden places, the commander of the infantry army, the Yamen, the Shuntian Mansion, and the imperial officials of the five cities will discuss the regulations and handle it quickly. However, the Boxer Rebellion grew rapidly in Beijing, and the edict had become a dead letter.

Sun Yuanqi knew that he couldn't do anything at this time, so he took out his savings, about more than two thousand taels of silver, and began to take precautions.

First distributed four hundred taels to Lao Zhao and Lao Zheng, and instructed them to go out to buy food and various daily necessities. Who knows when this war will end? War can be protracted, but the stomach cannot be empty for a day. In particular, there are more than 10 people in this courtyard, "there is food in their hands, and they don't panic in their hearts". Therefore, it is imperative to prepare food and various daily necessities.

Lao Zhao had never seen so much money, and he stammered when he spoke: "Sir, these silver tickets can buy food for the old and the young, and they are enough for us to eat for three or four years!" I bought so much in one go, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to save it and it would rot! ”

Sun Yuanqi didn't explain, just told him not to worry, just buy it.

Then, I put away some of my most important things, and some of them dug a big pit in the study and buried them in it. And then put a bookshelf on it. Since the Spring Festival, Sun Yuanqi has significantly accelerated the speed of classes for the students in his yard, and the speed of compiling books has also increased a lot. On the one hand, there are few students, and problems can be solved quickly; On the one hand, the days are getting longer, the class time is getting longer, the students are naturally speechless, and the parents of the students are even more happy, thinking that Mr. Sun is doing his best. It's just that the students who are busy writing textbooks are busy. However, with the addition of the new students from Chongshi Middle School, there are many people and great strength, so it is not too bitter. By the end of the fourth lunar month (the end of May in the Western calendar), the textbooks of all subjects in the primary school have been compiled to the first semester of the fifth grade, and the third volume of "Intermediate Physics Textbook", "Intermediate Chemistry Textbook" and "Intermediate Mathematics Textbook" has been compiled, and the fourth volume has been compiled. Sun Yuanqi sent a telegram to the Commercial Press, asking them to pick it up as soon as possible.

When these were all over, Sun Yuan went to visit Mr. Ding Yunliang first.

Sure enough, as soon as they met, Ding Weiliang began to complain to him about the despicable acts of "that mob" in killing missionaries, destroying churches, and attacking believers, and severely condemned the inaction of the Chinese local government in response to such barbaric acts, hoping that the Qing government would give the mob the punishment it deserved to ensure the safety of the people and property.

What can Sun Yuanqi do about this nagging old man? Can't you rebuke these missionaries in front of him for interfering in China's local affairs and their misdeeds? After he finished nagging, he expressed his intention: he hoped that he would actively pay attention to the movements of the Boxers so as not to be personally harmed.

On the one hand, Ding Yunliang thanked Sun Yuanqi for his help; On the other hand, he said that he did not need to worry, because he was an American expatriate, the American legation would help, and at the same time, he was a high-ranking official of the Qing government and could get assistance from the Chinese. So, what is there to worry about?

Sun Yuanqi smiled bitterly in his heart: When the war is chaotic, the legations of various countries are too busy to take care of themselves, and the emperor and the queen mother are also chased like lost dogs, how can they take care of you?

When it was time to say goodbye, out of kindness, Sun Yuanqi still mentioned his intention again. As for how much the nagging and stubborn old man can listen to, it depends on his God!

The next day, Sun Yuanqi went to the U.S. Legation to visit Mr. Conger's family.

It is evident that in the calm before the storm, Mr. Conger was very busy, for he had not shaken hands with Sun Yuanqi when he met him, and he was reviewing a document: "Excuse me, York, please sit down." I'm so busy and have a whole bunch of damn things that need to be taken care of urgently! ”

"I'm the one who should say 'I'm sorry', please forgive me for taking the liberty of visiting." Sun Yuanqi casually found a place to sit down, "I don't think I will delay you too much." ”

"Okay, York, you say, I'm listening." Mr. Conger did not lift his head, as if he had been buried in a sea of papers.

Sun Yuanqi decided to get straight to the point: "First of all, I want to remind you about the Boxers, the Boxers, that is-"

"You don't have to explain, I know what 'Boxer' is. You see, this pile of papers in front of me is a letter of help from missionaries and expatriates! This mob is going to ruin everything—I'm sorry, York, I'm not trying to discredit your fellow citizens, you know what I mean. Conger twisted his sour neck and grumbled.

"Even so, I would like to remind you that great attention should be paid to the Boxers, and it should be said that no matter how much attention is paid to them, it is necessary to protect the lives of the expatriates." Sun Yuanqi continued.

"Okay, I'll give enough attention. Thank you, York. Mr. Conger raised his head and glanced at Sun Yuanqi, and then continued to bow his head to correct the documents.

"The Boxers were extremely hostile to foreigners, and as their power grew, they would attack churches and even embassies and consulates with the tacit approval of the imperial court." Ignoring Conger's consternation, Sun Yuanqi continued, "Yes, they will!" So you have to be prepared, for example, to evacuate the diaspora. In this way, the incident will expand. And then the armies of various countries will definitely intervene. Although Europe and the United States claim to be civilized countries, they require their soldiers to be gentlemen on Chinese soil, no less than converting Satan to God. ”

Speaking of this, Sun Yuanqi paused, and then said sincerely: "If European and American countries really send troops to attack China, especially to Beijing, as a Chinese, I implore Mr. Minister to supervise and urge the armies of all countries to abide by the most basic norms of civilized society, and not to set fire, rob, rape, or kill people." After all, it is the capital of China, bringing together thousands of years of cultural treasures of the Chinese nation, and it cannot be left with permanent regret for future generations because of a war. Otherwise, the atrocities will be remembered by history and despised by people all over the world! ”

History records that in the process of suppressing the Boxers, the invading army burned, killed, looted, and committed numerous atrocities. After the capture of Dagu, he set fire to the bustling urban area for several days. After attacking Tianjin, the coalition forces opened fire and fired artillery at the fleeing crowd, and the city of Tianjin was "full of dead people and no houses." After the capture of Beijing, the Eight-Nation Coalition began an even more frenzied massacre and plunder. They wantonly slaughtered the Boxers, killing and burning more than 1,700 people in Zhuangwangfu alone. German Field Marshal Wadsey, then commander-in-chief of the Eight-Nation Alliance, plundered his troops for three days, and then continued with private robbery. At that time, everyone from ministers and generals to missionaries and soldiers participated in this atrocity. The Japanese army robbed 3 million taels of silver from the household department and burned the house to destroy the evidence of the crime. The treasury funds deposited by the various government offices were looted, and the loss was about 60 million taels. The imperial palace, the Summer Palace, and other places full of gold, silver, and treasures of previous dynasties were also looted, and a large number of precious cultural relics were looted and destroyed. Sun Yuanqi naturally didn't know about these, or didn't know it in detail. Just arson, robbery, rape, and murder are "compulsory courses" every time a foreign invader enters China. Therefore, Sun Yuanqi felt the need to bring it up in advance.

"In fact, the ministers in Beijing will meet in two days to decide whether to jointly send troops to Beijing in the name of 'protecting the embassy.'" Mr. Conger stood up, paced back and forth a few steps, and then said slowly, "If things get to that point, I think I will bind the American soldiers to the basic covenants." As for the armies of other countries, I can only advise their generals and ministers. I'm sorry, but I guess that's all I can do. In case, and I'm talking about just in case, things get out of control, and your relatives and friends can take refuge in the U.S. Legation. ”

"Thank you." Sun Yuanqi knew that all he could do was this—even if it was the emperor and queen mother of the Great Qing Dynasty, this was the promise he could get. There is no diplomacy for a weak country!

After chatting a few more words, Sun Yuanqi saw that Mr. Conger was too busy and did not bother much, so he got up and said goodbye. He had only gone a few steps when he heard Mr. Conger call him, turned around, saw Mr. Conger rummaging through the drawers, and at last pulled out an envelope and handed it over.

He took the envelope and looked at it, and it had the words "Yale University" printed on it, and two lines of small printed print: "Mr. Conger, Legation of the United States of America in China, to Mr. YorkJohnson".

Mr. Conger explained, "Yale University has sent us an official letter asking us to reach you. Well, they're very interested in you. ”

Sun Yuanqi knew that he was pretending to be a master of physics from Yale University, but he only thought it was a letter of doubt sent by them, and he didn't dare to say more, so he said a few perfunctory words and left in a hurry.

When I got home, I opened the letter from Yale University in my study, which was printed on a typewriter and was a very short official letter. It reads as follows:

Dear Alumnus Mr. YorkJohnson,

Hello!

It is believed that Mr. is a Master of Science from the University. We apologize for not being able to find your information due to negligence in our management. If possible, we would like to invite you to give a lecture at the school and complete your information.

Sincerely.

Yale University

1900.2.12

After reviewing this brief letter several times, I realized that Yale University did not seem to mean to blame. I thought to myself, it would be better to have time to go to the United States and pick out my origins.

The next day, the May parcel arrived. When I opened it, I saw that there was a sample issue of "Science" where his paper was published, because the article "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies and the Relationship between Mass and Energy" was eighty or ninety pages long, and Sun Yuanqi thought that the editor of "Science" would take it as one of the magazine's issues. As a result, he still underestimated the ability of the editors, because now he has another issue of the weekly magazine in his hand. On the one hand, Sun Yuanqi's superb research on physics, and on the other hand, he also expressed his caution about the paper, because they could not verify whether the paper was correct or not, but even so, no one could raise a strong question about the paper, and hoped that readers could judge for themselves. At the back of the paper is an article by a special commentator, who first questions the two basic public assumptions in the paper, the "principle of relativity" and the "principle of the invariance of the speed of light", so as to conclude that the whole paper is nothing more than the Palace of Versailles on a pile of sand, which is nonsense; The conclusion that "the ether does not exist" is considered absurd; As for the "mass-energy equation E=mc2", "although it looks very beautiful, it turns out to be wishful thinking". In short, this paper is useless.

In addition to the sample journal of Science, there were invitations from MIT, the American Chemical Society, and letters from a number of scholars, notably the one from Rutherford, which discussed several issues and again invited Sun Yuanqi to visit Canada.

For going to Europe and the United States to study and visit some rare academic bulls, Sun Yuanqi had some heartbeats. Now, the Boxer Rebellion is in full swing, and maybe that day, it will burn itself to a pile of ashes, and there is no place to reason. In such a precarious situation, going abroad seems to be a good choice. Coupled with Rutherford's invitation, Sun Yuanqi decided in an instant:

Go abroad!

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